David Bahn – Reflections

Light from the Word and through the lens

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In 1968 Jerry Snell opened a door in the hallway outside our first hour chemistry class. He invited me into what I discovered was a darkroom. Soon I was on the school newspaper and annual staff as a photographer. Later I learned that Jerry was a Lutheran who was planning to become a pastor. A few years later I was not only a Lutheran, but I was heading off to seminary to become a Lutheran pastor, too. Jerry followed a year later and served as a pastor in Missouri until his untimely heart attack and death. I thank God for Jerry and enjoy photography still today – not to mention rejoicing in having served as a Lutheran pastor in congregations in Utah, Colorado, Arkansas and Texas. I’ve retired now and serve part time as a Congregational Support Specialist for the Texas District of the LCMS. I also provide coaching and leadership training through various PLI cohorts and with individual congregations and organizations. David Bahn is a follower of Jesus Christ, husband to Diane, father and grandfather. He is an avid amateur photographer. His photo website is “Flowers by God Photos by David” He also publishes a devotional blog DavidBahn-Reflections.com. He and Diane live in Cypress Texas and enjoy visiting their grandchildren who live in the United States and Germany. He graduated from Concordia Theological Seminary in 1979, and earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Fuller Theological Seminary in 1991. Diane, his wife, is now retired from PLI (PLIleadership.org). They have offered presentations on Marriage and Ministry Partnership, Leadership, Changing Your Congregation’s Culture, and Missional Living. They look are working with PLI International training pastors and wives of the ELVD Diocese of the Lutheran Church of Tanzania. David’s personal mission statement is “Leading people to realize Jesus’ calling and plans for their lives.”
  • 49 Week Bible Challenge – Day 107: The Conviction of the Holy Spirit

    49 Week Bible Challenge – Day 107: The Conviction of the Holy Spirit


    Click here for an audio version of this devotion.

    I am using readings from the 49 Week Bible Challenge as the basis for these devotions. I encourage you to join me in this discipline. Today’s readings are John 16; Nehemiah 8; Psalm 25; Lamentations 5.

    John 16:1-15

    Babbling Brook near Sawmill Reservoir | Breckenridge, CO | June 2025

    From my earliest years of biblical understanding, I knew of the Holy Spirit. I might not have been able to express his existence under the concept of the triune nature of God. But I knew there was a Holy Spirit. And I believed in him – at least conceptually. But when in high school I attended worship with my friend Jerry, and we spoke the Apostle’s Creed, I learned about believing “in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church; the communion of saints…” The Holy Spirit was right up there with Jesus, God’s Son and the Father who created the heavens and the earth. God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit – in whose name I had been baptized.

    I continue to learn about the Holy Spirit: How he propels the Mission of God (cf. Acts 13:2), how he calls to mind the truth of God and the words of Jesus (John 16 above), inspired the writers of the Old and New Testaments, brings us to faith, and glorifies Jesus.

    Jesus speaks of a threefold conviction of the world, explaining that the Holy Spirit (the Helper) will convict the world in this way: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

    Simple faith in Jesus—trusting him even before we fully grasp what that means—avails before God; this is saving faith. A more fully formed and robust faith embraces the truths that you are a sinner in need of forgiveness, that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross has secured your salvation and now he reigns at the right hand of the Father, and that Satan’s defeat is certain. This deeper, more resilient faith steadies us when the harder challenges of life press in on every side.

    We may not be fully there, but to the extent that we are, we can thank the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified [Nicene Creed]. May he continue to work in our hearts and lives for Jesus’ glory, the cause of his kingdom, and our and our neighbor’s eternal good.

  • 49 Week Bible Challenge – Day 106: What Pleases You?

    49 Week Bible Challenge – Day 106: What Pleases You?


    Click here for an audio version of this devotion.

    I am using readings from the 49 Week Bible Challenge as the basis for these devotions. I encourage you to join me in this discipline. Today’s readings are John 15:13-27; Genesis 44; Psalm 35; Proverbs 18.

    Psalm 35:26-28

    Sawmill Reservoir | Breckenridge, CO | June 2025

    The film Martin Luther: Heretic has a scene where Luther is teaching a class at university. He is teaching them about forgiveness, and salvation by grace through faith. The dialogue goes:

    Student: Man can do nothing about his sinfulness?

