NKJV, Spurgeon and the Psalms, Maclaren Series: The Book of Psalms with Devotions from Charles Spurgeon

By Thomas Nelson

Spurgeon & the Psalms will guide you into reading and meditating on God's Word with the insight of “the prince of preachers.” This devotional psalter features a brief extract from Charles Spurgeon's beloved The Treasury of David leading into each of the 150 chapters of Psalms.

In this edition, Spurgeon's insights are paired with the trusted New King James Version. The NKJV balances the literary beauty and familiarity of the King James tradition with an extraordinary commitment to preserving the grammar and structure of the underlying biblical languages.  The result is a Bible translation that is both beautiful and uncompromising—perfect for serious study, devotional use, and reading aloud.

Features include:

• Devotional thoughts from Charles Spurgeon drawn from The Treasury of David
• An exquisite edition of Psalms in the trusted NKJV translation
• Each psalm is set in a poetic-style single column on a right-hand page with room to journal your own meditations
• Clear and readable NKJV Comfort Print®

 

About the Maclaren Series: Named for noted Victorian-era preacher Alexander Maclaren, this series of elegant Bibles features regal blue highlights and verse numbers, and clear, line-matched text.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Release date: May 10, 2022
• ISBN: 9780785253457

Book preview

Cover Page for NKJV Spurgeon and the Psalms

SPURGEON AND THE PSALMS

www.ThomasNelson.com

NKJV Spurgeon and the Psalms

Copyright © 2022 by Thomas Nelson, a division of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc.

The Book of Psalms, New King James Version® copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.

All rights reserved.

ePub Edition March 2022: 978-0-785-25345-7

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2021945406

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The text of the New King James Version® (NKJV®) may be quoted or reprinted without prior written permission with the following qualifications: (1) up to and including 1,000 verses may be quoted in printed form as long as the verses quoted amount to less than 50% of a complete book of the Bible and make up less than 50% of the total work in which they are quoted; (2) all NKJV quotations must conform accurately to the NKJV text.

Any use of the NKJV text must include a proper acknowledgement as follows: Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

However, when quotations from the NKJV text are used in church bulletins, orders of service, Sunday school lessons, church newsletters, and similar works in the course of religious instruction or services at a place of worship or other religious assembly, the following notice may be used at the end of each quotation: NKJV.

For quotation requests not covered by the above guidelines, write to Thomas Nelson, Attention: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214–1000.

Charles H. Spurgeon material adapted from The Treasury of David: An Original Exposition of the Book of Psalms . . . in Three Volumes.

All rights reserved.

