Psalm 58

Ironic that this is a Miktam of David according to “Do Not Destroy” and it’s about the annihilation and the foot-in-the-blood-bathe of the wicked.  

I appreciate irony.

Lord God, according to Your perfect holiness, what David please to have happen to the wicked is what should happen to all of Your creation. Only by Your grace, Your wisdom, Your generosity and Your blood can any of us be seen as righteous. My breath is stopped as I contemplate the majesty and extravagant grace You show us, me. And somehow, this brings You best glory. You, not sparing Your Own Son, that we may be – that I may be spared…my heart is all aflutter. Somehow, I manage to neglect the vast weight of this as I go about my life. Please, Holy Spirit, I want to remember and live as a faithful slave to the Most Noble and Only Wise Sovereign King – help me. Whether it’s a revelation or a reminder I need or whatever, please, don’t let me stray from the Cross…where You, my Christ and Messiah, bathed in blood, brought great reward for the unrighteous. May my life bring reward for You (not that You need or lack; but that You are worthy!).

Psalm 57

My soul is in the midst of lions ...
    Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
    Let your glory be over all the earth!

Even when my soul is the only thing on the menu, may You be exalted above all things I know and can imagine, Lord Jesus.  May Your glory pervade me and my situation and invade the whole world.  May I remember and rejoice in the fact that my soul is Yours, even when ....

Psalm 56

What can man do to me? (... man tramples on me; all day long an attacker oppresses me; my enemies trample on me all day long, for many attack me proudly. ... They stir up strife, they lurk; they watch my steps, as they have waited for my life.)  Lord God, I do not know the life David chronicled.  However, sometimes, my little life is difficult. Often, I feel pulled in an unfathomable number of directions.  Sometimes, it seems to be under constant assault, nearly smothered in pressure and need.  Yet, my life is Yours, Lord.

This I know, that God is for me. (You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in Your bottle.  Are they not in Your book?)  It doesn't seem much that while I am experiencing such hardship, that You, Who could reroute everything, just keeps track of how restless and upset I am.  But, I know that You are for me (me, who is Yours) - despite circumstances.  I am awed that You would number my tossings and collect my tears.  With all that You do, why notice me, my troubles, my expressions?  You never set anything on auto-pilot.  You are Ever-Present, everywhere.  I am blown away by Your attentions.

In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.  What can man do to me?  For you have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.  Lord God, thank You so much for Your deliverance, Your emancipation, Your salvation...not just from death; but from stumbling on the path of life.  I choose to walk (not whine, not crumble, not resist You) before Your amazing presence in the light of life.  In Your Light of my life.  For, this I know, that You are for me.  You are for me.  May I be for You.

Psalm 55

…because they do not change and do not fear God.

Repentance. Change. Towards God. Because I believe God is God. my God – Who is Who He says He is and He does what He says He does. Adoring reverence and spiritual transformation go together.

God, I pray that I would be ever-changing, ever-repenting of any sin which decorates, accompanies, haunts or seeks to own me. That I would be resolved in my mind and my heart to live out that transformed life You have provided me. May my fear, my honor, my respect, my awe, my belief, my relationship with You change increasingly, too, such that I grow up in that quality – to the praise of Your Name. And where I lack repentance, grant me a holy response to Your Name, Your presence, Your glory that I may properly respond to You in repentance.

Psalm 54

O God, save me by Your Name, and vindicate me by Your might.

Lord, I rehearse that Your Name makes free, I echo that Your might sets right; but no man has ever been ruthlessly after my life - that I know of.  Please reveal Yourself to me that I would emphatically comprehend that Your Name saves and that Your merest might vindicates, exonerates, liberates and authenticates.  May I know this taste of Your glory, that I may increasingly praise You, that I would desperately love You, that I would be altogether consumed with You. You have given me such luxury, I want to know that it is You I love, You I trust, You I live for and not the softness and gentleness of my life.  I trust You to accomplish this, even though many thoughts are crowding my mind now of how harsh my life's circumstances may become in order that this would be done.  Do it anyway, Lord, and make me brave to bring You glory.  i need to know.

