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August 14

Pastor’s Note

After today we have already read over one hundred of the psalms in the Psalter. That went by quickly. And I hope it has been a beneficial reading for you so far. May these God-breathed lyrics of worship and praise become an increasing part of our daily lives. Romans 13 declares that, as imperfect as they are, human governments are the agents of God (i.e., “servant of God” – v.4) in this world to maintain societal order. May we pray for our governmental leaders more than we do, as we have been instructed in 1 Timothy 2:1-3.

— Pastor Mike

Psalms 99-102

The Lord Our God Is Holy

99:1 The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble!
 He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
The Lord is great in Zion;
 he is exalted over all the peoples.
Let them praise your great and awesome name!
 Holy is he!
The King in his might loves justice. [1]
 You have established equity;
you have executed justice
 and righteousness in Jacob.
Exalt the Lord our God;
 worship at his footstool!
 Holy is he!

Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
 Samuel also was among those who called upon his name.
 They called to the Lord, and he answered them.
In the pillar of the cloud he spoke to them;
 they kept his testimonies
 and the statute that he gave them.

Lord our God, you answered them;
 you were a forgiving God to them,
 but an avenger of their wrongdoings.
Exalt the Lord our God,
 and worship at his holy mountain;
 for the Lord our God is holy!

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

A Psalm for giving thanks.

100:1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
 Serve the Lord with gladness!
 Come into his presence with singing!

Know that the Lord, he is God!
 It is he who made us, and we are his; [2]
 we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
 and his courts with praise!
 Give thanks to him; bless his name!

For the Lord is good;
 his steadfast love endures forever,
 and his faithfulness to all generations.

I Will Walk with Integrity

A Psalm of David.

101:1 I will sing of steadfast love and justice;
 to you, O Lord, I will make music.
I will ponder the way that is blameless.
 Oh when will you come to me?
I will walk with integrity of heart
 within my house;
I will not set before my eyes
 anything that is worthless.
I hate the work of those who fall away;
 it shall not cling to me.
A perverse heart shall be far from me;
 I will know nothing of evil.

Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly
 I will destroy.
Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart
 I will not endure.

I will look with favor on the faithful in the land,
 that they may dwell with me;
he who walks in the way that is blameless
 shall minister to me.

No one who practices deceit
 shall dwell in my house;
no one who utters lies
 shall continue before my eyes.

Morning by morning I will destroy
 all the wicked in the land,
cutting off all the evildoers
 from the city of the Lord.

Do Not Hide Your Face from Me

A Prayer of one afflicted, when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the Lord.

102:1 Hear my prayer, O Lord;
let my cry come to you!
Do not hide your face from me
 in the day of my distress!
Incline your ear to me;
 answer me speedily in the day when I call!

For my days pass away like smoke,
 and my bones burn like a furnace.
My heart is struck down like grass and has withered;
 I forget to eat my bread.
Because of my loud groaning
 my bones cling to my flesh.
I am like a desert owl of the wilderness,
 like an owl [3] of the waste places;
I lie awake;
 I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop.
All the day my enemies taunt me;
 those who deride me use my name for a curse.
For I eat ashes like bread
 and mingle tears with my drink,
10 because of your indignation and anger;
 for you have taken me up and thrown me down.
11 My days are like an evening shadow;
 I wither away like grass.

12 But you, O Lord, are enthroned forever;
 you are remembered throughout all generations.
13 You will arise and have pity on Zion;
 it is the time to favor her;
 the appointed time has come.
14 For your servants hold her stones dear
 and have pity on her dust.
15 Nations will fear the name of the Lord,
 and all the kings of the earth will fear your glory.
16 For the Lord builds up Zion;
 he appears in his glory;
17 he regards the prayer of the destitute
 and does not despise their prayer.

18 Let this be recorded for a generation to come,
 so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord:
19 that he looked down from his holy height;
 from heaven the Lord looked at the earth,
20 to hear the groans of the prisoners,
 to set free those who were doomed to die,
21 that they may declare in Zion the name of the Lord,
 and in Jerusalem his praise,
22 when peoples gather together,
 and kingdoms, to worship the Lord.

23 He has broken my strength in midcourse;
 he has shortened my days.
24 “O my God,” I say, “take me not away
 in the midst of my days—
you whose years endure
 throughout all generations!”

25 Of old you laid the foundation of the earth,
 and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26 They will perish, but you will remain;
 they will all wear out like a garment.
You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,
 27 but you are the same, and your years have no end.
28 The children of your servants shall dwell secure;
 their offspring shall be established before you.

Romans 13

Submission to the Authorities

13:1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Fulfilling the Law Through Love

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Footnotes

[1] 99:4 Or The might of the King loves justice
[2] 100:3 Or and not we ourselves
[3] 102:6 The precise identity of these birds is uncertain

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