Single & Purposeful

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/abiding-together/id1206416686?i=1000467857406

A miktam[a] of David.

1 Keep me safe, my God,
    for in you I take refuge.

2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
    apart from you I have no good thing.”
3 I say of the holy people who are in the land,
    “They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.”
4 Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more.
    I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods
    or take up their names on my lips.

5 Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;
    you make my lot secure.
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
    surely I have a delightful inheritance.
7 I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
    even at night my heart instructs me.
8 I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
    With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
    my body also will rest secure,
10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
    nor will you let your faithful[b] one see decay.
11 You make known to me the path of life;
    you will fill me with joy in your presence,
    with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Psalm 12For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by an eight-stringed instrument.[a]

1 Help, O Lord, for the godly are fast disappearing!
    The faithful have vanished from the earth!
2 Neighbors lie to each other,
    speaking with flattering lips and deceitful hearts.
3 May the Lord cut off their flattering lips
    and silence their boastful tongues.
4 They say, “We will lie to our hearts’ content.
    Our lips are our own—who can stop us?”

5 The Lord replies, “I have seen violence done to the helpless,
    and I have heard the groans of the poor.
Now I will rise up to rescue them,
    as they have longed for me to do.”
6 The Lord’s promises are pure,
    like silver refined in a furnace,
    purified seven times over.
7 Therefore, Lord, we know you will protect the oppressed,
    preserving them forever from this lying generation,
8 even though the wicked strut about,
    and evil is praised throughout the land.

Psalms 10 1 O LORD, why do you stand so far away? Why do you hide when I am in trouble?2 The wicked arrogantly hunt down the poor. Let them be caught in the evil they plan for others.3 For they brag about their evil desires; they praise the greedy and curse the LORD .4 The wicked are too proud to seek God. They seem to think that God is dead.5 Yet they succeed in everything they do. They do not see your punishment awaiting them. They sneer at all their enemies.6 They think, “Nothing bad will ever happen to us! We will be free of trouble forever!”7 Their mouths are full of cursing, lies, and threats. Trouble and evil are on the tips of their tongues.8 They lurk in ambush in the villages, waiting to murder innocent people. They are always searching for helpless victims.9 Like lions crouched in hiding, they wait to pounce on the helpless. Like hunters they capture the helpless and drag them away in nets.10 Their helpless victims are crushed; they fall beneath the strength of the wicked.11 The wicked think, “God isn’t watching us! He has closed his eyes and won’t even see what we do!”12 Arise, O LORD ! Punish the wicked, O God! Do not ignore the helpless!13 Why do the wicked get away with despising God? They think, “God will never call us to account.”14 But you see the trouble and grief they cause. You take note of it and punish them. The helpless put their trust in you. You defend the orphans.15 Break the arms of these wicked, evil people! Go after them until the last one is destroyed.16 The LORD is king forever and ever! The godless nations will vanish from the land.17 LORD, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them.18 You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed, so mere people can no longer terrify them.

A Psalm of Thanksgiving for God’s Justice.To the Chief Musician; on [a]Muth-labben. A Psalm of David.

1. I will give thanks and praise the Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell aloud all Your wonders and marvelous deeds.
2 I will rejoice and exult in you;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

3 When my enemies turn back,
They stumble and perish before You.
4 For You have maintained my right and my cause;
You have sat on the throne judging righteously.
5 You have rebuked the nations, You have destroyed the wicked and unrepentant;
You have wiped out their name forever and ever.
6 The enemy has been cut off and has vanished in everlasting ruins,
You have uprooted their cities;
The very memory of them has perished.

7 But the Lord will remain and sit enthroned forever;
He has prepared and established His throne for judgment.
8 And He will judge the world in righteousness;
He will execute judgment for the nations with fairness (equity).
9 The Lord also will be a refuge and a stronghold for the oppressed,
A refuge in times of trouble;
10 And those who know Your name [who have experienced Your precious mercy] will put their confident trust in You,
For You, O Lord, have not abandoned those who seek You.

11 Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion;
Declare among the peoples His [great and wondrous] deeds.
12 For He who avenges blood [unjustly shed] remembers them (His people);
He does not forget the cry of the afflicted and abused.
13 Have mercy on me and be gracious to me, O Lord;
See how I am afflicted by those who hate me,
You who lift me up from the gates of death,
14 That I may tell aloud all Your praises,
That in the gates of the daughter of Zion (Jerusalem)
I may rejoice in Your salvation and Your help.
15 The nations have sunk down in the pit which they have made;
In the net which they hid, their own foot has been caught.
16 The Lord has made Himself known;
He executes judgment;
The wicked are trapped by the work of their own hands. Higgaion (meditation) Selah.

