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The troubles of my heart have multiplied; free me from my anguish. Psalm 25:17 Although it is true that faith brings peace, yet it does not always bring it instantaneously. There may be certain reasons calling for the trial of faith, rather than the reward of faith. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, 1834-92, British Reformed Baptist Look on my affliction and my pain, And forgive all my sins. Psalm 25:18 Anxiety makes us doubt God’s loving-kindness, and thus our love to Him grows cold; we feel mistrust, and thus grieve the Spirit of God, so that our prayers become hindered, our…  ( Click for more )

(the man who awes God) His soul shall abide in good. Psalm 25:13a Many things occur to make us uneasy, but there is enough in God’s grace to counterbalance them all and to make us easy. Matthew Henry, 1662-1714, was a Welsh-born, English nonconformist minister and Bible commentator (the man who awes God) . his seed shall inherit the earth. Psalm 25:13b Do you realize that your walk with God could affect many future generations? How many of your descendants could be blessed because you agreed to be a link to a new cycle of faithfulness to God. Beth Moore, b.1957, Christian…  ( Click for more )

He will guide the meek in justice. Psalm 25:9a Humility makes us ready to be blessed by the God of all grace, and fits us to deal efficiently with our fellow men. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, 1834-92, British Reformed Baptist, highly influential amongst Christians of different denominations

He will teach the meek His way. Psalm 25:9b It is what we think we know already that often prevents us from learning. Claude Bernard 1813-78 French physiologist, 1952-2001, English novelist

All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful for those keeping His covenant and His…  ( Click for more )

O Lord; Teach me Your paths. Psalm 25:4b Do not be ashamed to learn, and to cast aside your old doctrines and views. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, 1834-92, British Reformed Baptist, highly influential amongst Christians of different denominations

Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day. Psalm 25:5 I cannot recollect a single plan of mine which I have seen reason to be satisfied had it taken place in season and circumstance just as I proposed; it would, humanly speaking, have proved my ruin; or at least it would have…  ( Click for more )

Psalm of David. To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. Psalm 25:1 God looks not at the elegancy of your prayers, to see how neat they are; nor yet at the geometry of your prayers, to see how long they are; nor yet at the arithmetic of your prayers, to see how many they are; nor yet at the music of your prayers, nor yet at the sweetness of your voice, nor yet at the logic of your prayers; but at the sincerity of your prayers, how hearty they are. Thomas Brooks, 1608-81 O my God, I trust in You; do not let me be ashamed; let not my enemies triumph over me. Psalm 25:2 Lord, give…  ( Click for more )

This is the generation of those seeking Him; they seek Your face, O God of Jacob. Selah. Psalm 24:6 Really awakened souls seek the Lord above everything, and as this is not the usual desire of mankind, they constitute a generation by themselves; a people beloved of God. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, 1834-92 Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Psalm 24:7 God is not a power or principle or law, but he is a living, creating, communicating person - a mind who thinks, a heart who feels, a will who acts. Robert Hamill …  ( Click for more )

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life. Psalm 23:6a Live expectantly by Who you trust, not by what you fear. http://www.oneliners-and-proverbs.com

I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23:6b God has so manifested himself to me that now it is no longer "if" and "perhaps" but it is positive, eternal, "shall." Charles Haddon Spurgeon, 1834-92

A psalm David. The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. Psalm 24:1 As soon as man began considering himself…  ( Click for more )

(My Shepherd) You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4b How safe are those who are protected by His arm! His eye sees every outward act and searches every inward thought. His people never are unseen. No darkness can conceal His foes. We may confidently trust Him. Henry Law, Exposition of Psalms, 1878

You (My Shepherd) prepare a table before me. Psalm 23:5a Feast at the right table and enjoy what God has prepared.

