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Psalm 84

10 Feb

Psalm 84

For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah, to be accompanied by a stringed instrument.

1 How lovely is your dwelling place,
    O Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
2 I long, yes, I faint with longing
    to enter the courts of the Lord.
With my whole being, body and soul,
    I will shout joyfully to the living God.
3 Even the sparrow finds a home,
    and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young
at a place near your altar,
    O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, my King and my God!
4 What joy for those who can live in your house,
    always singing your praises. Interlude

5 What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord,
    who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
6 When they walk through the Valley of Weeping,
    it will become a place of refreshing springs.
    The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.
7 They will continue to grow stronger,
    and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem.

8 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, hear my prayer.
    Listen, O God of Jacob. Interlude

9 O God, look with favor upon the king, our shield!
    Show favor to the one you have anointed.

10 A single day in your courts
    is better than a thousand anywhere else!
I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God
    than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.
11 For the Lord God is our sun and our shield.
    He gives us grace and glory.
The Lord will withhold no good thing
    from those who do what is right.
12 O Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
    what joy for those who trust in you.

Dear God, I have a friend who died less than two weeks ago. I just found out yesterday. He was a complicated man who had a lot of hostility towards anything Christian. He was a good man who tried to be moral, but pain exuded from him. He was always negative. Always biting. He didn’t abide me ever talking about you, so I tried to be your presence to him while not using the explicit words. And he paid me the compliment one time of saying that he thought my faith was genuine. I think I was able to show him a Christian who loves you and loves others.

I know he grew up in a devout Christian home, but he had things about him they couldn’t accept and it pushed him away from both them and you. He was just so angry, but I couldn’t help but wonder if there wasn’t a reason for his anger. Some sort of trauma that happened to him that fueled his pain and hostility.

I had a dream last night about a visitation from you in the person of Jesus. It was a modern visitation. I don’t remember specifics, but my wife was there and two other people were there, although I don’t remember who they were. It was a very warm and comfortable visitation. Affirming. I don’t know what it means, but I’ll take it. When I woke up at about 3:00 I lie in bed a while and found myself praying for my friend. He’s gone and I don’t know how prayers for the dead work, but while I was praying I got a vision of Jesus praying for the people who were killing him while he was on the cross, asking you to forgive them for their sake and through their ignorance. Did that prayer help them? Absolve them? Did you forgive them?

Father, if it is possible to ask for forgiveness on behalf of this man, I ask that you please forgive him. I suspect at one point, even as a boy, he had a moment of accepting the role of Jesus in his life even though I feel certain some pain from the outside must have happened to him to drive him away from his family, the church, and you. Will you hold that against him, or will you understand? If my prayers make a difference for him, I pray that you forgive him. He didn’t know what he was doing. I pray that he might find his peace and dwell in your home, your courts, forever.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 10, 2026 in Psalms

 

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2 Samuel 11 and Psalm 51

31 Jan

In the spring of the year, when kings normally go out to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to fight the Ammonites. They destroyed the Ammonite army and laid siege to the city of Rabbah. However, David stayed behind in Jerusalem.

Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. He sent someone to find out who she was, and he was told, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” Then David sent messengers to get her; and when she came to the palace, he slept with her. She had just completed the purification rites after having her menstrual period. Then she returned home. Later, when Bathsheba discovered that she was pregnant, she sent David a message, saying, “I’m pregnant.”

Then David sent word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent him to David. When Uriah arrived, David asked him how Joab and the army were getting along and how the war was progressing. Then he told Uriah, “Go on home and relax.” David even sent a gift to Uriah after he had left the palace. But Uriah didn’t go home. He slept that night at the palace entrance with the king’s palace guard. When David heard that Uriah had not gone home, he summoned him and asked, “What’s the matter? Why didn’t you go home last night after being away for so long?”

Uriah replied, “The Ark and the armies of Israel and Judah are living in tents, and Joab and my master’s men are camping in the open fields. How could I go home to wine and dine and sleep with my wife? I swear that I would never do such a thing.”

“Well, stay here today,” David told him, “and tomorrow you may return to the army.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next.

