As we approach this last vision given to Zechariah, God has separated the wheat from the chaff, the sheep from the goats, the true believers from the false. The stage is set. All that remains is for the chariots of God’s wrath to be released to carry out His judgment. The cry for mercy made in Zechariah 1.12 is now about to be answered.

When David’s fear of man threatened to become stronger than his fear of God, he preached truth to his soul:

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?

The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 24 paves the way for the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only one person who possesses the perfection required to ascend the hill of the LORD and stand in His holy place.

As the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings, it is the joyful expression of a Spirit-given, truth-based, life-tested trust in the LORD as his Rock and his Redeemer. As emotion recollected in tranquility it is the affirmation of his trust in God for his future by remembering God’s faithfulness to him in the past.

Psalm 20 reflects David’s skill both as a musician and leader of worship. It is a congregational prayer in which the people of Israel ask God to protect the king and bless the nation in a time of crisis.

God created the heavens and the earth to declare His glory. Creation tells us God exists. Creation tells us God speaks. Yet the glorious imperfection of creation lies in this: creation may declare the glory of God, but it cannot give us the faith necessary to worship Him as the Maker of heaven and earth. Such power is reserved for His Word.

The psalms are written by people hungry for God. Their hands are empty and they know it. But their hearts are full – sometimes with trouble and anxiety, sometimes with joy and gladness, and sometimes with grief and anguish. The psalms show us how to worship God for the joy and pleasure and satisfaction that are to be found in Him.

Psalm 5 is written for people who find themselves disoriented, dizzy, and desperate. It is written for people frantic to find a fixed point on which to focus their heart and mind. It is written for people anxiously searching for something immovable to give them stability, clarity, and peace. This being his aim, David wastes no time in pointing us to the LORD as the most dependable stationary, immovable, and fixed source of stability, clarity and peace.

Psalm 4 is an evening prayer. Like all poetry, it is emotion recollected in tranquility. As David prepares to lay down and go to sleep, he ponders the day’s events. As he takes stock of his situation, he prays for God to defend him, he prays for his enemies, he prays for his companions, and he trusts God to protect him through the night. His enemies may spend the night hunting him down, but David will not panic. He knows that the One who watches over Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps.

Psalm 3 is the prayer of father putting his life in God’s hands during the darkest hour of his life. As David fled for his life he prayed. He put his trust in God believing the Lord would deliver him from his enemies. Even though David is running for his life, he remains confident that the LORD saves those who take refuge in Him.