therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
Morning
Invitatory Psalm 84
How lovely is your dwelling place,
LORD of heavenly forces!
2 My very being longs, even yearns,
for the LORD ’s courtyards.
My heart and my body
will rejoice out loud to the living God!
3 Yes, the sparrow too has found a home there;
the swallow has found herself a nest
where she can lay her young beside your altars,
LORD of heavenly forces, my king, my God!
4 Those who live in your house are truly happy;
they praise you constantly. Selah
5 Those who put their strength in you are truly happy;
pilgrimage is in their hearts.
6 As they pass through the Baca Valley,
they make it a spring of water.
Yes, the early rain covers it with blessings.
7 They go from strength to strength,
until they see the supreme God in Zion.
8 LORD God of heavenly forces,
hear my prayer;
listen closely, Jacob’s God! Selah
9 Look at our shield, God;
pay close attention to the face of your anointed one!
10 Better is a single day in your courtyards
than a thousand days anywhere else!
I would prefer to stand outside the entrance of my God’s house
than live comfortably in the tents of the wicked!
11 The LORD is a sun and shield;
God is favor and glory.
The LORD gives—doesn’t withhold!—good things
to those who walk with integrity.
12 LORD of heavenly forces,
those who trust in you are truly happy!
[Common English Bible]
Psalm 65
Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion;
and to you shall vows be performed,
O you who answer prayer!
To you all flesh shall come.
When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us,
you forgive our transgressions.
Happy are those whom you choose
and bring near to live in your courts.
We shall be satisfied with the goodness
of your house, your holy temple.
By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance,
O God of our salvation;
you are the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas.
By your strength you established the mountains;
you are girded with might.
You silence the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples.
Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds
are awed by your signs;
you make the gateways of the morning
and the evening shout for joy.
You visit the earth and water it,
you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
you provide the people with grain,
for so you have prepared it.
You water its furrows abundantly,
settling its ridges, softening it with showers,
and blessing its growth.
You crown the year with your bounty;
your wagon tracks overflow with richness.
The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
the hills gird themselves with joy,
the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
the valleys deck themselves with grain,
they shout and sing together for joy.
Psalm 66
Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth;
we sing the glory of your name;
we give you glorious praise.
Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
Because of your great power,
your enemies cringe before you.
All the earth worships you;
they sing praises to you,
sing praises to your name.”
Come and see what God has done:
God is awesome in deeds among mortals.
God turned the sea into dry land;
they passed through the river on foot.
There we rejoiced in the One who rules forever,
whose eyes keep watch on the nations
— let the rebellious not exalt themselves.
Bless our God, O peoples,
let the sound of praise be heard,
who has kept us among the living,
and has not let our feet slip.
….
If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
But truly God has listened
and has given heed to the words of my prayer.
Blessed be God, you have not rejected my prayer
or removed your steadfast love from me.
Psalm 70
Be pleased, O God, to deliver me.
O Lord, make haste to help me!
….
Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you.
Let those who love your salvation
say evermore, “God is great!”
I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
O Lord, do not delay!
Daily Lectionary Readings:
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
Blow the horn in Zion;
give a shout on my holy mountain!
Let all the people of the land tremble,
for the day of the LORD is coming.
It is near—
2 a day of darkness and no light,
a day of clouds and thick darkness!
Like blackness spread out upon the mountains,
12 Yet even now, says the LORD , return to me with all your hearts, with fasting, with weeping, and with sorrow; 13 tear your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the LORD your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, very patient, full of faithful love, and ready to forgive. 14 Who knows whether he will have a change of heart and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the LORD your God? 15 Blow the horn in Zion; demand a fast; request a special assembly. 16 Gather the people; prepare a holy meeting; assemble the elders; gather the children, even nursing infants. Let the groom leave his room and the bride her chamber. 17 Between the porch and the altar let the priests, the LORD’s ministers, weep. Let them say, “ Have mercy, LORD, on your people, and don’t make your inheritance a disgrace, an example of failure among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’ ” [Common English Bible]
Prayer for Today: O Lord our God, gather us, prepare us, focus us. During this season of Lent, help us to remember your compassion and mercy. Help us to exhibit that compassion and mercy to others. Amen.
