A Lamp for my Feet: A Devotional Journey Through the Psalms

By Trevor Cox

"You are my God, and I will give you thanks!" Psalm 118:28

From the high peaks of praise to the depths of despairing valleys, the Psalms are full of emotions; humans grappling with their faith in everyday life. Yet in this incredible book of the Bible, despite human frailty, we see God, ever faithful, guiding o

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hazel Press
• Release date: Aug 13, 2023
• ISBN: 9780645889918

Trevor Cox

Rev. Trevor Cox is a Presbyterian Minister from Victoria, Australia. After receiving the call to ministry, he studied at the Presbyterian Theological College, before serving as a Minister in Presbyterian churches across Victoria before retirement. He's been married to Ann since 1977 and is the proud grandparent of Lucy, Amelia and Enzo. He enjoys reading theology, serving in his local church, travelling to see Australia's beautiful landscapes with his wife, and spending time with his children and grandchildren.

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A Lamp for My Feet

A Devotional Journey Through the Psalms

Rev. Trevor Cox

Edited by Alison Outhred

A Lamp for My Feet: A Devotional Journey Through the Psalms

Copyright © 2023 Rev. Trevor Cox

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the author.

Editing, typesetting & cover design by Alison Outhred.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version, Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by Permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All Rights Reserved.

The NIV and New International Version trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use of either trademarks requires permission of International Bible Society.

ISBN 978-0-6458899-1-8

"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

His love endures forever."

Psalm 118:29

Preface

These daily readings are not sermons, but they do aim to provide a complete message: the message of the gospel as it is expressed in the Psalter, the song book of the tribes of Israel.

The readings arise out of years of pastoral ministry, which I have sourced for the most part from individual psalms. The exercise is not meant to be exhaustive, rather the collection of readings, with associated applications, has drawn upon the writings of J.M Boice, MacArthur, Spurgeon, Harman and Calvin to name a few. These writers I have long admired and have caused me to go to God and drink from the well that He has provided. I dedicate this collection of daily readings to the glory of God.

I also take this opportunity to express my gratitude to my family for their support and encouragement. In particular, I would like to thank my daughter Alison Outhred for her professional help in the editing and preparing of this book for publication. I would also like to thank my wife Ann for her assistance in editing.

My desire is that people, will find this study of the Word stimulating and that their faith, hope, and love will deepen towards God and their fellow man.

You are my God, and I will give you thanks;

You are my God, and I will exalt you. (Psalm 118:28 NIV)

General Thoughts on the Psalms

With the passing of various movements in the Church in common with the Reformation, there has been given an important gift to the Church – the recovery of the use of the Psalms in worship and private devotions. Several aspects of the Psalter are especially relevant to the Church today in her teaching and preaching. Those aspects are:

– Renewal in worship,

– Renewal in our own self-awareness,

– The display of the absolute mercy of God and the walk of faith which finds its fulfilment in Jesus Christ,

– A realistic response to the suffering and warfare of the world,

– The reflection of the community of God’s people; particularly worshipping the LORD, witnessing to His mighty deeds, and working together, so that the whole body of believers is edified and strengthened.

The book of Psalms has supplied to believers some of their best loved Bible passages. It is a collection of 150 poems of varying lengths that express a wide variety of emotions including; love and adoration toward God, sorrow over sin, dependence on God in desperate situations, the continual battle of fear and trust, walking with God when the way ahead seems dark and foreboding, thankfulness for God’s care, devotion to the Word of God, and confidence in the eventual triumph of God’s purposes for the world.

The inspired, individual psalms come from diverse periods of Israel’s history; from the time of Moses to that of David and Solomon, through to exilic and post-exilic times. A number of factors clearly indicate that the book of psalms in its present form is the product of a process of collecting (and possible editing) from a variety of sources. Such factors include:

The division of the Psalms into five groups; as well as special collections, for example Psalms 1 – 2; Psalms 113 – 118; Psalms 120 – 134, The Songs of Ascent; and the final Hallelujah songs Psalms 146 – 150. There is also the existence of two almost identical psalms, Psalm 14 and 53. The note of Psalm 72:20 that indicates that this is the end of David’s prayers (while there are still plenty of Davidic psalms to follow).

Nevertheless, the most basic structure of the Psalter is the easiest to see; it is a collection of 150 separate songs. The standard Hebrew text divides the Psalms into five bodies: perhaps a reflection of the first five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch. The psalm that ends each collection finishes with a doxology, and Psalm 150 as a whole is the conclusion both of the fifth collection and of the entire Psalter. 

