Tag: psalms

Seeking Authentic Transformation: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Psalm 51

Psalm 51 New American Standard Bible 1995

A Contrite Sinner’s Prayer for Pardon.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David, when [a]Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

51 Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;
According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity
And cleanse me from my sin.
3 For [b]I know my transgressions,
And my sin is ever before me.
4 Against You, You only, I have sinned
And done what is evil in Your sight,
So that You [c]are justified [d]when You speak
And [e]blameless when You judge.

5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
6 Behold, You desire truth in the [f]innermost being,
And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.
7 [g]Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
[h]Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 [i]Make me to hear joy and gladness,
Let the bones which You have broken rejoice.
9 Hide Your face from my sins
And blot out all my iniquities.

10 Create [j]in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew [k]a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from Your presence
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners will [l]be converted to You.

14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation;
Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.
15 O Lord, [m]open my lips,
That my mouth may declare Your praise.
16 For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;
You are not pleased with burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

18 By Your favor do good to Zion;
[n]Build the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then You will delight in [o]righteous sacrifices,
In burnt offering and whole burnt offering;
Then [p]young bulls will be offered on Your altar.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Our devotional verses today comes from David’s song of confession and prayer after his multiple, grievous sins against Uriah, Bathsheba, and God are placed before him by Nathan – David had tried to be so clever but God misses nothing.

His sins were especially heinous because God had blessed David with an eternal deliverance, and given him the very highest responsibility as Israel’s new King. 

We serve a God of powerful transformations.

All throughout Scripture God takes those whom the world deemed the lowest, the hopeless, and the helpless and uses them to change the world.

You are not beyond transformation.

God longs to break off that which inhibits you from experiencing fullness of life.

He longs to heal you, deliver you, and set you free.

As humans burdened and suffering from both our sins and the fallen nature of the world around us, we are in desperate need of relational transformation.

We are in desperate need of help from a God who has the power to not just clean us up on the outside but to transform us at the core of who we are.

But this God doesn’t force transformation on us.

He works when we make space for him to do so.

If we are going to authentically experience the freedom, joy, and purpose that can only come from the inner working of the Holy Spirit, we must be those who seek transformation in our relationship with God, with all our fellow neighbors.

Psalm 51:10-12 says, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.” 

Here in Psalm 51 David exemplifies the heart of one who seeks transformation.

He models for us a posture of humility that will lead to powerful encounters with God’s transformative love. He doesn’t sit back and merely live with that which plagues him but goes to God with his problems that he might be changed.

David begins as we all should in asking for God to do a mighty work in his heart.

And in this contrite act of asking God to create in him a clean heart, David opens himself up, leaves his throne so to receive the powerful work of the Holy Spirit.

To receive transformation from God we have to come before him humbly and honestly that he might have all time, space, to do the impossible in our lives.

Often we spend a majority of our efforts trying to convince others and ourselves that we don’t need help.

We work tirelessly to build up a façade that we always have it all together.

We do everything we can to maintain a sense of control in our lives—even in regard to our spirituality. But in doing so we place appearances above reality.

We allow that which is destroying us from the inside to persist simply because we are unwilling to acknowledge that we have need.

It’s as if we deliberately tried to cover up an external wound with our jewelry expecting the surface-level beauty of something to contain the power to heal what’s underneath. We don’t need that which covers up. We need the healing that only comes from going with an honest, open heart to the one true Healer.

God’s heart for you and me today is that we would put down our guards, take an honest look at our hearts, and recognize our need for the truest transformation.

He longs for us to take a moment and call out that which is robbing us of the abundant life he so willingly died to give us.

Your God is willing and able to transform you.

That which has plagued you for so long will be healed and broken off your life if you will continually seek transformation from your merciful heavenly Father.

As we come to relive those momentous moments in the Upper Room, in the Garden of Gethsemane, moments of hardcore betrayal, witness the long and brutal march to Golgotha, watch as he is nailed, listen as he tries to speak his final words above the din of laughing mocking witnesses, may you experience some powerful transformation today as you enter into a time of guided prayer.

When we listen to the false witnesses, see Pilate wash his hands, may our life be forever changed as we spend time discovering God’s heart for transformation.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on the importance of seeking transformation. 

Allow Psalm 51:10-12 to be your model.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.” Psalm 51:10-12

2. Take an honest look at your heart. 

Psalm 139:23-24 New American Standard Bible 1995

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
24 And see if there be any [a]hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way.

Where do you need transformation?

What lie, habitual sin, perspective, or fear is robbing you of abundant life? What’s chaining you to the backward ways, cares, and burdens of the world?

3. Declare your need for transformation in that area to God. 

Psalm 25:1-7 New American Standard Bible 1995

Prayer for Protection, Guidance and Pardon.

A Psalm of David.

25 To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
2 O my God, in You I trust,
Do not let me be ashamed;
Do not let my enemies exult over me.
3 Indeed, none of those who wait for You will be ashamed;
[a]Those who deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed.

4 Make me know Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
For You I wait all the day.
6 Remember, O Lord, Your compassion and Your lovingkindnesses,
For they have been [b]from of old.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
According to Your lovingkindness remember me,
For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.

Tell him you need his help.

Ask him to come and do a mighty work in your heart.

Listen to whatever he would speak over you, and trust that he will transform you if you continually seek his help.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

We all have areas in which we need transformation.

We all are in need of God’s help.

Not one of us is perfect.

Proverbs 3:5-8 New American Standard Bible 1995

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
8 It will be healing to your [a]body
And refreshment to your bones.

Rather than spending all our energy trying to keep up appearances with others, yourself, with God, devote yourself completely to living honestly and humbly.

Stop exhausting yourself doing that which is of no value and seek help.

If you will commit to seeking continual transformation, your efforts will produce life and peace rather than more burden.

May your heart be filled with hope as the Holy Spirit works in your life today.

Psalm 32 New American Standard Bible 1995

Blessedness of Forgiveness and of Trust in God.

A Psalm of David. A [a]Maskil.

32 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered!
2 How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit!

3 When I kept silent about my sin, my [b]body wasted away
Through my [c]groaning all day long.
4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
My [d]vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. [e]Selah.
5 I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I did not hide;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”;
And You forgave the [f]guilt of my sin. Selah.
6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You [g]in a time when You may be found;
Surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.
7 You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble;
You surround me with [h]songs of deliverance. Selah.

8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;
I will counsel you with My eye upon you.
9 Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding,
Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check,
Otherwise they will not come near to you.
10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
But he who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness shall surround him.
11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones;
And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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A Prayer for Healing and Wholeness This Easter Season. Psalm 107:19-20

Psalm 107:17-22 New American Standard Bible 1995

17 Fools, because of [a]their rebellious way,
And because of their iniquities, were afflicted.
18 Their soul abhorred all kinds of food,
And they drew near to the gates of death.
19 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble;
He saved them out of their distresses.
20 He sent His word and healed them,
And delivered them from their [b]destructions.
21 Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness,
And for His [c]wonders to the sons of men!
22 Let them also offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
And tell of His works with joyful singing.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Have you ever asked yourself if can you or you will ever be healed or whole?

Life has a way of breaking you down.

Piece by piece, no peace by absent peace, sin has an insidious way of destroying you from the inside out.

