Category: Psalms
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Olive Shoots From Healthy Roots
Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,who walks in his ways!You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you. Your wife will be like a fruitful vinewithin your house;your children will be like olive shootsaround your table. [Psalm 128:1-3] In my previous posts, we…
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Look Well to the State of Your Vineyard
Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,who walks in his ways!You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you. Your wife will be like a fruitful vinewithin your house;your children will be like olive shootsaround your table. [Psalm 128:1-3] In my two previous…
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Facon and Failed Eyesight
Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,who walks in his ways!You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you. Your wife will be like a fruitful vinewithin your house;your children will be like olive shootsaround your table. [Psalm 128:1-3] In my previous post,…
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Fear and Fruitfulness, part I
Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,who walks in his ways!You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you. Your wife will be like a fruitful vinewithin your house;your children will be like olive shootsaround your table. [Psalm 128:1-3] This psalm presents us…
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Recounting God’s Wondrous Deeds
We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks, for your name is near. We recount your wondrous deeds. (Psalm 75:1) We see this theme of recounting God’s deeds throughout the psalms. It is a practice tied to hope in the midst of trouble, and joy and thanksgiving at all times. It is most often…
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Selflessness in Prayer
Arise, O God, defend your cause; remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day! (Psalm 74:22) This verse captures the essence of the prayer in this psalm. Things have gone terribly wrong for the people of God. Enemies have come into the land and destroyed the temple. They “profaned” the temple, tore it…
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To be near God
Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. (Psalm 73:25) What a great verse! And one we are probably too quick to quote and sing, without carefully thinking through what it says. Do we really mean these words when we say them? The first part is…
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Keep the faith
Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, O Lord God of hosts; let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me, O God of Israel. (Psalm 69:6) David is surrounded by enemies who would love to see him fall. They are actively seeking his destruction and…
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Affliction
Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word. (Psalm 119:67) It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statues. (Psalm 119:71) Affliction, be it sickness or another type of trial, can be our teacher. These are not things we desire, or even should desire, but…
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Flattery will get you nowhere
If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. (Psalm 66:18) If you’re like me, you want to know that God hears your prayers. If I don’t have confidence that God hears and cares about my prayers, then what’s the point in praying? So I’m always on the look out…