Contemplative Bible Reading

Psalm 141 (New International Version) 1 O LORD, I call to you; come quickly to me. Hear my voice when I call to you. 2 May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice. 3 Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; […]

[Read more →]

Psalm 141 (New International Version) 1 O LORD, I call to you; come quickly to me. Hear my voice when I call to you. 2 May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice. 3 Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; […]

[Read more →]

Psalms 51:1-2 (New International Version) 1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. This is a prayer I could say everyday. In particular, the lines: blot out my transgressions…wash away […]

[Read more →]

Psalm 31:11-12 (New International Version) 11 Because of all my enemies, I am the utter contempt of my neighbors; I am a dread to my friends— those who see me on the street flee from me. 12 I am forgotten by them as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery. This is […]

[Read more →]

Psalm 133 (New International Version) A song of ascents. Of David. 1 How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! 2 It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down upon the collar of his robes. 3 It is as […]

[Read more →]

Today’s contemplation on the Word is a bit different. I recently read Psalm 19:14 and I had to stop and think for a while – a long while. Here is the New International Version, the version I read most days. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in […]

[Read more →]

Isaiah 9:2 (New International Version) The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. Note the next to last phrase of this verse, living in the land of the shadow of death. The last three words in particular caught […]

[Read more →]

Psalms 118:6 (New International Version) The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? I find three large sermons in this one little verse. What to discuss in a short blog post? All three. The foundation is the first phrase: the Lord is with me. Yes, He is […]

[Read more →]

Psalms 137:8-9 8 O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is he who repays you for what you have done to us- 9 he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks. Before looking at the verses from Psalms, let’s consider these verses from 2 Timothy 3: 16All Scripture is God-breathed and […]

[Read more →]

Psalm 1:1-2 (New International Version) 1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. People […]

[Read more →]