Psalm 51:1-17
Have mercy on me, God, according to your faithful love!
Wipe away my wrongdoings according to your great compassion!
2 Wash me completely clean of my guilt;
purify me from my sin!
3 Because I know my wrongdoings,
my sin is always right in front of me.
4 I’ve sinned against you—you alone.
I’ve committed evil in your sight.
That’s why you are justified when you render your verdict,
completely correct when you issue your judgment.
5 Yes, I was born in guilt, in sin,
from the moment my mother conceived me.
6 And yes, you want truth in the most hidden places;
you teach me wisdom in the most secret space. [r]
7 Purify me with hyssop and I will be clean;
wash me and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and celebration again;
let the bones you crushed rejoice once more.
9 Hide your face from my sins;
wipe away all my guilty deeds!
10 Create a clean heart for me, God;
put a new, faithful spirit deep inside me!
11 Please don’t throw me out of your presence;
please don’t take your holy spirit away from me.
12 Return the joy of your salvation to me
and sustain me with a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach wrongdoers your ways,
and sinners will come back to you.
14 Deliver me from violence, God, God of my salvation,
so that my tongue can sing of your righteousness.
15 Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will proclaim your praise.
16 You don’t want sacrifices.
If I gave an entirely burned offering,
you wouldn’t be pleased.
17 A broken spirit is my sacrifice, God. [s]
You won’t despise a heart, God, that is broken and crushed.
18 Do good things for Zion by your favor.
Rebuild Jerusalem’s walls.
19 Then you will again want sacrifices of righteousness—
entirely burned offerings and complete offerings.
Then bulls will again be sacrificed on your altar.
_________________________________________________
r Heb uncertain
s Correction [Common English Bible]
Midday Psalm 119:97-104
Oh, how I love your law!
It is my meditation all day long.
Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,
for it is always with me.
I have more understanding than all my teachers,
for your decrees are my meditation.
I understand more than the aged,
for I keep your precepts.
I hold back my feet from every evil way,
in order to keep your word.
I do not turn away from your ordinances,
for you have taught me.
How sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Through your precepts I get understanding;
therefore I hate every false way.
Evening
Psalms 102
Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry come to you.
Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress.
Incline your ear to me;
answer me speedily in the day when I call.
….
I lie awake; I am like a lonely bird on the housetop.
All day long my enemies taunt me;
those who deride me use my name for a curse.
...
My days are like an evening shadow;
I wither away like grass.
But you, O Lord, are enthroned forever;
your name endures to all generations.
…
You will regard the prayer of the destitute,
and will not despise their prayer.
….
Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
They will perish, but you endure;
they will all wear out like a garment.
You change them like clothing, and they pass away;
but you are the same, and your years have no end.
The children of your servants shall live secure;
their offspring shall be established in your presence.
Psalm 103
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me,
bless your holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
we do not forget all your benefits —
who forgives all our iniquity,
who heals all our diseases,
who redeems our life from the Pit,
who crowns us with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies us with good as long as we live
so that our youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The Lord works vindication and justice
for all who are oppressed.
The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
You will not always accuse, nor will you keep your anger forever.
You do not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is your steadfast love toward those who fear you;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far you removes our transgressions from us.
As a parent has compassion for his children,
so you have compassion for those who fear you.
For you know how we were made; you remember that we are dust.
As for mortals, their days are like grass;
they flourish like a flower of the field;
for the wind passes over it,
and it is gone,
and its place knows it no more.
But the steadfast love of the Lord is
from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear you,
and your righteousness to children’s children,
to those who keep your covenant
and remember to do your commandments.
You have established your throne in the heavens,
and your kingdom rules over all.….
Bless the Lord, O my soul.