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Contents

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How to Use This eBible

Preface to the New King James Version

Preface by C. H. Spurgeon

Introduction

Psalm 1

Psalm 2

Psalm 3

Psalm 4

Psalm 5

Psalm 6

Psalm 7

Psalm 8

Psalm 9

Psalm 10

Psalm 11

Psalm 12

Psalm 13

Psalm 14

Psalm 15

Psalm 16

Psalm 17

Psalm 18

Psalm 19

Psalm 20

Psalm 21

Psalm 22

Psalm 23

Psalm 24

Psalm 25

Psalm 26

Psalm 27

Psalm 28

Psalm 29

Psalm 30

Psalm 31

Psalm 32

Psalm 33

Psalm 34

Psalm 35

Psalm 36

Psalm 37

Psalm 38

Psalm 39

Psalm 40

Psalm 41

Psalm 42

Psalm 43

Psalm 44

Psalm 45

Psalm 46

Psalm 47

Psalm 48

Psalm 49

Psalm 50

Psalm 51

Psalm 52

Psalm 53

Psalm 54

Psalm 55

Psalm 56

Psalm 57

Psalm 58

Psalm 59

Psalm 60

Psalm 61

Psalm 62

Psalm 63

Psalm 64

Psalm 65

Psalm 66

Psalm 67

Psalm 68

Psalm 69

Psalm 70

Psalm 71

Psalm 72

Psalm 73

Psalm 74

Psalm 75

Psalm 76

Psalm 77

Psalm 78

Psalm 79

Psalm 80

Psalm 81

Psalm 82

Psalm 83

Psalm 84

Psalm 85

Psalm 86

Psalm 87

Psalm 88

Psalm 89

Psalm 90

Psalm 91

Psalm 92

Psalm 93

Psalm 94

Psalm 95

Psalm 96

Psalm 97

Psalm 98

Psalm 99

Psalm 100

Psalm 101

Psalm 102

Psalm 103

Psalm 104

Psalm 105

Psalm 106

Psalm 107

Psalm 108

Psalm 109

Psalm 110

Psalm 111

Psalm 112

Psalm 113

Psalm 114

Psalm 115

Psalm 116

Psalm 117

Psalm 118

Psalm 119

Psalm 120

Psalm 121

Psalm 122

Psalm 123

Psalm 124

Psalm 125

Psalm 126

Psalm 127

Psalm 128

Psalm 129

Psalm 130

Psalm 131

Psalm 132

Psalm 133

Psalm 134

Psalm 135

Psalm 136

Psalm 137

Psalm 138

Psalm 139

Psalm 140

Psalm 141

Psalm 142

Psalm 143

Psalm 144

Psalm 145

Psalm 146

Psalm 147

Psalm 148

Psalm 149

Psalm 150

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Preface to the New King James Version®

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To understand the heart behind the New King James Version, one need look no further than the stated intentions of the original King James scholars: Not to make a new translation . . . but to make a good one better. The New King James Version is a continuation of the labors of the King James translators, unlocking for today’s readers the spiritual treasures found especially in the Authorized Version of the Holy Bible.

While seeking to maintain the excellent form of the traditional English Bible, special care has also been taken to preserve the work of precision which is the legacy of the King James translators.

Where new translation has been necessary, the most complete representation of the original has been rendered by considering the definition and usage of the Hebrew words in their contexts. This translation principle, known as complete equivalence, seeks to preserve accurately all of the information in the text while presenting it in good literary form.

In addition to accuracy, the translators have also sought to maintain those lyrical and devotional qualities that are so highly regarded in the King James Version. The thought flow and selection of phrases from the King James Version have been preserved wherever possible without sacrificing clarity.

The format of the New King James Version is designed to enhance the vividness, devotional quality, and usefulness of the Bible. Words or phrases in italics indicate expressions in the original language that require clarification by additional English words, as was done in the King James Version. Poetry is structured as verse to reflect the form and beauty of the passage in the original language. The covenant name of God was usually translated from the Hebrew as LORD or GOD, using capital letters as shown, as in the King James Version. This convention is also maintained in the New King James Version when the Old Testament is quoted in the New.

The Hebrew text used for the Old Testament is the 1967/1977 Stuttgart edition of the Biblia Hebraica, with frequent comparisons to the Bomberg edition of 1524–1525. Ancient versions and the Dead Sea Scrolls were consulted, but the Hebrew is followed wherever possible.

The textual notes in the New King James Version make no evaluation, but objectively present the facts about variant readings.

Preface

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My Preface shall at least possess the virtue of brevity, as I find it difficult to impart to it any other.

The delightful study of the Psalms has yielded me boundless profit and ever-growing pleasure; common gratitude constrains me to communicate to others a portion of the benefit, with the prayer that it may induce them to search further for themselves. That I have nothing better of my own to offer upon this peerless book is to me matter of deepest regret; that I have anything whatever to present is subject for devout gratitude to the Lord of grace. I have done my best, but, conscious of many defects, I heartily wish I could have done far better.

The exposition here given is my own. I consulted a few authors before penning it, to aid me in interpretation and arouse my thoughts; but still I can claim originality for my comments, at least so I honestly think. Whether they are better or worse for that, I know not; at least I know I have sought heavenly guidance while writing them, and therefore I look for a blessing on the printing of them.

