The Psalms are quite undervalued in churches today even though they have been the songbook for Jews and Christians across the centuries. I resonate with this history because there are so many hidden gems – verses that I’ve never noticed or heard in church before. And I relate deeply to the words written by honest psalmists who are trying to seek God through a sometimes beautiful, sometimes tumultuous life.

Last week I wrote about some de-stressing psalms from Psalms 1-50, and here I write about passionate, undervalued treasures scattered throughout Psalms 51-100 to bring comfort in whatever you are going through. God speaks to you where you are if you just take the time to listen.

1. "Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken." 55:22

I don’t know about you, but this has to be a daily, even moment-by-moment, casting of my cares on the Lord. It’s hard but it’s so worth it because God provides his amazing peace and comfort at the moment when it seems least possible.

2. “When I said, ‘My foot is slipping,’ your unfailing love, Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.” 94:18-19

Again, it is God’s joy for us to have his peace and comfort even during the most difficult and troubling times. All we have to do is cry out to him, as in “My foot is slipping,” even if we don’t know what solution to ask for from Him. His love is always supporting us, even when we don’t know it.

3. “When the earth and all its people quake, it is I who hold its pillars firm.” 75:3

YES. I know someone needs to hear this: the Lord holds the earth firm no matter how much it seems to shake. Send this verse to someone who may need to hear it today.

4. “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise— in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? … Record my misery; list my tears on your scroll – are they not in your record? Then my enemies will turn back when I call for help. By this I will know that God is for me.” 56:3-4, 8-9

He records each tear and every bit of misery you experience; you are heard and seen by the almighty God. In Christ, he is “God with us,” so he knows what we feel and desires to bring freedom from fear through his presence in front of us, behind us, and within us. He is nearer than you could ever imagine. "When I am afraid, I put my trust in you, God": that is a prayer I have tucked into my heart for the hard times.

5. “You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.” 63:1-3

I want to have this passionate thirst for God. His love surpasses anything in this life. My lips will glorify the amazing God.

6. “Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen.” 77:19

“You let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance…. Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!” 66:12, 20

I love these two verses because they acknowledge that God’s answer to our prayers and manifestation of his unfailing love is often through the waters and through the fire. Like the parting of the Red Sea, he uses the most impossible situations to bring great victory so all the glory goes to his name. There are circumstances in my life that I don’t know how God will ever provide, but I need to have greater faith and trust that he very well may be preparing for a mind-blowing revival and provision.

7. “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families.” 68:19-20

Isn’t it amazing that God cares so much about social justice? I love the line “God sets the lonely in families” because it shows just how much God’s heart aches for those forsaken by the world. How does this verse change how you should see the fatherless, widows, the lonely, and prisoners? And how can we act daily in accordance with God’s compassion for the world?

8. “When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply, till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.” 73:16-17

This verse refers to the destiny of the wicked. It often seems like the wicked are not receiving the justice for horrific actions that have hurt us and our nation. The psalmist struggles with this apparent contradiction too, but when he goes to the sanctuary of God, he gains God’s perspective and remembers that God keeps records of all actions and will provide judgment in his timing. This is also a reminder that true discernment comes in the presence of God.

9. “Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you? Show us your unfailing love, Lord, and grant us your salvation.” 85:6-7

Here’s an honest prayer for revival that has been on my heart lately. And he has answered many times with the unfailing love of Christ – the love that never gives up on me and never ceases giving me an unassailable joy for each day even amidst struggles. I love how the psalmist points out that the motivation for revival is so that the people of God may rejoice more fully in him.

10. “Blessed is the one you discipline, Lord, the one you teach from your law.” 94:12

“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” 90:12

Despite what we may think or feel, the Lord’s discipline is a blessing! It means growing closer to his life-giving presence as we become free from the sin that imprisons us in selfishness. It also means, as the second verse points out, that wisdom and joy come from appreciating each day and intentionally pointing out every blessing that he has given. Every day I write down things to be thankful for, and by exchanging an attitude of taking-for-granted for humble gratefulness, God has brought me so much contentment.

11. “Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts.” 96:8

In all we do today, big and small, let us give the Lord that glory that is due to his name!