Psalm 31<\/div>\n
For the music director; a psalm of David.<\/p>\n
31:1\u00a0In you, O\u00a0Lord, I have taken shelter!<\/p>\n
Never let me be humiliated!<\/p>\n
Vindicate me by rescuing me!<\/p>\n
31:2\u00a0Listen to me!<\/p>\n
Quickly deliver me!<\/p>\n
Be my protector and refuge,<\/p>\n
a stronghold where I can be safe!<\/p>\n
31:3\u00a0For you are my high ridge and my stronghold;<\/p>\n
for the sake of your own reputation you lead me and guide me.<\/p>\n
31:4\u00a0You will free me from the net they hid for me,<\/p>\n
for you are my place of refuge.<\/p>\n
31:5\u00a0Into your hand I entrust my life;<\/p>\n
you will rescue me, O\u00a0Lord, the faithful God.<\/p>\n
31:6\u00a0I hate those who serve worthless idols,<\/p>\n
but I trust in the\u00a0Lord.<\/p>\n
31:7\u00a0I will be happy and rejoice in your faithfulness,<\/p>\n
because you notice my pain<\/p>\n
and you are aware of how distressed I am.<\/p>\n
31:8\u00a0You do not deliver me over to the power of the enemy;<\/p>\n
you enable me to stand in a wide open place.<\/p>\n
31:9\u00a0Have mercy on me, for I am in distress!<\/p>\n
My eyes grow dim from suffering.<\/p>\n
I have lost my strength.<\/p>\n
31:10\u00a0For my life nears its end in pain;<\/p>\n
my years draw to a close as I groan.<\/p>\n
My strength fails me because of my sin,<\/p>\n
and my bones become brittle.<\/p>\n
31:11\u00a0Because of all my enemies, people disdain me;<\/p>\n
my neighbors are appalled by my suffering \u2013<\/p>\n
those who know me are horrified by my condition;<\/p>\n
those who see me in the street run away from me.<\/p>\n
31:12\u00a0I am forgotten, like a dead man no one thinks about;<\/p>\n
I am regarded as worthless, like a broken jar.<\/p>\n
31:13\u00a0For I hear what so many are saying,<\/p>\n
the terrifying news that comes from every direction.<\/p>\n
When they plot together against me,<\/p>\n
they figure out how they can take my life.<\/p>\n
31:14\u00a0But I trust in you, O\u00a0Lord!<\/p>\n
I declare, \u201cYou are my God!\u201d<\/p>\n
31:15\u00a0You determine my destiny!<\/p>\n
Rescue me from the power of my enemies and those who chase me.<\/p>\n
31:16\u00a0Smile on your servant!<\/p>\n
Deliver me because of your faithfulness!<\/p>\n
31:17\u00a0O\u00a0Lord, do not let me be humiliated,<\/p>\n
for I call out to you!<\/p>\n
May evil men be humiliated!<\/p>\n
May they go wailing to the grave!<\/p>\n
31:18\u00a0May lying lips be silenced \u2013<\/p>\n
lips that speak defiantly against the innocent<\/p>\n
with arrogance and contempt!<\/p>\n
31:19\u00a0How great is your favor,<\/p>\n
which you store up for your loyal followers!<\/p>\n
In plain sight of everyone you bestow it on those who take shelter in you.<\/p>\n
31:20\u00a0You hide them with you, where they are safe from the attacks of men;<\/p>\n
you conceal them in a shelter, where they are safe from slanderous attacks.<\/p>\n
31:21\u00a0The\u00a0Lord\u00a0deserves praise<\/p>\n
for he demonstrated his amazing faithfulness to me when I was besieged by enemies.<\/p>\n
31:22\u00a0I jumped to conclusions and said,<\/p>\n
\u201cI am cut off from your presence!\u201d<\/p>\n
But you heard my plea for mercy when I cried out to you for help.<\/p>\n
31:23\u00a0Love the\u00a0Lord, all you faithful followers of his!<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Lord\u00a0protects those who have integrity,<\/p>\n
but he pays back in full the one who acts arrogantly.<\/p>\n
31:24\u00a0Be strong and confident,<\/p>\n
all you who wait on the\u00a0Lord!<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Again, for those who have no idea what is going on in a post like this, we are doing a series \u2014 and it will take a good long while (months and months) \u2014 on our common prayerbook, the Book of Psalms. We are reflecting daily, about midday Central Time, on a few lines from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[819],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-psalms"],"yoast_head":"\n
Our Common Prayerbook 31 - 2<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Again, for those who have no idea what is going on in a post like this, we are doing a series -- and it will take a good long while (months and months) --\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2010\/09\/02\/our-common-prayerbook-31-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Our Common Prayerbook 31 - 2\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Again, for those who have no idea what is going on in a post like this, we are doing a series -- and it will take a good long while (months and months) --\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2010\/09\/02\/our-common-prayerbook-31-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jesus Creed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-09-02T16:37:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2010-09-10T21:22:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Scot McKnight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Scot McKnight\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2010\/09\/02\/our-common-prayerbook-31-2\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2010\/09\/02\/our-common-prayerbook-31-2\/\",\"name\":\"Our Common Prayerbook 31 - 2\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2010-09-02T16:37:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2010-09-10T21:22:45+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#\/schema\/person\/5919e847c58ffe6efb5899fb61797252\"},\"description\":\"Again, for those who have no idea what is going on in a post like this, we are doing a series -- and it will take a good long while (months and months) --\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2010\/09\/02\/our-common-prayerbook-31-2\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2010\/09\/02\/our-common-prayerbook-31-2\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2010\/09\/02\/our-common-prayerbook-31-2\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Our Common Prayerbook 31 – 2\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/\",\"name\":\"Jesus Creed\",\"description\":\"Scot McKnight on Jesus and orthodox faith in the 21st century\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#\/schema\/person\/5919e847c58ffe6efb5899fb61797252\",\"name\":\"Scot McKnight\",\"description\":\"Scot McKnight is a recognized authority on the New Testament, early Christianity, and the historical Jesus. 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