Psalm 95 - SING!

1 Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; 

let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. 

2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving 

and extol him with music and song. 

3 For the LORD is the great God, 

the great King above all gods. 

4 In his hand are the depths of the earth, 

and the mountain peaks belong to him. 

5 The sea is his, for he made it, 

and his hands formed the dry land.

6 Come, let us bow down in worship, 

let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; 

7 for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, 

the flock under his care. 

Psalm 59 - But As for Me, I'll sing!

It's often easy to find the bad in others. Especially when they are really bad. If they are "snarling like vicious dogs as they prowl the streets at night" it makes it easy. We can try to take matters into our own hands, but our best response is to ask God to be the one to rescue us. v.9 "I wait for You to rescue me."

Often - and David did this too - we want to ask God not to just rescue us, but to destroy our enemies. In this psalm we see that David's motivation isn't for his own good, but so that all the world would know that God reigns in Israel. It was for God's glory, not his own.

And then, at the end of the psalm David says,

16 But as for me, I will sing about your power. Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love. For you have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress.

17 O my Strength, to you I sing praises, for you, O God, are my refuge, the God who shows me unfailing love.

Bottom line:
This seems like a good way to respond to all of the evil in the world. It's OK to ask God to rescue you. It's best for it to bring Him glory, not just for yourself. And in the end you need to choose to sing with joy about God's unfailing love. Sing His praises.

Psalm 28 - Praise Him with Song

7 The LORD is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving. (NLT)

How do you face the pressures of life? What do you do when things go wrong? 

1. Know that the Lord is your strength and shield. This isn't some positive thinking thinking type thing. It's not happy thoughts. It's knowing the WHO you are trusting in. Self-help gurus and even some pseudo-preachers tell you to believe in yourself and then God will take care of you. That's not what this verse says at all. "The LORD is my strength and shield."
2. Let your heart greatly rejoice! Don't be one of those people who mopes around saying "woe is me." You can rejoice, not as some sort of - again - positive thinking thing. You can rejoice because THE LORD is your strength and shield. 
3. Praise Him with song. This doesn't mean you have to join a choir - although that would be a great idea.... You should have a song in your heart all day long every day. Sing to the LORD as you go about life. Sing in worship at church. Don't stand there and watch. Sing! Burst out in songs of joy!

Bottom line:

Let Psalm 28:7 be your guide on how to live life. 

Oh...and the last verse is great too. (bonus thoughts)

He is your shepherd and will hold you forever. Yes.... that was written as a prayer for Israel, but it applies to those who love and follow the Lord.