Stand with Israel

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"Wherever I stand, I stand with Israel."

PRAY for Israel

Psalm 122
A song of ascents. Of David.

1 I rejoiced with those who said to me,
    “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
2 Our feet are standing
    in your gates, Jerusalem.

3 Jerusalem is built like a city
    that is closely compacted together.
4 That is where the tribes go up—
    the tribes of the Lord—
to praise the name of the Lord
    according to the statute given to Israel.
5 There stand the thrones for judgment,
    the thrones of the house of David.

6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
    “May those who love you be secure.
7 May there be peace within your walls
    and security within your citadels.”
8 For the sake of my family and friends,
    I will say, “Peace be within you.”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
    I will seek your prosperity.

The Reign of the Lord’s Anointed

PSALM 2

 
1 Why are the nations in an uproar
And the peoples devising a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers take counsel together
Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us tear their fetters apart
And cast away their cords from us!”

4 He who sits in the heavens laughs,
The Lord scoffs at them.
5 Then He will speak to them in His anger
And terrify them in His fury, saying,
6 “But as for Me, I have installed My King
Upon Zion, My holy mountain.”

Assurance of Help and Protection

Father God,

Thank You that I can depend on You for help and protection.  Thank You for Your assurance of Your Promise and that whatever You say is always true.

Sing to the Lord a New Song

Psalm 149

1 Praise the Lord.
Sing to the Lord a new song,
    his praise in the assembly of his faithful people.

2 Let Israel rejoice in their Maker;
    let the people of Zion be glad in their King.
3 Let them praise his name with dancing
    and make music to him with timbrel and harp.
4 For the Lord takes delight in his people;
    he crowns the humble with victory.
5 Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor
    and sing for joy on their beds.

6 May the praise of God be in their mouths
    and a double-edged sword in their hands,
7 to inflict vengeance on the nations
    and punishment on the peoples,
8 to bind their kings with fetters,
    their nobles with shackles of iron,
9 to carry out the sentence written against them—
    this is the glory of all his faithful people.

Praise the Lord.

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Praises to the Lord our God

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Psalm 9

1 I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart;
    I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in you;
    I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.

3 My enemies turn back;
    they stumble and perish before you.
4 For you have upheld my right and my cause,
    sitting enthroned as the righteous judge.
5 You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
    you have blotted out their name for ever and ever.
6 Endless ruin has overtaken my enemies,
    you have uprooted their cities;
    even the memory of them has perished.

God our Savior

  Psalm 65

¹ Praise awaits you, our God, in Zion;
    to you our vows will be fulfilled.
² You who answer prayer,
    to you all people will come.
³ When we were overwhelmed by sins,
    you forgave our transgressions.
⁴ Blessed are those you choose
    and bring near to live in your courts!
We are filled with the good things of your house,
    of your holy temple.

⁵ You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds,
    God our Savior,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
    and of the farthest seas,

Defender of the Poor

Psalm 12


1 Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore;
    those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.
2 Everyone lies to their neighbor;
    they flatter with their lips
    but harbor deception in their hearts.

3 May the Lord silence all flattering lips
    and every boastful tongue—
4 those who say,
    “By our tongues we will prevail;
    our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?”

5 “Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan,
    I will now arise,” says the Lord.
    “I will protect them from those who malign them.”
6 And the words of the Lord are flawless,
    like silver purified in a crucible,
    like gold refined seven times.

7 You, Lord, will keep the needy safe
    and will protect us forever from the wicked,
8 who freely strut about
    when what is vile is honored by the human race.

Great, Glorious, Majestic

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Psalm 111

1 Praise the Lord.

I will extol the Lord with all my heart
    in the council of the upright and in the assembly.

2 Great are the works of the Lord;
    they are pondered by all who delight in them.
3 Glorious and majestic are his deeds,
    and his righteousness endures forever.
4 He has caused his wonders to be remembered;
    the Lord is gracious and compassionate.
5 He provides food for those who fear him;
    he remembers his covenant forever.

6 He has shown his people the power of his works,
    giving them the lands of other nations.
7 The works of his hands are faithful and just;
    all his precepts are trustworthy.
8 They are established for ever and ever,
    enacted in faithfulness and uprightness.
9 He provided redemption for his people;
    he ordained his covenant forever—
    holy and awesome is his name.

10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
    all who follow his precepts have good understanding.
    To him belongs eternal praise.

Hiding Place

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Psalm 32

1 Blessed is the one
    whose transgressions are forgiven,
    whose sins are covered.
2 Blessed is the one
    whose sin the Lord does not count against them
    and in whose spirit is no deceit.

3 When I kept silent,
    my bones wasted away
    through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night
    your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was sapped
    as in the heat of summer.
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you
    and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess
    my transgressions to the Lord.”
And you forgave
    the guilt of my sin.

