Psalm 42: Waves and Breakers

This is one of the most REAL Psalms I know of. It doesn’t hold back or cover up the real struggles of the one who wrote it. Because of that, I think it can be encouraging to us, not because it gives simplistic answers but because we can realize that we are not alone in our situation or feelings. And there are times that is what is important ...

Psalm 42 (The Message)

A psalm of the sons of Korah

1-3 A white-tailed deer drinks from the creek;
I want to drink God,
deep draughts of God.
I'm thirsty for God-alive.
I wonder, "Will I ever make it—
arrive and drink in God's presence?"
I'm on a diet of tears—
tears for breakfast, tears for supper.
All day long
people knock at my door,
Pestering,
"Where is this God of yours?"

4 These are the things I go over and over,
emptying out the pockets of my life.
I was always at the head of the worshiping crowd,
right out in front,
Leading them all,
eager to arrive and worship,
Shouting praises, singing thanksgiving—
celebrating, all of us, God's feast!

5 Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul?
Why are you crying the blues?
Fix my eyes on God—
soon I'll be praising again.
He puts a smile on my face.
He's my God.

6-8 When my soul is in the dumps, I rehearse
everything I know of you,
From Jordan depths to Hermon heights,
including Mount Mizar.
Chaos calls to chaos,
to the tune of whitewater rapids.
Your breaking surf, your thundering breakers
crash and crush me.
Then God promises to love me all day,
sing songs all through the night!
My life is God's prayer.

9-10 Sometimes I ask God, my rock-solid God,
"Why did you let me down?
Why am I walking around in tears,
harassed by enemies?"
They're out for the kill, these
tormentors with their obscenities,
Taunting day after day,
"Where is this God of yours?"

11 Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul?
Why are you crying the blues?
Fix my eyes on God—
soon I'll be praising again.
He puts a smile on my face.
He's my God.

Psalm 51

"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." That's a really good prayer to have. But notice how David isn't saying, "Yeah God, I'm gonna make my spirit strong and make my heart clean and then I'll come back and we can talk." No. David is asking God to do it for him. Another thing I like about this. It reminds me that we can't make it all by ourselves. And I know I'm not the only one guitly of trying. Life is such a constant struggle, so many things to overcome, and some days it just gets SO HARD.

But that's what I find my hope in. That I'm not alone. It doesn't matter how lonely I feel. He's right there for me all day. Every day. Forever. And He'll help me through the tough stuff.

Just some thoughts :) .

Psalm 51
1-3Generous in love—God, give grace! Huge in mercy—wipe out my bad record.
Scrub away my guilt,
soak out my sins in your laundry.
I know how bad I've been;
my sins are staring me down.

4-6 You're the One I've violated, and you've seen
it all, seen the full extent of my evil.
You have all the facts before you;
whatever you decide about me is fair.
I've been out of step with you for a long time,
in the wrong since before I was born.
What you're after is truth from the inside out.
Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.

7-15 Soak me in your laundry and I'll come out clean,
scrub me and I'll have a snow-white life.
Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,
set these once-broken bones to dancing.
Don't look too close for blemishes,
give me a clean bill of health.
God, make a fresh start in me,
shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
Don't throw me out with the trash,
or fail to breathe holiness in me.
Bring me back from gray exile,
put a fresh wind in my sails!
Give me a job teaching rebels your ways
so the lost can find their way home.
Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God,
and I'll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.
Unbutton my lips, dear God;
I'll let loose with your praise.

16-17 Going through the motions doesn't please you,
a flawless performance is nothing to you.
I learned God-worship
when my pride was shattered.
Heart-shattered lives ready for love
don't for a moment escape God's notice.

18-19 Make Zion the place you delight in,
repair Jerusalem's broken-down walls.
Then you'll get real worship from us,
acts of worship small and large,
Including all the bulls
they can heave onto your altar!

psychoanalysis

Just a couple of thoughts I would like to share ...