Psalm 53

I am that fool.  I am undone when I consider that You, o Lord God have taken me as Yours, that You have caused me to seek You, to desire You, to grant me the privilege of knowing You.  You have paid for the fool and made her Your daughter.  How can I choose anything apart from You?  Please, Holy Spirit, don't allow me peace when I practice self-glorification. Jesus, my Lord and my Savior, please help me to follow You, Your priorities to determine mine, Your passions to inflame me, Your love to guide and strengthen me.  May I not be deterred or distracted from the life You have paid richly for me to live.  May I bring You glory, honor, praise, love, me.  everyday.  I praise You that You Who chose me can keep me captivated in You.  Please, have Your glorious and divine way with me. 

Psalm 52

all words that devour…

Just saying these words makes me shudder. Lord, may my words be used to glorify You, to make You famous in my little life, to testify to Your unfailing love and constancy, to exhort and to edify my brothers and sisters, to speak a well-fitted word, to intercede for others, to love You, to love others, to repent of my sins and to boast in You. Please keep me from words which consume. please. thank You.

Psalm 51

Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.

I thank You, Holy Father, for You already know perfect truth – it is me who does not. Your sacred purpose is for me to have truth instilled and embedded in me – which, by a right response, leads to wisdom. Oh, Holy Lord and Spirit, as David yielded to Your divine conviction and confessed in brokenness and contrition, may I follow his example. May I be quick to respond to Your work and moving in my life, may my repentance be prompt and thorough that there would be room in my inward parts for Truth and wisdom. To the praise of Your gloriously generous Name.

Psalm 50

The Mighty One, God the Lord, the perfection of beauty, A fire shall devour before Him, And it shall be very tempestuous all around Him. For God Himself is Judge.  Heavens declare His righteousness, For the world is His, and all its fullness.  Deliverer, Glorified One, Most High God...how could I ever think that He, this God was altogether like me.  We have nothing at all in common, there is nothing common about Him.  By His grace and mercy and infinite creativity and power, He created and breathed life and ultimately redeemed that which was His already.  Please Holy Spirit, let me never be deceived by thinking He is altogether like me.  Even a little bit.  And may I grow up in Jesus, in this sacred journey of life, to resemble my Savior, as I am called and empowered to do through His most holy Spirit, the mind of Christ and the power which raised Him from the dead.  To the praise of His Name.  Glory.

Psalm 49

Why should I fear in the days of evil, (for You are my God, my Redeemer, my Strength and my Fortress, You are always Lord over all, no matter what day or night it is!)

When the iniquity at my heels surrounds me? (and the sin which so easily entangles me and the hindrances - the whatevers or whomevers in this world which seek to derail, distract or devalue me I remember that greater is He Who is in me than he or what is in the world.  No weapon formed against me shall prosper, for God is my God and He calls all the shots.)

Those who trust in their wealth (are deceived and will find that it brings nothing when they realize their true need.  I trust in the Name of the LORD my God.)

And boast in the multitude of their riches, (may I never boast in anything but in the cross of my Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.  His one and all-sufficient, sacred sacrifice is undefinable in terms of wealth and riches, none can compare.)

None of them can by any means redeem his brother, (Praise be to the Lord because He has come to His people and redeemed them. You, LORD, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is Your Name.  It is by the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth ... Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” )

Nor give to God a ransom for him— (You, Lord, took up my case; You redeemed my life.  But now, this is what the LORD says, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are Mine.")

For the redemption of their souls is costly (For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, Who gave Himself as a ransom for all people because God so loves the world that He gave His only Son ....)

Psalm 48

God Himself is in Jerusalem’s towers, revealing Himself as its Defender. … For that is what God is like.

