#TheWord – Read Psalm 16
- Psalm 16 A miktam[1] of David.
- 1
- Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge.
- 2
- I said to the LORD, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.”
- 3
- As for the saints who are in the land, they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight.[2]
- 4
- The sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods. I will not pour out their libations of blood or take up their names on my lips.
- 5
- LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure.
- 6
- The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.
- 7
- I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.
- 8
- I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
- 9
- Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure,
- 10
- because you will not abandon me to the grave,[3] nor will you let your Holy One[4] see decay.
- 11
- You have made[5] known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Our Prayer
Father, we read these words and we feel weight because there is a time when we feel as if we are lacking joy. We feel as if there is a loss of control as we look at governments scrambling to make decisions, as we hear of thousands of people getting sick and dying of this pandemic. We hear of people whom we know and loved ones passing away and we are unable to attend funerals. We know so many who are learning to cope because they have been left without a job and their income streams have been taken away.
Yet in the midst of it all, you are sovereign over all these things. We know amongst the uncertainty that is still JOY. There is joy in our salvation. There is joy in the fellowship of believers, even if remotely. There is joy in your WORD.
So Father we want to rejoice in those things. We want to not become saddened and overwhelmed by the grief and sadness taking place in our world but want to look at it in a biblical framework and with gospel eyes. And see where it is that we can help.
To do that we need to go to your WORD Lord. We need to know who it is that YOU ARE and what YOU have called us to, and what you have called us from. We pray for wisdom and discernment upon all of us, and especially for our leaders, as they make decisions that affect everyone at this time.
As we pray under the authority of YOUR WORD, that you speak to us. Let us make the right decisions during these times, and use our roles for YOUR purpose. And not our will be done.
We pray in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
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