Philip Dampier's Blog

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10) We know the setting for this great psalm of lament. It came after God exposed David’s sin with Bathsheba. We may not have a Bathsheba in our past but we have something; something…

“For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills and all that moves in the field is mine.” (Psalm 50:10, 11) This statement from God is a reminder that when we offer a sacrifice to God or…

“For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him.” (Psalm 49:17) This verse is all about being jealous of those who are well off in this world and whose lives and properties seem all glorious. The psalmist writes to rich and poor,…

“Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God! His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great King. (Psalm 48:1) The temple built by Solomon was beautiful to…

“Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!” (Psalm 47:1) God is our king, and because He is, we should sing praises in songs (vs. 7). We should sing, and our songs should be the songs of joy. They should be loud songs, filled with…

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1) What a comforting thought. We all have or will experience trouble. Knowing that we have a strong refuge is a marvelous boost to our moral. The question that might arise here is, do we call on…

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;” (Psalm 45:6) This is one of the Royal Psalms; a psalm to the king of Israel. There are many of these Royal Psalms in the books of Psalms. The position of king…

“Rise up; come to our help! Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!” (Psalm 44:26) This verse is at the end of a psalm in which the writer feels that his people have been rejected for no good cause. The psalmist finds no good reason for God to…

“Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” (Psalm 43:5) In songs of lament, there is this element of sorrow or pain being expressed by the psalmist. Sometimes…

“My soul thirst for God, for the living God…” (Psalm 42:2) Imagine being so thirsty for water that you can think of nothing else. This is the view of the Psalmist. In the first verse, he describes himself as panting. This is a desperate need for the water of life.…