Psalms 90 - Daily Devotion - 16 May 2026

St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park

As you read, keep in mind our two questions:

1. What things in this Psalm can I relate to?

2. Is there anything in the Psalm that makes me think of Jesus?

A prayer of Moses the man of God.

1 Lord, You have been our dwelling place
through all generations.
2 Before the mountains were born
or You brought forth the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting
You are God.

3 You return man to dust,
saying, “Return, O sons of mortals.”
4 For in Your sight a thousand years
are but a day that passes,
or a watch of the night.
5 You whisk them away in their sleep;
they are like the new grass of the morning—
6 in the morning it springs up new,
but by evening it fades and withers.

7 For we are consumed by Your anger
and terrified by Your wrath.
8 You have set our iniquities before You,
our secret sins in the light of Your presence.
9 For all our days decline in Your fury;
we finish our years with a sigh.
10 The length of our days is seventy years—
or eighty if we are strong—
yet their pride is but labor and sorrow,
for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

11 Who knows the power of Your anger?
Your wrath matches the fear You are due.
12 So teach us to number our days,
that we may present a heart of wisdom.

13 Return, O LORD! How long will it be?
Have compassion on Your servants.
14 Satisfy us in the morning with Your loving devotion,
that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad for as many days as You have afflicted us,
for as many years as we have seen evil.

16 May Your work be shown to Your servants,
and Your splendor to their children.
17 May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us;
establish for us the work of our hands—
yes, establish the work of our hands!

REFLECTIONS

Now think about the two questions:

1. What things in this Psalm can I relate to?

2. Is there anything in the Psalm that makes me think of Jesus?

Then pray, seeking to delight in God or to depend on God.

Psalms 89:38-52 - Daily Devotion - 15 May 2026

St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park

The first part of Psalm 89 was a praise to God. Yesterday we read the central section, in which the writer reminded God of the covenant he made with King David. He describes how God chose David to be his anointed king, and then he quotes 2 Samuel 7, which was where God made a solemn promise that David’s dynasty and throne would last forever. Even if David’s sons rebelled and were punished, God would not break his covenant with David.

But it turns out that Psalm 89 was written during the exile, when Jerusalem had been overthrown by the Babylonians, and David’s descendant on the throne had been led away in chains. Today we read the final section.

As you read, keep in mind our two questions:

1. What things in this Psalm can I relate to?

2. Is there anything in the Psalm that makes me think of Jesus?

38 Now, however, You have spurned and rejected him;
You are enraged by Your anointed one.
39 You have renounced the covenant with Your servant
and sullied his crown in the dust.
40 You have broken down all his walls;
You have reduced his strongholds to rubble.
41 All who pass by plunder him;
he has become a reproach to his neighbors.

42 You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
You have made all his enemies rejoice.
43 You have bent the edge of his sword
and have not sustained him in battle.
44 You have ended his splendor
and cast his throne to the ground.
45 You have cut short the days of his youth;
You have covered him with shame.

Selah
46 How long, O LORD?
Will You hide Yourself forever?
Will Your wrath keep burning like fire?
47 Remember the briefness of my lifespan!
For what futility You have created all men!
48 What man can live and never see death?
Can he deliver his soul from the power of Sheol?

Selah
49 Where, O Lord, is Your loving devotion of old,
which You faithfully swore to David?
50 Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Your servants,
which I bear in my heart from so many people—
51 how Your enemies have taunted, O LORD,
and have mocked every step of Your anointed one!

52 Blessed be the LORD forever!

Amen and amen.

REFLECTIONS

Now think about the two questions:

1. What things in this Psalm can I relate to?

2. Is there anything in the Psalm that makes me think of Jesus?

Then pray, seeking to delight in God or to depend on God.

Psalms 89:19-37 - Daily Devotion - 14 May 2026

St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park

Yesterday we read the first section of Psalm 89, which praised God for his faithfulness and his power as the only creator and ruler of the heavens and the earth. God uses his power to bring justice, to tame and crush the proud and those who oppress his people. Today’s we’ll read the central section.

