Psalm 79
Plea for Mercy for Jerusalem
A Psalm of Asaph.
1 O God, the nations have come into your inheritance;
they have defiled your holy temple;
they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
2 They have given the bodies of your servants
to the birds of the air for food,
the flesh of your faithful to the wild animals of the earth.
3 They have poured out their blood like water
all around Jerusalem,
and there was no one to bury them.
4 We have become a taunt to our neighbors,
mocked and derided by those around us.
5 How long, O Lord? Will you be angry forever?
Will your jealous wrath burn like fire?
6 Pour out your anger on the nations
that do not know you,
and on the kingdoms
that do not call on your name.
7 For they have devoured Jacob
and laid waste his habitation.
8 Do not remember against us the iniquities of our ancestors;
let your compassion come speedily to meet us,
for we are brought very low.
9 Help us, O God of our salvation,
for the glory of your name;
deliver us, and forgive our sins,
for your name’s sake.
10 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants
be known among the nations before our eyes.
11 Let the groans of the prisoners come before you;
according to your great power preserve those doomed to die.
12 Return sevenfold into the bosom of our neighbors
the taunts with which they taunted you, O Lord!
13 Then we your people, the flock of your pasture,
will give thanks to you forever;
from generation to generation we will recount your praise. [1]
Questions for Reflection:
- What can you learn about mercy from Psalm 79?
- What parts of Psalm 79 are most meaningful to you?
Prayer: Lord, have mercy upon me! Have mercy upon me for the sins I have committed! Have mercy because I have sometimes overlooked the poor. Have mercy because sometimes I have become full of myself with pride and contempt for others. Have mercy upon me because sometimes I have been stingy with my money, stingy with my time, and stingy with my resources. Lord, I give thanks to you for your grace, your mercy and your love. Bless me this day to be a better person in thy sight. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
Written by Rev. Dr. Nicholas Hood III
Photo by Rev. Dr. Nicholas Hood III
Additional Prayers Photos and Meditations from Rev. Dr. Nicholas Hood III at https://nicholashoodiiiministries.wordpress.com/
More about the ministry, mission, and meditations from Rev. Dr. Nicholas Hood III at www.nicholashoodiiiministries.org and www.puccdetroit.org
New – Listen to readings from the Book of Psalms and Inspirational Prayers written by Rev. Dr. Nicholas Hood III at Nicholas Hood3, is now available on Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/nicholas-hood3/id1370371705.
Or, at anchor.fm/nicholas-hood3.
Also, on Google Podcasts at Nicholas Hood3
Now on Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/show/1fQTqugJtGj6FCgHaGuG
[1] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. (1989). (Ps 79). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
Psalm 78
God’s Goodness and Israel’s Ingratitude
A Maskil of Asaph.
1 Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old,
3 things that we have heard and known,
that our ancestors have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children;
we will tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done.
5 He established a decree in Jacob,
and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
to teach to their children;
6 that the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
and rise up and tell them to their children,
7 so that they should set their hope in God,
and not forget the works of God,
but keep his commandments;
8 and that they should not be like their ancestors,
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation whose heart was not steadfast,
whose spirit was not faithful to God.
9 The Ephraimites, armed with the bow,
turned back on the day of battle.
10 They did not keep God’s covenant,
but refused to walk according to his law.
11 They forgot what he had done,
and the miracles that he had shown them.
12 In the sight of their ancestors he worked marvels
in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan.
13 He divided the sea and let them pass through it,
and made the waters stand like a heap.
14 In the daytime he led them with a cloud,
and all night long with a fiery light.
15 He split rocks open in the wilderness,
and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.
16 He made streams come out of the rock,
and caused waters to flow down like rivers.
17 Yet they sinned still more against him,
rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
18 They tested God in their heart
by demanding the food they craved.
19 They spoke against God, saying,
“Can God spread a table in the wilderness?
20 Even though he struck the rock so that water gushed out
and torrents overflowed,
can he also give bread,
or provide meat for his people?”
21 Therefore, when the Lord heard, he was full of rage;
a fire was kindled against Jacob,
his anger mounted against Israel,
22 because they had no faith in God,
and did not trust his saving power.
23 Yet he commanded the skies above,
and opened the doors of heaven;
24 he rained down on them manna to eat,
and gave them the grain of heaven.
25 Mortals ate of the bread of angels;
he sent them food in abundance.
26 He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens,
and by his power he led out the south wind;
27 he rained flesh upon them like dust,
winged birds like the sand of the seas;
28 he let them fall within their camp,
all around their dwellings.
29 And they ate and were well filled,
for he gave them what they craved.
30 But before they had satisfied their craving,
while the food was still in their mouths,
31 the anger of God rose against them
and he killed the strongest of them,
and laid low the flower of Israel.
32 In spite of all this they still sinned;
they did not believe in his wonders.
33 So he made their days vanish like a breath,
and their years in terror.
34 When he killed them, they sought for him;
they repented and sought God earnestly.
35 They remembered that God was their rock,
the Most High God their redeemer.
36 But they flattered him with their mouths;
they lied to him with their tongues.
37 Their heart was not steadfast toward him;
they were not true to his covenant.
38 Yet he, being compassionate,
forgave their iniquity,
and did not destroy them;
often he restrained his anger,
and did not stir up all his wrath.
39 He remembered that they were but flesh,
a wind that passes and does not come again.
40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness
and grieved him in the desert!
41 They tested God again and again,
and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
42 They did not keep in mind his power,
or the day when he redeemed them from the foe;
43 when he displayed his signs in Egypt,
and his miracles in the fields of Zoan.
44 He turned their rivers to blood,
so that they could not drink of their streams.
45 He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them,
and frogs, which destroyed them.
46 He gave their crops to the caterpillar,
and the fruit of their labor to the locust.
47 He destroyed their vines with hail,
and their sycamores with frost.
48 He gave over their cattle to the hail,
and their flocks to thunderbolts.
49 He let loose on them his fierce anger,
wrath, indignation, and distress,
a company of destroying angels.
50 He made a path for his anger;
he did not spare them from death,
but gave their lives over to the plague.
51 He struck all the firstborn in Egypt,
the first issue of their strength in the tents of Ham.
52 Then he led out his people like sheep,
and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
53 He led them in safety, so that they were not afraid;
but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54 And he brought them to his holy hill,
to the mountain that his right hand had won.
55 He drove out nations before them;
he apportioned them for a possession
and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
56 Yet they tested the Most High God,
and rebelled against him.
They did not observe his decrees,
57 but turned away and were faithless like their ancestors;
they twisted like a treacherous bow.
58 For they provoked him to anger with their high places;
they moved him to jealousy with their idols.
59 When God heard, he was full of wrath,
and he utterly rejected Israel.
60 He abandoned his dwelling at Shiloh,
the tent where he dwelt among mortals,
61 and delivered his power to captivity,
his glory to the hand of the foe.
62 He gave his people to the sword,
and vented his wrath on his heritage.
63 Fire devoured their young men,
and their girls had no marriage song.
64 Their priests fell by the sword,
and their widows made no lamentation.
65 Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,
like a warrior shouting because of wine.
66 He put his adversaries to rout;
he put them to everlasting disgrace.
67 He rejected the tent of Joseph,
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim;
68 but he chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which he loves.
69 He built his sanctuary like the high heavens,
like the earth, which he has founded forever.
70 He chose his servant David,
and took him from the sheepfolds;
71 from tending the nursing ewes he brought him
to be the shepherd of his people Jacob,
of Israel, his inheritance.
72 With upright heart he tended them,
and guided them with skillful hand. [1]
Questions for Reflection:
- What does Psalm 78 say to you about the glory of God?
- Which of the 72 verses in Psalm 78 speaks most to you? Why?
Prayer: Lord, I ask your blessing upon me this day. For today is a day I have never seen before and never will see again. Grant that today might be a glorious day, a wonderful day, a wonderful day in thy sight. Lord, I have no idea what opportunities and challenges lie ahead, but this one thing I know: with you there is power; with you, there is truth; With you there is hope beyond hope, joy, beyond joy, and life everlasting in that kingdom that has no end. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
Written by Rev. Dr. Nicholas Hood III
Photo by Rev. Dr. Nicholas Hood III
Additional Prayers Photos and Meditations from Rev. Dr. Nicholas Hood III at https://nicholashoodiiiministries.wordpress.com/
More about the ministry, mission, and meditations from Rev. Dr. Nicholas Hood III at www.nicholashoodiiiministries.org and www.puccdetroit.org
New – Listen to readings from the Book of Psalms and Inspirational Prayers written by Rev. Dr. Nicholas Hood III at Nicholas Hood3, is now available on Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/nicholas-hood3/id1370371705.
Or, at anchor.fm/nicholas-hood3.
Also, on Google Podcasts at Nicholas Hood3
Now on Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/show/1fQTqugJtGj6FCgHaGuG
[1] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. (1989). (Ps 78). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
Listen to the newest episode of my podcast, Nicholas Hood3: Psalm 78 https://anchor.fm/nicholas-hood3/episodes/Psalm-78-e1psrf
Listen to the newest episode of my podcast, Nicholas Hood3: Psalm 77 – Has God forgotten to be Gracious? https://anchor.fm/nicholas-hood3/episodes/Psalm-77—Has-God-forgotten-to-be-Gracious-e1pmom
Has God forgotten to be Gracious?
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” (Psalm 77) These words from verse 9 of Psalm 77 cut like a dagger in the wound and cause one to wonder where the psalmist is going in an affirmation of faith? Psalm 77 is labeled before its start as a Psalm where God’s mighty deeds are recalled. Like each of the first 76 Psalms, Psalm 77 ties everything together neatly with a great affirmation of faith. The question that is raised in verse 9 is a question that some may ask today: “Has God forgotten to be gracious?” When things do not go our way, and we cannot see an end to out difficulties, it is not unusual for a person, even a believing person, to wonder, “Where is God?” “Has God forgotten me?” While the Psalmist raises this question with sincere wonderment, the conclusion of the Psalm is a positive affirmation of faith: 11 I will call to mind the deeds of the Lord;
I will remember your wonders of old.
