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The first four verses of Psalm 61 bring images of a person seeking protection from his enemies. David is calling on the Name of the Lord and asking God to be help him in times of distress and danger. He finds protection in God's presence and he trusts and says that God is a strong tower that defends him against the foe , A mighty Rock where no enemy can come and trouble him. He is desperate and asks God to hear his cry, to answer is prayer to save him from his enemies and just makes God's presence as his dwelling place where he finds comfort and strength and rescued from all evil and danger. when i read these verses i can feel the anxiety, the fear, the sadness and sorrow David is facing through his trials. But through all this when David cries out to God his Protector -- the feelings are changed from anxiety to strength. A strong feeling of trust and courage is built when we declare that God is our refuge, God is our strength. when faced by circumstances that are impossible to handle and when I surrender them to God and cry out to God for help - i feel there is a mighty God with me who hears me and protects me and fights all my battles and i begin to sing praises to His Holy Name trusting that my good God is with me and takes care of me.

Our Father in Heaven we give you all glory honor and praise for You are our loving God. we stand in need of your mercy and pardon for our sins that has led us away from Your loving presence. You are a good God - slow to anger and abounding in love. we repent and turn back from all wrong ways and from paths that have been displeasing in your sight. we humble ourselves in your mighty presence. Father restore unto us all that we have lost through our disobedience against your will and plans. Show your mercy and kindness and grant us joy and peace of heart and mind. Thank You Father, by your love and mercy we are saved and we glorify Your mighty Name for making Your face shine upon us. Repentance of sin, humility before God, spending time with God through prayer True commitment to follow his ways and plans, Obedience to the Word of God and obeying the Voice of His Holy Spirit and elements that are required for personal or congregation revival.

David humbles himself in the presence of God, acknowledges he has sinned against His God. we find in the word of God in the Book of Proverbs that humility and fear of the Lord bring wealth honor and life. David who built a strong relationship with God has perfectly understood that God esteems the one who is humble and contrite in spirit. In his relationship with God, David had developed this virtue of humility. David was able to get many victories because he humbly recognised the fact that he can do all things only by the power and strength of his God. As he remained humble before God- he was filled with the mighty strength of God and this made David a man of strong faith. when our hearts and minds are pure and when we acknowledge God is the source of all things are faith in God is also built up. Pride diminishes our faith in God and a proud man or woman is not able to give glory to God in all things. But when we choose to give glory to God and recognize that only when we remain in Him we can do all things we are able to put our trust in God. when David came before the presence of God with this attitude of humility he was confident that God will forgive him and restore to him all that he is praying for. Humility and faith are essential to have a close walk with God. God is able to trust us and reveal his plans to us and we are able to acheive God's purposes. we can do all things in Christ Jesus who strengthens us as we walk humbly with God. when one of this virtue is missing God is not glorified through our lives and are we are not able to live a abundant and victorious life.

All this week through i kept reading these Psalms of praise and it has greatly encouraged me. i keep on reminding myself that Praising God at all times allows to God to act on my behalf. Singing these psalms of praise has enabled me to have a closer walk with Him and enabled me to surrender to His mighty and loving plans He has for me.

I am deeply moved by the very thought that God has created me in his own image and likeness. Amazing strength fills my soul when i understand through the Word of God that He knit me in mother's womb and he knows me because he formed me! i feel his love so great for me that i am able to surrender my all to Him in worship and adoration. He is a good God who has great plans for me, he hears me when i call on His Name and He is in complete control of my life. This fills me with great joy and makes me serve Him, share his goodness with others and live a life that gives Him glory all the time. my heart is filled with thanksgiving to my God because he loved me and sent His only son Jesus to die on the cross and rescue me from the kingdom of darkness and brought me into His kingdom of light.