As you read, keep in mind our two questions:

1. What things in this Psalm can I relate to?

2. Is there anything in the Psalm that makes me think of Jesus?

19 You once spoke in a vision;
to Your godly ones You said,
“I have bestowed help on a warrior;
I have exalted one chosen from the people.
20 I have found My servant David;
with My sacred oil I have anointed him.
21 My hand will sustain him;
surely My arm will strengthen him.

22 No enemy will exact tribute;
no wicked man will oppress him.
23 I will crush his foes before him
and strike down those who hate him.
24 My faithfulness and loving devotion will be with him,
and through My name his horn will be exalted.
25 I will set his hand over the sea,
and his right hand upon the rivers.
26 He will call to Me, ‘You are my Father,
my God, the Rock of my salvation.’

27 I will indeed appoint him as My firstborn,
the highest of the kings of the earth.
28 I will forever preserve My loving devotion for him,
and My covenant with him will stand fast.
29 I will establish his line forever,
his throne as long as the heavens endure.

30 If his sons forsake My law
and do not walk in My judgments,
31 if they violate My statutes
and fail to keep My commandments,
32 I will attend to their transgression with the rod,
and to their iniquity with stripes.

33 But I will not withdraw My loving devotion from him,
nor ever betray My faithfulness.
34 I will not violate My covenant
or alter the utterance of My lips.
35 Once and for all I have sworn by My holiness—
I will not lie to David—
36 his offspring shall endure forever,
and his throne before Me like the sun,
37 like the moon, established forever,
a faithful witness in the sky.”

Selah

REFLECTIONS

Now think about the two questions:

1. What things in this Psalm can I relate to?

2. Is there anything in the Psalm that makes me think of Jesus?

Then pray, seeking to delight in God or to depend on God.

Psalms 89:1-18 - Daily Devotion - 13 May 2026

St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park

As you read, keep in mind our two questions:

1. What things in this Psalm can I relate to?

2. Is there anything in the Psalm that makes me think of Jesus?

A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.

1 I will sing of the loving devotion of the LORD forever;
with my mouth I will proclaim Your faithfulness to all generations.
2 For I have said, “Loving devotion is built up forever;
in the heavens You establish Your faithfulness.”

3 You said, “I have made a covenant with My chosen one,
I have sworn to David My servant:
4 ‘I will establish your offspring forever
and build up your throne for all generations.’”

Selah
5 The heavens praise Your wonders, O LORD—
Your faithfulness as well—
in the assembly of the holy ones.
6 For who in the skies can compare with the LORD?
Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD?
7 In the council of the holy ones, God is greatly feared,
and awesome above all who surround Him.

8 O LORD God of Hosts, who is like You?
O mighty LORD, Your faithfulness surrounds You.
9 You rule the raging sea;
when its waves mount up, You still them.
10 You crushed Rahab like a carcass;
You scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.
11 The heavens are Yours, and also the earth.
The earth and its fullness You founded.
12 North and south You created;
Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at Your name.

13 Mighty is Your arm; strong is Your hand.
Your right hand is exalted.
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
loving devotion and faithfulness go before You.

15 Blessed are those who know the joyful sound,
who walk, O LORD, in the light of Your presence.
16 They rejoice in Your name all day long,
and in Your righteousness they exult.
17 For You are the glory of their strength,
and by Your favor our horn is exalted.
18 Surely our shield belongs to the LORD,
and our king to the Holy One of Israel.

REFLECTIONS

Now think about the two questions:

1. What things in this Psalm can I relate to?

2. Is there anything in the Psalm that makes me think of Jesus?

Then pray, seeking to delight in God or to depend on God.

Psalms 88 - Daily Devotion - 12 May 2026

St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park

A song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. For the choirmaster. According to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.

1 O LORD, the God of my salvation,
day and night I cry out before You.
2 May my prayer come before You;
incline Your ear to my cry.
3 For my soul is full of troubles,
and my life draws near to Sheol.
4 I am counted among those descending to the Pit.
I am like a man without strength.

5 I am forsaken among the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom You remember no more,
who are cut off from Your care.

