Psalm Thirteen: Light to My Eyes

"How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will the enemy triumph over me? Look on me and answer, O LORD my God. Give light to my eyes or I will sleep in death; my enemy will say, 'I have overcome him.' and my foes will rejoice when I fall."

"But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, for he had been good to me." v. 1-6

Regardless if God sheds light on our suffering or not, we are always able to rejoice in our salvation He has given us.

Psalm Ten: God Protects, God Provides

"He lies in wait like a lion in cover, he lies in wait to catch the helpless and drags them off in his net." v. 7

"The LORD is king forever and ever, the nations will perish from his land. You hear, o LORD the desire of the afflicted. You encourage them, and listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more." v. 16-18

In this Psalm, the King does not take the threat of the oppressor away. Instead, he protects the psalmist from it, and therefore takes the sting of fear away from him.

I would rather be in the protecting and nurturing hands of my Heavenly Father, than safe from any oppression where I do not see the need for Him.

Psalm Nine: In the Stronghold, I will praise Him

"I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O most high." v. 1-2
"The LORD is the refuge for the oppressed, and stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you." v. 9-10

I will be in a place of complete worship when I realize what You have saved me from and what You have saved me for. Recounting what You have done in my past will give me hope in what You will do in the future. For that to happen, I need to be searching Your Word for Your promises- past and present- to those you love.

In this drawing, the stumbling stones along the path and prickly trees represent the hardships God allows in our lives to help us focus on the goal- worshiping Him. In the fortress (stronghold) at the top, I drew the parting of the red sea, the cross, and the ark. These are all stories in the Bible that should allow us to see how God has worked in His peoples' lives in the past, and it should give us hope of how He will show Himself faithful to us in the future.

Psalm Eight: We Serve a Creative Creator!

"Oh LORD, our LORD, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens."
v. 1
"When I consider the heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place. What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands. You put everything under his feet. all the flocks and herds and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of seas." v. 3-8

There is a poster in my art room that says:

"God created creatures that creatively create from creation."

God, I know you love me when I look at creation because you didn't have to make things beautiful...but You did because You wanted all things good to point to you- the Creator.

Psalm Seven: God is my Shield

"Oh LORD my God, I take refuge in you; save and deliver me from all who pursue me, or they will tear me like a lion and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me." v. 1-2
"My shield is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart." v. 10

My enemies come in many forms- pride, doubt, hopelessness, self-pity,...

I'm glad I can hide in the Truth of His Word and His hope when times are hard
and when they are not.

Psalm Four: Be Silent, Be Safe

"In your anger do not sin;
when you are on your beds search your hearts
and be silent." v. 4
"In will lie down and sleep in peace,
for you alone O LORD
make me dwell in safety."
v. 8

Unlike the psalmist, I have no physical enemies. I do not worry about being hard-pressed on every side by those who wish to conquer me when I sleep. However, in the quietness of evening before I rest, my biggest adversary is ready to attack- it is myself. It is then when I am most likely to recount the day's failures, linger on tomorrow's worries, and let the cold fingers of discontentment and bitterness strangle my joy. It is then that I should be silent before God and rely on Him to for the peace that only He can bring.

In the safety of Your Truth, dear God, I can be silent and dwell in peace.

Psalm Three: Lifting our Head to His Holy Hill

"But you are a shield around me, O LORD.
You bestow glory on me and lift up my head.
To the LORD I cry aloud and he answers me from his holy hill." v. 3-4


I find it comforting, God, to know that when suffering occurs in my life, I am still in the all-encompassing care and protection of my Heavenly Father. You allow me to see your perspective only when I am able to cry out to you and realize that You are sill my King, alive and enthroned in Heaven.


For this drawing, I contrasted to curved line down in the face, looking towards turmoil, to the upturned line in the larger face looking towards the holy hill, where God crowns us with glory. The larger face shape also represents the shield that God surrounds us in, which we are more likely to recognize when we are praising Him.