Some commentators believe there is a pattern as to how the five groups of Psalms came to be collected. Take collection one of these devotionals that contain Psalms 1 to 41. Psalms 1 and 2 both have no titles that attribute authorship to any one individual, yet it should be noted how the early believers were of the belief that God spoke through the mouth of his servant David (Acts 4:25 – 26). Much like the first book of the Bible, Genesis and the way it serves as an introduction to God and the subsequent unfolding of His plan to make a people for himself; Psalms 1 and 2 provide an introduction to the Psalms as a whole. The remainder of collection one is made up of Psalms attributed to David, with the exceptions being Psalms 10 and 33. Taken as a whole, the psalms of collection one are prayers that cover a variety of situations of distress, punctuated by statements of confidence in the God who can save, leading up to the benediction of Psalm 41:13, Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, From everlasting to everlasting Amen and Amen.

Needless to say, there are other subjects that are covered in this first collection – for example there are reflections on ethics and worship with integrity (Psalm 1; 14 – 15; 19; 24 and 26). Beginning with the Davidic voice in collection one, the devotions then introduce the first Korah collection (42 – 49, although 43 lacks a superscription), Korah being the collective name of the temple singers. The collection is wound up with Psalm 50, a psalm that has tones of liturgy where someone leads Israel to recommit to the Lord. A further Davidic collection is found in Psalms 51 – 65 and 68 – 69, which includes the bulk of historical psalms, which are distinguished by lament and distress. The lone psalm attributed to Solomon, Psalm 72, concludes the collection that is volume one.

Moving forward through these devotions in Psalms 73 – 150, readers go on an emotional journey as the psalmist grapples with a number of themes. Opening with elements of darkness as the Psalmist questions the justice of God, in Psalms 73 – 89, there is a dramatic contrast to the high point of royal aspirations of collection one, although there are little rays of hope piercing the darkness. Psalms 73 – 89 contain mostly the psalms of Asaph, as well as another set of Korah psalms. 

As readers continue through the Psalms, we can see that there is another idea emerging in Psalms 90 – 106; and it is possible to see this as a corrective response to the issue raised in Psalms 73 – 90. Psalm 90, attributed to Moses, reminds the reader that God was active on Israel’s behalf long before David. This theme is taken up in psalms 103 – 106, which summarizes the activities of God long before any kings reigned. In between there is a group of psalms characterised by the refrain The LORD reigns.

The structure of the final collection of psalms reflects the closing petition of Psalm 106, found in 106:47, and affirms the fact that God answers prayer (Psalm 107) and concludes with the Hallelujah Psalms, affirming the validity of the promises to David (Psalms 110, 132; 144), and includes two collections of Davidic Psalms (108 – 110, 138 – 145); the longest Psalm, celebrating the value of the law; and 15 Psalms of ascent for use by pilgrims in going to Jerusalem (Psalms 120 – 134).

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version, Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by Permission of Zondervan Publishing House.

Collection I: Psalm 1 – 41

Psalm 1

Two ways

Life is a journey offering two roads, pointing to the fact that there are two conflicting kingdoms: the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. There are two entry points upon which a person may begin his or her journey: the wide gate that leads to destruction and the narrow gate that leads to life eternal. It is with these principles in mind that our attention is drawn to Psalm 1, the psalm that stands as the great vestibule to the teaching of the Psalms.

One thing that this psalm teaches us (as well as other psalms) is the fact that enduring happiness is for people who live according to the will and the Word of the Lord. They keep away from the counsel of the wicked, they do not stand in the way of sinners and they are not to be found sitting in the seat of mockers, people who put down God and religion. On the contrary, righteous people practice their godliness constantly. Day and night their hearts and minds are turned to God. So, it is with the righteous, who will operate like a compass, turning their lives around so that they find themselves pointing in the one direction. But the important thing to note here is that is the righteous person does not want to do right merely because they have to, but because they want to: their delight is in the law of the Lord.

Herein is an issue to be addressed by everyone – how do we live a righteous life when the world constantly says the best way to live is the here and now, do anything as long as the other person is not harmed, or at best, inconvenienced? The short answer is to be found in the Psalms – in particular Psalm 1 which outlines the answer by contrast as to the way in which you and I are to live:

He is like a tree planted by streams of water…

Not so the wicked! They are like chaff (Psalm 1:3a,4)

In order to live the righteous life, a person must be born of the Spirit and washed by the blood of Christ. Today, we know that even better than the ancient Israelites as they gathered to worship God in the temple. Today’s believer must agree with the ancients: blessed is the man who is now upright before God.

Psalm 2 

Just who do they think they are?

In the book of Revelation, 12:5, there is a remarkable description of the life and work of Jesus. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to His throne.

