The Deceitful Destroyed, the Righteous Flourish (Psalm 52, Part 1)

Deceit controls our society’s business practices and has gotten us into economic chaos. If we learn to trust God and live righteous lives, we can serve as salt and light in our community.

The Deceitful Destroyed (verses 1-5)

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2052:1-5&version=NIV

Deceit destroys our society. Our society too often rejects the good, preferring the harmful, which provokes our lowest passions. We boast in the lie that our wealth will save us. We are responsible to God alone for how we conduct our lives and to steward what He has given us. May God destroy our deceit.

Destroy our deceit, Lord our God. Help us not to boast of evil, causing disgrace in Your eyes. Remove the deceit, evil and falsehood from our tongues. Help us to live honest and godly lives within our society.

http://genevanpsalter.com/attachments/GenPs052_vocal_homoph_BoP84.MP3

Forgiveness and Restoration (Psalm 51, Part 3)

Praising (verses 13-17)

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2051:13-17&version=NIV

We show our faith in and love for God through our love for our neighbors. May God increase our love for others so that sinners will turn back to Him. May God fill our hearts with gratitude, and may God’s Spirit fit us for singing His praises.

God our Savior, help us to teach transgressors Your ways, so that sinners will turn to You. We will sing of Your righteousness, declaring Your praises. Our broken spirits and contrite hearts, You, God, will not despise.

Rebuilding (verses 18-19)

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2051:18-19&version=NIV

God rebuilds our lives. With our sins forgiven, may we communicate God’s message of restoration. May God make His church in Jefferson County prosper.

Rebuilding God, may it please You to prosper and strengthen Your church in Jefferson County. May You delight in our sacrifices of praise.

Lord, I confess to you, sadly, my sin;

All I am, I tell to you, All I have been;

Purge all my sin away, Wash clean my soul this day;

Lord, make me clean.

Horatius Bonar (1808-1889)

Forgiveness and Restoration (Psalm 51, Part 2)

Cleansing (verses 7-9) 

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2051:7-9&version=NIV

Joy is the result of God’s cleansing us of our sin and its consequences. Our forgiven sins and clear consciences give us joy and gladness.

Cleansing God, cleanse us and we will be clean. Wash us and purify us. With joy and gladness we rejoice. Hide Your face from and blot out all our sins.

Restoring (verses 10-12)

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2051:10-12&version=NIV

God restores in us the joy of His salvation. May God’s presence and pleasure be at the heart of our prayers. May God sustain us by our willing spirits.

Restoring God, create in us pure hearts, and renew Your Spirit within us. Do not cast us away from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from us. Restore to us the joy of Your salvation and sustain our willing spirits.

Forgiveness and Restoration (Psalm 51, Part 1)

God’s power is nowhere more evident than in the transformation of human beings from sinner to saint through forgiveness and restoration based on God’s mercy and love.

Forgiving (verses 1-2)

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2051:1-2&version=NIV

Forgiveness is a loving act of mercy whereby God blots out and washes away our sins. While our multitude of sins may terrify us, God’s multitude of mercies comfort us.

Forgiving God, have mercy on us according to Your unfailing love and great compassion. Blot out our transgressions. Wash away all our iniquity and cleanse us from all our sin.

Confessing (verses 3-6) 

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2051:3-6&version=NIV

Seeking our confession God brings sinners to brokenness and contrition. We confess that God’s judgment is just. By nature sinners, we do not need new lifestyles, but new lives.

We confess our sin, Lord our God. Against You, Lord, You only have we sinned and done evil in Your sight. You are right in Your verdict and justified when You judge. We have been sinful from birth, yet You desire our faithfulness. Teach us Your wisdom.

http://www.geneva.edu/object/newsong_psalm51

God Calls the Church to Repentance (Psalm 50, Part 3)

Sacrifice in the Church (verses 22-23)

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2050:22-23&version=NIV

True worship includes the fear of God, the acknowledgment of our sin, and a petition for forgiveness. God provides salvation to those who bring sacrifices of thanksgiving in words and deeds. The effect of holy living is praising God. We worship God with gratitude and devotion.

Lord God, we want to remember You. We offer Your our sacrifices and thanks. We praise You, Lord God, for preparing the way for us. We praise You for giving us Your salvation.

Not all the blood of beasts on Jewish altars slain

Could give the guilty conscience peace or wash away the stain.

But Christ, the heavenly Lamb, takes all our sins away;

A sacrifice of nobler name and richer blood.

Isaac Watts (1674-1748)

God Calls the Church to Repentance (Psalm 50, Part 2)

Formalism in the Church (verses 7-15)

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2050:7-15&version=NIV

In our formalism we like the nouns of our Christian faith: joy, peace, faith, redemption, salvation, justification. But we have trouble with the verbs: loving, forgiving, healing, restoring. May we recognize the futility of external worship when faith in God is absent. God asks us to believe Him, receive His mercy, and then praise and glorify Him. We can then confidently call on Him in our times of trouble and experience His deliverance.

Speak to us, Lord our God; help us to listen. Forgive us for our self-reliance. We praise You, Lord God, for who You are. We ask You to give us a true attitude of worship.

Hypocrisy in the Church (verses 16-21)

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2050:16-21&version=NIV

In our churches we seem to have forgotten God and have paid little attention to His Word. We want our own way, and resent any form of restraint. We try to make God’s Word mean something less convicting. In hypocrisy we call ourselves “people of God.”

Forgive our hypocrisy, Lord God, and purify Your church. May the body of Christ in Jefferson County remember You and follow Your Word. We pray that You will rid Your church of sin and hypocrisy.

God Calls the Church to Repentance (Psalm 50, Part 1)

True loyalty to God requires repentance. The church’s relationship with God extends from the community to each individual member of the community.

