32.4 God Helps In Our Need

(Psalm 116)

I love the Lord, because he hears me;
he listens to my prayers.
He listens to me every time I call to him.
The danger of death was all around me;
the horrors of the grave closed in on me;
I was filled with fear and anxiety.
Then I called to the Lord,
“I beg you, Lord, save me!”

The Lord is merciful and good;
our God is compassionate.
The Lord protects the helpless;
when I was in danger, he saved me.
Be confident, my heart,
because the Lord has been good to me.

The Lord saved me from death;
he stopped my tears and kept me from defeat.
And so I walk in the presence of the Lord
in the world of the living.
I kept on believing, even when I said,
“I am completely crushed,”
even when I was afraid and said,
“No one can be trusted.”

What can I offer the Lord
for all his goodness to me?
I will bring a wine offering to the Lord,
to thank him for saving me.
In the assembly of all his people
I will give him what I have promised.

How painful it is to the Lord
when one of his people dies!
I am your servant, Lord;
I serve you just as my mother did.
You have saved me from death.
I will give you a sacrifice of thanksgiving
and offer my prayer to you.
In the assembly of all your people,
in the sanctuary of your Temple in Jerusalem.
I will give you what I have promised.

Praise the Lord!

32.3 God Gives More Than Needed

(2 Corinthians 9:8-10)

And God is able to give you more than you need, so that you will always have all you need for yourselves and more than enough for every good cause. As the scripture says, “He gives generously to the needy; his kindness lasts forever.”

And God, who supplies seed for the sower and bread to eat, will also supply you with all the seed you need and will make it grow and produce a rich harvest from your generosity.

32.2 God Promises To Care As In The Past

(2 Samuel 7:8-11a)

“So tell my servant David that I, the Lord Almighty, say to him, ‘I took you from looking after sheep in the fields and made you the ruler of my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have defeated all your enemies as you advanced. I will make you as famous as the greatest leaders in the world. I have chosen a place for my people Israel and have settled them there, where they will live without being oppressed any more. Ever since they entered this land, they have been attacked by violent people, but this will not happen again.

32.1 God Will Always Care For Us

(Leviticus 26:3-13)

“If you live according to my laws and obey my commands, I will send you rain at the right time, so that the land will produce crops and the trees will bear fruit. Your crops will be so plentiful that you will still be harvesting grain when it is time to pick grapes; and you will still be picking grapes when it is time to plant grain. You will have all that you want to eat, and you can live in safety in your land.”

“I will give you peace in your land, and you can sleep without being afraid of anyone. I will get rid of the dangerous animals in the land, and there will be no more war there. You will be victorious over your enemies; five of you will be able to defeat a hundred, and a hundred will be able to defeat ten thousand. I will bless you and give you many children; I will keep my part of the covenant that I made with you. Your harvests will be so plentiful that they will last for a year, and even then you will have to throw away what is left of the old harvest to make room for the new. I will live among you in my sacred Tent, and I will never turn away from you. I will be with you; I will be your God, and you will be my people. I, the Lord your God, brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves, broke the power that held you down and I let you walk with your head held high.”

31.4 Praise Of God The Creator

(Psalm 104:1-4, 10-18, 27-33, 36)

Praise the Lord, my soul!
O Lord, my God, how great you are!
You are clothed with majesty and glory;
you cover yourself with light.
You spread out the heavens like a tent
and built your home on the waters above.
You use the clouds as your chariot
and ride on the wings of the wind.
You use the winds as your messengers
and flashes of lightning as your servants.

You make springs flow in the valleys,
and rivers run between the hills.
They provide water for the wild animals;
there the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
In the trees near by, the birds make their nests
and sing.

From the sky you send rain on the hills,
and the earth is filled with your blessings,
You make grass grow for the cattle
and plants for man to use,
so that he can grow his crops
and produce wine to make him happy,
olive oil to make him cheerful,
and bread to give him strength.

The cedars of Lebanon get plenty of rain—
the Lord’s own trees, which he planted.
There the birds build their nests;
the storks nest in the fir trees.
The wild goats live in the high mountains,
and the rock badgers hide in the cliffs.

All of them depend on you
to give them food when they need it.
You give it to them, and they eat it;
you provide food, and they are satisfied.
When you turn away, they are afraid;
when you take away your breath, they die
and go back to the dust from which they came.
But when you give them breath, they are created;
you give new life to the earth.

May the glory of the Lord last forever!
May the Lord be happy with what he has made!
He looks at the earth, and it trembles;
he touches the mountains, and they pour out
smoke.
I will sing to the Lord all my life;
as long as I live I will sing praises to my God.

Praise the Lord, my soul!
Praise the Lord!