There is a tendency in the Christian world to focus on the good things, "uplifting forwards" and the like. They have there place, as we are to focus on things that are pleasing. In times of trouble and pain there are at times this attitude of bear up, keep smiling, suffering makes you strong mentality. And there is some truth in that as well. Then there are the personalities which include Moses, Job, Jeremiah and others who show incredible scenes of what seems like spiritual failure. Great saints all. And there are some of the Psalms which express rage which the church at times seems to want to suppress. Here are a few lines from Psalm 89:

46 How long, O LORD? Wilt thou hide thyself for ever? How long will thy wrath burn like fire? 47 Remember, O Lord, what the measure of life is, for what vanity thou hast created all the sons of men! RSV

And Psalm 88: 13 But I, O LORD, cry to thee; in the morning my prayer comes before thee. 14 O LORD, why dost thou cast me off? Why dost thou hide thy face from me? 15 Afflicted and close to death from my youth up, I suffer thy terrors; I am helpless. 16 Thy wrath has swept over me; thy dread assaults destroy me. 17 They surround me like a flood all day long; they close in upon me together. 18 Thou hast caused lover and friend to shun me; my companions are in darkness. RSV

The Psalms to me are like a kind of soul therapy, psychoanalysis if you will. They show what a relationship with God and the world really look like. They do not rationalize anger, give advice about pain that shows little empathy for the suffering but rather, loudly at times, and vividly express these feelings toward God. Even rage! We don't and probably shouldn't cover up these feelings but it is far, far better to bring our moments of weakness to God, who alone has the real power to heal us! We don't need to dress up and put a good face on things to meet with our Lord, He can be trusted with reality. I find that these Psalms when meditated on allows us to take a different perspective on things. They start with a vent, an appeal, move on to reflection, answered prayers in the past and moves towards praise. God uses these words from the bible, among many others, to create longings I didn’t have, to start a dead heart beating, and to reveal, when I was incapable of seeing, the beauty, sufficiency, and majesty of Jesus Christ and his cross. This type of spiritual reality therapy does work for me and I wanted to share that with you all. I know that there are those hurting here ...

Be blessed ...

A Prayer in the Night

Let nothing, O Lord, disturb the silence of this night.
Let nothing make me afraid.
Here in the dark, remind me that in order to speak to you,
My eternal Father, and to take delight in you,
I have no need to go to heaven or to speak in a loud voice.
However quietly I speak, you are so near that you will hear me.
I need no wings to go in search of you, but have only to understand
That the quiet of this night is a place where I can be alone with you,
And look upon your presence with me.
For if I have you, God,
I will want for nothing.
You alone suffice.

~St. Teresa of Avila



I have been finding this increasingly true recently - I've been waking up after strange, troubling dreams and turning to prayer in the darkness. God is there, almost more palpably than at any other time. His presence, his tangible mercy, are all I could ever need.



Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
Relieve the troubles of my heart,
and bring me out of my distress.
Consider my affliction and my trouble,
and forgive all my sins.



Psalm 25.16-18

I can't thank you enough! Psalm 30

A Psalm I really feel led to share with you all. Have a blessed evening everyone!

Tim

Psalm 30 A David Psalm

1 I give you all the credit, God— you got me out of that mess,
you didn't let my foes gloat.

2-3 God, my God, I yelled for help
and you put me together.
God, you pulled me out of the grave,
gave me another chance at life
when I was down-and-out.

4-5 All you saints! Sing your hearts out to God!
Thank him to his face!
He gets angry once in a while, but across
a lifetime there is only love.
The nights of crying your eyes out
give way to days of laughter.

6-7 When things were going great
I crowed, "I've got it made.
I'm God's favorite.
He made me king of the mountain."
Then you looked the other way
and I fell to pieces.

8-10 I called out to you, God;
I laid my case before you:
"Can you sell me for a profit when I'm dead?
auction me off at a cemetery yard sale?
When I'm 'dust to dust' my songs
and stories of you won't sell.
So listen! and be kind!
Help me out of this!"

11-12 You did it: you changed wild lament
into whirling dance;
You ripped off my black mourning band
and decked me with wildflowers.
I'm about to burst with song;
I can't keep quiet about you.
God, my God,
I can't thank you enough.

Love Psalm

I just punched in the word "love" in a keyword search at Bible Gateway ... And this is what I got from the Psalms. Enjoy!

Psalm 5:11)But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

Psalm 11:7)For the LORD is righteous, he loves justice; upright men will see his face.

Psalm 13:5)But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.

Psalm 17:7)Show the wonder of your great love, you who save by your right hand those who take refuge in you from their foes.

Psalm 18:1)I love you, O LORD, my strength.

Psalm 21:7)For the king trusts in the LORD; through the unfailing love of the Most High he will not be shaken.

Psalm 23:6)Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Psalm 25:6)Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.

Psalm 25:7)Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O LORD.

Psalm 26:3)for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth.

Psalm 26:8)I love the house where you live, O LORD, the place where your glory dwells.

Psalm 31:7)I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul.

Psalm 31:16)Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love.

