Psalm 55

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. Amaskil of David. [a]

1 Listen to my prayer, O God,
do not ignore my plea;
2 hear me and answer me.
My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught

3 at the voice of the enemy,
at the stares of the wicked;
for they bring down suffering upon me
and revile me in their anger.

4 My heart is in anguish within me;
the terrors of death assail me.

5 Fear and trembling have beset me;
horror has overwhelmed me.

6 I said, "Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest-

7 I would flee far away
and stay in the desert;
Selah

8 I would hurry to my place of shelter,
far from the tempest and storm."

9 Confuse the wicked, O Lord, confound their speech,
for I see violence and strife in the city.

10 Day and night they prowl about on its walls;
malice and abuse are within it.

11 Destructive forces are at work in the city;
threats and lies never leave its streets.

12 If an enemy were insulting me,
I could endure it;
if a foe were raising himself against me,
I could hide from him.

13 But it is you, a man like myself,
my companion, my close friend,

14 with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship
as we walked with the throng at the house of God.

15 Let death take my enemies by surprise;
let them go down alive to the grave, [b]
for evil finds lodging among them.

16 But I call to God,
and the LORD saves me.

17 Evening, morning and noon
I cry out in distress,
and he hears my voice.

18 He ransoms me unharmed
from the battle waged against me,
even though many oppose me.

19 God, who is enthroned forever,
will hear them and afflict them—
Selah
men who never change their ways
and have no fear of God.

20 My companion attacks his friends;
he violates his covenant.

21 His speech is smooth as butter,
yet war is in his heart;
his words are more soothing than oil,
yet they are drawn swords.

22 Cast your cares on the LORD
and he will sustain you;
he will never let the righteous fall.

23 But you, O God, will bring down the wicked
into the pit of corruption;
bloodthirsty and deceitful men
will not live out half their days.
But as for me, I trust in you.

Jenn: "Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you." Father, thank You for speaking to all of us at service today. Thank You that no matter how heavy or numerous the burdens we carry, You invite us to exchange our heavy load for Your light one. Thank You for loving us so amazingly much. *Huggs*

Young Arrows Club (Clementi)

TaDaAaAAaaa~! The artwork done by the kids in Young Arrows Club (Clementi).

For the past 2 weeks, fio and i have to going to the Young Arrows Club (children club) and take a look how each branch runs their club. Yesterday, we went to Clementi Branch. It was quite fun. i taught a P3 boy maths. even though i know how to solve the probs, i have trouble explaining to him. gd thing... he is smart and has gd foundation. the irritating thing he did was that he wrote all his answers in font size 1. as small as an ant. i told him i cant read, (actually, i can but didnt want to give in to this kinda behaviour.) so he volunteered to read out his ans. ok~ fine... so i mark as he reads out his ans. whenever he reads his ans wrongly, i will prove to him that his handwritting is too small and he will give all kind of excuses.

me: are you sure this is your ans?
boy: no lah~. it's 1234. read wrongly lah~.
me: ya i know you read wrongly. your hand writting is so small tt you cant even read properly....
boy: *speechless*

sometimes, i will make fun of his small hand writting. "WAH! What is this~?! 8 or 5 or a worm?!" then he will put the book close to his face and try to figure out his own handwritting! hahahaha...

after 1hour 15mins of tuition, they have art and craft activities. sometimes they will play games. this week they are doing a mouse. they didnt manage to finish last week so brought it forward. fio and i each helped a kid with their mouse. i find that fio looks like a young mother from the pic above. keke. during the craft session, most of the time she's directing the lost and confuse girl.

fio: i cut, you paste. go and find glue... where is the glue? *look around* ... *found one* nah ... glue here. *start cutting*
girl: *blur* (i think too much instructions at one time and everything is happening very fast. haha.)

another funny moment...