Then David invited him to dinner and got him drunk. But even then he couldn’t get Uriah to go home to his wife. Again he slept at the palace entrance with the king’s palace guard.

So the next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and gave it to Uriah to deliver. The letter instructed Joab, “Station Uriah on the front lines where the battle is fiercest. Then pull back so that he will be killed.”

So Joab assigned Uriah to a spot close to the city wall where he knew the enemy’s strongest men were fighting. And when the enemy soldiers came out of the city to fight, Uriah the Hittite was killed along with several other Israelite soldiers. Then Joab sent a battle report to David. He told his messenger, “Report all the news of the battle to the king. But he might get angry and ask, ‘Why did the troops go so close to the city? Didn’t they know there would be shooting from the walls? Wasn’t Abimelech son of Gideon killed at Thebez by a woman who threw a millstone down on him from the wall? Why would you get so close to the wall?’ Then tell him, ‘Uriah the Hittite was killed, too.’”

So the messenger went to Jerusalem and gave a complete report to David. “The enemy came out against us in the open fields,” he said. “And as we chased them back to the city gate, the archers on the wall shot arrows at us. Some of the king’s men were killed, including Uriah the Hittite.”

“Well, tell Joab not to be discouraged,” David said. “The sword devours this one today and that one tomorrow! Fight harder next time, and conquer the city!”

When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. When the period of mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her to the palace, and she became one of his wives. Then she gave birth to a son. But the Lord was displeased with what David had done.
2 Samuel 11

—-

Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.

Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin.

For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night.

Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say,and your judgment against me is just.

For I was born a sinner—yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.

But you desire honesty from the womb, teaching me wisdom even there.

Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me—now let me rejoice.

Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt.

Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.

Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.

Then I will teach your ways to rebels, and they will return to you.

Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves; then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness.

Unseal my lips, O Lord, that my mouth may praise you.

You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering.

The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.

Look with favor on Zion and help her; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

Then you will be pleased with sacrifices offered in the right spirit—with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings. Then bulls will again be sacrificed on your altar.
Psalm 51

Dear God, these were the Old Testament and Psalm readings for the Catholic church yesterday. I started this yesterday, but I never came back to it. I’m sorry for not making my time with you in your scripture not a higher priority yesterday. I hope I didn’t miss a message you had for me yesterday and I’m just now getting it today.

Yesterday, as I looked at these scriptures, I was initially surprised that the Catholic church paired the Bathsheba and Uriah part of the story with Psalm 51. I would have thought they’d have paired the Nathan part of the story (the part where David was confronted with his sin and repented). Then I looked today and saw that they put the second half of Psalm 51 with today’s story of Nathan’s confrontation of David. But for this passage, I suppose, we are just going to marinade in David’s sin. He’s doing awful things here.

  • He’s showing slothfulness by not being productive and going out with Joab and the army.
  • He’s lustful and greedy (how many wives and concubines are in his house and ready to sleep with him at that moment?).
  • He uses servants to help him carry out his sin, thereby making them unwilling accomplices.
  • I hate to use the “r” word, but that’s seemingly what he does to an unsuspecting, helpless Bathsheba.
  • He kicks her to the curb after he uses her.
  • He tries to deceive her husband by making him think the baby she’s carrying is his.
    • He leaves her with the shame of the truth that, even if this plan works, she will have to live with.
  • He ultimately signs her husband’s death warrant and orders his execution, all the while making it look like an accident.
  • He gets Joab involved in his scheme and makes him an accomplice in Uriah’s murder
  • He sleeps with Uriah’s wife, tries to deceive Uriah, and then kills him.
  • He takes away Bathsheba’s husband and leaves her with zero options.
  • Let’s not forget the other servants who are messengers for Bathsheba and how they have to participate in all of this now.

I underlined different sections in the 2 Samuel 11 passage because they are, curiously, the verses the Catholic church decided to omit from the readings. I don’t know why they left out the part of Bathsheba’s period or Uriah’s words of nobility. I think they are an important part of the story.