You (My Shepherd) prepare a table for me before ones vexing me. Psalm 23:5ab

He givethmore grace when the burden grows…  ( Click for more )

(My Shepherd) leads me beside quiet waters. Psalm 23:2b We seek to find peace of mind in the word, the formula, the ritual. The hope is illusion. Benjamin Cardozo, 1870-1938, US supreme court justice, writer

(My Shepherd) restores (returns, refreshes) my soul. Psalm 23:3a The sou lalone, like a neglected harp, Grows out of tune and needs a hand divine. Dwell Thou within it, tune and touch the chords Till every note and string shall answer Thine. Harriet Beecher Stowe 1811-96 (My Shepherd) leads me in the paths of righteousness. Psalm 23:3b Of all human activities,…  ( Click for more )

A psalm of David. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? Psalm 22:1 Is God all-wise? Then the darkest providences have meaning. We will set ourselves as God’s interpreters, and because we cannot make straight lines out of our crooked lot, we think that God has turned our life into inextricable confusion. Parker, 1830–190151 Psalms 22 was not only David’s experience but prophetic of Jesus’ suffering on the cross. O my God, I cry by day, but You do not answer; and in the…  ( Click for more )

David was weeping and lamenting over (the death of) Absalom. So the victory that day was turned into mourning for all the people (felt ashamed). 2 Samuel 19:1-3

Although sorrow can overwhelm, there are those who still depend on us.

Joab (to David) Today you have disgraced all your servants who today have saved your life (and family’s). Now therefore, arise, go out and speak comfort to your servants. .if you do not go out, not one will stay with you this night. 2 Samuel 19:5-7

If you want to get an idea across, wrap it up in a person or people (Perhaps…  ( Click for more )

(As Absalom’s large inexperienced army fled before David’s small experienced army) . the woods devoured more people that day than the sword.. 2 Samuel 18:7,8

Military power wins battles, but spiritual power wins wars. General George Catlett Marshall, American military commander during WWII, 1880-1959

(When Absalom got tangled in a tree) Joab and his men struck and killed him (against David’s orders which were not logical to him). 2 Samuel 18:9-15

Some there are who presume so far on their wits that they think themselves capable of measuring…  ( Click for more )

(As David continued to flee), Shobi (former Ammonite enemy – I’ve no reason to help), Machir (formally helped David – I’ve already given) and Barzillai (an old man –I’ve already paid my dues), (brought food and supplies to David and his men) and said, "The people are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness. 2 Samuel 17:27-29

Let us not underestimate how hard it is to be compassionate. Compassion is hard because it requires the inner disposition to go with others to the place where they are weak, vulnerable, lonely, and broken.…  ( Click for more )

Shimei . came out, cursing continuously (charging David with a fearful crime he had never committed) David said (to his men ready to kill Shimei) Let him alone. 2 Samuel 16:5

As long as we know the Scripture, we don’t have to be slaves to our emotional reactions when we confront difficult situations or difficult people; we can respond instead as God’s Word tells us. Henry Blackaby, Christian author

(David’s response to Shimei’s charge of a crime he did not commit on top of his immense pain) It may be . that the Lord will repay me with good…  ( Click for more )

Then (David said to the priests who followed him into exile with the ark of God’s presence). Take the ark of God back into the city… 2 Samuel 15:25a

We will live for Christ fully only when we are willing to be impoverished, if necessary, in order that others might be helped. James Montgomery Boice, Foundations of the Christian Faith

Then (David said) ‘If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, He will bring me back (to Jerusalem and His dwelling place) 2 Samuel 15:25b

He who cannot calmly leave his affairs in God’s hand, but will…  ( Click for more )

Then (David said to the priests who followed him into exile with the ark of God’s presence). Take the ark of God back into the city… 2 Samuel 15:25a

We will live for Christ fully only when we are willing to be impoverished, if necessary, in order that others might be helped. James Montgomery Boice, Foundations of the Christian Faith

Then (David said) ‘If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, He will bring me back (to Jerusalem and His dwelling place) 2 Samuel 15:25b

He who cannot calmly leave his affairs in God’s hand, but will…  ( Click for more )

