Along The Way (April 5 - 11, 2024) — BETHLEHEM UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

Psalm 119:105-144

Your word is a lamp to my feet

and a light to my path.

I have sworn an oath and confirmed it,

to observe your righteous ordinances.

I am severely afflicted;

give me life, O Lord, according to your word.

Accept my offerings of praise, O Lord,

and teach me your ordinances.

I hold my life in my hand continually,

but I do not forget your law.

The wicked have laid a snare for me,

but I do not stray from your precepts.

Your decrees are my heritage forever;

they are the joy of my heart.

I incline my heart to perform your statutes

forever, to the end.

I hate the double-minded,

but I love your law.

You are my hiding place and my shield;

I hope in your word.

Go away from me, you evildoers,

that I may keep the commandments of my God.

Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live,

and let me not be put to shame in my hope.

Hold me up, that I may be safe

and have regard for your statutes continually.

You spurn all who go astray from your statutes,

for their cunning is in vain.

All the wicked of the earth I count as dross;

therefore I love your decrees.

My flesh trembles for fear of you,

and I am afraid of your judgments.

I have done what is just and right;

do not leave me to my oppressors.

Guarantee your servant’s well-being;

do not let the godless oppress me.

My eyes fail from watching for your salvation

and for the fulfillment of your righteous promise.

Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love,

and teach me your statutes.

I am your servant; give me understanding,

so that I may know your decrees.

It is time for the Lord to act,

for your law has been broken.

Truly I love your commandments

more than gold, more than fine gold.

Truly I direct my steps by all your precepts;

I hate every false way.

Your decrees are wonderful;

therefore my soul keeps them.

The unfolding of your words gives light;

it imparts understanding to the simple.

With open mouth I pant,

because I long for your commandments.

Turn to me and be gracious to me,

as is your custom toward those who love your name.

Keep my steps steady according to your promise,

and never let iniquity have dominion over me.

Redeem me from human oppression,

that I may keep your precepts.

Make your face shine upon your servant,

and teach me your statutes.

My eyes shed streams of tears

because your law is not kept.

You are righteous, O Lord,

and your judgments are right.

You have appointed your decrees in righteousness

and in all faithfulness.

My zeal consumes me

because my foes forget your words.

Your promise is well tried,

and your servant loves it.

I am small and despised,

yet I do not forget your precepts.

Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,

and your law is the truth.

Trouble and anguish have come upon me,

but your commandments are my delight.

Your decrees are righteous forever;

give me understanding that I may live.

Psalm 119:145-176

With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O Lord.

I will keep your statutes.

I cry to you; save me,

that I may observe your decrees.

I rise before dawn and cry for help;

I put my hope in your words.

My eyes are awake before each watch of the night,

that I may meditate on your promise.

In your steadfast love hear my voice;

O Lord, in your justice preserve my life.

Those who persecute me with evil purpose draw near;

they are far from your law.

Yet you are near, O Lord,

and all your commandments are true.

Long ago I learned from your decrees

that you have established them forever.

Look on my misery and rescue me,

for I do not forget your law.

Plead my cause and redeem me;

give me life according to your promise.

Salvation is far from the wicked,

for they do not seek your statutes.

Great is your mercy, O Lord;

be gracious to me according to your justice.

Many are my persecutors and my adversaries,

yet I do not swerve from your decrees.

I look at the faithless with disgust

because they do not keep your commands.

Consider how I love your precepts;

be gracious to me according to your steadfast love.

The sum of your word is truth,

and every one of your righteous ordinances endures forever.

Princes persecute me without cause,

but my heart stands in awe of your words.

I rejoice at your word

like one who finds great spoil.

I hate and abhor falsehood,

but I love your law.

Seven times a day I praise you

for your righteous ordinances.

Great peace have those who love your law;

nothing can make them stumble.

I hope for your salvation, O Lord,

and I fulfill your commandments.

My soul keeps your decrees;

I love them exceedingly.

I keep your precepts and decrees,

for all my ways are before you.

Let my cry come before you, O Lord;

give me understanding according to your word.

Let my supplication come before you;

deliver me according to your promise.

My lips will pour forth praise,

because you teach me your statutes.

My tongue will sing of your promise,

for all your commandments are right.

Let your hand be ready to help me,

for I have chosen your precepts.

I long for your salvation, O Lord,

and your law is my delight.

Let me live that I may praise you,

and let your ordinances help me.

I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek out your servant,

for I do not forget your commandments.

Psalm 120, 121, 122 & 123

Prayer for Deliverance from Slanderers

A Song of Ascents.