God dwells in the midst of our praises. In psalm 69, we see David in a state of utter despair and hopelessness an pours his heart to the Lord. David is hurt and pained by the situtations he is facing and he is honest before his God. David knows the only place where he can get comfort and strength is in the presence of Yahweh God. So David makes to known to God all his sadness. once he is comforted in God's presence slowly a song of praise emerges from his heart to God. David also knows that his victory lies in shouting praises to God and in the past God has acted on his behalf when he has sang praises to God. Praising God at all times-- is the key to deliverance from any situation. He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that i may show him the salvation of God. (Psalm 50:23). when we surrender our situations to the Lord and we lift our hands and begin to praise our God we are filled with God's strength. when we begin to sing praises to our God-- a hope beyond hope comes within us that God is our strength and shield and we are filled with faith. Praises enable us to surrender our situations to Him and slowly our focus is shifted from the circumstance and praises makes us focus on God. praises are powerful and effective because when we praise God we are filled with the strength of God we become more than conquerors in Christ Jesus who strengthens us.

David had a strong relationship with God as a shepherd boy. He grew up singing praises to the Lord and worshiping Him. David must have committed mistakes earlier too and experienced the forgiveness of His God. Trusting completely in the fact that Yahweh God is a God of love and mercy and forgives sin he has the confidence to approach God once again. Although David has committed a shameful thing he believes that God is God who forgives sin and will blot out all his transgressions. Because David had built a strong relationship with a merciful and loving God he returns back to the father to ask pardon trusting that God will be merciful to him and forgive him. The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. As father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. when we like David have a strong relationship with God we have the confidence to approach him to receive his mercy and grace over any mistake that we have committed. when we turn to God with a repentant and contrite heart and take responsibility for the mistakes we have done and truly repent and choose to never commit that mistake again we know God is there to wash away our sin. The Blood of Jesus Christ God's Son cleanses us continually from all sin. We believe that God sent his only Son to die on the Cross and Jesus has paid for all our sins by His precious Blood. we receive mercy and grace and complete forgiveness of sin through the precious Blood of Jesus.

Praises are offered to God in the beginning of Psalm 98 because God has done marvelous things for His people. The psalmist exalts our Great God because He has brought deliverance to the House of Israel. God is praised with song in this Psalm because He has saved his people and His right hand and his holy arm have done wonderful things for His people. Yahweh God is praised because He has shown his awesome power and might not only by saving the house of Israel but He has revealed His loving kindness to the nations. Hence, the Psalmist urges to shout and sing praises to Yahweh. we are encouraged to praise our good and merciful God with all kinds of instruments making music for He deserves all honor, praise and glory. Praise is so exuberant in this psalm because Yahweh God is strong and mighty and He has shown his faithfulness by rescuing his people from destruction. All the earth has witnessed His salvation and experienced His love. In our fellowship highest importance is given to Praise and Worship.. we begin our meetings singing songs of praise and thanksgiving. we shout and sing praises to God with all our heart and mind recognizing that our God is worthy of praise. we praise God with loud voices. As the psalmist has described in this Psalm (Vs 4 to 6) we come before the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords with jubilant songs, we make music to the Lord with instruments and all of us just enjoy praising Him!!!!! we give thanks to God in all circumstances. we praise God amidst any situations we are facing. Praises are vibrant in our fellowship and all of us have experienced God's salvation, mercy, faithfulness and deliverance as we have offered to Him sacrifices of praise.

We worship God because our Father in Heaven seeks such worshipers who worship Him in spirit and in truth. God dwells in the praises of His people. we show great love and honor to our God as we come before him with grateful hearts thanking Him and exalting Him with music and song. God is pleased as we offer sacrifice of thanksgiving in music and song and we make way for our mighty God to answer us with us awesome deeds!! we worship Him because He is our Maker. As we kneel down and worship our God with our hands lifted up towards Him we acknowledge He is our God and we are His people. we acknowledge that His thoughts and His ways are best for us. we acknowledge that He is the Creator of the whole universe and all things belong to Him. He is our Great and mighty God and He is above all gods. As we worship this mighty and holy God he speaks to our hearts. He allows our inner most being to hear his gentle voice and in worship he softens our hearts. In worship He makes us obey His voice as he gently speaks to us. Verses 8 to 11 instructs us that obeying God's voice is true worship. Praising God and worshiping him in songs enables us to come into God's presence. when we worship God and as we come into His presence we are able to surrender our ways, our plans and our whole being to Him. Worship enables us to hear his voice and say yes to His ways and not to rebel against His plans and His will for us in our lives. All our worship becomes fruitful when we listen to Him as he speaks to us in worship. Our coming before God in joyful songs, our bowing down in worship all leads to us hear God's voice and follow His ways and make Him the Lord and King of our lives. Finally accepting God's plans and ways and living in obedience to His will is the highest act of worship we render to our great God, the great King above all gods.

