The late winter days of the Lenten season never seem to be short. Here in southeastern Michigan, the gray skies won’t lift. The cold, damp weather wraps one in a chill that seeps down to the bone. The snow has matched the monochromatic color of the sky so that there is no above and no below. There is no way to escape the gray shadows of my mind and heart. I am a man in a mood from which I need relief.
The blunt honesty of the psalms often provides the awakening I require. They jostle me out of my slumber and stupidity and place me on a higher vantage point by which I can see the world. The opening words of Psalm 92 are a splash of ice-cold water to my face. “It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praise to your name, Most High” (Psalm 92:1). Hear it again, “It is good.” The psalmist beckons me out of my colorless life and into the world of vivid glory and dramatic beauty by putting before me the rightness of remembering and meditating on God.
In this song, a choice is offered. Continue to be the “stupid person” (v.6) who does not consider and meditate on God’s character, His works, and even His kingdom or take to heart God’s expansive majesty. The fool stays in the gray, continuing to live in unexamined ignorance. But the person who recounts and reflects on God’s awesome deeds finds themselves flourishing (vv.12–13).
Even being able to navigate the evil and injustice of a broken world requires the ability to remember and reflect on God. Knowing that the wicked will one day be met with divine justice gives strength to continue holding fast to the Lord in faith. God will have His day of justice. He will make all things right. His eternal kingdom will be established forever.
It is good to give thanks to God. When I fail to consider Him or pause and meditate on His kindness and mercy, I become a self-absorbed, self-centered, self-righteous judge of everything around me. But the psalmist calls us to give thanks, to sing, to praise His name. As we remember and declare His faithful love, His Spirit changes our hearts. His works are magnificent and worthy of our contemplation.
As the winter breaks and the Lenten season draws to its height and conclusion, may the spiritual clouds that sit over our hearts be pushed aside in the light of God’s grace. May we meditate deeply, and as a result, worship joyfully the Triune God who has loved us and given us His Son. May we rest by the still waters of His mercy and flourish, bearing the fruit of praise all the days of our lives.
Written by Jeremy Writebol
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71 thoughts on "Psalms 90–95"
The Lord is the ONLY great God and the GREAT King above ALL gods. He made all that’s on earth and we should praise Him with thanksgiving
Amen
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I was talking to my husband today after supper just terrified by the news (honestly news regarding every inch of this earth). I am a young mom of two and the world is a lot right now for myself (who still feels like an ignorant, naive kid with a lot to learn) let alone my actual kids. I don’t want any evil or darkness to reach them. I tried to stop scrolling and sing worship and speak to God about how I know He wins but would be lying if I didn’t say the anxiety didn’t still linger in my body after all that. After spending far too long scrubbing my dishes, wracking my brain on what could I read in the Bible, I dried my now pruny fingers and decided to just read my lent passages on this app. I just wanted to be in His word and cause I knew anything from Him would be a better start at bringing me peace than scrolling again. Well obviously the Holy Spirit heard me cause these passages couldn’t have been more perfect. These psalms helped me during this time of worry. And even when I think about it closer to my own little bubble. These passages are great to turn to during dark, personal season or tough actual seasons (like winter has been in the PNW). Praise God, find the good, find His light in the dark. He is the refuge. Thank you God for your words. Always perfect and always true and always right on time.
These were beautiful and just what I needed to read today.
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1
Amen ❤️
Psalm 90 has a special place in my heart a well. I struggled with terrible nightmares for years, and they were sneaking into my mind as if it really happened. That I really did the things I dreamt. So whenever I read these verses about protection at night or while sleeping it gripped my heart and held me safe. I later came to understand these dreams to be trauma related. My small group prayed and fasted over this for me and I have never had another dream like this! It’s been about 23 years now of healing. God is so good! He is my rock and protection and Edie’s me I the cleft of the rock!
What a beautiful testimony. Thank you for sharing
Praise be to God! I find that in the darker seasons of life, the ways I have missed opportunities to praise in the joyful season become painfully obvious. In all seasons, God’s love is never ending and He is endlessly worthy of our praise. I got some promising test results today, the Lord has been so kind to me. Why an incredible gift that I could never deserve.
“Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture…” psalm 95:6-7a
Such a good reminder that as good as we want to be we are still/can be self centered. Self absorbed. SelfISH. GOD deserves our praise day in and day out. Amen
My verse today is Psalm 94:22 “But the Lord is my refuge; my God is the rock of my protection.”
