Psalm 48, 365 DAYS OF LOVE #311

MEMORY VERSE: "Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had nearly slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from the burdens common to man, they are not plagued by human ills. Therefore pride is their necklace, they clothe themselves with violence. From their callous hearts come iniquity; the evil conceits of their minds know no limits. They scoff, and speak with malice; in their arrogance they threaten oppression. Their mouths lay claim to heaven and their tongues take possession of the earth. Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance. They say, "How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge?" This is what the wicked are like--always carefree, they increase in wealth. Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure, in vain have I washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been plagued, I have been punished every morning. If I had said, "I will speak thus," I would have betrayed your children. When I tried to understand this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God, then I understood their final destiny. Surely you place them on slippery ground, you cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! As a dream when one awakes, so when you arise, O Lord, you will despise them as fantasies. When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant, I was a brute beast before you. Yet I am always with you, you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you" -Psalm 73:1-25

NOTES:  ¹ Great is the LORD, and most worthy of praise, 

   in the city of our God, his holy mountain.

 ² Beautiful in its loftiness,
   the joy of the whole earth,
like the heights of Zaphon^[b] is Mount Zion,
   the city of the Great King.
³ God is in her citadels;
   he has shown himself to be her fortress.

 ⁴ When the kings joined forces,
   when they advanced together,
⁵ they saw her and were astounded;
   they fled in terror.
⁶ Trembling seized them there,
   pain like that of a woman in labor.
⁷ You destroyed them like ships of Tarshish
   shattered by an east wind.

 ⁸ As we have heard,
   so we have seen
in the city of the LORD Almighty,
   in the city of our God:
God makes her secure
   forever.^[c]

 ⁹ Within your temple, O God,
   we meditate on your unfailing love.
¹⁰ Like your name, O God,
   your praise reaches to the ends of the earth;
   your right hand is filled with righteousness.
¹¹ Mount Zion rejoices,
   the villages of Judah are glad
   because of your judgments.

 ¹² Walk about Zion, go around her,
   count her towers,
¹³ consider well her ramparts,
   view her citadels,
that you may tell of them
   to the next generation.

 ¹⁴ For this God is our God for ever and ever;
   he will be our guide even to the end.

ACT OF LOVE: Sent random texts to most people in my small group (except for once, cause I didn't have her number). Each one was a personalized encouragement to keep up the commitments they made at retreat and to ask for any prayer requests.
Also, today I was bombarded with a huge load of stuff to do. I had rehearsal right after school and didn't get home until 7:15ish, had 4 Reader Responses to do for English, math hw, financial aid stuff, needed to prepare and memorize 2 monologes for auditions tomorrow, and make the CSF board agenda for tomorrow. However, I did my best not to complain and to maintain a positive attitude. To be honest, I did find myself complaining a few times, but trying to be positive did help me finish my work a lot faster!