Our love for God is expressed in a wonderful way when we praise Him and exalt Him! This Psalm teaches me that no matter what situations i face or what needs i have -- i have found singing praises to God is the foremost duty of every believer. God acts on our behalf of us as we praise Him, works in ways beyond our expectations. Praising God at all times fills me with strength and courage, joy and peace and i see God supplying all my needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Praise occurs from my inner most being giving thanks to God. With all my heart , my mind and my strength i need to praise God. I praise God recalling his benefits , his faithfulness, love and mercy towards me. I praise Him for who He is and i praise Him for He is a great God who makes the impossible possible. The Psalmist calls us to praise God with all musical instruments and above all with our whole heart to sing praises to God. As i read this psalm aloud i am encouraged to praise God through melodious songs of praise and bask in His Presence.

Psalm 1, 15 and Psalm 133 gave me real insight into the word of God and helped to apply the instructions given in my life. Unity leads to greater blessings. This study helped me to keep my tongue pure to sing praises to God and avoid speaking wrong things about others but bless and pray for others. This made me to worship God joyfully through out the week. i chose to delight in God's word and keep away from all unrighteous ways. A careful meditation of the above psalms helped me have a closer walk with the Lord this week and help others to walk in his paths!

Psalm 42 and 43 gave me great hope to believe that God can do exceedingly, abundantly much more than we can ask and imagine as we surrender all situations in his hands and praise Him David. i sang hymns of praise along with my prayer group members throughout the week and we all were able to surrender our cares to the Lord Almighty through praising God in song God enabled me to teach hymns of my local language in praise to the Creator and they learnt the hymns and sang joyfully to the Lord. God has enabled me to sing Psalm 63 -2:5 and vs 7 to 8 in song form and sing it in our worship meetings glorifying God's Name.

For there the Lord bestows his blessing even life evermore... This line has always attracted me as i have read this Psalm. where brothers and sisters live in love and peace there is a commanded blessing of God over their lives. living in unity becomes the cause for every good blessing that God has pronounced in His Word. In Romans Chapter 8:5 -8 we see those who live according to sinful nature their minds are set on what sinful nature desires and their minds are hostile to God. Those who live in accordance with the Spirit of God have their minds set on what the Spirit desires and their minds are controlled by the Spirit which produces life and peace. Dwelling in Unity is becomes hard for a person who is controlled by the sinful nature because their life is filled with hatred, envy, jealousy and strife, A person who is under the control of the Holy Spirit - his mind is set on the things what the Spirit desires and such people bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit- love, joy , peace , patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control. when brothers and sisters in Christ live under the control of the Holy Spirit, they automatically dwell in unity . The commitment that unity requires is to be led by the Spirit of God. As mentioned above we have crucify our sinful nature and live in accordance with the Spirit of God. Our minds have to submit to the voice of the Holy Spirit constantly which enables us to say No to sin and we get the grace to live in unity within our family and live in peace with brothers and sisters in Christ. Purity is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. when we live our lives submitting to the Holy Spirit we lead pure and holy life that leads to unity. when there is sin present in us and we try to gratify the passions of the sinful nature our lives become impure producing disunity. Jesus' prayer in John chapter 17 verses 20 to 23 is a prayer of unity. Jesus's himself prays to his Father that may all the believers brought to complete unity to let the world know that Jesus was sent by His Father and loved the world even as God loved his own Son. Hence we living in unity fulfils the word of God- FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONE AND ONLY SON THAT WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHALL NOT PERISH BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. when we live in love and peace with each other we enable the unsaved to come to the knowledge of Christ.