(after they finish the mouse)
fio: you like your mouse?
girl: *shake head*
fio: *in distraught* y?! y you dont like?! it's a little hunchback that's all?!(she said sth else, i cant remember) you like your mouse or not?
girl: *nod head*

fio talks to her some more things. (i didnt quite catch) and the girl smiled and laughed happily as she goes home. =D fio can handle kid quite well and she will be a gd mother...

the teenager in the other pic is a volunteer in Young Arrow Club too. she's a very friendly person. my photo is too blur. so have to make it small. tsk tsk tsk. nonethless, enjoyed my sat afternoon there. anyone wants to volunteer can let me know. i'll be starting a club in hong kah (bukit batok) soon. yeah~! =)

Psalm 54

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. Amaskil of David. When the Ziphites had gone to Saul and said, "Is not David hiding among us?" [a]

1 Save me, O God, by your name;
vindicate me by your might.

2 Hear my prayer, O God;
listen to the words of my mouth.

3 Strangers are attacking me;
ruthless men seek my life—
men without regard for God.
Selah

4 Surely God is my help;
the Lord is the one who sustains me.

5 Let evil recoil on those who slander me;
in your faithfulness destroy them.

6 I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you;
I will praise your name, O LORD,
for it is good.

7 For he has delivered me from all my troubles,
and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes.

Jenn: So many times in our lives we've been wrongly accused, we've been maligned. In those times may we choose to surrender our rights to fight for ourselves to You. May we choose to be still and know that You are God, Our Vindicator. Help us to be humble, to be silently patient, and know that You are God.

Elle: "For he has delivered me from all my troubles,
and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes."

--> Lord, I claim your promise in your word because you said that "All who hope in You will not be disappointed!" Lord, only you know the anxiety inside me and only you know my troubles. Once again Lord, I mean it when I say I trust. Cuz only when I surrender will you be able to deliver. Remind me, O Lord, each time I grasp onto things and forget to surrender... I need to rely on your strength each day to renew myself...

Psalm 53

For the director of music. According to mahalath. A maskil of David. [a][b]

1 The fool says in his heart,
"There is no God."
They are corrupt, and their ways are vile;
there is no one who does good.

2 God looks down from heaven
on the sons of men
to see if there are any who understand,
any who seek God.

3 Everyone has turned away,
they have together become corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.

4 Will the evildoers never learn—
those who devour my people as men eat bread
and who do not call on God?

5 There they were, overwhelmed with dread,
where there was nothing to dread.
God scattered the bones of those who attacked you;
you put them to shame, for God despised them.

6 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When God restores the fortunes of his people,
let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

Jenn: God we're so unworthy, so undeserving of Your love, indeed there is no one who does good, not even one. Have mercy on us Father, forgive us in Your everlasting mercy and grace. Only by grace can we enter...

Psalm 52

For the director of music. A maskil of David. When Doeg the Edomite had gone to Saul and told him: "David has gone to the house of Ahimelech." [a]

1 Why do you boast of evil, you mighty man?
Why do you boast all day long,
you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God?
2 Your tongue plots destruction;
it is like a sharpened razor,
you who practice deceit.

3 You love evil rather than good,
falsehood rather than speaking the truth.
Selah

4 You love every harmful word,
O you deceitful tongue!

5 Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin:
He will snatch you up and tear you from your tent;
he will uproot you from the land of the living.
Selah

6 The righteous will see and fear;
they will laugh at him, saying,

7 "Here now is the man
who did not make God his stronghold
but trusted in his great wealth
and grew strong by destroying others!"

8 But I am like an olive tree
flourishing in the house of God;
I trust in God's unfailing love
for ever and ever.

9 I will praise you forever for what you have done;
in your name I will hope, for your name is good.
I will praise you in the presence of your saints.

Jenn: Sometimes psalms sound to me like repetitive curses on the ungodly, and if taken out of context one may misunderstand that the heart of the psalmist is one of superiority, of mockery and sneer at the ungodly's eventual destruction. So i was asking God, why? God i thought You were loving and forgiving, and why then do You and yr people sound like You hate these ppl who do wrong? I think the psalmist's intention of repeatedly emphasizing the impending doom of the ungodly, or the wicked, is not to curse them, but to warn them, and all those who are like them, out of love.

"Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin:
He will snatch you up and tear you from your tent;
He will uproot you from the land of the living."
Selah

Why will God destroy these ppl? In love, i think. To protect them from harming their souls further, to give them a last chance to come to Him in brokenness, to protect the living from being influenced by them. Selah at the end of these aggressive proclaimations was prolly David crying out to God to intervene for Doeg who is seeking his own doom by plotting evil against him(and Him), instead of a sadistic cheer to celebrate his enemy's eventual destruction. It is easy to misinterpret the intentions of God and His people, to take one verse out of the Bible and go, "Heyy, this contradicts God's love!" But if You read on...you'd realise that this is David, the one who prayed for Saul, cried for Saul, and spared Saul's life when Saul tried countless times to take his life. You'd realise that THIS IS GOD...the One who died for You. Not a savage aggressive tyrant. This is my Best Friend Jesus.

psalms 51

1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.

