Sermon text

Psalm 39

What Is the Measure of My Days?

To the choirmaster: to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

[1] I said, “I will guard my ways,
that I may not sin with my tongue;
I will guard my mouth with a muzzle,
so long as the wicked are in my presence.”
[2] I was mute and silent;
I held my peace to no avail,
and my distress grew worse.
[3] My heart became hot within me.
As I mused, the fire burned;
then I spoke with my tongue:

[4] “O LORD, make me know my end
and what is the measure of my days;
let me know how fleeting I am!
[5] Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,
and my lifetime is as nothing before you.
Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah
[6] Surely a man goes about as a shadow!
Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!

[7] “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?
My hope is in you.
[8] Deliver me from all my transgressions.
Do not make me the scorn of the fool!
[9] I am mute; I do not open my mouth,
for it is you who have done it.
[10] Remove your stroke from me;
I am spent by the hostility of your hand.
[11] When you discipline a man
with rebukes for sin,
you consume like a moth what is dear to him;
surely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah

[12] “Hear my prayer, O LORD,
and give ear to my cry;
hold not your peace at my tears!
For I am a sojourner with you,
a guest, like all my fathers.
[13] Look away from me, that I may smile again,
before I depart and am no more!” (ESV)

Call to Worship

Psalm 114

Tremble at the Presence of the Lord

[1] When Israel went out from Egypt,
the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
[2] Judah became his sanctuary,
Israel his dominion.

[3] The sea looked and fled;
Jordan turned back.
[4] The mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like lambs.

[5] What ails you, O sea, that you flee?
O Jordan, that you turn back?
[6] O mountains, that you skip like rams?
O hills, like lambs?

[7] Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Jacob,
[8] who turns the rock into a pool of water,
the flint into a spring of water. (ESV)

Prayer of Confession

Lord, we rejoice that in you we find our hope. We have tried and failed to manage our lives. We have tried to guard what we say and don’t say. We have tried to serve selflessly. We have tried to contain our appetites and desires. We have tried not to judge or condemn. We have tried to control our thoughts. The harder we try, the more obvious it becomes we cannot attain perfection. We confess our sin and weakness to you. Help us to walk in righteousness forsaking all others and clinging to you in faith. We humbly thank you for forgiving our sins and washing us clean through the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.

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