When we take the time, and we dare ourselves to look at our world and the mess it is in, and even our own personal lives, this side of eternity can feel hopeless.

Corrie Ten Boom, a holocaust survivor who lost her father and sister in a concentration camp, said, “If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. If you look at God, you’ll be at rest.”

As I looked up verses on healing and wholeness, I came across this verse in Psalm 107:20. “He sent his word and healed them.”

When I saw “He sent his word,” I was reminded of John 1:14, which says,

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Jesus is the Word that John is referring to here. Sometimes, the Lord doesn’t change our situation because He wants to change us. He wants us to depend on Him and to rely on the truth about His character and His promises in His Word.

In Exodus 15:26, the Lord refers to Himself as the Lord who heals you.

No one is beyond healing.

But we also must acknowledge that this is not heaven.

We live in a fallen world, and on this side of eternity, we will never be fully whole, but in Christ, we are enough because He is enough.

He is sufficient.

Yet, He can still heal, restore, and make whole, but it has to be His will, in His way and in His timing. 

One thing we can cling to is truth!

John 8:32, it says, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

So if you’re struggling because you’re believing sins lies, if you know the truth, the truth will set You free. God’s Word also transforms us (Romans 12:2).

Appreciating the Word of God Sent From Psalm 107

Psalm 107 New American Standard Bible 1995

BOOK 5

The Lord Delivers Men from Manifold Troubles.

107 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary
3 And gathered from the lands,
From the east and from the west,
From the north and from the [a]south.

Four dramatic stories of reversal and rescue make up the heart of this psalm.

These are hard, perilous circumstances: lost in the desert, locked up in prison, afflicted and near death, and perishing at sea.

In all of the situations in the Psalm, God unhesitatingly, directly and decisively, acts in powerful, life-giving, life transforming ways to rescue and restore.

If we think or believe that our lives are beyond help or rescue, we are wrong.

God guides us into the desert, to springs of water, out of the desert, breaks our chains, opens prison doors, speaks words of healing, and calms the stormy sea.

We may go down, even stay down for awhile, but God will always bring us back.

Whatever it takes, however long it takes, by all means necessary, God can do it.

Many readers and students note that the stories in this psalm remind them of Jesus’ ministry.

1 John 1:1-4 New American Standard Bible 1995

Introduction, The Incarnate Word

1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life— 2 and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us— 3 what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.

John 3:16-17 New American Standard Bible 1995

16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His [a]only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

Jesus comes to connect, to relate, refresh, to rescue, deliver, free, and restore.

He feeds the hungry and provides living water, releases people from chains of disability and illness, rescues people from the grave, and calms the stormy sea.

The gospel Jesus indelibly proclaims is the good news of God’s steadfast love.

In all that Christ does, we see all of God’s love in ceaseless, continuous action.

We may not have stories like these to tell, but all have the story of Ephesians 2: we were dead in our sins, following the ways of this world, deserving of wrath.

But even though we were unable to utter a simple cry for help, God—out of his steadfast love and mercy—He rescued us all through the work of Jesus Christ.

Jeremiah 17:14 New American Standard Bible 1995

14 Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed;
Save me and I will be saved,
For You are my praise.

Do we acknowledge this?

Do we believe this?

Do we believe we can be healed and made whole?

Do you believe that you can be healed and made whole?

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 30 New American Standard Bible 1995

Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Death.

A Psalm; a Song at the Dedication of the House. A Psalm of David.

30 I will extol You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up,
And have not let my enemies rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God,
I cried to You for help, and You healed me.
3 O Lord, You have brought up my soul from [a]Sheol;
You have kept me alive, [b]that I would not go down to the pit.
4 Sing praise to the Lord, you His godly ones,
And give thanks to His holy [c]name.
5 For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for a lifetime;
Weeping may last for the night,
But a shout of joy comes in the morning.

6 Now as for me, I said in my prosperity,
“I will never be moved.”
7 O Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain to stand strong;
You hid Your face, I was dismayed.
8 To You, O Lord, I called,
And to the Lord I made supplication:
9 “What profit is there in my blood, if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your faithfulness?

10 “Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me;
O Lord, be my helper.”
11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness,
12 That my [d]soul may sing praise to You and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Finding God, our Hope: “For my soul has had enough troubles, And my life has drawn near to Sheol.” Psalms 88

Psalm 88 New King James Version

A Prayer for Help in Despondency

A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. To the Chief Musician. Set to “Mahalath Leannoth.” A [a]Contemplation of Heman the Ezrahite.

88 O Lord, God of my salvation,
I have cried out day and night before You.
2 Let my prayer come before You;
[b]Incline Your ear to my cry.

3 For my soul is full of troubles,
And my life draws near to the grave.
4 I am counted with those who go[c] down to the pit;
I am like a man who has no strength,
5 [d]Adrift among the dead,
Like the slain who lie in the grave,
Whom You remember no more,
And who are cut off from Your hand.

6 You have laid me in the lowest pit,
In darkness, in the depths.
7 Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
And You have afflicted me with all Your waves. Selah
8 You have [e]put away my acquaintances far from me;
You have made me an abomination to them;
I am shut up, and I cannot get out;
9 My eye wastes away because of affliction.

Lord, I have called daily upon You;
I have stretched out my hands to You.
10 Will You work wonders for the dead?
Shall [f]the dead arise and praise You? Selah
11 Shall Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave?
Or Your faithfulness in the place of destruction?
12 Shall Your wonders be known in the dark?
And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

13 But to You I have cried out, O Lord,
And in the morning my prayer comes before You.
14 Lord, why do You cast off my soul?
Why do You hide Your face from me?
15 I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth;
I suffer Your terrors;
I am distraught.
16 Your fierce wrath has gone over me;
Your terrors have [g]cut me off.
17 They came around me all day long like water;
They engulfed me altogether.
18 Loved one and friend You have put far from me,
And my acquaintances into darkness.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Who Knows This Measure of Agony?

We come now to psalm 88, the lowest point of lament and despair in the entire psalter, it is the only psalm which does not have any ‘yet’ or a ‘nevertheless’ to redeem its pain, but, considered as a psalm in itself, ends in the same agony and loneliness with which it began:

“My lovers and friends hast thou put away from me: and hid mine acquaintance out of my sight.” Verse 18 AKJV

That is the end of the psalm, but not the end of the psalter, the book of praises.

In fact, as Paula Gooder points out in the Introduction to David’s Crown, it is, in terms of the number of verses in total, the exact mid-point of the psalter, it is the middle, and not the end of the story.

This is vital for us to remember: both that we can freely tell God our worst fears and feelings, as the psalmist does here, and also that we can know that those fears and doubts are not the end of our story, any more than they are the close of the psalter, for the psalter re-ascends from this darkness, closes with praise.

It is this, which enables us, in this devotional response to psalm 88 to trust God with the uppermost uncensored bleakness of our own personal experienced of spiritual darkness and depression-maybe even give insight into Jesus’ Calvary.

Hello Darkness my old friend, again I come to talk …

We may be more used to the idea of darkness as a friend from that Simon and Garfunkel classic the sound of silence with its opening line “hello darkness my old friend, I’ve come to talk with you again”… than the closing line of a psalm, but that is exactly how psalm 88 finishes ..with the psalmist saying darkness…it is the darkness which is my closest confidant, my dearest most trusted friend.