4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are proved right when you speak
and justified when you judge.

5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts [a] ;
you teach [b] me wisdom in the inmost place.

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will turn back to you.

14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God,
the God who saves me,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.

15 O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.

16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

17 The sacrifices of God are [c] a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise.

18 In your good pleasure make Zion prosper;
build up the walls of Jerusalem.

19 Then there will be righteous sacrifices,
whole burnt offerings to delight you;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Gwen: Many times we sin against the Lord. And somehow we feel ashame to even face Him again. but fret not, God is a God that forgives and forgets. as long as we repent before Him and try our very best to live our life humble and pure. God will give you a pat on your head and says, "Good girl. You have pleased me. What would you like to have for breakfast 2ml after you have read the psalms?"

Jenn: It amazed me tt though confronted with his adultery, David still had the courage to come to God. David knew God was, is, and will be a righteous God, and he'd failed Him terribly when God'd entrusted Israel the Chosen Nation to him, and gave him everything he could possibly want, including many wives. God could've easily struck him dead without lifting a finger, or allow him to suffer a death like Saul. I believe he came to God trembling, yet he still came, because he knew God intimately. He knew very well that God would be angry, yet he was ready to accept God's wrath, to risk everything and beg for mercy, to plead God not to leave him. It showed how much God's friendship mattered to him...
Thank You God that when we feel we've nothing to offer to You, You tell us that "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." All You want from us Lord, is for us to be true and real with You. All You want...is for us to love You. Thank You Lord. *Huggs*

Nuan: I like this psalm alot. so often, we feel so ashamed to return to Him even though we have acknowledged our sins and we just feel that it is impossible to receive the forgiveness and have a new beginning as though nothing ever happened. i guess that is because that is the way it is between man. there is so much judgement that we judge ourselves even before others do.

but this psalm shows that with God, it is so different. and it shows that David knew God so well, that even after he committed adultery and murder, he came before Him with this psalm to seek forgiveness and renewal. this psalm reminds me to not run away from Him, but rather to come to Him with a broken spirit and a contrite heart.

and there is nothing more that He wants than this. nothing we can do, like being top in school, earning the most money, singing the best song, bringing the most people to Christ can beat just coming before Him with a broken spirit and a contrite heart. and for that, i am grateful for the God that He is, His unfailing love and unending grace. thank You..

Psalm 50

1-3 The God of gods—it's God!—speaks out, shouts, "Earth!"
welcomes the sun in the east,
farewells the disappearing sun in the west.
From the dazzle of Zion,
God blazes into view.
Our God makes his entrance,
he's not shy in his coming.
Starbursts of fireworks precede him.

4-5 He summons heaven and earth as a jury,
he's taking his people to court:
"Round up my saints who swore
on the Bible their loyalty to me."

6 The whole cosmos attests to the fairness of this court,
that here God is judge.

7-15 "Are you listening, dear people? I'm getting ready to speak;
Israel, I'm about ready to bring you to trial.
This is God, your God,
speaking to you.
I don't find fault with your acts of worship,
the frequent burnt sacrifices you offer.
But why should I want your blue-ribbon bull,
or more and more goats from your herds?
Every creature in the forest is mine,
the wild animals on all the mountains.
I know every mountain bird by name;
the scampering field mice are my friends.
If I get hungry, do you think I'd tell you?
All creation and its bounty are mine.
Do you think I feast on venison?
or drink draughts of goats' blood?
Spread for me a banquet of praise,
serve High God a feast of kept promises,
And call for help when you're in trouble—
I'll help you, and you'll honor me."

16-21 Next, God calls up the wicked:
"What are you up to, quoting my laws,
talking like we are good friends?
You never answer the door when I call;
you treat my words like garbage.
If you find a thief, you make him your buddy;
adulterers are your friends of choice.
Your mouth drools filth;
lying is a serious art form with you.
You stab your own brother in the back,
rip off your little sister.
I kept a quiet patience while you did these things;
you thought I went along with your game.
I'm calling you on the carpet, now,
laying your wickedness out in plain sight.

22-23 "Time's up for playing fast and
loose with me.
I'm ready to pass sentence,
and there's no help in sight!
It's the praising life that honors me.
As soon as you set your foot on the Way,
I'll show you my salvation."

