Category: Psalm

Psalm 57:1 Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me, for in You I take refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of Your wings until the disaster has passed.

Lord, I want to take refuge in You always, no matter what danger may be lurking. Thank You for hiding me in the shelter of Your wings when I need to catch my breath.

Psalm 57:2-3 I cry out to God Most High, to God who vindicates me. He sends from Heaven and saves me…God sends forth His love and faithfulness.

Lord, Thank You for hearing my cry—my cry of anger, fear, exhaustion. Thank You for sending from Heaven to save me and for Your love and faithfulness.

Psalm 57:9 I will praise You, Lord, among nations; I will sing of You among peoples.

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture, for the ability to call on You no matter what is going on in my life. Save me. Shelter me. Renew me. Draw me closer. Amen.

Psalm 57:10 For great is Your love, reaching to the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

Have a blessed day.

Psalm 56:3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.

Commentary on this chapter talks about how faith and fear CAN coexist. David clearly shows that in this psalm (and many others). I often fall into the trap of thinking that if I truly had faith, I would not be afraid, but this psalm reinforces that faith is about trusting even in the face of fear.

Psalm 56:4 In God, whose word I praise—In God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?

This week has found me utterly exhausted every single day. Exhaustion makes me whiny, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. But I can be exhausted and faithful at the same time. In fact, that’s what I’ve been trying desperately to do this week—praise God, cling to God, even in my exhaustion. I’m not sure how successful I’m being, but I’m still trying to cling to His hope in spite of my exhaustion, so I am definitely counting that a win.

Psalm 56:10 In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise—

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for faith in the face of fear or exhaustion (or any other emotion that tries to separate me from You). Help this exhaustion to pass. Help me to cling to You regardless. Draw me closer. Amen.

Psalm 56:11 …in God I trust and am not afraid. What can man do to me?

Have a blessed day

Psalm 55:16 As for me, I call to God, and the LORD saves me

Lord, This is a tough time of year. I’m exhausted. Students are exhausted. Yet the finish line seems so very far away. I know my problems, in the grand scheme of things are small, Lord. Thank You for listening, for caring, for giving me strength, regardless.

Psalm 55:17 Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and He hears my voice.

Lord, You want me to call on You always. Thank You, when I’m worn out, for making prayer my default. Thank You for welcoming my prayers even about rather small, often trivial matters. To be able to call on You when I’m exhausted makes it easier, more natural, to call on You when I’m afraid. Thank You.

Psalm 55:22 Cast your cares on the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the ability to call on You always. Thank You that You hear me, that You allow me to cast all my cares—big and small—on You. Always. Draw me closer. Amen.

Psalm 55:23 …But as for me, I trust in You.

Have a blessed day.

Psalm 54:1 Save me, O God, by Your name; vindicate me by Your might.

Lord, I know that I am a deeply, fiercely loved child of God, and I am so thankful. You know that I am also physically and mentally exhausted today, that I am feeling defeated, even before the day has begun. I know that that attitude is not of You—the Creator of the universe, the Risen Savior. Save me, O God by Your name. Help me remember that Your power, might, and love are with me through this day, greater than any obstacle I face.

Psalm 54:2 Hear my prayer, O God; listen to the words of my mouth.

Lord, I know when I get into this beat-down mental space, it’s hard for You to use me, and I don’t want to be unusable to You. Help me to silence the doubts . Renew me so that I am not drug down by the exhaustion. Hear my prayer, O God and renew Your steadfast spirit within me. 

Psalm 54:4 Surely God is my help; the LORD sustains me.

Lord, You are my help. You sustain me. You hear me. You uplift me. You deliver me. Help me to shake off these chains so that I can shine Your light for all to see. Draw me closer. Amen.

Psalm 54:7 You have delivered me from all my troubles….

Have a blessed day.

Psalm 53:1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” …

Commentary tells me that Psalm 53 is a repeat of Psalm 14, with slight differences in wording, but I found one line in commentary that stopped me in my tracks: “…every sin implies the effrontery of supposedly knowing better than God.” 

Psalm 53:2 God looks down from Heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.

I’m a worrier from way back. I try to plan for every contingency. I say I do this to make sure nothing falls through the cracks, but even I can see the fear behind my actions, the fear of “What if God misses this, doesn’t see it coming, drops the ball?”

Psalm 53:4 Do all these evildoers know nothing? They devour my people as though eating bread; they never call on God.

Lord, I stand before You this morning, humbled. I see my worry and fear for what it is—sin, doubt in You, in Your promise to be with me always, to use all things—the unexpected, the uncomfortable, the inconvenient—for my good and Your glory. I do not want to doubt, worry, or fear, Lord. I want to trust You completely. Help me. Draw me closer. Amen.

Psalm 53:6 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When God restores His people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

Have a blessed day.

Psalm 52:8a But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God….

Lord, I find myself this morning thinking of anger and bitterness when I feel others have “gotten away with” saying or doing something that isn’t right. I find myself struggling not to try to do Your job, to be sure they “pay” for their transgressions. My thoughts are ugly, Lord, and I recognize the slippery slope I’m on because I say and do things I shouldn’t sometimes as well, things that end up being hurtful to others, things that deserve censure.

Psalm 52:8b …I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever.