In my distress I cry to the Lord,

that he may answer me:

“Deliver me, O Lord,

from lying lips,

from a deceitful tongue.”

What shall be given to you?

And what more shall be done to you,

you deceitful tongue?

A warrior’s sharp arrows,

with glowing coals of the broom tree!

Woe is me, that I am an alien in Meshech,

that I must live among the tents of Kedar.

Too long have I had my dwelling

among those who hate peace.

I am for peace,

but when I speak,

they are for war.

Assurance of God’s Protection

A Song of Ascents.

I lift up my eyes to the hills —

from where will my help come?

My help comes from the Lord,

who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved;

he who keeps you will not slumber.

He who keeps Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper;

the Lord is your shade at your right hand.

The sun shall not strike you by day

nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all evil;

he will keep your life.

The Lord will keep

your going out and your coming in

from this time on and forevermore.

Song of Praise and Prayer for Jerusalem

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

I was glad when they said to me,

“Let us go to the house of the Lord!”

Our feet are standing

within your gates, O Jerusalem.

Jerusalem — built as a city

that is bound firmly together.

To it the tribes go up,

the tribes of the Lord,

as was decreed for Israel,

to give thanks to the name of the Lord.

For there the thrones for judgment were set up,

the thrones of the house of David.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:

“May they prosper who love you.

Peace be within your walls

and security within your towers.”

For the sake of my relatives and friends

I will say, “Peace be within you.”

For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,

I will seek your good.

Supplication for Mercy

A Song of Ascents.

To you I lift up my eyes,

O you who are enthroned in the heavens!

As the eyes of servants

look to the hand of their master,

as the eyes of a maid

to the hand of her mistress,

so our eyes look to the Lord our God,

until he has mercy upon us.

Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,

for we have had more than enough of contempt.

Our soul has had more than its fill

of the scorn of those who are at ease,

of the contempt of the proud.

Psalm 124, 125, 126, 127 &128

Thanksgiving for Israel’s Deliverance

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

If it had not been the Lord who was on our side

— let Israel now say —

if it had not been the Lord who was on our side,

when our enemies attacked us,

then they would have swallowed us up alive,

when their anger was kindled against us;

then the flood would have swept us away;

the torrent would have gone over us;

then over us would have gone

the raging waters.

Blessed be the Lord,

who has not given us

as prey to their teeth.

We have escaped like a bird

from the snare of the hunters;

the snare is broken,

and we have escaped.

Our help is in the name of the Lord,

who made heaven and earth.

The Security of God’s People

A Song of Ascents.

Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,

which cannot be moved but abides forever.

As the mountains surround Jerusalem,

so the Lord surrounds his people

from this time on and forevermore.

For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest

on the land allotted to the righteous,

so that the righteous might not stretch out

their hands to do wrong.

Do good, O Lord, to those who are good

and to those who are upright in their hearts.

But those who turn aside to their own crooked ways,

the Lord will lead away with evildoers.

Peace be upon Israel!

A Harvest of Joy

A Song of Ascents.

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,

we were like those who dream.

Then our mouth was filled with laughter

and our tongue with shouts of joy;

then it was said among the nations,

“The Lord has done great things for them.”

The Lord has done great things for us,

and we rejoiced.

Restore our fortunes, O Lord,

like the watercourses in the Negeb.

May those who sow in tears

reap with shouts of joy.

Those who go out weeping,

bearing the seed for sowing,

shall come home with shouts of joy,

carrying their sheaves.

God’s Blessings in the Home

A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon.

Unless the Lord builds the house,

those who build it labor in vain.

Unless the Lord guards the city,

the guard keeps watch in vain.

It is in vain that you rise up early

and go late to rest,

eating the bread of anxious toil,

for he gives sleep to his beloved.

Sons are indeed a heritage from the Lord,

the fruit of the womb a reward.

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior

are the sons of one’s youth.

Happy is the man who has

his quiver full of them.

He shall not be put to shame

when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

The Happy Home of the Faithful

A Song of Ascents.

Happy is everyone who fears the Lord,

who walks in his ways.

You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;

you shall be happy, and it shall go well with you.

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine

within your house;

your children will be like olive shoots

around your table.

Thus shall the man be blessed

who fears the Lord.

The Lord bless you from Zion.

May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem

all the days of your life.

May you see your children’s children.

Peace be upon Israel!

Psalm 129, 130, 131 & 132

Prayer for the Downfall of Israel’s Enemies

A Song of Ascents.

Often have they attacked me from my youth

— let Israel now say —

often have they attacked me from my youth,

yet they have not prevailed against me.

The plowers plowed on my back;

they made their furrows long.

The Lord is righteous;

he has cut the cords of the wicked.