I thank You and praise You Lord, for You reveal Yourself to mere mortals – You, the Everliving, Everloving, Everpowerful, Everlasting Holy One allows us to know what You are like. You defend, You Who makes safe, You Who gives unfailing love, You Who are eternal, You Who guides. You are too kind to us; but we need You desperately.

Psalm 47

Awesome, Subduer, Chooser, Lover, Ascender, Praiseworthy, King, Sovereign, Highly Honored. Praise Him with a psalm.

Lord, that my words would bring praise worthy of Your Name.

Psalm 46

God is … always ready to help.
Perpetually prepared
supernaturally supplied
perfectly empowered
invariably inclined
devotedly desirous
eternally available
constantly capable
imaginatively ingenious
determinedly detailed
entirely knowledgeable
always my advocate
He is my God.
Always.Ready.
And always ready in all ways.

 I praise You, my God and my King. You know me. I can’t fathom the mystery of that fact.

Psalm 45

My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king…

You are so glorious, so majestic!
In Your majesty, ride out to victory,
defending truth, humility, and justice.
Go forth to perform awe-inspiring deeds!

Yes, Lord, yes!

Psalm 44

But for your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.

                                                                                                        (Psalm 44 and Romans 8)

God, I love how Your people know Your word – how it informs and frames their conversations, thoughts and lives. You, Who never change, are always the Rescuer, our Savior. No matter what the circumstances are, regardless of the choices we have or haven’t made, despite the murderous obsessions of the enemy, nothing separates us from Your unfailing love. You never set aside Your love in order to execute Your plan, Your judgment, Your answer. You, Who is always before, always transcendent, always omni-omni-omni, do not fail, reject or abandon Your own. May we comprehend the privilege of being slaves of the Only Wise and Eternal King, the pleasure of audacious obedience to the Only Worthy and Self-Sufficient One and the prodigious grace of Your calling the creation to be Your own – today. May we allow ourselves to have our minds blown in response to You and the contemplation of Your love.

Psalm 43

Send out your light and your truth;
let them guide me.
Let them lead me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you live.

Thank You Jesus, that You are the Light and the Truth; I praise You that Your most Holy Spirit guides me and reveals Your words to me. I praise You God and Father that You have allowed Your Spirit to dwell within me – me, the place where You live. Whoa. May I bathe in Your Light and Truth, may I not depart from the way of the wise and may I become an ever-welcoming and yielded habitat for You, Holy Spirit. All to the glory of Your Name and the spread of Your fame!

Psalm 42

My heart is breaking as i remember how it used to be. … Now I am deeply discouraged; but I will remember You.

Lord, I praise You for the good times and the closeness I have experienced with You. Please help me not dwell on the past or what I have known – rather, please Holy Spirit, focus my thoughts, my hopes, my heart and my praise on You. On the Who not the what or how or when. Let me not bring about my own discouragement nor another’s by making the past the standard. I welcome each day with You, each new experience, even when it is either harder than I would prefer or when it is not as delightful as I would like. I want to desire You and respond to You in the way You magnificently crafted me to – I must not look to the temporal, the physical nor my expectations. I trust You with each revelation of Your Presence, Your Glory and Your plan. Abbi-Daddy, You know best.

Psalm 41

I have sinned … heal me … have mercy on me … Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, Who lives from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and amen!

Lord, amen and amen. And may I emulate this psalmist in not whining about the situation. I must realize that it does no good thing.

Psalm 40

(Psalm 50) God said, “… you thought that I was one like yourself. …”
… Now that you have made me listen, I finally understand … You have no equal. …
Continue to teach me, Great Rabbi, of Yourself. May I grow in thinking with the mind of Christ, may my disciplines be spiritually enriching, may I desire to know You more and more, may my motives and priorities be purified that You may be glorified and magnified. May I never be tempted to think that You desire sacrifice over obedience, commonness over holiness, sarcasm over sacred words, criticism over confession, psycho-babble over brokenness. May I never choose a pit of despair over a plateau with You; but let me always seek to climb higher with You. Let me not be deterred by circumstances, paralyzed by fear nor derailed by enemy’s plans. You are my Help, my Salvation – Your timing is perfect – may I trust You all the more, even when it seems You delay.

