Psalm 68:11-23

Psalm 68:11-23
The Lord gives the word; the women who announce the news are a great host:
“The kings of the armies—they flee, they flee!”
The women at home divide the spoil—though you men lie among the sheepfolds—
the wings of a dove covered with silver, its pinions with shimmering gold.
When the Almighty scatters kings there, let snow fall on Zalmon.
O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan;
O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan!
Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain,
at the mount that God desired for his abode, yes, where the Lord will dwell forever?
The chariots of God are twice ten thousand, thousands upon thousands;
the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.
You ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train
and receiving gifts among men,
even among the rebellious, that the Lord God may dwell there.
Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up;
God is our salvation. Selah
Our God is a God of salvation,
and to God, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.
But God will strike the heads of his enemies,
the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways.
The Lord said, “I will bring them back from Bashan,
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
that you may strike your feet in their blood,
that the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe.”
(Psalm 68:11-23 ESV)

God, give me a daily awareness of what it is that ultimately sustains me. The things that I crave, food, drink, pleasure, and rest, do not give me the nourishment that counts. I do not live on bread alone, but on God’s word (Mt. 4:4). Your love satisfies me. Therefore, birth in me a desire for you that exceeds my passion for these other things. “Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up” (Ps. 68:19). Amen

Psalm 42

Psalm 42
As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
My tears have been my food day and night,
while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?”
These things I remember, as I pour out my soul:
how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God
with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival.
Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.
My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you
from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls;
all your breakers and your waves have gone over me.
By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,
and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.
I say to God, my rock: “Why have you forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”
As with a deadly wound in my bones, my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?”
Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God. (Psalm 42:1-11 ESV)

God, help me to know that I do not live by earthly things alone, like food and drink, but by your word that sustains me (Mt. 4:4). Make me more hungry and thirsty for you than I am for earthly things. Fix the desires of my heart on you. When circumstances change and days grow dark, give me the grace to not let my hope fail. The suffering of this life will not have the last word and I will praise you again. Amen.

Psalm 19

Psalm 19
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is deprived of its warmth.
The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever.
The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous.
They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb.
By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
But who can discern their own errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.
Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression.
May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight,
Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm 19:1-14 NIV)

God, I work so hard to use my words to defend myself, to justify myself, and to explain myself. Words are the language I am most attentive to. Help me to realize the wealth that is being said without a sound being made. Instill in me the importance of who I am beyond what I say. May my whole life, not just my words, proclaim the work of your hands. Sanctify even the most hidden meditations of my heart that they would be pleasing in your sight. I pray that your Word would be my refreshment, my joy, my light, and my treasure. Amen.