Lord, I find myself thinking about Jesus and the adulteress and the accusers with their stones. “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” When I get caught up in seeking retribution, I lose sight of mercy and compassion. Ultimately, You are judge, but even before that, You are Father, and You want nothing more than Your children, ALL Your children, with You in paradise. THAT is why You temper Your judgment with mercy and compassion. 

Psalm 52:9a For what You have done I will always praise You in the presence of Your faithful people….

Lord, You are God and I am not. You are sovereign and merciful and compassionate, and I am far too consumed with the things of this world, even now. Help me to leave the judgement to You alone. Help me to react to others with the mercy and grace I hope for myself. Draw me closer. Amen.

Psalm 52:9b …And I will hope in Your name, for Your name is good.

Have a blessed day

Psalm 51:10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

The story of the prodigal son comes to mind as I read today’s chapter. The younger son is so full of himself when he leaves with his share of the inheritance. But when the good times are over, he finally learns humility and returns home, not to ask for his place as son again, but to be a servant if his father will allow. He knows the depth of his sin. He knows he sinned against his father and heaven. He understands the deep need of restoration.

Psalm 51:11 Do not cast me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit away from me.

Interestingly, as I was rereading the parable today, the older brother’s behavior jumped out at me. He feels wronged. He feels the father owes him. He is angry that the younger brother got to go live the high life and be welcomed home with no personal cost. (I want to ask indignantly, “How can he not grasp the personal price the brother has paid?,” but I understand where he is coming from all too well.)

Psalm 51:12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Lord, I stand before you, at once humble and arrogant. Like the prodigal, I know how unworthy I am, but I beg for Your restoration regardless. Like the older son, I still get indignant over what I see as slights and injustices over what I feel I am owed. Break open my selfish heart of stone. Create in me a pure heart, Lord. Renew Your spirit within me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Draw me closer. Amen.

Psalm 51:17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart You, God, will not despise.

Have a blessed day.

Psalm 50:8 “I bring no charges against you concerning your sacrifices or concerning your burnt offerings, which are ever before me.”

On its surface, this scripture seems pretty straight forward: Do what you are supposed to do (sacrificing offerings, etc), and I will deliver you. Don’t, and I will tear you to pieces. But what if it goes deeper than that? What if it’s is a call to relationship for all?

Psalm 50:14-15 “Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.”

God isn’t interested in believers who just check all the right boxes. Church on Sunday? Check. Mealtime prayers? Check. Prayers before bed? Check. He wants a personal, active, intimate relationship. If we are just going through the motions, that’s not good enough. He wants our hearts. 

Psalm 50:16 But to the wicked person, God says: “What right have you to recite My laws or take My covenant on your lips?”

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You that You are not satisfied with just checking off boxes. Thank You that You want real, authentic relationship. Forgive me for the times when I “phone it in,” just going through the motions. Help me, in my life and in my faith, to be an active participant. Help me, always, to take You personally. Draw me closer. Amen.

Psalm 50:22-23 “Consider this, you who forget God, or I will tear you to pieces with no one to rescue you: Those who sacrifice thank offerings honor Me, and to the blameless I will show salvation.”

Have a blessed day.

Psalm 49:16 Do not be overawed when others grow rich, when the splendor of their houses increases….

The saying “You can’t take it with you” is as true today as when I first heard it, which was a very long time ago. Yet even the not-rich seem to spend an inordinate amount of time collecting material things. One look around my den confirms that while I am no one’s definition of rich, I have way too much stuff. I know I’m not alone in this space.

Psalm 49:17 …for they will take nothing with them when they die, their splendor will not descend with them.

The truth is that all this stuff just weighs me down, and the older I get, the more I feel the weight of it. Sometimes I feel like the more physical clutter I have, the less mental space I have for anything else—like God. This is definitely a problem.

Psalm 49:18 Though while they live they count themselves blessed—and people praise you when you prosper—

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. I feel like I have spent a lifetime collecting stuff, yet the older I get, the more I understand that what is truly important is my relationship with You and my relationship with others. Help me to shed the weight of all my stuff and to focus on what’s truly important. Draw me closer. Amen.

Psalm 49:19 …they will join those who have gone before them, who will never again see the light of life.

Have a blessed day.

Psalm 48:1 Great is the LORD, and most worthy of praise….

Gaining perspective can be a gift. Interestingly, I often don’t realize I need a change in perspective until it has been shared. I must admit, at this time of year, in the last months of school, with student interest waning, my perspective isn’t always great. I’m tired, grouchy, negative. But God is still great and most worthy to be praised. I would do well to remember that.

Psalm 48:8 As we have heard, so we have seen in the city of the LORD Almighty, in the city of our God: God makes her secure forever.

Not only does God make His holy city secure, He makes me secure as well. His steadfast love and provision, which are all around me, anchor me, especially during this turbulent time of year. 

Psalm 48:9 Within Your temple, O God, we meditate on Your unfailing love.

Lord, You are great, and most worthy to be praised. Thank You for Your steadfast love and presence. Thank You for surrounding me with so many reasons to praise You. Especially now, when I am cranky and tired, help me to focus on Your abundant blessings in my life. Help me to meditate on Your unfailing love and to praise Your holy name. Amen.

Psalm 48:14 For this God is our God for ever and ever; He will be our guide even to the end.

Have a blessed day.