Psalm 12

This week's Psalm is Psalm 12.
This is from the NIV.

Psalm 12 [a]

For the director of music. According to sheminith.[b] A psalm of David.

1 Help, LORD, for no one is faithful anymore;

those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.

2 Everyone lies to their neighbor;

they flatter with their lips

but harbor deception in their hearts.

3 May the LORD silence all flattering lips

and every boastful tongue—

4 those who say,

“By our tongues we will prevail;

our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?”

5 “Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan,

I will now arise,” says the LORD.

“I will protect them from those who malign them.”

6 And the words of the LORD are flawless,

like silver purified in a crucible,

like gold[c] refined seven times.

 

7 You, LORD, will keep the needy safe

and will protect us forever from the wicked,

8 who freely strut about

when what is vile is honored by the human race.

Footnotes:

a.Psalm 12:1 In Hebrew texts 12:1-8 is numbered 12:2-9.

b.Psalm 12:1 Title: Probably a musical term

c.Psalm 12:6 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text earth

 
Have a great Monday!

Psalm 11

This week's Psalm is Psalm 11.
This is from the NIV.

Psalm 11

For the director of music. Of David.



1 In the LORD I take refuge.

How then can you say to me:

“Flee like a bird to your mountain.


2 For look, the wicked bend their bows;

they set their arrows against the strings

to shoot from the shadows

at the upright in heart.


3 When the foundations are being destroyed,

what can the righteous do?”



4 The LORD is in his holy temple;

the LORD is on his heavenly throne.

He observes everyone on earth;

his eyes examine them.


5 The LORD examines the righteous,

but the wicked, those who love violence,

he hates with a passion.


6 On the wicked he will rain

fiery coals and burning sulfur;

a scorching wind will be their lot.



7 For the LORD is righteous,

he loves justice;

the upright will see his face.


 
Have a great Monday!

Psalm 10

This week's Psalm is Psalm 10.
This is from the NIV.

Psalm 10 [a]

1 Why, LORD, do you stand far off?


Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

2 In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,

who are caught in the schemes he devises.

3 He boasts about the cravings of his heart;

he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.

4 In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;

in all his thoughts there is no room for God.

5 His ways are always prosperous;

your laws are rejected by[b] him;

he sneers at all his enemies.

6 He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.”

He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.”



7 His mouth is full of lies and threats;

trouble and evil are under his tongue.

8 He lies in wait near the villages;

from ambush he murders the innocent.

His eyes watch in secret for his victims;

9 like a lion in cover he lies in wait.

He lies in wait to catch the helpless;

he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.

10 His victims are crushed, they collapse;

they fall under his strength.

11 He says to himself, “God will never notice;

he covers his face and never sees.”



12 Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God.

Do not forget the helpless.

13 Why does the wicked man revile God?

Why does he say to himself,

“He won’t call me to account”?

14 But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted;

you consider their grief and take it in hand.

The victims commit themselves to you;

you are the helper of the fatherless.

15 Break the arm of the wicked man;

call the evildoer to account for his wickedness

that would not otherwise be found out.



16 The LORD is King for ever and ever;

the nations will perish from his land.

17 You, LORD, hear the desire of the afflicted;

you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,

18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed,

so that mere earthly mortals

will never again strike terror.



Footnotes:

a.Psalm 10:1 Psalms 9 and 10 may originally have been a single acrostic poem in which alternating lines began with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the Septuagint they constitute one psalm.

b.Psalm 10:5 See Septuagint; Hebrew / they are haughty, and your laws are far from





Have a great Monday!

Psalm 9

This week's Psalm is Psalm 9.
This is from the NIV.

Psalm 9 [a][b]

For the director of music. To the tune of “The Death of the Son.” A psalm of David.



1 I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart;

I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.


2 I will be glad and rejoice in you;

I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.


3 My enemies turn back;

they stumble and perish before you.


4 For you have upheld my right and my cause,

sitting enthroned as the righteous judge.


5 You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;

you have blotted out their name for ever and ever.


6 Endless ruin has overtaken my enemies,

you have uprooted their cities;

even the memory of them has perished.


7 The LORD reigns forever;

he has established his throne for judgment.


8 He rules the world in righteousness

and judges the peoples with equity.


9 The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed,

a stronghold in times of trouble.


10 Those who know your name trust in you,

for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.


