76.1 Moses Asks For Pardon

(Numbers 14:11-20)

The Lord said to Moses, "How much longer will these people reject me? How much longer will they refuse to trust in me, even though I have performed so many miracles among them? I will send an epidemic and destroy them, but I will make you the father of a nation that is larger and more powerful than they are!"

But Moses said to the Lord, "You brought these people out of Egypt by your power. When the Egyptians hear what you have done to your people, they will tell it to the people who live in this land. These people have already heard that you, Lord, are with us, that you appear in plain sight when your cloud stops over us, and that you go before us in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Now if you kill all your people the nations who have heard of your fame will say that you killed your people in the wilderness because you were not able to bring them into the land you promised to give them. So now, Lord, I pray, show us your power and do what you promised when you said, 'I, the Lord, am not easily angered, and I show great love and faithfulness and forgive sin and rebellion. Yet I will not fail to punish children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation for the sins of their parents.' And now, Lord, according to the greatness of your unchanging love, forgive, I pray, the sin of these people, just as you have forgiven them ever since they left Egypt."

The Lord answered, "I will forgive them, as you have asked.

75.5 Praise God For His Goodness

(Psalm 111)

Praise the Lord!

With all my heart I will thank the Lord
in the assembly of his people.
How wonderful are the things the Lord does!
All who are delighted with them want to understand them.
All he does is full of honor and majesty;
his righteousness is eternal.

The Lord does not let us forget his wonderful actions;
he is kind and merciful.
He provides food for those who have reverence for him;
he never forgets his covenant.
He has shown his power to his people
by giving them the lands of foreigners.

In all he does he is faithful and just;
all his commands are dependable.
They last for all time;
they were given in truth and righteousness.
He set his people free
and made an eternal covenant with them.
Holy and mighty is he!

The way to become wise is to have reverence for the Lord;
he gives sound judgement to all who obey his
commands.
He is to be praised forever.

75.4 Pray Always

(Ephesians 6:18-20)

Do all this in prayer, asking for God's help.  Pray on every occasion, as the Spirit leads. For this reason keep alert and never give up; pray always for all God's people. And pray also for me, that God will give me a message when I am ready to speak, so that I may speak boldly and make known the gospel's secret.  For the sake of this gospel I am an ambassador, though now I am in prison.  Pray that I maybe bold in speaking about the gospel as I should.

75.3 The Corrupt Judge (i.e. Keep On Praying)

(Luke 18:1-8)

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to teach them that they should always pray and never become discouraged. "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that same town who kept coming to him and pleading for her rights, saying, 'Help me against my opponent!' For a long time the judge refused to act, but at last he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or respect man,  yet because of all the trouble this widow is giving me, I will see to it that she gets her rights.  If I don't, she will keep on coming and finally wear me out!'"

And the Lord continued, "Listen to what that corrupt judge said. Now, will God not judge in favor of his own people who cry to him day and night for help? Will he be slow to help them? I tell you, he will judge in their favor and do it quickly.But will the Son of Man find faith on earth when he comes?"

75.2 Knock And It Shall Be Opened To You

(Luke 11:5-13)

And Jesus said to his disciples, "Suppose one of you should go to a friend's house at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, let me borrow three loaves of bread. A friend of mine who is on a trip has just come to my house, and I don't have any food for him!' And suppose your friend should answer from inside,'Don't bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can't get up and give anything.'  Well, what then? I tell you that even if he will not get up and give you the bread because you are his friend, yet he will get up and give you everything you need because you are not ashamed to keep on asking. And so I say to you: Ask,and you will receive;  seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks will receive, and he who seeks will find, and the door will be opened to anyone who knocks. Would any of you who are fathers give your son a snake when he asks for fish? Or would you give him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? As bad as you are, you know how to give good things to your children. How much more, then, will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

75.1 Pray In Private: The Our Father

(Matthew 6:5-15)

"When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites! They love to stand up and pray in the houses of worship and on the street corners, so that everyone will see them. I assure you, they have already been paid in full.  But when pray, go to your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you.

"When you pray, do not use a lot of meaningless words, as the pagans do, who think that God will hear them because their prayers are long. Do not be like them. Your Father already knows what you need before you ask him. This, then, is how you should pray:

'Our Father in heaven:
May your holy name be honored;
may your Kingdom come;
may your will be done on earth
as it is in heaven.
Give us today the food we need,
Forgive us the wrongs we have done
as we forgive the wrongs
that others have done to us.
Do not bring us to hard testing,
but keep us safe from the Evil One.'

"If you forgive others the wrongs they have done to you, your Father in heaven will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done."

74.4 Praise The Lord For He Is Good

(Psalm 147)

Praise the Lord!

It is good to sing praise to our God;
It is pleasant and right to praise him.
The Lord is restoring Jerusalem;
he is bringing back the exiles.
He heals the broken-hearted
and bandages their wounds

He has decided the number of the stars
and calls each one by name.
Great and mighty is our Lord;
his wisdom cannot be measured.
He raises the humble,
but crushes the wicked to the ground.

