Psalm 9

[The first few lines of Psalm 9 are hard to mess with. To me they speak volumes as they are. - DW]

For the director of music. To the tune of "The Death of the Son." A psalm of David.
¹ I will praise You, Jesus, with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonders. ² I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

³ You repel my enemies; they trip and fall, and cannot withstand even Your sight. ⁴ For I have maintained Your cause as my own; You have sat on Your throne, and judged my enemies according to Your divine will.

⁵ Nations and the wicked who do not align themselves with You are destroyed and their very existence is removed from the annals of history. ⁶ These enemies see complete and utter ruin; their cities annihilated; no one who remains alive will even the remember their name.

⁷ Jesus, You reign forever; You have created Your holy throne from which You can judge through Your holiness.⁸ You will judge everyone based on Your rules; You will govern the remaining Holy nations with justice.

⁹ Jesus, please be a refuge for all of us, especially those in the most need; be a strong foothold in this slippery world. ¹⁰ We know Your name! We will trust in You, for you, Jesus, have never forgot us as we continue to seek You. ¹¹ We will sing praises to You Jesus, enthroned above all the earth; We will shout out loud so everyone will know all of the good You have done. ¹² For even as You destroy our enemies, You will remember our need; You won't ignore us.

¹³ Jesus, as a part of your grand plan sometimes I have enemies that seem to overwhelm me. Even when I fall away from you, remember me and lift me from this condition ¹⁴ that I can again sing your praises and be delighted in Your presence forever.

¹⁵ We on earth constantly fall into holes that we ourselves have dug; we become trapped in the snares of life. ¹⁶ We know You Jesus by Your justice; please let only our enemies be trapped in this way. ¹⁷ Those evil ones will know only death, including all the nations who never learn that You are God. ¹⁸ But through Your great understanding those in need will always be remembered and helped; You will sustain our hope forever.

¹⁹ Come back to us Jesus; everyone should be judged through Your eyes, yes every last nation and soul. ²⁰ Don't let us ever forget that we are just humble men, and that You are God.

In Your Praise!

Psalm 8

There are a few popular praise songs based on this Psalm. V1 "Majestic" ; V5: "Friend of God" (paraphrased a bit, of course). And we can't forget V2 on which we base the famous cliche, "out of the mouth of babes."

¹ O LORD, my Lord, how I love to sing Your name above all things, over all the earth! Indeed, I also sing of Your praise and glory to the very heavens above ² Even the little ones, the children, sing Your praise.

³ When I look at all of the wondrous works You have made, above, below, and everything between, ⁴ I see that you pay attention to me, just a man, and that You also sent Jesus, the son of man, and You care for us each equally? ⁵ You made Jesus, a man, yes, but He is still crowned him with all the glory and and all the honor. ¹⁶ You made Him ruler over all Your works and everything over and under heaven and earth: ⁷ all the animals, who walk, crawl; ⁸ and also those that fly and swim.

⁹ O LORD, my Lord, how I love to sing Your name above all things, over all the earth!

Psalm 7

A shiggaion of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning Cush, a Benjamite.
¹ LORD and God, wrap yourself around me; I need protection from my enemies, ² who will rip out my heart without You there to help. ³ LORD and God, if you ever catch me treating anyone this way, ⁴ if I have done this kind of evil to any of my friends, ⁵ You can give me over to them whom I have wronged; I do not deserve to live. Hear me!

⁶ O LORD, You are strong in Your anger, and it will stand against the anger of my enemies. Yes, stand up and bring them to Your justice. ⁷ Use that justice to rule over the people as You see best, You be their judge, and also my judge. Hold me accountable to the degree of my righteousness and integrity.⁹ You are the righteous God, You know our thoughts and feelings, don't let our evil continue. Make us secure in our righteousness. ¹⁰ I need You to protect me LORD.
¹¹ You are the righteous judge, You never fail to show us your wrath, and You need to do this often.
¹² If my enemy is allowed to continue he will assemble his evil weaponry. ¹⁴ He exudes evil and his every thought is towards deception and deceit. ¹⁵ But he also falls into his own traps. All the trouble he causes will come around to him again. It eventually will fall on his own head.

¹⁷ I will sing thanks and praise to You O LORD. You are deserving, and I will praise You.

Psalm 6

David is in a bad way again. Sometimes it is almost sad. This guy had the world by the tail. Got everything he desired. Was pretty well connected with God, and yet still penned poetry like this.

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. According to sheminith.

