Initially, when I read this first story, I didn't have too much to talk about. But as I continued to read and study it--in the best way possible--I felt myself saying to the Lord, "There's so much that I still have to learn about you!" It's so refreshing to serve a God so much higher than we are! I'm thankful that no matter how long I walk with the Lord, there are still aspects of Him that are mysterious to me, and that I get to keep coming back and learning about Him. I'm confident that everything about Him is good, and that He'll reveal to you and to me exactly what we need to follow and obey Him.

Today's Reading: 2 Samuel 21, Psalm 5, 38, 41, 42

Scripture Read or Referenced:

2 Samuel 21

Psalm 5 (all)

Psalm 38:15

Psalm 41:1-2, 9-13

Psalm 42 (all)

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Commentaries Most Referenced: Moody Commentary, MacArthur Commentary, Spurgeon's Treasury of David

This is The Dwelling Place from Entrusted Ministries.

2

I'm Stephanie Hickox.

3

Today, we're reading Second

Samuel twenty-one and Psalms five,

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thirty-eight, forty-one, and forty-two.

5

Initially, When I read this first story,

I didn't have too much to talk about.

6

But as I continued to read and study it,

in the best way possible, I felt myself

7

saying to the Lord, " There's so much

that I still have to learn about you."

8

It's so refreshing, and I'm thankful

that no matter how long I walk with

9

the Lord, there are still aspects

of Him that are mysterious to me.

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And that I get to keep coming

back and learning about Him.

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But I'm confident that everything

about Him is good and that He'll

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reveal to us exactly what we

need to follow and obey Him.

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It's important to note that the last

couple chapters of Second Samuel

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are not in chronological order.

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And the MacArthur commentary

would describe their breakdown

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like this: that the first and

the last sections have narratives

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regarding God's anger with Israel.

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The second and fifth sections relate

to David's warriors, while those two

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middle sections are songs of David.

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Let's look at that first account

of God's anger against Israel

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in Second Samuel twenty-one.

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Now, there was a famine in the days of

David for three years, year after year.

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And David sought the face of the Lord,

and the Lord said, " There is blood

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guilt on Saul and on his house because

he put the Gibeonites to death."

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So the king called the

Gibeonites and spoke to them.

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Now, the Gibeonites were not

of the people of Israel but of

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the remnant of the Amorites.

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Although the people of Israel had

sworn to spare them, Saul had sought

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to strike them down in his zeal

for the people of Israel and Judah.

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And David said to the Gibeonites,

" What shall I do for you?

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And how shall I make atonement that you

may bless the heritage of the Lord?"

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The Gibeonites said to him, It

is not a matter of silver or gold

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between us and Saul or his house.

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Neither is it for us to put

any man to death in Israel.

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And he said, What do you

say that I shall do for you?

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They said to the king, The man who

consumed us and planned to destroy

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us, so that we should have no place in

the territory of Israel, let seven of

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his sons be given to us, that we may

hang them before the Lord at Gibeah

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of Saul, the chosen of the Lord.

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And the king said, I will give them.

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But the king spared Mephibosheth,

the son of Saul's son Jonathan,

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because of the oath of the Lord

that was between them, between

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David and Jonathan, the son of Saul.

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So David selects two sons of Rizpah, who

was Saul's concubine, and then the five

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sons of Merib, the daughter of Saul.

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Merib was the one that was promised

to be given to David after he defeated

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Goliath, but Saul withheld her.

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Her life her father would

have held to his promise.

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And unlike the Israelites, The Gibeonites

did not quickly bury their dead, and they

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let these men hang for months in shame.

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But Rizpah, a devoted mother, so deeply

grieving over her sons, has chosen

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to stay day and night protecting her

sons' bodies from the birds and beasts.

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It was certainly exhausting and

probably even scary at times.

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Her devoted love stood out to David.

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So much so that he took their bones

and he also exhumed, meaning dug

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up the bones, of Saul and his sons

that the men of Jabesh Gilead had

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buried before, and he placed them all

in the tomb of Saul's father Kish.

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I'm thinking about some ways that

I've seen my friends grieve their

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children so well, continuing to

honor their memory and their legacy.

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And I think that's a beautiful

thing before the Lord.

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We've talked about a lot of

people groups, but let me remind

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you who the Gibeonites are.

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Perhaps you remember the

phrase the Gibeonite deception

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from the Book of Joshua.

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The Gibeonites were afraid of the

Israelites so they pretended that

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they were from a far off land

and made a treaty with Joshua.

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Joshua did not consult the Lord and

agreed to have peace with the Gibeonites.

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This is so radical to me because even

though their peace treaty started with

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deception and the Gibeonites were a

pagan nation, God still holds the people

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of Israel to maintain this covenant

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to the point that God would cause judgment

for their lack of faithfulness to them.

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This shows me once again that our words

and our covenants deeply matter to God,

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and since we're talking about family,

I can't help but think that if God

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cares that much about the promises that

his people made to a pagan nation that

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deceived them, how much more does he care

that we stay faithful in our covenants

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in marriage and in our commitment to him?

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Sometimes in the Old Testament, he

allows sin to be atoned for in a

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way that he's still making clear to

me, Maybe you're listening to this

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story thinking, "Why would Saul's

descendants have to pay for his sin?"

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And my immediate thought is, " Why

did Jesus pay for my sin?"