Psalm 31:21)Praise be to the LORD, for he showed his wonderful love to me when I was in a besieged city.

Psalm 31:23)Love the LORD, all his saints! The LORD preserves the faithful, but the proud he pays back in full.

Psalm 33:5)The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.

Psalm 33:22)May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you.

Psalm 36:7)How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings.

Psalm 40:10)I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and salvation. I do not conceal your love and your truth from the great assembly.

Psalm 40:16)But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation always say, "The LORD be exalted!"

Psalm 42:8)By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life.

Psalm 48:9)Within your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love.

Psalm 57:3)He sends from heaven and saves me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me; Selah God sends his love and his faithfulness.

Psalm 57:10)For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

Psalm 59:16)But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.

Psalm 63:3)Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/emot-heartbeat.gif)

Psalm 66:20)Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!

Psalm 70:4)But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation always say, "Let God be exalted!"

Psalm 86:5)You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you.

Psalm 86:15)But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

Psalm 89:1-2)I will sing of the LORD's great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you established your faithfulness in heaven itself.

Psalm 89:14)Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you.

Psalm 94:18)When I said, "My foot is slipping," your love, O LORD, supported me.

Psalm 97:10)Let those who love the LORD hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

Psalm 98:3)He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Psalm 100:5)For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalm 101:1)I will sing of your love and justice; to you, O LORD, I will sing praise.

Psalm 103:8)The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.

Psalm 103:11)For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;

Psalm 106:1)Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

Psalm 107:1)Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

Psalm 107:43)Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the LORD.

Psalm 108:4)For great is your love, higher than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

Psalm 115:1)Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.

Psalm 116:1)I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy.

Psalm 117:2)For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD.

Psalm 118:1)Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

Psalm 119:29)Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

Psalm 119:48)I lift up my hands to your commands, which I love, and I meditate on your decrees.

Psalm 119:64)The earth is filled with your love, O LORD; teach me your decrees.

Psalm 119:97)Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.

Psalm 119:165)Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.

Psalm 119:67)I obey your statutes, for I love them greatly.

Psalm 136:2)Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever.

Psalm 136:

1) Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.
His love endures forever.

2) Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.

3) Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.

4) to him who alone does great wonders,
His love endures forever.

5) who by his understanding made the heavens,
His love endures forever.

6) who spread out the earth upon the waters,
His love endures forever.

7) who made the great lights—
His love endures forever.

8) the sun to govern the day,
His love endures forever.

9) the moon and stars to govern the night;
His love endures forever.

10) to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt
His love endures forever.

11) and brought Israel out from among them
His love endures forever.

12) with a mighty hand and outstretched arm;
His love endures forever.

13) to him who divided the Red Sea asunder
His love endures forever.

14) and brought Israel through the midst of it,
His love endures forever.

15) but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea;
His love endures forever.

16) to him who led his people through the desert,
His love endures forever.

17) who struck down great kings,
His love endures forever.

18) and killed mighty kings—
His love endures forever.

19) Sihon king of the Amorites
His love endures forever.

20) and Og king of Bashan—
His love endures forever.

21) and gave their land as an inheritance,
His love endures forever.

22) an inheritance to his servant Israel;
His love endures forever.

23) to the One who remembered us in our low estate
His love endures forever.

24) and freed us from our enemies,
His love endures forever.

25) and who gives food to every creature.
His love endures forever.

26) Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His love endures forever.

Psalm 138:2)I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.

Psalm 143:8)Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.

Psalm 145:8)The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger

Psalm 20

I try to avoid doing what I once heard referred to as “bible bingo” (throwing open the bible for some random, out of context inspiration) but sometimes it happens. While it doesn’t usually work, a couple of days ago I played bingo in the book of Psalms. I’ve been feeling kind of low and stressed and needed to hear a comforting, prophetic word and wasn’t sure what I should read. BINGO! I landed on Psalm 20 and I have been reading it several times a day this week. It has been a blessing, an encouragement, and a strength. I thought you might need it too.

Psalm 20

A David Psalm

1-4 God answer you on the day you crash,

The name God-of-Jacob put you out of harm's reach,

Send reinforcements from Holy Hill,

Dispatch from Zion fresh supplies,

Exclaim over your offerings,

Celebrate your sacrifices,

Give you what your heart desires,

Accomplish your plans.

5 When you win, we plan to raise the roof

and lead the parade with our banners.

May all your wishes come true!

6 That clinches it, help's coming,

an answer's on the way,

everything's going to work out.

7-8 See those people polishing their chariots,

and those others grooming their horses?

