Category Archives: Psalms

Praying the Psalms -Psalm 9: 1-2-

Posted on by
3
@Melissa Deming printables. Used with permission

O Most High God, a week starts today and I pray, please give me the grace to cultivate a grateful heart. Let my thanks, each one of them, be heart felt. Help me not to say “Thank you, Lord for this or that”, without really being thankful from the bottom of my heart.

Father, how beautiful it is to see that having a grateful heart towards you will naturally lead me to proclaim all your wonderful deeds, to bring glory to you. Let my children, my friends, my neighbors, my church family, the poor in the corner, let all of them hear from my lips how wonderful are your deeds among your people!

I am excited to start a new week, seven brand new days in which I can be glad and rejoice in you. Seven days in which I will keep my eyes open to see your mercies, all new, all wonderful, all good. Seven days in which I don’t want to miss the opportunity to give you thanks with all my heart.

This Lord’s Day I will open my mouth in the church, among the saints,  and I will sing the praises of your name, O MOST HIGH!

Amen

Becky

Thanks to Melissa for giving me permission to use today’s beautiful image.

Praying the Psalms -Psalm 127-

Posted on by
7

 

Psalm 127

A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon.

1 Unless the LORD builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.
2 It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
for he gives to his beloved sleep.
3 Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,
the fruit of the womb a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the children of one’s youth.
5 Blessed is the man
who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

Father in Heaven, I praise your name, Rock of my Salvation, Cornerstone of my Faith. I come to you today to ask you forgiveness because so many times I want to build my family on my own, with my own hands, with my own strength. Sometimes, I don’t even want to submit to my husband, and think I know better. Lord, forgive me. Forgive me, Lord, when a day goes by in which I seldomly keep watch and forget to whisper prayers in the midst of all the ordinary. Remind me through your Spirit, teach me by your Word, that if I labor on my own strength I labor in vain. Lord, that I may not forget this.

I want to be watchful this year, Father. Watchful over my life, and all you have given me, but no matter how much I try to keep watch, if You, O Sovereign God don’t keep watch over me and my family, I stay awake in vain. Don’t take your eyes away from us, keep us as the apple of your eye. Close to you, hidden under your wings.

Father, how much I relate to Solomon’s words, it is vain to do and do, and do, and get tired and even exhausted if I don’t rest in You; if I don’t put all my trust in You. Lord, bless what I will do this week, bless the labor of my hands. That I will not complain, but be happy and share laughs and great joy with my husband and children, so that when night comes, I will rest in peace knowing that I have worked with your hand over me, blessing the fruit of my labor.

How precious it is know that it has pleased you to give me and my husband children, each one of them an inheritance from you. You have placed them in our hands as arrows in the hand of a warrior. Help me fight as a warrior for them on my knees, bring me to my knees to intercede fervently for them. Lord, help me put away all anxiety and all the fears of childrearing. I trust that you are watching over our children and that because of your many mercies, we will not be put to shame.

Merciful God, build my home and my life on the Rock of Ages.

I pray this in the Name of Jesus, the Cornerstone of my Faith.

Amen

Becky

Praying the Psalms

Praying the Psalms -Psalm 18-

Posted on by
4

 

Read the whole Psalm 18 here.

1 I love you, O LORD, my strength.
2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.

Lord, my LORD, my Strength, Rock of Ages, my Jesus,
I love you, I love you, I love you.
These words are the marrow of my Christian walk.
Help me to remember that every book I read, every sermon I listen to
are not so that I get know more, just for the sake of knowing more,
but to know YOU more and understand YOU more,
and love YOU more and more.
If I knew all doctrines, and had all the discernment,
and all my theological views were correct,
but I failed to love you, I would be doomed.

Oh Lord, help us not to love more reading about You,
than being with You in prayer.
Help us not to love more reading books about You,
than reading Your book, the Holy Bible.

Lord, You are my strength, my rock,
my fortress, my deliverer, my rock in whom I take refuge.
You have brought me to this safe place only because it pleased You
to rescue me from the bondage of sin.
How can I not love You with all that is in me?
How can I not be forever grateful for your Grace, for having compassion on me?
How can I fail not to praise You if it has pleased You to save me from my enemies?

Oh how I love You, LORD!
If in my distress I called your name,
and you heard me.
When I cry to You, you always incline your ear and hear my prayer,
when I do not know how to pray your Spirit helps me pray according to your will,
when I fall, Jesus, my Mediator, intercedes for me.
Thank you, Lord because it pleases you to hear my voice from your temple,
thank you because my cry to You reaches your ears,
because my prayers are not in vain. (v.6)

Forgive me, Lord, when I am not merciful,
when I am prideful,
when I do not act as a Christian.
Purify my heart,
cleanse me from all iniquities,
that I may love You with a clean heart,
that I may be humble before you and my brothers and sisters.