Psalm 39

Even in the depths of anguish, the psalmist knows to Whom to make his plea. In despairing of his own abilities, wealth and satisfaction of life, he reminds himself that his hope is in the Lord. In his misery, he does not stray from God nor does he focus on any one else; he pours out to the Lord expectantly. His mood and circumstances do not seem to have been modified by the end of this pleading; yet he has spoken, remembered and cried out. He has removed it from his custody and assigned it to God. 

Lord, even when grief is weightier than I can bear, the near and far unknown tempt me to despair, life and emotional pressures stay intense, inequity calls for recompense ~ I know I can remember You, Whose word is alive and always true, the Creator of all creation, the One whose victory is won, the Author and Finisher of my faith, in Your Presence I can bathe, assured and reminded that You are love and good … and I may go on, with You, as I should. In You I can trust, and in You I must. I praise You…even when ……

Psalm 38

ME: All my longings lie open before you, Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you. … Lord, I wait for you; you will answer, Lord my God. … Come quickly to help me, my Lord and my Savior. …

JESUS: (Rev. 22) “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with Me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. …He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”

ME: Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.  Thank You that the grace of the Lord Jesus is with God’s people.  Amen.

I await You, my Bridegroom. Come, come quickly. Your grace has provoked great desire within…

First World Babylon problem: 6.8.12

Shopping in the US for a friend who lives in a desperately poor area in Africa, she needed underwear.  What fit, what color, what style, what fabric, what brand, what size, WHAT!!!!!!  She needs an undergarment and I need to choose.  So many options.

Psalm 37

refrain from madness - forgo anger - decide ahead of time to not go the way of being angry or being passively angered.  Lord, if i truly valued Your sacred priorities above mine, i wouldn't need to forgo indignation, irateness nor wrath.  Until the time that i walk so closely with You, I need Your Spirit to keep me from the lure of lividity, outrage and fury - keep me from withdrawing, shutting down or responding in kind, Holy Keeper, that i may better display Your work.  Let Your divine, Christ-mind dwell richly in me, that my reactions and choices reflect Your perfection and purposes. 

Trust + well-doing = dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
hope in the Lord = inherit the land.
the meek = inherit the land
those the Lord blesses = inherit the land
Turn from evil and do good = dwell in the land forever
The righteous = inherit the land & dwell in it forever.
Hope in the Lord & keep his way = He will exalt you to inherit the land
The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord; He is their stronghold in time of trouble.

God, You say to hope & trust in You, keep Your way, turn from evil and do good, be meek, position myself to be blessed, receive and operate in Your righteousness ... all these things yield tremendous favor from You - even though they are a reasonable response to the very great grace-gift You have given me.  But You give blessing beyond the salvation.  I praise You.  God, I want to inherit, to dwell and to enjoy the land.  I don't even comprehend what being exalted to the point of inheritance means; but if You have it for me, I desire it.  I love that, while I don't understand fully what You mean  with these promises, You will me land from Your hand and that You are my Stronghold, my Mighty Fortress, my Everlasting Tower on the land of promise.  Grant me vision, bestow the percipience, allow me to apprehend the inheritable that I may ever-dwell safely, enjoying and fully inhabiting that which You have assigned to me in and through You, alone.  No One; but You.

Psalm 36

... in Your light we see light.  I have a message from God in my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked:  There is no fear of God before their eyes.  In their own eyes they flatter themselves too much to detect or hate their sin.