Regardless, David is in a cesspool of his own making, and he’s drug some other people with him. And, as with most scandals, it’s the coverup that takes it to a new level. It’s not enough that he “r”-worded Bathsheba and got her pregnant. He killed to cover it up! Was his plan after he married Bathsheba and moved her into the palace just to go on with life as normal. How many other times, I wonder, did David do this with a woman and just not get caught?

This is a reminder that confession in the midst of mistakes is important. I’ve been in an office environment long enough to know that people talk. If there is anything going on that is inappropriate, it’s foolish of me to think that no one knows. In the case of David, this was obviously an open secret. The servants who retrieved Bathsheba for David and then took her home knew. The messengers for Bathsheba to David knew. Joab knew. Is it any wonder that word got to Nathan and he was forced to confront the king? But that’s tomorrow’s story. For today, it’s important for me to remember that I must stay above reproach in my life, and humbly confess to you when I don’t. There are no secrets when it comes to sin. And if a secret is successfully kept, it becomes a cancer that grows.

Father, I’m not perfect. I’m not even close. I sin. Maybe it’s not at the level of David here, but I’m certainly capable of grave sins. And if I had the power he had in that moment, I might have been capable of everything he did. That scares me. So help me to avoid temptation. Deliver me from evil–the evil in my own heart and the evil that comes at me from the outside. And when I sin, help me to repent quickly and not do more damage by trying to save myself instead of depending upon the blood of Jesus to redeem me in your eyes and guide me through whatever earthly consequences there are for my sin on this side of life.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 31, 2026 in 2 Samuel, Psalms

 

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Psalm 139:1-12

10 Nov

Psalm 139

For the choir director: A psalm of David.

1 O Lord, you have examined my heart
    and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
    You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
3 You see me when I travel
    and when I rest at home.
    You know everything I do.
4 You know what I am going to say
    even before I say it, Lord.
5 You go before me and follow me.
    You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too great for me to understand!

7 I can never escape from your Spirit!
    I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
    if I go down to the grave, you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
    if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
    and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
    and the light around me to become night—
12     but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
    Darkness and light are the same to you.

Psalm 139:1-12

Dear God, I am grateful for your love. I am grateful to be known by you. I am grateful that I cannot hide from you. I’m grateful to know you see my sin–to be freed from the idea that I need to hide things from you. I might cling to my sin. I might deny it’s there and not want to let it go. But I know there’s no point in trying to hide it from you. There’s great freedom in that.

The gospel reading today is from Luke 17 and includes verse 3b-4: “If another believer sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive. 4 Even if that person wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, you must forgive.” I accept your rebuking. I accept your forgiveness for my foolishness, hard-heartedness, and my unwillingness to always refuse other gods before you. Thank you for that. Help me to give this forgiveness to others–70 X 7.

Father, I want to quote the Rich Mullins song “Nothing is Beyond You,” which is based on Psalm 139: “Nothing is beyond you, you stand beyond the reach of my vain imagination. My misguided piety. Heavens stretch to hold you, and deep calls out to deep saying, ‘Nothing is beyond you.’ Time cannot contain you. You fill eternity. Sin could never stain you. Death has lost its sting. And I cannot explain how you came to love me, except to say that nothing is beyond you. Nothing is beyond you.”

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 10, 2025 in Psalms

 

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Psalm 131

04 Nov

Psalm 131

A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem. A psalm of David.

1 Lord, my heart is not proud;
    my eyes are not haughty.
I don’t concern myself with matters too great
    or too awesome for me to grasp.
2 Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself,
    like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk.
    Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me.

3 O Israel, put your hope in the Lord—
    now and always.

Psalm 131

Dear God, I really liked all of the readings from the Catholic church today, and it is weird that the psalm would stick out to me the most to me, but here we are. I liked it. I liked it because I don’t feel like I’ve reached it yet, but it feels like something I would love to reach. A couple of days ago, I prayed about the “now and the not yet.” That’s what this feels like.

To not be proud and haughty. That would be great, and I can get there sometimes, but pride and haughtiness still linger. I think what I really liked was the humility of the second part of verse 1: I don’t concern myself with matters too great or too awesome for me to grasp. I think all American Christians could stand to sink into this concept and just accept their smallness in the little lives most all of us live.

