My gift to Jesus, this Christmas, was to return to His word.  It is a gift that I pray to continue throughout the New Year. 

Currently, I’m immersing myself in the Psalms.  Below is the outline that I’m following for Christmastide.

• Day 1 Psalms 1 — 12
• Day 2 Psalms 13 — 27
• Day 3 Psalms 28 — 39
• Day 4 Psalms 40 — 52
• Day 5 Psalms 53 — 65
• Day 6 Psalms 66 — 78
• Day 7 Psalms 79 — 91
• Day 8 Psalms 92 — 104
• Day 9 Psalms 105 — 117
• Day 10 Psalms 118 — 130
• Day 11 Psalms 131 — 143
• Day 12 Psalms 144 — 150

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Psalms 1

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1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. 4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff which the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 6 for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. ————————————————————————

Father, may the psalms be my daily prayer and invariably make me happy.

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Psalms 2

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1 Why do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain?  2  The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and his anointed, saying, 3 "Let us burst their bonds asunder, and cast their cords from us." 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the LORD has them in derision. 5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 "I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill." 7 I will tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You are my son, today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel." 10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear, with trembling 12 kiss his feet, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way; for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. ————————————————————————

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Psalms 3

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A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.

1 O LORD, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; 2 many are saying of me, there is no help for him in God. [Selah] 3 But thou, O LORD, art a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. 4 I cry aloud to the LORD, and he answers me from his holy hill. [Selah] 5 I lie down and sleep; I wake again, for the LORD sustains me.   6 I am not afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me round about.  7  Arise, O LORD! Deliver me, O my God! For thou dost smite all my enemies on the cheek, thou dost break the teeth of the wicked.  8 Deliverance belongs to the LORD; thy blessing be upon thy people! [Selah] ————————————————————————

Father, I accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.

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Psalms 4

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To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.

1 Answer me when I call, O God of my right! Thou hast given me room when I was in distress. Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer. 2 O men, how long shall my honor suffer shame? How long will you love vain words, and seek after lies? [Selah] 3 But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD hears when I call to him. 4 Be angry, but sin not; commune with your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. [Selah] 5 Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the LORD. 6 There are many who say, "O that we might see some good! Lift up the light of thy countenance upon us, O LORD!" 7 Thou hast put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound. 8 In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for thou alone, O LORD, makest me dwell in safety. ————————————————————————

Father, may my Saturday nights prepare me to celebrate Your Son’s resurrection on Sunday morning.

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Psalms 5

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To the choirmaster: for the flutes. A Psalm of David.

1 Give ear to my words, O LORD; give heed to my groaning.  2 Hearken to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to thee do I pray. 3 O LORD, in the morning thou dost hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for thee, and watch.  4 For thou art not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not sojourn with thee. 5 The boastful may not stand before thy eyes; thou hatest all evildoers. 6 Thou destroyest those who speak lies; the LORD abhors bloodthirsty and deceitful men. 7 But I through the abundance of thy steadfast love will enter thy house, I will worship toward thy holy temple in the fear of thee. 8 Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of my enemies; make thy way straight before me. 9 For there is no truth in their mouth; their heart is destruction, their throat is an open sepulchre, they flatter with their tongue. 10 Make them bear their guilt, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; because of their many transgressions cast them out, for they have rebelled against thee. 11 But let all who take refuge in thee rejoice, let them ever sing for joy; and do thou defend them, that those who love thy name may exult in thee. 12 For thou dost bless the righteous, O LORD; thou dost cover him with favor as with a shield. ————————————————————————

Jesus, may I get up early to pray every morning, as You did (Mk 1:35).

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Psalms 6

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To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments; according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.

1 O LORD, rebuke me not in thy anger, nor chasten me in thy wrath. 2 Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing; O LORD, heal me, for my bones are troubled. 3 My soul also is sorely troubled. But thou, O LORD — how long? 4 Turn, O LORD, save my life; deliver me for the sake of thy steadfast love. 5 For in death there is no remembrance of thee; in Sheol who can give thee praise? 6 I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping. 7 My eye wastes away because of grief, it grows weak because of all my foes. 8 Depart from me, all you workers of evil; for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping. 9 The LORD has heard my supplication; the LORD accepts my prayer. 10 All my enemies shall be ashamed and sorely troubled; they shall turn back, and be put to shame in a moment. ————————————————————————

Heal me, Lord!

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Psalms 7

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A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning Cush a Benjaminite.

1 O LORD my God, in thee do I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers, and deliver me, 2 lest like a lion they rend me, dragging me away, with none to rescue. 3 O LORD my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands, 4 if I have requited my friend with evil or plundered my enemy without cause, 5 let the enemy pursue me and overtake me, and let him trample my life to the ground, and lay my soul in the dust. [Selah] 6 Arise, O LORD, in thy anger, lift thyself up against the fury of my enemies; awake, O my God; thou hast appointed a judgment. 7 Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered about thee; and over it take thy seat on high. 8 The LORD judges the peoples; judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness and according to the integrity that is in me. 9 O let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish thou the righteous, thou who triest the minds and hearts, thou righteous God. 10 My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart. 11 God is a righteous judge, and a God who has indignation every day. 12 If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and strung his bow; 13 he has prepared his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts. 14 Behold, the wicked man conceives evil, and is pregnant with mischief, and brings forth lies. 15 He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole which he has made. 16 His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own pate his violence descends. 17 I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High. ————————————————————————

Father, thank You for Your Son’s death. May we accept the salvation and mercy He has made possible.