It is the ‘saddest and darkest psalm in the whole psalter.

IT is one wail of sorrow from beginning to end.

You could say that from go to woe… well it’s just all woe.

Another commentator says… its uniqueness is in its bleakness.

“Psalm 88 is unmatched in its tone of darkness and despair”.  

The only glimmer of light is the first line, “Lord, you are the God who saves me”, kind of like the last comforting rays of the sunset before the long dark night envelops the psalmist as he waits and waits and waits for God to help.

One of the amazing things about the psalms is that within them the whole of human experience is raised up before God.  

AS such it is “proper that it should contain the record of an hour so dark that no relief comes” (EM Blaiklock).

From the introduction to this psalm we see it was put to a tune, it was a song that was designed for corporate worship, so it was meant not only as a personal expression of suffering and waiting for God to act but as a corporate one as well, drawing together people, acknowledge a shared pain and longing and disquiet.

I could imagine the exiles by the rivers of Babylon singing this sort of psalm as they wept, as they remembered Zion (Psalm 137).

It reverberates with the loudest cries of people who have suffered oppression down through the ages.

It echoes the cries of people of faith who have wrestled with unanswered prayer.

In fact the psalm comes from a place where there seems to be no simple answer, it’s part of the wisdom literature in the Hebrew Scriptures that wrestles with the deep question of good versus evil, why bad things happen to good people.

It has many similarities with the book of Job, the Psalmist is sick and facing death and disaster, he feels like Job, God is unjustly turned away from him and he finds no comfort in friends or neighbors, they simply add to his suffering.

While there are good theological answers to the question of suffering and evil in the end, it is the greatest testimony to the strength of faith in God, the people of God resort to poetry, to song to bring out the depth of that suffering. (Psalm 23)

Praying, Finding Hope in the Darkest Psalm

Psalm 88:1-2 New Living Translation

Psalm 88

For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah. A song to be sung to the tune “The Suffering of Affliction.” A psalm[a] of Heman the Ezrahite.

1 O Lord, God of my salvation,
    I cry out to you by day.
    I come to you at night.
2 Now hear my prayer;
    listen to my cry.

One of the most difficult seasons we can endure is when we feel God is silent, especially if we’re already going through challenging situations.

When it seems everything is going wrong and your Help seems to be nowhere in sight, sadly too leaves a person feeling forgotten, in disparity, simply rejected.

Our major frustrations from these harsh times and seasons come not from simply being in this pit but thinking that God’s silence means His absence.

If this is you, you’re not alone.

The author of Psalm 88 has not only been through this type of heartbreaking situation, he wrote about. 

As I said, Psalm 88 appears to be one of the saddest and most dismal chapters in the Bible. Dare yourself, just feel free to check it out and I’m sure you will agree.

The writer expresses feelings of being overwhelmed, cut off, forgotten, grieved, rejected, terrified, and despaired. 

Worst of all, he is crying out to God wondering where God is in all his suffering. 

The Psalm ends saying, “darkness is my closest friend” (Psalm 88:18 NIV).

However, the hope this Psalm offers is not in its ending, but in its beginning.

“LORD, you are the God who saves me; day and night I cry out to you.” (Psalm 88:1 NIV)

Before his laundry list of everything that’s going wrong, the Psalmist acknowledges that there is hope for salvation in the Lord, even when God appears silent.

We learn that just because God is silent does not mean He is absent, and it certainly does not mean He is not working behind the scenes on our behalf.

Do not be deceived by the darkness in your life, it is never greater than where your help comes from. (John 1:1-5)

Even when you feel you are in an inescapable pit, as the writer of Psalm 88 describes, God is there with you.

One of the things this psalm does is allow us to know we are not alone in wrestling with God, we are not alone in facing seemingly insurmountable difficulties, we are not alone in feeling alone and unloved.

We are not alone in still having redeeming faith and trusting in God even in the face of what may seem like God’s absence.

Four times in this Psalm the writer calls out to God.

His plea echoes through time, reminds me of Jesus suffering horribly on the cross crying out in his darkest moment to the Father.

About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? – Matthew 27:46 NIV

I want to ask, do you think God stopped loving Jesus because He was dying a horrible death on the cross? Was Jesus’ suffering a sign God dismissed His Son?

Absolutely not!

If God didn’t stop loving Jesus on the cross then no matter what dark season you are in He has not, and will not stop loving you.

And if He’s promised to never leave you for forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6) please trust He’s right in the darkness with you friend.

He walks through the valley of the show of death with us (Psalm 23:4). 

We may not always feel or hear God but we can always believe His promise is greater than our darkness.

This darkest season only served to push the writer of Psalm 88 closer to God.

He was not calling out to another person or thing for help.

He called out to the ONLY One he knew could save.

This Psalm reminds us that our dark seasons don’t serve to show us that God is absent but actually, emphatically, just how desperately we need His presence.

The Psalmist felt his life was near death so he cries out to the very One who raises the dead. 

He does not look for salvation from people or things.

When you’re near death you cry out to the One who overcame death.

There is purpose in our pain and hope in our dark season to push us to the light.

I encourage each of you readers to pray to God just as the writer of Psalm 88.

John 14:1-4 New Living Translation

Jesus, the Way to the Father

14 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. 2  There is more than enough room in my Father’s home.[a] If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?[b] 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. 4  And you know the way to where I am going.”

In my own experience, I’ve learned that sometimes God empties us so He can fill us back up. Sometimes He’s silent so we can learn to listen. Sometimes He allows the deepest darkness so we can see that He is the true light of our life.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 27 New American Standard Bible 1995

A Psalm of Fearless Trust in God.

A Psalm of David.

27 The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the [a]defense of my life;
Whom shall I dread?
2 When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh,
My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell.
3 Though a host encamp against me,
My heart will not fear;
Though war arise against me,
In spite of this I [b]shall be confident.

4 One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
To behold the [c]beauty of the Lord
And to [d]meditate in His temple.
5 For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His [e]tabernacle;
In the secret place of His tent He will hide me;
He will lift me up on a rock.
6 And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me,
And I will offer in His tent sacrifices [f]with shouts of joy;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice,
And be gracious to me and answer me.
8 When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You,
“Your face, O Lord, I shall seek.”
9 Do not hide Your face from me,
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not abandon me nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation!
10 [g]For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
But the Lord will take me up.

11 Teach me Your way, O Lord,
And lead me in a level path
Because of [h]my foes.
12 Do not deliver me over to the [i]desire of my adversaries,
For false witnesses have risen against me,
And such as breathe out violence.
13 [j]I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.
14 Wait for the Lord;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the Lord.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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“When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” Psalm 61

Psalm 61 New King James Version

Assurance of God’s Eternal Protection

To the Chief Musician. On [a]a stringed instrument. A Psalm of David.

61 Hear my cry, O God;
Attend to my prayer.
2 From the end of the earth I will cry to You,
When my heart is overwhelmed;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

3 For You have been a shelter for me,
A strong tower from the enemy.
4 I will abide in Your [b]tabernacle forever;
I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah

5 For You, O God, have heard my vows;
You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name.
6 You will prolong the king’s life,
His years as many generations.
7 He shall abide before God forever.
Oh, prepare mercy and truth, which may [c]preserve him!