    Luther: Yes God is to do everything

    Student: Then I may do as I please. I can sin as much as I want. It makes no difference.

    Luther: Yes you may do as you please. Now tell me what pleases you. Imagine it: no more laws no more punishments. What do you do? Drink yourself senseless? Make faces at the Duke? Spend the rest of the week in a whore house? You say to me you may do as you please. I say to you, what you do comes from what you are what you are in your heart.

    Many people in the world want nothing to do with pleasing God. They’re charting their own course. They do it their way. They decide for themselves what is good and evil. They are anything but people living under the reign and rule of Jesus. I would rather not admit it, but they hate Jesus and those who do wish to please him.

    Thankfully, however, there have been those through the ages who have sought to live faithfully under Jesus’ reign and rule. They realize this is not a heavy burden, but a delightful life of faith and a belief that Jesus’ love renders him the greatest good anyone could desire.

    We all serve some god or another: worldly pursuits of fame and fortune, sexual exploits, or self righteous moralism. Those who look to Jesus as the highest good will discover that he “delights in the welfare of his servant.” We tell of his righteousness, and praise him all the day long. That is truly pleasing to me.

  • 49 Week Bible Challenge – Day 105: From Firewood to Fruitfulness

    49 Week Bible Challenge – Day 105: From Firewood to Fruitfulness


    Click here for an audio version of this devotion.

    I am using readings from the 49 Week Bible Challenge as the basis for these devotions. I encourage you to join me in this discipline. Today’s readings are John 15:1-12; 1 Samuel 18; 19; 20; and Ezekiel 15.

    Ezekiel 15:1-8

    Steinbeck Vineyards | Paso Robles, CA | June 2010

    She held up a small piece of a grape vine for the pastors and pastors’ wives gathered for the leadership conference. She told us that this particular grape vine was wild and would not produce any good grapes, maybe none at all. Then she began to talk about vineyards, grapes, and wine making. Cindy Steinbeck is the author of The Vine Speaks. Her family owns Steinbeck Vineyards in Paso Robles, California.

    Little did I know this would open the door to delightful relationships and lessons with far-reaching impact. We would get to know Cindy and learn about vineyards first hand. We learned about pruning, about how the first of the shoots of the vine contain all the information for all the grapes that would grow from that shoot. We also learned that unless the vine was pruned the result would be a lesser quality of grapes, and maybe even a net lesser quantity of grapes. A few years later we even spent a few days at the Steinbeck Vineyards.

    The situation in Ezekiel’s day was far from a success story, hardly a fruitful vineyard, and anything but commendable. God compares Jerusalem to a vine. But this is not a fruitful, flourishing vine—it is a useless vine, producing no grapes. A vine branch without fruit is not even good for lumber: you can’t carve furniture or tools from it, and you can’t even make a simple peg to hang something on. Its only use is as fuel for the fire.

    Compare that to Jesus!  Ezekiel’s vine was destined for the fire, but Jesus is the vine who gives life. Abiding in him, we are not cast aside as useless but are made fruitful branches in the vineyard of God.

  • Today’s Psalms for August 17, 2025

    Please pray these psalms with me on this Lord’s Day

    Psalm 17

    Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry!

        Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!
    2 From your presence let my vindication come!
        Let your eyes behold the right!

    3 You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night,
        you have tested me, and you will find nothing;
        I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.
    4 With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips
        I have avoided the ways of the violent.
    5 My steps have held fast to your paths;
        my feet have not slipped.

    6 I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
        incline your ear to me; hear my words.
    7 Wondrously show your steadfast love,
        O Savior of those who seek refuge
        from their adversaries at your right hand.

    8 Keep me as the apple of your eye;
        hide me in the shadow of your wings,
    9 from the wicked who do me violence,
        my deadly enemies who surround me.

    10 They close their hearts to pity;
        with their mouths they speak arrogantly.
    11 They have now surrounded our steps;
        they set their eyes to cast us to the ground.
    12 He is like a lion eager to tear,
        as a young lion lurking in ambush.

