Psalm 95 begins as a Psalm of praise to God. It begins with a call to worship God through song (95:1). We are called into His presence with thanks and praise (v. 2). The Psalmist then tells us why this worship is due to Him: He is a great God and great King (v. 3) and He is the Creator and Sustainer of all things (vv. 4-5). Verse 6 repeats the call to worship God our Creator. We are to bow down in submission to Him, because He is God and He has called us as His people (v. 7). The Psalmist then calls for those with ears to hear (v. 7) to obedience. He ties in worship with obedience, and uses Israel’s rebellion at Massah and Meribah (v. 8 – see Ex 17:7) as an an example of Israel’s failure to obey, and therefore their failure to worship God rightly. Once God has revealed Himself to you and saved you, worship and obedience are the proper response (vv. 8-9). And, sadly, the absence of this response reveals the absence of God’s salvation (vv. 10-11).

Psalm 101 shares themes with Psalm 95. Here, David is casting himself as one of the faithful who will worship God rightly. He starts with a commitment to sing praise unto God (101:1). He will carefully consider the right way to live, and will apply his heart to carrying it out (v. 2). He will not make provision for the sin in his life, like those who “fall away” do (v. 3), a reference to unfaithful Israelites. By keeping sin from before his eyes and by hating sin (v. 3), David’s heart will remain innocent (v. 4).

The point of view now turns to God. He is speaking in the rest of the Psalm. He will find and punish secret sins, and sins of the heart (v. 5). His grace will cover, and His presence will be with, those who are faithful and who live blamelessly (v. 6), but liars will be excluded from His presence (v. 7). God will judge justly and destroy the wicked from His presence, now and forever (v. 8). In light of the fact that David has expressed his sinfulness, this cannot be advocating for any works righteousness. This is according to faith – God’s favor is on the faithful (v. 6). In other words: grace alone through faith alone.

Psalm 104 is a Psalm of praise to God as Creator and Sustainer. The Psalmist extols the glory of God because He is Creator (104:1-2). In verse 2, he speaks of light, a reference to the first day of creation, and the heavens, a reference to the second day of creation. In verse 3 the Psalmist echoes Genesis 1:6-7 as he moves from the waters below heaven to the waters in heaven (clouds). Verse 4 refers to angels (see Heb 1:7). The Psalmist is praising God for creating the heavens and the earth (Gen 1:1), the spiritual and the physical.

He then expounds the creation. God created earth (v. 5 – see Gen 1:1-2), then the seas (v. 6 – creation day two), and then the dry land (vv. 7-9 – creation day three). God then sustains the earth. He sustains the plant life He created on the third day (vv. 14-16), the birds of the air He created on the fifth day (v. 12), and the animals (v. 11, 14, 18) and man (vv. 14-15) that He created on the sixth day. God created the heavenly bodies on the fourth day, and He commands their movements still (v. 19). He separated day from night on the first day and still does so (vv. 19-23). God has done so much (v. 24)! The earth and the sea He created provides sustenance for all life (vv. 24-26). The creatures of earth rely on God for their sustenance (vv. 27-28), and their lives are in His sovereign hands (v. 29). He gives life (the “Spirit” of verse 30 is better translated “breath”) and His creation supports that life (v. 30).

The Psalmist then praises God for it all! He prays that God Himself would be glorified through, and rejoice in, all the works of His hands (v. 31). He will sing praise to God, and rejoice in Him (vv. 33-34). He prays that God would judge justly and that sinners would not endure on God’s earth (v. 35). The Psalmist then ends where he began. He blesses God and calls for His praise.

Psalm 108 is a Psalm of David that pulls from two of his Psalms that we have already considered. The first five verses are the last five verses of Psalm 57. What is omitted here from Psalm 57 is David’s cry for help as he fled from Saul. The last eight verses are the last eight verses of Psalm 60. What is omitted here from Psalm 60 is David’s lament over God’s anger against Israel. David focuses here on the victory God provides, but removes the specific details of any specific situations. It expresses thanks to God for all past victory, and dependence on Him for all future victory.