Psalm 95 is an invitation to worship God. The writer wanted his people, the people of Israel and Judah, to worship the Lord for His greatness and kindness. He invited them to worship rather than to participate in the faithlessness of their ancestors, the ancestors who murmured against God and Moses when they couldn’t find water in the wilderness at Massah and Meribah (Exo 17).

Psalm 94 contrasts the foolish wicked man with the man who accepts God’s instruction. The foolish man commits evil acts and thinks God does not see. He is a fool because God sees everything, and He will have His day of vengeance. The wise man heeds God’s commands and trusts in God to protect Him from the threats of the wicked.

Psalm 93 is a psalm of praise worshiping God for being an eternal king whose throne cannot be touched by the chaos of the earth. God’s power is said to be even greater than that of the raging seas. His throne is untouchable, eternal, and is marked by trustworthiness and holiness.

Psalm 92 is a psalm celebrating God’s love, faithfulness, and all-wise nature. The psalmist contrasts the “stupid man” against the vast wisdom of God. Foolish evil men spring up like the grass but are quickly wiped away, but those who make their home in the house of God flourish under His blessing.

Psalm 91 is all about God’s perfect protection of those who trust in Him. No adversary can overcome one of God’s saints while they take refuge in the “shadow of the Almighty. The Lord can protect against various dangers, including snares, enemies, diseases, pestilence, terrors, arrows, destructions, plagues, stumblings, lions, and adders.

Psalm 90, which was written by Moses, reflects on the eternality of God and the short life of human beings. Moses’ prayer was that God would give his people the wisdom to “number their days.” He asked for God’s blessing on the people, that God would replace the hard days of their past with days of gladness.

Psalm 89 begins with the author recalling the history of the covenant God made with David and his descendants. God promised to establish the throne of David forever and care for his children so long as they followed His law. The second half of the chapter describes a period of crisis during which the descendants of David were anxiously awaiting God to keep the promises He had made to David and deliver them from their trouble.

Psalm 88 is a sad psalm. Written by Heman the Ezrahite, Psalm 88 is a cry to the Lord for help with a prolonged period of sadness and suffering. The psalmist felt abandoned, both by the Lord and his friends, and He desperately wanted to know from God how long his misery would last.

Psalm 87 is a celebration of the city of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was God’s favored city among all those in the Promised Land. He exalted the city by His power, and those born within her walls were privileged to say they were born in the City of God.

Psalm 86 was written by David, and it is a straightforward plea for God’s help in a day of trouble. David asked for God’s help, mercy, grace, and encouragement to get him through a time of oppression brought on by insolent and godless men.

How often do we miss the goodness of God shown to us in His creation, because our eyes are so weary or tired, or stuck in tunnel vision, as we attempt to live life through the lens of survival mode?

After a period of sin and repentance, the author of Psalm 85 asks the Lord to show mercy to his people. He asked God to turn away His anger from their nation and restore their land. He longed for God’s salvation, and to see faithfulness springing up from the ground and righteousness filling the sky (85:11).

When we experience inconveniences, the enemy loves it because he knows our flesh is strong and often wants us react impulsively and when we do not have the capacity to handle annoyances, we can very easily be pushed into negativity, resentment, feeling constantly annoyed, on edge, and irritable and it comes out in our actions and encounters with others (we blame, we shame, or we avoid + shut down).

But very often it is in the moments that we choose to pause, and accept the invitation to tend to and refine ourselves, and grow our capacity, the Spirit will invite us into a moment of sanctification, a prompting to put a pause on old patterns and to choose to create new ones, by making new choices, which creates new neural pathways, and leads to different actions, responses, and outcomes.

The sons of Korah dedicated Psalm 84 to talking about their love for being in the presence of God, specifically the Temple in Jerusalem. According to them, there was no better place to be, and those who travelled to Jerusalem to worship at the Temple had their footsteps blessed by God. They wrote that a day in God’s courts as a servant (doorkeeper) was better than any day living with the wicked.

The process of sanctification and spiritual formation is not comfortable, but the end results are so rewarding when we choose to bravely yield to the process.

In Psalm 83, Asaph, the author, asked God to fight against the nations that wanted to destroy Israel. They wanted to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. Asaph called on God to give His people the victory, and to shame the enemies so they would know that the Lord alone is the “Most High over all the earth.”

Psalm 82 pictures God sitting in His divine council assessing the work of those to whom He has delegated authority on earth. He looks at the rulers of the nations in disappointment, seeing that they have been oppressors rather than helpers of the oppressed. God reminds them that they are not eternal like Him, they will die and be called into judgement for their actions.

An unfortunate truth in today’s society is that our food choices, our hunger cues, our taste buds and neurotransmitters are being hijacked by the food industry, addictive ingredients, marketing, chronic stress, + diet culture.

This is a spiritual battle. Our mind, bodies, and spirit are interconnected...Let's talk about it!

Psalm 81 begins with the psalmist calling on the people of Israel to worship God according to His law, to sing to Him and celebrate the prescribed holy days. As the Israelites were preparing to celebrate these feast days, the psalmist wanted them to look back at their history and the promises God had made to their nation. He encouraged them to give their hearts solely to God and worship Him alone.

In Psalm 80, the psalmist compares the nation of Israel to a vine. The vine once flourished in the care of God, but God had turned His back on the vine, leaving it to be burned, because of the sins of the people. The psalmist, sensing that Israel was ready to repent, asked God to restore the vine and to make His face shine on His people once again.