Oh, do not remember former iniquities against us! Let Your tender mercies come speedily to meet us, For we have been brought very low. Help us, O God of our salvation, For the glory of Your name; And deliver us, and provide atonement for our sins, For Your name's sake!

Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?" Let there be known among the nations in our sight The avenging of the blood of Your servants which has been shed. Let the groaning of the prisoner come before You; According to the greatness of Your power Preserve those who are appointed to die; And return to our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom Their reproach with which they have reproached You, O Lord. So we, Your people and sheep of Your pasture, Will give You thanks forever; We will show forth Your praise to all generations.

Look at that first paragraph, reading it over and over; let it soak into your very being; let it bring tears of joy and thanksgiving your soul. Ask yourself the all important question, “Why, LORD, why should I even dare to suggest that You forget my inequities? You, the Almighty, the Perfection of all that is good and right?”

The answer is there, not hidden in code, but plain for all to see. It is for the glory of His name. It is for His name's sake. It is so all will see and acknowledge that You, the LORD, God, the Almighty are the forgiving God, the redeeming God, the Creator God, the One who said, “Let there be...And there was.”

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Reading

Morning Psalm 38, Noon Psalm 119:17-24, Evening Psalm 84 .

Alternate Reading Plan based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation.

Set your own reading schedule up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits.

A Psalm of Asaph. O God, the nations have come into Your inheritance; Your holy temple they have defiled; They have laid Jerusalem in heaps.The dead bodies of Your servants—They have given as food for the birds of the heavens, The flesh of Your saints to the beasts of the earth. Their blood they have shed like water all around Jerusalem, And there was no one to bury them. We have become a reproach to our neighbors, A scorn and derision to those who are around us.

How long, LORD? Will You be angry forever? Will Your jealousy burn like fire? Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not know You, And on the kingdoms that do not call on Your name. For they have devoured Jacob, And laid waste his dwelling place.

Are we, in this age of liberalism, entering a similar period as Asaph describes here? As a friend and I were discussing this afternoon, the cancer of liberalism is eating away at the Church of the LORD, God, Almighty and destroying its reliance upon the WORD for its direction?

“How long, LORD? Will You be angry forever? Will Your jealousy burn like fire? Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not know You, And on the kingdoms that do not call on Your name. For they have devoured Jacob, And laid waste his dwelling place” Painful words then, painful now!

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Reading

Morning Psalm 37, Noon Psalm 119:9-16, Evening Psalm 83 .

Alternate Reading Plan based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation.

Set your own reading schedule up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits.

Yet they tested and provoked the Most High God, And did not keep His testimonies, But turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers; They were turned aside like a deceitful bow. For they provoked Him to anger with their high places, And moved Him to jealousy with their carved images.

When God heard this, He was furious, And greatly abhorred Israel, So that He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, The tent He had placed among men, And delivered His strength into captivity, And His glory into the enemy's hand. He also gave His people over to the sword, And was furious with His inheritance. The fire consumed their young men, And their maidens were not given in marriage. Their priests fell by the sword, And their widows made no lamentation.

Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, Like a mighty man who shouts because of wine. And He beat back His enemies; He put them to a perpetual reproach. Moreover He rejected the tent of Joseph, And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim, But chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which He loved. And He built His sanctuary like the heights, Like the earth which He has established forever. He also chose David His servant, And took him from the sheepfolds; From following the ewes that had young He brought him, To shepherd Jacob His people, And Israel His inheritance. So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.

The end of this beautiful Psalm, and as entire Psalm encapsulates the history of the Lord, God, the Almighty's on again, off again relationship with His people, so does this last 26 verses summarize the 78^th Psalm. If there is one unifying theme brought out in the 78^th, it is God's great patience in dealing with His people, then and now.

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Reading

Morning Psalm 36, Noon Psalm 119:1-8, Evening Psalm 82 .

Alternate Reading Plan based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation.

Set your own reading schedule up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits.

I have done justice and righteousness; Do not leave me to my oppressors. Be surety for Your servant for good; Do not let the proud oppress me. My eyes fail from seeking Your salvation And Your righteous word.

