Psalm 72

One thing which strikes me hard is the focus that royal Solomon places on the poor and the needy and on justice, righteousness, sparing, delivering bringing peace to them.  What an unexpected path for a psalm of a former prince and current king to offer.  Only You God can instruct a person in truth, only You can give the right heart priorities.  To cause a sovereign to value the poor can only be by Your gracious wisdom and Spirit.  Make Your agenda mine.   Make my path as unexpected as You desire - just make sure it brings You glory.

Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
Who only does wondrous things!
And blessed be His glorious name forever!
And let the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen and Amen.  Yes, and amen, once again.

The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended. How sad for Sol to have penned these words, I know You gave him grace to walk through the grief and dawn of his reign.  I thank You for that tenderness.   Lord, I lift up those who are grieving today, who have suffered loss, who are facing an anniversary of loss, who can't see beyond or behind the loss.  Holy God of All Comfort, please grant them mercy and grace to wake up, embrace today, cry, laugh, see You, experience Your presence, sleep well, start again.  To engage.  To respond.  To trust.  Father, You know; please show them Your love, Your presence, Your kindness,  Your wondrous works today.  Blessed be Your glorious Name forever and ever and ever again and always.  My God.

Psalm 71

In You, O Lord, I put my trust, may I start each day with this declaration. You are my strong refuge. Let my mouth be filled with Your praise and with Your glory all the day. My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness and Your salvation all the day, for I do not know their limits. I choose this day to declare Your wondrous works and may I never cease declaring Your Name and Your wonders in each day You provide me. You, Who have shown me great and severe troubles, shall revive me again. I praise You for revival. I praise You that You give life, continually. I thank You for the troubles which You have shown me, for You are my Stronghold and my Refuge, my Need-Meeter, my Life-Giver, my Life-Restorer. My Reviver. Thank You. Have Your way with me.

Psalm 70

But I am poor and needy;
Make haste to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
O Lord, do not delay.

O Great God, my Sovereign and Lord, I am poor and I am needy. Please help me to never forget how needy and inadequate I am, how indebted to You I am. I praise You for Your Help and for Your sacred deliverance everyday. I am so grateful that You do not delay needlessly; but perfectly and purposely act and supply. You are gracious to me, You are generous, You are faithful. Thank You! I lift up to Your Saving Name those for whom I intercede for salvation, help, deliverance, wholeness. God, grant them heart vision to see their need, their utter insufficiency for this life and the eternal, grant them faith to believe the Answer is You, faith to receive Your Son, the Messiah, has their own, grace-bathed strength to respond and a sense of urgency to call on You today. O lord, do not delay. For Your Name’s sake, for Your Kingdom’s sake, for Your children’s sake. Lord, help, deliver, without delay. I praise You and look for Your hand today.

Psalm 69

But as for me, my prayer is to You …I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving. This will please the Lord more than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs. When the humble see it they will be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive.

Lord God, may my prayers always be to You. Let me not trust in the name of another or the deceptive power or attraction of another. My prayers belong to You. Alone. May I praise Your Name, magnify You with gratitude. That thanksgiving and praise would ever be in my heart and on my lips. Please stifle the grumbling and complaining – I am spoiled; but desire to be who You created me to be rather than who I think I am or what I believe I am entitled to. Why do some things matter so much. Grant me perspective born of godly wisdom and sacred priorities. Teach me to lay the crunchy outer things aside and to disregard that which pulls me away from Your Kingdom lifestyle. And Lord, I pray that I would let my heart revive in my pursuit of You. May I always seek You, always desire You, always find delight in You and Your Name. You alone, my God and my Father, my Savior and my Friend, my Counselor and my Seal. Seal me for thy courts above.

Psalm 68

Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits, The God of our salvation! Selah ... O God, You are more awesome than Your holy places.  The God of Israel is He who gives strength and power to His people.  Blessed be God!

You don't have to; but You do.  You are more awesome than anything You do, anywhere You are, anyway You act.  You exceed Your characteristics.  I praise You.  I am so grateful that You would bother with revealing Yourself to the reckless, rebellion creation.  That You would love us and load us up with constant grace and blessings.  How You love us.  I thank You.  May I ever walk in response to Your persistent grace.

Psalm 67

Thank You Lord for this hymnal of Your chosen people. Thank You for preserving it for us.

God be merciful to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us, Selah. That Your way may be known on earth ...

We need You to act in mercy that we may walk in Your way, that we may know Your way, that all things may be done on earth as they are in Heaven. That praising and gladness would accompany God’s reign and righteous judgments throughout all nations. Oh, Lord, grant them eyes to see and hearts to comprehend, spirits to respond to You. In mercy, please bless.

Psalm 66

Shout for joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious. … If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer. Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!

When my circumstances stink, when I am pressed, when the spiritual pressures bear down on me; I can shout for joy to God, I can sing the glory of His Name and make His praise glorious – o, God Spirit, teach me how to make Your praise glorious. It’s my choice – my privilege to focus on Him and not me. Not that the situation changes; but my attitude, my perspective, my outlook are improved as i willingly divert the attention from myself to my God. May i cherish my Lord rather than sin in my heart or the discomfort of my circumstances. I praise You, Father God, for You not only hear; but You listen to my prayers. Thank You so much for accepting/receiving my prayers and dispensing, bestowing, blessing me with Your steadfast love. Your love is too great for me to comprehend; but I need it. I need You. I praise You.