    13 Arise, O Lord! Confront him, subdue him!
        Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,
    14 from men by your hand, O Lord,
        from men of the world whose portion is in this life.
    You fill their womb with treasure;
        they are satisfied with children,
        and they leave their abundance to their infants.

    15 As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;
        when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.

    Psalm 47

    Clap your hands, all peoples!
        Shout to God with loud songs of joy!
    2 For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared,
        a great king over all the earth.
    3 He subdued peoples under us,
        and nations under our feet.
    4 He chose our heritage for us,
        the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah

    5 God has gone up with a shout,
        the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
    6 Sing praises to God, sing praises!
        Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
    7 For God is the King of all the earth;
        sing praises with a psalm!

    8 God reigns over the nations;
        God sits on his holy throne.
    9 The princes of the peoples gather
        as the people of the God of Abraham.
    For the shields of the earth belong to God;
        he is highly exalted!

    Psalm 77

    I cry aloud to God,
        aloud to God, and he will hear me.
    2 In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
        in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
        my soul refuses to be comforted.
    3 When I remember God, I moan;
        when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah

    4 You hold my eyelids open;
        I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
    5 I consider the days of old,
        the years long ago.
    6 I said, “Let me remember my song in the night;
        let me meditate in my heart.”
        Then my spirit made a diligent search:
    7 “Will the Lord spurn forever,
        and never again be favorable?
    8 Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
        Are his promises at an end for all time?
    9 Has God forgotten to be gracious?
        Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah

    10 Then I said, “I will appeal to this,
        to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”

    11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
        yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
    12 I will ponder all your work,
        and meditate on your mighty deeds.
    13 Your way, O God, is holy.
        What god is great like our God?
    14 You are the God who works wonders;
        you have made known your might among the peoples.
    15 You with your arm redeemed your people,
        the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah

    16 When the waters saw you, O God,
        when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
        indeed, the deep trembled.
    17 The clouds poured out water;
        the skies gave forth thunder;
        your arrows flashed on every side.
    18 The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
        your lightnings lighted up the world;
        the earth trembled and shook.
    19 Your way was through the sea,
        your path through the great waters;
        yet your footprints were unseen.
    20 You led your people like a flock
        by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

    Psalm 107:1-9, 43 

    Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
        for his steadfast love endures forever!
    2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
        whom he has redeemed from trouble
    3 and gathered in from the lands,
        from the east and from the west,
        from the north and from the south.

    4 Some wandered in desert wastes,
        finding no way to a city to dwell in;
    5 hungry and thirsty,
        their soul fainted within them.
    6 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
        and he delivered them from their distress.
    7 He led them by a straight way
        till they reached a city to dwell in.
    8 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
        for his wondrous works to the children of man!
    9 For he satisfies the longing soul,
        and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

    43 Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things;
        let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

    Psalm 137:1-4

    By the waters of Babylon,
        there we sat down and wept,
        when we remembered Zion.
    2 On the willows there
        we hung up our lyres.
    3 For there our captors
        required of us songs,
    and our tormentors, mirth, saying,
        “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

    4 How shall we sing the Lord‘s song
        in a foreign land?

    The Holy Bible, English Standard Version.
    ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by
    Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

  • 49 Week Bible Challenge – Day 103: Fulfillment and So Much More

    49 Week Bible Challenge – Day 103: Fulfillment and So Much More


    Click here for an audio version of this devotion.

    I am using readings from the 49 Week Bible Challenge as the basis for these devotions. I encourage you to join me in this discipline. Today’s readings are John 13; Psalm 41; 119:1-40.

    John 13:12-19

    Mountain View from Sawmill Reservoir | Breckenridge, CO | June 2025

    Over the years I’ve learned more and more of Scripture, had opportunities to place passages in their proper context, and grown in my understanding of how the events of the Old and New Testaments relate to one another. That’s to be expected. I would certainly hope to have a greater grasp of the truths of God’s Word today than I did 50 years ago when I first began seminary.

    So when I hear Jesus say, “But the Scripture will be fulfilled: ‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me’” (John 13:18), my ears perk up. The most vivid moment I’ve had with this came in a deep pit beneath the palace of the high priest in Jerusalem. I read to our group from Psalm 88: “Darkness has become my closest friend.” Just then, the lights went out. I was stunned. The reality of Jesus’ bitter sufferings became almost tangible.