Sing hymns of praise to the Lord:
play music on the harp to our God.
He spreads clouds over the sky;
he provides rain for the earth
and makes grass grow on the hills.
He gives animals their food
and feeds the young ravens when they call.

His pleasure is not in strong horses,
nor his delight in brave soldiers;
but he takes pleasure in those who honor him,
in those who trust in his constant love.

Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
He keeps your gates strong; he blesses your people
He keeps your borders safe
and satisfies you with the finest wheat.

He gives a command to the earth,
and what he says is quickly done
He spreads snow like a blanket
and scatters frost like dust.
He sends hail like gravel;
no one can endure the cold he sends!
Then he gives a command, and the ice melts;
he sends the wind, and the water flows.

He gives his message to his people,
his instructions and laws to Israel.
He has not done this for other nations;
they do not know his laws.

Praise the Lord!

74.3 Praise of God'sGreatness

(Romans 11:33-36)

How great are God's riches! How deep are his wisdom and knowledge! Who can explain his decisions? Who can understand his ways? As the scripture says,

Who knows the mind of the Lord?
Who is able to give him advice?
Who has ever given him anything,
so that he had to pay it back?"

For all things were created by him, and all things exist through him and for him.  To God be the glory forever! Amen.

Ezra's Praise Of God

(Nehemiah 9:5-15)

The following Levites gave a call to worship:
Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah,
Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah.  They said:

"Stand up and praise the Lord your God;
praise him forever and ever!
Let everyone praise his glorious name,
although no human praise is great enough."

And then the people of Israel prayed this prayer;
'You Lord, you alone are Lord;
you made the heavens and the stars of the sky.
You made land and sea and everything in them;
you gave life to all.
The heavenly powers bow down and worship you.
You, Lord God, chose Abram
and led him out of Ur in Babylonia;
you changed his name to Abraham.
You found that he was faithful to you,
and you made a covenant with him.
You promised to give him the land of Canaanites,
the land of Hittites and Amorites,
the land of Perizzites, Jebusites, Girgashites,
to be a land where his descendants would live.
You kept your promise, because you are faithful.

"You saw how our ancestors suffered in Egypt;
you heard their call for help at the Red Sea.
You worked amazing miracles against the king,
against his officials and the people of his land,
because you knew how they oppressed your people.
You won then the fame you still have today.
Through the sea you made a path for your people
and led them through on dry ground.
Those who pursued them drowned in deep water,
as a stone sinks in the raging sea.
With a cloud you led them in daytime,
and at night you lighted their way with fire.
At Mount Sinai you came down from heaven;
you spoke to your people and gave them good laws
and sound teachings.
You taught them to keep your Sabbath holy,
and through your servant Moses you gave them your laws.

"When they were hungry, you gave them bread from heaven,
and water from a rock when they were thirsty.
You told them to take control of the land
which you had promised to give them."

Solomon's Praise Of God

(2 Chronicles 7:1-5)

When King Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and burned up the sacrifices that had been offered, and the dazzling light of the Lord's presence filled the Temple.  Because the Temple was full of the dazzling light, the priests could not enter it.  When the people of Israel saw the fire fall down from heaven and the light fill the Temple, they fell face downward on the pavement, worshiping God and praising him for his goodness and his eternal love.  Then Solomon and all the people offered sacrifices to the Lord. He sacrificed 22,000 heads of cattle and 120,000 sheep as fellowship offerings.  And so he and all the people dedicated the Temple.

73.4 Prayer For Justice

(Psalm 10)

Why are you so far away, O Lord?
Why do you hide yourself when we are in trouble?
The wicked are proud and persecute the poor;
catch them in the traps they have made.
The wicked man is proud of his evil desires;
the greedy man curses and rejects the Lord.
A wicked does not care about the Lord;
in his pride he thinks that God doesn't matter.

A wicked man succeeds in everything.
He cannot understand God's judgments;
he sneers at his enemies.
He says to himself, " I will never fail;
I will never be in trouble."
His speech is filled with curses, lies, and threats;
he is quick to speak hateful, evil words.

He hides himself in the villages,
waiting to murder innocent people,
He spies on his helpless victims;
he waits in his hiding place like a lion.
He lies in wait for the poor;
he catches them in his trap and drags them away.

The helpless victims lie crushed;
brute strength has defeated them.
The wicked man says to himself, "God doesn't care!
He has closed his eyes and will never see me!"

O Lord, punish those wicked men!
Remember those who are suffering!
How can a wicked man despise God
and say to himself, "He will not punish me"?
But you do see; you take notice of trouble
and suffering and are always ready to help.
The helpless man commits himself to you;
you have always helped the needy.

Break the power of wicked and evil men;
punish them for the wrong they have done
until they do it no more.

The Lord is king forever and ever.
Those who worship other gods
will vanish from his land.

You will listen, O Lord, to the prayers of the lowly;
you will give them courage.
You will hear the cries of the oppressed and the orphans;
you will judge in their favor
so that mortal men may cause terror no more.