Friend, Jesus was born to serve, and he arose to reign. Here we have our confession in one sentence. The reason why this can be stated so fiercely is that the issue between His Son and the dragon is the throne. The son’s life was spared from the dragon’s attack, and it was He, the Son of the woman, who went to the throne of God. Subsequently the dragon was defeated. That is the short and glorious message.

As a consequence, we divide history into two parts. The time before Christ we indicate by writing BC behind the number. And we write AD before the number of the year in which we are now living.

When we ask a class of students what the letters BC before a group of numbers mean, they are usually quick to answer, saying Before Christ. But when the students are asked what does AD stand for? they hesitate, and propose history into two times – before Christ, BC, and after Christ, AD. However, this is not correct for the term AD is shorthand for the term Anno Domini, a Latin term meaning in the year of our Lord. 

This is not simply an innocent schoolboy’s mistake. We all have the sinful tendency to think we are living after Christ instead of acknowledging we live under Christ. Countless people think of Jesus as a past figure in history, without realizing that He lives and that He is ruling over the world.

This is what the writer of Psalm 2 is seeking to inform his readers about. The writer begins with a statement that people will be scoffed at, rebuked and as a consequence, they will become terrified when they realize just who Jesus really is. The writer goes on to say that those disobedient and rebellious people will be brought into line by God’s Messiah. Therefore, all kings, both great and small, are advised to bow before God’s king. Otherwise, He will dash them into pieces, like pottery.

Jesus is this Messiah. He did not seem to be a fearful ruler when he was born in Bethlehem – and certainly did not show signs of being so when he was killed near Jerusalem.

But God raised Him from the dead, saying you are my Son…I will make the nations your inheritance.

Today Jesus holds ultimate power. All of us are at His mercy – in the most literal sense. To reject Him or try to ignore him is not only a grave sin, it is stupid. Bow or perish!

A final word. The means by which Christ brings the nations to their knees is the Word of the Gospel, the good news concerning Jesus Christ. Only those who cannot be won over by the Gospel are bound to meet with the rod of His anger. 

Psalm 3

God will deliver us (You) 24/7

The sky was growing pale behind the mountains of Moab. The long night was ending on the chilly mountainside. Under the cover of his shield, David awoke from a deep sleep of exhaustion. Those who have known the slumber of stress and sorrow, know the mood of such a moment. There is bewilderment, as his mind struggles for comprehension. But then he is awake. Sleeping forms are waking across the camp. There is the cry of a child, quickly muffled. While David struggles to take in the facts, cruel and confronting reality strikes home.

Have you ever felt completely and utterly alone, with no one to turn to? It seems that this psalm begins with such a sense of abandonment. If the superscription is correct: A Psalm of David, when he fled from his son Absalom, it would certainly seem so. What king anticipates being usurped by his own son and betrayed by trusted colleagues in a palace coup? David was not only struggling with the threat posed against his life and dynasty, but also with the indescribable anguish of having his son not simply turn from him, but turn against him. You might as well give up, he was told. Not even God can help you now! Such a time of utter isolation is hard to imagine, even harder to understand, unless a person has been there.

David, though, is undeterred: You, O Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the one who lifts up my head. When there is no one else, when friends are few and at a distance, and foes are numerous and close at hand, the psalmist reminds us that the Lord is near. I lie down and sleep; I wake again, for the Lord sustains me, he testifies, for he knows that ultimately deliverance belongs to the Lord. 

It seems that there can be times when the Lord allows us to go down into the depths, to a place where a person may find that the times can look the bleakest of all, when they find themselves backed up against the brick wall literally; that God causes us to remember that you and I are never alone.

It is then with confidence that having started with a note of despair, like David, you can conclude this prayer with an affirmation of victory, knowing that the Lord has promised salvation to those who trust in Him.

Arise, O LORD!

Deliver me, O my God!

Strike all my enemies on the jaw;

Break the teeth of the wicked.

From the LORD comes deliverance.

May your blessing be on your people. (Psalm 3:7 – 8)

Psalm 4

Living in stress

There are times in the experience of most people when troubles seem to overwhelm them, when there is no clear horizon, when evil presses in from every side. It could be a person has been losing sleep as they have worried about work. They have worried about how to meet deadlines, realizing there is the potential for relationships to go belly up if not handled correctly, even wisely.  

They toss and turn in their beds, trying to work out the various solutions in their minds. But the more they try to mentally solve the issues, the more sleep eludes. Eventually they begin to worry about not getting enough sleep to be able handle the challenges of the next day.

Sound familiar? Perhaps your concerns are not work related – they are study related. Or they could be troubled relationships, financial worries, health problems, an uncertain future, whatever it is – we all give in to worry at one point or another. 

David was clearly