Psalm 31:9-24 (NIV)

⁹ Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am in distress;
my eyes grow weak with sorrow,
my soul and body with grief.
¹⁰ My life is consumed by anguish
and my years by groaning;
my strength fails because of my affliction,
and my bones grow weak.
¹¹ Because of all my enemies,
I am the utter contempt of my neighbors
and an object of dread to my closest friends—
those who see me on the street flee from me.
¹² I am forgotten as though I were dead;
I have become like broken pottery.
¹³ For I hear many whispering,
“Terror on every side!”
They conspire against me
and plot to take my life.

¹⁴ But I trust in you, LORD;
I say, “You are my God.”
¹⁵ My times are in your hands;
deliver me from the hands of my enemies,
from those who pursue me.
¹⁶ Let your face shine on your servant;
save me in your unfailing love.
¹⁷ Let me not be put to shame, LORD,
for I have cried out to you;
but let the wicked be put to shame
and be silent in the realm of the dead.
¹⁸ Let their lying lips be silenced,
for with pride and contempt
they speak arrogantly against the righteous.

¹⁹ How abundant are the good things
that you have stored up for those who fear you,
that you bestow in the sight of all,
on those who take refuge in you.
²⁰ In the shelter of your presence you hide them
from all human intrigues;
you keep them safe in your dwelling
from accusing tongues.

²¹ Praise be to the LORD,
for he showed me the wonders of his love
when I was in a city under siege.
²² In my alarm I said,
“I am cut off from your sight!”
Yet you heard my cry for mercy
when I called to you for help.

²³ Love the LORD, all his faithful people!
The LORD preserves those who are true to him,
but the proud he pays back in full.
²⁴ Be strong and take heart,
all you who hope in the LORD.

Reflection:

As we read through the Psalm, we are able to recognize the distress and anguish that the psalmist is experiencing.  But more than that, we hear his cry for mercy and declaration of the Lord’s faithfulness to all those who hope in the Lord.  More than simple instruction to cry out to the Lord, his cry is a reflection of his life as he declares that he will trust in the Lord for He is his God.

Response:

Let’s once again receive the truth into our lives that the Lord preserves those who are true to him and receive His strength and take heart as those who hope in the Lord.  Let’s pray for our brothers and sisters in each of our churches that we would be reminded, as we cry out to the Lord in the midst of our circumstances, of who God is and be strengthened in His great love for us.

Image from Time.

You may have heard the phrase “Bull market” when the Stock exchange is going up.

Then there’s “Bear Market” when stocks are heading south.

Right now we seem to be in a”Kangaroo Market” where the markets are wildly jumping all over the place.

After some great rises in recent days, stock markets Thursday lead off like lead balloon.

The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index fell 3.9% before noon. The NASDAQ and the Dow Jones Industrial average fared similarly, dropping 5.2% and 3.68% respectively by close.

Our neighbors across the pond are facing similar economic downturn– London’s FTSE 100 index ended the day down 4.5% and Germany’s Dax lost 5.8%. The possible causes are numerous and range from gas prices rising 4.7% to rampant concern over a return of the dreaded r-word…recession.

The Economist has helpfully pointed out, however, that market falls do not necessarily indicate recession, and frequently occur in the midst of economic recovery.

Does this kind of drop bode well for the U.S. economy? We certainly hope so.