Web Theologian

>145:1 I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless you
and praise your name forever and ever.
3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and his greatness is unsearchable.

4 One generation shall commend your works to another,
and shall declare your mighty acts.
5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
6 They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,
and I will declare your greatness.
7 They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness
and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

8 The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 The Lord is good to all,
and his mercy is over all that he has made.

10 All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
and all your saints shall bless you!

11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom
and tell of your power,
12 to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds,
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

[The Lord is faithful in all his words
and kind in all his works.]
14 The Lord upholds all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food in due season.
16 You open your hand;
you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and kind in all his works.
18 The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
he also hears their cry and saves them.
20 The Lord preserves all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.

21 My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

We have something to give God, that is everything. Lifting him up and using our lives to be a blessing to him. How wonderful must it be to see your creation do what it is supposed to do! We are to encourage all those around us to do the same. Live as God has intended, talk of the amazing things he has done, sing, dance, and let everyone know that he is good, kind, gracious, merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in love.

Use your life for something worthwhile, let God be seen thought it. Thankfulness is the cornerstone to this life. Just last night we had a tragedy on our first photo-walk. After being out for just a few minutes the batteries ran out on Aidyn’s camera. I changed them but the end result was none of the pictures she took last night came out. None, before or after the battery change. I was so disappointed. Aidyn was bummed but she was not as upset as I would expect. She really had enjoyed our time together and was thankful for that, even though it didn’t work out. I wish that I had that attitude of thankfulness more often!

>144:1 Blessed be the Lord, my rock,
who trains my hands for war,
and my fingers for battle;
2 he is my steadfast love and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield and he in whom I take refuge,
who subdues peoples under me.

3 O Lord, what is man that you regard him,
or the son of man that you think of him?
4 Man is like a breath;
his days are like a passing shadow.

5 Bow your heavens, O Lord, and come down!
Touch the mountains so that they smoke!
6 Flash forth the lightning and scatter them;
send out your arrows and rout them!
7 Stretch out your hand from on high;
rescue me and deliver me from the many waters,
from the hand of foreigners,
8 whose mouths speak lies
and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

9 I will sing a new song to you, O God;
upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,
10 who gives victory to kings,
who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword.
11 Rescue me and deliver me
from the hand of foreigners,
whose mouths speak lies
and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

12 May our sons in their youth
be like plants full grown,
our daughters like corner pillars
cut for the structure of a palace;
13 may our granaries be full,
providing all kinds of produce;
may our sheep bring forth thousands
and ten thousands in our fields;
14 may our cattle be heavy with young,
suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;
may there be no cry of distress in our streets!
15 Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!
Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!

All my war is metaphorical. Unlike David or the Psalmist if it was not him, I have not fought to destroy another person, something that in a strange way would need a power greater than we possess in and of ourselves. The war that rages around me is mostly relationally. Perhaps that is why a movie light Fight Club has so much appeal.

My battles are fought with words. Recognizing the feelings and drives of myself and others and attempting to create positive change around them. But what does it all amount to? Even a breath? Even all our struggle and strife the only thing that truly makes a difference in this world is a new Kingdom established by God. Where all the work I am doing and have done has signficance, where the true meaning of it all is exposed, and where all my unrigheous motivation melts away.

May that day come! The kings will celebrate, the people will sing, ther will not be a people who do not know the wonder and glory of God. Children will grow in strength with plenty of food to eat, not a toss up whether they survive (like lots of places in the world) or end up strung out or crazy. The land will not be violated, but will bear fruit and food without effort. The street will be a safe place.

>143:1 Hear my prayer, O Lord;
give ear to my pleas for mercy!
In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!
2 Enter not into judgment with your servant,
for no one living is righteous before you.

3 For the enemy has pursued my soul;
he has crushed my life to the ground;
he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.
4 Therefore my spirit faints within me;
my heart within me is appalled.

5 I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all that you have done;
I ponder the work of your hands.
6 I stretch out my hands to you;
my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah

7 Answer me quickly, O Lord!
My spirit fails!
Hide not your face from me,
lest I be like those who go down to the pit.
8 Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,
for in you I trust.
Make me know the way I should go,
for to you I lift up my soul.

9 Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord!
I have fled to you for refuge!
10 Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God!
Let your good Spirit lead me
on level ground!

