1 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! 2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! 3 For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods. 4 In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also. 5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.
6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! 7 For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.
Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, 9 when your fathers put me to the test
and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. 10 For forty years I loathed that generation
and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart,
and they have not known my ways.” 11 Therefore I swore in my wrath,
“They shall not enter my rest.”
REFLECTION:
This psalm celebrates God as the great king. We acknowledge His lordship by responding when we hear His voice. Only by showing respect to God as King and Lord, and obeying His voice, can we find rest.
This psalm recalls Israel’s refusal during the Exodus to obey God and enter the Promised Land. That failure to obey led to 40 years of wandering in a wilderness until an entire generation died.
Imagine life for you without God’s promised rest. If your life and well-being were constantly threatened with adversaries in the land where you live and work, what would you be praying for? During those times in your past when your heart strayed from God’s ways (v10), how did God bring you back to Himself?
As you listen to God’s voice “today” (v7), what is He saying to you?
Whatever the past or present circumstances of your relationship with Him may be, this psalm invites you to come into God’s presence today. Try kneeling in His presence, acknowledging Him as Lord of your life, even during those times you have strayed. Soften your heart and give Him the praise and thanksgiving He deserves.
PRAYER:
Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you. Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.
1 O Lord, God of vengeance,
O God of vengeance, shine forth! 2 Rise up, O judge of the earth;
repay to the proud what they deserve! 3 O Lord, how long shall the wicked,
how long shall the wicked exult? 4 They pour out their arrogant words;
all the evildoers boast. 5 They crush your people, O Lord,
and afflict your heritage. 6 They kill the widow and the sojourner,
and murder the fatherless; 7 and they say, “The Lord does not see;
the God of Jacob does not perceive.”
8 Understand, O dullest of the people!
Fools, when will you be wise? 9 He who planted the ear, does he not hear?
He who formed the eye, does he not see? 10 He who disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke?
He who teaches man knowledge— 11 the Lord—knows the thoughts of man,
that they are but a breath.
12 Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O Lord,
and whom you teach out of your law, 13 to give him rest from days of trouble,
until a pit is dug for the wicked. 14 For the Lord will not forsake his people;
he will not abandon his heritage; 15 for justice will return to the righteous,
and all the upright in heart will follow it.
16 Who rises up for me against the wicked?
Who stands up for me against evildoers? 17 If the Lord had not been my help,
my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence. 18 When I thought, “My foot slips,”
your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up. 19 When the cares of my heart are many,
your consolations cheer my soul. 20 Can wicked rulers be allied with you,
those who frame injustice by statute? 21 They band together against the life of the righteous
and condemn the innocent to death. 22 But the Lord has become my stronghold,
and my God the rock of my refuge. 23 He will bring back on them their iniquity
and wipe them out for their wickedness;
the Lord our God will wipe them out.
REFLECTION:
How do you feel about injustice? Is it our job or do we wait for God to intervene and set the record straight?
In the Old Testament, the idea of “vengeance” does not point to revenge (getting even) but to justice, acting to set things right to overcome the distortion of reality that oppression brings. Ultimately it is God’s job.
The arrogant wicked crush and kill the vulnerable people believing themselves unseen by God. But the one who created the eye does see and will discipline. When evil threatens and seems to prevail, God is still our sure refuge.
In many places, victims of political and economic oppression have only God to rely on. Faith says God will set things right.
Identify one group of people who are under oppression right now. Read this psalm again. And pray and petition to God on behalf of these people in order to identify with them and to overcome your own indifference and numbness to evil in society and in the world.
PRAYER:
Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you. Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.
1 The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty;
the Lord is robed; he has put on strength as his belt.
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. 2 Your throne is established from of old;
you are from everlasting.
3 The floods have lifted up, O Lord,
the floods have lifted up their voice;
the floods lift up their roaring. 4 Mightier than the thunders of many waters,
mightier than the waves of the sea,
the Lord on high is mighty!
5 Your decrees are very trustworthy;
holiness befits your house,
O Lord, forevermore.
REFLECTION:
The living God is the King from the beginning of time (vv1-2). As King, He exercises authority over all. He does not fear a resurgent sea. (vv3-4) Not only is the Lord omnipotent, but He is truthful and holy. (v5)
God’s power demonstrates that He is alive and active. God’s throne was established in eternity. He is the one and only stable element in the universe. Consequently, everyone should submit to Him and obey His commands.
The Lord’s kingship is established here through the creative power that makes the world unshakable. And God’s power is greater than that of the tumultuous seas that move with irresistible force and great noise. Therefore, when chaos rattles our foundation, admiring God’s power in creation can strengthen our stability and hope.
Is it sometimes hard to believe that God controls nature and history? What does this belief imply? What might obscure it?
PRAYER:
Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you. Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.