6 Therefore let all the faithful pray to you
    while you may be found;
surely the rising of the mighty waters
    will not reach them.
7 You are my hiding place;
    you will protect me from trouble
    and surround me with songs of deliverance.

8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
    I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.
9 Do not be like the horse or the mule,
    which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle
    or they will not come to you.
10 Many are the woes of the wicked,
    but the Lord’s unfailing love
    surrounds the one who trusts in him.

11 Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous;
    sing, all you who are upright in heart!

Righteousness and Justice of the Lord

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 Psalm 11

1 In the Lord I take refuge.
    How then can you say to me:
    “Flee like a bird to your mountain.
2 For look, the wicked bend their bows;
    they set their arrows against the strings
to shoot from the shadows
    at the upright in heart.
3 When the foundations are being destroyed,
    what can the righteous do?”

His Love Endures Forever

Psalm 136

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.

4 to him who alone does great wonders,
His love endures forever.
5 who by his understanding made the heavens,
His love endures forever.
6 who spread out the earth upon the waters,
His love endures forever.
7 who made the great lights—
His love endures forever.
8 the sun to govern the day,
His love endures forever.
9 the moon and stars to govern the night;
His love endures forever.

Praise the Lord! Praise Him! Praise Him!

Psalm 148

1 Praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord from the heavens;
    praise him in the heights above.
2 Praise him, all his angels;
    praise him, all his heavenly hosts.
3 Praise him, sun and moon;
    praise him, all you shining stars.
4 Praise him, you highest heavens
    and you waters above the skies.

The Lord Sustains Me

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Psalm 3

A psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom.

1 Lord, how many are my foes!
    How many rise up against me!
2 Many are saying of me,
    “God will not deliver him.”

Praise Be to The Lord my Rock

 

Psalm 144

1 Praise be to the Lord my Rock,
    who trains my hands for war,
    my fingers for battle.
2 He is my loving God and my fortress,
    my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield, in whom I take refuge,
    who subdues peoples under me.

3 Lord, what are human beings that you care for them,
    mere mortals that you think of them?
4 They are like a breath;
    their days are like a fleeting shadow.

Our God is Worthy of our Praises

Psalm 147

1 Praise the Lord.
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
    how pleasant and fitting to praise him!

2 The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
    he gathers the exiles of Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted
    and binds up their wounds.
4 He determines the number of the stars
    and calls them each by name.
5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
    his understanding has no limit.
6 The Lord sustains the humble
    but casts the wicked to the ground.

7 Sing to the Lord with grateful praise;
    make music to our God on the harp.

Starting My Day Claiming His Promises

It's nice to wake up every morning knowing that I am one step closer to His promises.  So today is a claiming-His-promises-for-my-life day! Good morning Friday! Good morning God!

This morning, I claim these promises in Jesus' name:

He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us,
- 2 Corinthians 1:10

Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
- 2 Timothy 4:8

Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.
- Psalm 126:5

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
- 1 Corinthians 15:58

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
- 2 Corinthians 4:17

For those who find me find life and receive favor from the Lord.
- Proverbs 8:35

The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all; He protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.
- Psalm 34:19-20

[October 7, 2011]

Whom Shall I Fear?

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Psalm 27


1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—
    whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
    of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When the wicked advance against me
    to devour me,
it is my enemies and my foes
    who will stumble and fall.
3 Though an army besiege me,
    my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
    even then I will be confident.

Morning Praise and Prayer on Psalm 5

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Psalm 5

1 Listen to my words, Lord,
    consider my lament.
2 Hear my cry for help,
    my King and my God,
    for to you I pray.

3 In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice;
    in the morning I lay my requests before you
    and wait expectantly.
4 For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness;
    with you, evil people are not welcome.
5 The arrogant cannot stand
    in your presence.
You hate all who do wrong;
6     you destroy those who tell lies.
The bloodthirsty and deceitful
    you, Lord, detest.
7 But I, by your great love,
    can come into your house;
in reverence I bow down
    toward your holy temple.

A Tree By The Stream

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Psalm 1

¹ Blessed is the one
    who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
    or sit in the company of mockers, 

 
² but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and who meditates on his law day and night.

 
³ That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
    which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
    whatever they do prospers.

⁴ Not so the wicked!
    They are like chaff
    that the wind blows away.

 
⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

⁶ For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

Be Still and Know That I Am God

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

- Psalm 46:1-3

Frequent earthquakes, civil wars, rebellions, nuclear testings, famine, natural disasters – all these are like mountains falling apart: End times, that is.  A lot of shaking is happening these days, and a lot of it is coming as well.  But those who are His children will not fear.  They will not be shaken, for God is their refuge and strength and an ever-present help in times of trouble.

God will be my confidence and my sure help!  And in times of uproar, God whispers to His children, “Be still and know that I am God.”

What an assurance God gives to those who belong to Him! Hallelujah!

[Journal entry: April 3, 2012]