11 For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life!
In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!
12 And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies,
and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,
for I am your servant.

“For no one living is righteous before you.” This is a hard reality that I find keep a number of people from faith. It is nearly impossible for them to see themselves as not good.

The Psalmist describes the first thing that has messed up our righteousness. The actions of others have harmed us. And as I have learned and hear many wise people say, hurt people hurt other people. We all live with wounded hearts, whether we can name the abuse we suffer or if it is merely living everyday life. It is there.

This and my own actions don’t keep me from God, actually it leads me to seek him more! I look back on all that I have done, and God’s faithfulness over that time. i sing songs thanking him and ask that his Spirit would lead me more deeply into a life that honors him.

>142:1 With my voice I cry out to the Lord;
with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord.
2 I pour out my complaint before him;
I tell my trouble before him.

3 When my spirit faints within me,
you know my way!
In the path where I walk
they have hidden a trap for me.
4 Look to the right and see:
there is none who takes notice of me;
no refuge remains to me;
no one cares for my soul.

5 I cry to you, O Lord;
I say, “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”
6 Attend to my cry,
for I am brought very low!
Deliver me from my persecutors,
for they are too strong for me!
7 Bring me out of prison,
that I may give thanks to your name!
The righteous will surround me,
for you will deal bountifully with me.

Snitch or tattle tale, there were really bad things when I grew up. You did not want to be the one giving someone else up. And yet part of maturing and growing up is being able to express your needs and problems to people without selling out others.

God is there to hear our complaints, worries and needs. He loves us and he loves everyone he has created therefore you don’t have to worry about him being convinced to do something he doesn’t want to do. He will surround us with people who have our good in mind. The righteous are available to us.

>141:1 O Lord, I call upon you; hasten to me!
Give ear to my voice when I call to you!
2 Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,
and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!

3 Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;
keep watch over the door of my lips!
4 Do not let my heart incline to any evil,
to busy myself with wicked deeds
in company with men who work iniquity,
and let me not eat of their delicacies!

5 Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness;
let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head;
let my head not refuse it.
Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.
6 When their judges are thrown over the cliff,
then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant.
7 As when one plows and breaks up the earth,
so shall our bones be scattered at the mouth of Sheol.

8 But my eyes are toward you, O God, my Lord;
in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless!
9 Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me
and from the snares of evildoers!
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
while I pass by safely.

We all love things that smell good. Just last Friday I came home from work and Aidyn and my mother-in-law had baked cookies. Needless to say it made me happen. May our requests to God be the same…hopefully he doesn’t then get hungry and eat us.

I like this second prayer about our lips. I talk, talk alot, and could use God’s protection with the words that I use. This could keep me out of trouble, as well as staying away from those who are evil.

I want to be like that guy in the Atari game PitFall. Remember swinging and jumping over all those things? Then while those who were trying to trap others get what’s coming to him.

>140:1 Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men;
preserve me from violent men,
2 who plan evil things in their heart
and stir up wars continually.
3 They make their tongue sharp as a serpent’s,
and under their lips is the venom of asps. Selah

4 Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
preserve me from violent men,
who have planned to trip up my feet.
5 The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,
and with cords they have spread a net;
beside the way they have set snares for me. Selah

6 I say to the Lord, You are my God;
give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O Lord!
7 O Lord, my Lord, the strength of my salvation,
you have covered my head in the day of battle.
8 Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;
do not further their evil plot, or they will be exalted! Selah

9 As for the head of those who surround me,
let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
10 Let burning coals fall upon them!
Let them be cast into fire,
into miry pits, no more to rise!
11 Let not the slanderer be established in the land;
let evil hunt down the violent man speedily!

12 I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted,
and will execute justice for the needy.
13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;
the upright shall dwell in your presence.

Calling out to God because you need help is natural, it is probably part of the reason you came to believe in the first place. Thankfully it might begin there but it doesn’t end there. Yet just because it doesn’t end there doesn’t mean it still not true. God loves us and wants us to look out for our good.

Which leads us to profess our belief. You are my God! You are my strength! God cares for those who are down and out, the afflicted. He watches out that then needy are not taken advantage of. One of the most basic questions related to believing is, “Do you think you can do it on your own, or do you need/want help?” Once you taste the help God offers surrender is easy. It’s like being married to an amazing person, you trust them and it is easy to do what they want.