I, Whom You Have Delivered

 In you, LORD, I have taken refuge;

   let me never be put to shame. 

 In your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me;

   turn your ear to me and save me.

 Be my rock of refuge,

   to which I can always go;

   give the command to save me,

   for you are my rock and my fortress. 

 Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked,

   from the grasp of those who are evil and cruel.  

For you have been my hope, Sovereign LORD,

   my confidence since my youth. 

 From birth I have relied on you;

   you brought me forth from my mother’s womb.

I will ever praise you.

 I have become a sign to many;

   you are my strong refuge.

 My mouth is filled with your praise,

   declaring your splendor all day long. 

  Do not cast me away when I am old;

   do not forsake me when my strength is gone. 

 For my enemies speak against me;

   those who wait to kill me conspire together. 

They say, “God has forsaken him;

   pursue him and seize him,

   for no one will rescue him.” 

 Do not be far from me, my God;

   come quickly, God, to help me. 

May my accusers perish in shame;

may those who want to harm me

   be covered with scorn and disgrace. 

 As for me, I will always have hope;

   I will praise you more and more. 

 My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds,

   of your saving acts all day long—

   though I know not how to relate them all. 

I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, Sovereign LORD;

   I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone. 

Since my youth, God, you have taught me,

   and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.

Even when I am old and gray,

   do not forsake me, my God,

till I declare your power to the next generation,

   your mighty acts to all who are to come. 

 Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens,

   you who have done great things. 

   Who is like you, God? 

Though you have made me see troubles,

   many and bitter,

   you will restore my life again;

from the depths of the earth

   you will again bring me up. 

You will increase my honor

   and comfort me once more.

 I will praise you with the harp

   for your faithfulness, my God; 

I will sing praise to you with the lyre,

   Holy One of Israel.

My lips will shout for joy

   when I sing praise to you—

   I whom you have delivered.

My tongue will tell of your righteous acts

   all day long,

for those who wanted to harm me

   have been put to shame and confusion.

This was part of our readings this morning from Psalms and Proverbs. The four youngest, the ones here for school, and I read 5 chapters of Psalms and 1 of Proverbs each morning. OUT LOUD. Together. 

I used to simply assign the chapters to be read silently, but as we strive together to speak the Truth OUT LOUD every chance we get, we now read them in unison. There is so much power that He wields when we speak His Word. He does battle through our praises with the forces of the evil one. We retake lost spiritual ground when we declare Truth OUT LOUD. 

I want Him to have every square inch of the souls of my children and, even when they don't understand all the spiritual battles that are waging around them, He is increasing their spiritual sensitivity, opening their spiritual eyes. And when they speak verse after verse of His Word aloud, the Holy Spirit is seeding their souls.

This chapter of Psalms jumped out at me today. Don't you love it when that happens? How many times have I read this particular Psalm? And yet, it is so filled with Life that it nourishes my spirit every single time I read it again.

The youngest are learning to feel that way. He will build up their spirits so that they will sing of His great Love forever. And all of these Psalms and Proverbs, so filled with the heart-cries of "one after His own Heart," will resonate ever more deeply as they become part of the fiber of their beings. 

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.                                                                                    Hebrews 4:12

Just FYI, our reading plan for Psalms and Proverbs goes like this:

Today is the 11th day of the month, so today we read Psalms 11, 41, 71, 101, and 131, along with Proverbs 11. Psalm 119 and Proverbs 31 are saved for months that have 31 days and read on the 31st. This way, we read through the entire books (basically) every month. It's so easy. It only takes a few minutes. But the fruit? Priceless!