Deal with Your servant according to Your mercy, And teach me Your statutes. I am Your servant; Give me understanding, That I may know Your testimonies. It is time for You to act, O LORD, For they have regarded Your law as void. Therefore I love Your commandments More than gold, yes, than fine gold! Therefore all Your precepts concerning all things I consider to be right; I hate every false way.

The phrase that jumps out at me is the first two sentences of the second paragraph. In some ways, it is a summation of thee 119^th. It is Ish Elohim call for a focus on the precious psalm that sums up his, and my, for understanding of the Word of the LORD. Each of us is called to dig into the Word and pull out, make it our own understanding so that we can know the testimonies in a way that will lead us to an application of the Word according to the mercies of the LORD, God, the Almighty.

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Reading

Morning Psalm 36, Noon Psalm 119:1-8, Evening Psalm 82 .

Alternate Reading Plan based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation.

Set your own reading schedule up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits.

How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, And grieved Him in the desert! Yes, again and again they tempted God, And limited the Holy One of Israel. They did not remember His power: The day when He redeemed them from the enemy, When He worked His signs in Egypt, And His wonders in the field of Zoan; Turned their rivers into blood, And their streams, that they could not drink. He sent swarms of flies among them, which devoured them, And frogs, which destroyed them. He also gave their crops to the caterpillar, And their labor to the locust. He destroyed their vines with hail, And their sycamore trees with frost. He also gave up their cattle to the hail, And their flocks to fiery lightning. He cast on them the fierceness of His anger, Wrath, indignation, and trouble, By sending angels of destruction among them. He made a path for His anger; He did not spare their soul from death, But gave their life over to the plague, And destroyed all the firstborn in Egypt, The first of their strength in the tents of Ham.

But He made His own people go forth like sheep, And guided them in the wilderness like a flock; And He led them on safely, so that they did not fear; But the sea overwhelmed their enemies. And He brought them to His holy border, This mountain which His right hand had acquired. He also drove out the nations before them, Allotted them an inheritance by survey, And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.

Look at the contrasts between these two paragraphs. In the first, the Egyptians challenge the LORD, God, the Almighty; in the second Israel lives as the sheep of His pasture. They recognize His hands working on their behalf. What wilderness did they fear as He leads them through it? Think of their reaction as the bodies of the Egyptian army washed up on the shores of the Red Sea? That sea that they had just crossed with ease, dry shod and well lit! The LORD brought them to His holy mountain and announced to the world that the Israelites were His chosen people.

Are not we, chosen from among the Gentiles, also among the LORD, God, the Almighty's Holy People?

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Reading

Morning Psalm 35, Noon Psalm 119:169-176, Evening Psalm 81 .

Alternate Reading Plan based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation.

Set your own reading schedule up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits.

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They were not deprived of their craving; But while their food was still in their mouths, The wrath of God came against them, And slew the stoutest of them, And struck down the choice men of Israel. In spite of this they still sinned, And did not believe in His wondrous works.

Therefore their days He consumed in futility, And their years in fear. When He slew them, then they sought Him; And they returned and sought earnestly for God. Then they remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High God their Redeemer.

Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth, And they lied to Him with their tongue; For their heart was not steadfast with Him, Nor were they faithful in His covenant. But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, And did not destroy them. Yes, many a time He turned His anger away, And did not stir up all His wrath For He remembered that they were but flesh, A breath that passes away and does not come again.

Asaph is recalling those instances where the LORD generously turned away His justifiable wrath and forgave Israel for their trespasses. He is a compassionate God. But generosity and compassion comes to an end; even with the LORD, God, the Almighty. And He still remembers that we are but flesh.

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Reading

Morning Psalm 34, Noon Psalm 119:161-168, Evening Psalm 80 .

Alternate Reading Plan based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation.

Set your own reading schedule up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits.

The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, Turned back in the day of battle. They did not keep the covenant of God; They refused to walk in His law And forgot His works And His wonders that He had shown them. Marvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers, In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.

