Psalm 31
1In You, O LORD, I have taken refuge;
Let me never be ashamed;
In Your righteousness deliver me.
2Incline Your ear to me, rescue me quickly;
Be to me a rock of strength,
A stronghold to save me.
3For You are my rock and my fortress;
For Your name's sake You will lead me and guide me.
4You will pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me,
For You are my strength.
5Into Your hand I commit my spirit;
You have ransomed me, O LORD, God of truth.
6I hate those who regard vain idols,
But I trust in the LORD.
7I will rejoice and be glad in Your lovingkindness,
Because You have seen my affliction;
You have known the troubles of my soul,
8And You have not given me over into the hand of the enemy;
You have set my feet in a large place.
9Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress;
My eye is wasted away from grief, my soul and my body also.
10For my life is spent with sorrow
And my years with sighing;
My strength has failed because of my iniquity,
And my body has wasted away.
11Because of all my adversaries, I have become a reproach,
Especially to my neighbors,
And an object of dread to my acquaintances;
Those who see me in the street flee from me.
12I am forgotten as a dead man, out of mind;
I am like a broken vessel.
13For I have heard the slander of many,
Terror is on every side;
While they took counsel together against me,
They schemed to take away my life.
14But as for me, I trust in You, O LORD,
I say, "You are my God."
15My times are in Your hand;
Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me.
16Make Your face to shine upon Your servant;
Save me in Your lovingkindness.
17Let me not be put to shame, O LORD, for I call upon You;
Let the wicked be put to shame, let them be silent in Sheol.
18Let the lying lips be mute,
Which speak arrogantly against the righteous
With pride and contempt.
19How great is Your goodness,
Which You have stored up for those who fear You,
Which You have wrought for those who take refuge in You,
Before the sons of men!
20You hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the conspiracies of man;
You keep them secretly in a shelter from the strife of tongues.
21Blessed be the LORD,
For He has made marvelous His lovingkindness to me in a besieged city.
22As for me, I said in my alarm,
"I am cut off from before Your eyes";
Nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications
When I cried to You.
23O love the LORD, all you His godly ones!
The LORD preserves the faithful
And fully recompenses the proud doer.
24Be strong and let your heart take courage,
All you who hope in the LORD.
1In You, O LORD, I have taken refuge;
Let me never be ashamed;
In Your righteousness deliver me.
2Incline Your ear to me, rescue me quickly;
Be to me a rock of strength,
A stronghold to save me.
3For You are my rock and my fortress;
For Your name's sake You will lead me and guide me.
4You will pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me,
For You are my strength.
5Into Your hand I commit my spirit;
You have ransomed me, O LORD, God of truth.
6I hate those who regard vain idols,
But I trust in the LORD.
7I will rejoice and be glad in Your lovingkindness,
Because You have seen my affliction;
You have known the troubles of my soul,
8And You have not given me over into the hand of the enemy;
You have set my feet in a large place.
9Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress;
My eye is wasted away from grief, my soul and my body also.
10For my life is spent with sorrow
And my years with sighing;
My strength has failed because of my iniquity,
And my body has wasted away.
11Because of all my adversaries, I have become a reproach,
Especially to my neighbors,
And an object of dread to my acquaintances;
Those who see me in the street flee from me.
12I am forgotten as a dead man, out of mind;
I am like a broken vessel.
13For I have heard the slander of many,
Terror is on every side;
While they took counsel together against me,
They schemed to take away my life.
14But as for me, I trust in You, O LORD,
I say, "You are my God."
15My times are in Your hand;
Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me.
16Make Your face to shine upon Your servant;
Save me in Your lovingkindness.
17Let me not be put to shame, O LORD, for I call upon You;
Let the wicked be put to shame, let them be silent in Sheol.
18Let the lying lips be mute,
Which speak arrogantly against the righteous
With pride and contempt.
19How great is Your goodness,
Which You have stored up for those who fear You,
Which You have wrought for those who take refuge in You,
Before the sons of men!
20You hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the conspiracies of man;
You keep them secretly in a shelter from the strife of tongues.
21Blessed be the LORD,
For He has made marvelous His lovingkindness to me in a besieged city.
22As for me, I said in my alarm,
"I am cut off from before Your eyes";
Nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications
When I cried to You.
23O love the LORD, all you His godly ones!
The LORD preserves the faithful
And fully recompenses the proud doer.
24Be strong and let your heart take courage,
All you who hope in the LORD.
sorry i posted this a day late. i should have posted before i went to sg. hopefully ash will still post today. i like reading our posts and seeing how God will change our attitudes and responses to His Word. when i read this psalm two days ago...(i forgot that my day was on tuesday...thought it was on monday)...i was struck again by how much these writers knew God. that they could dwell and pray truth because they knew the truth. how can we pray to God for vindication if we know not of His righteousness (v.1)? how can we pray for strength if we know not of His power (v.2)? how can we pray for His leading if we know not of His desire for His own glory to be shown through us (v.3)? and the list goes on as we read through the rest of this psalm. David always brings everything back to God. oftentimes we see him talking things through with God. and as he repeats these truths...any struggles that he has usually are overshadowed by the truth of God. that's why our worship never changes...because God never changes. that's why we can live with so much joy because of our salvation. i love the last verse...be strong and let your heart take courage...all of us who hope in the Lord. we are not weak Christians. we live with the power of God working through our lives. the victory is already won! when you think about that more...your heart just wants to burst with praise for God. how quickly we forget...and how gracious God is to remind.
i came back from class earlier today. i have another ee class later today, but im feeling a little bit sick. rejoice with me girls if you are tired as i am from a late sg. i am going to try to be better about the time issue...with God's help i'll learn how to be a better leader, but i wouldn't trade this feeling for anything. how good it is to be tired from studying God's Word! how good it is to be tired from struggling with and learning to love the body of Christ! how good it is that God would choose such weak vessels as me to hold such riches of truth! God is so good to us. like David...i hope that at the end of this year...our little efforts to understand God through His word can help us really know Him better...and as a result of that...love Him better...Him the Eternal Lover of our souls. rejoice with me girls. =)
i came back from class earlier today. i have another ee class later today, but im feeling a little bit sick. rejoice with me girls if you are tired as i am from a late sg. i am going to try to be better about the time issue...with God's help i'll learn how to be a better leader, but i wouldn't trade this feeling for anything. how good it is to be tired from studying God's Word! how good it is to be tired from struggling with and learning to love the body of Christ! how good it is that God would choose such weak vessels as me to hold such riches of truth! God is so good to us. like David...i hope that at the end of this year...our little efforts to understand God through His word can help us really know Him better...and as a result of that...love Him better...Him the Eternal Lover of our souls. rejoice with me girls. =)
1 comment:
Lovely post, great comments. Seems to me after 40+ years getting to know my Master, that every bit I learn about Him helps me love Him more. I will never understand His ways fully 'til I get to meet Jesus face to face, but as they say: "Wow! Whatta ride!"
Blessings,
Deb
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