Jenn: God God, how awesome u are, how amazing. Burnt offerings You do not delight in, it is praise and obedience that delights You. Father will You teach me how to please You more, will You teach me how to stay in Your presence forever? There's so many things i do not know or understand. Will You show me the Way?

Psalm 49

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
1 Hear this, all you peoples;
listen, all who live in this world,
2 both low and high,
rich and poor alike:

3 My mouth will speak words of wisdom;
the utterance from my heart will give understanding.

4 I will turn my ear to a proverb;
with the harp I will expound my riddle:

5 Why should I fear when evil days come,
when wicked deceivers surround me-

6 those who trust in their wealth
and boast of their great riches?

7 No man can redeem the life of another
or give to God a ransom for him-

8 the ransom for a life is costly,
no payment is ever enough-

9 that he should live on forever
and not see decay.

10 For all can see that wise men die;
the foolish and the senseless alike perish
and leave their wealth to others.

11 Their tombs will remain their houses [a] forever,
their dwellings for endless generations,
though they had [b] named lands after themselves.

12 But man, despite his riches, does not endure;
he is [c] like the beasts that perish.

13 This is the fate of those who trust in themselves,
and of their followers, who approve their sayings.
Selah

14 Like sheep they are destined for the grave, [d]
and death will feed on them.
The upright will rule over them in the morning;
their forms will decay in the grave, [e]
far from their princely mansions.

15 But God will redeem my life [f] from the grave;
he will surely take me to himself.
Selah

16 Do not be overawed when a man grows rich,
when the splendor of his house increases;

17 for he will take nothing with him when he dies,
his splendor will not descend with him.

18 Though while he lived he counted himself blessed—
and men praise you when you prosper-

19 he will join the generation of his fathers,
who will never see the light of life .

20 A man who has riches without understanding
is like the beasts that perish.

Jenn: Lord help me never to worship anything else above u, be it money, fame, or any other potential idols. For indeed "a man who has riches without understanding is like the beasts that perish". Father give us all the discipline to fast one meal a day and pray 1 hr a day, though it may seem hard, but is insignificant compared to what You gave us. Lord if it is Your will do not let me sit there for an hr a day doing nothing...but sit with us, and talk with us. Father may You delight in our presence as much as we delight in Yours. In Jesus's Name. Amen.

Psalm 48

A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah.
1 Great is the LORD, and most worthy of praise,
in the city of our God, his holy mountain.
2 It is beautiful in its loftiness,
the joy of the whole earth.
Like the utmost heights of Zaphon [a] is Mount Zion,
the [b] city of the Great King.

3 God is in her citadels;
he has shown himself to be her fortress.

4 When the kings joined forces,
when they advanced together,

5 they saw her and were astounded;
they fled in terror.

6 Trembling seized them there,
pain like that of a woman in labor.

7 You destroyed them like ships of Tarshish
shattered by an east wind.

8 As we have heard,
so have we seen
in the city of the LORD Almighty,
in the city of our God:
God makes her secure forever.
Selah

9 Within your temple, O God,
we meditate on your unfailing love.

10 Like your name, O God,
your praise reaches to the ends of the earth;
your right hand is filled with righteousness.

11 Mount Zion rejoices,
the villages of Judah are glad
because of your judgments.

12 Walk about Zion, go around her,
count her towers,

13 consider well her ramparts,
view her citadels,
that you may tell of them to the next generation.

14 For this God is our God for ever and ever;
he will be our guide even to the end.

Jenn: "For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end." He will always be there for me, till the very end. Thank You God for Your faithfulness. Thank You for loving me always, even when the whole world fails me.

Psalm 47

1 Clap your hands, all you nations;
shout to God with cries of joy.
2 How awesome is the LORD Most High,
the great King over all the earth!

3 He subdued nations under us,
peoples under our feet.

4 He chose our inheritance for us,
the pride of Jacob, whom he loved.
Selah

5 God has ascended amid shouts of joy,
the LORD amid the sounding of trumpets.

6 Sing praises to God, sing praises;
sing praises to our King, sing praises.

7 For God is the King of all the earth;
sing to him a psalm [a] of praise.

8 God reigns over the nations;
God is seated on his holy throne.

9 The nobles of the nations assemble
as the people of the God of Abraham,
for the kings [b] of the earth belong to God;
he is greatly exalted.