¹LORD, please do not punish me in anger. ²Let Your mercy fall down on me LORD, in my weakness I could really use some of You right now; O LORD, touch me and make me better. I am in pain down to my very bones. ³My soul is in no better shape than my body. Why this O LORD, why me, why now, when will it end? ⁴O LORD, will You change your mind and bring me back to You? You can save me with the love that last forever.
⁵When all people are dead, how can we still praise You? Who will sing of Your glory if we are all lying in the grave?
⁶This weariness has eroded my soul. I am worn out from this pain and sadness; my constant tears are enough to wash away everything I have. At night these tears nearly flood my bed. ⁷As I look around, I see only more sadness; I cannot take the sight of all my enemies. ⁸Leave me, you enemies and you evil ones, the LORD is on my side. He has heard of my woes ⁹and He will grant me mercy; He listens to my prayers. ¹⁰Just the knowledge of this will discourage and humiliate my enemies; their dishonor will be quick and devastating.

Psalm 5

I can only read v1-3 in KJV and think of the worship song. (here's the chords). Amazing, spiritual, connecting.

For the director of music. For flutes. A psalm of David.
¹Please listen to me, O LORD, my head is in a place where all I have is You right now. ²I cry out for Your help, my King and God. I pray to You ³from the start of the day to the end. O LORD, I know You hear me and listen to me; I put my prayers before You and then wait in expectation while You do what is best for me.

⁴For You do not get any pleasure from doing evil, or even being in the presence of evil. Evil cannot stand to be close to You. ⁵Likewise the arrogant cannot be near You; all who do wrong find themselves in a similar fate: without You. ⁶Lying, deceitful behavior, all this you do not tolerate. People who act this way and do these things are destroyed for You despise them.

⁷Because of Your great mercy, I get the chance to enter Your house and be with You. When I am there I will show You all the reverence that You deserve. ⁸Lead me to that place, O LORD; I do have enemies, but help me to remain righteous in spite of them. Show me the fastest way that leads to You.

⁹As for my enemies, I don't trust them, and neither should You. Inside, they are consumed with evil and malice. Their hearts, words, and deeds are altogether evil. ¹⁰I think they are guilty, O God! You should declare them so! By their own words they will condemn themselves. Don't stop them! Punish them for their sins.

¹¹For those who follow You, let us always have joy, and sing out loud of Your goodness. Protect us with Your love, so that we may continue to sing Your praise. I know You can do this, ¹²for surely, O LORD, You will always be with we who are righteous; wrap us in Your loving arms, and protect us from all harm.

Psalm 4

The NIV intro to this one says:
"For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of David."
So, David, and stringed instruments. This one is tailor made.

¹I will call out for relief from this life, God. I wish it could always be easy. Please hear me. Please be merciful, and don't give me what I deserve. You know I usually ask for things You know I don't need or deserve.

²The people out there try to turn me from You. If I really turned away from You I could not live with the shame. How long people? How long will you avoid God, and find other ways for your shallow and temporary fulfillment? Listen to Him! ³The LORD can make you one of His godly people. Those not only of this world, who exist for Him. I hope to be among those godly ones, so when I call out to God He will hear me.

⁴Even when things are not going your way, you should not stoop to sinning. As you lie at night, use this quiet time to look into your heart. Listen to what you hear!

⁵Being godly will sometimes feel like a great sacrifice. Have faith in the LORD that these sacrifices are worth it. They are.

⁶People need to see someone good, someone godly. They sometimes need more evidence for Your goodness. that's OK - please help me to be one that shines Your light upon them. Let them see the light in me. ⁷ When I am successful at this, Your light fills me with great joy LORD! A greater joy than I have ever imagined. No earthly satisfaction compares. ⁸ Your joy allows me to sleep in peace, knowing that You LORD will be with me, and cover me with Your safety.

Psalm 3

Here is one where David is in a very bad way. His son is trying to kill him. In these verses "my enemies" is hitting pretty close to home. In those days it was not uncommon for a son to usurp the throne by killing a relative, even his own father. But just because it was accepted practice doesn't make it any easier on the father...

For reference: Psalm 3 (NIV)

¹LORD, all around me are people who stand between me and You!
Everywhere I look and everywhere I go, they try to attack me!
²They tell me things, evil things. They say that You will not save me.
³But I know you are always there protecting me LORD;
in Your glory I am raised, and I can boldy lift my head ⁴to You and cry aloud!
You answer me from Your holy place on high. I listen!
⁵Even as I sleep, and then as I wake the LORD is with me, and fills me with all I need.
⁶If my enemies number a million, and I had no escape, I will not fear.
⁷Arise with me LORD, Arise! Save me Jesus, from myself and my enemies!
Break the jaw of my enemies, that they no longer say evil things to me.
Remove the power of my enemies, that they no longer control me.
⁸Jesus is the Savior. Bless me and all the people of the earth.
We hear You.