Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Psalm 143

Prayer for Rescue

O Lord, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief.

Do not bring your servant into judgment for no one living is righteous before you. The enemy pursues me, he crushes me to the ground; he makes me dwell in darkness like those long dead. So my spirit grows faint within me; my heart within me is dismayed.

I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done. I spread out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.

Answer me quickly, O Lord; my spirit fails. Do not hide your face from me or I will be like those who go down to the pit. Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. Rescue from my enemies, O Lord, for I hide myself in you. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good spirit lead me on level ground.

For your names sakes, O Lord, preserve my life; in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble. In your unfailing love, silence my enemies; destroy all my foes, for I am your servant.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Psalm 142

The Comfort of Prayer

I cry aloud to the Lord; I lift up my voice to the lord for mercy. I pour out my complaint before him; before him I tell my trouble.

When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who know my way. In the path where I walk men have hidden a snare for me. Look to my right and see; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge no one cares for my life.

I cry to you, O Lord; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.” Listen to my cry for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me. Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name.

Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Psalm 59 ( Prayer for God’s Protection)

Deliver me from my enemies, O God; protect me from those who rise up against me. Deliver me from evil doers and save me from bloodthirsty men.

See how they lie in wait for me! Fierce men conspire against me for no offense or sin of mine, O Lord. I have done no wrong, yet they are ready to attack me. Arise to help me; look on my plight! O Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, rouse yourself to punish all the nations; show no mercy to wicked traitors.

They return at evening snarling like dogs, and prowl about the city. See what they spew on their mouths, they spew out words from their lips, and they say, “Who can hear us?” But you, O Lord, laugh at them; you scoff at all those nations.

O my Strength, I watch for you; you, O God, are my fortress, my loving God.

God will go before me and will let me gloat over those who slander me. But do not kill them, O Lord our shield or my people may forget. In your might make them wander about, and bring them down.

For the sins of their mouths, for the words of their lips, let them be caught in their pride. For the curses and lies they utter, consume them in wrath, consume them till they are no more. Then it will be known to the ends of the earth that God rules aver Jacob.

They return at evening snarling like dogs, and prowl about the city. They wander about for food and howl if not satisfied.

But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress my refuge in times of trouble.

O my Strength, I sing praise to you; you, O God, are my fortress, my loving God.

Psalm 46 ( Confidence in God our refuge)

God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earths give way and the mountains fall in the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.

God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Come and see the works of the Lord, the desolation he has brought on the earth. He make wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spears, he burns the shields with fire. “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Monday, February 23, 2009

The Destiny of the Wicked and of the Good ( PSALMS 37)

Don't be worried on account of the wicked; don't be jealous of those who do wrong. They will soon disappear like grass that dries up; they will die like plants that wither.

Trust in the Lord and do good; live in the land and be safe. Seek your happiness in the Lord, and he will give you your heart's desire.

Give yourself to the Lord; trust in him and he help you; he will make your righteousness shine like the noonday sun.

Be patient and wait for the Lord to act; don't be worried about those who prosper or those who succeed in their evil plans.

Don't give in to worry or anger; it only leads to trouble. Those who trust in the Lord will possess the land, but the wicked will be driven out.

Soon the wicked will disappear; you may look for them but you won't find them; but the humble will possess the land and enjoy prosperity and peace.

The wicked plot against good people and glare at them with hate. But the Lord laugh at the wicked people, he knows they will soon be destroyed.

The wicked draw their swords and bend their bows to kill the poor and needy, to slaughter those who do what is right; but they will be killed by their own swords, and their bows will be smashed.

The little that a good person owns is worth more than the wealth of the wicked, because the Lord will take away the strength of the wicked, but protect those who are good.

The Lord takes care of those who obey him, and the land will be theirs forever. They will not suffer when times are bad; they will have enough in time of famine. But the wicked will die; the enemies of the Lord will vanish like wild flowers; they will disappear like smoke.

The wicked borrow and never pay back, but good people are generous with their gifts. Those who are blessed by the Lord will posses the land, but those who are cursed by him will be driven out.

The Lord guides us in the way we should go and protects those who please him. If they fall, they will not stay down, because the lord will help them up.

I am old now; I have lived a long time, but I have never seen good people abandoned by the Lord or their children begging for food. At all times they give freely and lend to others, and their children are a blessing.

Turn away from evil and do good, and your descendants will always live in the land; for the Lord loves what is right and does not abandon his faithful people. He protects them forever, but the descendants of the wicked will be driven out. The righteous will possess the land and live forever.

The words of good people are wise, and they are always fair. They keep the law of their God in their hearts and never depart from it.

Wicked people watch good people and try to kill them; but the Lord will not abandon them to their enemy's power or let them be condemned when they are on trial.

Put your hope in the Lord and obey his commands; he will honor you by giving you the land and you will see the wicked driven out.

I once knew someone wicked who was a tyrant; he towered over everyone like a cedar of Lebanon; but later I passed by, and he wasn't there; I looked for him, but couldn't find him.

Notice good people, observe the righteous; peaceful people have descendants, but sinners are completely destroyed, and their descendants are wiped out.

The Lord saves the righteous and protects them in times of trouble. He helps them and rescues them; he saves them from the wicked, because they to him for protection.

God's Glory and Human Dignity ( PSALMS 8)

O Lord, our Lord your greatness is seen in all the world! Your praise reaches up to the heavens; it is sung by children and babies. You are safe and secure from all enemies; you stop anyone who opposes you.

When I look at the sky, which you have made, at the moon and the stars, which you set in their places-what are human beings, that you think of them; mere mortals, that you care for them?

Yet you made them inferior only to yourself; you crowned them with glory and honor. You appointed them rulers over everything you made; you place them over all creation: sheep and cattle, and the wild animals too; the birds and the fish and the creatures in the seas.

O Lord, our Lord, your greatness is seen in all the world.