8 So I will sing praise to Your name forever,
That I may daily perform my vows.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

One thing I love about reading through the book of Psalms is that each Psalm usually begins with a heavy heart, and ends in praise and rejoicing.

Psalm 61 is no exception.

There are several reasons I love Psalm 61, and verse 2 is a bit part of that.

Here are some of the reasons that Psalm 61:2 is such a huge encouragement:

  • No matter where we are on this earth, God hears us. There is no where we can go that God cannot reach (Psalm 139:7). This fact alone should provide comfort and encouragement.
  • We all feel overwhelmed at some point or another. David says, “when my heart is overwhelmed”. Not if, when. It is completely normal for our hearts to feel overwhelmed on occasion. The key is that we need to take it to the Lord.
  • God is our rock. What an encouraging and reassuring fact, to know that we have a rock which cannot be moved (Psalm 62:6).

A Prayer for When the Heart and the Hurt Is too Heavy

Psalm 61 New Living Translation

Psalm 61

For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by stringed instruments.

1 O God, listen to my cry!
    Hear my prayer!
2 From the ends of the earth,
    I cry to you for help
    when my heart is overwhelmed.
Lead me to the towering rock of safety,
3     for you are my safe refuge,
    a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me.
4 Let me live forever in your sanctuary,
    safe beneath the shelter of your wings! Interlude

5 For you have heard my vows, O God.
    You have given me an inheritance reserved for those who fear your name.
6 Add many years to the life of the king!
    May his years span the generations!
7 May he reign under God’s protection forever.
    May your unfailing love and faithfulness watch over him.
8 Then I will sing praises to your name forever
    as I fulfill my vows each day.

On those days when I Pray: “Lead me to the Towering Rock of Safety …”

I cannot know what is going on in your life the exact same way God does, but I do know that God knows and reveals that no one goes through life unscathed.

Some of my darkest and heaviest moments were moments of loss — the loss of one’s health, a dream job, the loss of a relationship, the loss of family members.

The Lord does not promise an easy life.

In fact, in his final discourse in the Upper Room before being betrayed, before being arrested, before the kangaroo court, before the massive beatings, before being spat upon, the public scorn and humiliation, before the crown of thorns, being slammed down on his head, the march to Calvary, John 16:33, Jesus said,

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

I am not so sure our hearts can ever get as heavy as Jesus’ did in those hours.

But when we feel as though they do, where do we go when our hearts are heavy?

Did you see the first part of John 16:33?

It says, “that in Me you may have peace.” 

Deuteronomy 33:27 says, “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms…”

Psalm 61 New American Standard Bible 1995

Confidence in God’s Protection.

For the choir director; on a stringed instrument. A Psalm of David.

61 Hear my cry, O God;
Give heed to my prayer.
2 From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
3 For You have been a refuge for me,
A tower of strength [a]against the enemy.
4 Let me [b]dwell in Your tent forever;
Let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings. [c]Selah.

5 For You have heard my vows, O God;
You have given me the inheritance of those who fear Your name.
6 You will [d]prolong the king’s [e]life;
His years will be as many generations.
7 He will [f]abide before God forever;
Appoint lovingkindness and truth that they may preserve him.
8 So I will sing praise to Your name forever,
That I may pay my vows day by day.

Although we may wrestle mightily with why God has allowed certain things to take place, He offers Himself as a refuge when there is no other refuge available.

He is not timid, nor scared nor unprepared for your questions, tears, or anger.

His hands are strong enough to hold us when we are certainly falling apart.

I want to encourage you to do what David did and wrote about in Psalm 62:5-8,

Psalm 62:5-8 New American Standard Bible 1995

5 My soul, wait in silence for God only,
For my hope is from Him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation,
My stronghold; I shall not be shaken.
7 On God my salvation and my glory rest;
The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.
8 Trust in Him at all times, O people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah.

Pour out your heart and your hurt to God.

Meditate and Pray through each verse of Psalm 62:5-8 separately …

And when You are struggling to trust Him, like we all do, ask Him to help you trust Him. 

2 Timothy 2:13 “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.”

If you find yourself struggling to pray today, I can surely empathize.

Somedays Life hurts.

It sometimes and some days leaves us utterly incapacitated and speechless.

Again, I can empathize, I want to encourage you that God never stops working. 

John 5:14-17 New American Standard Bible 1995

14 Afterward Jesus *found him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.” 15 The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. 16 For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.”

John 5:17 says, “In his defense Jesus said to them, ‘My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.’”

And from our “wrecks and ruins” God does refresh, repair and restore and heal.

Isaiah 58:11-12 New American Standard Bible 1995

11 “And the Lord will continually guide you,
And satisfy your [a]desire in scorched places,
And give strength to your bones;
And you will be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water whose waters do not [b]fail.
12 “Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins;
You will raise up the age-old foundations;
And you will be called the repairer of the breach,
The restorer of the [c]streets in which to dwell.

I want to pray into your wreckage and ruin for you, even if you cannot join me.

As much as these temporary moments and the world may lead you to believe I absolutely, definitely, unequivocally, want you to know you are never alone!

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 40 New American Standard Bible 1995

God Sustains His Servant.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

40 I waited [a]patiently for the Lord;
And He inclined to me and heard my cry.
2 He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the [b]miry clay,
And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.
3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;
Many will see and fear
And will trust in the Lord.

4 How blessed is the man who has made the Lord his trust,
And has not [c]turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.
5 Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders which You have done,
And Your thoughts toward us;
There is none to compare with You.
If I would declare and speak of them,
They would be too numerous to count.

6 [d]Sacrifice and meal offering You have not desired;
My ears You have [e]opened;
Burnt offering and sin offering You have not required.
7 Then I said, “Behold, I come;
In the scroll of the book it is [f]written of me.
8 I delight to do Your will, O my God;
Your Law is within my heart.”

9 I have proclaimed glad tidings of righteousness in the great congregation;
Behold, I will not restrain my lips,
O Lord, You know.
10 I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart;
I have spoken of Your faithfulness and Your salvation;
I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great congregation.

11 You, O Lord, will not withhold Your compassion from me;
[g]Your lovingkindness and Your truth will continually preserve me.
12 For evils beyond number have surrounded me;
My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see;
They are more numerous than the hairs of my head,
And my heart has [h]failed me.

13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me;
Make haste, O Lord, to help me.
14 Let those be ashamed and humiliated together
Who seek my [i]life to destroy it;
Let those be turned back and dishonored
Who delight [j]in my hurt.
15 Let those be [k]appalled because of their shame
Who say to me, “Aha, aha!”
16 Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
Let those who love Your salvation say continually,
“The Lord be magnified!”
17 Since I am afflicted and needy,
[l]Let the Lord be mindful of me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
Do not delay, O my God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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“O Lord, how many are my foes? Many are now rising against me!” Psalm 3

Psalm 3 New American Standard Bible 1995

Morning Prayer of Trust in God.

A Psalm of David, when [a]he fled from Absalom his son.

3 O Lord, how my adversaries have increased!
Many are rising up against me.
2 Many are saying [b]of my soul,
“There is no [c]deliverance for him in God.” [d]Selah.