I thank You, Guiding and Revealing Holy Spirit, that in Your light, we see light.  You give us vision to see and discern that which we would not, could not apart from Your grace-gift.   God, my natural tendency is to flatter myself and not think that I would be such a sinner; but You clearly state (Light for light) that self-love blocks sin-detection and corrupts the proper response to wickedness.  Lord, help me to know You better and better as the Only Great One Without Equal, enlighten my eyes and heart to make more and more of You and charge the affection from my own self-love.  God, I must be consumed with You and I must be disavowed of myself - as I know that I can love You without reserve and trust me to You ... may I live in fear and awe of You and in the liberty of Your ever-luminescence.

Psalm 35

Lord, You who inhabits eternity - contend, defend, vindicate, tell me You are my salvation; then my soul will rejoice in You, my Lord, and I will delight in Your salvation.  Salvation precedes the delight - let me delight.  You are my perpetual Salvation - night and day, spiritual and physical, faithful and steadfast.  May my tongue proclaim Your righteousness, Your praises all day long.  Even in the face of those who seek to harm me, to dismantle my faith, to unravel my ties to You; may I praise You always.  Find me faithful in the corner of the Kingdom You have granted me to dwell and may I inhabit all of what You have created me for.

Psalm 34

Delivered from fears, shame, troubles…yet many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. Such deliverance, such afflictions.

All things are useful to the Father’s hand, my God’s plan, the divine design – even those things which are unmanageable and unimaginable in my small estimation. Would I see hope without afflictions? These are like constant companions to the children of God. May I allow their work to introduce me to greater deliverance and praise.

Psalm 33

For the word of the Lord is right and true ... By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of His mouth. ... For He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded,and it stood firm. ... In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy Name.

Thank You for Your completely-potent Word.  How trustworthy must Your Name be for You have pronounced Your Name, You have introduced Your character and You are ever You.  I trust in Your Name for I trust in You.  You are the I Am.  The unfailing One.  May my response be:  Joyful and praise-ful singing (signing) to You.  May I offer You a new song; joyous and celebratory - and thank You for the Words You give me to honor You.

Psalm 32

You are my hiding place; You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance ... the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in Him.

Grant me eyes to see and ears to hear how You surround me when trouble appears to abound, oppression pushes down and fear rises up.  I welcome You, Singer of Songs and Unfailing Lover, to surround me in the sacred atmosphere of Your presence.  You are my hiding place.  I praise You.

Psalm 31

But I trust in You, Lord … Whatever comes will come; but i trust in You, Lord, You who sees my anguish, You who delivers, You who holds times, You who hears and responds – my Rock of Refuge, my Shelter, my Fortress, my Mercy-Bringer. May this be my first response, my knee-jerk reaction, my initial call in every situation – no matter the circumstance. But i trust in You. Grow me up in this, cultivate the faith and gratitude which are harmonious reflections of being a daughter of the King.

deliver me in Your righteousness … not my righteousness, help me; but in Your righteousness. Deliverance is only from and by You, Your righteousness, Your faithfulness, Your presence, Your authority, Your love. May i receive all and experience Your complete deliverance in Your righteousness. Only You. I am awed by Your provision. I praise You still.

Psalm 30

but joy comes with the morning. ...  “I, Jesus, ... I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” (Rev. 22:16)

Yes, You, o Lord, are the Joy that comes in the morning, the bright and Morning Star.  You are the Light which dispels the darkest of nights, of times, of seasons.  I praise You for Your glorious brilliance and Your faithful presence in the tenebrific, sin-craving and consumed world.  You are my Light and my Joy, with You it is always morning.  May I never look more to the stygian surroundings than I do You, my Lucent Lord, my Radiant and Splendiferous Savior.  The Morning-Bringer.

Psalm 29

Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength... the glory due His Name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.

The Only Majestic and Splendid Lord God of Glory, Holiness and Peace, teach me how to ascribe glory and strength to You, to Your Name.  Illumine me on how to worship You in the brilliance and sublimeness of holiness.  Ascribing and worshiping You in the transcendent excellence of holiness - speak out, call to me, Lord with Your majestic and awesome voice that i may respond appropriately and audaciously to You, who inhabits eternity.