12 I will meditate on all your work,
and muse on your mighty deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is so great as our God?
14 You are the God who works wonders;
you have displayed your might among the peoples.
15 With your strong arm you redeemed your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. Let us read the entire Psalm and what we will see is a powerful, positive, affirmation of faith.
Psalm 77
God’s Mighty Deeds Recalled
To the leader: according to Jeduthun. Of Asaph. A Psalm.
1 I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, that he may hear me.
2 In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
my soul refuses to be comforted.
3 I think of God, and I moan;
I meditate, and my spirit faints. Selah
4 You keep my eyelids from closing;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
5 I consider the days of old,
and remember the years of long ago.
6 I commune with my heart in the night;
I meditate and search my spirit:
7 “Will the Lord spurn forever,
and never again be favorable?
8 Has his steadfast love ceased forever?
Are his promises at an end for all time?
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah
10 And I say, “It is my grief
that the right hand of the Most High has changed.”
11 I will call to mind the deeds of the Lord;
I will remember your wonders of old.
12 I will meditate on all your work,
and muse on your mighty deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is so great as our God?
14 You are the God who works wonders;
you have displayed your might among the peoples.
15 With your strong arm you redeemed your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
16 When the waters saw you, O God,
when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
the very deep trembled.
17 The clouds poured out water;
the skies thundered;
your arrows flashed on every side.
18 The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
your lightnings lit up the world;
the earth trembled and shook.
19 Your way was through the sea,
your path, through the mighty waters;
yet your footprints were unseen.
20 You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron. [1]
Questions for Reflection:
- What does Psalm 77 say to you about affirmation of faith?
- Are the doubts raised in the beginning of Psalm 77 something you can relate to?
- Other thoughts about Psalm 77?
Prayer: Lord, I must admit that there have been moments when I wondered why you did not respond in the way I thought you might. But, just when it seemed like you allowed those who would flaunt their power and position, you humbled the proud and mighty and lifted the downtrodden. So, today, I reaffirm my faith in you. Today, I re-commit myself to you. Today, I renew the vows of my faith, my dedication to your will and way, and my love for your word and your people. In Jesus name. Amen.
Written by Rev. Dr. Nicholas Hood III
Photo by Rev. Dr. Nicholas Hood III
Additional Prayers Photos and Meditations from Rev. Dr. Nicholas Hood III at https://nicholashoodiiiministries.wordpress.com/
More about the ministry, mission, and meditations from Rev. Dr. Nicholas Hood III at www.nicholashoodiiiministries.org and www.puccdetroit.org
New – Listen to readings from the Book of Psalms and Inspirational Prayers written by Rev. Dr. Nicholas Hood III at Nicholas Hood3, is now available on Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/nicholas-hood3/id1370371705.
Or, at anchor.fm/nicholas-hood3.
Also, on Google Podcasts at Nicholas Hood3
Now on Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/show/1fQTqugJtGj6FCgHaGuG
[1] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. (1989). (Ps 77). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
Listen to the newest episode of my podcast, Nicholas Hood3: What is Suicide?- Dr. George Fleming https://anchor.fm/nicholas-hood3/episodes/What-is-Suicide—Dr–George-Fleming-e1pl3v
I am preaching today at noon about the budding love between Ruth and Boaz. We will look at the early stages of their love, how they meet, the simple, sweet signals they give to one another that let them know that they are attracted to each other. For example, much attention is given to what happens between Ruth and Boaz on the threshing floor during the harvest of the crops, but if we look at chapter 2 in the Book of Ruth, we see a love dance that plays out between Ruth, the young widow and Boaz, the older farmer. Take a look at the first meeting between Ruth and Boaz. In their first contact, Ruth specifically seeks out Boaz, “that he might favor in her.” This favor is two-fold. Ruth seeks favor from Boaz that she might glean crops behind his workers, but also, I think she is hoping maybe something more might come from meeting the rich man.
2 Now Naomi had a kinsman on her husband’s side, a prominent rich man, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain, behind someone in whose sight I may find favor.” She said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3 So she went. She came and gleaned in the field behind the reapers. As it happened, she came to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.
After starting out as a gleaner in the fields of Boaz, Ruth and the rich farmer have an encounter over lunch in the field. Take a look at the tender exchange between the two:
14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here, and eat some of this bread, and dip your morsel in the sour wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he heaped up for her some parched grain. She ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. 15 When she got up to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, “Let her glean even among the standing sheaves, and do not reproach her. 16 You must also pull out some handfuls for her from the bundles, and leave them for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.”
Boaz and Ruth are having their first lunch together. They are not alone, but they are together! My point is that this first exchange between Ruth and Boaz is a small act of tender kindness that leads to love.
This is what I am preaching about today at noon. I hope you can attend. If not, check it out on Facebook Live.
Blessings, Nick
Listen to the newest episode of my podcast, Nicholas Hood3: Love and Intimacy https://anchor.fm/nicholas-hood3/episodes/Love-and-Intimacy-e1pdp6
