Psalm 14
July 14, 2024 To the choirmaster. Of David.
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;
there is none who does good.
2 The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man,
to see if there are any who understand,
who seek after God.
3 They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
there is none who does good,
not even one.
4 Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers
who eat up my people as they eat bread
and do not call upon the Lord?
5 There they are in great terror,
for God is with the generation of the righteous.
6 You would shame the plans of the poor,
but the Lord is his refuge.
7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people,
let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad (ESV).
This is the word of the Lord. Join me in prayer.
Heavenly Father, Son, Holy Spirit … as you know, we feel a
bit in shock this morning in the immediate aftermath of
yesterday's assassination attempt. We thank you that when we
don’t know just how to pray, you, Holy Spirit, help us and
intercede for us, taking our prayers that are bewildered, ignorant,
inadequate, and/or misguided and making them pleasing to you
and effective in accordance with your will.
Praying this morning at the beginning of what will likely be a
very long aftermath of yesterday’s events, we come to you,
Father, not as Democrats, Republicans, or Independents. Not as
political pundits or armchair commentators. We come to you as
those banking all our hopes for this life and the next on our
perfect Leader, Jesus—our King, our champion, our Savior. In
today’s headlines we hear echoes of Psalm 14; we see glimpses
of Psalm 14. As followers of you, Lord Jesus, we want to be
shaped by Psalm 14 and we remember that we ourselves are
included in these words: They have all turned aside; together they
have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even
one. It is only by your grace, your life and death and resurrection,
that we now belong to the generation of the righteous. It is you
who have caused us to call on you. It is you who have drawn us
to make you our refuge. We are not a people who are self-
righteously above the fray, untouched by human corruption,
political and otherwise. We partake of that corruption and have
been saved by you, are being saved by you, and will be saved by
you.
Our thoughts are with the bereaved and the wounded from
yesterday’s events. We ask your help, your comfort, your healing
and restoration. We pray for the local leaders and law
enforcement. Our thoughts are with the election year process
and what lies ahead. Our thoughts are with our nation, our
culture, our moment in time and the stewardship you have
entrusted to us to represent you in this moment and beyond. We
pray for our political leaders as you have commanded us, and for
the current political process. Give wisdom. Restrain evil. Use
the present tumult to cause people to seek you, reach out to you,
look for a trustworthy Leader and future in you. And renew your
church, Lord, in all the ways that we need it. We understand in
our day how easy it is to follow the crowd, instead of taking a
stand for what is right. Help us to pursue righteousness in every
aspect of our lives. In doing so, this psalm promises that you will
be present in our lives. Rather than being an arrogant people who
do not have any interest in you, may we be a humble people in
desperate need of you. May our light shine more brightly; may
our message be more timely and attractive; may our love and
unity show forth the new humanity you have created in Christ. Do
all that you want to do in and through us in the days ahead. Help
us forward together.
Father, lifting our eyes to broader needs, we also would like
to bring before you today our global partners, David and Katrina
along with their children Daniel and Evelyn. May this time back in
the States be one of refreshment and encouragement as they
meet with their supporting churches and family. We pray for their
safety as they travel on the east coast as well as when they come
back to Minnesota in August. We look forward to the opportunity
to be caught up in person when they are with us on August 18th.
Please especially bless the time Katrina will be able to spend with
her grandpa who is suffering from Parkinson’s disease.
Father, today’s psalm reminds us of the blessed hope when
Christ will return and rule with perfect justice. We praise you for
the solid and steady hope we have in him. Continue to give us a
heart for the people around us that need to be able to cling to the
hope that we have.
We lift our prayer up to you in the name of Jesus Christ our
Lord, and all God’s people said, “Amen!”