Psalm 15 makes me ask a question as the Psalmist? Lord who may dwell in your sanctuary? The answer to this question follows in the Psalm. Only a person who walks in righteous ways, always speaks the truth and keeps his tongue free from judgement, criticism and all wrong things can worship God Almighty. A person who does not hurt his neighbour, does not associate with the wicked , lends money without interest and takes no bribes is confident to approach the throne of grace and be in communion with the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit of God. This Psalm makes me check on my life and see if there is anything unholy as explained in this Psalm and get away from all unholiness before entering the presence of the Lord. we cannot praise and worship Jesus and be led by his Holy Spirit if any things that Psalm 15 describes are present in us. i can worship my Father in heaven with joy and confidence as i choose to do what is right and keep away from sin. i am able to continually dwell in God's presence when i choose to keep away from unrighteous deeds that are mentioned in Psalm 15. when i practice to live a righteous life under the guidance of Psalm 15 this itself becomes a lesson for others to learn and follow. The way i live becomes an inspiration to others to live their lives in accordance to God's word and give glory to the Creator. My way of living by applying God's word gives glory to Him and in turn i become a blessing to all my family members and all those God has entrusted in my care to bring them closer to Him.

Psalm 1 constantly reminds us as people of God our walk with Him has to be righteous and holy. This psalm keeps reminding us that there are two paths that we can choose. The narrow path that leads to life by abiding in the Word of God and the broad path that leads to destruction by gratifying the passions of the sinful nature. it reminds me daily to live a righteous life , not to take the counsel of the ungodly and not to follow the pattern of the world but to live in the light of God's word. i am inspired by Verse3- He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. whatever he does he prospers. As i delight myself in reading and meditating God's word and as i try to apply it in my daily walk a strong confidence is built within me. As i choose to walk in God;s righteous paths i am sure that i am like a fruitful tree. i become a source to blessing to others. i do not wither under hard and heaty circumstances but i am always full of hope and joy as i preserve God's word in my heart. As i try to live a righteous life each day by God's grace whatever i do i prosper. This line-- whatever he does prospers gives me great confidence and encouragement that all that i do will be successful giving glory to God.

I am able to recognize God's love for me because He has created me in his own image and likeness. i feel His love strong for me when i come into His presence and worship Him. He shows his love to me by filling me with his strength and joy when i spend time with Him. my faith grows stronger as i see Him blessing the work of my hands, answers my heart's desires and also when i proclaim his goodness and mercy to others He works wonders. i have felt his love for me deeply through His Son Jesus who died for me, paid for all my sins and interceding at God's right hand for me. God is my everything!!! He is my Father to whom i can run in good times to share my joy and in times of need as i seek his face-- He is always there to comfort me, to cheer me up and enables me to be a blessing to others. God is my provider for he has provided for all my needs and made be to be a blessing to His people who are in need. God is my protector for he has protected me and my family from all dangers. He is defender, my refuge my fortress and my God in whom i trust. To Him be all the glory and honor. Serving Him and fulfilling his desires gives me immense joy. My life has become purposeful as i abide in His presence and make him known to others.

David is overwhelmed by the situations he is facing. He seems to be fighting a battle all by himself the way out seems to be too far. The only source of his strength is the Lord Almighty. David has seen in the past that God has been with him and given his victory. David is sad and worried and this makes his soul depressed. Even in this depressed state he can feel the love of God for Him and deep in his heart he understands that God is able and will bring him out of all his trials. He encourages himself in the Lord and begins to praise God. Praising God in all circumstances gives us immense strength and courage. David now gets up from his troubled state and begins to praise God his Savior. From sadness his heart is now turned with joy as he puts his hope in the Lord. i have found victory over the troubles i have faced by declaring God's word and singing praises to Him continually.