This verse reminds me that when life feels uncertain or overwhelming, God is my safe place ❤️
Happy Monday she’s. First off, the devotional today is just so brilliant, full of strength, and wisdom. Thank you PASTOR JEREMY for such an encouragement, and what calmness in your words. I love this: “The fool stays in the gray, continuing to live in unexamined ignorance”- no sugar coating. We need strong words like this. I hope he will write more for SRT in the future. Please do. I pray he will. Thank you for closing with this, “May we rest by the still waters of His mercy and flourish, bearing the fruit of praise all the days of our lives”. Indeed.
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“Oh come, let us worship and bow down
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture
and the sheep of his hand” (Psalm 95: 6-7)
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Be blessed dear sisters.
Praise our Loving God who established the earth! Sisters help me pray for my dad Danilo who is having surgery right now. Please pray for a successful surgery and swift recovery with no complications. Thank you sisters! God bless you all!
praying the surgery went well and for a good recovery ❤️
This was great. It reminds me to set myself where I need to be, and to be in awe of where God truly is. As I was reading this I’m reminded of how God treats the ones who are evil and sin mindlessly. His wrath comes upon them, to us, he has so much grace and mercy that we are so undeserving of.
He is our shelter, let us rest in it.
“May we rest by the still waters of his mercy and flourish, bearing the fruit of praise all the days of our lives.”
Yes Lord, let it be so. ❤️
When I was first diagnosed with cancer a little over seven years ago, Psalm 91:1-2 really spoke to me. It still does. So thankful that I can dwell in the secret place of the Lord and find rest.
Lindsey, I’ve been thinking about memorizing Psalm 91 like you did and now I think I might do that. I know the first two verses so maybe I can get the rest just like you did. Thank you for the encouragement that you didn’t even know you were giving. Haha.
I’m praying for your request as I read them. I’m also specifically praying for our prodigals today.
Lord, please soften the heart of our prodigals, so that they would not be called that anymore. Instead, Lord, I pray that they would find rest in You and have a new name- Child of the King.
Amen
Hi, Tricia! Psalm 91 was also the passage the Lord gifted me when I was diagnosed with cancer 10 years ago. That page in my Bible is so stained with tears. It was also the passage I read to my dying friend in the hospital. All of the Bible is precious, and sometimes the Lord sets aside a more precious promise just for us.
Yes!❤️
Amen Tricia.
Ahh….same. This is where I found/find myself countless times in my cancer journey as well ❤️
Morning, sisters! I read this around 3:30 this morning during some threatening weather. Thankful to be reading Psalm 91 at that time! ❤
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“May we rest by the still waters of His mercy and flourish, bearing the fruit of praise all the days of our lives.”
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That comment took me straight to this song!
SONG SHARE:
Leanna Crawford – Still Waters (Psalm 23) (Music Video)
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want
He leads me by still waters ‘til my fears are gone
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
O I know You are with me
My father, my friend
Your goodness and mercy will follow me all of my days
I know by Your still waters I’m safe
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Love, hugs, and prayers! ❤
Are you having storms where you are? Praying for weather improvement.
Yes all around, but it isn’t doing much here now- moving east – leaving us with a hard freeze tonight. So many trees/shrubs already blooming. :(
This is the most beautifully written devotional.
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Ps95:7 For He is our God, and we are the people of HHi pasture, the sheep under His care.
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Just beautiful…
Truly, Traci! Such a beautiful image of humility. ❤
It is, isn’t it? The choices of words and imagery, metaphor, everything is so brilliant.
“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
Psalms 90:12 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.90.12.NIV
“Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.”
Psalms 90:10 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.90.10.NIV
“The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green,”
Psalms 92:12-14 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.92.12-14.NIV
This year I will turn 70 so these verses have been showing up over and over to me! I praise GIF that no matter our age we can flourish in the house of the Lord and bear fruit!
Praising Him for sending just the right verses to me today!
Praying for all!
Thankful for a good, good Father!
Prayers for requests, spoken and on hearts. Have a blessed day
Happy Monday sweet She’s!
Amen!
About two months ago, my pastor encouraged the congregation to read and memorize psalm 91 and to declare it daily over our houses and families. I’m thankful I took the time to memorize it. I haven’t been declaring it daily, though, and today was a gentle reminder to do so. It also reminds me of the importance of meditating and memorizing scripture. May the Lord deepen my desire to memorize and declare His word.
Welcome to SRT, Sandra! How cool that one of your pastors wrote the devo today. He’s a great writer!
My brother used to read it daily out loud and declare it over house and family. He had it printed on cards that he passed out to anyone along the way.
