Yet, I am poor and needy; come quickly to me, O God.  You are my help and my deliverer, O Lord, do not delay.

This seems to say, “though I am small and of not much importance, there is no one else who is my savior”.  it is a desperate plea of a desperate man for the Great Helper to come quickly to his aid.  I think a mere man cannot call on the only true God of the universe in this way, unless he knows Him personally and intimately.  Because of Jesus, we have this privilege.

for God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah.  Then people will settle there and possess it; the children of his servants will inherit it, and those who love his name will dwell there.

And this is how it will be when the children of the living God receive their inheritance –  eternal life in the City of God.  Those who love His Name will dwell there.

Praise be to the Lord, to God our Saviour, who daily bears our burdens.  Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death.

As I was reading along, verse 19 sort of jolted me.  This is a very New Testament idea to me, that God  bears our burdens. (Luke 11:28)

David really understands how personal the relationship is between God and man.  This is God, Himself – Almighty, Majestic.  David describes Him in verse 33, as He Who rides the skies, yet not only is He interested in our burdens, He bears them daily.

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. 

God blesses us because we belong to Him, and because He loves us.  He also blesses us so that others will notice and consider His ways, His truth, His salvation.

Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man’s behalf.

You can almost miss the last half of this verse if you are not paying attention.  Things that God has done in man’s behalf…David mentions the parting of the Red Sea.  I recall the parting of the Jordan River at flood stage, enabling the Israelites to cross over into the promised land.  He brought them into captivity in Egypt, but preserved them there, and again in the wilderness for 40 years. Then,  He released them into a place of abundance.

The greatest, though of all that God has done on man’s behalf?  The Cross of Salvation.

Being a “picture” person, and an amateur poet, this psalm speaks to me in volumes.  Hills clothed in gladness, meadows and valleys shouting for joy and singing.  It is the joy of life which can only come from one source:

O you who hear prayer, to you all men will come.  When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave our transgressions.

But God will shoot them with arrows; suddenly they will be struck down.  He will run their own tongues against them and bring them to ruin; all who see them will shake their heads in scorn.  All mankind will fear; they will proclaim the works of God and ponder what he has done.  Let the righteous rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in him; let all the upright in heart praise him!

The moral of this story is: the wicked can plot and scheme and plan, but God is in charge and they are not getting away with anything.  In the end, it is God Who will triumph.  Can there be any safer place than refuge in Him?

Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.

This is quite the statement when you consider all that is involved in life – love, children, delicious food, hope, health, beautiful women,  wealth, music, winning a battle and receiving honor.  He is saying, if everything you have in this life is gone, and you have only the love of God left to you, that love is better than anything you have lost.