6 You have laid me in the lowest Pit,
in the darkest of the depths.
7 Your wrath weighs heavily upon me;
all Your waves have submerged me.

Selah
8 You have removed my friends from me;
You have made me repulsive to them;
I am confined and cannot escape.
9 My eyes grow dim with grief.
I call to You daily, O LORD;
I spread out my hands to You.
10 Do You work wonders for the dead?
Do departed spirits rise up to praise You?

Selah
11 Can Your loving devotion be proclaimed in the grave,
Your faithfulness in Abaddon?
12 Will Your wonders be known in the darkness,
or Your righteousness in the land of oblivion?

13 But to You, O LORD, I cry for help;
in the morning my prayer comes before You.
14 Why, O LORD, do You reject me?
Why do You hide Your face from me?

15 From my youth I was afflicted and near death.
I have borne Your terrors; I am in despair.
16 Your wrath has swept over me;
Your terrors have destroyed me.
17 All day long they engulf me like water;
they enclose me on every side.
18 You have removed my beloved and my friend;
darkness is my closest companion.

REFLECTIONS

Written by Stephen Shead

This is one of the darkest Psalms of all. Almost all the Psalms of lament end with an expression of trust or hope in God. Psalm 88 is an exception. The writer had been suffering for a long time, and was now lonely, abandoned, close to death, and in near despair.

There is one positive thing about the Psalm – this might seem like a small thing, but it’s SO important: Even in the deepest darkness, when he is crying out in agony, he cries out to God. He asks God, just once, to hear his cry for help (v2). He calls him “O LORD God who delivers me” (v1), even though he sees no deliverance.

That is enough for this pitiful cry to be included in God’s holy Scriptures. Even this is faith.

So, what can I relate to? I’ve had periods of being unable to feel any joy, of feeling overwhelmed and trapped by darkness (v 6-8). So I find it so reassuring that God has consecrated the weakest cry to him, from within the darkness, as faith.

Is there anything that reminds me of Jesus? Well, it makes me wonder whether this is how Jesus felt in the garden of Gethsemane, as he stared into the Pit of the wrath of God against all mankind.

But most of all, I am relieved and grateful to live on this side of the resurrection of Jesus. This poor Old Covenant saint didn’t have a sure knowledge or picture of hope beyond death. I feel so sorry for him, because he thought the answer to all his terrible questions in verses 10-11 was “No” – “Do you accomplish amazing things for the dead? Do the departed spirits rise up and give you thanks? Is your loyal love proclaimed in the grave, or your faithfulness in the place of the dead?”

It's such a huge blessing that for us, even when we’re in the darkest pit of depression, we know that the resurrection has changed all the answers to a resounding “Yes!”, and that the darkness will one day give way to joy. And this Psalm gives me a new urgency to want my non-Christian friends and family to have that same assurance.

Psalms 86-87 - Daily Devotion - 11 May 2026

St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park

A reminder: This month, we are using our do-it-yourself method for reading the Psalms. Each day, after the reading, I’ll ask you to reflect on two questions:

1. A reminder: This month, we are using our do-it-yourself method for reading the Psalms. Each day, after the reading, I’ll ask you to reflect on two questions:

   1. What things in this Psalm can I relate to?

   2. Is there anything in the Psalm that makes me think of Jesus? It could be something about his ministry, his suffering and death, his resurrection, his kingdom, or what God has done for us through Jesus.

