Psalm 14
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
1 Only fools say in their hearts,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt, and their actions are evil;
not one of them does good!
2 The Lord looks down from heaven
on the entire human race;
he looks to see if anyone is truly wise,
if anyone seeks God.
3 But no, all have turned away;
all have become corrupt.
No one does good,
not a single one!
4 Will those who do evil never learn?
They eat up my people like bread
and wouldn’t think of praying to the Lord.
5 Terror will grip them,
for God is with those who obey him.
6 The wicked frustrate the plans of the oppressed,
but the Lord will protect his people.
7 Who will come from Mount Zion to rescue Israel?
When the Lord restores his people,
Jacob will shout with joy, and Israel will rejoice.
Dear God, I wonder how much Jesus changed this psalm. David had a definite paradigm about your justice and how you interact with us. And I don’t think that’s necessarily changed except that now we have this amazing gift of Jesus that takes away our sin in ways David couldn’t imagine.
Here’s one that I’ve always wondered about. Let’s say a child is abused by someone in the church and grows up to never trust the church or you again. While that person might fit David’s description in the first part of verse one, they do not necessarily fit the description in the second part.
I don’t know. Maybe I’m overthinking this. My job for that person is just to love them as much as I can and represent the real you to them so that they can heal from their pain and see you for who you really are. Your Holy Spirit and you, the Father, and you, Jesus, take care of the rest. My job is to be faithful in their lives.
Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, first let me thank you for the amazing Lenten experience I had over the last 47 days. It truly moved me in the Easter season in a way I’ve not been moved before. I worship you as my Lord and my God. I submit to you as my savior, Jesus. I lean into you, Holy Spirit. Guide each step of my day. Let your kingdom come into this world and your will be done in my life so that all of you might come into this world through me and the rest of your Church. Give me what you need me to have today to build the man you need me to be. Forgive me for my failures–my sin. Help me to find the unforgiveness in my heart and give it. Help me to avoid temptation and to stand against it when I come across it. Deliver me and my family from Satan’s plans to divide us. All that I have is yours, Lord.
I pray all of this in Jesus my savior and with your Holy Spirit,
Amen