Monthly Archives: December 2023

PSALM 51

Christian Life

Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
so that sinners will turn back to you.
14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
you who are God my Savior,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 Open my lips, Lord,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise.
18 May it please you to prosper Zion,
to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,
in burnt offerings offered whole;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Psalm 51

How kind1 How merciful you are

O God, how full of grace!

Forgive my sin, how great it is —

Turn not away your face.

O wash me , cleanse me from this guilt

My rebel heart incurred

When I ignored your righteousness —

Despised your holy word.

Restore to me the purity

I had within my heart

Before I did this shameful deed —

It haunts me day and night.

‘Twas you I hurt, ‘gainst you alone

I sinned, O God, how bad

I was to do this dreadful deed

That made your heart so sad.

You saw it all, I could not hide

My actions from your face —

How just you are to sentence me,

To punish my disgrace,

For I was born a sinner, yes,

Conceived with evil heart

While still within my mother’s womb,

Unrighteous from the start.

‘Tis honesty that you deserve,

Sincerity and truth:

I cannot live without your help;

I’ve tried it from my youth.

I need the cleansing blood to wash

Away my awful stain,

To cleanse away this guilt, and make

Me white as snow again.

And when my punishment is through,

Please give me back my joy,

And see me like you used to do

When I was just a boy.

O recreate my heart and fill

My thoughts with righteousness;

Don’t banish from your presence, Lord,

I need your hand to bless.

Don’t take your Holy Spirit, O

How much I need Him near;

Restore my joy again to me,

Give me a listening ear.

How eager I will be to teach

To sinners righteous ways,

To turn them from their wickedness

And seek you all their days.

Don’t sentence me to death, my God,

But come and rescue me:

Of your forgiveness I will sing

And joyful I will be.

Not sacrifice is what you want —

How gladly I would give

My bulls and goats in penance.  Lord,

If they could make me live.

A broken heart is your desire,

A contrite spirit too,

A life submissive in your hand —

This is what pleases you.

(Don’t punish Israel for my sins;

Protect Jerusalem).

O see the good deeds I will do

And take delight in them.

And when I bring to you each day

My sacrifice of blood,

I’ll offer from a grateful heart

My worship, O my God.

PSALM 50

Bible Study, ,

The Mighty One, God, the LORD,
speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to where it sets.
2 From Zion, perfect in beauty,
God shines forth.
3 Our God comes
and will not be silent;
a fire devours before him,
and around him a tempest rages.
4 He summons the heavens above,
and the earth, that he may judge his people:
5 “Gather to me this consecrated people,
who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
6 And the heavens proclaim his righteousness,
for he is a God of justice.,
7 “Listen, my people, and I will speak;
I will testify against you, Israel:
I am God, your God.
8 I bring no charges against you concerning your sacrifices
or concerning your burnt offerings, which are ever before me.
9 I have no need of a bull from your stall
or of goats from your pens,
10 for every animal of the forest is mine,
and the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know every bird in the mountains,
and the insects in the fields are mine.
12 If I were hungry I would not tell you,
for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
14 “Sacrifice thank offerings to God,
fulfill your vows to the Most High,
15 and call on me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”
16 But to the wicked person, God says:
“What right have you to recite my laws
or take my covenant on your lips?
17 You hate my instruction
and cast my words behind you.
18 When you see a thief, you join with him;
you throw in your lot with adulterers.
19 You use your mouth for evil
  and harness your tongue to deceit.
20 You sit and testify against your brother
and slander your own mother’s son.
21 When you did these things and I kept silent,
you thought I was exactly like you.
But I now arraign you
and set my accusations before you.
22 “Consider this, you who forget God,
or I will tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you:
23 Those who sacrifice thank offerings honor me,
and to the blameless I will show my salvation. ”

Psalm 50

Jehovah, the almighty God

Is calling all mankind;

From east to west He summons them —

Not one is left behind.

His glory shines with radiant light

From Zion’s temple hill.

The roar of thunder, fire and storm

Is all about Him still.

To judgment He is calling them —

The people He has made

His own through covenantal love

And sacrificial blood.

With total fairness He will judge;

The angels know it well

That God is just, His judgments true,

(The demons, too, in hell).

“My people, listen, I am God;

Now this, the charge I lay:

‘Tis not the sacrifice of blood

You offer night and day.”

“I do not need your animals —

All mine, the woods and fields,

The cattle on a thousand hills,

The bounty that earth yields.”

“If I were hungry, I would ask

Not of your meagre fare,

For land and sea and sky are mine,

My wealth beyond compare.”

“I have no need of bulls and goats

To prove to me your love;

The thanks that gushes from your hearts

Would all my passion move.”

“I long for you to honour me

With promises fulfilled;

To trust me in your times of need,

On me your hope to build.”

“If you will offer from your heart

Your gratitude and praise,

I’ll rescue you and you will give

Me glory all your days.”

But God has only this to say

To men who live in sin —

“To speak my word is meaningless;

You hate my discipline.”

“You spend your time with evil men;

You lie and swear and curse;

Like muddy water, language flows

 From you, and even worse.”

“You slander your own flesh and blood —

You thought I did not care;

But now ‘tis time for punishment —

Your wicked hearts laid bare.”

“Yet one more chance I give to you

To turn away from sin

Before I come in fiery wrath —

No one can help you then.”

“The highest praise you offer me,

A worthy sacrifice —

To walk my path, salvation gain

Is all that will suffice.”

PSALM 46

Christian life

God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
7 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
8 Come and see what the LORD has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Psalm 46

God is our refuge and our strength,

A tested help in trouble;

We need not fear, though earth explodes

And blows up like a bubble!

