Sing out the honor of His name; make His praise glorious.-psalm 66:2

David encourages us to worship and give praise to God as he did in the psalms. David knew all about this seeing how he was a psalmist, or worship leader. He experienced the closeness to God as he worshipped Him through song.We have felt that same closeness and joy when we sing to the Lord. For example the song "Blessed be Your name" always makes me feel like Jesus is right there listening to me; i always feel so close to God with that song! And there are so many worshipful songs out there that draw us so close to Jesus. And Jesus wants us to be close to Him, He wants us to be happy and rejoice in Him. Thats why David says sing to the Lord. As we are called to preach the word in season and out of season(2tim4:2), i believe the same applies to worship. So as David says to praise Him in song, lets continue to do it and draw closer and closer to Jesus.

-Luke

Sing out the honor of his name; make his praise glorious. Psalm 66:3

We serve a glorious God, worthy of all praise! Make his praise glorious today in all that you do, thanking him for the wonderful works he does.

-10 Grade Student

Psalm 64:7-"But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; Suddenly they shall be wounded."

David has many enemies. As long as he followed God, his enemies were destroyed. I believe this is a good reminder to stay attentive to following close after God's heart. This is also a great reminder of how powerful our God is. This verse says God defends us from our enemies as iff He is shooting them with arrows! I am so glad to have the Almighty protect me!

-10th Grade Student

And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore.-1 kings 4:29

Notice this is God given wisdom. Solomon knew that he couldn't be a king on his on knowledge, but that he had to have the knowledge of God to be able to have a kingdom. So he asked God for it. Jesus said that if you ask anything in My name, I will do it(John 14:14). Solomon didn't ask for riches or for fame; he knew that wasn't important. We should take this example from Solomon and ask for wisdom and discernment to get through this world. Solomon knew he couldn't do it alone and we can't either, we need God and His wisdom to walk on the earth. So i encourage you to pray for wisdom on a daily basis, because we all need it..

-Luke

Awake, my glory! Awake lute and harp! I will awaken the dawn. Psalm 57:8
As we prepare to start the day, understand that In order for us to reach the fullest extent of what God has planned for us we must be awake! Here David talks about awaking with worship and the power it has to even awaken the dawn! Wake up the dawn this morning with a joyful noise unto The Lord.

-10th Grade Student

Psalm 54:2-"Hear my prayer, O God; Give ear to the words of my mouth."
It is truly amazing that when we cry out to God, He answers. David found this to be true countless times because he constantly cried out to God. God always listened and answered. God always hears the words of our mouth, and we can be in constant contact with him. David was always in constant contact with God, he had such a close and personal relationship with Him. This is one of the main reasons we see David do so well, so this should encourage us to do the same!

-10th Grade Student

Psalm 51:7-8
"Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice."
Here David expresses a sense of guilt over his sin. He explains that the only solution to sin is repentance. It is only by repenting of our sin that we can be cleansed of it. God promises when we are obedient to do this that he will not only restore us, but make us able to hear joy and gladness. This shows His abundance of undeserved grace towards us. When we choose to sin, we choose to distance ourselves from the lord. As Pastor Pete taught on Sunday from Luke 22, when Peter followed Jesus at a distance, he began to get distracted and started seeking comfort from an enemy's fire rather than from the Lord. How much time to we spend seeking comfort in worldly things like tv, video games, movies, our jobs...? The more we do, the more distant we become from Jesus, and the harder it is to hear from him. Peter didn't follow close enough to hear from Jesus. As a result he was made weak enough to sin (denying Jesus 3 times). If we don't follow closely, we wont hear from Him either. What do we do if we find ourselves distracted and following at a distance? We see that as a result of repenting of sin, not only does God receive praise from our brokeness, but he also allows us to draw near enough to hear from Him. Joy and gladness is a result of drawing nearness with and abiding in Jesus. Let's draw near and hear!

-Hannah

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.-psalm 51:1-2

A prayer of repentance to God from David after his adultery with Bathsheba. It says in 2 Samuel 12:16 that David pleaded with God for the child's life, it says that he fasted and lay all night on the ground for 7 days. I believe it was during this time that David was writing this. After Nathan was sent to him, he knew that he needed to make things right with God. I just picture David laying on the ground pouring his heart out to the Lord. He acknowledged his sin to the Lord and the Lord forgave him! David probably got to a point in his life when he wasn't in communion with God, and he wasn't crying out or relying on Him; so God used this to bring David closer to Him! O how this reminds me of me! I got to a point in my life where I wasn't close to God, and God used me being broken down to bring me back to relying on Him. I confessed my sins to Him, repented, and God created in me a new clean heart(as it says in verse 10). And God has done the same for you. So rejoice with me that Jesus has forgiven us, made us clean, made us spotless, and made us beautiful in His eyes. He truly loves us!

-Luke

Psalm 49:17-"For when he dies he shall carry nothing away; his glory shall not descend after him."

As we remember that David is a king, surrounded by material wealth, it is a good thing he understands the Godly perspective of worldly prestige and possesions. As the verse says, we cant take our posessions with us once we die. Jesus says later that it is harder for a rich man to enter heaven then a camel to go through the eye of a needle. I feel this is because it is hard for alot of people to realize that God is not impressed whether you won a superbowl, no glory will go down with you. The only glory that matters is Gods. The only way to heaven is through Jesus, no amount of possesions or prestige can change that!

-10th Grade Student

Every one of them has turned aside; they have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, no not one.
Psalm 53:3
This verse shows proof that no one is perfect... We all have a desire to sin that only God can keep under control! Be sure to take time during your day to ask God for forgiveness and to remove your desire to sin.

-10th Grade Student