Morning
Invitatory Psalm 84
How lovely is your dwelling place,
LORD of heavenly forces!
2 My very being longs, even yearns,
for the LORD ’s courtyards.
My heart and my body
will rejoice out loud to the living God!
3 Yes, the sparrow too has found a home there;
the swallow has found herself a nest
where she can lay her young beside your altars,
LORD of heavenly forces, my king, my God!
4 Those who live in your house are truly happy;
they praise you constantly. Selah
5 Those who put their strength in you are truly happy;
pilgrimage is in their hearts.
6 As they pass through the Baca Valley,
they make it a spring of water.
Yes, the early rain covers it with blessings.
7 They go from strength to strength,
until they see the supreme God in Zion.
8 LORD God of heavenly forces,
hear my prayer;
listen closely, Jacob’s God! Selah
9 Look at our shield, God;
pay close attention to the face of your anointed one!
10 Better is a single day in your courtyards
than a thousand days anywhere else!
I would prefer to stand outside the entrance of my God’s house
than live comfortably in the tents of the wicked!
11 The LORD is a sun and shield;
God is favor and glory.
The LORD gives—doesn’t withhold!—good things
to those who walk with integrity.
12 LORD of heavenly forces,
those who trust in you are truly happy!
[Common English Bible]
Psalm 65
Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion;
and to you shall vows be performed,
O you who answer prayer!
To you all flesh shall come.
When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us,
you forgive our transgressions.
Happy are those whom you choose
and bring near to live in your courts.
We shall be satisfied with the goodness
of your house, your holy temple.
By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance,
O God of our salvation;
you are the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas.
By your strength you established the mountains;
you are girded with might.
You silence the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples.
Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds
are awed by your signs;
you make the gateways of the morning
and the evening shout for joy.
You visit the earth and water it,
you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
you provide the people with grain,
for so you have prepared it.
You water its furrows abundantly,
settling its ridges, softening it with showers,
and blessing its growth.
You crown the year with your bounty;
your wagon tracks overflow with richness.
The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
the hills gird themselves with joy,
the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
the valleys deck themselves with grain,
they shout and sing together for joy.
Psalm 66
Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth;
we sing the glory of your name;
we give you glorious praise.
Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
Because of your great power,
your enemies cringe before you.
All the earth worships you;
they sing praises to you,
sing praises to your name.”
Come and see what God has done:
God is awesome in deeds among mortals.
God turned the sea into dry land;
they passed through the river on foot.
There we rejoiced in the One who rules forever,
whose eyes keep watch on the nations
— let the rebellious not exalt themselves.
Bless our God, O peoples,
let the sound of praise be heard,
who has kept us among the living,
and has not let our feet slip.
….
If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
But truly God has listened
and has given heed to the words of my prayer.
Blessed be God, you have not rejected my prayer
or removed your steadfast love from me.
Psalm 70
Be pleased, O God, to deliver me.
O Lord, make haste to help me!
….
Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you.
Let those who love your salvation
say evermore, “God is great!”
I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
O Lord, do not delay!
Daily Lectionary Readings:
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
Blow the horn in Zion;
give a shout on my holy mountain!
Let all the people of the land tremble,
for the day of the LORD is coming.
It is near—
2 a day of darkness and no light,
a day of clouds and thick darkness!
Like blackness spread out upon the mountains,
12 Yet even now, says the LORD , return to me with all your hearts, with fasting, with weeping, and with sorrow; 13 tear your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the LORD your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, very patient, full of faithful love, and ready to forgive. 14 Who knows whether he will have a change of heart and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the LORD your God? 15 Blow the horn in Zion; demand a fast; request a special assembly. 16 Gather the people; prepare a holy meeting; assemble the elders; gather the children, even nursing infants. Let the groom leave his room and the bride her chamber. 17 Between the porch and the altar let the priests, the LORD’s ministers, weep. Let them say, “ Have mercy, LORD, on your people, and don’t make your inheritance a disgrace, an example of failure among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’ ” [Common English Bible]
Prayer for Today: O Lord our God, gather us, prepare us, focus us. During this season of Lent, help us to remember your compassion and mercy. Help us to exhibit that compassion and mercy to others. Amen.
