Psalm 40 Faith Perserving in Trial

THE PSALMIST PRAYS

I waited patiently for the Lord;
And he inclined to me,
And heard my cry,
He also brought me up out of a horrible
  pit.
Out of the miry clary,
And set my feet upon a rock,
And established my steps.
He has put a new song in my mouth--
Praise to our God,
Many will see it and fear,
And will trust in the Lord.


PSALMIST DORIS PRAYS:

I stood for hours in the church
And he beckoned me,
And heard my weeping,
He took me up from the depths of
  despair.
Out of a dark place.
And set me on a steady path,
And firmly planted me feet.
He put a steady walk in my step--
My arms upraised in adoration,
Many eyes saw
And put their trust in God.


THE PSALMIST PRAYS:

Blessed is that man who makes the Lord
  his trust.
And does not respect the proud, not such
  as turn aside to lies.
Many O Lord my God, are Your
  wonderful works,
Which You have done;
And Your thoughts toward us
Cannot be recounted to You in order,
If I would declare and speak of them,
They are more than can be remembered.

PSALMIST DORIS PRAYS:

God's favor is on the woman who shows
  her loyalty
And casts aside the haughty, those who
  act out of pride
How many are your glorious projects,
  O Lord,
Which you have prepared for us
And your tender acts are always about us
So many that they cannot be counted.
If I were to state and mouth them
They are innumerable and cannot be retained
  in my memory.


THE PSALMIST PRAYS:

Sacrifice and offering You did not desire;
My ears You have opened.
Burnt offering and sin offering You did
  not require.
Then I said, "Behold I come;
In the scroll of the book it is written of
 me.
I delight to do Your will, O my God,
And Your law is within my heart."


PSALMIST DORIS PRAYS:

The life of the lamb and tithing You did not seek;
My eyes have been opened.
Blood and coins were not your rerquirement.
Then I uttered, " I am here;
In the Good Book it is said of me.
I humbly bow in utter awe of you, O my God.
To do Your will is my only desire.
And so it is written on my heart.


THE PSALMIST PRAYS:

I have proclaimed the good news of
  righteousness
In the great assembly;
Indeed, I do not restrain my lips,
O Lord, Your Yourself know,
I have not hidden your righteousness
  within my heart;
I have declared Your faithfulness and
  Your salvation;
I have not concealed Your lovingkindness
  and Your truth
From the great assembly

PSALMIST DORIS PRAYS:

I have put forth the glad tidings of
  the holy one to the community
I do not hold back my words,
O Lord you know me
  better than myself
I have not attempted to hide your
  words within my heart.
I have seen your lovingkindness
  worked among my fellow companions
And am held in awe of your compassion
I am speechless and struck dumb by your actions.
And will work to put forth your good works to
  the community.


THE PSALMIST PRAYS:

Do not withhold Your tender mercies
   from me, O Lord;
Let your lovingkindness and Your truth
   continually preserve me,
For innumerable evils have surrounded
   me;
My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I
   am not able to look up;
They are more than the hairs of my head;
Therefore my heart fails me.

PSALMIST DORIS PRAYS:

Let not your compassion and sympathy be
  withheld from me O Lord;
But let your tender gaze and heartfelt kindness
   encircle me.
For many evils have befallen me;
My sins hold me down, my head is bowed.
They are many, and I struggle under them   
My heart hurts
I know you can calm the ache.


THE PSALMIST PRAYS:

Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me;
O Lord, make haste to help me;
Let them be ashamed and brought to
  mutual confusion
Who seek to destroy my life,
Let them be driven backward and
  brought to dishonor
Who wish me evil
Let them be confounded because of their
  shame;
Who say to me, "Aha, aha!"


PSALMIST DORIS PRAYS:

Be happy,  O Lord, to save me;
O Lord, make haste to help me;
Let them be put down and brought to
  some perplexity
Who seek to do me evil,
Let them be driven to the brink of
  destruction
Who raise their voices against me.
Let there be muddled confusion and perplexity in their own
  life because of their shameful thoughts and words
Who have said of me, words that sprung into
  gossip and have done me harm.

THE PSALMIST PRAYS:

Let all those who seek You rejoice and be
  glad in You,
Let such as love Your salvation say
  continually,
"The Lord be magnified!"
But I am poor and needy;
Yet the Lord thinks upon me
You are my help and my deliverer;
Do not delay, O my God.

