This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Popular piece o’ the Bible right there
even “non-Christians” have heard it
we throw it out there with so little care
sounding like joy’s the “whole bit”
The Lord is on my side to help me;
I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.
Help me? Lord, help me do what?
I’m just sitting here, happily “glad”
You do the rest, it’s so open and shut
Built for worship; I’m not to get mad.
I was pushed hard, so that I was falling,
but the Lord helped me.
“pushed hard” – doesn’t actually sound like much fun;
“falling” sounds equally hard
verse 24 – just that one and I’m done
the rest complicates, so I’ll keep up my guard
They surrounded me like bees;
they blazed like a fire of thorns;
in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
Do you see how the Word “subtly” warns
when we see the whole psalm in review?
surrounded like bees and a fire of thorns?
go back to “worship” perhaps – me and you
I shall not die, but I shall live,
and recount the deeds of the Lord.
Oh, that’s sounding better – God’s deeds and not mine
perhaps I am still off the hook
but who fought the “physical” part – got in line?
you’ve got to remember to read the whole book
With the Lord on my side I do not fear.
What can mortals do to me?
“side” indicates battle, oppression and strife
seems a partnership here is at work
needing to fight is a part of our life
sitting back and just watching – a shirk
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
in the end we come back to the one cornerstone
love and be loved is the ultimate goal
but it’s not just a “Jesus-and-me” we condone
there’s so, SO much more to our temporal role
For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overpowered, the last state has become worse for them than the first.
See what I did there? A Psalm to a Letter
can’t rely on one verse or one story
live on just what’s above – “undefiled” – life is better!
but we’re missing much more – just a part of God’s glory
For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment that was passed on to them.
The next part from Peter – you’ve got to keep reading!
then dig even more to find truth
this “commandment” to keep he is pleading
doesn’t mean hiding deep in a God-padded booth
One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another,
and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him,
“Which commandment is the first of all?”
Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one;
you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’
The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Then the scribe said to him,
“You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’; and ‘to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’ and ‘to love one’s neighbor as oneself,’
—this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him,
“You are not far from the kingdom of God.”
joy and gladness or battles and fires?
I’m afraid that there isn’t a choice
loving God and the ones God admires
will require that you lift up your voice
Shout out, do not hold back!
Lift up your voice like a trumpet!
Announce to my people their rebellion,
to the house of Jacob their sins.
Yet day after day they seek me
and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness
and did not forsake the ordinance of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments,
they delight to draw near to God.
“Why do we fast, but you do not see?
Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?”
Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day,
and oppress all your workers.
Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
and to strike with a wicked fist.
Such fasting as you do today
will not make your voice heard on high.
Is such the fast that I choose,
a day to humble oneself?
Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush,
and to lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Will you call this a fast,
a day acceptable to the Lord?
Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them,
and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up quickly;
your vindicator shall go before you,
the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.
If you remove the yoke from among you,
the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,
if you offer your food to the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
and your gloom be like the noonday.
when the light of God rises, our light rises, too
dark fires extinguished together
God could do without me, God could do without you
but God doesn’t – so don’t cut the tether.
Two are better than one,
because they have a good reward for their toil.
For if they fall, one will lift up the other;
but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help.
Again, if two lie together, they keep warm;
but how can one keep warm alone?
And though one might prevail against another,
two will withstand one.
A threefold cord is not quickly broken.
defying atrophy 