Psalm 16:1-6 “A Poem by David. Preserve me, God, for I take refuge in you. My soul, you have said to the LORD, “You are my Lord. Apart from you I have no good thing.” As for the saints who are in the earth, they are the excellent ones in whom is all my delight. Their sorrows shall be multiplied who give gifts to another god. Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer, nor take their names on my lips. The LORD assigned my portion and my cup. You made my lot secure. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places. Yes, I have a good inheritance.”

David reminds us that we need to rely totally on God. There is nothing and no-one more important than Him in our lives! As such, we have a special relationship with others who think like we do. Although we do reach out, we should be wary of those whose beliefs and morals are different than ours, and we should prefer the company of believers. And one reason is the bond we share and the contentment we have in common. We are thankful for God’s care, blessing, and our current and future inheritance!

1 Peter 2:3-5 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance that doesn’t fade away, reserved in Heaven for you, who by the power of God are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

For additional worship: Amazing Grace

Psalm 15:1-5 “A Psalm by David. LORD, who shall dwell in your sanctuary? Who shall live on your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right, and speaks truth in his heart; he who doesn’t slander with his tongue, nor does evil to his friend, nor casts slurs against his fellow man; in whose eyes a vile man is despised, but who honors those who fear the LORD; he who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and doesn’t change; he who doesn’t lend out his money for usury, nor take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be shaken.”

We can’t live on God’s holy hill or dwell in His sanctuary. We aren’t righteous enough, which is why we need Jesus! However, we do see how we should try to life under the power of God’s Holy Spirit. Speak the truth. Don’t slander. Treat people with respect and kindness. Abhor evil. Love God’s people. Do what you say you will do. Don’t charge your brethren interest or pervert the course of justice.

Micah 6:8 “He has shown you, O man, what is good. What does the LORD require of you, but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”

For additional worship: Psalm 15 (Who May Abide With You) [feat. Emily Heilman]

Psalm 14:1-7 “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt. They have done abominable deeds. There is no one who does good. The LORD looked down from heaven on the children of men, to see if there were any who understood, who sought after God. They have all gone aside. They have together become corrupt. There is no one who does good, no, not one. Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and don’t call on the LORD? There they were in great fear, for God is in the generation of the righteous. You frustrate the plan of the poor, because the LORD is his refuge. Oh that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people, then Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.”

Here the contrast is between the wicked and the righteous. The wicked come after God’s people. They are fools! But, in reality, anybody who doesn’t know God or refuses to follow Him is a fool! And that’s the way we all start out in this world. We’re all fools:

Romans 3:9-12 “What then? Are we better than they? No, in no way. For we previously warned both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. As it is written, ‘There is no one righteous; no, not one. There is no one who understands. There is no one who seeks after God. They have all turned away. They have together become unprofitable. There is no one who does good, no, not so much as one.’”

Just as the Israelites realized that their only refuge in the face of such antagonism was God, so too we realize that our only protection and salvation in this world is through Jesus. When we believe we have hope! Our future is secure, and we can rejoice!

For additional worship: How Sad Our State By Nature Is — Isaac Watts

Psalm 13:1-6 “For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart every day? How long shall my enemy triumph over me? Behold, and answer me, LORD, my God. Give light to my eyes, lest I sleep in death; lest my enemy say, ‘I have prevailed against him;’ lest my adversaries rejoice when I fall. But I trust in your loving kindness. My heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, because he has been good to me.”

Crying out to God gets the poison out. If we allow our feelings to fester, if we dwell on them, if we nurse our hurts and resentments, bitterness and anger take over our souls. If we call out to Him with all our doubts and fears, all our cares and woes, we release them to Him and can exhibit trust again. Just the act of reaching out to Him reminds us that He is in charge, reminds us that He has helped us in the past, and enables us to praise and rejoice in Him again.

For additional worship: Abide With Me | Reawaken Hymns | Official Lyric Video

Psalm 12:1-8 “For the Chief Musician; upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David. Help, LORD; for the godly man ceases. For the faithful fail from amongst the children of men. Everyone lies to his neighbor. They speak with flattering lips, and with a double heart. May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that boasts, who have said, ‘With our tongue we will prevail. Our lips are our own. Who is lord over us?’ ‘Because of the oppression of the weak and because of the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,’ says the LORD; ‘I will set him in safety from those who malign him.’ The LORD’s words are flawless words, as silver refined in a clay furnace, purified seven times. You will keep them, LORD. You will preserve them from this generation forever. The wicked walk on every side, when what is vile is exalted amongst the sons of men.”

We live in a world where people continually lie, their loyalties are divided, they flatter, and they boast. It was true in David’s day, and it’s even more true now, because what is vile is exalted and so the wicked walk on every side.

1 Timothy 3:1-5 “But know this: that in the last days, grievous times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, not lovers of good, traitors, headstrong, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding a form of godliness but having denied its power. Turn away from these, also.”

What can we cling to in this world? Who can we turn to? Who can we trust? Who can we depend on? God! He promises to hear and to save, to protect and to preserve, and we can be sure that He will because His words are perfect and true!