The suffering in Ukraine is great, and I don’t know what to do about it. The suffering in Palestine and Israel and Sudan and in Central America and all sorts of other places is great, and I don’t know what to do about it. I can pray, but I don’t pray enough for them. I can send donations which I did for a Ukrainian relief effort last week. But, honestly, these matters are too great or too awesome for me to grasp.

I was listening to a podcast on “Christian Nationalism” this morning. Defining it. Trying to understand the theological underpinnings for it among those who believe in it. And trying to verbalize what exactly it is they believe. I would say, at the end of the day, what separates my life, faith, and living out my faith from someone who would describe themselves as a Christian Nationalist is that I don’t feel the need to get political power to force others to live under my belief system. That’s not what I saw you do through Jesus. What I want to do is love those around me and convince them to walk through the narrow gate and follow you, understanding Jesus called it the narrow gate for a reason. And he said few would walk through it for a reason. It might be a fool’s errand to try to get a society to walk through the gate. In fact, the only way to do it might be to compel them, and that simply isn’t how your kingdom and worship of you works.

Father, I want this to be true of my life: I don’t concern myself with matters too great or too awesome for me to grasp. I am about to go to a symposium that will talk about community needs and what we need to do to help those who are struggling. In this limited way, this idea is not too awesome for me to grasp. Help me to be able to say and live this: 2 Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself, like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk. Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me. I want to calm myself before you. I want to be your peace for others. And I want to be completely still before you so that your Holy Spirit might reach out to me and through me so that your kingdom will come and your will shall be done on earth as it is in your heaven and the new earth.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 4, 2025 in Psalms

 

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Psalm 120:1

30 Oct

1 I took my troubles to the Lord;
    I cried out to him, and he answered my prayer.

Psalm 120:1

Dear God, I sat down to pray this morning, and while I started with the New Testament reading today, which is from Romans 8 about what can separate us from your love, this is the verse that came to mind. I was in bad shape yesterday morning. But my wife prayed for me. I called out to you. I think others might have prayed too. Regardless, you helped me a lot. I can’t say that the reality of things changed that much, but you strongly supported me. You loved me. You gave me a supernatural strength and hope that I hadn’t felt before.

I really don’t know who I would be now without you. I don’t know who I would be if I hadn’t started doing these prayer journals 25 years ago. I mean, if I were trying to do this stuff myself through my own willpower and strength…I think I would just be a mess. But, if nothing else, I am grounded in you. I am anchored to you. So in the midst of the storm and the buffeting waves, I have something onto which I can hold. I don’t have to turn to idols that burn and are destroyed. I have you. I have you, my Father and my God.

Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, you were all really there for me yesterday. Thank you. You are there for me every day, but yesterday was a special day. I really needed you yesterday. And I really need you today, but in a different way. My own spirit is doing okay, but now I need your provision of grace, love, and mercy to be in everything we do at our nonprofit. Make it a day of mercy.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 30, 2025 in Psalms

 

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Psalm 19

02 Oct

Psalm 19

For the choir director: A psalm of David.

1 The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
    The skies display his craftsmanship.
2 Day after day they continue to speak;
    night after night they make him known.
3 They speak without a sound or word;
    their voice is never heard.
4 Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
    and their words to all the world.

God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.
5 It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding.
    It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race.
6 The sun rises at one end of the heavens
    and follows its course to the other end.
    Nothing can hide from its heat.

7 The instructions of the Lord are perfect,
    reviving the soul.
The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy,
    making wise the simple.
8 The commandments of the Lord are right,
    bringing joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are clear,
    giving insight for living.
9 Reverence for the Lord is pure,
    lasting forever.
The laws of the Lord are true;
    each one is fair.
10 They are more desirable than gold,
    even the finest gold.
They are sweeter than honey,
    even honey dripping from the comb.
11 They are a warning to your servant,
    a great reward for those who obey them.

12 How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?
    Cleanse me from these hidden faults.
13 Keep your servant from deliberate sins!
    Don’t let them control me.
Then I will be free of guilt
    and innocent of great sin.

