DO not try only to abstain from sin, but strive, by God's grace, to gain the opposite grace. If thou wouldest not slip back into sin, thou must stretch forward to Christ and His holiness. It is a dull, heavy, dreary, toilsome way, just to avoid sin. Thou wouldest not simply not be impatient; thou wouldest long to be like thy Lord, who was meek and lowly of heart. Thou wouldest not only not openly murmur; thou wouldest surely long, like the beloved Apostle, to rest on Jesus' breast, and will what He wills.

~Edward B Pusey

Psalm 77

 Psalm 77

Comfort in Trouble from Recalling God's Mighty Deeds.

For the choir director; according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.

    ¹My voice rises to God, and I will ^(A)cry aloud;
         My voice rises to God, and He will hear me.
    ²In the ^(B)day of my trouble I sought the Lord;
         ^(C)In the night my ^(D)hand was stretched out ^[a]without weariness;
         My soul ^(E)refused to be comforted.
    ³When I remember God, then I am ^(F)disturbed;
         When I ^(G)sigh, then ^(H)my spirit grows faint. Selah.
    ⁴You have held my eyelids open;
         I am so troubled that I ^(I)cannot speak.
    ⁵I have considered the ^(J)days of old,
         The years of long ago.
    ⁶I will remember my ^(K)song in the night;
         I ^(L)will meditate with my heart,
         And my spirit ponders:
    ⁷Will the Lord ^(M)reject forever?
         And will He ^(N)never be favorable again?
    ⁸Has His ^(O)lovingkindness ceased forever?
         Has His ^(P)promise come to an end forever?
    ⁹Has God ^(Q)forgotten to be gracious,
         Or has He in anger withdrawn His ^(R)compassion? Selah.
    ¹⁰Then I said, "^(S)It is my grief,
         That the ^(T)right hand of the Most High has changed."
    ¹¹I shall remember the ^(U)deeds of the LORD;
         Surely I will ^(V)remember Your wonders of old.
    ¹²I will ^(W)meditate on all Your work
         And muse on Your deeds.
    ¹³Your way, O God, is ^(X)holy;
         ^(Y)What god is great like our God?
    ¹⁴You are the ^(Z)God who works wonders;
         You have ^(AA)made known Your strength among the peoples.
    ¹⁵You have by Your power ^(AB)redeemed Your people,
         The sons of Jacob and ^(AC)Joseph. Selah.
    ¹⁶The ^(AD)waters saw You, O God;
         The waters saw You, they were in anguish;
         The deeps also trembled.
    ¹⁷The ^(AE)clouds poured out water;
         The skies ^(AF)gave forth a sound;
         Your ^(AG)arrows flashed here and there.
    ¹⁸The ^(AH)sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;
         The ^(AI)lightnings lit up the world;
         The ^(AJ)earth trembled and shook.
    ¹⁹Your ^(AK)way was in the sea
         And Your paths in the mighty waters,
         And Your footprints may not be known.
    ²⁰You ^(AL)led Your people like a flock
         By the hand of ^(AM)Moses and Aaron.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 77:2 Lit and did not grow numb

Cross references:

