I Will Recount Your Wonderful Deeds
[a] To the choirmaster: according to Muth-labben.[b] A Psalm of David.
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
3 When my enemies turn back,
they stumble and perish before[c] your presence.
4 For you have maintained my just cause;
you have sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment.
they stumble and perish before[c] your presence.
4 For you have maintained my just cause;
you have sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment.
5 You have rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish;
you have blotted out their name forever and ever.
6 The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins;
their cities you rooted out;
the very memory of them has perished.
you have blotted out their name forever and ever.
6 The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins;
their cities you rooted out;
the very memory of them has perished.
7 But the Lord sits enthroned forever;
he has established his throne for justice,
8 and he judges the world with righteousness;
he judges the peoples with uprightness.
he has established his throne for justice,
8 and he judges the world with righteousness;
he judges the peoples with uprightness.
9 The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
10 And those who know your name put their trust in you,
for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
a stronghold in times of trouble.
10 And those who know your name put their trust in you,
for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
11 Sing praises to the Lord, who sits enthroned in Zion!
Tell among the peoples his deeds!
12 For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.
Tell among the peoples his deeds!
12 For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.
13 Be gracious to me, O Lord!
See my affliction from those who hate me,
O you who lift me up from the gates of death,
14 that I may recount all your praises,
that in the gates of the daughter of Zion
I may rejoice in your salvation.
See my affliction from those who hate me,
O you who lift me up from the gates of death,
14 that I may recount all your praises,
that in the gates of the daughter of Zion
I may rejoice in your salvation.
15 The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;
in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught.
16 The Lord has made himself known; he has executed judgment;
the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion.[d] Selah
in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught.
16 The Lord has made himself known; he has executed judgment;
the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion.[d] Selah
17 The wicked shall return to Sheol,
all the nations that forget God.
all the nations that forget God.
18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.
and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.
19 Arise, O Lord! Let not man prevail;
let the nations be judged before you!
20 Put them in fear, O Lord!
Let the nations know that they are but men! Selah
let the nations be judged before you!
20 Put them in fear, O Lord!
Let the nations know that they are but men! Selah
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
and what better time to think about the blessings of God than at this time of year. Sometimes this time of year can be a real downer. Maybe the excitement and the decorations and the lights and the anticipation is a bit of a let down to what the reality of what the actual Christmas season turned out to be. Maybe the focus was too much on the outside appearances the tree, the stockings, the presents and not the PRESENCE of Jesus.
I have a strained relationship with my side of the family. No other time of the year does this make itself especially known than at Christmas. It probably because of the "ideal" nature of Christmas and the picture perfectness that we associate with the holiday season.
I choose to "give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart". I choose to "recount all of his wonderful deeds". My personal blog has become a collection of good things that I can focus on instead of all the negativity that threatens to outshine all the blessings. I am "glad" and I do "exult" God because I know that it is through Him that I have what I do.
When life gets hard, it's so easy to get bitter. Bitterness can leach into all aspects of life like a poison. It's hard to escape and so easy to drag others in when you look at life through a bitter lens. We are all a product of our life choices. We can choose to be grateful or choose to be bitter. Choosing to live a life that focuses of being grateful is a life that has been changed by God. It does not been that my life is not without problems but it is that I am choosing to look on the blessings that I have and not on what I do not have. I am a sinner. I fall short. I am not perfect. Through God's mercy, this does not keep me from Him. I am grateful for that. I am just human and I fail miserably and often. However, I am grateful for repentance and forgiveness and the ability to live life giving thanks for the many blessings, especially when I do not deserve a single one.
Lord,
You are so gracious and full of mercy. It is so hard for me to comprehend it. I make bad choices, I hold grudges, I am a sinner. Thank you for loving me anyway. Thank you for welcoming me back again and again. Help me to show this same generosity and mercy to all those who need it from me. Remind me often that all blessings come from You and protect me from the poison of bitterness. Amen.
Tomorrow's scripture focus: Psalm 10
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