Sunday, April 22, 2012

RADICAL COMMITMENT: Day 266


Today’s Reading:
Psalm 49, 84, 85, 87
·         Why should I fear in times of trouble?
·         My soul longs for the courts of the Lord
·         Revive us again
·         Glorious things are spoken of you

PSALM 49:
49  Hear this, all peoples!
    Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
both low and high,
    rich and poor together!
My mouth shall speak wisdom;
    the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
I will incline my ear to a proverb;
    I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre.
Why should I fear in times of trouble,
    when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,
those who trust in their wealth
    and boast of the abundance of their riches?
Truly no man can ransom another,
    or give to God the price of his life,
for the ransom of their life is costly
    and can never suffice,
that he should live on forever
    and never see the pit.
10 For he sees that even the wise die;
     the fool and the stupid alike must perish
    and leave their wealth to others.
11 Their graves are their homes forever,[a]
    their dwelling places to all generations,
    though they called lands by their own names.
12 Man in his pomp will not remain;
     he is like the beasts that perish.
13 This is the path of those who have foolish confidence;
    yet after them people approve of their boasts.[b] Selah
14 Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;
    death shall be their shepherd,
and the upright shall rule over them in the morning.
     Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell.
15 But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,
    for he will receive me. Selah
16 Be not afraid when a man becomes rich,
    when the glory of his house increases.
17  For when he dies he will carry nothing away;
    his glory will not go down after him.
18 For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed
    —and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—
19 his soul will go to the generation of his fathers,
    who will never again see light.
20  Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

PSALM 84:
84 How lovely is your dwelling place,
    O Lord of hosts!
My soul longs, yes, faints
    for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
    to the living God.
Even the sparrow finds a home,
    and the swallow a nest for herself,
    where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
     my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
    ever singing your praise! Selah
Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
     in whose heart are the highways to Zion.[b]
As they go through the Valley of Baca
    they make it a place of springs;
     the early rain also covers it with pools.
They go from strength to strength;
    each one appears before God in Zion.
O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
    give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
Behold our shield, O God;
    look on the face of your anointed!
10 For a day in your courts is better
    than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
    than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 Lord God is a sun and shield;For the
    the Lord bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold
    from those who walk uprightly.
12 Lord of hosts,O
     blessed is the one who trusts in you!
PSLAM 85:
85 Lord, you were favorable to your land;
    you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
You forgave the iniquity of your people;
    you covered all their sin. Selah
You withdrew all your wrath;
    you turned from your hot anger.
Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
    and put away your indignation toward us!
Will you be angry with us forever?
    Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
Will you not revive us again,
    that your people may rejoice in you?
Lord,Show us your steadfast love, O
    and grant us your salvation.
Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
    for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints;
    but let them not turn back to folly.
Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,
    that glory may dwell in our land.
10  Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;
     righteousness and peace kiss each other.
11 Faithfulness springs up from the ground,
    and righteousness looks down from the sky.
12 Lord will give what is good,Yes, the
    and our land will yield its increase.
13  Righteousness will go before him
    and make his footsteps a way.

PSALM 87:
87 On the holy mount stands the city he founded;
    the Lord loves the gates of Zion
    more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.
Glorious things of you are spoken,
    O city of God. Selah
Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon;
    behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush[a]
    “This one was born there,” they say.
And of Zion it shall be said,
    “This one and that one were born in her”;
    for the Most High himself will establish her.
Lord records as he registers the peoples,The
    “This one was born there.” Selah
Singers and dancers alike say,
    “All my springs are in you.”
Where have you seen God’s grace in your life today?