Let my cry come before You, O LORD; Give me understanding according to Your word. Let my supplication come before You; Deliver me according to Your word.

My lips shall utter praise, For You teach me Your statutes. My tongue shall speak of Your word, For all Your commandments are righteousness. Let Your hand become my help, For I have chosen Your precepts.

I long for Your salvation, O LORD, And Your law is my delight. Let my soul live, and it shall praise You; And let Your judgments help me. I have gone astray like a lost sheep; Seek Your servant, For I do not forget Your commandments.

Look st the progression here. Our scribe begins by pleading for understanding, recognizing that he must begin on a firm foundation that is based upon the Word of the LORD, God, the Almighty. The resultant understanding moves him to praise, exactly as it should.

Now look at the second paragraph, second sentence. I know without a doubt that I have never been moved to declare that the laws of the State of Vermont are my delight. The exact opposite is far more likely—I'm moved to sputtering. The difference is the Law of the Lord vs the law of man. The first is based on the Holiness of the Lord, the latter on the self-interest of man.

Let us praise Him with all our being.

Reading.

Morning Psalm 64, Noon Psalm 119:129-136, Evening Psalm 148