For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

Here I sit, in the twilight of my years, and absorbing the greatness of the LORD, God, the Almighty as He ordered and directed every aspect of my life. These last few verses direct my attention very specifically towards His intimate involvement. The truths embedded herein almost move me to tears beginning with that precious statement that “I am fearfully and wonderfully made” and ending with the avowal that all this was known before I existed in my mother’s womb.

It is the thought that the LORD, God, the Almighty has been and continues to be involved in every aspect of my being; that this Being, the One who said, “Let there be…” and there was...EVERYTHING! Included me! And then He sent His Son to suffer the punishment for my sins. And that someday, will His loving “Welcome home, all is forgiven.” resound in my heart.

Join the Ailbe Community

As a member of the Ailbe Community you join a movement of men working for revival, renewal, and awakening, built upon prayer, sharing, and mutual edification. The Ailbe Community is devoted to practicing the Kingship of Jesus in every area of our lives. Go to www.ailbe.org/about to learn more.

Reading

Morning Psalm 56, Noon Psalm 119:121-128, Evening Psalm 21. If you follow this regimen, you will pray through the Psalms every 47 days or just under 8 times per year.

An alternate Reading Plan is based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation.

Or set your own reading schedule up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits. But a daily time in the Word of the LORD is an absolute.

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.

It took many years of reading the Psalms to begin to grasp the great comfort in this passage. In my early years in the Faith, I could not get beyond fleeing from the awesomeness of the LORD’s presence. Keep this in mind as we continue to absorb one of the greatest treatises on our relationship with the LORD, God, the Almighty. This is where we started as creatures consumed by terror by the thought of a relationship with the Almighty.

Join the Ailbe Community

As a member of the Ailbe Community you join a movement of men working for revival, renewal, and awakening, built upon prayer, sharing, and mutual edification. The Ailbe Community is devoted to practicing the Kingship of Jesus in every area of our lives. Go to www.ailbe.org/about to learn more.

Reading

Morning Psalm 55, Noon Psalm 119:113-120, Evening Psalm 20. If you follow this regimen, you will pray through the Psalms every 47 days or just under 8 times per year.

An alternate Reading Plan is based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation.

Or set your own reading schedule up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits. But a daily time in the Word of the LORD is an absolute.

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.

This Psalm is the response of David to the LORD, God, the Almighty; his acknowledgment of the LORD’s presence in his life. Could it be mine or yours? Should I read it as mine or yours? Should I read it and react on that basis? YES Should you? YES! Is that Good? YES! But the old man in me reacts in fear, not the holy fear of the LORD but that fear of the sinful man that drove Adam and Eve to hide from Him and clothe themselves in fig leaves.

Hang in with me as we set out on a fascinating ride together to explore our relationship with our LORD.

Join the Ailbe Community

As a member of the Ailbe Community you join a movement of men working for revival, renewal, and awakening, built upon prayer, sharing, and mutual edification. The Ailbe Community is devoted to practicing the Kingship of Jesus in every area of our lives. Go to www.ailbe.org/about to learn more.

Reading

Morning Psalm 54, Noon Psalm 119:105-112, Evening Psalm 19. If you follow this regimen, you will pray through the Psalms every 47 days or just under 8 times per year.

An alternate Reading Plan is based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation.

Or set your own reading schedule up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits. But a daily time in the Word of the LORD is an absolute.

For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me. The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.

Look at this brief paragraph as a snapshot of the LORD, God, the Almighty’s plan for eternity. He knew from the beginning that there would be, in effect, two separate sets among the children of Adam. One, here named the haughty, and the other as the lowly that is characterized as being those whom the LORD cherishes and protects.

That group, the lowly, is the group who fulfills the treasured position as being those whom the LORD, God, the Almighty, will use to implement His plan for the Creation.

Join the Ailbe Community

As a member of the Ailbe Community you join a movement of men working for revival, renewal, and awakening, built upon prayer, sharing, and mutual edification. The Ailbe Community is devoted to practicing the Kingship of Jesus in every area of our lives. Go to www.ailbe.org/about to learn more.