This paragraph is a quick summary of the verses to follow; a demonstration of the goodness and power of the LORD, God, the Almighty and man's stubborn reaction to His goodness. Why, why did the Israelites react this way, why do we still today?

It all goes back to Eve's belief of Satan's lie in Genesis 3:5 “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."and we still believe and do today.

He divided the sea and caused them to pass through; And He made the waters stand up like a heap. In the daytime also He led them with the cloud, And all the night with a light of fire. He split the rocks in the wilderness, And gave them drink in abundance like the depths. He also brought streams out of the rock, And caused waters to run down like rivers.

The LORD demonstrates His absolute control over the physics of the Creation. Stop and think about the awesomeness of the parting of the Red Sea, not just leaving a

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muddy mess to slog through, but dry land. And it was not a rutted country lane as we saw in late spring, but a smooth hard-pack, soothsaving to the feet and restful to the eye. How do I know? Because the LORD, God, the Almighty does all things perfectly.

And Man's reaction? Read on and weep with me.

But they sinned even more against Him By rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness. And they tested God in their heart By asking for the food of their fancy. Yes, they spoke against God: They said, "Can God prepare a table in the wilderness? Behold, He struck the rock, So that the waters gushed out, And the streams overflowed. Can He give bread also? Can He provide meat for His people?"

To put it succinctly, GOD BLEW. Imagine this in the terms implied by that simple statement in the light of a Being who said “Let there be and there was...” in all of Creation. Can He provide bread and meat also; that water was nothing. Furious does not begin to express His rage.

Therefore the LORD heard this and was furious; So a fire was kindled against Jacob, And anger also came up against Israel, Because they did not believe in God, And did not trust in His salvation. Yet He had commanded the clouds above, And opened the doors of heaven, Had rained down manna on them to eat, And given them of the bread of heaven. Men ate angels' food; He sent them food to the full. He caused an east wind to blow in the heavens; And by His power He brought in the south wind. He also rained meat on them like the dust, Feathered fowl like the sand of the seas; And He let them fall in the midst of their camp, All around their dwellings. So they ate and were well filled, For He gave them their own desire.

And their own desire led to: “(Numbers 11:33)  But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was aroused against the people, and the LORD struck the people with a very great plague.” Their own desire and ours continues to lead to a great plague. We call it sin. But the LORD, God's, the Almighty leads to a great mercy, a healing called Salvation; the sacrifice of the Son of God for my sins. Praise His Holy Name.

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Reading

Morning Psalm 33, Noon Psalm 119:153-160, Evening Psalm 79 .

Alternate Reading Plan based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation.

Set your own reading schedule up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits.

A Contemplation Of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, to my law; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us We will not hide them from their children, Telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.

For He established a testimony in Jacob, And appointed a law in Israel, Which He commanded our fathers, That they should make them known to their children; That the generation to come might know them, The children who would be born, That they may arise and declare them to their children, That they may set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments; And may not be like their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that did not set its heart aright, And whose spirit was not faithful to God.

Another of Asaph's magnificent paeans of praise with a special emphasis on teachings to the next generations. Oh, how I would have loved to sit at his feet to listen. It is my prayer that in the study of these 72 verses we are able to find some significant guides that will bring each of us into a closer relationship with the LORD, God, the Almighty, our Trinitarian LORD.

For starter, look at the above paragraph where at least three specific directions are laid out. 1) A law is established that brings consistency and order. 2) This law is to be passed on to future generations in a manner that preserves its consistency and order. 3) Each generation has the responsibility to search out and eliminate deviations from the established consistency and order introduced by past benerations.

The study of the Psalm will be greatly enhanced by feedback and conversation. Please jump in!

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Reading

Morning Psalm 33, Noon Psalm 119:153-160, Evening Psalm 79

The waters saw You, O God; The waters saw You, they were afraid; The depths also trembled. The clouds poured out water; The skies sent out a sound; Your arrows also flashed about. The voice of Your thunder was in the whir You led Your people like a flock By the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Look at this intensely to notice the physical and emotional manifestations resulting from a siting the LORD, God, the Almighty. Fear as a result of seeing God; trembling; pouring out water; sound; flashing arrows; and thunder.

Yet he still leads His people as a flock. Gently yet firmly by (through) thehands of Aaron and Moses. Beautiful.

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Reading

Morning Psalm 32, Noon Psalm 119:145-152, Evening Psalm 78 .

Alternate Reading Plan based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation.

Set your own reading schedule up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits.

And I said, "This is my anguish; But I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High." I will remember the works of the LORD; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old. I will also meditate on all Your work, And talk of Your deeds. Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary; Who is so great a God as our God? You are the God who does wonders; You have declared Your strength among the peoples. You have with Your arm redeemed Your people, The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah

Nothing will be allowed to stand between Asaph and his declaration of the wonders of the LORD, God, the Almighty. NOTHING

The question, the BIG QUESTION is will I do likewise? Is declaring the Glory of the LORD, God, the Almighty an automatic response in every opportunity or do I waffle and change the subject?

LORD, guide me and chastise me when I fail.

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Reading

Morning Psalm 32, Noon Psalm 119:145-152, Evening Psalm 78 .

Alternate Reading Plan based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation.

Set your own up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits.

I hate the double-minded, But I love Your law.You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your word. Depart from me, you evildoers, For I will keep the commandments of my God! Uphold me according to Your word, that I may live; And do not let me be ashamed of my hope. Hold me up, and I shall be safe, And I shall observe Your statutes continually.

You reject all those who stray from Your statutes, For their deceit is falsehood. My flesh trembles for fear of You, And I am afraid of Your judgments.

See the contrast here? The absolute dependence upon the Word of the LORD, God, the Almighty vs the rejection of the Word in all aspects. A clear, sharp distinction.

LORD, may my prayers today be always that You will lead me in the path of obedience to Your commandments. That my witness will be true and constant in the face of the world. I also pray for Betty's rapid and complete healing.

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Reading

Morning Psalm 31, Noon Psalm 119:137-144, Evening Psalm 77 .

Alternate Reading Plan based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation.

Set your own up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits.

I hope in Your word. Depart from me, you evildoers, For I will keep the commandments of my God! Uphold me according to Your word, that I may live; And do not let me be ashamed of my hope. Hold me up, and I shall be safe, And I shall observe Your statutes continually.

You reject all those who stray from Your statutes, For their deceit is falsehood. My flesh trembles for fear of You, And I am afraid of Your judgments.

See the contrast here? The absolute dependence upon the Word of the LORD, God, the Almighty vs the rejection of the Word in all aspects. A clear, sharp distinction.

LORD, may my prayers today be always that You will lead me in the path of obedience to Your commandments. That my witness will be true and constant in the face of the world. I also pray for Betty's rapid and complete healing.

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Reading

Morning Psalm 31, Noon Psalm 119:137-144, Evening Psalm 77 .

Alternate Reading Plan based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation.

Set your own up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits.

To the Chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph. I cried out to God with my voice—To God with my voice; And He gave ear to me.In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; My hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing; My soul refused to be comforted. I remembered God, and was troubled; I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah

You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I have considered the days of old, The years of ancient times. I call to remembrance my song in the night; I meditate within my heart, And my spirit makes diligent search. Will the Lord cast off forever? And will He be favorable no more? Has His mercy ceased forever? Has His promise failed forevermore? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies? Selah

Another of those grand psalms of worship and praise from Asaph as he begins in anguish and confession. Even more serious is the fear that the LORD, God, the Almighty has cast him off forever. The following sentences are a litany of negativity and despair. Loss of favor; withdrawal of mercy and promise; forgotten to be gracious; deliberate invoking of anger? Isn't the most startling the next to last phrase in the list? How can the LORD, God, the Almighty forget anything, He who spoke all into creation? No way! No how!

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Reading

Morning Psalm 30, Noon Psalm 119:129-136, Evening Psalm 76 .

Alternate Reading Plan based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation.

Set your own up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits.