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Speaker 1: Life Audio. For more resources to help you in your

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Speaker 1: walk with Christ, please visit us at Bible Studyheadquarters dot com.

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Speaker 1: You're listening to the Chapter a Day Audio Bible. I'm

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Speaker 1: John Stangey, and today we're reading Psalms seven and eight,

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Speaker 1: and we'll be reading from the New Living Translation a

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Speaker 1: psalm of David which he sang to the Lord concerning

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Speaker 1: cush of the tribe of Benjamin. I come to you

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Speaker 1: for protection, Oh Lord, my God, save me from my persecutors.

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Speaker 1: Rescue me. If you don't, they will maul me like

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Speaker 1: a lion, tearing me to pieces, with no one to

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Speaker 1: rescue me. Oh Lord, my God. If I have done

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Speaker 1: wrong or am guilty of injustice, if I have betrayed

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Speaker 1: a friend or plundered my enemy without cause, then let

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Speaker 1: my enemies capture me. Let them trample me into the

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Speaker 1: ground and drag my honor in the dust. Arise, O Lord,

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Speaker 1: in anger, stand up against the fury of my enemies.

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Speaker 1: Wake up, my God, and bring justice. Gather the nations

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Speaker 1: before you rule over them. From on high, the Lord

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Speaker 1: judges the nations. Declare me righteous, O Lord, for I

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Speaker 1: am innocent, O most High. End the evil of those

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Speaker 1: who are wicked and defend the righteous. For you look

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Speaker 1: deep within the mind and heart, Oh Righteous God, God

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Speaker 1: is my shield, saving those whose hearts are true and right.

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Speaker 1: God is an honest judge. He is angry with the

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Speaker 1: wicked every day. If a person does not repent, God

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Speaker 1: will sharpen his sword. He will bend and string his bow.

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Speaker 1: He will prepare his deadly weapons and shoot his flaming arrows.

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Speaker 1: The wicked conceive evil. They are pregnant with trouble and

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Speaker 1: give birth to lives. They dig a deep pit to

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Speaker 1: trap others, then fall into it themselves. The trouble they

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Speaker 1: make for others backfires on them. The violence they plan

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Speaker 1: falls on their own heads. I will thank the Lord

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Speaker 1: because he is just. I will sing praise to the

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Speaker 1: name of the Lord most High. Psalm eight for the

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Speaker 1: choir director, a Psalm of David, to be accompanied by

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Speaker 1: a stringed instrument. O Lord, our Lord, Your majestic name

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Speaker 1: fills the earth. Your glory is higher than the heavens.

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Speaker 1: You have taught children and infants to tell of your strength,

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Speaker 1: silencing your enemies and all who oppose you. When I

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Speaker 1: look at the night sky and see the work of

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Speaker 1: your faith, the moon and the stars you set in place.

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Speaker 1: What are mere mortals that you should think about them,

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Speaker 1: human beings, that you should care for them. Yet you

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Speaker 1: made them only a little lower than God, and crown

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Speaker 1: them with glory and honor. You gave them charge of

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Speaker 1: everything you made, putting all things under their authority, the

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Speaker 1: flocks and the herds, and all the wild animals, the

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Speaker 1: birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and

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Speaker 1: everything that swims the ocean currents. O Lord, our Lord,

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Speaker 1: your majestic name fills the earth. Let's pray, Lord, we

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Speaker 1: thank you for your word, and we thank you for

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Speaker 1: the privilege of being able to look at it together today.

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Speaker 1: And Lord, as we look at this portion of Scripture,

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Speaker 1: we can see that you are genuinely concerned for humanity.

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Speaker 1: But just as the Psalmist says, it's a wonder to

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Speaker 1: us why you can care about us as much as

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Speaker 1: you do. Lord, the concern and the love and the

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Speaker 1: compassion that you show to us is something that we

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Speaker 1: have a difficult time wrapping our minds around. We think

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Speaker 1: about it, and if we're honest, we realize we don't

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Speaker 1: deserve this at all. But by your grace and for

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Speaker 1: your glory, you show us this love and this compassion,

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Speaker 1: and we are grateful recipients of what you've shown to us. Lord,

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Speaker 1: There's no greater example of that than what you've shown

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Speaker 1: to us and your son Jesus Christ, who, for the

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Speaker 1: sake of our redemption and the joyful reality of us

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Speaker 1: being in your presence for all eternity, was willing to

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Speaker 1: come to this earth and take on flesh and suffer

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Speaker 1: on our behalf, dying for our sin, and then raising

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Speaker 1: from the dead to life and sharing that life with

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Speaker 1: all who trust in him. Lord, we're grateful for these things.

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Speaker 1: But again, just as the Psalmist says, why are you

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Speaker 1: so mindful of us? Why do you care about us

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Speaker 1: as much as you do? But Lord, we're grateful that

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Speaker 1: the reality of the situation is you do care for us,

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Speaker 1: and you love us deeply. And we pray Lord that

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Speaker 1: by your grace that we would love you as well. Lord,

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Speaker 1: inspire our hearts to trust in you through faith in

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Speaker 1: your son Jesus Christ, and we pray that all aspects

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Speaker 1: of our lives would be an expression of our genuine

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Speaker 1: and sincere love for you. We thank you, Lord for

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Speaker 1: all of these things. We thank you for your word

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Speaker 1: and for the privilege to be able to read it

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Speaker 1: together each day, and we thank you for your presence

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Speaker 1: with us today. We pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen,