Psalms for Shepherds

Holly Culhane, Founder & President/CEO of Presence Point, concludes the Psalms for Shepherds series by reflecting on how researching, writing, and recording this series has impacted her life and her ability to shepherd more effectively.

This psalm takes us the end of the five Hallelujah Psalms and the Book of Psalms, as well. It builds upon previous Hallelujah songs and emphasizes where we are to praise God, why we are to praise God, and how we are to praise God. As you read this psalm, it will be clear that a symphony of praise is what the Father is commanding us to offer. We pray it touches your soul and leads you to shepherd w...

Psalm 149 makes it clear the followers of God are to praise, sing, rejoice, exult, and dance in worship to the Lord.   That praise, however, should never be rote, rehearsed, or routine. No matter where we worship, this psalm reminds us to wholeheartedly celebrate, worship, and praise the One from whom all blessings flow. After all, we are worshipping our Creator, the One who delights in us and cro...

If there was ever a doubt whether or not we have been commanded to praise the name of the Lord our God, this song makes it clear that everyone, and every living and created thing should indeed praise His Name, doing so with the enthusiasm, joy, and confidence that only comes from intimate knowledge of our God.    Of this psalm, C. H. Spurgeon notes, “It is a song of nature and of grace. As a flash...

There are such varied opinions regarding who wrote this psalm. Some believe it was penned after the return of the Jews from their captivity, while others think it was written by David referring to the building and fortifying of Jerusalem in his time and the gathering in of those who had been out-casts during Saul’s reign. And still others believe it was written for the great assembly called by Neh...

Of the last five psalter songs, theologian, Bible teacher, author, and speaker James Montgomery Boice, once said:  “In the earlier psalms, we have studied the writers’ griefs, shames, sins, doubts, and fears. We have witnessed the people of God in their defeats and victories, their ups and downs in life. We have encountered rebellious words and struggling faith. All this is behind us now. In these...

Psalm 145 is a praise-filled acrostic poem that is the last song in the book of Psalms attributed to David.   We see our God’s Provision, His Protection, and His Presence throughout this psalm that is filled with truths we need to memorize!   Verse 3, “Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness” is one example.   Another is verse 5, “I will meditate on your ma...

Today we are in Psalm 144, a psalm David wrote to honor God for being his protection, for blessing him as a successful warrior and king, and to ask for God for His continued blessing on the Jewish people.   Even in moments when our need is not great for God to be our rock, our fortress, our tower of safety, our rescuer, and our shield, we are encouraged by this psalm – that God is in fact all of t...

Today we are in Psalm 143, the last of seven penitential prayers scattered throughout book of Psalms. As you will hear in this psalm, the subject of the lament changes from the writer’s adversary to the author’s own failure, because the “enemy” is the psalmist’s personal sin and guilt. With regard to this psalm, David – the author – does not assert his innocence, as we have often heard in earlier...

Today we are in Psalm 142, another of David’s prayerful songs of lament.   Like all literature, the Bible must be understood in its own historical context and, in this psalm, we have a gift through the subscript found in the heading. The heading reads, “A maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A prayer.”   We find two such occurrences in the 2nd book of Samuel, when David was in exile in a cave...

Psalm 141 is another song of lament written by the shepherd-King David. We do not know the specific context of this prayer, but David’s intensity and desperation shine through unmistakably. This ‘man after God’s own heart’ throws himself on God in his angst when he feels tempted to evil and when he feels oppressed by others. We can do the same before the One who provides all that we need – physica...

Today we are in Psalm 140, a psalm written by David. This psalm opens with a plea for God to rescue him from the aggressive and wicked. These were evil men, and it seemed David’s plea to God was worthy.   As shepherd leaders, we sometimes face situations similar to David’s. It is then, in those moments, that we need to pray in a similar way. It really does not matter what we are facing. God is sti...

Today, we are at the tail-end of one of the most beautiful and versatile of David’s psalms, Psalm 139. This psalm reminds the reader – or the singer, as the case may be – how intimately God knows us, how constantly He is with us, and that He made us!                        Now, in the final six verses of the psalm – verses 18 through 24 – David reminds us that God judges righteously and that we ca...

We’re in Psalm 139 once again, and this week we are looking at the third stanza of this beautiful song – verses 13 through 18 – where David reminds us that God made us.                      In this psalm, David begins by showing us how intimately God know us and how constantly He is with us. Now He says, “Don’t forget. Not only does God know us intimately, not only is He constantly with us, but He...

We continue in Psalm 139 this week in verses 7 through 12, where we see the reassuring reminder that God is with us constantly.               7 I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! 8 If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. 9 If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, 10 even there your hand...

This week, we’re in Psalm 139, a chapter of Psalms with which many of us are very familiar. In this psalm we see the psalmist making three important points: (1) God knows everything, (2) God is present everywhere, (3) the psalmist, himself, hates sin and has a deep desire to be led correctly.    Today, we will focus on the first six verses.     1 O Lord, you have examined my heart      and know ev...

This week it’s fun to be back in a psalm written by David, Psalm 138, a psalm that sings praises to our God and reminds us to do the same.     Psalm 138 illustrates the depth of David’s faith in God, that He prayed to Him – and no other – for help, that he trusted God for victory in every battle, and that David’s enemies were defeated because of the Lord’s faithfulness – not because of his own mig...

This week we are in Psalm 137, a psalm that some say is “no doubt one of the most troubling and difficult psalms in the Psalter”!     This song is nine verses of “remember” and “forget”. The psalmist, most likely a Levite, is asking God in this prayer to help the Jewish people remember Jerusalem, the precious city they inhabited before Babylon invaded, ravaged, and destroyed, taking many of the pe...

This is Holly Culhane with Presence Point and welcome to our Psalms for Shepherds podcast.     This week we find ourselves in Psalm 136, a psalm that calls worshippers to a posture of gratitude.     Psalm 136 is 26 verses in length, and in every verse the same refrain is repeated – His faithful love endures forever.    The refrain is meant to stir remembrance in us of God’s merciful, gracious inte...

This is Holly Culhane with Presence Point and welcome to our Psalms for Shepherds podcast.    This week our focus is on Psalm 135, which begins a series of psalms that emphasize praising our God. This particular psalm’s emphasis is on praising our God for who He is and what He has done.    The psalmist begins this psalm with praise to our Lord and ends with praise to our Lord.     In between those...

This week we close our time in the Psalms of Ascent with Psalm 134, the last of the 15 psalms intended for the ascension of the pilgrims to the temple in Jerusalem.  This last Psalm of Ascent, it seems, is specifically celebrating the pilgrims’ safe arrival in the Holy City and that they had fulfilled their duties and were now preparing to return to the cities in which they lived.       Psalm 134...

We continue this week in the Psalms of Ascent with Psalm 133. This psalm may be familiar to many of you, as David speaks candidly about the importance of unity -the word often translated as "harmony" in many Bibles - a timely reminder for our world today. Psalm 133 How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony! For harmony is as precious as the anointing oil that was pour...

This week, the journey through the Psalms of Ascent continues with a song that celebrates the Lord's faithfulness to David in several ways and can therefore, if we let it, remind us of God's faithfulness to us. Verses 1 through 5 of this psalm recount David's request to build a house for God - a "sanctuary for the Mighty One of Israel". Verses 6 through 10 recall how God allowed David to move the...

As we continue in the Psalms of Ascent this week, we turn to Psalm 131.     Charles Spurgeon described this song best when he said, “It is one of the shortest psalms to read, but one of the longest to learn.”     Psalm 131  A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem. A psalm of David.  LORD, my heart is not proud;  my eyes are not haughty.  I don’t concern myself with matters   too great or too aw...

This is Holly Culhane with Presence Point and welcome to our Psalms for Shepherds podcast.     This week, the journey through the Psalms of Ascent continues in Psalm 130. This song begins with the psalmist in deep distress on behalf of the Jewish community, crying out to God for mercy and, ultimately, placing his hope in the Lord.     His perspective changes because he knows that Yahweh will save...