Jenn: Indeed, sing praises to the Lord, all you people! For He is worthy to be praised. All glory and acclaim belongs to Him. Thank You Lord for giving us reason to rejoice in You. Thank You for even giving us the secret to joy and satisfaction-tt is to lose ourselves in loving You, for only when we deny ourselves are we truly able to delight in You. Thank You Lord. =)

Psalm 46

1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
Selah

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.

5 God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.

6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

7 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah

8 Come and see the works of the LORD,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.

9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,
he burns the shields [b] with fire.

10 "Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."

11 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah

Jenn: God's love is so so amazing. We've been singing, "Still" recently, and the song always makes me visualize "When the oceans rise and thunders roar" That is like so scary can. Oceans rise and thunders roar...it's like tsunami plus thunderstorm. Yet "I will soar with You above the storm". God will be with us EVERYWHERE, EVERYTIME, NO MATTER WHAT. On e way home was watching Heartlanders on TV Mobile w Reg, and there was a girl who was raped. And when i got off the bus it was quite late, i was thinking if i shd take the shortcut tt's quite dark and desolate. I was scared, but i took it anyway. Laziness or test or faith, i dunno. But i don't regret it. I went, and God reminded me, "Why are you so afraid, oh you of lil' faith?" from the sweet wrapper from last sun. And it was a v romantic walk. Orange lights, moon shining down, trees swaying. Me listening to God-songs, holding hands with Jesus(i just clench my one fist and pretend). Somehow, that moment was so touching that i teared. I just felt like...really my world may fall but God will be there. Always. And there is really no greater reassurance. None, but Jesus.

Psalm 43

1-2 Clear my name, God; stick up for me against these loveless, immoral people.
Get me out of here, away
from these lying degenerates.
I counted on you, God.
Why did you walk out on me?
Why am I pacing the floor, wringing my hands
over these outrageous people?

3-4 Give me your lantern and compass,
give me a map,
So I can find my way to the sacred mountain,
to the place of your presence,
To enter the place of worship,
meet my exuberant God,
Sing my thanks with a harp,
magnificent God, my God.

5 Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul?
Why are you crying the blues?
Fix my eyes on God—
soon I'll be praising again.
He puts a smile on my face.
He's my God.

Jenn: "He puts a smile on my face. He's my God." =) It is impossible to put into words the experience of being daily in God's presence. The reverberating lil' jumps of joy in yr heart that persists through the mundanity, sorrow, anger, happiness, fear, dread...through all situations. In this life there will be many ups and downs...yet no matter how painful a situation in future may be...i know there'd never be a moment that i will be completely helpless or alone, cos the Lover of my Soul is always there by my side. Even when all that's left is my soul and His, that is enough.

Psalm 42

1 For the director of music. A maskil of the Sons of Korah. As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?
3 My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long,
"Where is your God?"
4 These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng.
5 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and
6 my God. My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls;all your waves and breakers have swept over me.
8 By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me—va prayer to the God of my life.
9 I say to God my Rock, "Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?"
10 My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, "Where is your God?"
11 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

Mel: "Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. "

In times when i feel down.. and disturbed within.. i want to learn to put my hope in God, not in people, not in circumstances, not in sucess, not in approval, not in appreciation. But to look to God. Reminds me of pastor Khong's word, i want to find that rest and stillness before God and continue to do God.

Jenn: Sometimes when we feel like there is noone else left...we shdn't wallow in our melancholy. Instead, we could come to the realizationt that it could be God calling out to us...cos He misses us. And sometimes, the only way for us to pay attention to Him in a world where so many distractions come our way, is for Him to remove everything else.

"My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of
the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar."

May we not wait till our souls are downcast before we remember God, even though a broken and contrite heart draws us near to God. May we remember Him always, may we acknowledge and appreciate His presence every moment of our lives, may we always treasure greatly the miraculous fact that God chose to live in us, amongst all places in the world. =)

Psalm 41

1 Blessed is he who has regard for the weak;
the LORD delivers him in times of trouble.
2 The LORD will protect him and preserve his life;
he will bless him in the land
and not surrender him to the desire of his foes.

3 The LORD will sustain him on his sickbed
and restore him from his bed of illness.

4 I said, "O LORD, have mercy on me;
heal me, for I have sinned against you."

5 My enemies say of me in malice,
"When will he die and his name perish?"

6 Whenever one comes to see me,
he speaks falsely, while his heart gathers slander;
then he goes out and spreads it abroad.

