Pastor Mike Impact Ministries

From the title of Psalm 59 it is obvious that David is in danger of his life. But David, already has learned by experience that he can trust God to deliver him in the midst of his troubles. We can learn from David that God's people can always turn to the Lord in times of danger and testing because He hears our prayers (vv. 1-2). And also, if we believe that the Lord knows our hearts (vv. 3-4),...

Awake to help me, and behold! You therefore, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, Awake to punish all the nations; Do not be merciful to any wicked transgressors. Selah Many Bible scholars believe that Psalm 59 is possibly one of the first psalms that David wrote. From the title we know that David was the writer and that he intended for it to be used as a song of worship in the temple. It is in...

Psalm 58 is another one of David's imprecatory Psalms. An imprecation is a curse that invokes misfortune upon someone. Imprecatory psalms are those in which the author imprecates; that is, he calls down calamity, destruction, and God’s anger and judgment on his enemies. This type of psalm is found throughout the book. The major imprecatory psalms are Psalms 5, 10, 17, 35, 58, 59, 69, 70, 79, 8...

Psalm 58 is another of David's Michtam Psalms, one written to be engraved upon the mind and conscience. It was a Psalm to be remembered with an important lesson. This psalm carries a footnote addressing it to the chief Musician which indicated it is to be incorporated into the repertoire of the temple choir. The songs we sing on Sunday or in times of worship become a constant reminder througho...

David shares with us some responsibilities and privileges that we as believers have every day. First, David made each day a day of prayer and so should we (vv. 1-5). He began with a cry for mercy, for David depended on the grace of God to see him through his trials. His worship and prayer turned the cave into a Holy of Holies where he could hide under the shadow of the wings of the cherubim on the...

Psalm 57 is a Psalm that historically follows the preceding Psalm. Remember Psalm 56 was written by David after he had been captured by the Philistines in Gath. When David heard the Philistines repeating the song that the Israelites began singing after his victories in battle over the Philistines, “Saul has slain his thousands and David his ten thousands” (1 Samuel 21:11), David knew they were mak...

In God (I will praise His word), In the LORD (I will praise His word), In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? Vows made to You are binding upon me, O God; I will render praises to You, For You have delivered my soul from death. Have You not kept my feet from falling, That I may walk before God In the light of the living?” When we start walking by sight rather than...

As we begin our study and meditations on Psalm 56 we again need to remember that the Psalms are not in the historical order in which they took place. David wrote Psalm 55 later in life, after he had been king of Israel for some time. He was fleeing for his life because his son Absalom was leading a revolt against him (2 Samuel 15-16).  The title of Psalm 56 informs us that it was written by David...

David wrote Psalm 55 when he was fleeing for his life because his son Absalom had stolen the hearts of the people and turned them against his father. You can read the history and circumstances of this Psalm in 2 Samuel 15-16. The "friend" of verses 12-14 and 20-21 had to be David's counselor Ahithophel who had sided with Absalom. Psalm 55 reveals four possible approaches to handling...

This is another one of the Psalms that David wrote when he was fleeing for his life because his son Absalom had stolen the hearts of the people and turned them against his father. You can read the history and circumstances of this Psalm in 2 Samuel 15-16. It's likely that this psalm was written early in Absalom's rebellion, when David was still in Jerusalem (vv. 9-11), and the revolt was g...

Psalm 55 is another of the “Maschil Psalms”. Or what is also called here a “Contemplation of David. There seems little doubt that David wrote this psalm when Absalom's rebellion was coming to a head in Jerusalem. As a Maschil Psalm, it was written for instruction. It was as much a sermon as a song. One of my favorite verses in the entire book of Psalms is found in this chapter in verse 22: “Ca...

You might have heard the saying, “The best teacher is experience”. No doubt in some ways this is true but honestly it is possible that an experience might get you killed, and you won’t live to learn from it. I’ve concluded over the years that the best teacher is the Word of God! God in His Word teaches how to live and how to respond to the trials and suffering we might have to face in life. In His...