14 May the words of my mouth
    and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you,
    O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Dear God, so verses 8-11 are the psalm for the day for the Catholic church. I don’t normally pay attention to the psalm of the day too much, but they caught my eye today. Seeing the stuff about your laws I immediately wondered if they were from Psalm 119. Then I saw they were actually from Psalm 19, which David wrote.

I just stopped to read this psalm out loud, and it was, frankly, beautiful. The poetry is beautiful. The way he runs the theme “this gives this” in verses 7-11 is artful. The description of your glory through describing the audible silence of your creation in verses 1-6 moved me. And the idea of not sinning intentionally so I can have a clear heart and cleansing me of my hidden sins hit home. David had some game when it came to poetry and psalm writing. I wonder what his poetry scroll looked like. I can’t imagine how many were never published.

I guess I need to talk about this really quick. I had a dream last night about which I can’t remember the details, but I know at one point someone was trying to sell me a pill that would cause me to hate. They were literally selling hate and they told me I’d love it. Appalled, I woke up soon after that and as I thought about it I wondered if that isn’t what I’m sold by a lot of media and politicians every day. It might not be in pill form, but it’s right there. So many people want me to hate something or someone. And then they want me to stew on that hate so I will become addicted to it. And hate is addictive. It makes you feel so good and superior in the moment, but like a drug it leaves you feeling empty afterward. And you feel a little guilty about having hated, just like you feel a little guilty about having done the drug. So you go to the first thing you can think of. No, it’s not repentance and creating a clean heart with me. It’s to hate again. To stoke the fire. The fire drowns out the guilt, just like the drug does. And then the cycle repeats.

Father, I guess this does tie back to this psalm. The sins I commit intentionally and the unknown sins that are cluttering my heart must be stopped. I must love my neighbor. I must worship you. I must love my enemies. I must care as much or more about them as I do my own family and friends. I’ll confess that I am overwhelmed and tired right now. It’s been a hectic few weeks, and I don’t see a break on the horizon. Help me, Father, to get my feet under me, worship you and love others, keep sin far from me through being so busy worshipping you and loving others that I don’t have time to purposely or accidentally sin, and then accomplish exactly what you need me to accomplish. Do it all through me, but not for me. Do it for you and your glory, not mine. May I decrease and you increase.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 2, 2025 in Psalms

 

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Psalm 16

20 Aug

Psalm 16

A psalm of David.

1 Keep me safe, O God,
    for I have come to you for refuge.

2 I said to the Lord, “You are my Master!
    Every good thing I have comes from you.”
3 The godly people in the land
    are my true heroes!
    I take pleasure in them!
4 Troubles multiply for those who chase after other gods.
    I will not take part in their sacrifices of blood
    or even speak the names of their gods.

5 Lord, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing.
    You guard all that is mine.
6 The land you have given me is a pleasant land.
    What a wonderful inheritance!

7 I will bless the Lord who guides me;
    even at night my heart instructs me.
8 I know the Lord is always with me.
    I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.

9 No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice.
    My body rests in safety.
10 For you will not leave my soul among the dead
    or allow your holy one to rot in the grave.
11 You will show me the way of life,
    granting me the joy of your presence
    and the pleasures of living with you forever.

Dear God, I might need to come back to this tomorrow and approach it from a different angle because I just realized Peter references the last part of this psalm in his sermon in Acts 2 after the Holy Spirit falls on the disciples. I will spend some time with David today as he wrote it, but tomorrow I want to see what Peter was leaning into in his message.

With that said, I want to see what David has to say this morning. First, this is so worshipful. I can almost feel the state of David’s heart as he wrote this psalm. Focused on you. Worshipping you. Appreciating those who worship and love you. And I feel those things.

Next, thinking of verse 3, I have some people I know in our community whose faith I admire. I delight in them every time I see them or think of them. I had lunch with a man yesterday I admire. He loves you. He loves his wife and children. He serves his community. His life isn’t perfect. It’s stressful. It’s hard. He has challenges every day. But he faces them with earnestness, honor, and humility. He inspires me. Knowing him makes me better.

