Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Psalm 31:1-13

¹ In you, Lord, I have taken refuge;
   let me never be put to shame;
   deliver me in your righteousness.
² Turn your ear to me,
   come quickly to my rescue;
   be my rock of refuge,
   a strong fortress to save me.
³ Since you are my rock and my fortress,
   for the sake of your name lead and guide me.
⁴ Keep me free from the trap that is set for me,
   for you are my refuge.
⁵ Into your hands I commit my spirit;
   deliver me, Lord, my faithful God.

⁶ I hate those who cling to worthless idols;
   as for me, I trust in the Lord.
⁷ I will be glad and rejoice in your love,
   for you saw my affliction
   and knew the anguish of my soul.
⁸ You have not given me into the hands of the

   enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place.

⁹ Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress;
   my eyes grow weak with sorrow,
   my soul and body with grief.
¹⁰ My life is consumed by anguish
    and my years by groaning;
    my strength fails because of my affliction,
    and my bones grow weak. ¹¹ Because of all my enemies, 

    I am the utter contempt of my neighbors
    and an object of dread to my closest friends—
    those who see me on the street flee from me.
¹² I am forgotten as though I were dead;
     I have become like broken pottery.
¹³ For I hear many whispering,
    “Terror on every side!”
    They conspire against me
    and plot to take my life.

Reflection

Reread this scripture. It is full of vivid imagery of what it is like to be human. What word or phrase speaks to your life?