Let oceans roar, let mountains fall,

Our hearts will never quiver

For through the city of our God

There runs a joyful river.

That city is God’s dwelling place;

It stands unmoved forever,

Though chaos rips the world apart,

God’s city’s shaken never.

He’ll not withhold His proffered help —

The nations rage in anger,

But, when God speaks, earth bows the knee;

It can withstand no longer.

All human kingdoms fall in ruins,

For God, heaven’s great Commander

Has come to earth to rescue us;

Come, bow in awe and wonder.

His works are awesome, come and see

How kingdoms shake and totter;

He causes wars to cease on earth

Destroying every rotter!

Be quiet!  Know that I am God!

I call to every nation

To honour me in all the earth,

Each part of my creation.

Commander of the heavenly hosts,

Our God is always for us

To rescue us Jehovah comes.

Come join the mighty chorus.

PSALM 42

Devotion

As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, my God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?
3 My tears have been my food
day and night,
while people say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
4 These things I remember
as I pour out my soul:
how I used to go to the house of God
under the protection of the Mighty One
with shouts of joy and praise
among the festive throng.
5 Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
6 My soul is downcast within me;
therefore I will remember you
from the land of the Jordan,
the heights of Hermon —from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep
in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
have swept over me.
8 By day the LORD directs his love,
at night his song is with me—
a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I say to God my Rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?”
10 My bones suffer mortal agony
as my foes taunt me,
saying to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
11 Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.

Psalm 42

My soul is like a thirsty deer

That pants for cooling streams:

I thirst for you, the living God,

I long to hear your healing word,

But you’re not there, it seems.

Both day and night I weep for help;

My foes keep poking fun,

“Where is this God?”  they taunt and jeer,

But O, my soul, you must not fear —

Your vict’ry will be won.

Remember (O, can I forget?)

Those celebration days!

You led the great procession to

The temple, yes, my soul, ‘twas you

That sang with joy and praise.

And now, my soul, why are you sad?

Why downcast and depressed?

Hope still in God, yes, I shall raise

My heart to Him in fervent praise —

His help will give me rest.

Yet at this moment, filled with gloom,

Discouraged, here I stand;

I choose to turn my thoughts to you,

To praise for help and blessings too

On this, your lovely land.

For floods of grief break over me

Like waves upon the shore;

Yet, day by day your steadfast love

Is lavished on me from above;

I could not ask for more.

And, sleepless, through the night I sing

Your songs of love and grace;

I pray to God who gives me life,

Who comes to help me in the strife;

O, show your lovely face.

“O God, my rock,”  I cry to you,

“Why have you left me, why?

Why must I suffer waves of scorn?

I feel forsaken, so forlorn;

O listen to my cry!”

They pierce with taunts like sharpened swords,

They scoff, “Where is this God?”

My soul, take heart and trust in Him

Let not you faith and hope grow dim,

For yet you’ll praise the Lord.

PSALM 45

Devotion, ,

My heart is stirred by a noble theme
as I recite my verses for the king;
my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.
2 You are the most excellent of men
and your lips have been anointed with grace,
since God has blessed you forever.
3 Gird your sword on your side, you mighty one;
clothe yourself with splendor and majesty.
4 In your majesty ride forth victoriously
in the cause of truth, humility and justice;
let your right hand achieve awesome deeds.
5 Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s enemies;
let the nations fall beneath your feet.
6 Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever;
a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.
7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
by anointing you with the oil of joy.
8 All your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia;
from palaces adorned with ivory
the music of the strings makes you glad.
9 Daughters of kings are among your honored women;
at your right hand is the royal bride in gold of Ophir.
10 Listen, daughter, and pay careful attention:
Forget your people and your father’s house.
11 Let the king be enthralled by your beauty;
honor him, for he is your lord.
12 The city of Tyre will come with a gift,
people of wealth will seek your favor.
13 All glorious is the princess within her chamber;
her gown is interwoven with gold.
14 In embroidered garments she is led to the king;
her virgin companions follow her—
those brought to be with her.
15 Led in with joy and gladness,
they enter the palace of the king.
16 Your sons will take the place of your fathers;
you will make them princes throughout the land.
17 I will perpetuate your memory through all generations;
therefore the nations will praise you for ever and ever.

Psalm 45

There rises in my heart a song of joy,

A poem to my king, I will employ

My tongue to sing a song to honour you.

You are the fairest of them all, my Lord;

By God Himself you’re honoured and adored.

Your words are full of grace and they are true.

O Mighty One, take up your armour strong

Humility and truth to you belong:

Defend them, Glorious One, in your great might.

No enemy can stand before your face:

Your sharpened arrows pierce them in disgrace

Removing them forever from your sight.

O God, you rule eternal from your throne,

Your royal sceptre, justice, truth alone;

No evil there, yes, loving only good.

You’re drenched with gladness more than anyone,

The gift of God, the Father to His son:

Your joy has every evil thing withstood.

The fragrance of your garments draws me near

And in your palace, music soothes my ear;

Your beauty, love and peace embraces me.

Your queen, in splendour, stands beside her spouse:

“Fret not, O daughter, for your father’s house –

Your royal husband loves you passionately.”

Submit, then, to His love, O fairest one:

Let all your qualms and fears for aye be gone.

He is your Lord, submit to His embrace.

Your Bride, your princess, waits within her room,

So lovely, robed in splendour for her groom,

With eager longing yearns to see His face.

The festal train moves through the palace gates:

The king, in joyful expectation, waits

To seal their union, never more to part.

Your sons will some day rule the nations too:

The people of the world will honour you;

They’ll lift your name in praise with all their heart.