Justice in the Church (verses 1-6)

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2050:1-6&version=NIV

  

The God of might judges in mercy, seeking justice in His church. Our relationship with God through His Word, with His Spirit to guide us, requires us to live in obedience to Him. God burns up the trash of our lives, and then empowers us.

You, God, the righteous Judge, summon. Shine forth in our midst. Exercise Your justice in Your church here in Jefferson County.

http://genevanpsalter.com/attachments/GenPs050_vocal_homoph_BoP84.MP3   

The Folly of Riches without Wisdom (Psalm 49, Part 3)

The Faith of Self-Reliance (verses 13-20)

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalms%2049:13-20&version=NIV

May our faith in God reject the naïve assumption that wealth is God’s blessing for righteous living. May we place our trust in God alone. We brought nothing into this world and we will take nothing out with us. Affluence often makes us proud and independent. Poverty often makes us bitter and covetous. This psalm instructs us in the way of wisdom: if we follow God’s wisdom, we can avoid both arrogance and envy.

Forgive us, Lord God, for thinking that our wealth is Your blessing. Help us to place our trust in You alone. Redeem us from the realm of the dead; take us to Yourself. Give us Your understanding—of ourselves and of Your Word.

Lord, our God, preserve our hearts from covetousness, and grant us true wisdom that we seek not after the treasures of this earth, nor put our trust in uncertain riches. Fill our hearts with contentment, that, satisfied with daily bread, we seek first the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ and inherit with Him. Amen.

Martin Luther (1483-1546)

The Folly of Riches without Wisdom (Psalm 49, Part 2)

The Futility of Wealth (verses 5-12)  

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalms%2049:5-12&version=NIV

We think we can impress God and others by our prosperity, measured by the value of our house or our accumulation of the latest technology. In our world of competition for wealth, as followers of Christ we should live lives characterized by generosity and self-giving service. Our ransom has been paid by the death of Jesus Christ. His resurrection assures us of life beyond the grave. May God show us how to live as citizens of His kingdom here in Jefferson County.

Father God, convict us of our reliance on money. Make us more generous. Thank You for the assurance of life You have given us through Jesus Christ. Help us to live as citizens in Your kingdom here in Jefferson County.

The Folly of Riches without Wisdom (Psalm 49, Part 1)

In our culture of consumption we have a fascination with the wealthy and famous. Devouring the tabloids’ depictions of all the sordid details of their lives, we want to have what they have. But the inevitability of death demonstrates the folly of wealth and fame.

The Faith of Wisdom (verses. 1-4).

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalms%2049:1-4&version=NIV

Together with all the people of the world, may we listen to this lesson of godly wisdom. Our Lord, though he was rich, became poor to save both the poor and the rich. May God’s Word convict us of exploiting others through our lives of ease. May we demonstrate our faith in God by upholding the cause of the poor in this time of economic hardship.

Lord God, help us to listen to and to hear Your Word. Thank You for Your words of wisdom. Give us faith to apply Your Word to our lives here in Jefferson County. Convict us of exploiting others through our lives of ease.

http://genevanpsalter.com/attachments/GenPs049_vocal_homoph_BoP84.MP3

Our God Reigns (Psalm 48, Part 3)

God’s Love (verses 9-11)

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ps%2048:9-11&version=NIV

The body of Christ is God’s temple. As we meditate on God’s unfailing love may our praise fill our society with joy. May God’s people provide joy and gladness to Jefferson County. May our praise of God be heard to the ends of the earth.

Within Your Church, Lord God, we meditate on Your unfailing love. We pray that Your love would catalyze and characterize a prayer movement in Jefferson County. May our praise for You reverberate to the ends of the earth.

God’s Guidance (verses 12-14)

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ps%2048:12-14&version=NIV

God, our guide, will always go with us. May we pass our knowledge of God to the next generation, so that all peoples will know that God is our everlasting Good Shepherd.

We praise You, God, for Your guidance. You are our God forever and ever. You will be our guide to the end. Help us to tell the generations to come about You.

Glorious things of thee are spoken,

Zion, city of our God;

He whose word cannot be broken

Formed thee for His own abode.

John Newton (1725-1807)

Our God Reigns (Psalm 48, Part 2)

God’s Enemies (verses 4-7) 

      http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ps%2048:4-7&version=NIV

God’s enemies flee in terror when they see His workings. As Christ’s churches join forces we can advance together. No enemy can withstand God’s power. May Christ’s body in Jefferson County demonstrate that we are one in Christ.

Lord God make us into one body. As we see Your enemies joining forces against Your Church, may we join together and demonstrate that we are one in Christ. Give us Your strength and protect us from our enemies. Give us discernment regarding our enemies.

God’s Security (verse 8)

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ps%2048:8&version=NIV

May we pause to view the past with admiration and the future with confidence in our God.

And so may we find our security in God.

We ask You, God, to be our security. Help us to listen and observe, to hear and to see You. Give us confidence in the security You provide.

Our God Reigns (Psalm 48, Part 1)

Our God who reigns inspires both fear and joy—fear to His enemies and joy to His people. As we pray for Jefferson County, may we maintain an attitude of praise, because our God reigns.

God’s Presence (verses 1-3)
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ps%2048:1-3&version=NIV


Our sovereign God alone is worthy of our praise. The closer we get to Him, the more we see His majesty. Through God’s Holy Spirit, we, His people, are the true Mount Zion, where our Great King dwells. The Church of God is the joy and hope of the world.

Great are You Lord, and most worthy of praise. Thank You for Your presence with us. Thank You that You are our fortress and our protection.

http://www.geneva.edu/object/newsong_pop_psalm48B