A.  Probable background:

            1.  King Saul had been after David for a long while trying to kill him.
                 (Saul was jealous of David's growing popularity among the nation of
                 Israel.)

            2.  David had many opportunities to kill Saul, but chose to run and hide in
                 mountain caves.

            3.  Many times David would awaken early in the morning with feelings of
                 remorse and self pity.

            4.  Today he sees things differently.  The coming of a new day usually
                 meant that he had to pack up and run again.

                 a.  The scenes change constantly before his eyes in the Eastern sky.
 
            5.  Because of what he sees, David:

                 a.  Reviews a revelation from creation - v. 1-6.

                 b.  Reviews and meditates on the written word - v. 7-11.

                 c.  Reviews his life and heart and meditates within - v. 12-14.

       B.  In this lesson, let's investigate this Psalm of David's and let these things
            do for us what they did for David.  They can help us forget our problems
            and concentrate on God.

   I.  THE MESSAGE FROM CREATION (THE WORLD BOOK) - V. 1-6.

       A.  Read verses 1-6.

            1.  We need to see God as a God of POWER.

       B.  Some facts about the creation:

            1.  ORION - A star sitting on the shoulder of the constellation is so huge that
                 a man flying in a star ship from the day of his birth, at the rate of 600
                 mph, would be 80 years old when he reached the other side.

            2.  National Geographic, Vol. 145, No. 5, May 1974, p. 592;

                "They measure space by a unit called a light year, the distance that light
                travels in one year at the rate of 186,282 miles a second - about six
                trillion miles.

                But even then comprehension is difficult; how can the human mind deal
                with the knowledge that the farthest object we can see in the universe
                is perhaps ten billion light years away?  Imagine that the thickness of this
                page represents the distance from earth to the sun (93,000,000 miles,
                or about eight light minutes).  The distance to the nearest star (4 1/3
                light years) is a 71 foot high sheaf of paper.  And the diameter of our
                own galaxy (100,000 light years) is a 310 mile stack, while the edge of
                the known universe is not reached until the pile of paper is 31 million
                miles high, a third of the way to the sun.

                Today we know that galaxies are as common as blades of grass in a
                meadow.  They number perhaps a hundred billion.  The huge 200 inch
                Hale Reflector on Polomar Mountain, the world's largest optical
                telescope, can see as many as a million galaxies inside the bowl of the
                Big Dipper alone."

              3.  MOLECULES:  If the molecules in the tip end of your finger, from the
                   base of the nail up, were as large as a grain of sand each, your finger
                   tip would measure 1 mile wide and 1 mile high.

                  a.  The same God created both the great and the small.

            4.  POWER OF WATER: 

                 a.  Turns mighty turbines to provide power to the world.

                 b.  Destroys cities when cast on them by the wind.

                 c.  Support large ships and carries them from place to place.

                 d.  With all this power, it can still quench man's thirst.

       C.  Our God is the power that created all of this.

  II.  THE MESSAGE FROM THE WORD OF GOD (THE WORD BOOK) - 
       V. 7-11.

       A.  Read verses 7-11.

       B.  A list of the things the Word of God can do:
 
            1.  Restore the soul - Only through the Word can a man find his way back
                 to God. 

            2.  Makes wise the simple - someone who has a teachable character.

                 a.  II Timothy 3:14,15.

                 b.  Acts 20:32.

            3.  Makes the heart rejoice.

                 a.  When you look at the precepts of God, you are looking at what
                      makes a man set his sights on the image of God's Son.

                 b.  Philippians 4:4.

                 c.  Because of the Word a man can be happy - I John 5:13.

            4.  Enlightening the eyes - makes a man see.

                 a.  You will see things that you have never seen before.

                 b.  Psalm 119:105.

                 c.  All sin is darkness.  The Word brings light.

            5.  Brings proper respect for God - v. 9.

            6.  Shows us that the precepts are greater than all of earth's riches - v. 10.

            7.  Warns us of our danger and informs us of our great reward - v. 11.

 III.  DAVID REVIEWS HIS LIFE AND MEDITATES WITHIN HIS HEART - 
       V. 12-14.

       A.  Turns inward like Isaiah did in Isaiah 6, because he had witnessed the
             glory and majesty of God Almighty.

       B.  Realizes his errors and seeks forgiveness.

   CONCLUSION:

       A.  Our God is a God of POWER.

       B.  God has created this universe for one reason, that we might have a
             constant reminder before us of His power.

       C.  God has given us His word that we might have direction.