    The Sons of Korah wrote Psalm 88, perhaps reflecting David’s own seasons of bitter suffering, or maybe the experiences of another who felt isolation and abandonment. Yet whatever its original setting, the fullness of this lament is revealed only in Jesus—his life, his ministry, and his passion.

    The same is true of Psalm 41:9, where David writes, “Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.” Jesus quoted this about Judas, who would betray him with a kiss. He told his disciples beforehand so that when it happened, they would understand and be prepared.

    For me, this is a reminder that Jesus stands at the very center of Scripture. It’s all about him. He must ever remain our focus. For only he is the fulfillment of all that God intends for us—our hope, our life, and our salvation. He alone is the one who is—the Great I AM. This is yet another place where Jesus makes that startling claim to be God himself (ἐγώ εἰμι, “I am”). He is the fulfillment of Scripture, and so much more!

  • 49 Week Bible Challenge – Day 102: Intercessory Prayer

    49 Week Bible Challenge – Day 102: Intercessory Prayer


    Click here for an audio version of this devotion.

    I am using readings from the 49 Week Bible Challenge as the basis for these devotions. I encourage you to join me in this discipline. Today’s readings are Luke 23; Leviticus 23; 2 Kings 23; Job 1.

    Job 1:1-5

    Mountain View from Sawmill Reservoir | Breckenridge, CO | June 2025

    Pastor Keith Aschenbeck made a presentation about intercessory prayer at a recent gathering of pastors of circuit 31 of the Texas District LCMS. His doctoral work centered around this issue and as he shared his discoveries we were all engaged. Some had challenging questions. Is prayer a means of grace? Does prayer have power? Do we change God’s will by our prayers? Can we simply pray for someone’s forgiveness without praying that they repent? 

    That last question got the most conversation. Pastor Aschenbeck’s conviction is that intercessory prayer is much about praying for someone’s forgiveness. His biblical examples were telling.

    • Job praying for his family – interceding for them for forgiveness.
    • Jesus praying from the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
    • Jesus telling the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven.”

    His personal examples of people’s practice of intercessory prayer were compelling.

    • I notice how I look at people…you see it, the spiritual struggle and try to be in tune with that but also try to be more open to people.
    • How can I show these people…how can I try to see people like God would see them, as Jesus would see these people? He died for them too. How can I be that person that brings God to them?

    But the breakthrough came for me when we prayed an intercessory prayer for a specific person. The idea of this prayer was not to be a “fix this person” kind of prayer, but rather a prayer for that person’s forgiveness and all that entails.

    Here is the prayer. Pray it, filling in the blank with the name of a person. See what happens is you.

    An Intercessory Prayer

    Based on Paul’s words from Ephesians 3:14-21

    Holy and Almighty God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You are slow to anger and abound in love and mercy.

    For this reason, I kneel before you Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of your glorious riches you may strengthen __name__ with power through your Spirit in his/her inner being, so that Christ may dwell in his/her heart through faith.

    Grant, O Lord, forgiveness to ___name___. Wash him/her with the blood of your Son Jesus Christ. Cover him/her with the robe of my Lord’s holiness. Fill his/her heart with the refreshing water of life that he/she would no longer thirst for righteousness. Overflow his/her cup with joy that he/she would know the peace that passes all understanding. 

    And I pray that ___name____, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge–that he/she may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

    Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all I ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within me, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.

    When I prayed that prayer, I realized it was praying that he/she was somehow fixed by that prayer, rather than that the one for whom I was praying would simply experience forgiveness. That prayer changed me. I pray that God will forgive the one for whom I prayed. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is life and salvation.

  • 49 Week Bible Challenge – Day 101: What a Day! What a Glorious Feast!

    49 Week Bible Challenge – Day 101: What a Day! What a Glorious Feast!


    Click here for an audio version of this devotion.

    I am using readings from the 49 Week Bible Challenge as the basis for these devotions. I encourage you to join me in this discipline. Today’s readings are Mark 14; Zechariah 13; Ezekiel 41; 42.

