Psalm 146
1 Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul.
2 I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
3 Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.
4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing.
5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God,
6 the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them— the LORD, who remains faithful forever.
7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free,
8 the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous.
9 The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
10 The LORD reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the LORD.
Psalm 147
1 Praise the LORD. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him!
2 The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
4 He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.
5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.
6 The LORD sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground.
7 Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make music to our God on the harp.
8 He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills.
9 He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call.
10 His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man;
11 the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.
12 Extol the LORD, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion,
13 for he strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your people within you.
14 He grants peace to your borders and satisfies you with the finest of wheat.
15 He sends his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly.
16 He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes.
17 He hurls down his hail like pebbles. Who can withstand his icy blast?
18 He sends his word and melts them; he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow.
19 He has revealed his word to Jacob, his laws and decrees to Israel.
20 He has done this for no other nation; they do not know his laws. Praise the LORD.
Song of Solomon 7
1 How beautiful your sandaled feet, O prince's daughter! Your graceful legs are like jewels, the work of a craftsman's hands.
2 Your navel is a rounded goblet that never lacks blended wine. Your waist is a mound of wheat encircled by lilies.
3 Your breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle.
4 Your neck is like an ivory tower. Your eyes are the pools of Heshbon by the gate of Bath Rabbim. Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon looking toward Damascus.
5 Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel. Your hair is like royal tapestry; the king is held captive by its tresses.
6 How beautiful you are and how pleasing, O love, with your delights!
7 Your stature is like that of the palm, and your breasts like clusters of fruit.
8 I said, "I will climb the palm tree; I will take hold of its fruit." May your breasts be like the clusters of the vine, the fragrance of your breath like apples,
9 and your mouth like the best wine. Beloved May the wine go straight to my lover, flowing gently over lips and teeth.
10 I belong to my lover, and his desire is for me.
11 Come, my lover, let us go to the countryside, let us spend the night in the villages.
12 Let us go early to the vineyards to see if the vines have budded, if their blossoms have opened, and if the pomegranates are in bloom— there I will give you my love.
13 The mandrakes send out their fragrance, and at our door is every delicacy, both new and old, that I have stored up for you, my lover.
Song of Solomon 8
1 If only you were to me like a brother, who was nursed at my mother's breasts! Then, if I found you outside, I would kiss you, and no one would despise me.
2 I would lead you and bring you to my mother's house— she who has taught me. I would give you spiced wine to drink, the nectar of my pomegranates.
3 His left arm is under my head and his right arm embraces me.
4 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires. Friends
5 Who is this coming up from the desert leaning on her lover? Beloved Under the apple tree I roused you; there your mother conceived you, there she who was in labor gave you birth.
6 Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame.
7 Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned. Friends
8 We have a young sister, and her breasts are not yet grown. What shall we do for our sister for the day she is spoken for?
9 If she is a wall, we will build towers of silver on her. If she is a door, we will enclose her with panels of cedar. Beloved
10 I am a wall, and my breasts are like towers. Thus I have become in his eyes like one bringing contentment.
11 Solomon had a vineyard in Baal Hamon; he let out his vineyard to tenants. Each was to bring for its fruit a thousand shekels of silver.
12 But my own vineyard is mine to give; the thousand shekels are for you, O Solomon, and two hundred are for those who tend its fruit. Lover
13 You who dwell in the gardens with friends in attendance, let me hear your voice! Beloved
14 Come away, my lover, and be like a gazelle or like a young stag on the spice-laden mountains.
Psalm 145:8 - 8 The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.
Praise God! As a stinkin’ sinner, I find great comfort in this verse.
3 Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.
I can not help but think of what a foolish generation we live in as I was watching the news last nigt replaying parts of the Democratic National Convention. To see people putting their trust in an earthly man, to be saved, and lead by him. How desperately we need to seek God to do this for us. When it comes to our leader, the commander in chief in our lives there is only one. The great thing is that we can put our full trust in Him and he is the only one that will provide after all that we seek. Peace, security, provision. We will not see all these things happen in a global sense until the end of this world has come, but if we seek God and look to him we will experience this in our daily lives as we learn to trust our Rock, our Fortress, our Defense.
Ps 145 reminds me once again of who God is: the responsive One who saves us! Now that’s food for today! 18 The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.
We must put all our trust and faith in our heavenly Father, not men of this world.
Psalm 146:10 says, The LORD reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the LORD.
Our LORD is forever, not just the few years we are here on earth. Please Lord, let me put all my trust in you and not in men of this world.