Todays passages and chapters are ones that carried me in my darkest days and months of life threatening illness. I have previously shared that I would read or listen on audio Psalm 91 over and over again, on repeat hundreds of time a day. There was/is such comfort to me in every circled, underlined sentence of this chapter and in my barley legible writing at that time, I have noted “God’s promises to me.” The actual plague,in my case, a cancerous tumor that physically lurked and was hidden in the darkness for months(vs6) was taking over and dramatically altering my life and oh how I held to these words and they were all I had. The beautiful pictures and imagery, the protection I was envisioning in my minds eye, the comfort I was desperately clinging to was in these verses and I held onto these words with every part of my being.
-abide
-refuge
-fortress
-he will save
-he will deliver
-no plague will destroy
-no disaster
-no harm
-he will cover you
-you will not fear
-he will command his angels
-no evil will come
-I will answer
-I will be with him
I had to constantly remind my heart what I knew to be true of God’s character, who he is. Over and over. vs. 14 “Because he loves me,” says the LORD, I will rescue him…” And he did just that. He rescued and He saved.
Todays passages are just such a great comfort to me; a reminder of his steadfast faithfulness and promises and then also the heartfelt praise, worship and rejoicing in Psalm 95. It is very difficult to articulate how truly thankful I am. He was my only hope. And he still is. I cannot forgot what He is done, and even now with my body now 2+ years into the journey of a reoccurance of cancer, He still is my only hope. He is my refuge and fortess and He covers me. Great is the Lord and He is worthy of praise. Thanks be to God.❤️
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thank you, Wendy, so beautiful.
PRAISE THE LORD!!!
So many good things to glean as I navigate through a very difficult season.
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@Tina – Psalm 90:4, “A thousand years in your sisght are like a day that has just gone by…” just what we were talking about yesterday!
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Teach me to number my days, Lord.
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Cover me with Your feathers, take me under your wing as a mama bird does her chicks.
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You are my refuge.
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It is good to praise the LORD. This I must repeat again and again – It is good to praise the LORD. Yes, It is good to praise the LORD.
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Today may I take my eyes off of myself, off of my circumstances, off of the gloom I feel – and praise the LORD.
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This song will be my reminder today – Oh How Good, by Chris Tomlin. If you haven’t heard it, give a listen – it provokes praise!
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How good, how good, how good it is
Oh-oh-oh
How good, how good, how good it is
Oh-oh-oh
How good, how good, how good it is
Enter His gates with thanks
Enter His courts with praise
Bring Him a shout of joy
Sing of His endless faith
For the Lord is good and His love endures
His love endures forever
We remember this
We remember this
Oh, how good that it is to sing praise to the Lord
Oh, how great is the name above all names
From the rising of the morning sun
To the setting of the same
Oh, how good that it is to sing praise
How good it is
Oh-oh-oh
How good, how good, how good it is
Oh-oh-oh
How good, how good, how good it is
Rivers will clap their hands
Mountains will lift their song
Even the rocks cry out
Creation stands in awe
Of the One who was and the One who is
And the One who reigns forever
We remember this
We remember this
Oh, how good that it is to sing praise to the Lord
Oh, how great is the name above all names
From the rising of the morning sun
To the setting of the same
Oh, how good that it is to sing praise
How good it is
Oh-oh-oh
How good, how good, how good it is
Oh, how good that it is to sing praise to the Lord
Oh, how great is the name above all names
From the rising of the morning sun
To the setting of the same
And with every breath inside our lungs
Forever we will sing
Oh, how good that it is to sing praise
Oh, how good that it is to sing praise
How good it is
Oh-oh-oh
How good, how good, how good it is
Oh-oh-oh
How good, how good, how good it is
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@Rhonda – praying for Stacey as she is released today.
@Grammiesue – continued prayers for Steve, and for you. ❤️
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Happy Monday Sweet She’s. I am so blessed to be a part of this community!❤️❤️
❤❤❤ Counting down the days with you to that new grandbaby! That will put a new song in your heart, sister! Hugs! ❤
Praying for Emily and baby ❤️
❤️
GM She’s!
How refreshing it is to start our week off with Praise and worship at church and then Monday morning continuing in the Psalms. Lent season is like that as well- It brings us from a long, gray winter to the joy and surprises of Spring! I loved seeing green popping up (through the snow often) through the brown barren garden each March when I lived up north! Each day it seemed like the plant would grow so much overnight! Life! New life, what looked dead and gone, is there!!
