DAY ONE HUNDRED-TWELVE
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April 21
Devotional
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, Lord, my rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14 CSB
Today’s verse brings into alignment what is happening on the inside with what is happening on the outside. Your words have the power to build or to destroy, to lift up or to tear down. Your words are most often a reflection of what is happening in the inner workings of your heart. It can be easy to get lazy with your words and have them shaped by the environments around you rather than having them shaped by what God is doing through you. God is described as a rock and a Redeemer. As the rock, God gives you a solid foundation on which you can build your life. As your Redeemer, God can rescue you from unguarded words and misguided thoughts. As you go through your day, let God guide your words and your thoughts. Let your words become a place of encouragement, grace, and truth in a world that needs them.
Psalm 6 CSB
A Prayer for MercyFor the choir director: with stringed instruments, according to Sheminith. A psalm of David.
1 Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger;
do not discipline me in your wrath.
2 Be gracious to me, Lord, for I am weak;
heal me, Lord, for my bones are shaking;
3 my whole being is shaken with terror.
And you, Lord—how long?
4 Turn, Lord! Rescue me;
save me because of your faithful love.
5 For there is no remembrance of you in death;
who can thank you in Sheol?
6 I am weary from my groaning;
with my tears I dampen my bed
and drench my couch every night.
7 My eyes are swollen from grief;
they grow old because of all my enemies.
8 Depart from me, all evildoers,
for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.
9 The Lord has heard my plea for help;
the Lord accepts my prayer.
10 All my enemies will be ashamed and shake with terror;
they will turn back and suddenly be disgraced.
Psalm 8 CSB
God’s Glory, Human DignityFor the choir director: on the Gittith. A psalm of David.
1 Lord, our Lord,
how magnificent is your name throughout the earth!
You have covered the heavens with your majesty.
2 From the mouths of infants and nursing babies,
you have established a stronghold
on account of your adversaries
in order to silence the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I observe your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you set in place,
4 what is a human being that you remember him,
a son of man that you look after him?
5 You made him little less than God
and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands;
you put everything under his feet:
7 all the sheep and oxen,
as well as the animals in the wild,
8 the birds of the sky,
and the fish of the sea
that pass through the currents of the seas.
9 Lord, our Lord,
how magnificent is your name throughout the earth!
Psalm 9 CSB
Celebration of God’s JusticeFor the choir director: according to Muth-labben. A psalm of David.
1 I will thank the Lord with all my heart;
I will declare all your wondrous works.
2 I will rejoice and boast about you;
I will sing about your name, Most High.
3 When my enemies retreat,
they stumble and perish before you.
4 For you have upheld my just cause;
you are seated on your throne as a righteous judge.
5 You have rebuked the nations:
You have destroyed the wicked;
you have erased their name forever and ever.
6 The enemy has come to eternal ruin;
you have uprooted the cities,
and the very memory of them has perished.
7 But the Lord sits enthroned forever;
he has established his throne for judgment.
8 And he judges the world with righteousness;
he executes judgment on the nations with fairness.
9 The Lord is a refuge for the persecuted,
a refuge in times of trouble.
10 Those who know your name trust in you
because you have not abandoned
those who seek you, Lord.
11 Sing to the Lord, who dwells in Zion;
proclaim his deeds among the nations.
12 For the one who seeks an accounting
for bloodshed remembers them;
he does not forget the cry of the oppressed.
13 Be gracious to me, Lord;
consider my affliction at the hands of those who hate me.
Lift me up from the gates of death,
14 so that I may declare all your praises.
I will rejoice in your salvation
within the gates of Daughter Zion.
15 The nations have fallen into the pit they made;
their foot is caught in the net they have concealed.
16 The Lord has made himself known;
he has executed justice,
snaring the wicked
by the work of their hands.Higgaion. Selah
17 The wicked will return to Sheol—
all the nations that forget God.
18 For the needy will not always be forgotten;
the hope of the oppressed will not perish forever.
19 Rise up, Lord! Do not let mere humans prevail;
let the nations be judged in your presence.
20 Put terror in them, Lord;
let the nations know they are only humans.Selah
Psalm 10 CSB
Need for God’s Justice1 Lord, why do you stand so far away?
Why do you hide in times of trouble?
2 In arrogance the wicked relentlessly pursue their victims;
let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.
3 For the wicked one boasts about his own cravings;
the one who is greedy curses and despises the Lord.
4 In all his scheming,
the wicked person arrogantly thinks,
“There’s no accountability,
since there’s no God.”
5 His ways are always secure;
your lofty judgments have no effect on him;
he scoffs at all his adversaries.
6 He says to himself, “I will never be moved—
from generation to generation I will be without calamity.”
7 Cursing, deceit, and violence fill his mouth;
trouble and malice are under his tongue.
