Psalm Challenge: Day Seventy-Two!

The greatest news that the Earth ever received is that God is not dead. Let me say that again... GOD IS NOT DEAD! He has and continues to fight for us and saves us from harm. He gives us light in the darkness. Will you receive the Good news?

Psalm 72

"Endow the king with your justice, O God,
    the royal son with your righteousness.
² May he judge your people in righteousness,
    your afflicted ones with justice.

³ May the mountains bring prosperity to the people,
    the hills the fruit of righteousness.
⁴ May he defend the afflicted among the people
    and save the children of the needy;
    may he crush the oppressor.
⁵ May he endure as long as the sun,
    as long as the moon, through all generations.
⁶ May he be like rain falling on a mown field,
    like showers watering the earth.
⁷ In his days may the righteous flourish
    and prosperity abound till the moon is no more.

⁸ May he rule from sea to sea
    and from the River to the ends of the earth.
⁹ May the desert tribes bow before him
    and his enemies lick the dust.
¹⁰ May the kings of Tarshish and of distant shores
    bring tribute to him.
May the kings of Sheba and Seba
    present him gifts.
¹¹ May all kings bow down to him
    and all nations serve him.

¹² For he will deliver the needy who cry out,
    the afflicted who have no one to help.
¹³ He will take pity on the weak and the needy
    and save the needy from death.
¹⁴ He will rescue them from oppression and violence,
    for precious is their blood in his sight.

¹⁵ Long may he live!
    May gold from Sheba be given him.
May people ever pray for him
    and bless him all day long.
¹⁶ May grain abound throughout the land;
    on the tops of the hills may it sway.
May the crops flourish like Lebanon
    and thrive like the grass of the field.
¹⁷ May his name endure forever;
    may it continue as long as the sun.

Then all nations will be blessed through him,
    and they will call him blessed.

¹⁸ Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel,
    who alone does marvelous deeds.
¹⁹ Praise be to his glorious name forever;
    may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and Amen.

²⁰ This concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse."

Psalm Challenge: Day Seventy-One!

Dear Heavenly Father,

I pray for everyone who reads this prayer today. Let them be reminded of Your great faithfulness. I pray that they have lips that will praise You. Oh Lord protect us and use us for Your Will. 

In Jesus Name,

Amen!

Psalm 71

"In you, Lord, I have taken refuge;
    let me never be put to shame.
² In your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me;
    turn your ear to me and save me.
³ Be my rock of refuge,
    to which I can always go;
give the command to save me,
    for you are my rock and my fortress.
⁴ Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked,
    from the grasp of those who are evil and cruel.

⁵ For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord,
    my confidence since my youth.
⁶ From birth I have relied on you;
    you brought me forth from my mother’s womb.
    I will ever praise you.
⁷ I have become a sign to many;
    you are my strong refuge.
⁸ My mouth is filled with your praise,
    declaring your splendor all day long.

⁹ Do not cast me away when I am old;
    do not forsake me when my strength is gone.
¹⁰ For my enemies speak against me;
    those who wait to kill me conspire together.
¹¹ They say, “God has forsaken him;
    pursue him and seize him,
    for no one will rescue him.”
¹² Do not be far from me, my God;
    come quickly, God, to help me.
¹³ May my accusers perish in shame;
    may those who want to harm me
    be covered with scorn and disgrace.

¹⁴ As for me, I will always have hope;
    I will praise you more and more.

¹⁵ My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds,
    of your saving acts all day long—
    though I know not how to relate them all.
¹⁶ I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, Sovereign Lord;
    I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone.
¹⁷ Since my youth, God, you have taught me,
    and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.
¹⁸ Even when I am old and gray,
    do not forsake me, my God,
till I declare your power to the next generation,
    your mighty acts to all who are to come.

¹⁹ Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens,
    you who have done great things.
    Who is like you, God?
²⁰ Though you have made me see troubles,
    many and bitter,
    you will restore my life again;
from the depths of the earth
    you will again bring me up.
²¹ You will increase my honor
    and comfort me once more.

²² I will praise you with the harp
    for your faithfulness, my God;
I will sing praise to you with the lyre,
    Holy One of Israel.
²³ My lips will shout for joy
    when I sing praise to you—
    I whom you have delivered.
²⁴ My tongue will tell of your righteous acts
    all day long,
for those who wanted to harm me
    have been put to shame and confusion."

Psalm Challenge: Day Seventy!

It is comforting to know and believe that God will be here with His children through every season of life. 

Psalm 70

"Hasten, O God, to save me;
    come quickly, Lord, to help me.

² May those who want to take my life
    be put to shame and confusion;
may all who desire my ruin
    be turned back in disgrace.
³ May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
    turn back because of their shame.
⁴ But may all who seek you
    rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who long for your saving help always say,
    “The Lord is great!”