Reading

Morning Psalm 53, Noon Psalm 119:97-104, Evening Psalm 18. If you follow this regimen, you will pray through the Psalms every 47 days or just under 8 times per year.

An alternate Reading Plan is based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation.

Or set your own reading schedule up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits. But a daily time in the Word of the LORD is an absolute.

On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased. All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O LORD, for they have heard the words of your mouth, and they shall sing of the ways of the LORD, for great is the glory of the LORD.

“Great is the glory of the LORD” We must sign His phrases continuously. We may not have regal status, but we are His Ambassadors of Reconciliation. In other words, my responsibility is to spread His fame, the awareness of Hjis being, the message of His salvation everywhere my foot touches. To be always ready at every opportunity to tell the story of how the LORD, God, the Almighty chose to take a sin filled and sin driven life and reform it into an instrument for spreading His Glory.

Join the Ailbe Community

As a member of the Ailbe Community you join a movement of men working for revival, renewal, and awakening, built upon prayer, sharing, and mutual edification. The Ailbe Community is devoted to practicing the Kingship of Jesus in every area of our lives. Go to www.ailbe.org/about to learn more.

Reading

Morning Psalm 52, Noon Psalm 119:89-96, Evening Psalm 17. If you follow this regimen, you will pray through the Psalms every 47 days or just under 8 times per year.

An alternate Reading Plan is based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation.

Or set your own reading schedule up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits. But a daily time in the Word of the LORD is an absolute.

Resh Look on my affliction and deliver me, for I do not forget your law. Plead my cause and redeem me; give me life according to your promise! Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek your statutes. Great is your mercy, O LORD; give me life according to your rules. Many are my persecutors and my adversaries, but I do not swerve from your testimonies. I look at the faithless with disgust, because they do not keep your commands. Consider how I love your precepts! Give me life according to your steadfast love. The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.

“Look on my affliction and deliver me, for I do not forget your law.” Here I am, in the youth of my latter years and daily facing new challenges. Ones that I never considered that I would have to face as I cared for my parents in a similar period of their lives. As a very wise man said one time, “A mind is a terrible thing to lose, especially when you know its happening.” Bring me peace as I wrestle with this challenge. And thank you for the patience and love of my beloved wife. We complete our 64th year tomorrow.

Join the Ailbe Community

As a member of the Ailbe Community you join a movement of men working for revival, renewal, and awakening, built upon prayer, sharing, and mutual edification. The Ailbe Community is devoted to practicing the Kingship of Jesus in every area of our lives. Go to www.ailbe.org/about to learn more.

Reading

Morning Psalm 51, Noon Psalm 119:81-88, Evening Psalm 16. If you follow this regimen, you will pray through the Psalms every 47 days or just under 8 times per year.

An alternate Reading Plan is based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation.

Or set your own reading schedule up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits. But a daily time in the Word of the LORD is an absolute.

Of David. I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise; I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.

An interesting phrase, “ with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise”. What/ who are the gods of my life? My wife? My family? My church? Etc? But do I sing your praises to them. Yes, not difficult at all to a group like this. We host a Bible study group at our home each Thursday afternoon. Not at all difficult with this group but when you mix in a bunch of non-believers, the dynamics of the conversation change. No longer is the subject the splendor of the Godhead, No, anything but.

Join the Ailbe Community

As a member of the Ailbe Community you join a movement of men working for revival, renewal, and awakening, built upon prayer, sharing, and mutual edification. The Ailbe Community is devoted to practicing the Kingship of Jesus in every area of our lives. Go to www.ailbe.org/about to learn more.

Reading

Morning Psalm 51, Noon Psalm 119:81-88, Evening Psalm 16. If you follow this regimen, you will pray through the Psalms every 47 days or just under 8 times per year.

An alternate Reading Plan is based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation.