3 But You, O Lord, are a shield about me,
My glory, and the One who lifts my head.
4 I was crying to the Lord with my voice,
And He answered me from His holy [e]mountain. Selah.
5 [f]I lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the Lord sustains me.
6 I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people
Who have set themselves against me round about.

7 Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God!
For You [g]have smitten all my enemies on the [h]cheek;
You [i]have shattered the teeth of the wicked.
8 [j]Salvation belongs to the Lord;
Your blessing [k]be upon Your people! Selah.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

When Opposition Comes (and It Will)

Of all the things that are uncertain in this life, there is something we can be sure of—opposition.

Opposition will always come, in one form or another, and we won’t always be prepared for it.

In the work place, it may come as a challenge to our ideas or strategies.

In our families, it may be against our parenting styles, it may be a retaliation against our principles, it may be the children demanding their own bedtimes.

And in faith, as Jesus lived, opposition may come as a mockery or even a threat.

King David truly knew the severity of opposition and experienced it regularly throughout his reign. More than once, he fled into the mountains, fearing for his life. Frequently, he cried out to God over the extreme opposition he faced.

The title of Psalm 3 is “A Psalm of David When he fled from his son Absalom.”

“Many are my foes! Many are rising against me!”

David’s experiences with his adversaries were most likely far greater than anything we have experienced or will experience.

But no matter what, we can be sure of this: God is our Great Defender.

There is no greater defense than that of our Father in heaven.

And He urges us to allow Him to deal with our opposer instead of taking matters into our own hands.

Faith—Overcoming Evil

Romans 12:17-21 New American Standard Bible 1995

17 Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. [a]Respect what is right in the sight of all men. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. 19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but [b]leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

If you’re anything like me, it’s easy to jump into “defense” mode.

It can be difficult to let things roll off my back, especially when I feel wronged.

Yet, so often in my rehearsed plans of retaliation, I sense the gentle voice of the Spirit saying, “Peace…be still. Let Me go before you in this.”

It began as a peaceful march to protest the killing of George Floyd.

But as the darkness deepened, it became a dark night of riotous behavior.

Images of angry people smashing store fronts, of police cars ablaze, and of businesses going up in flames brought me to my knees in earnest prayer and disturbed my anxious sleep. What I saw was way beyond bad, frightening, evil.

In the morning I checked as much of the news as I could access by internet.

The rioters were gone, but they had left a disturbing mess: smashed windows, burned cars, rocks and bricks and vile graffiti, sad ruins in the heart of the city.

A reporter surveying the damage approached a young mother with two children.

He asked her, “Why are you here this morning?” She said, “We saw the news; we decided that this city needs someone to show the love of God.”

Others were there too—sweeping glass shards, trying to restore order to chaos.

The mom and her children, who were perhaps about 5 and 7 years old, were there with buckets, their brushes and soap, trying to erase stubborn graffiti.

To me, they sacrificed their time, they brought some light into the darkness, some of God’s love into a broken place where the evidence of evil was very real.

In that mother and her little ones, I saw the presence of the resurrected Jesus.

She and her children were being the church, Christ’s body—overcoming evil by doing good.

As I watched, my anger was transformed, replaced by warm and grateful tears welled up from within me in a prayer of thanks to God.

When we surrender our will to the Father, no matter how justified we feel, there will be an unexplainable peace that comes.

Surrendering all of our “fists-in-the-air” attitudes and plans of pay-back will always result in a better outcome—an outcome that is surrounded by certainty that reminds us, “God’s got this.”

The more we live out our faith in Christ, the more people will oppose what they don’t fully understand.

It’s a way of retaliating against something that challenges them in some way.

If you and I are actively living out our faith, walking in the fruit of the Spirit and showing God’s love, that will be a challenge for some.

And in that challenge, we may find ourselves greatly opposed.

Harsh words, divisive questions, and rude comments might be the ways in which people come against us.

But just as David, in Psalm 3, took those oppositions to the Lord, we, too, can release them to our Mighty Defender.

Psalm 3:3-6 New American Standard Bible 1995

3 But You, O Lord, are a shield about me,
My glory, and the One who lifts my head.
4 I was crying to the Lord with my voice,
And He answered me from His holy [a]mountain. Selah.
5 [b]I lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the Lord sustains me.
6 I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people
Who have set themselves against me round about.

For in the end, as David knew from vast measures and degrees of experience his whole life long, God, and only God, can right those wrongs of unjust opposition.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 121 New American Standard Bible 1995

The Lord the Keeper of Israel.

A Song of Ascents.

121 I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;
From where shall my help come?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not allow your foot to slip;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, He who keeps Israel
Will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord is your keeper;
The Lord is your shade on your right hand.
6 The sun will not smite you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will [a]protect you from all evil;
He will keep your soul.
8 The Lord will [b]guard your going out and your coming in
From this time forth and forever.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? The Lie of Isolation Psalm 13

Psalm 13 New American Standard Bible 1995

Prayer for Help in Trouble.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

13 How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,
4 And my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.

5 But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness;
My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

People say time flies when you’re having fun.

But when things shift into a minor key, life seems to move in slow motion.

We find ourselves thinking, “Where is God now? I don’t know if I’m ever going to get out of these circumstances. And I don’t know how I can endure them.”

Our reading today, Psalm 13, contains a recurring question: “How long? How long?” David’s circumstances aren’t described, but he clearly feels forgotten and forsaken—a feeling we all can relate to.

It’s circumstance akin to what we feel when we lose a loved one or when we feel we are stuck in life drudgery, that we must walk through a valley of trial alone.

To be isolated from human relationships is, without question, crushing.

But what David writes and sings of here in Psalm 13 is even more significant.

He’s expressing a bottomless feeling of isolation from God Himself.

This sentiment is shared by many of God’s people throughout Scripture.

In Isaiah, God’s exiled people cry out, “The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me” (Isaiah 49:14).

Christian pilgrims—genuine followers and servants of Jesus—do sometimes feel like saying, “I believe the Lord has actually forgotten us.

If He has not forgotten us, if He was still with us, how would we be in this predicament?

If He truly was watching over us, surely we would not have to endure these ceaseless, unyielding trials.

Yet in David’s emerging depression, we discover that his perception (as is often the case with our own) does not reflect reality.

And David has the spiritual maturity and humility to acknowledge that what he feels is true does not align with what he knows is actually true.

So he reminds himself of God’s steadfast love, His salvation, and His generosity—and David resolves to rejoice in those things instead even as he struggles and suffers (Psalm 13:5-6).

This is the hope-filled tension of the Christian life.

As we get stuck, as we stare long and hard into the drudgery of life and ministry and mission and church in the 21st century, and wonder of God, do we see hope?

We keep asking, “How long, Lord? Where are you, God?” even as we remind our own hearts that God has not stopped loving us, delivering us, or working in us?

Where is Your Hope?

Proverbs 11:4-8 New American Standard Bible 1995

4 Riches do not profit in the day of wrath,
But righteousness delivers from death.
5 The righteousness of the blameless will smooth his way,
But the wicked will fall by his own wickedness.
6 The righteousness of the upright will deliver them,
But the treacherous will be caught by their own greed.
7 When a wicked man dies, his expectation will perish,
And the hope of strong men perishes.
8 The righteous is delivered from trouble,
But the wicked [a]takes his place.

