Psalm 73:1014

Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance. They say, “How would God know? Does the Most High know anything?” This is what the wicked are like—always free of care, they go on amassing wealth. Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and have washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been afflicted, and every morning brings new punishments.

What have I gotten out of it? 

The psalmist concludes that a good life has not brought him wealth or freedom from troubles (verse 12) and therefore has been "in vain" (verse 13). But this unmasks his heart. His obedience was not a way of pleasing God but rather a means of getting God to please him. When we sat to God, "I'll serve you only if X happens," then it is X that we love, and God is just a necessary apparatus for obtaining it. The shock of this admission begins to clear his mind. In every difficult circumstance we may hear God saying to us: "Now we will see if you came to me to get me to serve you or so that you could serve me."

--Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Psalm 72:8-14

May he rule from sea to sea and from the River[a] to the ends of the earth. May the desert tribes bow before him and his enemies lick the dust. May the kings of Tarshish and of distant shores bring tribute to him. May the kings of Sheba and Seba present him gifts. May all kings bow down to him and all nations serve him. For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight.

Healing the Nations

The races and nations - always at war with one another - now offer themselves in service (vv 10-11), not because they have been conquered but rather because they have been attracted like a magnet by the perfect justice and compassion of this king (vv. 12-14). No earthly king has ever been like this. This healing of racial strife and the elimination of poverty and injustice are the marks of God's kingdom, but governments, even the best ones, don't come close. Yet when Jesus was born, gifts were offered from afar (Matthew 2:1-12), and when the church was established, the races began to be unified (Ephesians 2:11-22) and the needy helped (Acts 2:44-45, 4:32-36). The kingdom of God had entered history.
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Psalm 72:1-7

Endow the king with your justice, O God, the royal son with your righteousness. May he judge your people in righteousness, your afflicted ones with justice. May the mountains bring prosperity to the people, the hills the fruit of righteousness. May he defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; may he crush the oppressor.  May he endure[a] as long as the sun, as long as the moon, through all generations. May he be like rain falling on a mown field, like showers watering the earth. In his days may the righteous flourish and prosperity abound till the moon is no more.

Only if you have experienced life in a country in which the state is corrupt and the rule of law has failed can you appreciate the blessing of good government. The great king depicted here brings social justice to the poor and the marginalized. The economy thrives because of good stewardship of assets and the deep trust among people that is necessary for commerce. God is a God who is deeply concerned about these things. But the heading says this is a psalm of "Solomon," and even he, David's son, became an oppressor of his people (1 Kings 12:4). So the psalm provokes us to long for a better king than the best government has ever been.
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,
 

Psalm 122

I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”  Our feet are standing in your gates, Jerusalem.  Jerusalem is built like a city that is closely compacted together. That is where the tribes go up— the tribes of the Lord— to praise the name of the Lord according to the statute given to Israel.  There stand the thrones for judgment, the thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you be secure.  May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels.” For the sake of my family and friends,   I will say, “Peace be within you.”  For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your prosperity.

Those attending the annual festivals approached Jerusalem with joy! They loved the city and prayed for its flourishing. What Jerusalem was to the ancient Jews the church is to believers in Christ. When we come to faith in Christ, we become citizens in the heavenly Jerusalem (Hebrews 12:22-24; Philippians 3:20). The manifestation of that heavenly (and future) city is the counterculture of the Christian church, a society where the world can see human life lived according to God's will. Through the Gospel, different races and nations are "closely compacted together" (Ephesians 2:11-22). People who would never get along outside the church love one another inside it. We must joyfully seek out the church; the Bible knows nothing of solitary religion.

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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,
 

Psalm 23
 

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

God has a celebration meal with us not after we finally get out of the dark valley but in the middle of it, in the presence of our enemies. He wants us to rejoice in him in the midst of our troubles. Is our shepherd out of touch with reality? Hardly. Jesus is the only shepherd who knows what it is like to be a sheep (John 10:11). He understands what we are going through and will be with us every step of the way, even through death itself, where "all other guides turn back" (Romans 8:39).

--Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Psalm 69:19-21

You know how I am scorned, disgraced and shamed; all my enemies are before you. Scorn has broken my heart and has left me helpless; I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found none. They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.

David is suffering without relief despite his prayers. Suddenly there is a startling reminder of Jesus - how on the cross he was scorned, disgraced, and shamed, helpless, friendless, and offered vinegar to drink (John 19:28-29). Jesus knew - and knows still - the pain of unanswered prayer when he asked if another way could be found to save us besides the agony of the cross (Luke 22:42). God answered that prayer by saying, in effect, "There is no other way to save them...If they are to be saved, I must not save you." This not only answers the question: Is there another way to be saved besides Jesus? (No.) It is also the ultimate comfort when we sense no answer to our prayers.
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Psalm 68:32-35

Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth, sing praise to the Lord, to him who rides across the highest heavens, the ancient heavens, who thunders with a mighty voice. Proclaim the power of God, whose majesty is over Israel, whose power is in the heavens. You, God, are awesome in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Praise be to God.

This final chorus of praise is characterized by almost uncontainable excitement, one of the marks of true worship. It also exhibits the two poles between which Biblical worship incessantly moves - awe and intimacy. While it reasserts the cosmic power of God, it names him still the God of Israel, no diffused and faceless deity. The psalm bears witness to its grasp of this reality, this union of immense power and intense care, the God whose majesty is over Israel and His power is in the skies. If our prayer life discerns God only as lofty, it will be cold and fearful - if it discerns God only as a spirit of love, it will be only sentimental.
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,