1. Psalm 77:1 : Ps 3:4; 142:1
2. Psalm 77:2 : Ps 50:15; 86:7
3. Psalm 77:2 : Ps 63:6; Is 26:9
4. Psalm 77:2 : Job 11:13; Ps 88:9
5. Psalm 77:2 : Gen 37:35
6. Psalm 77:3 : Ps 42:5, 11; 43:5
7. Psalm 77:3 : Ps 55:2; 142:2
8. Psalm 77:3 : Ps 61:2; 143:4
9. Psalm 77:4 : Ps 39:9
10. Psalm 77:5 : Deut 32:7; Ps 44:1; 143:5; Is 51:9
11. Psalm 77:6 : Ps 42:8
12. Psalm 77:6 : Ps 4:4
13. Psalm 77:7 : Ps 44:9
14. Psalm 77:7 : Ps 85:1, 5
15. Psalm 77:8 : Ps 89:49
16. Psalm 77:8 : 2 Pet 3:9
17. Psalm 77:9 : Is 49:15
18. Psalm 77:9 : Ps 25:6; 40:11; 51:1
19. Psalm 77:10 : Ps 31:22; 73:14
20. Psalm 77:10 : Ps 44:2, 3
21. Psalm 77:11 : Ps 105:5; 143:5
22. Psalm 77:11 : Ps 105:5; 143:5
23. Psalm 77:12 : Ps 145:5
24. Psalm 77:13 : Ps 63:2; 73:17
25. Psalm 77:13 : Ex 15:11; Ps 71:19; 86:8
26. Psalm 77:14 : Ps 72:18
27. Psalm 77:14 : Ps 106:8
28. Psalm 77:15 : Ex 6:6; Deut 9:29; Ps 74:2; 78:42
29. Psalm 77:15 : Ps 80:1
30. Psalm 77:16 : Ex 14:21; Ps 114:3; Hab 3:8, 10
31. Psalm 77:17 : Judg 5:4
32. Psalm 77:17 : Ps 68:33
33. Psalm 77:17 : Ps 18:14
34. Psalm 77:18 : Ps 18:13; 104:7
35. Psalm 77:18 : Ps 97:4
36. Psalm 77:18 : Judg 5:4; Ps 18:7
37. Psalm 77:19 : Is 51:10; Hab 3:15
38. Psalm 77:20 : Ex 13:21; 14:19; Ps 78:52; 80:1; Is 63:11-13
39. Psalm 77:20 : Ex 6:26; Ps 105:26

As This Month Ends and as Spring Rapidly Approaches...

Whither goes thou?

Where is thy soul?

Is it in peace? 

If troubled, why?

How art thou fulfilling the duties of thy position?

What are they?

What effort has thou made to amend they disposition, and conquer thy sins?

Has thou been faithful to the light God has given thee?

What means shouldst thou use, especially with regard to they most besetting sin or temptation?

Hast thou fought against it?

Hast thou thought about it at all?

What has thou done with the circumstances of the last month?

Have they wrought God's work in thee?

~ Pere Ravignan (1795-1858)

Always a Project and a Purpose

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.

~ Ephesians 4:1

KNOWING Thou needest this form, as I Thy divine inspiration, 
Knowing Thou shapest the clay with a vision and purpose divine, 
So would I answer each touch of Thy hand in its loving creation, 
That in my conscious life Thy beauty and power may shine.

~ Christopher P. Cranch

LET us examine our capacities and gifts, and then put them to the best use we may. As our own view of life is of necessity partial, I do not find that we can do better than to put them absolutely in God's hand, and look to Him for the direction of our life-energy. God can do great things with our lives, if we but give them to Him in sincerity. He can make them useful, uplifting, heroic. God never wastes anything. God never forgets anything. God never loses anything. As long as we live we have a work to do. We shall never be too old for it, nor too feeble. Illness, weakness, fatigue, sorrow,--none of these things can excuse us from this work of ours. That we are alive today is proof positive that God has something for us to do today.

~ Anna R. B. Lindsay

Happy Valentine's Day

And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

~ 1 Peter 4:8

He commends charity towards one another, because it buries a multitude of sins, and therefore preserves and maintains peace and harmony: for they who love one another easily forgive one another their offenses. 

Geneva Bible Note

Love may forgive all infirmities and love still in spite of them: but Love cannot cease to will their removal. 

~ C. S. Lewis

A True Princess

Courage...

OUR Lord teaches us not to shrink from the consequences which we may see to be involved in any course of duty which we have undertaken. He leads us to accept the results of any high choice as they open to our mind,--to regard trustfully, in every act of self-dedication, in every resolve we are led to make, whatever possibilities there may be of coming trial, foreseen or unforeseen,--to realize in calmness the future, whatever that future may be. If the calling of God is clear, if the sense of duty become the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, ever leading onward, the vision of the cross ought not to hinder our going forward. For one who has put his hand to the plough to look back is to become unfit for the Kingdom of Heaven. And equally so it must be to disobey God, if distrust of His upholding us in the course along which He would guide our steps, whatever trial may meet us in the path, becomes a stumbling-block or hindrance to our faith.

T. T. CARTER