David cries out to God for help and strength. He asks God to punish evildoers with the justice they deserve for their wickedness. He concludes Psalm 28 with a prayer for God to strengthen His people, the nation of Israel, to shepherd them and save them from their enemies.

David starts Psalm 27 with an expression of fearlessness, not because he was so strong, but because he had nothing to fear when God was fighting for him. He loved being in God’s presence, worshiping, and walking according to God’s guidance. David prays for the Lord’s continued blessings on his life and expresses his confidence that God will be there for him in the future.

David wanted the Lord to vindicate him and to show the world that those who trust in God’s salvation are doing the right thing. In Psalm 26, David expressed his trust in God’s grace as his firm foundation. Those who loved evil built their houses on sand, but David’s house would not be swept away, because it was founded on the rock of God.

Psalm 25 is a meditation of David in which he reaches out to the Lord for 3 primary things, (1) deliverance from trials and enemies, (2) forgiveness of sins, and (3) teaching in the way of righteousness.

Psalm 24 begins with David acknowledging that the whole earth belongs to God. “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof” (24:1). He then poses a question about the characteristics of a man who God will accept into His presence. The Psalm concludes with David inviting the gates (perhaps of Jerusalem) to swing open so the King of glory can fill the city.

Psalm 23 is one of the most well-known passages in the entire Bible. In Psalm 23, David presents God as a good shepherd who leads His people to places of safety and peace. He guides His sheep through the valley of the shadow of death and sets them at a table of abundant blessings.

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” These are the iconic opening words of Psalm 22. The Psalmist feels as if God is far off, distant, and not by his side to give him aid. The Psalmist is surrounded by strong enemies and his fighting strength is spent. But at the end of Psalm 22, the Psalmist expresses his confidence that God, the King of the world, will provide him with salvation. 

Psalm 21 can be broken down into two parts. In the first part, David rejoices in God for making him king. He acknowledges that his reign and riches come from God, and that without God he is nothing. In the second part of the psalm, David declares that God will seek out and destroy all His enemies. No enemy of God will escape His power.

In Psalm 20, David appears to record a prayer and blessing that his people spoke over him. The people pray for God to give David success with his goals and to protect him in days of trouble. The end of this psalm contains the people’s famous statement of faith, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

Psalm 19 begins with the famous words, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.” The creation spoke to David of God’s existence. Later in the psalm he praises God for giving men his commands, precepts, and laws, whereby men can live upright and holy lives.

Psalm 18 was written after God delivered David from the hand of King Saul, who was trying to kill him. David writes in figurative language about God’s salvation and about how God empowered him in his victories. The most famous verse in Psalm 18 is probably verse 3. It reads, “I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.”

Psalm 17 is another plea from David to God for vindication and protection from enemies. David was trying to live an upright and righteous life, but he was surrounded by evil men who didn’t fear God. David asked God to confront them and subdue them. They only cared about the physical world. In contrast, David’s eyes were focused on life with God.

Psalm 16 is an expression of David’s confidence and satisfaction in the Lord. He expresses his confidence that God will take care of him in his earthly life and after his death. At the end of Psalm 16, David prophesies about Jesus, God’s Holy One, and His future victorious resurrection. Peter quotes from Psalm 16 in Acts 2:25-28.

In Psalm 15, David writes about those who enjoy the privilege of fellowship with God. The upright and righteous man is approved by God and will find a home in His presence. David lists a number of attributes men should strive for in order to live a goldy life.

In Psalm 14, David speaks out against those who don’t acknowledge God and live evil lies. He writes, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” While they refuse to acknowledge God, they live in constant fear of His reality and the support He gives to those who love Him.

In Psalm 13, David writes about his distress after a long oppression from his enemies. He is tempted to believe God has abandoned him because God’s deliverance has been so long in coming. But David did not buy into the lie that God had forgotten him. He concludes the Psalm by expressing his confidence that God will once again provide him salvation from his trouble. He concludes by saying, “I will sing to the Lord, because He has looked after me” (13:6, NASB).

David is discouraged by the lack of upright men and the abundance of wicked men in the world. He specifically mentions the prevalence of liars and men whose words have malicious motives. He calls on God to punish these evil men and protect those victimized by them.

In Psalm 11, David finds himself in a troubling situation with his adversaries. His advisors encourage him to “flee like a bird” to safety, but David’s trust is in the Lord. He stands his ground and cries out to the Lord deliverance.

The psalmist begins Psalm 10 expressing his frustration that the wicked flourish on the earth despite their rebellion against God and crimes against their fellow man. This is a natural frustration experienced by many people. At the end of the Psalm, the writer concludes that God is not indifferent to evil and He will certainly judge evil men, even if He doesn’t do it as swiftly as we might want or expect.

David begins the Psalm 9 praising God for His previous deeds, specifically His deliverance of David from his enemies. David presented God as the afflicter of the evil man, and the avenger of the afflicted man. He encouraged people to “sing praises to the Lord” for this characteristic. Towards the end of the psalm, we see a statement of optimism about the future. David writes, “For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever” (9:18).