Therefore let the wicked man flee. Let the recalcitrant run from God. Let the thief hide his stolen goods. Let the covetous man cover his eyes. Let the liar cover his mouth. Let the sinner know that our God shall come in the power of His glory and crush all of His and our enemies. The idols of men shall be left as dust in the pathway of our God.

Lord, we take comfort in Your character. You never change. You never lie. You never cheat. Your promises are Yea and Amen. You are on our side. How can we lose! You sent your Son to die for our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Neither the devil nor anyone else can bring an indictment against us. For the Lord is our righteousness. The Lord is our Defender. The Lord is our Counselor. What therefore can man do to us!

Our Father, as we watch our politicians argue over political issues, give us greater trust in Thee. Lord, we face a world-and-life view that has been changing our country for years. We face a false hope in the promises of man. We are like the people of Israel who wanted a King to rule over them rather than God. We have made men into idols. Men have accepted that call. What arrogance! What haughtiness! Rather than be ruled by the law of God, we have chosen to be ruled by the law of man. Rather than govern ourselves, we have chosen to be enslaved by others. We bring the consequences of sin upon ourselves and then we cry out for civil government to deliver us. Oh, how they love to answer the call. Rather than defining evil by reference to the law of God, we have defined evil by the sentimentality of man.

Rather than punishing the evildoer, we multiply laws that only take away the freedom of those who abide by Your law. We have traded freedom for slavery and called it a good thing. Lord, fools rule us, and fools choose fools to lead us. The blind lead the blind. Where is the wise man of our age? Where is the sage who sees through the maze? Lord, deliver our nation before we commit suicide.

Surely, O Lord, our days on earth are very short. Help us to number our days that we may be busy doing what is pleasing to You. Yesterday is gone. It shall never come again. How much did we lose? How much time did we waste? Where were we when others were in the house of God? Where were we when the orphan and the widow cried out for company and friendship? Where were we when our brothers needed a word of encouragement?

Lord, we cannot live the past again. We cannot go back and change anything. We cannot take back what we said that should never have been said. We cannot undo the harm we caused by our sin. We cannot dry up the tears of those who were hurt by our cursory words. Yet, Lord, there is a future. There are days on this earth yet to be lived. There is opportunity. Today is the day of salvation. Today is the time to renew our vows and commit ourselves to Your service.

Yet Lord, help us lest we become discouraged. There is not a finger lifted, there is not a word spoken, and there is not an eye blinked, that God in His sovereign wisdom will not use for His own glory. Help us to remember that it is neither the magnitude of the service nor the notice of it that finds pleasure with God. It is the service, whether large or small, whether in public or in secret, whether publicized or hidden, that really counts. It’s the unnoticed deed of mercy that often finds the most favor with God. Only God and we know about it. Only God and we will ever know about it. But that is enough. We seek not the accolades of man. We seek only one thing – that when we die, we may hear the words of God say to us, “Well done good and faithful servant.”