May all who hate Zion

be put to shame and turned backward.

Let them be like the grass on the housetops

that withers before it grows up,

with which reapers do not fill their hands

or binders of sheaves their arms,

while those who pass by do not say,

“The blessing of the Lord be upon you!

We bless you in the name of the Lord!”

Waiting for Divine Redemption

A Song of Ascents.

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.

Lord, hear my voice!

Let your ears be attentive

to the voice of my supplications!

If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,

Lord, who could stand?

But there is forgiveness with you,

so that you may be revered.

I wait for the Lord; my soul waits,

and in his word I hope;

my soul waits for the Lord

more than those who watch for the morning,

more than those who watch for the morning.

O Israel, hope in the Lord!

For with the Lord there is steadfast love,

and with him is great power to redeem.

It is he who will redeem Israel

from all its iniquities.

Song of Quiet Trust

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

O Lord, my heart is not lifted up;

my eyes are not raised too high;

I do not occupy myself with things

too great and too marvelous for me.

But I have calmed and quieted my soul,

like a weaned child with its mother;

my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.

O Israel, hope in the Lord

from this time on and forevermore.

The Eternal Dwelling of God in Zion

A Song of Ascents.

O Lord, remember in David’s favor

all the hardships he endured;

how he swore to the Lord

and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,

“I will not enter my house

or get into my bed;

I will not give sleep to my eyes

or slumber to my eyelids,

until I find a place for the Lord,

a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

We heard of it in Ephrathah;

we found it in the fields of Jaar.

“Let us go to his dwelling place;

let us worship at his footstool.”

Rise up, O Lord, and go to your resting place,

you and the ark of your might.

Let your priests be clothed with righteousness,

and let your faithful shout for joy.

For your servant David’s sake

do not turn away the face of your anointed one.

The Lord swore to David a sure oath

from which he will not turn back:

“One of the sons of your body

I will set on your throne.

If your sons keep my covenant

and my decrees that I shall teach them,

their sons also, forevermore,

shall sit on your throne.”

For the Lord has chosen Zion;

he has desired it for his habitation:

“This is my resting place forever;

here I will reside, for I have desired it.

I will abundantly bless its provisions;

I will satisfy its poor with bread.

Its priests I will clothe with salvation,

and its faithful will shout for joy.

There I will cause a horn to sprout up for David;

I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one.

His enemies I will clothe with disgrace,

but on him, his crown will gleam.”

Psalm 133, 134 & 135

The Blessedness of Unity

A Song of Ascents.

How very good and pleasant it is

when kindred live together in unity!

It is like the precious oil on the head,

running down upon the beard,

on the beard of Aaron,

running down over the collar of his robes.

It is like the dew of Hermon,

which falls on the mountains of Zion.

For there the Lord ordained his blessing,

life forevermore.

Praise in the Night

A Song of Ascents.

Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord,

who stand by night in the house of the Lord!

Lift up your hands to the holy place,

and bless the Lord.

May the Lord, maker of heaven and earth,

bless you from Zion.

Praise for God’s Goodness and Might

Praise the Lord!

Praise the name of the Lord;

give praise, O servants of the Lord,

you who stand in the house of the Lord,

in the courts of the house of our God.

Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;

sing to his name, for he is gracious.

For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,

Israel as his own possession.

For I know that the Lord is great;

our Lord is above all gods.

Whatever the Lord pleases he does,

in heaven and on earth,

in the seas and all deeps.

He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth;

he makes lightnings for the rain

and brings out the wind from his storehouses.

He it was who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,

both humans and animals;

he sent signs and wonders

into your midst, O Egypt,

against Pharaoh and all his servants.

He struck down many nations

and killed mighty kings —

Sihon, king of the Amorites,

and Og, king of Bashan,

and all the kingdoms of Canaan — and gave their land as a heritage,

a heritage to his people Israel.

Your name, O Lord, endures forever,

your renown, O Lord, throughout all ages.

For the Lord will vindicate his people

and have compassion on his servants.

The idols of the nations are silver and gold,

the work of human hands.

They have mouths, but they do not speak;

they have eyes, but they do not see;

they have ears, but they do not hear,

a nose, but there is no breath in their mouths.

Those who make them

and all who trust them

shall become like them.

O house of Israel, bless the Lord!

O house of Aaron, bless the Lord!

O house of Levi, bless the Lord!

You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord!

Blessed be the Lord from Zion,

he who resides in Jerusalem.

Praise the Lord!

Psalm 136 & 137

God’s Work in Creation and in History

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

O give thanks to the God of gods,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

O give thanks to the Lord of lords,