The rest of this psalm is just worshipping you, and I’m hear for it. It’s such a great joy to be able to sit here this morning and still my heart before you. And maybe typing this prayer to you isn’t quite making my heart still, but it keeps me focused on this moment with you. It keeps my mind from wandering off. It keeps me present in the present.

Father, I am about to participate in a discussion for a community forum about healthcare. I need your words for it. There might be one or two people in the room who can actually put their thumb on the scale from a national perspective. If there are words you can give me this morning that will move the needle in the direction you want it to move, please give them to me. I want to only bring glory to you this morning. I want to make this moment count for you and your love for others. I want to be used by you no matter what it costs me. You are God. I am just 1/7 billionth of the earth’s population. Use this little life however you will.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 20, 2025 in Psalms

 

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Psalm 119:169-176 (Taw)

12 Aug

Taw

169 O Lord, listen to my cry;
    give me the discerning mind you promised.
170 Listen to my prayer;
    rescue me as you promised.
171 Let praise flow from my lips,
    for you have taught me your decrees.
172 Let my tongue sing about your word,
    for all your commands are right.
173 Give me a helping hand,
    for I have chosen to follow your commandments.
174 O Lord, I have longed for your rescue,
    and your instructions are my delight.
175 Let me live so I can praise you,
    and may your regulations help me.
176 I have wandered away like a lost sheep;
    come and find me,
    for I have not forgotten your commands.

Psalm 119:169-176

Dear God, what an interesting way to end this 176-verse poem/song/psalm to you: “I have wandered away like a lost sheep; come and find me, for I have not forgotten your commands.” That’s not exactly the tone of the rest of the psalm. The rest of the psalm is about the psalmist being right and so many people being wrong against him. It’s about doing your commands and not just remembering them. But now, after having written all of those other sections and verses, is this the Holy Spirit revealing to the psalmist that he has still managed to lose his way?

I certainly lose my way sometimes. I really hope I’m not losing my way now. I’ve had something interesting happening the last several nights. I’ve been having extremely positive dreams. I don’t know how much you speak to me through dreams, but I do believe that, to some extent, the theme or overall feel of our dreams reveals the state of our heart and mind. I guess I must be in a pretty good place right now. But even that concerns me. Am I feeling too confident in myself? Am I forgetting to praise you for everything (what I perceive as good and bad), and am I doing things for the future in my own power and not through your provision and discernment? I need you every hour, Lord. “I need thee, oh I need thee. Every hour I need thee.”

Here are the different verses of this psalm. Please speak to me through what this psalmist put down thousands of years ago. In another language. In another culture. In another time.

  • 169 O Lord, listen to my cry; give me the discerning mind you promised. – Yes, I need discernment. I need to understand what you have for me to do. I need to remember that this is all from you. I need to point to you in all things. Help me to reveal you to everyone who sees me. That is my cry. Don’t do for me. Do through me for the sake of others.
  • 170 Listen to my prayer; rescue me as you promised. – I’m not sure that I need rescued as much as I need you to show me your path and bring you glory throughout it. Be glorified in me, oh Lord. And let my life be as you have ordained it. Help me to be exactly the 1/7 billionth of the earth’s population that you need me to be.
  • 171 Let praise flow from my lips, for you have taught me your decrees. – I do worship you. You are amazing. You are everything. You are my only hope. You are my beginning and my end. I repent for wandering from your path. Help me to walk it today.
  • 172 Let my tongue sing about your word, for all your commands are right. – Show me how to talk about you in a way that is not obnoxious but loving. Love other people through me. Give me your words and actions so that others might be drawn in closer to you.
  • 173 Give me a helping hand, for I have chosen to follow your commandments. – Help me, Lord. I have desires of my heart, and I don’t know if it is your will to fulfill them or not, but I do know that you want the best for those I am praying for. Heal and encourage. Love.
  • 174 O Lord, I have longed for your rescue, and your instructions are my delight. – I’m sure if I were in a situation of suffering like in Ukraine, Gaza, Israel, Sudan, or even in a border detention center or a foreign land I didn’t know, I would long for your rescue. Or if I were in deep poverty, I would long for your rescue. But those are not my things. With that being said, I don’t want to be in Laodicea either. I don’t want to take what you’ve given me and be lukewarm. I want to be disciplined and fervent in my love and worship of you. I want to fight against my apathetic flesh and drill deeper into your heart. I want you to consume me, for “your instructions are my delight.”
  • 175 Let me live so I can praise you, and may your regulations help me. – Yeah. Make my life a prayer to you. Use it how you will. Use it for your worship and glory. Use it to love others and to reveal yourself to others.
  • 176 I have wandered away like a lost sheep; come and find me, for I have not forgotten your commands. – I wonder if this last verse is the longest of the 176. It seems like it might be. I just went and checks. I think it is the only one that has three lines. Help me to not only remember your commands but to do them in real time. Be with me, Holy Spirit. You are my God. I am your servant. I love you.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 12, 2025 in Psalm 119, Psalms