To dwell in the House of the Lord-- it means to live in the presence of God. when we spend time with Him- praising Him and worshiping Him we dwell in the House of the Lord. we are the temples of the Holy Spirit and God presence dwells in us. To dwell in the House of the Lord is to come into His presence and allow ourselves to filled with His presence as we surrender our entire being to Him. David knew that when he faced all kind of trials he could take shelter in the House of the Lord. The House of the Lord or in other words the Presence of God Almighty became for him a shelter in the storm and a shade in the heat. David knew that when took refuge in the House of the Lord - he was comforted, strengthened and uplifted by God's presence. To seek God's face is to seek His ways and His thoughts. God's thoughts and ways are higher than our ways and thoughts. when we draw near to God through praise and thanksgiving and we adore him and worship God reveals himself to us. To seek God is to know his thoughts and His ways in any given situation. David finds strength as he dwells in God's presence. when he seeks God- God reveals himself to David and comforts him. David is able to understand God's ways and God's thoughts are good and prosperous for him and he is filled with faith. No matter what circumstance he is facing- David is now confident that God is with him. As he waits for God to deliver him from all his troubles he is able to say-- I AM STILL CONFIDENT OF THIS - I WILL SEE THE GOODNESS OF THE LORD IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING.

OH LORD , OUR LORD, HOW MAJESTIC IS YOUR NAME IN ALL THE EARTH! God filled me with his joy and strength as i meditated on Psalm 8, 19 and 139. I was greatly encouraged as i read the psalms loudly everyday. i read the above psalms to my freinds and prayed with them -- Oh Lord, may the words of our mouth and meditation of our heart be pleasing in your sight. As David prayed i made a sincere prayer to the Lord- Search me Oh God, and know my heart.... see if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. On one side i have started marveling at God's creation and on the other side God has cleansed my heart in a deeper way to love him and serve Him. i prayed psalm 139 along with my sister and encouraged her and prayed for her. Giving all the glory to God for enabling me to meditate on these psalms i sang a song of thanksgiving to the God Almighty who created me along with my family members. MAY THE WORDS OF MY MOUTH AND THE MEDITATION OF MY HEART BE PLEASING IN YOUR SIGHT, O LORD ,MY ROCK AND MY REDEEMER.

God Our Creator is the source of all things. God our Father knows us so well as David clearly describes in Psalm 139. David recognizes that everything he does is known to his Maker the Lord Almighty. David is once again filled with wonder to know that God has searched him and he is known by God. His thoughts, his ways, the words he speaks are all known to God. This makes us realize that God's presence is with us and God knows all about us. He cares for us and He has good plans for us. David further realizes that wherever he goes God is present. David praises God for he is fearfully and wonderfully created. He considers God's plans and thoughts too wonderful and precious and commits his life in the hands of God who formed him in his mother's womb. Recognizing this awesome wonder of God---- that God Almighty knows him and is with him David makes a prayer to God to search his inmost being . He asks God to cleanse him from everything that is not pleasing Him and in true surrender allows God to lead him in the right paths.

In Psalm 19 Verses 1 to 6 we see David expressing his joy looking at God's perfect creation. As a young Shepherd boy David watched the sky, the sun and all God's creation and sang songs of joy that filled his heart when he saw God's marvelous creation. In Verses 7 to 13 David looks intently into God's laws, statutes, precepts and his ordinances. David's soul was revived as he soaked himself watching God's creation. David finds joy as he meditates on God's word and his soul is revived. God's perfection and awesome glory is revealed in verses 1to 6 and the same perfection is found in God's word in verses 7 to 13. His glory is revealed in us as we walk in the light of his precious word and our life shines like the sun in the sky. God gets the glory looking at us human beings the creation of his hand when we make a choice to walk in the light of His word. David saw the perfect glory of God revealed through his creation and God's laws that revived his soul. Joy inexpressible is revealed through God's creation and now David finds the same joy in meditating and obeying God's word. Psalmist David is making an earnest prayer to the Lord through Verse 14. David found God's creation and God's laws pleasing to him. David now prays that his whole life becomes pleasing to the Heavenly Father. It becomes David's desire that the words of his mouth and meditation of his heart pleasing in God's eyes as beautiful as creation of God.

Psalm 8 shows us that God is Almighty Creator of the whole earth. it shows the beauty of God's creation. He has given honor to us human beings by making us ruler over the works of His hands. God Almighty has honored Christ by crowning him with glory and honor.