⁵ But as for me, I am poor and needy;
    come quickly to me, O God.
You are my help and my deliverer;
    Lord, do not delay."

Psalm Challenge: Day Sixty-Nine!

Crying out to the Lord was a characteristic that David was good at. He cried out during the seasons of his life for different reasons. 

1)He cried out for protection from his enemy.

2)He cried out for comfort when he found none in this world. 

3)He cried out direction when he turned onto the wrong path.

4)He cried out for love on his enemies.

5)He cried our for peace in a war of destruction.

What have you cried out to God about? I'd love to hear your story; feel free to leave a comment :)

Psalm 69

"Save me, O God,
    for the waters have come up to my neck.
² I sink in the miry depths,
    where there is no foothold.
I have come into the deep waters;
    the floods engulf me.
³ I am worn out calling for help;
    my throat is parched.
My eyes fail,
    looking for my God.
⁴ Those who hate me without reason
    outnumber the hairs of my head;
many are my enemies without cause,
    those who seek to destroy me.
I am forced to restore
    what I did not steal.

⁵ You, God, know my folly;
    my guilt is not hidden from you.

⁶ Lord, the Lord Almighty,
    may those who hope in you
    not be disgraced because of me;
God of Israel,
    may those who seek you
    not be put to shame because of me.
⁷ For I endure scorn for your sake,
    and shame covers my face.
⁸ I am a foreigner to my own family,
    a stranger to my own mother’s children;
⁹ for zeal for your house consumes me,
    and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.
¹⁰ When I weep and fast,
    I must endure scorn;
¹¹ when I put on sackcloth,
    people make sport of me.
¹² Those who sit at the gate mock me,
    and I am the song of the drunkards.

¹³ But I pray to you, Lord,
    in the time of your favor;
in your great love, O God,
    answer me with your sure salvation.
¹⁴ Rescue me from the mire,
    do not let me sink;
deliver me from those who hate me,
    from the deep waters.
¹⁵ Do not let the floodwaters engulf me
    or the depths swallow me up
    or the pit close its mouth over me.

¹⁶ Answer me, Lord, out of the goodness of your love;
    in your great mercy turn to me.
¹⁷ Do not hide your face from your servant;
    answer me quickly, for I am in trouble.
¹⁸ Come near and rescue me;
    deliver me because of my foes.

¹⁹ You know how I am scorned, disgraced and shamed;
    all my enemies are before you.
²⁰ Scorn has broken my heart
    and has left me helpless;
I looked for sympathy, but there was none,
    for comforters, but I found none.
²¹ They put gall in my food
    and gave me vinegar for my thirst.

²² May the table set before them become a snare;
    may it become retribution and a trap.
²³ May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,
    and their backs be bent forever.
²⁴ Pour out your wrath on them;
    let your fierce anger overtake them.
²⁵ May their place be deserted;
    let there be no one to dwell in their tents.
²⁶ For they persecute those you wound
    and talk about the pain of those you hurt.
²⁷ Charge them with crime upon crime;
    do not let them share in your salvation.
²⁸ May they be blotted out of the book of life
    and not be listed with the righteous.

²⁹ But as for me, afflicted and in pain—
    may your salvation, God, protect me.

³⁰ I will praise God’s name in song
    and glorify him with thanksgiving.
³¹ This will please the Lord more than an ox,
    more than a bull with its horns and hooves.
³² The poor will see and be glad —
    you who seek God, may your hearts live!
³³ The Lord hears the needy
    and does not despise his captive people.

³⁴ Let heaven and earth praise him,
    the seas and all that move in them,
³⁵ for God will save Zion
    and rebuild the cities of Judah.
Then people will settle there and possess it;
³⁶     the children of his servants will inherit it,
    and those who love his name will dwell there."

Psalm Challenge: Day Sixty-Eight!

Verse 35, the last verse of this Psalm, is such an encouragement when it seems that the world is suffocating us, It is a reminder that God is awesome, that God gives power, and that God gives strength to those who are His people. Praise God! 

Psalm 68

"May God arise, may his enemies be scattered;
    may his foes flee before him.
² May you blow them away like smoke—
    as wax melts before the fire,
    may the wicked perish before God.
³ But may the righteous be glad
    and rejoice before God;
    may they be happy and joyful.

⁴ Sing to God, sing in praise of his name,
    extol him who rides on the clouds ;
    rejoice before him—his name is the Lord.
⁵ A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
    is God in his holy dwelling.
⁶ God sets the lonely in families,
    he leads out the prisoners with singing;
    but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

⁷ When you, God, went out before your people,
    when you marched through the wilderness,
⁸ the earth shook, the heavens poured down rain,
    before God, the One of Sinai,
    before God, the God of Israel.
⁹ You gave abundant showers, O God;
    you refreshed your weary inheritance.
¹⁰ Your people settled in it,
    and from your bounty, God, you provided for the poor.