 

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Psalm 119:161-168 (Shin)

11 Aug

Shin

161 Powerful people harass me without cause,
    but my heart trembles only at your word.
162 I rejoice in your word
    like one who discovers a great treasure.
163 I hate and abhor all falsehood,
    but I love your instructions.
164 I will praise you seven times a day
    because all your regulations are just.
165 Those who love your instructions have great peace
    and do not stumble.
166 I long for your rescue, Lord,
    so I have obeyed your commands.
167 I have obeyed your laws,
    for I love them very much.
168 Yes, I obey your commandments and laws
    because you know everything I do.

Psalm 119:161-168

Dear God, first, it’s interesting to see how often I see selected verses from Psalm 119 pulled out and used for different things since I’ve been doing this series on it. For example, last night I attended some prayer meetings for our local public schools. One of the verses was 105 Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. The verse of the day for this morning from Bible Gateway was 14 I have rejoiced in your laws as much as in riches. People find good inspiration from this psalmists words thousands and thousands of years after he wrote them. How great is that? I hope that somehow his soul knows the impact he had on the world and your children. I don’t believe this psalm is perfect. I think it has some theological problems that Jesus would correct. But it is good. You have used it and taught people through it. You are teaching me through it. And to be sure, I am not as good as this man, and my writings or thoughts are no more complete or perfect than his were. I guess my biggest hope is that just one thing I’ve written or said can impact one person and then ripple to others through that person. Make my life a prayer to you.

With that said, here are the Shin verses for Psalm 119.

  • 161 Powerful people harass me without cause, but my heart trembles only at your word. – I like this. The idea that I see darkness all around me, but my only fear is of not having you. If you are here and my heart hears you then it trembles at your presence, but it’s a good tremble. And the idea of losing you makes me shudder.
  • 162 I rejoice in your word like one who discovers a great treasure. – This makes me think of the parables Jesus told about the man who finds the treasure and buries it: 44 “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field. Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. 46 When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!” Your treasure is worth my life and everything I have. Help me to know how to surrender it all to you.
  • 163 I hate and abhor all falsehood, but I love your instructions. – Help me to live up to this line. Help me to know how to deal with falsehood. Help me to purge any falsehood from my own life. I love you.
  • 164 I will praise you seven times a day because all your regulations are just. – This is so specific. I Googled how many times do Jews pray a day (three) and Muslims (5). Seven, of course, is a special number in the bible, but I still found this interesting that he claims to make time to praise you seven times a day.
  • 165 Those who love your instructions have great peace and do not stumble. – Ah, peace. My favorite of the fruits of the Spirit. Well, maybe not my favorite, but the one that feels like it is most dependent upon you. I just can’t fake whether or not I am at peace. I am only at peace in you.
  • 166 I long for your rescue, Lord, so I have obeyed your commands. – I obey you simply because I know it is good for me. I know it is bad for me to not obey you. I need you. I need your commands. Like a deer pants for the water, so my soul longs after you (and your commands) (Psalm 42:1).
  • 167 I have obeyed your laws, for I love them very much. – I love you and now that I know your laws and you better and better I am loving the laws more and more as well. Oh, how I am amazed I get to sit here even this morning and pray to you. Thank you!
  • 168 Yes, I obey your commandments and laws because you know everything I do. – You do know everything I do, and I invite you to know me completely. I turn over every area of my life to you, Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit. Help me to live up to what you are putting into me. Help me to do good work today in your service and for your glory.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 11, 2025 in Psalm 119, Psalms