Psalm 51:1-17
Have mercy on me, God, according to your faithful love!
Wipe away my wrongdoings according to your great compassion!
2 Wash me completely clean of my guilt;
purify me from my sin!
3 Because I know my wrongdoings,
my sin is always right in front of me.
4 I’ve sinned against you—you alone.
I’ve committed evil in your sight.
That’s why you are justified when you render your verdict,
completely correct when you issue your judgment.
5 Yes, I was born in guilt, in sin,
from the moment my mother conceived me.
6 And yes, you want truth in the most hidden places;
you teach me wisdom in the most secret space. [r]
7 Purify me with hyssop and I will be clean;
wash me and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and celebration again;
let the bones you crushed rejoice once more.
9 Hide your face from my sins;
wipe away all my guilty deeds!
10 Create a clean heart for me, God;
put a new, faithful spirit deep inside me!
11 Please don’t throw me out of your presence;
please don’t take your holy spirit away from me.
12 Return the joy of your salvation to me
and sustain me with a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach wrongdoers your ways,
and sinners will come back to you.
14 Deliver me from violence, God, God of my salvation,
so that my tongue can sing of your righteousness.
15 Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will proclaim your praise.
16 You don’t want sacrifices.
If I gave an entirely burned offering,
you wouldn’t be pleased.
17 A broken spirit is my sacrifice, God. [s]
You won’t despise a heart, God, that is broken and crushed.
18 Do good things for Zion by your favor.
Rebuild Jerusalem’s walls.
19 Then you will again want sacrifices of righteousness—
entirely burned offerings and complete offerings.
Then bulls will again be sacrificed on your altar.
_________________________________________________
r Heb uncertain
s Correction [Common English Bible]
Midday Psalm 119:97-104
Oh, how I love your law!
It is my meditation all day long.
Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,
for it is always with me.
I have more understanding than all my teachers,
for your decrees are my meditation.
I understand more than the aged,
for I keep your precepts.
I hold back my feet from every evil way,
in order to keep your word.
I do not turn away from your ordinances,
for you have taught me.
How sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Through your precepts I get understanding;
therefore I hate every false way.
Evening
Psalms 102
Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry come to you.
Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress.
Incline your ear to me;
answer me speedily in the day when I call.
….
I lie awake; I am like a lonely bird on the housetop.
All day long my enemies taunt me;
those who deride me use my name for a curse.
...
My days are like an evening shadow;
I wither away like grass.
But you, O Lord, are enthroned forever;
your name endures to all generations.
…
You will regard the prayer of the destitute,
and will not despise their prayer.
….
Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
They will perish, but you endure;
they will all wear out like a garment.
You change them like clothing, and they pass away;
but you are the same, and your years have no end.
The children of your servants shall live secure;
their offspring shall be established in your presence.
Psalm 103
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me,
bless your holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
we do not forget all your benefits —
who forgives all our iniquity,
who heals all our diseases,
who redeems our life from the Pit,
who crowns us with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies us with good as long as we live
so that our youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The Lord works vindication and justice
for all who are oppressed.
The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
You will not always accuse, nor will you keep your anger forever.
You do not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is your steadfast love toward those who fear you;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far you removes our transgressions from us.
As a parent has compassion for his children,
so you have compassion for those who fear you.
For you know how we were made; you remember that we are dust.
As for mortals, their days are like grass;
they flourish like a flower of the field;
for the wind passes over it,
and it is gone,
and its place knows it no more.
But the steadfast love of the Lord is
from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear you,
and your righteousness to children’s children,
to those who keep your covenant
and remember to do your commandments.
You have established your throne in the heavens,
and your kingdom rules over all.….
Bless the Lord, O my soul.
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