Tag: 05 Sep

Praying the Psalms: Wed, 05 Sep – Psalm 58 ~ Justice—do you rulers know the meaning of the word?

Praying the Psalms

+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Opening – (Northumbria Community)

One thing I have asked of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life; to behold the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple.

Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory.
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Morning Reading: Psalm 58 (NLT)

Justice—do you rulers know the meaning of the word? Do you judge the people fairly? No! You plot injustice in your hearts. You spread violence throughout the land. These wicked people are born sinners; even from birth they have lied and gone their own way. They spit venom like deadly snakes; they are like cobras that refuse to listen, ignoring the tunes of the snake charmers, no matter how skillfully they play.

Break off their fangs, O God! Smash the jaws of these lions, O Lord! May they disappear like water into thirsty ground. Make their weapons useless in their hands. May they be like snails that dissolve into slime, like a stillborn child who will never see the sun. God will sweep them away, both young and old, faster than a pot heats over burning thorns.

The godly will rejoice when they see injustice avenged. They will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked. Then at last everyone will say, “There truly is a reward for those who live for God; surely there is a God who judges justly here on earth.”
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Morning Prayer

O Lord our God: The world watches as our rulers pervert justice and defame the character of a good man –

+ in their zeal for power, they have increased the evils of our society…
+ in their zeal for power, they have sowed confusion and wickedness throughout the land…
+ in their zeal for power, they have ignored the guilt of their friends and relentlessly persecuted their enemies…
+ in their zeal for power, they have hardened their hearts against all reason and rebuke…
+ in their zeal for power, they have exposed their own wickedness and the corruption of their own hearts…

O Lord our God: The world watches as our rulers pervert justice and defame the character of a good man –

+ for the good of our country, restrain these evil-doers and revoke their power to do injury…
+ for the sake of fairness, judge these evil-doers with righteousness in accordance with your perfect will…
+ for the sake of truth, expose the lies and deceit of these evil-doers and put them to public shame…

O Lord our God: You are the righteous Judge over all the earth. Insert yourself in the deliberations of our rulers concerning the confirmation of a good man as the next Supreme Court Justice. May good triumph over evil, may truth triumph over falsehood, and may justice be restored as intended in the founding documents of our country. I ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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“Psalm 58” (Psalm 58) – Richard Bruxvoort Colligan


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Blessing – (Northumbrian Community)

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you, wherever He may send you. May He guide you through the wilderness, and protect you through the storm. May He bring you home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown you. May He bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.
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+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Morning Reading & Prayer: Tue, 05 Sep – 1 Chronicles 20-24 ~ David’s census sin & sacrifice

Morning Reading & Prayer

+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Opening – (Northumbria Community)

One thing I have asked of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life; to behold the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple.

Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory.

Please Read: 1 Chronicles 20-24 (NLT) – click here

Reflection & Prayer

David Takes a Census

1 Chronicles 21:1-7 (NLT) – Satan rose up against Israel and caused David to take a census of the people of Israel. So David said to Joab and the commanders of the army, “Take a census of all the people of Israel—from Beersheba in the south to Dan in the north—and bring me a report so I may know how many there are.”

But Joab replied, “May the Lord increase the number of his people a hundred times over! But why, my lord the king, do you want to do this? Are they not all your servants? Why must you cause Israel to sin?”

But the king insisted that they take the census, so Joab traveled throughout all Israel to count the people. Then he returned to Jerusalem and reported the number of people to David. There were 1,100,000 warriors in all Israel who could handle a sword, and 470,000 in Judah. But Joab did not include the tribes of Levi and Benjamin in the census because he was so distressed at what the king had made him do.

Judgment for David’s Sin

1 Chronicles 21:7-17 (NLT) – God was very displeased with the census, and he punished Israel for it. Then David said to God, “I have sinned greatly by taking this census. Please forgive my guilt for doing this foolish thing.”

Then the Lord spoke to Gad, David’s seer. This was the message: “Go and say to David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I will give you three choices. Choose one of these punishments, and I will inflict it on you.’”

So Gad came to David and said, “These are the choices the Lord has given you. You may choose three years of famine, three months of destruction by the sword of your enemies, or three days of severe plague as the angel of the Lord brings devastation throughout the land of Israel. Decide what answer I should give the Lord who sent me.”

“I’m in a desperate situation!” David replied to Gad. “But let me fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is very great. Do not let me fall into human hands.”

So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel, and 70,000 people died as a result. And God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But just as the angel was preparing to destroy it, the Lord relented and said to the death angel, “Stop! That is enough!” At that moment the angel of the Lord was standing by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

David looked up and saw the angel of the Lord standing between heaven and earth with his sword drawn, reaching out over Jerusalem. So David and the leaders of Israel put on burlap to show their deep distress and fell face down on the ground. And David said to God, “I am the one who called for the census! I am the one who has sinned and done wrong! But these people are as innocent as sheep—what have they done? O Lord my God, let your anger fall against me and my family, but do not destroy your people.”

David Builds an Altar

1 Chronicles 21:18-30 (NLT) – Then the angel of the Lord told Gad to instruct David to go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. So David went up to do what the Lord had commanded him through Gad. Araunah, who was busy threshing wheat at the time, turned and saw the angel there. His four sons, who were with him, ran away and hid. When Araunah saw David approaching, he left his threshing floor and bowed before David with his face to the ground.

David said to Araunah, “Let me buy this threshing floor from you at its full price. Then I will build an altar to the Lord there, so that he will stop the plague.”

“Take it, my lord the king, and use it as you wish,” Araunah said to David. “I will give the oxen for the burnt offerings, and the threshing boards for wood to build a fire on the altar, and the wheat for the grain offering. I will give it all to you.”

But King David replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on buying it for the full price. I will not take what is yours and give it to the Lord. I will not present burnt offerings that have cost me nothing!” So David gave Araunah 600 pieces of gold in payment for the threshing floor.

David built an altar there to the Lord and sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings. And when David prayed, the Lord answered him by sending fire from heaven to burn up the offering on the altar. Then the Lord spoke to the angel, who put the sword back into its sheath.

When David saw that the Lord had answered his prayer, he offered sacrifices there at Araunah’s threshing floor. At that time the Tabernacle of the Lord and the altar of burnt offering that Moses had made in the wilderness were located at the place of worship in Gibeon. But David was not able to go there to inquire of God, because he was terrified by the drawn sword of the angel of the Lord.

1 Chronicles 22:1 (NLT) – Then David said, “This will be the location for the Temple of the Lord God and the place of the altar for Israel’s burnt offerings!”
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Lord God of heaven and earth: You are the source and owner of all that I am or have.

+ Show me how to love and serve you through the faithful management of all the resources you have given me – my body, my mind and the Spirit you have placed within me; my family, my friends and the church where your Spirit resides; and all my materiel and financial resources. May all of these resources you have placed under my care bring glory to your name.

+ Deliver me from pride of ownership, or pride of accomplishment – for without you I would be or have nothing.

+ Wash away my sins, and let me alone bear their consequences – in your mercy do not make others pay the penalty for my misdeeds.

+ Take me as a living sacrifice, and shape me to your liking – holy and acceptable through my Lord Jesus Christ.

To you, O Lord, belong all honor, glory and power – forever and ever. Amen.
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“Living Sacrifice” – by Chris Christian


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Blessing – (Northumbrian Community)

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you, wherever He may send you. May He guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm. May He bring you home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown you. May He bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.
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+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!