Praying the Psalms- Psalm 65-

 

Psalm 65

O God of Our Salvation
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.
Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion,
and to you shall vows be performed.
O you who hear prayer,
to you shall all flesh come.
When iniquities prevail against me,
you atone for our transgressions.
Blessed is the one you choose and bring near,
to dwell in your courts!
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
the holiness of your temple!
By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness,
O God of our salvation,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
   and of the farthest seas;
the one who by his strength established the mountains,
being girded with might;
who stills the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples,
so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs.
You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.
You visit the earth and water it;
you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
you provide their grain,
for so you have prepared it.
You water its furrows abundantly,
settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
and blessing its growth.
You crown the year with your bounty;
your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.
The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
the hills gird themselves with joy,
the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
the valleys deck themselves with grain,
they shout and sing together for joy.
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Lord, I praise You today. You alone are worthy to be praised!
Lord, I am so grateful because “You hear my prayer”
These four words are so powerful,
and full of meaning.
This statement, should be enough for me
to come to you in prayer day and night,
this statement should encourage me to
pray without ceasing.
Thank you, O LORD, because it pleases You
to hear the prayer of your saints.
LORD, thank you, thank you because you not only hear my prayer,
but you atone for my transgressions which are many.
Father, I am blessed indeed;
and the greatest blessing
that you have bestowed upon me is that You have called me to dwell in your courts!
You have chosen me and You have brought me near to You,
by bringing me near the Cross.
O, yes, yes Father, let me satisfied with the goodness of your house,
the holiness of your temple,
the sweetness of each word I read on my Bible.
Lord, forgive me when in my foolishness,
I am deceived and seek satisfaction everywhere else.
Lord, we pray small prayers, and yet You answer us with awesome deeds
with righteousness,
O God of our Salvation,
You alone are my HOPE;
You alone are my strength.You who has established the mountains,
has established my life on the Rock of Ages.
I shall not be moved, that is my HOPE.
Lord, I am in awe at your deeds, your signs;
Your hand is always orchestrating our lives according to your perfect will.
Father when a storm comes against me, against my beloved ones, against your church;
help us remember that YOU, You alone has the power to still the roaring seas,
the roaring of the waves,
the tumult of peoples.
Thank you, for each morning and night,
for rhythms in our lives;
for rain and snow,
and good soil to plant,
and food to eat.
You crown our years, our days, our minutes with your bounty;
you have filled my home with food for us and others;
You have filled my home with food for the soul too;
good books and Bibles, and beautiful music;
all fill our rooms.
You have rescued us from from the spiritual famine in which we lived
so many years.
I raise my voice today with all the saints whom you have called
to draw near you and we praise Your Name, O Mighty God!
Amen

>Sunday’s Psalm – Psalm 62-

>

My Soul Waits for God Alone
To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.
How long will all of you attack a man;to batter him,
like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
They only plan to thrust him down from his high position.
They take pleasure in falsehood.
They bless with their mouths,
but inwardly they curse.
                                         Selah
For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
for my hope is from him.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
On God rests my salvation and my glory;
my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us.
                                          Selah
Those of low estate are but a breath;
those of high estate are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
they are together lighter than a breath.
Put no trust in extortion;
set no vain hopes on robbery;
if riches increase, set not your heart on them.
Once God has spoken;
twice have I heard this:
that power belongs to God,
and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love.
For you will render to a man
according to his work.
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May your Sabbath be full of joy 
as you meditate on God’s Word.

>The Lord’s Day – Thinking on the Shepherds-

>

Advent is over, we have celebrated His coming, but we have pondered on how the story doesn’t end in the manger, it goes on, and that is what I want to do; that is exactly what I want to do. I do not want to stop in the manger; I want to walk through the Gospel; I need the Gospel in my life every day.

Today I am thinking on the shepherds; they heard the news, they went to the manger and then what? They went back to their sheep.

The Christmas tree and the lights will be put away soon… but the story, my love story with my Master will go on.

I have thinking on the last chapter of the book The Holiness of God,  on those words that keep coming back to my heart… living in the sacred. Holy space and Holy time.  Christ has come… He has come. Hear it, O my soul, the Lord has come to you! I walk in the sacred because He has come!  I do not want to miss this. I want to live glorifying God in my body.

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
1 Corinthians 6: 19-20

How is easily I forget that my body is temple of the Holy Spirit. How I easily I forget that I am standing on holy ground, on holy space, and holy time.

Calvin says that the shepherds, once they heard the news from the angels, once they saw the Messiah…

“Their earthly lot did not change, despite the fact that they had heard the angel’s word and had witnessed the birth of God’s Son. They went back to their flocks exactly as before; they continued to live as as poor men, guarding their herds. In terms of the flesh and of this passing world they gained nothing from the privilege which we read about here. For all that, they were full of joy. Theirs is a lead we should follow. For although the gospel might earn us neither wealth nor fame, and although it might not bring us gratification or amusement, nevertheless we should be glad that we are the objects of God’s favour. That is where true blessing and happiness lie, and where real rest is found”

Today is the Lord’s Day, today we enter into the weekly Sabbath, into rest. Let us find our rest in  the Gospel. In the good news: “A Saviour is Born to us, who is Christ the Lord!” (Luke 2: 9-14)

May we enter today His Sabbath knowing that we are the objects of His favour.

