Yesterday my friend and I got in quite a conversation about fear and worry connected with the virus and quarantine.  There is the fear of getting sick,  the fear for the economy failing and the fear of loosing our freedoms.  This psalm resonated with me today.  I know the Lord will hear our prayers and is the only source of real peace. 

Psalms 18:4-6

4 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.

5 The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death ^aprevented me.

6 In my ^adistress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his ^btemple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.

Being a Right Hand Man

There is the saying and phrase one is a "right hand man" meaning they are an indispensable helper or chief assistant.  Christ is always described as sitting on the right hand of Heavenly Father.  Can we become a "right hand" servant of Christ?  There are several Psalms that talk of being on the right hand of God.  My favorite is Psalm 118:14-17.  It teaches me that being at the right hand includes being valiant and declaring the gospel. 

14 The Lord is my ^astrength and song, and is become my ^bsalvation.

15 The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the ^atabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly.

16 The right ^ahand of the Lord is exalted: the right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly.

17 I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.      

When Christ discussed with his apostles who would be at his right hand, He reminded them of his own example of ministering to others.

"but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief amount you, let him be your servant:  Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." Matthew 20:26-28

To me this means prayfully seeking inspiration each day of who the Lord would have us serve.

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This quarantine has made me feel like a bird in a cage.  I am praying for the time we can go to the temple again.  Yesterday, Ken took me on a walk on the temple grounds to cheer me up.  Here are a couple of my favorite Psalms:

"Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers;  The snare is broken and we are escaped.  Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth." Psalm 124:7,8

"In that day thou shalt come, O Lord, and I will put my trust in thee.  Thou shalt say unto thy people, for mine ear hath heard thy voice; thou shalt say unto every soul, Flee unto my mountain; and the righteous shall flee like a bird that is let go from the snare of the fowler."  Psalm 11:1  JST

The Psalms are so beautiful and comforting.  This was the first psalm I saw today as I opened them up.  "Their soul is melted because of trouble.  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits end. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble and he bringeth them out of their distress. " I am left with the thought, I have more to fear from my own sins then any calamity.  The artwork is by Remebrant. 

Psalm 107

23 They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;

24 These see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep.

25 For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.

26 They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.

27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.

28 Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.

29 He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.

30 Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.

31 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

https://rsc-legacy.byu.edu/archived/ascending-mountain-lord-temple-praise-and-worship-old-testament/parallels-between-psalms-25  Great ideas on psalms to check out!

Prophetic verses

After studying the book of Revelations, I was again reading Psalms and saw correlations. Revelations 13 talks about a seven headed beasts which represents Satan and kingdoms controlled by him. There are blasphemies against God. Pslams 74:10 asks, "O God, how long shall the enemy blaspheme Thy name?" Then in verse 13,and 14 the comforting assurance, "Though didst divide the sea by thy strength; thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters. Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces" I don't know what all the images in Revelations specifically represent but I do know that the Lord will triumph.

(Psalm 34) Let Us Exalt His Name Together Forever

Psalm 34 is my personal favorite and always gives me a lift.  I really like this musical arrangement of it I found on youtube.