Psalm 52
1 Why do you boast of evil, you mighty hero?
Why do you boast all day long,
you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God?
2 You who practice deceit,
your tongue plots destruction;
it is like a sharpened razor.
3 You love evil rather than good,
falsehood rather than speaking the truth.
4 You love every harmful word,
you deceitful tongue!
5 Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin:
He will snatch you up and pluck you from your tent;
he will uproot you from the land of the living.
6 The righteous will see and fear;
they will laugh at you, saying,
7 “Here now is the man
who did not make God his stronghold
but trusted in his great wealth
and grew strong by destroying others!”
8 But I am like an olive tree
flourishing in the house of God;
I trust in God’s unfailing love
for ever and ever.
9 For what you have done I will always praise you
in the presence of your faithful people.
And I will hope in your name,
for your name is good.
Jesus, you said you are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. You said you are the Light of Life and that when we follow you we will not walk in darkness, but have the Light of Life. We thank you for this Abundant Life you give to your followers and we pray that your Light would shine in the places of deep darkness in this world. Specifically, we pray for men and women in places of leadership who do not walk in the Light of Life. We pray against their plans for destruction, love of evil, hatred, corruption, fear-mongering, anger, falsehood and deceitfulness. We pray your angels would protect the innocent around these powerful but dangerous ones and that their plots and plans for evil would be thwarted by you. We pray these men and women – in government, media, education, business, arts & entertainment, families, and even the Church – would turn to make you their stronghold, their trust and righteousness. Break their hearts for what breaks yours and help them to trust in your unfailing love forever. May they praise you, hope in your name, and proclaim your Goodness, Grace, and Light to the end of their days. In the powerful name of Christ we pray, Amen.
2020-09-05