From Prayer to Confession to Praise – Psalms 32-35

Joy: You’re listening to Season 2 of the Lifting Her Voice podcast.  This is Episode #170 and today we’ll read Psalms 32-35 together.   Better mark this one.  It takes us seamlessly from prayer, to confession, to praise.  

Welcome

Welcome to the Lifting Her Voice podcast, Season 2!  I’m your host, Joy Miller, and I invite you to grab your Bible and join me – from the beginning – simply reading God’s word together.  We built some spiritual muscles in 2020 with just the New Testament.  But this year we’re going all out, cover-to-cover, Old Testament and New.  So, whether with your first cup in the morning, your commute to work, or as the last thing on your mind before sleep, God’s Word will equip you for every good work.  I’m really glad you’re here!

Psalm 32

The Joy of Forgiveness

Of David. A Maskil.

How joyful is the one

whose transgression is forgiven,

whose sin is covered!

How joyful is a person whom

the Lord does not charge with iniquity

and in whose spirit is no deceit!

When I kept silent, my bones became brittle

from my groaning all day long.

For day and night your hand was heavy on me;

my strength was drained

as in the summer’s heat.

Selah

Then I acknowledged my sin to you

and did not conceal my iniquity.

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”

and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Selah

Therefore let everyone who is faithful pray to you immediately.

When great floodwaters come,

they will not reach him.

You are my hiding place;

you protect me from trouble.

You surround me with joyful shouts of deliverance.

Selah

I will instruct you and show you the way to go;

with my eye on you, I will give counsel.

Do not be like a horse or mule,

without understanding,

that must be controlled with bit and bridle

or else it will not come near you.

Many pains come to the wicked,

but the one who trusts in the Lord

will have faithful love surrounding him.

Be glad in the Lord and rejoice,

you righteous ones;

shout for joy,

all you upright in heart.

Psalm 33

Praise to the Creator

Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous ones;

praise from the upright is beautiful.

Praise the Lord with the lyre;

make music to him with a ten-stringed harp.

Sing a new song to him;

play skillfully on the strings, with a joyful shout.

For the word of the Lord is right,

and all his work is trustworthy.

He loves righteousness and justice;

the earth is full of the Lord’s unfailing love.

The heavens were made by the word of the Lord,

and all the stars, by the breath of his mouth.

He gathers the water of the sea into a heap;

he puts the depths into storehouses.

Let the whole earth fear the Lord;

let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.

For he spoke, and it came into being;

he commanded, and it came into existence.

The Lord frustrates the counsel of the nations;

he thwarts the plans of the peoples.

The counsel of the Lord stands forever,

the plans of his heart from generation to generation.

Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord —

the people he has chosen to be his own possession!

Help and Shield

The Lord looks down from heaven;

he observes everyone.

He gazes on all the inhabitants of the earth

from his dwelling place.

He forms the hearts of them all;

he considers all their works.

A king is not saved by a large army;

a warrior will not be rescued by great strength.

The horse is a false hope for safety;

it provides no escape by its great power.

But look, the Lord keeps his eye on those who fear him —

those who depend on his faithful love

to rescue them from death

and to keep them alive in famine.

We wait for the Lord;

he is our help and shield.

For our hearts rejoice in him

because we trust in his holy name.

May your faithful love rest on us, Lord,

for we put our hope in you.

Psalm 34

The Lord Delivers the Righteous

Concerning David, when he pretended to be insane in the presence of Abimelech, who drove him out, and he departed.

I will bless the Lord at all times;

his praise will always be on my lips.

I will boast in the Lord;

the humble will hear and be glad.

Proclaim the Lord’s greatness with me;

let us exalt his name together.

I sought the Lord, and he answered me

and rescued me from all my fears.

Those who look to him are radiant with joy;

their faces will never be ashamed.

This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him

and saved him from all his troubles.

The angel of the Lord encamps

around those who fear him, and rescues them.

Taste and see that the Lord is good.

How happy is the person who takes refuge in him!

You who are his holy ones, fear the Lord,

for those who fear him lack nothing.

Young lions lack food and go hungry,

but those who seek the Lord

will not lack any good thing.

Come, children, listen to me;

I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

Who is someone who desires life,

loving a long life to enjoy what is good?

Keep your tongue from evil

and your lips from deceitful speech.

Turn away from evil and do what is good;

seek peace and pursue it.

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,

and his ears are open to their cry for help.