Lord, I love You because You have enlightened my path,
because you have given us Your Word as a lamp unto our feet,
a light unto our path.
You are good to us, that have given your children eyes to see,
and ears to hear in this world in which many times is not easy
to see and hear clearly.

God, your ways are perfect, all of them,
Your Word proves True.
You are a shield to those who take refuge in You;
Help me, help me to love your Word, Your ways,
more than anything else.
Help me to run to you in my distress,
knowing that only in You will I find refuge.
Oh how I love you, Lord!

Who is God but You?
Who is a rock, except our God?
I love you, because you have cleansed me by the blood of the Lamb,
You have made my feet like the feet of a deer
and set me secure on the heights.
You have given me the shield of your salvation,
and your right hand supported me.
Oh, how I love You, Lord!
You gave a wide place for my steps under me,
and my feet did not slip.
How can I not love You with all my heart?

Lord, as I face my enemies, my sinful habits,
sinful desires, sinful thoughts this week, remind me that
in Jesus, you have equipped me with strength for the battle;
that you made those who rise against me sink under me.
You, Oh LORD live, blessed be my rock,
and exalted be the God of my salvation—

For this I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations,
and sing to your name.
For all these I love you and will love you
forever more!

Amen

 

Praying the Psalms -Psalm 96-

Posted on by
2

 

Psalm 96

1 Oh sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all the earth!
2 Sing to the LORD, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
4 For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the LORD made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

7 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!
8 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
bring an offering, and come into his courts!
9 Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth!

10 Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns!
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.”

11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;

12 let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
13 before the LORD, for he comes,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
and the peoples in his faithfulness.

Spurgeon names this Psalm, A Grand Missionary Hymn. A Psalm with no division “for the song is one and indivisible, a garment of praise without seam, woven from the top throughout.” (1)

*******************************

Oh Father, our God, that your people around the globe may sing Psalms to you today. Fill our mouths to sing to you a new song! God, we thank you because we do not worship your creation, but instead, we join our voices with that of the earth, the seas, the heavens, the fields.  We exult your name today, O God!

Lord I pray that our song may be transformed into actions: That we may effectually bless your name by telling of your salvation from day to day. That we may declare your glory among the nations. That we may spread the word of your marvelous works among our neighbors.

Transform our song, O Lord, into actions today!

Lord, “Blessed are the eyes which shall see the kingdom, and the ears which shall hear its songs.  Hasten your advent, good Lord!” (2)

God, our Lord, we bless your name, your fame, your Word revealed to us. We delight in singing your praises, we take great delight in proclaiming all you have done in us. How you have changed our hardened hearts, how the gospel has transformed our lives. How we love you, O Lord! How we love to sing your praises!

Father, that each day this week, we may seek opportunities to transform our singing into actions. That by our deeds, our written, and our spoken words, we may always announce the glorious message of free grace among all the people, to those close to us and even to those afar.

In your presence we sing Psalms, because you alone are greatly to be praised. It is Your name that we love and fear because you are clothed in splendor and majesty; it is only in your presence, Lord, that we find strength and beauty together, kissing each other. And as we stand in awe before you, we are encouraged by your Spirit to sing your praises, to raise our voices and bless your name.

Mighty God, Merciful Father, you have saved your people to bring glory to your name, so that may  worship you and long for you. And today, as we sing your praises from every corner of the world, we also pray with one voice: Don’t haste your coming, O Lord! Come, Lord Jesus! We won’t be fully satisfied until we see your face, until “truth will dispel all evil in hypocrisy.”(3) Until our voices will mingle with that of the angels singing in Heaven.

Amen

Becky

[1], [2] Spurgeon, The Treasury of David
[3] Calvin, Commentary on the Psalms

Praying the Psalms.

Bless the Lord, O My Soul- Giving Thanks Based on Psalm 103-

Posted on by
5
©Katie Lloyd Photography

 

Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits….
(#1416- 1441)
You, O Lord, have forgiven all my iniquity
and  healed all my diseases, all my spiritual infirmities,
 it has pleased you to redeem my life from the pit
and crown me with your steadfast love and mercy.
How great are your works O Lord!
O my soul, do not forget all his benefits!
Thank you that you O Lord, satisfies my soul,
That your grace is sufficient,
your grace is my all.
You renew my strength, my soul,
just like the eagle’s.
Forget not, O my soul!
You, O Father, have worked righteousness and
justice when I was oppressed by my sins.
You have made your ways known to me
through the Scriptures;
Your Word has enlightened my path.
Give thanks , O my soul,
to God for He alone is merciful and gracious
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
Give thanks O my soul,
and do not forget all His benefits!
Give thanks for He will not chide,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
Do not stop praising and giving thanks to Him,
O my soul,
see that the Lord has not dealt with you
according to your sins,
nor repay you according to your iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far does He removed your transgressions, O my soul, from you.
Give thanks to God, O my soul,
for He has called you to be his child,
and just as a Father shows compassion to his children
so the Lord has shown compassion to you
because you have feared his name.
Give thanks, O my soul,
to God, who knows your frame
and remembers that you are dust,
and gives you hope,
He reminds you of how short this life is,
and teaches you to fix your eyes on eternity,
on His steadfast love,
a love that never ceases,
that is from everlasting to everlasting
on those who fear him.
Give thanks for His righteousness
is even for my children’s children,
for those who keep His covenant
and remember to do his commandments.
The Lord reigns!
Give thanks, O my soul,
to one who is sitting on the throne,
Give thanks to the LORD who has established
his throne in the heavens,
and whose kingdom rules over all.
Bless the Lord, O my soul!