    Mark 14:-22-25

    Mountain Lake-2 | Breckenridge, CO | June 2025

    Victory’s Feast. That was our theme for Easter and the following Sundays many years ago. We had a beautiful banner, emblazoned with a golden crown on a deep purple background. And we had the Good News: The victory has been won. The feast is prepared. Come to the Feast!

    We were speaking of the victory of Jesus over death and the grave. Life reigns in Jesus. But more than just “life.” Resurrection life. The body of Jesus is no longer in the grave. As he has risen so we will rise. And then will come the feast, the feast of victory, Victory’s Feast!

    But first we must go to the upper room and hear Jesus as he institutes a foretaste of this feast yet to come. He is with his disciples as they are celebrating Passover. This was the meal commemorating the dramatic rescue of God’s people from slavery in Egypt. This was the Great Old Testament Salvation Event. And Jesus uses that celebration to say, “This is my body. This is my blood of the covenant.”

    He is the fulfillment of this salvation celebration. His body and blood redeems and saves. And then he says, “I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” There will be a grand celebration, and Jesus will join us in the heavenly toast to the glory of God and the praise of all the redeemed.

    For some reason I really zoned in on this phrase of Jesus, anticipating the coming kingdom of God. Jesus was going to be betrayed. He will be crucified, dying for the sins of the world – yours and mine. He will rise again. But the true culmination of Jesus’ redemption is yet to come. And when it comes, what a day. What a feast it will be!

  • 49 Week Bible Challenge – Day 100: Love is Extravagant.

    49 Week Bible Challenge – Day 100: Love is Extravagant.


    Click here for an audio version of this devotion.

    I am using readings from the 49 Week Bible Challenge as the basis for these devotions. I encourage you to join me in this discipline. Today’s readings are Matthew 26; Leviticus 5; Job 17; Psalm 27.

    Matthew 26:6-13

    Sawmill Reservoir | Breckenridge, CO | June 2025

    I don’t understand why people would criticize an action such as the woman here, pouring out the jar of ointment, and anointing Jesus’ head as he reclined at table. At least I don’t understand why anyone would say something outloud. I might silently wonder and question in my mind what was going on. I might even be put off by her bold action. He and the disciples are eating after all. Do this later. Do it in a more secluded place and at a more appropriate time.

    I must admit, however, to my own pet targets of wastefulness. Why spend money on exorbitant clothes and sculptures? And do you really need a $3,000,000.00 yacht? Wouldn’t a $2.5Million vessel be sufficient?  Do your hands get any more clean if you wish them with water from gold-plated bathroom fixtures?

    It’s not only Judas who is upset at this waste. Matthew fingers all of the disciples. They are all distressed at this waste. This is unseemly they suppose.

    But Jesus is about to die. And this woman knows it. John identifies her as Mary, Martha’s and Lazarus’ sister. She’s the one who sat at Jesus’ feet while Martha prepared the meal for Jesus and his disciples. Then as now she will be praised for her choice by none other than the Son of God.

    So Mary pours out the ointment, anointing Jesus for his burial. She is overcome with love. And love is extravagant.

  • 49 Week Bible Challenge – Day 99: Only by Forgiveness and Mercy

    49 Week Bible Challenge – Day 99: Only by Forgiveness and Mercy


    Click here for an audio version of this devotion.

    I am using readings from the 49 Week Bible Challenge as the basis for these devotions. I encourage you to join me in this discipline. Today’s readings are Matthew 25; Job 31; Proverbs 14; Jeremiah 46.

    Matthew 25:31-40

    Tall Fringed Bluebells | Breckenridge, CO | June 2025

    “The people there had lived their little passage of time in this world, had become what they became, and now could be changed only by forgiveness and mercy. The misled, the disappointed, the sinners of all the sins, the hopeful, the faithful, the loving, the doubtful, the desperate, the grieved and the comforted, the young and the old, the bad and the good—all, sufferers unto death, had lain down there together. Some were there who had served the community better by dying than by living. Why I should have felt tender toward them all was not clear to me, but I did.” – Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry

    I just finished listening to Jayber Crow, by Wendell Berry, and that last line from the above quote reflects my heart – especially in light of Jesus’ teachings about the Final Judgment. Sheep and goats. Heaven and hell. Good done or not done. Failures and faithfulness. The finality and summery nature of Jesus’ teaching here arrests me.