8 He waits in ambush near settlements;
he kills the innocent in secret places.
His eyes are on the lookout for the helpless;
9 he lurks in secret like a lion in a thicket.
He lurks in order to seize a victim;
he seizes a victim and drags him in his net.
10 So he is oppressed and beaten down;
helpless people fall because of the wicked one’s strength.
11 He says to himself, “God has forgotten;
he hides his face and will never see.”
12 Rise up, Lord God! Lift up your hand.
Do not forget the oppressed.
13 Why has the wicked person despised God?
He says to himself, “You will not demand an account.”
14 But you yourself have seen trouble and grief,
observing it in order to take the matter into your hands.
The helpless one entrusts himself to you;
you are a helper of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked, evil person,
until you look for his wickedness,
but it can’t be found.
16 The Lord is King forever and ever;
the nations will perish from his land.
17 Lord, you have heard the desire of the humble;
you will strengthen their hearts.
You will listen carefully,
18 doing justice for the fatherless and the oppressed
so that mere humans from the earth may terrify them no more.
Psalm 14 CSB
A Portrait of SinnersFor the choir director. Of David.
1 The fool says in his heart, “There’s no God.”
They are corrupt; they do vile deeds.
There is no one who does good.
2 The Lord looks down from heaven on the human race
to see if there is one who is wise,
one who seeks God.
3 All have turned away;
all alike have become corrupt.
There is no one who does good,
not even one.
4 Will evildoers never understand?
They consume my people as they consume bread;
they do not call on the Lord.
5 Then they will be filled with dread,
for God is with those who are righteous.
6 You sinners frustrate the plans of the oppressed,
but the Lord is his refuge.
7 Oh, that Israel’s deliverance would come from Zion!
When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people,
let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.
Psalm 16 CSB
Confidence in the LordA Miktam of David.
1 Protect me, God, for I take refuge in you.
2 I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have nothing good besides you.”
3 As for the holy people who are in the land,
they are the noble ones.
All my delight is in them.
4 The sorrows of those who take another god
for themselves will multiply;
I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood,
and I will not speak their names with my lips.
5 Lord, you are my portion
and my cup of blessing;
you hold my future.
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me
in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
7 I will bless the Lord who counsels me—
even at night when my thoughts trouble me.
8 I always let the Lord guide me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad
and my whole being rejoices;
my body also rests securely.
10 For you will not abandon me to Sheol;
you will not allow your faithful one to see decay.
11 You reveal the path of life to me;
in your presence is abundant joy;
at your right hand are eternal pleasures.
Psalm 19 CSB
The Witness of Creation and ScriptureFor the choir director. A psalm of David.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour out speech;
night after night they communicate knowledge.
3 There is no speech; there are no words;
their voice is not heard.
4 Their message has gone out to the whole earth,
and their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun.
5 It is like a bridegroom coming from his home;
it rejoices like an athlete running a course.
6 It rises from one end of the heavens
and circles to their other end;
nothing is hidden from its heat.
7 The instruction of the Lord is perfect,
renewing one’s life;
the testimony of the Lord is trustworthy,
making the inexperienced wise.
8 The precepts of the Lord are right,
making the heart glad;
the command of the Lord is radiant,
making the eyes light up.
9 The fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever;
the ordinances of the Lord are reliable
and altogether righteous.
10 They are more desirable than gold—
than an abundance of pure gold;
and sweeter than honey
dripping from a honeycomb.
11 In addition, your servant is warned by them,
and in keeping them there is an abundant reward.
12 Who perceives his unintentional sins?
Cleanse me from my hidden faults.
13 Moreover, keep your servant from willful sins;
do not let them rule me.
Then I will be blameless
and cleansed from blatant rebellion.
14 May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable to you,
Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.
Psalm 21 CSB
The King’s VictoryFor the choir director. A psalm of David.
1 Lord, the king finds joy in your strength.
How greatly he rejoices in your victory!
2 You have given him his heart’s desire
and have not denied the request of his lips.Selah
3 For you meet him with rich blessings;
you place a crown of pure gold on his head.
4 He asked you for life, and you gave it to him—
length of days forever and ever.
5 His glory is great through your victory;
you confer majesty and splendor on him.
6 You give him blessings forever;
you cheer him with joy in your presence.
7 For the king relies on the Lord;
through the faithful love of the Most High
he is not shaken.
8 Your hand will capture all your enemies;
your right hand will seize those who hate you.
9 You will make them burn
like a fiery furnace when you appear;
the Lord will engulf them in his wrath,
and fire will devour them.
10 You will wipe their progeny from the earth
and their offspring from the human race.
11 Though they intend to harm you
and devise a wicked plan, they will not prevail.
12 Instead, you will put them to flight
when you ready your bowstrings to shoot at them.
13 Be exalted, Lord, in your strength;
we will sing and praise your might.
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