"O LORD, rescue me from evil people.
Protect me from those who are violent,
those who plot evil in their hearts
and stir up trouble all day long.
Their tongues sting like a snake;
the venom of a viper drips from their lips." Psalm 140:1-3 (NLT)

Meditation: Lord, guard my lips from speaking evil; may only words of praise be ever on my tongue.

"Surely righteous people are praising your name;
the godly will live in your presence." Psalm 140:13 (NLT)

Meditation: Even when I am less than godly, I still "walk through fields of mercy, under skies of grace." (Sandi Patty, Christian singer)

"Let the godly strike me!
It will be a kindness!
If they correct me, it is soothing medicine. 
Don't let me refuse it" Psalm 141:5 (NLT)

Meditation: "It is less bitter to be corrected by a sinner than by the just, but out of compassion for sinners, to obtain their conversion, I beg you, O my God, to be corrected for them by the just souls who surround me. I also ask that the soothing and healing oil of correction not anoint my head, that is, my soul, for it would make me believe that I possess virtues that I have scarcely cultivated,"^† 

"Keep me from the traps they have set for me,
from the snares of those who do wrong." Psalm 141:9 (NLT)

Meditation: Lord, I seek the sure and safe path, the path that leads to you.

^†de Lisieux, St. Thérèse. La Bible avec Thérèse de Lisieux. Paris, France: Les Éditions du Cerf et Desclée De Brouwer, 1979. 92. Print. Trans. John P. Gross.

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Here is Psalm 7 from my book, "Praying the Psalms for the Unborn Child." 

Psalm 7
Holy Week: Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane¹²

1O LORD my God, in You I have taken refuge;
Save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me,
2Or he will tear my soul like a lion,
Dragging me away, while there is none to deliver.

3O LORD my God, if I have done this,
If there is injustice in my hands,
4If I have rewarded evil to my friend,
Or have plundered him who without cause was my adversary,
5Let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it;
And let him trample my life down to the ground
And lay my glory in the dust.

6Arise, O LORD, in Your anger;
Lift up Yourself against the rage of my adversaries,
And arouse Yourself for me; You have appointed judgment.
7Let the assembly of the peoples encompass You,
And over them return on high.
8The LORD judges the peoples;
Vindicate me, O LORD, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.
9O let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous;
For the righteous God tries the hearts and minds.
10My shield is with God,
Who saves the upright in heart.
11God is a righteous judge,
And a God who has indignation every day.

12If a man does not repent, He will sharpen His sword;
He has bent His bow and made it ready.
13He has also prepared for Himself deadly weapons;
He makes His arrows fiery shafts.
14Behold, he travails with wickedness,
And he conceives mischief and brings forth falsehood.
15He has dug a pit and hollowed it out,
And has fallen into the hole which he made.
16His mischief will return upon his own head,
And his violence will descend upon his own pate.

17I will give thanks to the LORD according to His righteousness
And will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.

Jesus, the Man of Psalm 1, teaches us how to pray to God for protection against the devil (lion)¹³ (7:1). For without God, there is no one to save us (7:2). If we have done evil, then we deserve to be punished (7:4-5).

So we ask God to come to our aid and judge with justice our offence (7:6), to gather His people and rule over them from above (7:7), to judge us according to our faithfulness to His will (righteousness) and our morals (integrity) (7:8), to destroy the wicked and raise up the just, for He knows our hearts and desires (7:9).

God will save the innocent (7:10), but He abhors the wicked (7:11) and He will destroy them (7:12-13). God sees how they work evil and lie (7:14), how they set traps to catch the innocent, but fall into them themselves (7:15-16). We will praise God for making us victorious over the enemy (7:17).

Prayer for life: Lord, the ungodly have no regard for the sanctity of life. They ask: "Why deal with the physical stress of child birth? Who wants to go through the hassle of having a child and then giving it up for adoption? You know you can't afford to raise a baby." But I know that all life is sacred to You from conception to natural death. I also know that You will condemn the wicked and bless the innocent. I must be either for You or against You. The choice is mine. And I choose life. May the birth of my child be a testament to the love I bear for You, Lord. Amen.

Have a blessed day!
John

¹²Reardon, Patrick. Christ in the Psalms. Ben Lomond, CA: Conciliar Press, 2000. 14. Print.
¹³The Orthodox Study Bible. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2008. 685. Print.

Scripture (Psalms 1-21) taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Copyright © 2010 by John P. Gross. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this material must be done in its entirety with the copyright notice intact. This book is not for sale, but is offered to the public free of charge in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary and for the glory of God.