7 All my enemies whisper together against me;
they imagine the worst for me, saying,

8 "A vile disease has beset him;
he will never get up from the place where he lies."

9 Even my close friend, whom I trusted,
he who shared my bread,
has lifted up his heel against me.

10 But you, O LORD, have mercy on me;
raise me up, that I may repay them.

11 I know that you are pleased with me,
for my enemy does not triumph over me.

12 In my integrity you uphold me
and set me in your presence forever.

13 Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Amen and Amen.

Jenn: Even when the whole world turns against me Lord, my heart will not grow bitter towards You. I will continue to trust You, that in the end Lord You will raise me up, You will vindicate me and not let me be put to shame. For now Lord, Your presence is more than sufficient for me, i will grab hold of it tightly and never let go.

Psalm 40

1-3 I waited and waited and waited for God. At last he looked; finally he listened.
He lifted me out of the ditch,
pulled me from deep mud.
He stood me up on a solid rock
to make sure I wouldn't slip.
He taught me how to sing the latest God-song,
a praise-song to our God.
More and more people are seeing this:
they enter the mystery,
abandoning themselves to God.

4-5 Blessed are you who give yourselves over to God,
turn your backs on the world's "sure thing,"
ignore what the world worships;
The world's a huge stockpile
of God-wonders and God-thoughts.
Nothing and no one
comes close to you!
I start talking about you, telling what I know,
and quickly run out of words.
Neither numbers nor words
account for you.

6 Doing something for you, bringing something to you—
that's not what you're after.
Being religious, acting pious—
that's not what you're asking for.
You've opened my ears
so I can listen.

7-8 So I answered, "I'm coming.
I read in your letter what you wrote about me,
And I'm coming to the party
you're throwing for me."
That's when God's Word entered my life,
became part of my very being.

9-10 I've preached you to the whole congregation,
I've kept back nothing, God—you know that.
I didn't keep the news of your ways
a secret, didn't keep it to myself.
I told it all, how dependable you are, how thorough.
I didn't hold back pieces of love and truth
For myself alone. I told it all,
let the congregation know the whole story.

11-12 Now God, don't hold out on me,
don't hold back your passion.
Your love and truth
are all that keeps me together.
When troubles ganged up on me,
a mob of sins past counting,
I was so swamped by guilt
I couldn't see my way clear.
More guilt in my heart than hair on my head,
so heavy the guilt that my heart gave out.

13-15 Soften up, God, and intervene;
hurry and get me some help,
So those who are trying to kidnap my soul
will be embarrassed and lose face,
So anyone who gets a kick out of making me miserable
will be heckled and disgraced,
So those who pray for my ruin
will be booed and jeered without mercy.

16-17 But all who are hunting for you—
oh, let them sing and be happy.
Let those who know what you're all about
tell the world you're great and not quitting.
And me? I'm a mess. I'm nothing and have nothing:
make something of me.
You can do it; you've got what it takes—
but God, don't put it off.

Jenn: God doesn't just want us to be pious, He doesn't love us just cos of what we do for Him, or what we give Him. David said he's preached God to the whole congregation and held nothing back. Yet he worries that God will hold back from him. What about us? For me, i cannot say i've preached God to the whole congregation and held nothing back. I've held so much back in my selfishness, and in my lack of faith. But today i sense what God wants to tell me is that who i am, everything that i own, what i do, is His. To take the guilt away, to take the fear away. He's saying that i am nothing apart from Him, and i need not use my own efforts to become that ideal pious holy saint, because my efforts will never be enough. That even being myself, is possible simply cos of His grace. My life Lord, i owe to You, many many times over. May You come and use it for Your glory, every part of it, holding nothing back.

Psalm Things

Heyy guys...been reading tribe blogs and i realised many of them are doing daily psalm devotions on their blogs. For me, i was v enthusiastic bout reading the psalms when it first began, and they spoke to me greatly. However, as time passes, it became a daily routine to just read the Psalm of the Day before i eat, then i'd forget bout it for the rest of the day, unless it's SOL3 or something. I regret to say that i've also lost Ps Debra's and Yolander's devotional thingy after the house cleaning, must get new ones. Anyway, let's start doing this daily devotion thing k! Whoever is online, just paste the Psalm of the Day on a new blog entry and everyone can edit the entry to include your own thoughts/revelations. Hope this would be an encouragement to everyone, including myself. I shall start the ball rolling today. Cheers!

Love,
Jenn