 

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Psalm 119:153-160 (Resh)

10 Aug

Resh

153 Look upon my suffering and rescue me,
    for I have not forgotten your instructions.
154 Argue my case; take my side!
    Protect my life as you promised.
155 The wicked are far from rescue,
    for they do not bother with your decrees.
156 Lord, how great is your mercy;
    let me be revived by following your regulations.
157 Many persecute and trouble me,
    yet I have not swerved from your laws.
158 Seeing these traitors makes me sick at heart,
    because they care nothing for your word.
159 See how I love your commandments, Lord.
    Give back my life because of your unfailing love.
160 The very essence of your words is truth;
    all your just regulations will stand forever.

Psalm 119:153-160

Dear God, it is interesting to simultaneously spend time with this psalm and the letters to the churches in Revelation 2-3. I think the big juxtaposition is a man living among like-minded Jews seeking out your justice in his society vs. different churches who are in the minority trying to survive among a majority that is against them and would just as soon kill them and have them gone.

But the psalmist seems frustrated because it’s not working like he thinks it should. From his perspective, I think he would align himself with the people of Smyrna and Philadelphia in his righteousness, but the people in his region–his enemies–would be more like the people in Ephesus, Sartis, or Laodicea: lost their first love, dead inside, and lukewarm, respectively.

With that said, let’s see what today’s verses have for me. Holy Spirit, please walk with me this morning as I go through these verses:

  • 153 Look upon my suffering and rescue me, for I have not forgotten your instructions. – This psalmist is determined to not be lukewarm, and I applaud him for that. Am I that determined? How low am I willing to let the flame go out of my life before I notice and decide I’ve gone too far? Do I accept this correction in my life? Please, Holy Spirit, give me eyes to see and ears to hear.
  • 154 Argue my case; take my side! Protect my life as you promised. – This is a difficult one because I tend to think more of the people of Smyrna being promised they will be protected from the “second death” but not necessarily physical death from this world. But I don’t think the psalmist ever considered this perspective.
  • 155 The wicked are far from rescue, for they do not bother with your decrees. – This may be true. And it is disappointing that the rain will fall on the bad as well as the good. I just think I need to have more concern about the state of my own heart being submitted appropriately to you and then allowing that love between us to flow to the wicked I see. If they can be brought to you, I would love that.
  • 156 Lord, how great is your mercy; let me be revived by following your regulations. – Yes. Revive me. Even this morning, I am going to be driving between two churches to speak and share your words. Give me your words. Give me your presence. Give me your strength.
  • 157 Many persecute and trouble me, yet I have not swerved from your laws. – If it can be said of me that I did not swerve from your laws regardless of what happened to me, I’ll take it. I can already think of times in my life when I swerved. I can also think of times when I didn’t. Father, have mercy on me. Jesus, have more on me. Holy Spirit, have mercy on me.
  • 158 Seeing these traitors makes me sick at heart, because they care nothing for your word. – “Traitors” is an interesting word here. New American Standard uses “treacherous” here. I think that one makes more sense. Why do people have to be treacherous? Well, I guess it’s because they feel like they have to do everything to protect and promote themselves. God, help them. Help me help them fin you and the freedom of releasing their life so they can find it.
  • 159 See how I love your commandments, Lord. Give back my life because of your unfailing love. – There are parts of my life that are missing, Father. There are sorrows. Heal me. If it’s your will, please restore these parts in my lifetime. But I am trusting you that this is in your timing. I’ve prayed so much for this, I am left only to assume that your answer is either “no” or “not yet.” I trust you.
  • 160 The very essence of your words is truth; all your just regulations will stand forever. – You are the only thing that is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Thank you.

Father, I want to close with prayers for friends and family who are sick. Be with each person in my head. Some need healing. Some have unknown needs. Some need your comfort. Oh, Father, be with each one.

I pray this in Jesus and your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 10, 2025 in Psalm 119, Psalms

 

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