>Sunday’s Hymn

>

“From Heaven Above to Earth I Come”
by Martin Luther, 1483-1546

1. “From heaven above to earth I come
To bear good news to every home;
Glad tidings of great joy I bring,
Whereof I now will say and sing:

2. “To you this night is born a child
Of Mary, chosen virgin mild;
This little child, of lowly birth,
Shall be the joy of all the earth.
3. “This is the Christ, our God and Lord,
Who in all need shall aid afford;
He will Himself your Savior be
From all your sins to set you free.
4. “He will on you the gifts bestow
Prepared by God for all below,
That in His kingdom, bright and fair,
You may with us His glory share.
5. “These are the tokens ye shall mark:
The swaddling-clothes and manger dark;
There ye shall find the Infant laid
By whom the heavens and earth were made.”
6. Now let us all with gladsome cheer
Go with the shepherds and draw near
To see the precious gift of God,
Who hath His own dear Son bestowed.
7. Give heed, my heart, lift up thine eyes!
What is it in yon manger lies?
Who is this child, so young and fair?
The blessed Christ-child lieth there.
8. Welcome to earth, Thou noble Guest,
Through whom the sinful world is blest!
Thou com’st to share my misery;
What thanks shall I return to Thee?
9. Ah, Lord, who hast created all,
How weak art Thou, how poor and small,
That Thou dost choose Thine infant bed
Where humble cattle lately fed!
10. Were earth a thousand times as fair,
Beset with gold and jewels rare,
It yet were far too poor to be
A narrow cradle, Lord, for Thee.
11. For velvets soft and silken stuff
Thou hast but hay and straw so rough,
Whereon Thou, King, so rich and great,
As ’twere Thy heaven, art throned in state.
12. And thus, dear Lord, it pleaseth Thee
To make this truth quite plain to me,
That all the world’s wealth, honor, might,
Are naught and worthless in Thy sight.
13. Ah, dearest Jesus, holy Child,
Make Thee a bed, soft, undefiled,
Within my heart, that it may be
A quiet chamber kept for Thee.
14. My heart for very joy doth leap,
My lips no more can silence keep;
I, too, must sing with joyful tongue
That sweetest ancient cradle-song:
15. Glory to God in highest heaven,
Who unto us His Son hath given!
While angels sing with pious mirth
A glad new year to all the earth.
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The Lutheran Hymnal
Hymn #85
Text: Luke 2: 1-18
Author: Martin Luther, 1535
Tune: Vom Himmel hoch, da komm’ ich her
Translated by: Catherine Winkworth, 1855, alt.
1st published in: “Geistliche Lieder” Leipzig, 1539

 May our mouths be filled with His praises today,


Related Posts:


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>The Family of God

>T oday, I am thankful for the family of God. I am thankful for YOU, no matter where you are worshiping our Father today, we are one in Him, and this is too wonderful for me to comprehend.

J.C Ryle says in his book Practical Religion, about the family of God:

“Let us strive to live worthy of the family to which we belong. Let us labour to do nothing that may cause our Father’s house to be spoken against. Let us endeavour  to make our Master’s name beautiful by our temper, conduct and conversations. Let us love as brethren, and abhor all quarrels. Let us behave as if the honour of “the family” depended on our behaviour.
So living, by the grace of God, we shall make our calling and election sure, both to ourselves and others. So living, we may hope to have an abundant entrance, and to enter harbour in full sail, whenever we change earth for heaven. (2 Peter 1:2) So living, we shall recommend our Father’s family to others, and perhaps by God’s blessing incline them to say, ‘We shall go with you'”

May you enjoy this Lord’s day with the family of God!

Please, if you have few minutes, I really recommend you to read Persis blog entry today… what she says is VERY important!

>Sunday’s Prayer

>

Picture taken by my daughter,@Pixels and Stories
Glorious God,
It is the flame of my life to worship Thee,
the crown and glory of my soul to adore Thee,
Heavenly pleasure to approach Thee.
Give me power by Thy Spirit to help me worship now,
that I may forget the world,
be brought into fullness of life,
be refresged, comforted and blessed.
Give me knowledge of thy goodness
that I might not be over-awaed by thy greatness;
Give me Jesus, Son of Man, Son of God,
that I might not be terrified,
but be drawn near with filial love,
with holy boldness;
He is my mediator, brother interpreter,
branch, daysman, Lamb;
him I glorify,
in Him I am set o high.
Crowns to give I have none,
but what thou hast given I return,
content to feel that everything is mine when it is thine,
and the more fully mine when I have yielded it to Thee.
Let me live wholly to my Savior,
free from distractions,
from carrking care,
from hindrances to the pursuit of the narrow way.
I am pardoned through the blood of Jesus-
give me a new sense of it,
continue to pardon me by it,
may I come every day to the fountain,
and every day be washed anew,
that I may worship thee always in spirit and truth.
The Valley of Vision
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Today, my friends, I invite you to join me in praise! 
I am thankful to my Lord, for the flame He ignited in my soul,
for the heavenly pleasure I find when I come before Him;
I am thankful for the Holy Spirit, my helper and my strength;
I am grateful, forever grateful,  for Jesus, 
my God and Saviour,
The Perfect Lamb of God who took away my sins!
O, How much I love my Lord!
I am thankful because I know He is interceding, even right now, for me,
I am thankful for the Way to the Father He opened for us, His saints.
I am grateful that all belongs to Him,
that all the good in me, if any, is because of Him,
that I am undone before Him, to gain the pleasure of  being at His feet.
O, How much I love my Lord!
He has pardoned me through His blood!
I am forever thankful!
He sanctifies me 
as I journey under the sun and by His grace,
day by day,
on my way to Heaven….

Some other entries on the Lord’s Day:

Churches are for Worshiping God
Sunday’s Psalm -Psalm 19-
Daily On My Way to Heaven
Repose

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