    In fact we all can face the final judgment only by forgiveness and mercy. I know of no one who has never done an act of kindness. Even my worst enemy has surely offered a cup of water or given a morsel of food to a hungry child. And the most godly people I know will admit it; they’ve failed to do the good things they know they should have done. Who has not passed by a hungry beggar panhandling on the street corner?

    Only by forgiveness and mercy may we face the judgment of God. Only by forgiveness and mercy may we truly live and move and breath in community, school, neighborhood, or home.

    Jesus elevates the kind and small things we can do for each other to judgment – worthy status. So while we may hope only in forgiveness and mercy, we can still offer the drink of water, the blessing of hospitality, and the ministry of presence in our day to day lives. This honors God and reflects the mercy of God toward us all.

  • Today’s Psalms for August 10, 2025

    Please pray these psalms with me on this Lord’s Day

    Psalm 10:16-18

    The Lord is king forever and ever;
        the nations perish from his land.
    17 O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted;
        you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear
    18 to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
        so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

    Psalm 40

    I waited patiently for the Lord;
        he inclined to me and heard my cry.
    2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
        out of the miry bog,
    and set my feet upon a rock,
        making my steps secure.
    3 He put a new song in my mouth,
        a song of praise to our God.
    Many will see and fear,
        and put their trust in the Lord.

    4 Blessed is the man who makes
        the Lord his trust,
    who does not turn to the proud,
        to those who go astray after a lie!
    5 You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
        your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
        none can compare with you!
    I will proclaim and tell of them,
        yet they are more than can be told.

    6 In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,
        but you have given me an open ear.
    Burnt offering and sin offering
        you have not required.
    7 Then I said, “Behold, I have come;
        in the scroll of the book it is written of me:
    8 I delight to do your will, O my God;
        your law is within my heart.”

    9 I have told the glad news of deliverance
        in the great congregation;
    behold, I have not restrained my lips,
        as you know, O Lord.
    10 I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;
        I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
    I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
        from the great congregation.

    11 As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain
        your mercy from me;
    your steadfast love and your faithfulness will
        ever preserve me!
    12 For evils have encompassed me
        beyond number;
    my iniquities have overtaken me,
        and I cannot see;
    they are more than the hairs of my head;
        my heart fails me.

    13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me!
        O Lord, make haste to help me!
    14 Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether
        who seek to snatch away my life;
    let those be turned back and brought to dishonor
        who delight in my hurt!
    15 Let those be appalled because of their shame
        who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”

    16 But may all who seek you
        rejoice and be glad in you;
    may those who love your salvation
        say continually, “Great is the Lord!”
    17 As for me, I am poor and needy,
        but the Lord takes thought for me.
    You are my help and my deliverer;
        do not delay, O my God!

    Psalm 70

    Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
        O Lord, make haste to help me!
    2 Let them be put to shame and confusion
        who seek my life!
    Let them be turned back and brought to dishonor
        who delight in my hurt!
    3 Let them turn back because of their shame
        who say, “Aha, Aha!”

    4 May all who seek you
        rejoice and be glad in you!
    May those who love your salvation
        say evermore, “God is great!”
    5 But I am poor and needy;
        hasten to me, O God!
    You are my help and my deliverer;
        O Lord, do not delay!

    Psalm 100

    Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
    2     Serve the Lord with gladness!
        Come into his presence with singing!

    3 Know that the Lord, he is God!
        It is he who made us, and we are his;
        we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

    4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
        and his courts with praise!
        Give thanks to him; bless his name!

    5 For the Lord is good;
        his steadfast love endures forever,
        and his faithfulness to all generations.

    Psalm 130

    Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!
    2     O Lord, hear my voice!
    Let your ears be attentive
        to the voice of my pleas for mercy!

    3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
        O Lord, who could stand?
    4 But with you there is forgiveness,
        that you may be feared.

    5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
        and in his word I hope;
    6 my soul waits for the Lord
        more than watchmen for the morning,
        more than watchmen for the morning.

    7 O Israel, hope in the Lord!
        For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
        and with him is plentiful redemption.
    8 And he will redeem Israel
        from all his iniquities.

    The Holy Bible, English Standard Version.
    ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by
    Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.