In a worship song from the early 2000s, singer/songwriter Brian Doerksen sings, “Jesus, hope of the nations/ Jesus, comfort for all who mourn/ You are the source of heaven’s hope on earth.”

As believers in Christ, we recognize and worship Jesus as the true hope of the world, and yet it’s astounding how often we pin our hopes on ­human beings.

In all of our history books, it is clear that people are inclined to find more hope in their leaders, politicians, and celebrities rather than in the one true God.

Why do we do this?

These timely timeless words from Proverbs warns that placing hope in humans is infinitely worse than futile because any human power will come to nothing.

As the apostle Paul tells us, “There is no authority except that which God has established” (Romans 13:1).

By saying this, Paul is assuring believers that in all situations, even in the midst of national turmoil’s and global crises, God is the # One who holds all ­authority.

Any human who has “power” has it only because God allows it to be so.

In other words, our hopes and desires must lie with the One who is on the throne of the universe.

Our prayers must be exclusively oriented toward Jesus Christ, for he is truly the only hope—the only resurrected one, the one who can change minds, transform hearts, disperse principalities and powers, can bring restoration and revival.

Do not believe the lie of abandonment that your emotions can feed you.

Please just make an honest and concerted effort to rest in God’s comforting response to His forgetful people:

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me” (Isaiah 49:15-16).

God’s care for His children is like the sun: it’s constant.

Even when the clouds obscure it, it’s still there.

It’s always going to be “still there.”

Will you trust in God’s constancy today?

When you are next feeling forsaken, know that God looks at His hands, engraved with each and every one of His children’s names, and He says, 

“There you are. Do you see now that I have not forgotten you?” (John 19:30)

30 Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 24 New American Standard Bible 1995

The King of Glory Entering Zion.

A Psalm of David.

24 The earth is the Lord’s, and [a]all it contains,
The world, and those who dwell in it.
2 For He has founded it upon the seas
And established it upon the rivers.
3 Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?
And who may stand in His holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul [b]to falsehood
And has not sworn deceitfully.
5 He shall receive a blessing from the Lord
And [c]righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 [d]This is the generation of those who seek Him,
Who seek Your face—even Jacob. [e]Selah.

7 Lift up your heads, O gates,
And be lifted up, O [f]ancient doors,
That the King of glory may come in!
8 Who is the King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
The Lord mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, O gates,
And lift them up, O [g]ancient doors,
That the King of glory may come in!
10 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
He is the King of glory. Selah.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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It’s One and Done! Now and Forever, Jesus has Removed All of Our Shame. Psalm 25

Psalm 25 New American Standard Bible 1995

Prayer for Protection, Guidance and Pardon.

A Psalm of David.

25 To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
2 O my God, in You I trust,
Do not let me be ashamed;
Do not let my enemies exult over me.
3 Indeed, none of those who wait for You will be ashamed;
[a]Those who deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed.

4 Make me know Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
For You I wait all the day.
6 Remember, O Lord, Your compassion and Your lovingkindnesses,
For they have been [b]from of old.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
According to Your lovingkindness remember me,
For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.

8 Good and upright is the Lord;
Therefore He instructs sinners in the way.
9 He leads the [c]humble in justice,
And He teaches the [d]humble His way.
10 All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and truth
To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.
11 For Your name’s sake, O Lord,
Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.

12 Who is the man who fears the Lord?
He will instruct him in the way he should choose.
13 His soul will abide in [e]prosperity,
And his [f]descendants will inherit the [g]land.
14 The [h]secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him,
[i]And He will make them know His covenant.
15 My eyes are continually toward the Lord,
For He will [j]pluck my feet out of the net.

16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
For I am lonely and afflicted.
17 [k]The troubles of my heart are enlarged;
Bring me out of my distresses.
18 Look upon my affliction and my [l]trouble,
And forgive all my sins.
19 Look upon my enemies, for they are many,
And they hate me with violent hatred.
20 Guard my soul and deliver me;
Do not let me be ashamed, for I take refuge in You.
21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me,
For I wait for You.
22 Redeem Israel, O God,
Out of all his troubles.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

From Matthew Henry’s Commentary on Psalm 25:3 …

“In worshipping God, we must lift up our souls to him. It is certain that none who, by a believing attendance, wait on God, and, by a believing hope, wait for him, shall be ashamed of it. The most advanced believer both needs and desires to be taught of God. If we sincerely desire to know our duty, with resolution to do it, we may be sure that God will direct us in it. The psalmist is earnest for the pardon of his sins. When God pardons sin, he is said to remember it no more, which denotes full remission. It is God’s goodness, and not ours, his mercy, and not our merit, that must be our plea for the pardon of sin, and all the good we need. This plea we must rely upon, feeling our own unworthiness, and satisfied of the riches of God’s mercy and grace. How boundless is that mercy which covers for ever the sins and follies of a youth spent without God and without hope! Blessed be the Lord, the blood of the great Sacrifice can wash away every stain.” https://www.christianity.com/bible/esv/psalm/25-3

Shame is different from guilt.

Shame: a painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness  of wrong or foolish behavior.

Guilt: the fact of having committed a specified or implied offense or crime. The fact of having committed a breach of conduct especially violating law and which is involving a specific penalty according to the seriousness of that breach of law.

If you are guilty, you did something wrong, and you realize you are responsible for it.

You can feel shame from being guilty, but feelings of shame are not always tied to guilt.

Shame has more to do with a lack of self-worth, and that can come from not measuring up to a standard, from feeling insecure, from being bullied or abused in various ways, from public disgrace, ridicule, and more.

When you are ashamed, you may or may not have done something wrong, but when others see you, you feel exposed, dirty, vulnerable, unworthy of respect.

When Adam and Eve fell into sin, they realized they had done wrong.

They saw that they were naked and vulnerable.

They were exposed and felt shame.

They tried to cover up and hide behind trees. But they couldn’t hide from God—and that was a good thing, because God loved them and valued them, despite what they had done wrong. God loves us all too, despite any bad we have done.

Matthew 26:26-29 New American Standard Bible 1995

The Lord’s Supper Instituted

26 While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and [a]after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” 27  And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; 28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. 29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

John 19:28-30 New American Standard Bible 1995

28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, *said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth. 30 Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.

Jesus came to permanently take away the guilt and shame of our sin.

And he did that by taking on the most shameful death possible: crucifixion on a Roman cross.

He hung there naked, in public disgrace, exposed to the abuse of the jeering crowd.

And yet he was innocent.

Luke 23:46-48 New American Standard Bible 1995

46 And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” Having said this, He breathed His last. 47 Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, “Certainly this man was [a]innocent.” 48 And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, when they observed what had happened, began to return, [b]beating their breasts.

“He endured the cross, scorning its shame” (Hebrews 12:2), so that we can be, now and forever more, permanently freed from all shame, live fully with him.

Now, because of Jesus, we are forever clean.

In the name of God, the Father and God, the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 119:25-32 New American Standard Bible 1995

Daleth.

25 My soul cleaves to the dust;
Revive me according to Your word.
26 I have told of my ways, and You have answered me;
Teach me Your statutes.
27 Make me understand the way of Your precepts,
So I will meditate on Your wonders.
28 My soul [a]weeps because of grief;
Strengthen me according to Your word.
29 Remove the false way from me,
And graciously grant me Your law.
30 I have chosen the faithful way;
I have [b]placed Your ordinances before me.
31 I cling to Your testimonies;
O Lord, do not put me to shame!
32 I shall run the way of Your commandments,
For You will enlarge my heart.