(after 5 years of estrangement for killing his brother, Absalom requested) let me see the king's face; (saying) if there is iniquity in me, let him execute me. .when (king David, his father) called for Absalom, he came to the king and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king. Then the king kissed Absalom (and Absalom went back to his old life). 2 Samuel 14:32,33 Undue mercy emboldens the unrepentant. Me

(quietly planning a coup, securing military weapons and supporters, criticizing his

father's administration, promising to rule better than David, and…  ( Click for more )

Jonadab (to his uncle David). ‘Only Amnon is dead. because Absalom has been determined since the day that he violated his sister Tamar to kill him.’ 2 Samuel 13:32 Keeping a confidence is virtious, but is outweighed when withholding information can result in suffering and harm.

(after many bitter tears). the spirit of the king David longed to go to Absalom (who had fled for the past 3 years), for David was consoled concerning Amnon's death. 2 Samuel 13:36-39 We achieve inner health through forgiveness—the forgiveness not only of others but also…  ( Click for more )

(after the death of their son of adultery) David went and comforted his wife Bathsheba. .they conceived a son. When he was born they named him Solomon (who would become the next king of Israel). 2 Samuel 12:24a Most laws condemn the soul and pronounce sentence. The result of the law of my God is perfect. It condemns but forgives. It restores - more than abundantly – what it takes away. Jim Elliot

Now the Lord loved (Solomon) and sent word through Nathan the prophet, and he named him Jedidiah (chosen beloved one) for the Lord’s sake. 2 Samuel 1324c, 25 …  ( Click for more )

For the king trusts in the Lord; through the unfailing love of the Most High he will not be shaken. Psalm 21:7 Once I knew what it was to rest upon the rock of God's promises, and it was indeed a precious resting place, but now I rest in His grace. He is teaching me that the bosom of His love is a far sweeter resting-place than even the rock of His promises. Hannah Whitall Smith, 1832-1911, in a letter

In the time of Your presence; Jehovah will swallow (the ungodly) up in His wrath, and the fire will devour them. You shall destroy their fruit from the earth, and their seed…  ( Click for more )

For You will precede him with the blessings of goodness; You set a crown of pure gold on his head. Psalm 21:3 When God's blessings come sooner and prove richer than we imagine, when they are given before we prayed for them, before we were ready for them, nay, when we feared the contrary, then it may be truly said that he (went before) us with them. Matthew Henry, 1662-1714, was a Welsh-born, English nonconformist minister and Bible commentator He (David) asked life from You: You gave to him length of days forever and ever. Psalm 21:4 ‘No, it's not.’ Dietrich…  ( Click for more )

Now I know that Jehovah saves His anointed; He answers him from His holy Heaven with the saving strengths of His right hand. Psalm 20:6 Keep me sensible of my weakness and dependence upon thy strength. The Valley of Vision, Puritan Prayers and Devotions, 1600/1700s Some, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. Psalm 20:7 David saw in God one who was infinitely worthy of his fullest confidence: no matter how critical his circumstances, how desperate his situation, how numerous or powerful his foes, and how great his own weakness, Jehovah was all-sufficient. A.W. Pink…  ( Click for more )

He sends your help from the sanctuary, and upholds you out of Zion. Psalm 20:2 In the secret of God's tabernacle no enemy can find us, and no troubles can reach us. The pride of man and the strife of tongues find no entrance into the pavilion of God where His presence is a more secure refuge than a thousand Gibraltars. Trials may come in abundance, but they cannot penetrate into the sanctuary of the soul, and we may dwell in perfect peace even in the midst of life fiercest storms. Hannah Whitall Smith He will remember all your offerings and make fat your burnt sacrifices.…  ( Click for more )

Keep your servant from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression. Psalm 19:13 We have great need to pray to God, when we are pushing forward towards a presumptuous sin, to keep us back from it, either by his providence preventing the temptation or by his grace giving us victory over it. Matthew Henry, 1662-1714, was a Welsh-born, English nonconformist minister and Bible commentator May the words of my mouth . be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14 I need Thee, O Lord, for a curb on…  ( Click for more )