   But don’t worry if you can’t always think of something – just read, reflect and pray.

~~~Psalm 86

A prayer of David.

1 Incline Your ear, O LORD, and answer me,
for I am poor and needy.
2 Preserve my soul, for I am godly.
You are my God; save Your servant who trusts in You.
3 Be merciful to me, O Lord,
for I call to You all day long.
4 Bring joy to Your servant,
for to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

5 For You, O Lord, are kind and forgiving,
rich in loving devotion to all who call on You.
6 Hear my prayer, O LORD,
and attend to my plea for mercy.
7 In the day of my distress I call on You,
because You answer me.

8 O Lord, there is none like You among the gods,
nor any works like Yours.
9 All the nations You have made
will come and bow before You, O Lord,
and they will glorify Your name.
10 For You are great and perform wonders;
You alone are God.

11 Teach me Your way, O LORD,
that I may walk in Your truth.
Give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear Your name.
12 I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart;
I will glorify Your name forever.
13 For great is Your loving devotion to me;
You have delivered me from the depths of Sheol.

14 The arrogant rise against me, O God;
a band of ruthless men seeks my life,
with no regard for You.
15 But You, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness.

16 Turn to me and have mercy;
grant Your strength to Your servant;
save the son of Your maidservant.
17 Show me a sign of Your goodness,
that my enemies may see and be ashamed;
for You, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me.

As you read today about Zion, God’s holy mountain, remember that the New Testament tells us that the true Mount Zion we are looking forward to is the heavenly city where we will dwell with God forever (Hebrews 12:22-24; Revelation 14:1).

Psalm 87

A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A song.

1 He has founded His city
on the holy mountains.
2 The LORD loves the gates of Zion
more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
3 Glorious things are ascribed to you,
O city of God.

Selah
4 “I will mention Rahab and Babylon
among those who know Me—
along with Philistia, Tyre, and Cush —
when I say, ‘This one was born in Zion.’”

5 And it will be said of Zion:
“This one and that one were born in her,
and the Most High Himself will establish her.”

6 The LORD will record in the register of the peoples:
“This one was born in Zion.”

Selah
7 Singers and pipers will proclaim,
“All my springs of joy are in You.”

REFLECTIONS

Now think about the two questions:

1. What things in this Psalm can I relate to?

2. Is there anything in the Psalm that makes me think of Jesus?

Then pray, seeking to delight in God or to depend on God.

Psalm 85 - Daily Devotion - 9 May 2026

St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park

As you read, keep in mind our two questions:

1. What things in this Psalm can I relate to?

2. Is there anything in the Psalm that makes me think of Jesus?

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

1 You showed favor to Your land, O LORD;
You restored Jacob from captivity.
2 You forgave the iniquity of Your people;
You covered all their sin.

Selah
3 You withheld all Your fury;
You turned from Your burning anger.

4 Restore us, O God of our salvation,
and put away Your displeasure toward us.
5 Will You be angry with us forever?
Will You draw out Your anger to all generations?
6 Will You not revive us again,
that Your people may rejoice in You?
7 Show us Your loving devotion, O LORD,
and grant us Your salvation.

8 I will listen to what God the LORD will say;
for He will surely speak peace to His people and His saints;
He will not let them return to folly.
9 Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him,
that His glory may dwell in our land.

10 Loving devotion and faithfulness have joined together;
righteousness and peace have kissed.
11 Faithfulness sprouts from the earth,
and righteousness looks down from heaven.
12 The LORD will indeed provide what is good,
and our land will yield its increase.
13 Righteousness will go before Him
to prepare the way for His steps.

REFLECTIONS

Now think about the two questions:

1. What things in this Psalm can I relate to?

2. Is there anything in the Psalm that makes me think of Jesus?

Then pray, seeking to delight in God or to depend on God.

Psalm 84 - Daily Devotion - 8 May 2026

St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park

As you read, keep in mind our two questions:

1. What things in this Psalm can I relate to?

2. Is there anything in the Psalm that makes me think of Jesus?

For the choirmaster. According to Gittith.[A] A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

1 How lovely is Your dwelling place,
O LORD of Hosts!
2 My soul longs, even faints,
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.

3 Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she places her young near Your altars,
O LORD of Hosts, my King and my God.
4 How blessed are those who dwell in Your house!
They are ever praising You.

Selah
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in You,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they make it a place of springs;