No object has been before me but that of serving the church and glorifying God by doing this work right thoroughly. I cannot hope to be remunerated pecuniarily; if only the bare outlay be met I shall be well content; the rest is an offering to the best of Masters, whose word is meat and drink to those who study it. The enjoyment of the work is more than sufficient reward, and the hope of helping my brethren in their biblical studies is very sweet to me.

Above all, I trust that the Holy Spirit has been with me in writing and compiling these volumes, and therefore I expect that He will bless them both to the conversion of the unrenewed and to the edification of believers. The writing of this book has been a means of grace to my own heart; I have enjoyed for myself what I have prepared for my readers. The Book of Psalms has been a royal banquet to me, and in feasting upon its contents I have seemed to eat angels’ food. It is no wonder that old writers should call it the school of patience, the soul’s soliloquies, the little Bible, the anatomy of devotion, the Holy Land of poesy, the heart of Scripture, the map of experience, and the tongue of saints. It is the spokesman of feelings which else had found no utterance. Does it not say just what we wished to say? Are not its prayers and praises exactly such as our hears delight in? No one needs better company than the Psalms; therein we may read and commune with friends human and divine, friends who know the heart of people toward God and the heart of God toward people, friends who perfectly sympathize with us and our sorrows, friends who never betray or forsake. Oh, to be shut up in a cave with David, with no other occupation but to hear him sing and to sing with him! Well might a Christian monarch lay aside his crown for such enjoyment and a believing pauper find a crown in such felicity.

It is to be feared that the Psalms are by no means so prized as in earlier ages of the church. Time was when the Psalms were not only rehearsed in all the churches from day to day, but they were so universally sung that the common people knew them, even if they did not know the letters in which they were written. Time was when bishops would ordain no man to the ministry unless he knew David from end to end and could repeat each psalm correctly; even councils of the church have decreed that none should hold ecclesiastical office unless they knew the whole Psalter by heart. Other practices of those ages had better be forgotten, to this memory accords an honorable record. Then, as Jerome tells us, the laborer, while he held the plough, sang Hallelujah; the tired reaper refreshed himself with the Psalms, and the vinedresser, while trimming the vines with his curved hook, sang something of David. He tells us that in his part of the world, Psalms were the Christian’s ballads; could they have had better? They were the love songs of the people of God; could any others be so pure and heavenly? These sacred hymns express all modes of holy feeling; they are fit both for childhood and old age; they furnish maxims for the entrance of life and serve as watchwords at the gates of death. The battle of life, the repose of the Sabbath, the ward of the hospital, the guest chamber of the mansion the church, the oratory, yea, even heaven itself may be entered with Psalms.

It may be added that although the comments were the work of my health, the rest of the volume is the product of my sickness. When protracted illness and weakness laid me aside from daily preaching, I resorted to my pen as an available means of doing good. I would have preached had I been able, but as my Master denied me the privilege of thus serving Him, I gladly availed myself of the other method of bearing testimony for His name. O that He may give me fruit in this field also, and His shall be all the praise.

Reader, I am yours to serve for Christ’s sake,

C. H. Spurgeon

The Book of

Psalms

Introduction

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The Book of Psalms is a source of encouragement to us, displaying God’s sovereignty and His deep care for all people. Christians have used these songs given to the ancient Hebrews for worship, prayer, and crying out in pain for the same purposes. Through the Psalms, God revealed Himself so that we can understand His goodness, witness His glory, and find comfort in His mercy.

In the mid-1800s, Charles Spurgeon began preaching at the New Park Street Chapel in London, England. After a season of incredible growth under his leadership, the church constructed a new building named The Metropolitan Tabernacle. During his day, Spurgeon was known far and wide for his powerful and insightful preaching. His sermons were published each week in numerous newspapers and periodicals. As history has rolled along, Charles Spurgeon has been nicknamed the prince of preachers.

