Psalms 58

3 The wicked are estranged from the womb;
they go astray from birth, speaking lies.
4 They have venom like the venom of a serpent,
like the deaf adder that stops its ear,
5 so that it does not hear the voice of charmers
or of the cunning enchanter.

6 O God, break the teeth in their mouths;

Here is David speaking about the wicked and how they administer justice without hearing from the Charmer (God). 

How often is that the case in my life. I turn a deaf ear to God and his commands only to administer venom to those around me.

Father God, may I be entranced by your words. May you be my Charmer and that my actions are not my own, but a reflection of you commands. And if...when I do fail to hear your commands, may you break my teeth to prevent me from injecting the venom of indifference and pride into those around me.

Psalms 57

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
till the storms of destruction pass by.

How fitting is this verse seeing as Hurricane Gustav is just hours away from making landfall. But, may I not only take refuge during the physical hurricanes and storms, but also the internal storms that plague my heart.

May I run to him just like the way Dylan runs to me for peace and protection.

Psalms 55

6 And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest;
7 yes, I would wander far away;
I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah
8 I would hurry to find a shelter
from the raging wind and tempest.”

I have to say this has been my prayer for a while now. That I could just fly away from the problems and crap of this world. But, David finds a better solution than growing wings and flying away.

16 But I call to God,
and the Lord will save me.
17 Evening and morning and at noon
I utter my complaint and moan,
and he hears my voice.
18 He redeems my soul in safety
from the battle that I wage,
for many are arrayed against me.
19 God will give ear and humble them,
he who is enthroned from of old, Selah
because they do not change
and do not fear God.

May I take rest in knowing that my salvation from trials and the crap of this world is in my God.

Psalms 54

What a great before and after picture. 

Verses 1-3 are David's plea to God for deliverance from the ruthless strangers that have sought to kill him.

But, then you see Selah.  Selah is a pause or break. So you have this break or a musical buildup and then the clincher..

Verses 4-7 proclaim God's faithfulness to deliver. God continues to be the "upholder of my life".

Even today we have those that come up against us. Those that try to destroy us and bring us down. But, remember that God is there to give strength, just like he did to David and Christ.

Psalms 52

Let me not get discouraged when my critics, enemies, and myself try to bring me down. May I find my hope in the presence of the  Lord. 

May i be a olive tree in the house of God!!!

Psalms 51

What a song of hope!

Here we have David crying out for forgiveness for having sex with Bathsheba, getting her pregnant, and having her husband (Uriah) killed.

And my first thought is how could God forgive David for this? The same way I wonder how God can forgive a rapist, murder, or homosexual. 

Right?

But God forgives David the rapist, and forgives David the murder. But how? How can a holy God blot out,wash, and cleanse such sin!?!?

This is due to Christ and the the cross he bore. Romans 3 says Christ was the propitiation for my sins.

Salvation does not make me perfect (yet!!), but it does provide a covering for my sins. So that when God looks at me and my heart full of sin he sees Christ and his blood that has covered my sin. And when he looks at Christ on the cross he sees my sins.

So the words of the great hymn have even ore power in this light.

"My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness"