“Woe Is Me, That I Sojourn in Meshech”

Read Psalm 120

A man submerged in a culture swarming with lies and malice feels as if he is drowning in it: he can trust nothing he hears, depend on no one he meets. The longing for peace and truth sets him on a pilgrim search for wholeness in God. Dissatisfaction with the world of sin is preparatory to traveling in the way of discipleship.

PRAYER: God, in a world where more lies are told than truth, and where enmity is more common than peace, I thank you for your constancy and your fidelity. Give me the strength to be a peacemaker when those around me are scornful of your peace. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.

by Eugene Peterson, “A Year with the Psalms” p. 160

“As Far as the East Is from the West”

Read Psalm 103

The experience of forgiveness provokes the activity of praise. In forgiveness our sins are personally confronted, not impersonally condemned. We experience God’s severity, but even more his grace.

PRAYER: Merciful Father, I used to try to hide my true self from you, assuming that if you knew all about me you would necessarily condemn me. Now I know that your knowledge is gracious and that deception is futile. Come to me with just the right mixture of severity and kindness. Judge me and save me, both at the same time, in Jesus Christ. Amen.

By Eugene Peterson, “A Year with the Psalms” p. 116

“Thou Art the Same”

Read Psalm 102

All life is unfinished. Nothing we do is complete in itself. Only by becoming part of the work of God do we find a proper beginning and a satisfying ending to our existence. When we participate in the great themes and continuities of God himself, our lives make sense.

PRAYER: Take, Lord, all my parts — whatever years and whatever acts you can salvage out of my sin — and build a new life. Lay foundations of ternity in me; construct spacious stretches of salvation around me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

By Eugene Peterson, “A Year with the Psalms” p. 115

“A New Song”

Read Psalm 96

The vigorous and varied praise of the “new song” has its cause in the proclamation, “The Lord reigns!” (v.10). When we discover God’s rule, the ways in which he extends his lordship in grace and mercy, or vocabulary of praise expans markedly.

PRAYER: How glorious to be ruled by you, O Lord, and not by the abstract, mechanical laws of nature or the capricious, uncertain laws of society. Rule me in the person of Jesus Christ, in whome your kingdom is even now present. Amen.

By Eugene Peterson, “A Year with the Psalms” p. 111

“Let Us Make a Joyful Noise”

Read Psalm 95

God is the reason for worship. The awesome power of God makes it sure that we shall worship the graciousness of his will makes it certain that our worship shall be glad.

PRAYER: I praise your great name, O God. Every song I sing of your power and love, of your grace and glory, discovers fresh reasons for singing another. All praise to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

By Eugene Peterson, “A Year with the Psalms” p. 110

“The Lord Reigns”

Read Psalm 93

The rule of God is beyond challenge. The most terrible assault imainable to the ancient Hebrew mind, the raging of the sea, cannot touch the Lord in his majesty. If we can be sure about the aolidity of his rule, we can also be sure of his decrees. What he says is as sure as what he is.

PRAYER: “God, the Lord, a King remaineth, robed in His own glorious light; God hath robed Himself and reigneth; He hath girt himself with might. Alleluia! Alleluia! God is King in depth and height! God is King in depth and height!” Amen.
(John Keble, “God, the Lord,, a King Remaineth”

By Eugene Peterson, “A Year with the Psalms” p. 108

“It Is Good to Give Thanks”

Read Psalm 92

Thanks to God is not a grudging act of courtesy, but an exuberant explosion of delight. It is not the polite exchanfe of amenities, but the songburst of joy. Every day provides new opportunities and fresh forms in which to proclaim praise.

PRAYER: Dear God, I will greet morning as a rising of the light of your love upon me; I will greet morning as a rising of the light of your love upon me; I will kneel at evening and receive your benediction. In between I will use every tune I know to carry a song of praise to you. Amen.

By Eugene Peterson, “A Year with the Psalms” p. 106

“We and Our Fathers Have Sinned”

Read Psalm 106

In the exodus God worked his mightiest act of salvation. But Israel’s part in it was ignominious; at the crisis she was rebellious, obdurate and without either intelligence or faith. The people offered God nothing but their sin; God responded with an invincible grace.

PRAYER: Father, the more I realize the depth and deviousness of my sin, the more I realize the persistence and power of your grace. How I thank you for coming to me in salvation in Jesus Christ! Amen.

By Eugene Peterson, “A Year with the Psalms” p. 125

“A Day in Thy Courts”

Read Psalm 84

The sanctuary—the place where God’s people meet to sing praises, to renew covenant obedience, to be instructed in God’s word—is filled with the best of associations. The concentration of memory and meaning that takes place there makes it more desirable than any other place.

PRAYER: Lord God, you are sun and shield: the light of your word gives meaning to what I experience, the strength of your presence provides protection against despair. I thank you for hours of worship when I can listen again to that word and reaffirm that presence, even in Jesus Christ. Amen.

By Eugene Peterson, “A Year with the Psalms” p. 125

“I Will Sing of Thy Steadfast Love”

Read Psalm 89:1-4

“Steadfast love” and “faithfulness” — God’s relationship with his creation and his steadiness in his covenant — make a tune to sing. The two words are themes and provide the melodic structure upon which this moving song is constructed.

PRAYER: O God, within the sometimes puzzling experiences of this pilgrimage, I will gratefully sing of your steadfast love and your faithfulness which, despite my stuttering steps and recurrent doubt, steadily develop a redeeming purpose in my life. Amen.

by Eugene Peterson, “A Year with the Psalms” p. 99