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Psalms 8

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To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of David.

1 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is thy name in all the earth! Thou whose glory above the heavens is chanted 2 by the mouth of babes and infants, thou hast founded a bulwark because of thy foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. 3 When I look at thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast established; 4 what is man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that thou dost care for him? 5 Yet thou hast made him little less than God, and dost crown him with glory and honor. 6 Thou hast given him dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet, 7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the sea. 9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is thy name in all the earth! ————————————————————————

Father, You gave me the freedom to reject You so I would also have the freedom to love You. I love You with all my heart and all my life.

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Psalms 9

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To the choirmaster: according to Muth-labben. A Psalm of David.

1 I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will tell of all thy wonderful deeds. 2 I will be glad and exult in thee, I will sing praise to thy name, O Most High. 3 When my enemies turned back, they stumbled and perished before thee. 4 For thou hast maintained my just cause; thou hast sat on the throne giving righteous judgment. 5 Thou hast rebuked the nations, thou hast destroyed the wicked; thou hast blotted out their name for ever and ever. 6 The enemy have vanished in everlasting ruins; their cities thou hast rooted out; the very memory of them has perished. 7 But the LORD sits enthroned for ever, he has established his throne for judgment; 8 and he judges the world with righteousness, he judges the peoples with equity. 9 The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. 10 And those who know thy name put their trust in thee, for thou, O LORD, hast not forsaken those who seek thee. 11 Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion! Tell among the peoples his deeds! 12 For he who avenges blood is mindful of them; he does not forget the cry of the afflicted. 13 Be gracious to me, O LORD! Behold what I suffer from those who hate me, O thou who liftest me up from the gates of death, 14 that I may recount all thy praises, that in the gates of the daughter of Zion I may rejoice in thy deliverance. 15 The nations have sunk in the pit which they made; in the net which they hid has their own foot been caught. 16 The LORD has made himself known, he has executed judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. [Higgaion. Selah] 17 The wicked shall depart to Sheol, all the nations that forget God. 18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish for ever. 19 Arise, O LORD! Let not man prevail; let the nations be judged before thee! 20 Put them in fear, O LORD! Let the nations know that they are but men! [Selah] ————————————————————————

Risen Jesus, Conqueror of death, I praise You for Your ultimate and final victory.

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Psalms 10

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1 Why dost thou stand afar off, O LORD? Why dost thou hide thyself in times of trouble? 2 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes which they have devised. 3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his heart, and the man greedy for gain curses and renounces the LORD. 4 In the pride of his countenance the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, "There is no God." 5 His ways prosper at all times; thy judgments are on high, out of his sight; as for all his foes, he puffs at them. 6 He thinks in his heart, "I shall not be moved; throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity." 7 His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue are mischief and iniquity. 8 He sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places he murders the innocent. His eyes stealthily watch for the hapless, 9 he lurks in secret like a lion in his covert; he lurks that he may seize the poor, he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net. 10 The hapless is crushed, sinks down, and falls by his might. 11 He thinks in his heart, "God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it." 12 Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thy hand; forget not the afflicted. 13 Why does the wicked renounce God, and say in his heart, "Thou wilt not call to account"? 14 Thou dost see; yea, thou dost note trouble and vexation, that thou mayest take it into thy hands; the hapless commits himself to thee; thou hast been the helper of the fatherless. 15 Break thou the arm of the wicked and evildoer; seek out his wickedness till thou find none. 16 The LORD is king for ever and ever; the nations shall perish from his land. 17 O LORD, thou wilt hear the desire of the meek; thou wilt strengthen their heart, thou wilt incline thy ear 18 to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more. —–

Father, may I trust You always.

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Psalms 11

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To the choirmaster. Of David.

1 In the LORD I take refuge; how can you say to me, "Flee like a bird to the mountains; 2 for lo, the wicked bend the bow, they have fitted their arrow to the string, to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart; 3 if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do"? 4 The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD’s throne is in heaven; his eyes behold, his eyelids test, the children of men. 5 The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked, and his soul hates him that loves violence. 6 On the wicked he will rain coals of fire and brimstone; a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup. 7 For the LORD is righteous, he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face. ————————————————————————

Father, give me confidence. May I walk by faith and not by sight.

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Psalms 12

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1 Help, LORD; for there is no longer any that is godly; for the faithful have vanished from among the sons of men. 2 Every one utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak. 3 May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts, 4 those who say, "With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us; who is our master?" 5 "Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan, I will now arise," says the LORD; "I will place him in the safety for which he longs." 6 The promises of the LORD are promises that are pure, silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times. 7 Do thou, O LORD, protect us, guard us ever from this generation. 8 On every side the wicked prowl, as vileness is exalted among the sons of men. ————————————————————————

Father, only in You is my soul at rest.