Or set your own reading schedule up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits. But a daily time in the Word of the LORD is an absolute.

By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion. On the willows there we hung up our lyres. For there our captors required of us songs, and our tormentors, mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” How shall we sing the LORD's song in a foreign land

If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill! Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy! Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites the day of Jerusalem, how they said, “Lay it bare, lay it bare, down to its foundations!” O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed, blessed shall he be who repays you with what you have done to us! Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock!

This Psalm is sudden, coming after 15 hymns filled with the joy of the pilgrimage to Jerusalem and two Psalms of praise and thanksgiving. It is a lament of loss and grief, crowned with a plea for revenge and restitution. What can I learn from this?

I lead a relatively quiet, retired middle class life with a very dear wife and friend. My neighbors would probably would nominate us for the Good Neighbor Seal of Approval, at least those who know us. Therein lies the problem. I have no waters of Babylon, no foreign land in my life. Oh, yes we have had a prison ministry for 17 years, but it is out of our comfort. Yes, I am a participant in a men’s ministry, the Fellowship of Ailbe, but other than a slight loss of sleep in a late night prayer meeting, no great loss. Yes we are members of a local Protestant evangelical church; it is so good to assemble on the LORD’s Day with a group of likeminded saints. Again, comfort reigns. No street corner preaching here.

In short, I read this precious Psalm and wonder, “Where’s my witness? Where is the willow to hang my lyre as I weep? Family dinners are don’t rock the boat affairs as I avoid any mention of my LORD and Savior. I have a friend who drags a very large cross around the streets of Burlington and preaching the Gospel of Salvation while I sit comfortably curled up reading a treatise on how to pray the Psalms. Do I have my priorities out of order?

I HAVE NO WITNESS TO LAMENT!

Join the Ailbe Community

As a member of the Ailbe Community you join a movement of men working for revival, renewal, and awakening, built upon prayer, sharing, and mutual edification. The Ailbe Community is devoted to practicing the Kingship of Jesus in every area of our lives. Go to www.ailbe.org/about to learn more.

Reading

Morning Psalm 50, Noon Psalm 119:73-80, Evening Psalm 15.If you follow this regimen, you will pray through the Psalms every 47 days or just under 8 times per year.

An alternate Reading Plan is based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation.

Or set your own reading schedule up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits. But a daily time in the Word of the LORD is an absolute.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who alone does great wonders, for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who by understanding made the heavens, for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who spread out the earth above the waters, for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who made the great lights, for his steadfast love endures forever;
the sun to rule over the day, for his steadfast love endures forever;
the moon and stars to rule over the night, for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt, for his steadfast love endures forever;
and brought Israel out from among them, for his steadfast love endures forever;
with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who divided the Red Sea in two, for his steadfast love endures forever;
and made Israel pass through the midst of it, for his steadfast love endures forever;
but overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea, for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who led his people through the wilderness, for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who struck down great kings, for his steadfast love endures forever;
and killed mighty kings, for his steadfast love endures forever;
Sihon, king of the Amorites, for his steadfast love endures forever;
and Og, king of Bashan, for his steadfast love endures forever;
and gave their land as a heritage, for his steadfast love endures forever;
a heritage to Israel his servant, for his steadfast love endures forever.
It is he who remembered us in our low estate, for his steadfast love endures forever;
and rescued us from our foes, for his steadfast love endures forever;
he who gives food to all flesh, for his steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever.

25 citations! All focused on proof that the LORD, God, the Almighty deserves our thanksgiving and all boiling down to one simple statement, “His steadfast love endures forever.” Assigning them to several unique catagories is going to be a task that I am not up to at the moment. A daunting and challenging task.

Join the Ailbe Community

As a member of the Ailbe Community you join a movement of men working for revival, renewal, and awakening, built upon prayer, sharing, and mutual edification. The Ailbe Community is devoted to practicing the Kingship of Jesus in every area of our lives. Go to www.ailbe.org/about to learn more.