“It is good to give thanks to God. When I fail to consider Him or pause and meditate on His kindness and mercy, I become a self-absorbed, self-centered, self-righteous judge of everything around me. But the psalmist calls us to give thanks, to sing, to praise His name. As we remember and declare His faithful love, His Spirit changes our hearts. His works are magnificent and worthy of our contemplation.”
Yes, so good Jeremy! When our season is long, or the day is long—hope and joy are there waiting for us to grab a hold!
But it is OUR action, our step into Him! Just like the song “Gratitude”-we must sing until our soul catches up! WE choose to get in scripture. Pray. Meditate on things of Him. To journal and listen to what he whispers to our soul. We SING with songs that point to Jesus! We step out of ourselves-
We ask and receive, we seek and find, we knock and the door will open! We move, He moves. It takes ME. My choice and decision. Let us not forget that in the hard valleys and pits, or monotonous days.
Or when life is going good is when we often leave God until we need him again. Is it summer in your life- and you’re just doing cartwheels and enjoying pop-cycles, and have forgotten the God of all that is good, every good and perfect thing comes from him? Do not get lost in the summers, enjoy them–as I do hear in lovely, green, no snow SW Florida. BUT—I know the hurricanes can and will come. So I will praise him day and night, night and day- and let incense arise to Him!! He is the God of ALL my days. Praise be to Him!
❤ love the song lyrics inserted! ☺❤
Praying for Stacey and her situation, may the grace and favors of GOD be with her to rebuild her life. And for TOSHA.
Psalms 91:11-16 paints such a beautiful picture of God’s love for his children! He sends his angels to protect and uplift us in times of trouble. He hears our cries and our prayers because He desires to know us fully! Thank you Lord for Your goodness and mercy.
This was the passage that stuck out to me too! I speak this truth to my daughter often when she’s scared, but so encouraging to read it in the Psalms today!
Amen
I’m new to SRT this year and it was a fun surprise to see a post written by a pastor at one of my church’s campuses. And so well done!! Psalm 92 was the one I really resonated with today too. I highlighted the last 4 verses and wrote in the margin “legacy goals”.
Welcome to SRT Sandra!
What a sweet connection! We are so glad you are here! If you go to HE READS TRUTH and click on his underlined name at the top of his devo, you will see the pastor’s bio and a list if his past writings for this community. ❤
Welcome :)
He will cover you with his feathers;
you will take refuge under his wings.
His faithfulness will be a protective shield.
Amen!
I love the imagery of being sheltered under his wing, warm and protected like a loving Father.
LOVE, this Cat-tee!! I recall a friend giving me a wooden/decorative with a bird and this very verse written on it during my early days walking a difficult rode. So encouraging! We ARE protected!!!
Oh, but think of the imaginary the psalmist may have also had in mind: the wings of the cherabuim stretched over the mercy seat, or the wings of the angels woven into the fabric of the curtians hung in the Tabernacle. Both places were in God’s holy presence.
Lord thank You! You are a Good Father! Thank you for loving me forever. Amen
The comforting words of Psalm twenty 91:1-2
1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”
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Coming to mind through reading these psalms:
Lord, I Lift Your Name on High (Rick Doyle Founds, 1989)
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JB Coats 1940, Where Could I Go But To The Lord
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And straight from Scripture, Ps 95:6-7
Dave Doherty, 1980, Come Let Us Worship and Bow Down
That last song always comes to mind when I read those words in Scripture, too. Missed you yesterday! ❤
Amen
Amen ❤️
“As we remember and declare His faithful love, His Spirit changes our hearts. His works are magnificent and worthy of our contemplation….May we meditate deeply, and as a result, worship joyfully the Triune God who has loved us and given us His Son.”
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Yes, and Amen!
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Psalm 94:19 “When I am filled with cares, your comfort brings me joy.”
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Offering prayers for your requests, Shes. Have a blessed day.
These words were so uplifting!
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JEREMY WRITEBOL, This so beautifully written. So poetic, could have been a Psalm!
Thank you!
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The last sentence … caught my heart..
May we rest by the still waters of His mercy and flourish, bearing the fruit of praise all the days of our lives..
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Sitting in these words today, praising with each breathe I take..
Thank you Father God, thank you,,
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BUT GOD..
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AMEN.
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Blessings, my dears, covered in prayers, requested and then some.❤️
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“May we rest by the still waters of his mercy and flourish, bearing the fruit of praise all the days of our lives.”
Amanda Owen, these last words caught my heart too..
Hugs..