During his pastoral ministry Spurgeon preached through the Book of Psalms, and his sermons were later published under the title The Treasury of David. In this edition we present a short passage from Spurgeon’s teaching alongside each of the 150 psalms. Additionally, there is room for recording your own observations throughout the text and in pages reserved for notes in the back of this edition. The devotions from Spurgeon will encourage your understanding of God’s Word, increase your hope in how God is at work, and strengthen your faith.

Let Your mercies come also to me, O LORD—

Your salvation according to Your word.

Psalm 119:41

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BOOK ONE

Psalms 1–41

Psalm 1

The Way of the Righteous and the End of the Ungodly

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Fruitfulness is an essential quality of gracious people, and that fruitfulness should be seasonable. Those persons’ leaf also shall not wither; their faintest word shall be everlasting; their little deeds of love shall be had in remembrance. Not simply shall their fruit be preserved, but their leaf also. They shall lose neither beauty nor fruitfulness. And whatever he does shall prosper. Blessed are the people who have such a promise as this. But we must not always estimate the fulfillment of a promise by our own eyesight. How often, my brethren, if we judge by feeble sense, may we come to the mournful conclusion of Jacob, All these things are against me! For though we know our interest in the promise, yet we are so tried and troubled that sight sees the very reverse of what that promise foretells. But to the eye of faith this word is sure, and by it we perceive that our works are prospered even when everything seems to go against us. It is not outward prosperity that Christians most desire and value; it is soul prosperity they long for.

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¹Blessed ais the man

Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,

Nor stands in the path of sinners,

bNor sits in the seat of the scornful;

²But chis delight is in the law of the LORD,

dAnd in His law he meditates day and night.

³He shall be like a tree

ePlanted by the rivers of water,

That brings forth its fruit in its season,

Whose leaf also shall not wither;

And whatever he does shall fprosper.

⁴The ungodly are not so,

But are glike the chaff which the wind drives away.

⁵Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,

Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

⁶For hthe LORD knows the way of the righteous,

But the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Psalm 2

The Messiah’s Triumph and Kingdom

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I will declare the decree: the LORD has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You.’  God has laughed at the counsel and ravings of the wicked, and now Christ the anointed Himself comes forward as the risen Redeemer, declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead (Rom. 1:4). Looking into the angry faces of the rebellious kings, the Anointed One seems to say, If this does not suffice to make you silent, I will declare the decree. Now this decree is directly in conflict with the device of man, for its tenor is the establishment of the very dominion against which the nations are raving. You are My Son. Here is a noble proof of the glorious divinity of our Immanuel. For to which of the angels said He at any time, You are My Son, today I have begotten You? What a mercy to have a divine Redeemer in whom to rest our confidence!

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¹Why ado the nations rage,

And the people plot a vain thing?

²The kings of the earth set themselves,

And the brulers take counsel together,

Against the LORD and against His cAnointed, saying,

³"Let dus break Their bonds in pieces

And cast away Their cords from us."

⁴He who sits in the heavens eshall laugh;

The Lord shall hold them in derision.

⁵Then He shall speak to them in His wrath,

And distress them in His deep displeasure:

⁶"Yet I have set My King

On My holy hill of Zion."

⁷"I will declare the decree:

The LORD has said to Me,

f‘You are My Son,

Today I have begotten You.

⁸Ask of Me, and I will give You

The nations for Your inheritance,

And the ends of the earth for Your possession.

⁹gYou shall break¹ them with a rod of iron;

You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ "

¹⁰Now therefore, be wise, O kings;

Be instructed, you judges of the earth.

¹¹Serve the LORD with fear,

And rejoice with trembling.

¹²Kiss the Son,² lest He³ be angry,

And you perish in the way,

When hHis wrath is kindled but a little.

iBlessed are all those who put their trust in Him.

Psalm 3

The LORD Helps His Troubled People

A Psalm of David awhen he fled from Absalom his son.

