Hello,
My name is Seth David Clark.
Thank you for praying with me today.
In this time of prayer,
Our prayer is Psalm 33.
A Psalm of rejoicing in God.
As we set our hearts on rejoicing,
I realize that sometimes it is difficult to rejoice.
And you know what?
That's okay.
But as you've chosen this prayer,
I encourage you to set aside just for now whatever it is that's troubling you,
Or if it seems more appropriate,
To hold on to that thing or those things loosely and rejoice in God nonetheless.
As we enter this time of prayer,
Let us focus on our breath.
Knowing that the breath in our lungs is close to us,
But the Spirit of God is even closer.
So let us slow our breath to slow our mind and our heart as we take this time with God.
Breathe in and breathe out at a pace of intentionality,
At a pace that reminds you that everything on your plate is also on God's and everything in your life is a loving concern of God as well.
So now with our breath a little slower,
Or maybe in fact a lot slower than it was before,
We pray along with the ancient psalmist.
Psalm number 33.
Rejoice in the Lord,
O ye righteous,
For praise is comely for the upright.
Praise the Lord with harp.
Sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.
Sing unto him a new song.
Play skillfully with a loud noise.
For the word of the Lord is right and all his works are done in truth.
He loveth righteousness and judgment.
The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
By the word of the Lord were the heavens made and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
He gathereth the waters of the sea together as in heap.
He layeth up the depth in storehouses.
Let all the earth fear the Lord.
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
For he spake and it was done.
He commanded and it stood fast.
The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to naught.
He maketh the devices of the people of none effect.
The counsel of the Lord standeth forever.
The thoughts of his heart to all generations.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.
The Lord looketh from heaven.
He beholdeth all the sons of men.
From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth.
He fashioneth their hearts alike.
He considereth all their works.
There is no king saved by the multitude of an host.
A mighty man is not delivered by much strength and horse is a vain thing for safety.
Neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.
And the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him,
Upon them that hope in his mercy.
To deliver their soul from death and to keep them alive in famine.
Our soul waiteth for the Lord.
He is our help and our shield.
For our heart shall rejoice in him because we have trusted in his holy name.
Let thy mercy,
O Lord,
Be upon us,
According as we hope in thee.
Feel free to pause this if you need to just spend some more time in prayer or praise to God in silence.
But we will pray this Psalm again in another translation.
Whatever it is that is stirring in your heart,
Draw that up and present it to God as an offering of thanksgiving or as a request for some new life from God and God's Spirit.
And so we pray Psalm 33.
Rejoice in Yahweh,
You righteous.
Praise is fitting for the upright.
Give thanks to Yahweh with the lyre.
Sing praises to him with the harp of ten strings.
Sing to him a new song.
Play skillfully with a shout of joy.
For Yahweh's word is right.
All his work is done in faithfulness.
He loves righteousness and justice.
The earth is full of the loving kindness of Yahweh.
By Yahweh's word,
The heavens were made.
All their army by the breath of his mouth.
He gathers the water of the sea together as a heap.
He lays up the deeps in storehouses.
Let all the earth fear Yahweh.
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
For he spoke and it was done.
He commanded and it stood firm.
Yahweh brings the counsel of the nations to nothing.
He makes the thoughts of the peoples to be of no effect.
The counsel of Yahweh stands fast forever.
The thoughts of his heart to all generations.
Blessed is the nation whose God is Yahweh.
The people whom he has chosen for his own inheritance.
Yahweh looks from heaven.
He sees all the sons of men.
From the place of his habitation he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth.
He who fashions all their hearts and he considers all their works.
There is no king saved by the multitude of an army.
A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.
A horse is a vain thing for safety.
Neither does he deliver any by his great power.
Behold,
Yahweh's eye is on those who fear him.
On those who hope in his loving kindness.
To deliver their soul from death.
To keep them alive in famine.
Our soul has waited for Yahweh.
He is our help and our shield.
For our heart rejoices in him because we have trusted in his holy name.
Let your loving kindness be on us,
Yahweh,
Since we have hoped in you.
Continue to pray those hopes to God to send those praises up.
Whatever it is that this Psalm has stirred in your heart,
Do not let it go easily until you have offered it to God and taken hold of its value in your own spirit and in your own life.
Let the love of now be in prayer.
Wow.
You You You You You You You Continue to pray these things throughout the rest of your day or night and into tomorrow So that the Amen may be actualized and so that this prayer may become reality in your life.
Amen.