even the autumn rain covers it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength,
until each appears before God in Zion.

8 O LORD God of Hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob.

Selah
9 Take notice of our shield, O God,
and look with favor on the face of Your anointed.
10 For better is one day in Your courts
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
11 For the LORD God is a sun and a shield;
the LORD gives grace and glory;
He withholds no good thing
from those who walk with integrity.

12 O LORD of Hosts,
how blessed is the man who trusts in You!

REFLECTIONS

Now think about the two questions:

1. What things in this Psalm can I relate to?

2. Is there anything in the Psalm that makes me think of Jesus?

Then pray, seeking to delight in God or to depend on God.

Psalm 83 - Daily Devotion - 7 May 2026

St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park

As you read, keep in mind our two questions:

1. What things in this Psalm can I relate to?

2. Is there anything in the Psalm that makes me think of Jesus?

A song. A Psalm of Asaph.

1 O God, be not silent; be not speechless;
be not still, O God.2 See how Your enemies rage,
how Your foes have reared their heads.
3 With cunning they scheme against Your people
and conspire against those You cherish,
4 saying, “Come, let us erase them as a nation;
may the name of Israel be remembered no more.”

5 For with one mind they plot together,
they form an alliance against You—
6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
of Moab and the Hagrites,
7 of Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek,
of Philistia with the people of Tyre.
8 Even Assyria has joined them,
lending strength to the sons of Lot.

Selah
9 Do to them as You did to Midian,
as to Sisera and Jabin at the River Kishon,
10 who perished at Endor
and became like dung on the ground.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
and all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12 who said, “Let us possess for ourselves
the pastures of God.”

13 Make them like tumbleweed, O my God,
like chaff before the wind.
14 As fire consumes a forest,
as a flame sets the mountains ablaze,
15 so pursue them with Your tempest,
and terrify them with Your storm.
16 Cover their faces with shame,
that they may seek Your name, O LORD.

17 May they be ever ashamed and terrified;
may they perish in disgrace.
18 May they know that You alone,
whose name is the LORD,
are Most High over all the earth.

REFLECTIONS

Now think about the two questions:

1. What things in this Psalm can I relate to?

2. Is there anything in the Psalm that makes me think of Jesus?

Then pray, seeking to delight in God or to depend on God.

Psalms 81 & 82 - Daily Devotion - 6 May 2026

St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park

As you read, keep in mind our two questions:

1. What things in this Psalm can I relate to?

2. Is there anything in the Psalm that makes me think of Jesus?

Psalm 81

For the choirmaster. According to Gittith. Of Asaph.

1 Sing for joy to God our strength;
make a joyful noise to the God of Jacob.
2 Lift up a song, strike the tambourine,
play the sweet-sounding harp and lyre.
3 Sound the ram’s horn at the New Moon,
and at the full moon on the day of our Feast.
4 For this is a statute for Israel,
an ordinance of the God of Jacob.
5 He ordained it as a testimony for Joseph
when he went out over the land of Egypt,
where I heard an unfamiliar language:

6 “I relieved his shoulder of the burden;
his hands were freed from the basket.
7 You called out in distress, and I rescued you;
I answered you from the cloud of thunder;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.

Selah
8 Hear, O My people, and I will warn you:
O Israel, if only you would listen to Me!
9 There must be no strange god among you,
nor shall you bow to a foreign god.
10 I am the LORD your God,
who brought you up out of Egypt.
Open wide your mouth,
and I will fill it.

11 But My people would not listen to Me,
and Israel would not obey Me.
12 So I gave them up to their stubborn hearts
to follow their own devices.
13 If only My people would listen to Me,
if Israel would follow My ways,
14 how soon I would subdue their enemies
and turn My hand against their foes!
15 Those who hate the LORD would feign obedience,
and their doom would last forever.
16 But I would feed you the finest wheat;
with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

psalm 82

A Psalm of Asaph.

1 God presides in the divine assembly;
He renders judgment among the gods:

2 “How long will you judge unjustly
and show partiality to the wicked?

Selah
3 Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless;
uphold the rights of the afflicted and oppressed.
4 Rescue the weak and needy;
save them from the hand of the wicked.
5 They do not know or understand;
they wander in the darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 I have said, ‘You are gods;
you are all sons of the Most High.’
7 But like mortals you will die,
and like rulers you will fall.”

8 Arise, O God, judge the earth,
for all the nations are Your inheritance.

REFLECTIONS

Now think about the two questions:

1. What things in this Psalm can I relate to?

2. Is there anything in the Psalm that makes me think of Jesus?

Then pray, seeking to delight in God or to depend on God.