PSALMIST DORIS PRAYS:

Let all creatures who search for you be found;
All those who are in your mercy
Praise you in a continuous shout
All glory to you and your mother O Lord.

But I am but a poor humble creature
I bow before you always in awe
Dare to take my eye from the ground.
To see the hem of your garment
Your precious foot in a sandal.
There my glance stalls
It is your mother who says
Lift your gaze my beloved creature
See your God
Praise Him, Love Him, Adore Him.
This is my Son
The one who came to show us the way.
 Follow Him
Do as He says
His truth is the way.
Hold it in your heart.
The tender murmurings of his words
  and the stirrings of your spirit.

 





  

thoughts after reflecting on Psalm 40

THE PSALMIST PRAYS:

I delight to do your will O My
God and your law is
   within my heart.

And your thoughts
   toward us

Yet the Lord thinks
   upon me.

PSALMIST DORIS PRAYS:

The nudgings of the Lord
  sustain me.
He whispers to me in the
  secret of my heart
He thinks upon me always;
 forever ongoing are his thoughts of me.
I hold all this stirring within my heart;
 and ponder throughout the day
  the treasure of my heart.

Psalm 39 - Prayer for Wisdom and Forgiveness

THE PSALMIST PRAYS:
I said, "I will guard my ways,
Lest I sin with my tongue;
I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle,
While the wicked are before me."
I was mute with silence,
I held my peace even from good.
And my sorrow was stirred up;
My heart was hot within me;
While I was musing, the fire burned.
Then I spoke with my tongue;

PSALMIST DORIS PRAYS:
I uttered, "I will watch over my actions,
So, not to be mean spirited with my words;
I will put a gag over my mouth,
While my enemy surrounds me."
I was deaf and dumb,
I did no good action before all;
My sorrow was great;
I hurt from within;
While I was pondering, there was a heat in my belly.
Then I spoke my words.

 THE PSALMIST PRAYS:
"Lord, make me to know my end,
And what is the measure of my days;
That I may know how frail I am.
Indeed, You have made my days as
   handbreadths,
And my age is as nothing before You;
Certainly every man at his best state is but
    vapor,
Surely every man walks about like a
     shadow;
Surely they busy themselves in vain;
He heaps up riches,
And does not know who will gather them.

PSALMIST DORIS PRAYS:
"Oh, Lord, you know me,
And the length of my days;
That I may know the scarcity of my breaths,
Indeed, you have laid out the hours and minutes
  before me and I see them as if etched on this day's horizon.
Certainly every woman at her best state is like
  smoke and mirrors,
Surely every woman is a reflection of her true self;
Surely they go hither and thither without rest
She heaps up treasures,
And is unaware of who will reap them.
 
THE PSALMIST PRAYS:
"And now, Lord, what do I wait for?
My hope is in You.
Deliver me from all my transgerssions,
Do not make me the reproach of the
     foolish,
I was mute I did not open my mouth,
Because it was you who did it.
Remove your plague from me.

I am consumed by the blow of Your
     hand.
When with rebukes You correct man for
     iniquity,
You make his beauty melt away like a
     moth;
Surely every man is vapor.

PSALMIST DORIS PRAYS:
"And now Lord, what do I listen for?
My ears hear only your whisperings
Deliver me from my foolishness,
Do not put me in disdain before my enemy
I was deaf and dumb
I uttered not a phrase
Because it was you who silenced me
Remove your sickness from me.

 I am taken over by the gaze of your eyes
 When with one swift glance you correct
   woman for her faults.
 You make her beauty fade away like the
   morning vapor
Surely every woman is illusion.

THE PSALMIST PRAYS:
"Hear my prayer, O Lord,
And give ear to my cry;
Do not be silent at my tears;
For I am a stranger with You.
A sojourner, as all my fathers were.
Remove Your gaze from me, that I may
   regain strength.
Before I go away and am no more.

 PSALMIST DORIS PRAYS:
Look at me O Lord.
And soften your glance,
Do not turn a deaf ear to my stirrings;
For I am like no one to you.
A pilgrim, as all my mothers were.
Take away your hardness of heart,
   that I may breathe freely once again.
Before I die and am no more.