For additional worship: Psalm 12 (The Words of the Lord) [feat. Nick Engbers]

Psalm 11:1-7 “For the Chief Musician. By David. In the LORD, I take refuge. How can you say to my soul, ‘Flee as a bird to your mountain’? For, behold, the wicked bend their bows. They set their arrows on the strings, that they may shoot in darkness at the upright in heart. If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? The LORD is in his holy temple. The LORD is on his throne in heaven. His eyes observe. His eyes examine the children of men. The LORD examines the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and him who loves violence. On the wicked he will rain blazing coals; fire, sulphur, and scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup. For the LORD is righteous. He loves righteousness. The upright shall see his face.”

God is omniscient. He sees all. And He is righteous in all His judgments, both in this life and the next. We can trust Him and take refuge in Him. He is our foundation! And we’re reminded about something special that those who know Him will experience one day.

Revelation 22:1-5 “He showed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On this side of the river and on that was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruits, yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. There will be no curse any more. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no night, and they need no lamp light or sun light; for the Lord God will illuminate them. They will reign forever and ever.”

For additional worship: Psalm 11 (Yahweh Loves Justice) [feat. Nick Poppens]

Psalm 10:12-18 “Arise, LORD! God, lift up your hand! Don’t forget the helpless. Why does the wicked person condemn God, and say in his heart, ‘God won’t call me into account?’ But you do see trouble and grief. You consider it to take it into your hand. You help the victim and the fatherless. Break the arm of the wicked. As for the evil man, seek out his wickedness until you find none. The LORD is King forever and ever! The nations will perish out of his land. LORD, you have heard the desire of the humble. You will prepare their heart. You will cause your ear to hear, to judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that man who is of the earth may terrify no more.”

The plight of the persecuted righteous should cause God’s people to call out to Him. And they should be assured that God will hear! God will take up the cause of the oppressed and judge the unrighteous. God will heal His land, because He is King forever and ever!

We too are faced with unrighteousness in this world. We see believers suffering at the hands of unbelievers, and we need to cry out to God for their safety and wellbeing.

Ephesians 6:17-20 “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; with all prayer and requests, praying at all times in the Spirit, and being watchful to this end in all perseverance and requests for all the saints. Pray for me, that utterance may be given to me in opening my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the Good News, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”

For additional worship: Rejoice The Lord Is King (Lyric Video)

Psalm 10:7-11 “His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue are mischief and iniquity. He sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places he murders the innocent. His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless; he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket; he lurks that he may seize the poor; he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net. The helpless are crushed, sink down, and fall by his might. He says in his heart, “God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”

There is a false sense of security that comes when you get away with evil. But it’s a false sense. Revelation teaches us that evil doesn’t win!

But there is even more here. A part of this passage is used in the New Testament to remind us that this is the natural state of anyone who doesn’t have a relationship with God. People aren’t drawn to do good!

Romans 3:10-18 “as it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.’”

I hope that you can rejoice today that you have a relationship with God, that you are drawn to do good, and that you have nothing to fear in the judgment.

For additional worship: Psalm 10 (Yahweh Is King Forever) [feat. Jon DeGroot]

Psalm 10:1-6 “Why do you stand far off, LORD? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? In arrogance, the wicked hunt down the weak. They are caught in the schemes that they devise. For the wicked boasts of his heart’s cravings. He blesses the greedy and condemns the LORD. The wicked, in the pride of his face, has no room in his thoughts for God. His ways are prosperous at all times. He is arrogant, and your laws are far from his sight. As for all his adversaries, he sneers at them. He says in his heart, ‘I shall not be shaken. For generations I shall have no trouble.’”

Psalm 10 is a psalm of lament. A lament is a cry out to God for immediate help. A frequent refrain in laments is “why?” Why is it taking God so long to intervene? Why isn’t God acting right now? Why isn’t God punishing the wicked? Why isn’t God helping the righteous? Why isn’t the wicked concerned about judgment? Where Psalm 9 was concerned more about an outside threat, here the concern seems to be threats from closer to home. Not an invading army, but perhaps an unjust judge. An evil neighbor. The ungodly rich.

Does God’s seeming lack of concern ever bother you? Do you long for Him to intervene? He may soon, but He will later. Justice and judgement on all is a certainty. It just doesn’t always happen in this life. Sometimes it does, but sometimes we have to wait.

Psalm 27:14 “Wait for the LORD. Be strong, and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for the LORD.”

For additional worship: “Why doth the Lord stand off so far?” (Isaac Watts)

Why doth the Lord depart so far,
And why conceal his face,
When great calamities appear,
and times of deep distress?

Lord, shall the wicked still deride
Thy justice and the laws?
Shall they advance their heads in pride,
And slight their righteous cause?

They cast thy judgments from their sight
And then insult the poor;
They boast in their exalted height,
That they shall fall no more.

Arise, O God, lift up thine hand
Attend our humble cry;
No enemy shall dare to stand,
When God ascends on high.

Why do the men of malice rage,
And say with foolish pride,
The God of heav'n will ne'er engage
To fight on Zion's side?

But thou for ever art our Lord;
And pow'rful is thine hand,
As when the Heathens felt thy sword,
And perish'd from thy land.

Thou wilt prepare our hearts to pray,
And cause thine ear to hear;
Accept the vows thy children pay,
And free thy saints from fear.

Proud tyrants shall no more oppress,
No more despise the just;
And mighty sinners shall confess,
They are but earth and dust.