But we're making garlands for God our God.

The chariots will rust,

those horses pull up lame

and we'll be on our feet, standing tall.

9 Make the king a winner, God;

the day we call, give us your answer.

Have a blessed evening everyone!

Tim

~ Psalm 51 ~

A Psalm I would like to share ... In essence its about the journey from forgiveness to transformation ....

Psalm 51 1-3

Generous in love—God, give grace!
Huge in mercy—wipe out my bad record.

Scrub away my guilt, soak out my sins in your laundry.

I know how bad I've been;

my sins are staring me down.

4-6 You're the One I've violated, and you've seen it all,

seen the full extent of my evil.

You have all the facts before you;

whatever you decide about me is fair.

I've been out of step with you for a long time,

in the wrong since before I was born.

What you're after is truth from the inside out.

Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.

7-15 Soak me in your laundry and I'll come out clean,

scrub me and I'll have a snow-white life.

Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,

set these once-broken bones to dancing.

Don't look too close for blemishes,

give me a clean bill of health.

God, make a fresh start in me,

shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.

Don't throw me out with the trash,

or fail to breathe holiness in me.

Bring me back from gray exile,

put a fresh wind in my sails!

Give me a job teaching rebels your ways so the lost can find their way home.

Commute my death sentence,

God, my salvation God,

and I'll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.

Unbutton my lips, dear God;

I'll let loose with your praise.

~The Message

What a great Psalm! It strengthen my soul and confirm that my God is always there reminding me that He will cleanse my mind and my body. This feeling I cannot explain. It’s just so calm and mentally relaxing. God let’s me know He’s always there. My faith in God is all I have and all I need to continue my journey ...

Tim

Psalm 88

Psalms 88

88:1-18 O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day [and] night before thee:

Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry;

For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave.

I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man [that hath] no strength:

Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from thy hand.

Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps.

Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted [me] with all thy waves. Selah.

Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me; thou hast made me an abomination unto them: [I am] shut up, and I cannot come forth.

Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction: LORD, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee.

Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise [and] praise thee? Selah

Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? [or] thy faithfulness in destruction?

Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

But unto thee have I cried, O LORD; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee.

LORD, why castest thou off my soul? [why] hidest thou thy face from me?

I [am] afflicted and ready to die from [my] youth up: [while] I suffer thy terrors I am distracted.

Thy fierce wrath goeth over me; thy terrors have cut me off.

They came round about me daily like water; they compassed me about together.

Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, [and] mine acquaintance into darkness.

I came across this Psalm 2 or 3 weeks ago, but decided then not to post about it. I figured that I might have been throwing enough darker stuff out there and this Psalm takes the cake! I had a particularly rough week then on several fronts and really identified with this thing. My relationship with God is a struggle at times and the dynamics of that seems to keep me on track. Its when I get complacent ...

It is quite freeing to me to come to the prayer book of the Bible and find both great joy AND great despair. Its definitely fair to ask, what is this despairing stuff doing in there? I think it has to do with honesty. We all know that we can get really ticked off about the way others treat us, offend us, betray us ... And we also know we really can't control others, nor should we desire to. But we shouldn't be afraid to acknowledge our anger, even rage to God because they aren't so ... "nice." We should give these feelings to God because there is a deep trust that God will know what to do and how to do it, and will do what is just. This is a healthy kind of faith I think. Sometimes, just naming our anger and giving it to Jesus is just the right therapy. Certainly better than trying to control something out of control for sure.

Though the this Psalm ends on a very somber note, what follows it is the 89th Psalm which begins like this:

I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.

For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavensNo matter how long the winding trail, no matter how dark the night, His presence will been seen, "...but joy comes with the morning."

I'm at the 89th Psalm place now, but more that likely, surely even, the 88th Psalm place will come again ... and I'll be none to happy about it ... but He is with us ...

Just some thoughts ...

God of Thunder

I shall be going back to 10 hour workdays starting today which makes one a tad grouchy, especially as the week goes on. I was going to write on some positive thing about God, being a Christian or whatever but I'm not in the mood...lol

God is a God of love, as we all know, but there are other attributes as well. God can also get really ticked off! In Numbers 13-14 God was really torqued at the Israelites because of their unbelief and even threatened to destroy them. Then an amazing thing happened as God "changed His mind" after listening to an appeal of mercy from Moses. This is interesting as does God need mortals like Moses to reason with Him and hold Him to His promises? God obviously CAN be hurt by the people He loves.

