Project 119: Psalm 57 & Psalm 58
| Project 119 | Amy Hirsch
Morning: Psalm 57
Let Your Glory Be over All the Earth
To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam of David, when he fled from Saul, in the cave.
1 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
till the storms of destruction pass by.
2 I cry out to God Most High,
to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
3 He will send from heaven and save me;
he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah
God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!
4 My soul is in the midst of lions;
I lie down amid fiery beasts—
the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongues are sharp swords.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth!
6 They set a net for my steps;
my soul was bowed down.
They dug a pit in my way,
but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah
7 My heart is steadfast, O God,
my heart is steadfast!
I will sing and make melody!
8 Awake, my glory!
Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn!
9 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.
10 For your steadfast love is great to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth!
Father,
Would You show Your mercy to me? I trust in You alone. You are my refuge; as a mother bird hides her children in her wings, so I cling to You for shelter in the storms of life. You are God most high, worthy of my worship and
praise.
You are a God who promises that His plans for me will come to pass. I confess that so often, I am more worried about my plans coming to pass than Your plans. I relinquish control to You, trusting that You promise to walk with me even in the most harrowing of situations.
I may not be fleeing from Saul like David was, but I can identify with walking through conflict and needing an outside Savior to rescue me from my situation. My adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking to devour me. Help me to resist him and to set my hope in You alone, Lord! I am grateful that You are a God who is merciful and gracious, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. I do pray that You would deliver me, that You would swoop in and save the day, and that when others see how You have delivered me, they would give You glory! Let this story of rescue be a story where Your steadfast love is proclaimed among the peoples, Your faithfulness to the nations! Give me opportunities to share with others how You have delivered me from my foes.
And Lord, even if you do not deliver me in this particular situation, I trust that You are with me, and that You promise to walk with me through all things, never forsaking the ones You call Your own. Your love still reaches to
the heavens, and Your faithfulness still stretches to the skies. You are still perfectly righteous and full of justice, and one day, You will have the last word against evil as Satan receives his final judgment.
Almighty God, would you also intervene in the lives of those I love who are ensnared in trials? Please strengthen them against the attacks of the enemies and help them to set their eyes on You. Would You deliver them and raise them up, and would You also use their stories as testimonies of Your faithful love and Your kindness in Christ?
You are exalted, God! My prayer is that every knee would bow and every tongue would confess that You are Lord, that every eye would see You as exalted and would turn to praise, that Your glory would be made known to the nations! Amen.
Evening: Psalm 58
God Who Judges the Earth
To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam of David.
1 Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?
Do you judge the children of man uprightly?
2 No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;
your hands deal out violence on earth.
3 The wicked are estranged from the womb;
they go astray from birth, speaking lies.
4 They have venom like the venom of a serpent,
like the deaf adder that stops its ear,
5 so that it does not hear the voice of charmers
or of the cunning enchanter.
6 O God, break the teeth in their mouths;
tear out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD!
7 Let them vanish like water that runs away;
when he aims his arrows, let them be blunted.
8 Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime,
like the stillborn child who never sees the sun.
9 Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns,
whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!
10 The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance;
he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 Mankind will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
surely there is a God who judges on earth.”