Daily Psalms - Classical Psalms Every Day

Psalm 142: A Prayer from the Cave
This episode presents Psalm 142, a Maschil of David, offered as a prayer from the cave where David cries aloud to the Lord, pours out his complaint, and lays his trouble before God when his spirit is overwhelmed. Surrounded by hidden snares and pursued by enemies stronger than he, David finds no help from men, confessing that refuge has failed and no one cares for his soul. Yet he turns to the Lord as his refuge and portion in the land of the living, pleading for God to attend to his cry and bring his soul out of prison. The psalm closes with hope that deliverance will lead to praise, and that the righteous will gather around him because the Lord will deal bountifully with him.
00:00 Psalm 142 Introduction
00:11 Crying Out to God
00:22 Overwhelmed and Trapped
00:32 No Refuge but the Lord
00:49 Deliverance and Praise

Psalm 141: A Prayer for Guarded Lips and Deliverance
Psalm 141, a psalm of David, is a cry for God to listen quickly as the psalmist offers prayer like incense and uplifted hands like the evening sacrifice. David asks the Lord to set a watch over his mouth and keep his heart from evil and from sharing in the pleasures of those who work iniquity. He welcomes the correction of the righteous as a kindness and an excellent oil, even while he continues to pray amid calamities and the scattering of bones at the grave’s mouth. With his eyes fixed on God as his trust, he pleads for protection from snares and traps laid by the wicked, and he longs to escape while they fall into their own nets.
00:00 Psalm 141 Opening
00:06 A Cry for Help
00:13 Prayer Like Incense
00:22 Guard My Speech
00:28 Resist Evil Temptation
00:37 Welcome Righteous Correction
00:58 Hope Amid Ruin
01:05 Trust and Deliverance
01:15 Escape the Wicked Traps
01:20 Final Vindication

Psalm 140: A Prayer for Deliverance from the Violent and Wicked
Psalm 140, addressed to the chief musician and attributed to David, is a plea for the Lord to deliver and preserve the speaker from evil and violent men who plot mischief, gather for war, and speak with venom like a serpent. It describes enemies laying snares, cords, nets, and traps to overthrow his steps, while the psalmist turns to God as his strength and salvation, asking to be heard and protected in the day of battle. He prays that the desires and devices of the wicked would not succeed and that their own words would bring judgment upon them, including burning coals, fire, and deep pits. The psalm concludes with confidence that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted and the right of the poor, and that the righteous will give thanks and dwell in God’s presence.
00:00 Psalm 140 Intro
00:10 Plea for Deliverance
00:26 Protection from Traps
00:42 God My Salvation
00:55 Stop the Wicked Plans
01:03 Judgment on Enemies
01:24 Hope for the Afflicted

Psalm 139: Known, Held, and Led Everlasting
This script presents Psalm 139, a prayerful meditation on God’s complete knowledge and constant presence. The psalmist marvels that the Lord knows every action, thought, and word, surrounds him “behind and before,” and cannot be escaped whether in heaven, the depths, or the farthest sea, since even darkness is as light to God. He praises God for forming him in the womb, for being “fearfully and wonderfully made,” and for God’s intimate awareness of his unformed substance and days yet to come. The psalm then turns to a plea for God’s judgment on the wicked and a rejection of those who oppose God, ending with a humble request: “Search me,” test his heart, reveal any wicked way, and lead him in the everlasting way.
00:00 God Knows Me
00:39 No Escape From Presence
01:17 Made In The Womb
01:50 Precious Thoughts
02:03 Against The Wicked
02:24 Search My Heart

Psalm 138: Wholehearted Praise and Steadfast Mercy
This script presents Psalm 138, a Psalm of David, in which David praises the Lord with his whole heart, singing before the gods and worshiping toward God’s holy temple. He thanks God for lovingkindness and truth, declaring that God has magnified his word above all his name, and recalls how God answered his cry and strengthened his soul. David foretells that all the kings of the earth will praise the Lord when they hear his words and will sing in his ways because of the Lord’s great glory. Though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly and keeps the proud at a distance. Even in trouble, David trusts God to revive him, protect him from enemies, and save him. He concludes with confidence that the Lord will perfect what concerns him, for God’s mercy endures forever.
00:00 Psalm 138 Opening
00:06 Wholehearted Praise
00:11 Temple Worship
00:21 Answered Prayer
00:28 Kings Will Praise
00:33 Glory in His Ways
00:39 High Yet Humble
00:46 Help in Trouble
00:57 Perfecting Mercy