My Lord and My Savior Jesus, My Alpha and My Omega, My first and last, thank you for taking on the shame of all the world to free us from shame forever. In your name,

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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The man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God. Genesis 3:8-11

Genesis 3:8-11 New American Standard Bible 1995

8 They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the [a]cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Across ethnic, linguistic, and geographical boundaries, children and even adults of all ages everywhere continue to enjoy the fun of playing hide-and-seek.

It is a universal and innocent game.

But the first game of hide-and-seek in this world was neither fun nor innocent.

It was something deadly serious, it came with serious and severe consequences.

After Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the garden, they hid from each other behind fig leaves and from their Creator behind the trees of the garden.

They unsuccessfully attempted histories very first cover-up—and God came walking in the garden, seeking them with a simple question: “Where are you?”

This revealing question turns on its head the common assumption that man is naturally looking for God, who is hiding somewhere in or beyond the universe.

Instead, we discover the opposite: we are the ones who are hiding, whose first, most natural inclination is to hide and God is the one who comes seeking.

The question may seem like a strange one for God to ask these first humans.

After all, doesn’t God know everything already?

But God asked where Adam and Eve were not so He could gain new information but because He wanted to help them come to grips, understand their situation.

God came to draw them out more than to drive them out.

As much as it is possible for our finite thought processes, imagine the many ways God could, should have reacted in response to Adam and Eve’s rebellion.

If He had responded strictly in judgment, He could have instantaneously brought about the sentence of death He had warned them of (Genesis 2:16-17).

But it is in God’s nature always to have mercy; so He came instead with a single question.

This is the first glimpse of God’s grace after humanity turned their backs on Him.

God did not immediately give them what they justly deserved; rather, out of His immense kindness, instead He granted what was not deserved: an opportunity to respond with above board honesty, with integrity and in truth and to return.

That is not what happened here – instead they responded with the blame game.

We immediately hide behind our excuses, none of us would feel comfortable if those closest to us could see all of our deepest thoughts and previous actions.

We may hide the truth from each other, and perhaps even from ourselves.

But to hide from God is futile.

There is simply no way to hide and nowhere to shift the blame to.

Psalm 139:1-12 New American Standard Bible 1995

God’s Omnipresence and Omniscience.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

139 O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
2 You know [a]when I sit down and [b]when I rise up;
You understand my thought from afar.
3 You [c]scrutinize my [d]path and my lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
4 [e]Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O Lord, You know it all.
5 You have enclosed me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot attain to it.

7 Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in [f]Sheol, behold, You are there.
9 If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will lay hold of me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will [g]overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,”
12 Even the darkness is not dark [h]to You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
Darkness and light are alike to You.

We cannot hide our thoughts, we cannot hide ourselves from God -we must not believe the lie that God won’t see the “little” sins we keep hidden from others.

He sees.

Ultimately, He sees into our souls and knows exactly what we have done and where we stand.

1 Samuel 16:6-8 New American Standard Bible 1995

6 When they entered, he looked at Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him.” 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for [a]God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.”

Wonderfully, we do not need to pretend that we can hide.

He comes to us in mercy, not in judgment, for

“God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:17).

Are you burdened by some besetting sin or secret shame?

Are you seeking to hide from God what you have been hiding from others?

There’s never been a better time to stop hiding from Him. Step into the light.

Psalm 32 New American Standard Bible 1995

Blessedness of Forgiveness and of Trust in God.

A Psalm of David. A [a]Maskil.

32 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered!
2 How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit!

3 When I kept silent about my sin, my [b]body wasted away
Through my [c]groaning all day long.
4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
My [d]vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. [e]Selah.
5 I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I did not hide;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”;
And You forgave the [f]guilt of my sin. Selah.
6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You [g]in a time when You may be found;
Surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.
7 You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble;
You surround me with [h]songs of deliverance. Selah.

8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;
I will counsel you with My eye upon you.
9 Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding,
Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check,
Otherwise they will not come near to you.
10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
But he who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness shall surround him.
11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones;
And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.

Uncover what cannot remain hidden before Him—so that He might cover it with His blood and so that you might know you are both known and forgiven.

Psalm 32:1-2 Easy-to-Read Version

A maskil of David.

32 It is a great blessing
    when people are forgiven for the wrongs they have done,
    when their sins are erased.[a]
2 It is a great blessing
    when the Lord says they are not guilty,
    when they don’t try to hide their sins.

How genuinely blessed did you feel yesterday?

How genuinely blessed do you feel today?

How confident are you that you will feel genuinely blessed tomorrow?

Psalm 139:23-24 Easy-to-Read Version

23 God, examine me and know my mind.
    Test me and know all my worries.
24 Make sure that I am not going the wrong way.[a]
    Lead me on the path that has always been right.[b]

He is a compassionate kind and saving God who desires a relationship with us.

How much do you genuinely believe this?

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 103 New American Standard Bible 1995

Praise for the Lord’s Mercies.

A Psalm of David.

103 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget none of His benefits;
3 Who pardons all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases;
4 Who redeems your life from the pit,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;
5 Who satisfies your [a]years with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.

6 The Lord performs [b]righteous deeds
And judgments for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known His ways to Moses,
His acts to the sons of Israel.
8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.
9 He will not always strive with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.
10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
So great is His lovingkindness toward those who [c]fear Him.
12 As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
13 Just as a father has compassion on his children,
So the Lord has compassion on those who [d]fear Him.
14 For He Himself knows [e]our frame;
He is mindful that we are but dust.

15 As for man, his days are like grass;
As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
16 When the wind has passed over it, it is no more,
And its place acknowledges it no longer.
17 But the lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who [f]fear Him,
And His [g]righteousness to children’s children,
18 To those who keep His covenant
And remember His precepts to do them.

19 The Lord has established His throne in the heavens,
And His [h]sovereignty rules over [i]all.
20 Bless the Lord, you His angels,
Mighty in strength, who perform His word,
Obeying the voice of His word!
21 Bless the Lord, all you His hosts,
You who serve Him, doing His will.
22 Bless the Lord, all you works of His,
In all places of His dominion;
Bless the Lord, O my soul!

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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The LORD God called out to the man, “Where are you?” Genesis 3:9

Genesis 3:8-10 New American Standard Bible 1995

8 They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the [a]cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

“Where are you?”

God asks Adam as he quietly strolls through the garden as if he is automatically expecting to encounter the eagerness of Adam, the sight of Adam seeing Him.

But, something is off, the automatic encounter does not seem to be automatic.

What are we to make of this happenstance, the absence of this automatic sight?

The absence of this “naturally” automatic encounter between man and God?

Perhaps these questions are not much about where Adam and Eve are hiding?

Perhaps something significantly bigger than that is happening here?

Please consider …

Genesis 1 and 2 give the glorious account of our creative God busy creating everything—including us human beings.

Then Genesis 3 tells of Adam and Eve’s disobedience, their fall into sin, which now infects all of us.

