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(First Apostolic Church, Danville, KY on a 16 mile ride around Danville, November 1, 2012)

The promises of the Lord are promises that are pure, silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.

Psalm 12:6

Psalm 12 (NRSV)

Help, O Lord, for there is no longer anyone who is godly; the faithful have disappeared from humankind.

They utter lies to each other; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts,

those who say, “With our tongues we will prevail; our lips are our own—who is our master?”

“Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan, I will now rise up,” says the Lord; “I will place them in the safety for which they long.”

The promises of the Lord are promises that are pure, silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.

You, O Lord, will protect us; you will guard us from this generation forever.

On every side the wicked prowl, as vileness is exalted among humankind.

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(Shelby Baptist Church, Junction City, KY on a 10 mile ride on my new road bike, September 8, 2012)

In the Lord I take refuge; how can you say to me, “Flee like a bird to the mountains;

Psalm 11:1

Psalm 11 (NRSV)

In the Lord I take refuge; how can you say to me, “Flee like a bird to the mountains;

for look, the wicked bend the bow, they have fitted their arrow to the string, to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart.

If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven. His eyes behold, his gaze examines humankind.

The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, and his soul hates the lover of violence.

On the wicked he will rain coals of fire and sulfur; a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.

For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.

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(Gethsemane Baptist Church, Danville, KY on a 14 mile ride to the Bike Shop, lunch at Mermaids, and Woodlawn Elementary with Dianne, September 1, 2012)

In arrogance the wicked persecute the poor— let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.

Psalm 10:2

Psalm 10 (NRSV)

Why, O Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

In arrogance the wicked persecute the poor— let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.

For the wicked boast of the desires of their heart, those greedy for gain curse and renounce the Lord.

In the pride of their countenance the wicked say, “God will not seek it out”; all their thoughts are, “There is no God.”

Their ways prosper at all times; your judgments are on high, out of their sight; as for their foes, they scoff at them.

They think in their heart, “We shall not be moved; throughout all generations we shall not meet adversity.”

Their mouths are filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under their tongues are mischief and iniquity.

They sit in ambush in the villages; in hiding places they murder the innocent. Their eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;

they lurk in secret like a lion in its covert; they lurk that they may seize the poor; they seize the poor and drag them off in their net.

They stoop, they crouch, and the helpless fall by their might.

They think in their heart, “God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”

Rise up, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand; do not forget the oppressed.

Why do the wicked renounce God, and say in their hearts, “You will not call us to account”?

But you do see! Indeed you note trouble and grief, that you may take it into your hands; the helpless commit themselves to you; you have been the helper of the orphan.

Break the arm of the wicked and evildoers; seek out their wickedness until you find none.

The Lord is king forever and ever; the nations shall perish from his land.

O Lord, you will hear the desire of the meek; you will strengthen their heart, you will incline your ear

to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed, so that those from earth may strike terror no more.

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(Basilica of Saint Joseph Proto-Cathedral, Bardstown, KY on a 34 mile ride from Bardstown to Fairdale, KY, August 9, 2012)

The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.

Psalm 9:9

Psalm 9 (NRSV)

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.

I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

When my enemies turned back, they stumbled and perished before you.

For you have maintained my just cause; you have sat on the throne giving righteous judgment.

You have rebuked the nations, you have destroyed the wicked; you have blotted out their name forever and ever.

The enemies have vanished in everlasting ruins; their cities you have rooted out; the very memory of them has perished.

But the Lord sits enthroned forever, he has established his throne for judgment.

He judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with equity.

The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.

And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.

Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion. Declare his deeds among the peoples.

For he who avenges blood is mindful of them; he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.

Be gracious to me, O Lord. See what I suffer from those who hate me; you are the one who lifts me up from the gates of death,

so that I may recount all your praises, and, in the gates of daughter Zion, rejoice in your deliverance.

The nations have sunk in the pit that they made; in the net that they hid has their own foot been caught.

The Lord has made himself known, he has executed judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion. Selah

The wicked shall depart to Sheol, all the nations that forget God.

For the needy shall not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the poor perish forever.

Rise up, O Lord! Do not let mortals prevail; let the nations be judged before you.

Put them in fear, O Lord; let the nations know that they are only human. Selah

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(St. Rose Catholic Church, Springfield, KY on a 55 mile ride from Danville to Bardstown, August 8, 2012)

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?

Psalm 8:3-4

Psalm 8 (NRSV)

O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.

Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger.

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established;

what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?

Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor.

You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet,

all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,

the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

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