¹¹ The Lord announces the word,
    and the women who proclaim it are a mighty throng:
¹² “Kings and armies flee in haste;
    the women at home divide the plunder.
¹³ Even while you sleep among the sheep pens,
    the wings of my dove are sheathed with silver,
    its feathers with shining gold.”
¹⁴ When the Almighty scattered the kings in the land,
    it was like snow fallen on Mount Zalmon.

¹⁵ Mount Bashan, majestic mountain,
    Mount Bashan, rugged mountain,
¹⁶ why gaze in envy, you rugged mountain,
    at the mountain where God chooses to reign,
    where the Lord himself will dwell forever?
¹⁷ The chariots of God are tens of thousands
    and thousands of thousands;
    the Lord has come from Sinai into his sanctuary.
¹⁸ When you ascended on high,
    you took many captives;
    you received gifts from people,
even from the rebellious —
    that you, Lord God, might dwell there.

¹⁹ Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior,
    who daily bears our burdens.
²⁰ Our God is a God who saves;
    from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death.
²¹ Surely God will crush the heads of his enemies,
    the hairy crowns of those who go on in their sins.
²² The Lord says, “I will bring them from Bashan;
    I will bring them from the depths of the sea,
²³ that your feet may wade in the blood of your foes,
    while the tongues of your dogs have their share.”

²⁴ Your procession, God, has come into view,
    the procession of my God and King into the sanctuary.
²⁵ In front are the singers, after them the musicians;
    with them are the young women playing the timbrels.
²⁶ Praise God in the great congregation;
    praise the Lord in the assembly of Israel.
²⁷ There is the little tribe of Benjamin, leading them,
    there the great throng of Judah’s princes,
    and there the princes of Zebulun and of Naphtali.

²⁸ Summon your power, God;
    show us your strength, our God, as you have done before.
²⁹ Because of your temple at Jerusalem
    kings will bring you gifts.
³⁰ Rebuke the beast among the reeds,
    the herd of bulls among the calves of the nations.
Humbled, may the beast bring bars of silver.
    Scatter the nations who delight in war.
³¹ Envoys will come from Egypt;
    Cush will submit herself to God.

³² Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth,
    sing praise to the Lord,
³³ to him who rides across the highest heavens, the ancient heavens,
    who thunders with mighty voice.
³⁴ Proclaim the power of God,
    whose majesty is over Israel,
    whose power is in the heavens.
³⁵                     You, God, are awesome in your sanctuary;
                 the God of Israel gives power and strength to                                    his                                             people.

Praise be to God!"

Psalm Challenge: Day Sixty-Seven!

Psalm 67

"May God be gracious to us and bless us
    and make his face shine on us—
² so that your ways may be known on earth,
    your salvation among all nations.

³ May the peoples praise you, God;
    may all the peoples praise you.
⁴ May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
    for you rule the peoples with equity
    and guide the nations of the earth.
⁵ May the peoples praise you, God;
    may all the peoples praise you.

⁶ The land yields its harvest;
    God, our God, blesses us.
⁷ May God bless us still,
    so that all the ends of the earth will fear him."

Psalm Challange: Day Sixty-Six!

(Video credit: this is not my video. I do not own it. All rights belong to the owner of this video)

Psalm 66

"Shout for joy to God, all the earth!
²     Sing the glory of his name;
    make his praise glorious.
³ Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
    So great is your power
    that your enemies cringe before you.
⁴ All the earth bows down to you;
    they sing praise to you,
    they sing the praises of your name.”^[a]

⁵ Come and see what God has done,
    his awesome deeds for mankind!
⁶ He turned the sea into dry land,
    they passed through the waters on foot—
    come, let us rejoice in him.
⁷ He rules forever by his power,
    his eyes watch the nations—
    let not the rebellious rise up against him.

⁸ Praise our God, all peoples,
    let the sound of his praise be heard;
⁹ he has preserved our lives
    and kept our feet from slipping.
¹⁰ For you, God, tested us;
    you refined us like silver.
¹¹ You brought us into prison
    and laid burdens on our backs.
¹² You let people ride over our heads;
    we went through fire and water,
    but you brought us to a place of abundance.

¹³ I will come to your temple with burnt offerings
    and fulfill my vows to you—
¹⁴ vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke
    when I was in trouble.
¹⁵ I will sacrifice fat animals to you
    and an offering of rams;
    I will offer bulls and goats.

¹⁶ Come and hear, all you who fear God;
    let me tell you what he has done for me.
¹⁷ I cried out to him with my mouth;
    his praise was on my tongue.
¹⁸ If I had cherished sin in my heart,
    the Lord would not have listened;
¹⁹ but God has surely listened
    and has heard my prayer.
²⁰ Praise be to God,
    who has not rejected my prayer
    or withheld his love from me!"