11 Sing the praises of the LORD, enthroned in Zion;

proclaim among the nations what he has done.


12 For he who avenges blood remembers;

he does not ignore the cries of the afflicted.


13 LORD, see how my enemies persecute me!

Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death,


14 that I may declare your praises

in the gates of Daughter Zion,

and there rejoice in your salvation.


15 The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug;

their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.


16 The LORD is known by his acts of justice;

the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.[c]


17 The wicked go down to the realm of the dead,

all the nations that forget God.


18 But God will never forget the needy;

the hope of the afflicted will never perish.


19 Arise, LORD, do not let mortals triumph;

let the nations be judged in your presence.


20 Strike them with terror, LORD;

let the nations know they are only mortal.


Footnotes:


a.Psalm 9:1 Psalms 9 and 10 may originally have been a single acrostic poem in which alternating lines began with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the Septuagint they constitute one psalm.


b.Psalm 9:1 In Hebrew texts 9:1-20 is numbered 9:2-21.


c.Psalm 9:16 The Hebrew has Higgaion and Selah (words of uncertain meaning) here; Selah occurs also at the end of verse 20.




Have a great Monday!

Psalm 8

I know I've missed a few week of sharing the Psalm for the week with you.  So to get back on track, this week's Psalm is Psalm 8.  Please read it out loud each day of the week for the full effect :) 

This is from the NIV.

Psalm 8 [a]

For the director of music. According to gittith.^[b] A psalm of David.  
 ¹ LORD, our Lord,
   how majestic is your name in all the earth!
   You have set your glory
   in the heavens.

² Through the praise of children and infants
   you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
   to silence the foe and the avenger.

³ When I consider your heavens,
   the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
   which you have set in place,

⁴ what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
   human beings that you care for them?^[c]
 
 5 You have made them^[d] a little lower than the angels^[e]
   and crowned them^[f] with glory and honor.

⁶ You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
   you put everything under their^[g] feet:

⁷ all flocks and herds,
   and the animals of the wild,

⁸ the birds in the sky,
   and the fish in the sea,
   all that swim the paths of the seas.

 ⁹ LORD, our Lord,
   how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 8:1 In Hebrew texts 8:1-9 is numbered 8:2-10.
2. Psalm 8:1 Title: Probably a musical term
3. Psalm 8:4 Or what is a human being that you are mindful of him, / a son of man that you care for him?
4. Psalm 8:5 Or him
5. Psalm 8:5 Or than God
6. Psalm 8:5 Or him
7. Psalm 8:6 Or made him ruler . . . ; / . . . his

Have a great Monday!

Psalm Study 2012 ~ Chapter 2

Trusting God for a  Better Tomorrow
Week 2, Psalm 2

Psalm 2

1 Why do the nations conspire
and the peoples plot in vain?

2 The kings of the earth take their stand

and the rulers gather together

against the LORD

and against his Anointed One.

3 “Let us break their chains,” they say,

“and throw off their fetters.”

4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs;

the Lord scoffs at them.

5 Then he rebukes them in his anger

and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,

6 “I have installed my King

on Zion, my holy hill.”


7 I will proclaim the decree of the LORD:
He said to me, “You are my Son;

today I have become your Father.

8 Ask of me,

and I will make the nations your inheritance,

the ends of the earth your possession.

9 You will rule them with an iron scepter[f];

you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”

10 Therefore, you kings, be wise;

be warned, you rulers of the earth.

11 Serve the LORD with fear

and rejoice with trembling.

12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry

and you be destroyed in your way,

for his wrath can flare up in a moment.

Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Here is the teaching video that goes with the lesson for this week:

If you would like to join in, sign up for Wendy's email list and you will receive a daily email with the assignment for that day.

Have a great week!

Studying the Psalms with Wendy Pope 2012

Wendy Pope has led the online study "Walking With Women Through the Word" and reading through the chronilogical Bible for 3 years.

This coming year, 2012, she has been led to slow down and study more in depth the Book of Psalms.

Click HERE to go to Wendy's information about the study and also a video giving more details.

The study begins January 2, 2012.  There will be a weekly Psalm assigned and then questions given throughout the week.  It is all done online.

Here is a sample of one of Wendy's teaching videos.  Today's actually.



The Psalms contain some of my very favorite passages in the Bible so I'm very excited about this study.

If you'd like to join along go over to http://www.wendypope.com/ and sign up for her mailing list.  So easy.