Battlefield of the Mind Psalms and Proverbs

Psalms

The book of Psalms includes many verses on the mind, particularly verses that call us to remember or know or understand something about God or about ourselves. The words remember, know, and understand all pertain to the mind.

The Psalms are also full of insights on winning the battle of the mind and scriptures you can confess to defeat the enemy. The writers of the Psalms often expressed their thoughts and feelings—positive or negative—to the Lord. Whenever they struggled with negative thoughts though, they eventually remembered God's goodness and faithfulness and ended up with a positive mind-set.

When you wrestle with wrong thoughts or emotions, let me encourage you to allow the Psalms to restore your hope and strengthen your faith and confidence in God.

WINNING THOUGHTS FROM PSALMS:

When you cry for help, the Lord hears (see Psalm 34:17).

When the enemy tries to oppress your mind with negative or discouraging thoughts, one way to overcome him is to praise God (see Psalm 42:5).

God will always help you in times of trouble (see Psalm 46:1).

God knows you thoroughly. He is aware of your every thought before you think it and of your every word before you speak it (see Psalm 139:1–4).

VERSES FOR VICTORY FROM PSALMS:

As for God, His way is blameless. The word of the LORD is tested [it is perfect, it is faultless]; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him. | Psalm 18:30

Trust [rely on and have confidence] in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and feed [securely] on His faithfulness. | Psalm 37:3

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will remain secure and rest in the shadow of the Almighty [whose power no enemy can withstand]. | Psalm 91:1

I will bow down [in worship] toward Your holy temple and give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; for You have magnified Your word together with Your name. | Psalm 138:2

The following expressions occur often in the Psalms: Selah may mean Pause, Crescendo or Musical Interlude; Maskil possibly, Contemplative, or Didactic, or Skillful Psalm; Mikhtam possibly, Epigrammatic Poem, or Atonement Psalm; Sheol the nether world.

BOOK ONE

Psalm 1

The Righteous and the Wicked Contrasted.

³And he will be like a tree firmly planted [and fed] by streams of water,

Which yields its fruit in its season;

Its leaf does not wither;

And in whatever he does, he prospers [and comes to maturity]. [Jer 17:7, 8]

⁴The wicked [those who live in disobedience to God's law] are not so,

But they are like the chaff [worthless and without substance] which the wind blows away.

⁵Therefore the wicked will not stand [unpunished] in the judgment,

Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

⁶For the LORD knows and fully approves the way of the righteous,

But the way of the wicked shall perish.

Psalm 2

The Reign of the LORD's Anointed.

¹WHY ARE the nations in an uproar [in turmoil against God],

And why do the people devise a vain and hopeless plot?

²The kings of the earth take their stand;

And the rulers take counsel together

Against the LORD and His Anointed (the Davidic King, the Messiah, the Christ), saying, [Acts 4:25–27]

³"Let us break apart their [divine] bands [of restraint]

And cast away their cords [of control] from us."

⁴He who sits [enthroned] in the heavens laughs [at their rebellion];

The [Sovereign] Lord scoffs at them [and in supreme contempt He mocks them].

⁵Then He will speak to them in His [profound] anger

And terrify them with His displeasure, saying,

⁶"Yet as for Me, I have anointed and firmly installed My King

Upon Zion, My holy mountain."

⁷"I will declare the decree of the LORD:

He said to Me, 'You are My Son;

WINNING THE BATTLES of the MIND

What Goes In Comes Out

In the early days of computers, people said, "Garbage in, garbage out." That was a way of explaining that the computer only worked with the data put into it. If we wanted different results, we needed to put in different information. Most people understand that concept, but when it comes to their minds, many don't seem to get it.

If you are going to win the battle of the mind, where you focus your attention is crucial. The more you meditate on God's Word, the stronger you'll become and the more easily you'll win the victories you desire.

There is a difference between meditating on the Bible and reading the Bible. Some people like to think that whenever they read God's Word, they're absorbing the deep things of God, but often they have little idea of what they've read when they finish. Those who meditate on God's Word are those who think—and think seriously—about what they're reading. They're saying, in effect, "God, speak to me. As I ponder Your Word, reveal its depth to me."

The psalmist made it quite clear that meditating on and thinking about God's Word bring results. "But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law [His precepts and teachings] he [habitually] meditates day and night. And he will be like a tree firmly planted [and fed] by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season; its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers [and comes to maturity]" (Ps. 1:2–3).

As you ponder who God is and what He's saying to you, you'll grow. It's really that simple. If you read about and allow your mind to focus on God's love and power, that's what will operate in you. If you think about loving others, that is what you will end up doing, but if you think only about how others have hurt you and what people should be doing for you, then you will be self-focused.

Sadly, some Christians don't put much effort into studying the Word. They hear others teach and preach, and they may listen to online sermons and read the Bible occasionally, but they're not dedicated to making God's Word a major and regular part of their lives.

Be careful what you think about. The more you think about Jesus Christ and the principles He taught, the more you become like Jesus and the stronger you grow. And as you grow, you're winning the battles in your mind.

This day [I proclaim] I have begotten You. [2 Sam 7:14; Heb 1:5; 3:5, 6; 2 Pet 1:17, 18]

⁸'Ask of Me, and I will assuredly give [You] the nations as Your inheritance,

And the ends of the earth as Your possession.

