Devotional for March 3

St. Paul's UMC - Woodbridge, Virginia

Read Psalms 37-39

 Psalm 39 (Good News Bible) 

¹ I said, “I will be careful about what I do and will not let my tongue make me sin; I will not say anything while evil people are near.” ² I kept quiet, not saying a word, not even about anything good! But my suffering only grew worse, ³ and I was overcome with anxiety. The more I thought, the more troubled I became; I could not keep from asking: ⁴ “Lord, how long will I live? When will I die? Tell me how soon my life will end.”

⁵ How short you have made my life! In your sight my lifetime seems nothing. Indeed, every living being is no more than a puff of wind, ⁶ no more than a shadow. All we do is for nothing; we gather wealth, but don't know who will get it.

⁷ What, then, can I hope for, Lord? I put my hope in you. ⁸ Save me from all my sins, and don't let fools make fun of me. ⁹ I will keep quiet, I will not say a word, for you are the one who made me suffer like this. ¹⁰ Don't punish me anymore! I am about to die from your blows. ¹¹ You punish our sins by your rebukes, and like a moth you destroy what we love. Indeed, we are no more than a puff of wind!

¹² Hear my prayer, Lord, and listen to my cry; come to my aid when I weep. Like all my ancestors I am only your guest for a little while. ¹³ Leave me alone so that I may have some happiness before I go away and am no more.