"Save me, O God, by Your name, And vindicate me by Your strength. Hear my prayer, O God; Give ear to the words of my mouth. For strangers have risen up against me, And oppressors have sought after my life; They have not set God before them. Selah" I’ve been reading the Psalms on a daily basis for now over 50 years, and they never get old, and I never get tired of them. Every day they see...

Happy Mother’s Day!  Today, I want to take time to honor our mothers.  I have been especially blessed with three of the greatest mothers in the world in my own life.  My own mother, Albertina Kozlovsky Grooms, my mother-in-law, Louise Winston Obenshain, and my wife Edith, the mother of our children and Nana of our 18 grandchildren. I know today can be especially difficult for many people because o...

Psalm 53 is almost a verbatim repeat of Psalm 14. When God repeats something in Scripture, it is for a reason, and it should definitely get our attention. Even in this chapter we find several phrases or words repeated. “They are corrupt” in both verses 3 and 5. “There is none who does good”, also in verses 1 and 3. Remember when we looked at the previous Psalm 52, we talked about how God is good a...

Have you ever wondered where corruption comes from? Well, Psalm 53 gives us a pretty good idea where to look for its source. But first we need to get a little background for the writing of this Psalm. The title seems to attribute it to David. “It is called “a Maschil or a contemplation of David.” Maschil means that it is to be used to instruct or to be a lesson. Also it was given to the leader of...

In this Psalm, David is writing about his thoughts and emotions that he experienced when he heard that a very wicked man by the name of Doeg has told King Saul that he had visited the Ahimelech the priest and asked for bread for his men.  David doesn’t know it yet but as result of this visit, Doeg is going to be commanded by Saul to kill Ahimelech and 85 other priest, as well as all their family m...

As we study through the Psalms, we need to remember that they are not in order as to when they took place in history. Psalm 52 actually took place years before Psalm 51 was written and had taken place. In Psalm 51 we read of David’s confession of his sin of adultery and murder after he had successfully set up his kingdom. The story and history behind Psalm 51 is found in 2 Samuel 11-12. The long t...

“Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You. Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, The God of my salvation, And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.' In this great prayer of confession and repentance that David poured out before God, he first asked to be washed and clean...

In Psalm 51 we are talking about getting right with God!   Years ago, I heard a message on another verse in Proverbs that has stuck with me over the years. “The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?” (Proverbs 18:14). In other words, if we have the right kind of spirit in us, it will sustain, help, bring healing to our infirmities, our sicknesses, and our b...

Psalm 51 is King David’s public confession of his sin!  Instead of blaming others or making excuses, David knew the real problem was in his own heart! I’ll never forget years ago hearing Dr. Adrian Rogers make the statement; “Mankind only really faces two major problems, sin and death”.  First let me remind us that, thank God, Jesus Christ has already dealt with both of them for every human being!...

Sin will at first fascinate us, but then it assassinates us. It first thrills us, but then it kills us. Jesus warned us in John 10:10 that the “thief has come to steal, to kill and to destroy…”. Our sin will rob us of so much! My friend, the devil will rob you of your joy in Christ and in life. He will take you down a broad path that always leads to destruction. This is exactly what happened to Da...

Psalm 51 is King David’s public confession of his sin! He knew that God desired for him to be honest and truthful in his heart about what he had done. If we are believers and have the Holy Spirit living in us, even the thought of sinning should cause us to feel His conviction and warning not to commit the sin.  But and if we do sin and transgress God’s holy law, both the Holy Spirit and our consci...

Psalm 51 is King David’s public psalm and confession of repentance! After Nathan the Prophet confronted David with his sins of adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband Uriah, David broke down and confessed his sin and then wrote this Psalm as a public testimony to be used at the temple to teach others how to deal with their sins against a holy and righteous God. In today’s culture, it...

Psalm 51 is King David’s public psalm and confession of repentance! Today, 1,500 years after his reign as king over the nation of Israel, King David is still known as one of the most famous kings in history. Scripture tells us that David was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:21-22). But that does not mean that David was perfect and never did anything wrong. Matter of fact, 1 Kings 15:5 points t...