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It reminds me to rejoice in a God that I

don't always understand because his way

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is always perfect and is always good.

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And I could not be more humbled

that he allowed Jesus to

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take my place on the cross.

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At the conclusion of 2 Samuel 21,

David and his men go out to battle, but

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he's getting older now, and he's weak.

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Abishai, his nephew, comes to his rescue,

and the men tell him, " You shouldn't

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go out to battle with us anymore."

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And he heeds their words, but it's

different than the season he stayed home

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when he fell into sin with Bathsheba,

because now he's trying to protect

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the throne that the Lord gave him.

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Let's turn next to Psalm 5 that David

wrote, And as I read, listen to the

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contrast between how the Lord feels

about those walking in wickedness

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and those who choose righteousness.

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" Give ear to my words, O

Lord; consider my groaning.

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Give attention to the sound of my cry,

my King and my God, for to You do I pray.

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O Lord, in the morning You hear my

voice; in the morning I prepare

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a sacrifice for You and watch.

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For You are not a God who delights in

wickedness; evil may not dwell with You.

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The boastful shall not stand before

Your eyes; You hate all evildoers.

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You destroy those who speak lies; the Lord

abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

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But I, through the abundance of Your

steadfast love, will enter Your house.

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I will bow down toward Your

holy temple in the fear of You.

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Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness

because of my enemies; make

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Your way straight before me.

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For there is no truth in their mouth;

their inmost self is destruction.

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Their throat is an open grave;

they flatter with their tongue.

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Make them bear their guilt, O Lord;

let them fall by their own counsels.

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Because of the abundance of their

transgressions, cast them out, for

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they have rebelled against You.

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But let all who take refuge in You

rejoice; let them ever sing for joy.

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And spread Your protection over them, that

those who love Your name may exult in You.

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For You bless the righteous, O Lord; You

cover him with favor as with a shield."

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This was likely a morning psalm

that would've been regularly recited

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in the early hours of the day.

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God wants us to come to Him

regardless of the time of day.

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But it's great encouragement that

even if it's the quickest prayer

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when our feet hit the floor- That

we would devote our days to Him.

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Psalm 38 reminds me of the pain

and suffering that Job endured.

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at one point simply saying,

"But for you, O Lord, do I wait.

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It is you, O Lord, my

God, who will answer."

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I'll read the opening and

then the closing of Psalm 41.

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" Blessed is the one who considers the poor.

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In the day of trouble,

the Lord delivers him.

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The Lord protects him and keeps him alive.

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He is called blessed in the land."

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And jumping to verse nine, " Even my

close friend in whom I trusted, who ate

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my bread, has lifted his heel against me.

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But you, O Lord, be gracious to me

and raise me up that I may repay them.

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By this I know that you delight in me.

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My enemy will not shout

in triumph over me.

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But you have upheld me because

of my integrity and set me

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in your presence forever.

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Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting.

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Amen and amen."

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Initially, we were reminded how much

it matters that we care for the poor.

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But did you also hear the reference

that Jesus quoted in the Gospels?

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But when He did it, He did not say,

"My friend whom I trusted," because

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the Bible tells us that Jesus

always knew Judas would betray Him.

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Still, Jesus treated Judas so

impartially that no one could tell.

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That model of love

continues to astound me.

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Let's conclude with Psalm 42,

which is a maskil, meaning it was

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created to provide instruction.

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And the instruction is that

no matter how discouraged and

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despairing we might feel We can find

hope in the faithfulness of God.

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As a deer pants for flowing streams,

so pants my soul for you, O God.

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My soul thirsts for

God, for the living God.

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When shall I come and appear before God?

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My tears have been my food day and

night, while they say to me all

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the day long, " Where is your God?"

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These things I remember as I pour out

my soul, how I would go with the throng

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and lead them in procession to the house

of God, with glad shouts and songs of

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praise, a multitude keeping festival.

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Why are you cast down, O my soul?

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And why are you in turmoil within me?

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Hope in God, for I shall again

praise Him, my salvation and my God.

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My soul is cast down within me.

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Therefore, I remember you from the land

of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.

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Deep calls to deep at the

roar of your waterfalls.

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All your breakers and your

waves have gone over me.

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By day the Lord commands His steadfast

love, and at night His song is within

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me, a prayer to the God of my life.

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I say to God, my rock, " Why

have you forgotten me?

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Why do I go mourning because of

the oppression of the enemy?"

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As with a deadly wound in my bones, my

adversaries taunt me, while they say to

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me all the day long, " Where is your God?"

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Why are you cast down, O my soul?

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And why are you in turmoil within me?

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Hope in God, for I shall again

praise Him, my salvation and my God.

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Heavenly Father,

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we remain so grateful that Your ways are

higher than our ways and Your thoughts

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higher than our thoughts, and yet

You've been so faithful to communicate

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through Your Word and through sending

Your Son to model love towards us.

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Continue to reveal Your perfect

character to us and equip and encourage

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us to stay faithful to You by making

Your paths straight before us.

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And in those times where we feel despair

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or discouragement or we're feeling

weary in the battle, we know You

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will strengthen us for every good

work and to point our kids to You

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help us to preach your word to

our hearts and our souls so that

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our countenance could be lifted

up and we could choose joy.

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Make us determined to stay faithful

to our covenants and our commitments,

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and to love well in all circumstances.

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Jesus, you modeled this

so perfectly to us.

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It's in your name we pray.

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Amen.