⁹'You shall break them with a rod of iron;

You shall shatter them [in pieces] like earthenware.'" [Rev 12:5; 19:15]

¹⁰Now therefore, O kings, act wisely;

Be instructed and take warning, O leaders (judges, rulers) of the earth.

¹¹Worship the LORD and serve Him with reverence [with awe-inspired fear and submissive wonder];

Rejoice [yet do so] with trembling.

¹²Kiss (pay respect to) the Son, so that He does not become angry, and you perish in the way,

For His wrath may soon be kindled and set aflame.

How blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] are all those who take refuge in Him!

Psalm 3

Morning Prayer of Trust in God.

A Psalm of David. When he fled from Absalom his son.

¹O LORD, how my enemies have increased!

Many are rising up against me.

²Many are saying of me,

"There is no help [no salvation] for him in God."

Selah.

³But You, O LORD, are a shield for me,

My glory [and my honor], and the One who lifts my head.

⁴With my voice I was crying to the LORD,

And He answered me from His holy mountain.

Selah.

⁵I lay down and slept [safely];

I awakened, for the LORD sustains me.

⁶I will not be intimidated or afraid of the ten thousands

Who have set themselves against me all around.

⁷Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God!

For You have struck all my enemies on the cheek;

You have shattered the teeth of the wicked.

⁸Salvation belongs to the LORD;

May Your blessing be upon Your people.

Selah.

Psalm 4

Evening Prayer of Trust in God.

To the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.

¹ANSWER ME when I call, O God of my righteousness!

You have freed me when I was hemmed in and relieved me when I was in distress;

Be gracious to me and hear [and respond to] my prayer.

²O sons of men, how long will my honor and glory be [turned into] shame?

How long will you [my enemies] love worthless (vain, futile) things and seek deception and lies?

Selah.

³But know that the LORD has set apart for Himself [and dealt wonderfully with] the godly man [the one of honorable character and moral courage—the one who does right].

The LORD hears and responds when I call to Him.

⁴Tremble [with anger or fear], and do not sin;

Meditate in your heart upon your bed and be still [reflect on your sin and repent of your rebellion]. [Eph 4:26]

Selah.

⁵Offer righteous sacrifices;

Trust [confidently] in the LORD.

⁶Many are saying, "Oh, that we might see some good!"

Lift up the light of Your face upon us, O LORD.

⁷You have put joy in my heart,

More than [others know] when their wheat and new wine have yielded abundantly.

⁸In peace [and with a tranquil heart] I will both lie down and sleep,

For You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety and confident trust.

WINNING THE BATTLES of the MIND

Understanding Righteousness

The Bible includes many names of God. In Psalm 4:1, David calls Him the "God of my righteousness." We find the concept of righteousness mentioned throughout the Word of God, and it's important for us to understand it.

There are two kinds of righteousness. The first kind is righteousness through right behavior; this is the one we are most familiar with. We struggle through life trying to do what is expected of us, and what society tells us is right. If we have faith in God, we also struggle trying to please Him by obeying all His commands. Most of us feel we never succeed or measure up to the standard that has been set. Those feelings of failure and being wrong or inadequate lead to guilt and condemnation, which press us down in life and cause us to live beneath the privileges we have as children of God. We spend our lives trying to get something that God's Word says we can have freely as a gift of God's grace through faith. I like to say it is like trying to get into a chair we are already seated in.

The second kind of righteousness available to us is God's righteousness. It is His gift to us at the time we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior. It comes by grace through faith. Since it is a free gift, we cannot earn it, deserve it, or pay for it. The gift of righteousness God gives us has already been paid for through the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

In this kind of righteousness, God takes our sin and gives us His righteousness, and by an act of His love and mercy, He views us as having right standing with Him through faith (see 2 Cor. 5:21). This is the great exchange! God takes our sins, puts them on Jesus, and gives us His righteousness. Someone had to pay the price for sin, and we could not. So God sent Jesus to be our substitute and pay our sin debt in full. God is the God of our righteousness, the One who sees us as righteous not because of anything we have ever done, but because of what Jesus has done for us.

Once we know we have been made right with God through faith in Jesus, the knowledge of His love and what He has done for us causes us to "want" to do what is right, and we are then doing it for the right reason. We do what is right because He loves us, and not to get Him to love us, because His love is a free gift.

Psalm 5

Prayer for Protection from the Wicked.

To the Chief Musician; on wind instruments. A Psalm of David.

¹LISTEN TO my words, O LORD,

Consider my groaning and sighing.

²Heed the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God,

For to You I pray.

³In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice;

In the morning I will prepare [a prayer and a sacrifice] for You and watch and wait [for You to speak to my heart].

⁴For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness;

No evil [person] dwells with You.

⁵The boastful and the arrogant will not stand in Your sight;

You hate all who do evil.

⁶You destroy those who tell lies;

The LORD detests and rejects the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

⁷But as for me, I will enter Your house through the abundance of Your steadfast love and tender mercy;

At Your holy temple I will bow [obediently] in reverence for You.

⁸O LORD, lead me in Your righteousness because of my enemies;

Make Your way straight (direct, right) before me.

⁹For there is nothing trustworthy or reliable or truthful in what they say;

Their heart is destruction [just a treacherous chasm, a yawning gulf of lies].

Their throat is an open grave;