 

Becky

Praying the Psalms -Psalm 13- How Long, O LORD?-

Posted on by
4

cropped-cropped-hg10.jpg

Psalm 13

1  How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2  How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

3  Consider and answer me, O LORD my God;
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
4  lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

5  But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
6  I will sing to the LORD,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.

This weekend I have listened several times a sermon on Monergism by Dale Ralph Davis based on this Psalm. The sermon is entitled Faith: From Crying to Confidence. Friends, I cannot stress how much this sermon has blessed me; I encourage you to listen to it.

And based on this Psalm (and the sermon) I pray today…

O God, how much longer, how much longer?  Many friends of mine whom I love dearly, women who love you, who love your Word and are walking on your ways have recently lost their babies before they opened their eyes, even in their mother’s womb. LORD, we don’t understand, we just cry and at times try to hold our words back. At times we feel as if you had abandoned us. Father, O God, how long? What do you want to teach us, the body of Christ, when we see this and feel so helpless and alone?

O LORD, how much longer?   Don’t hide your face from us, don’t hide your face from my sisters’ faces who cry in the darkness. LORD, O LORD! Hear our cry! You alone can bring comfort to us. Please, Lord; please God, hear us and let your face shine upon us.

There are times when grief cannot find comfort in words, when we don’t know what to utter, what to say. There are times when the only question that springs forth from our troubled heart is, the same that David asked, “How long, O LORD?”

“How long? Ah!  how long do days appear when our soul is cast down within us!…Time flies with full-fledged wing in our summer days, but in our winters he flutters painfully.”(1)

How long? God, how long will we have sorrow in our heart all the day as we mourn the death of these babies who were to be born in Christian homes, in the Covenant? We need you to come Father, and look at us in our distress. We are in desperate need of you. We have cried many tears in the night, on our pillow, and swallowed hard… we have waited and waited, and waited and still do not understand your ways. We go to your Word and at times You seem far from us. How much longer until my friends, my sisters will find comfort in their sorrow?

How long will our enemies will see us having miscarriages while they go and put their babies to death? How long LORD? Remember that we are poor and needy, Oh LORD, take thought for us. You are our help and our deliverer; do not delay, O my God!

Do not delay, O God!

Teach us to pray when our heart feels devastated; consider and answer us O LORD our God, light up our eyes, lest we sleep the sleep of death, lest our enemy say, “I have prevailed over them,” lest our foes rejoice because we are shaken. Don’t delay, O God, my LORD!

Father, where can we go for answers? To whom shall we cry? We have nowhere else to go but to You. Remind us that “the mercy-seat is the life of hope and the death of despair.” (2) O God, I come boldly before you today, because I have trusted in your steadfast love. My sisters and I will keep coming to you, day and night we will keep on knocking and knocking at the doors of Heaven. LORD only in You, in your steadfast love, in whom You are is where we will find rest and our heart will rejoice only in your salvation.

This day we thank you because You are our Father, a Father who has promised not to forsake us but to have compassion on us. You have promised not to leave us in the pit of desperation. We have trusted in Your covenant, in your perfect love, O God, and run to hide under your wings. You have given us hope and your Word to sustain us. Thank you, O LORD!

In the night dark of the soul, I thank you because even though we don’t always see clearly, we are not blind. You have made your light shine on us and You have given us your Word and the Holy Spirit to comfort us and help us in our weaknesses. Thank you, LORD because we are not placing our faith on vain things but on who You are; and You are God, a merciful and faithful God who remembers His own, who is Sovereign and Omniscient. You are our Father and your promises are Yes and Amen. Father just as a shipwrecked mariner clings to the mast (3), so we do now, we cling to our faith, we cling to You in whom our soul has believed.

God, my Lord, put a song in our mouth, clear our throats from this crying so that we may be able to sing your praises. O Father, our Father thank you because you have dealt bountifully with us.

Our Hope is in You and we look forward for the coming of our Lord Jesus, for the day in which all our tears will be wiped away.

AMEN!

Becky

(1), (2), (3) The Treasury of David by C.H. Spurgeon

Praying the Psalms