The face of the Lord is set

against those who do what is evil,

to remove all memory of them from the earth.

The Lord Redeems

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears,

and rescues them from all their troubles.

The Lord is near the brokenhearted;

he saves those crushed in spirit.

One who is righteous has many adversities,

but the Lord rescues him from them all.

He protects all his bones;

not one of them is broken.

Evil brings death to the wicked,

and those who hate the righteous will be punished.

The Lord redeems the life of his servants,

and all who take refuge in him will not be punished.

Psalm 35

Prayer for Victory

Of David.

Oppose my opponents, Lord;

fight those who fight me.

Take your shields — large and small —

and come to my aid.

Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers,

and assure me, “I am your deliverance.”

Let those who intend to take my life

be disgraced and humiliated;

let those who plan to harm me

be turned back and ashamed.

Let them be like chaff in the wind,

with the angel of the Lord driving them away.

Let their way be dark and slippery,

with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.

They hid their net for me without cause;

they dug a pit for me without cause.

Let ruin come on him unexpectedly,

and let the net that he hid ensnare him;

let him fall into it — to his ruin.

Then I will rejoice in the Lord;

I will delight in his deliverance.

All my bones will say,

“Lord, who is like you,

rescuing the poor from one too strong for him,

the poor or the needy from one who robs him?”

Malicious witnesses come forward;

they question me about things I do not know.

They repay me evil for good,

making me desolate.

Yet when they were sick,

my clothing was sackcloth;

I humbled myself with fasting,

and my prayer was genuine.

I went about mourning as if for my friend or brother;

I was bowed down with grief,

like one mourning for a mother.

But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee;

they gathered against me.

Assailants I did not know

tore at me and did not stop.

With godless mockery

they gnashed their teeth at me.

Lord, how long will you look on?

Vindicate Me

Rescue me from their ravages;

rescue my precious life from the young lions.

I will praise you in the great assembly;

I will exalt you among many people.

Do not let my deceitful enemies rejoice over me;

do not let those who hate me without cause

wink at me maliciously.

For they do not speak in friendly ways,

but contrive fraudulent schemes

against those who live peacefully in the land.

They open their mouths wide against me and say,

“Aha, aha! We saw it!”

You saw it, Lord; do not be silent.

Lord, do not be far from me.

Wake up and rise to my defense,

to my cause, my God and my Lord!

Vindicate me, Lord my God,

in keeping with your righteousness,

and do not let them rejoice over me.

Do not let them say in their hearts,

“Aha! Just what we wanted.”

Do not let them say,

“We have swallowed him up!”

Let those who rejoice at my misfortune

be disgraced and humiliated;

let those who exalt themselves over me

be clothed with shame and reproach.

Let those who want my vindication

shout for joy and be glad;

let them continually say,

“The Lord be exalted.

He takes pleasure in his servant’s well-being.”

And my tongue will proclaim your righteousness,

your praise all day long.

Close

My, oh, my.  I can see from Psalm 34 that Peter knew his psalms.  In 1 Peter 3:8-12, he repeats David’s wisdom almost word for word…check it out!

Verse seven of Psalm 34 also gives me basis for the prayer I pray over Mitch every time he’s driving away from me.  The prayer always starts this way:  Father God, encamp Your angels around Mitch and keep him safe.  Don’t allow any harm to come to him or his car.  I love finding the source of what I say in the Bible.  

I thought Psalm 32 sounded a lot like 51!  We haven’t read 51 yet, but -spoiler alert – it’s the psalm David wrote after he was confronted by Nathan regarding his sin with Bathsheba.  According to John MacArthur, they “stand out as confessional giants.”  I would agree with that.  And if you’re like me and have those times when wisdom dictates you take the position on your knees and have an honest talk with God about your sin, this is a pretty good prayer to set the tone.  And I think I’ll end my next session reading Psalm 33, an awesome song of praise.  What do you think?  Good plan?  Let me know at Lifting Her Voice.com, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

See You Tomorrow!

Thank you for joining me here today.  I pray that by spending time in His Word every day, you will by changed.  Visit me at Lifting Her Voice.com with your comments and questions.  And don’t forget to visit the Blog page while you’re there.  If you like the podcast, it would be great if you’d give it a five-star review and share it with everyone you know.  Don’t forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.  See you tomorrow!

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian Standard Bible(r), Copyright (c) 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible(r) and CSB(r) are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.