What I get from this and other parts of the Bible, especially the Psalms and the Prophets, that He wants to engage our minds AND emotions. He wants us to feel fear, alarm at whats around us, the tension of our will against His. He wants us to sense when things are wrong, and wants us to ask and ask again until we find out where that wrong is. Much of God does seems to have the goal of shocking us to our senses. To get to that awareness where we become eventually contrite and humble before Him (repentance) and with others. This is where mercy is found. Grace received does enable grace to be given...

It doesn't seem to be a matter of being nice to a God who could fry you in an instant but being very real with Him. Its not appeasement per say but struggle that gets us to the place of intimacy... (Kinda reminds me of the story of Jacob.) Our God is also the God of Thunder ... and not just this cheesy, wishy washy, always positive wimp type of god...

Just some thoughts ...

The Art of Being Accused

I think that we have all been falsely accused at one time or another. There is just no way to avoid it! Check out this verse in Corinthians ...

2 Corinthians 6: 3, "Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed ..."

The thing is Paul's ministry was blamed and discredited by the Corinthian Christians! What Paul means is that our lives or our ministry may not be rightly be blamed. Paul, like the rest of us, could not do anything about false accusations; except live in such a way that any fair-minded person would see such accusations as false. So what are we supposed to do when falsely accused? Psalm 109:21 gives a good example echoed elsewhere in scripture.

But thou, O God my Lord, deal on my behalf for thy name's sake; because thy steadfast love is good, deliver me!

Well, what David does here is beautiful. He commits the whole matter to the Lord in prayer. But so often how we as people naturally want to respond is in kind. I remember back in the day of seeing two children fighting, one of whom happened to be my own! I broke up the fuss and asked of them, "Who started this?" The boy (my son) said, "She did! She hit me back!" How true that is to our nature. We love to blame the other. We accuse others of the very things for which we are guilty!

Let me close with this quote:

"We make a mistake in trying always to clear ourselves. We should be wiser to go straight on, humbly doing the next thing, and leaving God to vindicate us. "He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noon day." There may come hours in our lives when we shall be misunderstood, slandered, falsely accused. At such times it is very difficult not to act on the policy of the men around us in the world. They at once appeal to law and force and public opinion. But the believer takes his case into a higher court and lays it before his God." ~F. B. Meyer

For he stands at the right hand of the needy, to save him from those who condemn him to death. {Psalm 109:31)

It is God who stands at the right hand of the needy, God who makes their cause his own, God who knows a thousand ways to work it all out without violence, without the perpetuation of hatred, without the destruction of lives; to bring truth to light and to establish the facts in such a way that even the accusers will be ashamed of themselves that they ever attempted such a thing. How much better it is to commit our cause to God in times like this!

Some thoughts on a Tuesday ...Tim

Psalm 43/ More Whine, Please

Psalm 43 Judica me, Deus

1-2 Clear my name, God; stick up for me against these loveless, immoral people. Get me out of here, away from these lying degenerates. I counted on you, God. Why did you walk out on me? Why am I pacing the floor, wringing my hands over these outrageous people?

3-4 Give me your lantern and compass, give me a map, So I can find my way to the sacred mountain, to the place of your presence, To enter the place of worship, meet my exuberant God, Sing my thanks with a harp, magnificent God, my God.

5 Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul? Why are you crying the blues? Fix my eyes on God—soon I'll be praising again. He puts a smile on my face. He's my God. Why did you walk out on me? Why am I pacing the floor, wringing my hands over these outrageous people?

There are penitential Psalms. There are cursing Psalms. And then there are some of my favorites -- the whining Psalms. Psalm 43 is a fairly mild example; but you see what I mean. "Why are people so mean to me? Why is everything so hard? Why do I feel so bad?"

I'm typing this as I lay on the sofa, swaddled in a "Indian" blanket, in my jammies and am sucking down a hot mug hot peppermint green tea to break up the bronchitis that seems to be creeping into my chest. I'm bone-tired ...

I have no profundities to share today; no somber reflections I care to write about now. Because, right at this moment, it's all about me. Sheesh!

To me one of the great things about Psalms as devotional tools is their bold honesty. There's no holding back even one's darkest impulses. Psalms whine; they pound chest-thump; they wish violent death on the little children of enemies. E-Gads! The Psalms show what a relationship with God looks like and some days it isn't pretty!But it's worth noting that, in all of this, the Psalmists don't stay turned inward on themselves; they always inevitably look outward to God. "This is me. This is my mess. Help me!"

Time to look outward ... Have a blessed day everyone!