Reading

Morning Psalm 49, Noon Psalm 119:65-72, Evening Psalm 14. If you follow this regimen, you will pray through the Psalms every 47 days or just under 8 times per year.

An alternate Reading Plan is based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation.

Or set your own reading schedule up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits. But a daily time in the Word of the LORD is an absolute.

Qoph With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O LORD! I will keep your statutes. I call to you; save me, that I may observe your testimonies. I rise before dawn and cry for help; I hope in your words. My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promise. Hear my voice according to your steadfast love; O LORD, according to your justice give me life. They draw near who persecute me with evil purpose; they are far from your law. But you are near, O LORD, and all your commandments are true. Long have I known from your testimonies that you have founded them forever.

Ish Elohim (my chosen name for the author of the 119th Psalm) has a very interesting and unusual stanza here as he begins for by pleading for recognition by the LORD, God, the Almighty. He is outspoken as he cites the various ways that he seeks the LORD’s face. But then he concludes with a beautiful statement of the constancy of the LORD.

Should this statement be ours to recite to Him? “But you are near, O LORD, and all your commandments are true. Long have I known from your testimonies that you have founded them forever.”

Join the Ailbe Community

As a member of the Ailbe Community you join a movement of men working for revival, renewal, and awakening, built upon prayer, sharing, and mutual edification. The Ailbe Community is devoted to practicing the Kingship of Jesus in every area of our lives. Go to www.ailbe.org/about to learn more.

Reading

Morning Psalm 48, Noon Psalm 119:57-64, Evening Psalm 13. (If you follow this regimen, you will pray through the Psalms every 47 days or just under 8 times per year.)

An alternate Reading Plan is based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation.

Or set your own reading schedule up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits. But a daily time in the Word of the LORD is an absolute.

O house of Israel, bless the LORD! O house of Aaron, bless the LORD!O house of Levi, bless the LORD! You who fear the LORD, bless the LORD! Blessed be the LORD from Zion, he who dwells in Jerusalem! Praise the LORD!

We are directed four times to bless the LORD and once to fear Him and once to praise Him. Notice that the commands to bless the LORD are directed to specific groups but that the resultants are singular. He is blessed, and He is praised. The catalyst is our blessings.

A chemical catalyst is something that is essential to the transformation but is unchanged itself during the process. Not so here for we are transformed into a likeness to our LORD; thoroughly changed from our sin filled nature into a nature that oozes the LORD, God, the Almighty. Hallelujah.

Join the Ailbe Community

As a member of the Ailbe Community you join a movement of men working for revival, renewal, and awakening, built upon prayer, sharing, and mutual edification. The Ailbe Community is devoted to practicing the Kingship of Jesus in every area of our lives. Go to www.ailbe.org/about to learn more.

Reading

Morning Psalm 48, Noon Psalm 119:49-56, Evening Psalm 12

An alternate Reading Plan is based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation.

Or set your own reading schedule up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits. But a daily time in the Word of the LORD is an absolute.

Your name, O LORD, endures forever, your renown, O LORD, throughout all ages. For the LORD will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants. The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; they have eyes, but do not see; they have ears, but do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouths. Those who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them.

Here’s the marker, the sure dividing line between the LORD, God, the Almighty is a God of compassion; One who hears our prayers and our crys for mercy. The gods of this world are manufactured by the hands of man from cold metal and raw wood, without feelings or senses. How can a block of wood respond to my needs? Only if I put a match to it to warm my feet on a winter night.

Join the Ailbe Community

As a member of the Ailbe Community you join a movement of men working for revival, renewal, and awakening, built upon prayer, sharing, and mutual edification. The Ailbe Community is devoted to practicing the Kingship of Jesus in every area of our lives. Go to www.ailbe.org/about to learn more.

Reading

Morning Psalm 47, Noon Psalm 119:41-48, Evening Psalm 115

An alternate Reading Plan is based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation.

Or set your own reading schedule up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits. But a daily time in the Word of the LORD is an absolute.