17 The wicked will turn to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead),
Even all the nations who forget God.
18 For the poor will not always be forgotten,
Nor the hope of the burdened perish forever.
19 Arise, O Lord, do not let man prevail;
Let the nations be judged before You.
20 Put them in [reverent] [b]fear of You, O Lord,
So that the nations may know they are but [frail and mortal] men. 

For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by a stringed instrument.[a]

1 O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!
    Your glory is higher than the heavens.
2 You have taught children and infants
    to tell of your strength,[b]
silencing your enemies
    and all who oppose you.

3 When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—
    the moon and the stars you set in place—
4 what are mere mortals that you should think about them,
    human beings that you should care for them?[c]
5 Yet you made them only a little lower than God[d]
    and crowned them[e] with glory and honor.
6 You gave them charge of everything you made,
    putting all things under their authority—
7 the flocks and the herds
    and all the wild animals,
8 the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea,
    and everything that swims the ocean currents.

9 O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!

12 If a person does not repent,
    God[b] will sharpen his sword;
    he will bend and string his bow.
13 He will prepare his deadly weapons
    and shoot his flaming arrows.

14 The wicked conceive evil;
    they are pregnant with trouble
    and give birth to lies.
15 They dig a deep pit to trap others,
    then fall into it themselves.
16 The trouble they make for others backfires on them.
    The violence they plan falls on their own heads.

17 I will thank the Lord because he is just;
    I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.

For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by an eight-stringed instrument.[a]

1 O Lord, don’t rebuke me in your anger
    or discipline me in your rage.
2 Have compassion on me, Lord, for I am weak.
    Heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony.
3 I am sick at heart.
    How long, O Lord, until you restore me?

4 Return, O Lord, and rescue me.
    Save me because of your unfailing love.
5 For the dead do not remember you.
    Who can praise you from the grave?[b]

6 I am worn out from sobbing.
    All night I flood my bed with weeping,
    drenching it with my tears.
7 My vision is blurred by grief;
    my eyes are worn out because of all my enemies.

8 Go away, all you who do evil,
    for the Lord has heard my weeping.
9 The Lord has heard my plea;
    the Lord will answer my prayer.
10 May all my enemies be disgraced and terrified.
    May they suddenly turn back in shame.

1 O Lord, I have so many enemies;
    so many are against me.
2 So many are saying,
    “God will never rescue him!” Interlude[a]

3 But you, O Lord, are a shield around me;
    you are my glory, the one who holds my head high.
4 I cried out to the Lord,
    and he answered me from his holy mountain. Interlude

5 I lay down and slept,
    yet I woke up in safety,
    for the Lord was watching over me.
6 I am not afraid of ten thousand enemies
    who surround me on every side.

7 Arise, O Lord!
    Rescue me, my God!
Slap all my enemies in the face!
    Shatter the teeth of the wicked!
8 Victory comes from you, O Lord.
    May you bless your people. Interlude

4 But the one who rules in heaven laughs.
    The Lord scoffs at them.
5 Then in anger he rebukes them,
    terrifying them with his fierce fury.
6 For the Lord declares, “I have placed my chosen king on the throne
    in Jerusalem,[a] on my holy mountain.”

7 The king proclaims the Lord’s decree:
“The Lord said to me, ‘You are my son.[b]
    Today I have become your Father.[c]
8 Only ask, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance,
    the whole earth as your possession.
9 You will break[d] them with an iron rod
    and smash them like clay pots.’”

10 Now then, you kings, act wisely!
    Be warned, you rulers of the earth!
11 Serve the Lord with reverent fear,
    and rejoice with trembling.
12 Submit to God’s royal son,[e] or he will become angry,
    and you will be destroyed in the midst of all your activities—
for his anger flares up in an instant.
    But what joy for all who take refuge in him!

YT- https://www.youtube.com/@midtownmisfitspodcast

Spotify- https://open.spotify.com/show/0bLMlYxFnxz8vS3Taow6hW?si=y28YdVscSESoSOPzS4i0hA&app_destination=copy-link

Apple- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/midtown-misfits/id1574083974

Fran's resources:

Biblical Singleness & Dating Resources- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsWMQ4XKOOc&list=PLPgc9wm7pp6AlVvJCgZ5FiXFA9KR0TrwO

Book Recommendations:

- Single, Dating, Engaged, Married: Navigating Life and Love in the Modern Age

- Captivating Expanded Edition: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman's Soul

- Necessary Endings by Dr. Henry Cloud

- Relational Intelligence: The People Skills You Need for the Life of Purpose You Want