The fruit looked delicious and desirable, but all it revealed was that they were naked. They tried to hide from God in their shame, making simple garments of fig leaves. Where were they? To answer God’s question, they were both lost and they did not even have the awareness to know it and less awareness to act on it.

God’s footsteps echoed in the garden, and his voice boomed, “Where are you?” God knew, they did not know it – God knew they needed to know they were lost.

God began to quietly enlighten them …

“Who told you that you were naked?”

God asked.

Not roared lest the undefinable power of his anger rips them limb from limb. (Psalm 29:1-9)

The Voice of the Lord in the Storm.

A Psalm of David.

29 Ascribe to the Lord, O [a]sons of the mighty,
Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory [b]due to His name;
Worship the Lord in [c]holy array.

3 The voice of the Lord is upon the waters;
The God of glory thunders,
The Lord is over [d]many waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful,
The voice of the Lord is majestic.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
Yes, the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
And Sirion like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord hews out [e]flames of fire.
8 The voice of the Lord [f]shakes the wilderness;
The Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord makes the deer to calve
And strips the forests bare;
And in His temple everything says, “Glory!”

Like naïve naughty children, they automatically tried to use the blame game.

“The woman you put here gave me the fruit,” whimpered Adam.

“The serpent (you made) fooled me,” Eve whined.

Today in such moments and our circumstances God still asks, “Where are you?”

Today, in such moments and our circumstances, God is yet looking and he is always in our immediate neighborhood, always very close by, still strolling.

I heard it when I was in my hospital room, looking at the digital clock on the wall counting down the seconds and the minutes until my open heart surgery.

My heart was in desperate need of the kind of repair only my surgeons could give me, there was no place to hide, any running could give me a heart attack.

I was out of options, had no control over my life, lost, vulnerable, and scared.

I picked up my phone and went to my bible app and started at the beginning.

God strolled into my garden where my very life hung in the balance, where as I was reading Genesis 3 that one haunting question suddenly turned comforting.

He was not out to get me into chastising me but to remind me the promise that he’d provided a Savior, his Son. “Stay where you are. I’ve sent my Son for you!”

In that life or death moment, in the indescribable magnitude of my uncertainty, God strolled in unannounced through His Holy Scriptures and God assured me.

Psalm 29:10-11 New American Standard Bible 1995

10 The Lord sat as King at the flood;
Yes, the Lord sits as King forever.
11 [a]The Lord will give strength to His people;
[b]The Lord will bless His people with peace.

Do you know this God, do we know this timeless and immutable truth from the Word of God, spoken from the mouth of God, who always desires to be with us?

Psalm 29:1-2 New American Standard Bible 1995

The Voice of the Lord in the Storm.

A Psalm of David.

29 Ascribe to the Lord, O [a]sons of the mighty,
Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory [b]due to His name;
Worship the Lord in [c]holy array.

Do we ever so “naturally” automatically turn to the Word of God to hear Him speak to us, to so automatically glorify his immediate proximity to our lives?

Blessedly Assured, Reassured, Standing in Plain Sight on the Promises of God?

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 23 Authorized (King James) Version

Psalm 23

A Psalm of David.

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul:
he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Seek An Undivided Heart. Psalm 86:11

Psalm 86:11-13 New International Version

11 Teach me your way, Lord,
    that I may rely on your faithfulness;
give me an undivided heart,
    that I may fear your name.
12 I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart;
    I will glorify your name forever.
13 For great is your love toward me;
    you have delivered me from the depths,
    from the realm of the dead.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

In today’s societies very few people have an undivided heart.

They seek many different things all at the same time.

Often they are loyal to something for a moment, then a few days later they drop that loyalty and begin to be loyal to something else.

Pick up any magazine at the drug store, notice the incredible diversity of their titles and their incredible efforts at maximizing their front cover graphics to draw your attention only to them – fads come and go constantly with change.

These can be found in the multiple things people do, play with, listen to, or use.

What is popular today, soon becomes old tomorrow because of divided hearts.

People will genuinely struggle with what they really want to aim for.

They want a little bit of everything and often end up with a whole lot of nothing, because they are uncertain of their priorities, badly divided in their loyalties.

Psalm 86:11 David prayed to God, David wanted God to teach him His way, so that he would be able to know and rely solely upon God’s great faithfulness.

Considering all of the intrigue which surrounded his day to day life, He wanted to have a undivided heart that would be fully dedicated to God and God alone.

While the world struggles with divided hearts, many believers also struggle.

They struggle with whether or not to fight for things to provide for themselves and have their kind of fun, or to follow, trust in God alone for what they need.

The sinful nature inevitably rises up inside of many, causing them to become impatient with themselves and God and so want to go back to old sinful ways.

They become divided in their hearts, seeking to find success, or pleasure in sinful ways, rather than seeking purpose and life in God and His ways alone.

Going back and forth like this, causes a divided heart.

Directional Faith

James 1:5-8 New International Version

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

God has a way of changing us deeply through various crisis points in our lives.

But what happens when God strings together a long series of crisis points?

Eventually the trail of change-points will lead somewhere, like stepping-stones crossing a river.

As we realize this, our collection of snapshot crises starts to become a movie with a story line.

But how does one tell where the story is supposed to be going?

That’s not easy.

God assures us that he has plans for our lives, but it can be hard to tell where those plans might lead.

Sometimes it would be nice to have a burning-bush episode like Moses had—something concrete we could see through the fog of life’s busyness (Exodus 3).

Why is it so difficult to determine God’s direction for our lives?

Sometimes it’s simply because we forget to ask.

It’s surprisingly easy to charge into the events of a day without bothering to ask God what he wants from us that day.

Sometimes that can prompt God to allow a minor crisis to pop up as a wake-up call to pull our attention back to him.

When was the last time you asked God to show you his plans for your day?

How about asking him right now?

Why?

Because …

A divided heart make a person lukewarm, whom God will in the end reject.

The believer needs to be sold out to God alone, focused on serving Him alone.

Jesus said there cannot be two masters, but only one–God.

Examine your life and see where your loyalty lies.

What is it that you are focused on, you are aiming towards?

Seek to know God and His way for your life.

Trust in His faithfulness alone.

As you find satisfaction in serving God, you will be able to live for God alone. 

In living for God alone, you will no longer have a divided heart that goes back to the old sinful ways.

Temptation to live in sin will lose its grip upon you when you are sold-out to God alone. 

Ask God to reveal His faithfulness to you and to give you an undivided heart that will be loyal to Him.

I pray today that you the reader will know the faithfulness of God; that God will reveal His path for your life; that you the reader will trust in God alone; that you will have a heart sold out to God; and that God will give you an undivided heart. 

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 19 New American Standard Bible 1995

The Works and the Word of God.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

19 The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.
2 Day to day pours forth speech,
And night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words;
Their voice is not heard.
4 Their [a]line has gone out through all the earth,
And their utterances to the end of the world.
In them He has placed a tent for the sun,
5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber;
It rejoices as a strong man to run his course.
6 Its rising is from [b]one end of the heavens,
And its circuit to the [c]other end of them;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

7 The law of the Lord is [d]perfect, restoring the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether.
10 They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, by them Your servant is warned;
In keeping them there is great reward.
12 Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults.
13 Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins;
Let them not rule over me;
Then I will be [e]blameless,
And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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