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Many are they who say of me, ‘There is no help for him in God.’  Doubtless, David felt this infernal suggestion to be staggering to his faith. If all the trials that come from heaven, all the temptations that ascend from hell, and all the crosses that arise from earth could be mixed and pressed together, they would not make a trial so terrible as that which is contained in this verse. It is the most bitter of all afflictions to be led to fear that there is no help for us in God. And yet remember our most blessed Savior had to endure this in the deepest degree when He cried, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? (Matt. 27:46). He knew full well what it was to walk in darkness and to see no light. This was the curse of the curse. This was the wormwood mingled with the gall. To be deserted by His Father was worse than to be the despised of men. Surely we should love Him who suffered this bitterest of temptations and trials for our sake.

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¹LORD, how they have increased who trouble me!

Many are they who rise up against me.

²Many are they who say of me,

"There is no help for him in God." Selah

³But You, O LORD, are ba shield for me,

My glory and cthe One who lifts up my head.

⁴I cried to the LORD with my voice,

And dHe heard me from His eholy hill. Selah

⁵fI lay down and slept;

I awoke, for the LORD sustained me.

⁶gI will not be afraid of ten thousands of people

Who have set themselves against me all around.

⁷Arise, O LORD;

Save me, O my God!

hFor You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone;

You have broken the teeth of the ungodly.

⁸iSalvation belongs to the LORD.

Your blessing is upon Your people. Selah

Psalm 4

The Safety of the Faithful

To the Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.

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There are many who say, ‘Who will show us any good?’ LORD, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us. Even the regenerate sometimes groan after the sense and sight of prosperity and are sad when darkness covers all good from view. As for worldlings, this is their unceasing cry: Who will show us any good? Never satisfied, their gaping mouths are turned in every direction, their empty hearts are ready to drink in any fine delusion that impostors may invent. And when these fail, they soon yield to despair and declare that there is no good thing in either heaven or earth. True believers are of a very different mold. Their faces are not downward like the beasts’ but upward like the angels’. They drink not from the muddy pools of mammon but from the fountain of life above. The light of God’s countenance is enough for them. This is their riches, their honor, their health, their ambition, their ease. Give them this, and they will ask no more. This is joy unspeakable and full of glory.

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¹Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness!

You have relieved me in my distress;

Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.

²How long, O you sons of men,

Will you turn my glory to shame?

How long will you love worthlessness

And seek falsehood? Selah

³But know that athe LORD has set apart¹ for Himself him who is godly;

The LORD will hear when I call to Him.

⁴bBe angry, and do not sin.

cMeditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Selah

⁵Offer dthe sacrifices of righteousness,

And eput your trust in the LORD.

⁶There are many who say,

"Who will show us any good?"

fLORD, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us.

⁷You have put ggladness in my heart,

More than in the season that their grain and wine increased.

⁸hI will both lie down in peace, and sleep;

iFor You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

Psalm 5

A Prayer for Guidance

To the Chief Musician. With flutes.¹ A Psalm of David.

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Do we not miss very much of the sweetness and efficacy of prayer by a want of careful meditation before it, and of hopeful expectation after it? My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up. We too often rush into the presence of God without forethought or humility. We are like people who present themselves before a king without a petition, and what wonder is it that we often miss the end of prayer? We should be careful to keep the stream of meditation always running, for this is the water to drive the mill of prayer. It is idle to put up the floodgates of a dry brook and then hope to see the wheel revolve. Prayer without fervency is like hunting with a dead dog, and prayer without preparation is hawking with a blind falcon. Prayer is the work of the Holy Spirit, but He works by means. God made man, but He used the dust of the earth as a material. The Holy Ghost is the author of prayer, but He employs the thoughts of a fervent soul as the gold with which to fashion the vessel. Let our prayers and praises be not the flashes of a hot and hasty brain but the steady burning of a well-kindled fire.

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¹Give aear to my words, O LORD,

Consider my meditation.

²Give heed to the voice of my cry,

My King and my God,

For to You I will