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Psalm 142: Free From My Prison

by Melani Pyke on 4/7/2010 9:16:24 PM
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Psalm 142 is a cry to God for help, and my painting comes from verse 7, "Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name.  Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me."  It made me think that with God on our side, we can break free from any prison as long as we choose to make our heart right, like have pure motives, and use our freedom for good and not for evil.

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Psalm 141: The Door of My Lips

by Melani Pyke on 4/6/2010 8:37:26 PM
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Today's painting is mainly drawn from verses 2-3, which mention a prayer being like incense, and then asks God to guard the mouth, since our words carry power, both for good and evil.

 May my prayer be set before you like incense; 
       may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.

 Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; 
       keep watch over the door of my lips.


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Psalm 140: Unseen Protection

by Melani Pyke on 4/5/2010 9:44:58 PM
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Psalm 140 compares evil men to serpents and poisonous vipers, and asks for God's protection in their midst.  It mentioned traps along your path, so I combined the snakes and the path and painted a carpet of snakes across the ground, with someone's bare feet walking across it confidently, since God is on his side.


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Psalm 139: Wonderfully Made

by Melani Pyke on 4/4/2010 10:13:05 PM
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From this beautiful psalm, I've tried to include the idea of God making us, knowing us intimately, and having a plan for our lives, using the image of a sculptor's hands.  With the background like a desert, I've also hinted at God's thoughts being more vast and numerous than grains of sand, (verses 17-18.)

Psalm 139 (New International Version)

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
 1 O LORD, you have searched me
       and you know me.

 2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
       you perceive my thoughts from afar.

 3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
       you are familiar with all my ways.

 4 Before a word is on my tongue
       you know it completely, O LORD.

 5 You hem me in—behind and before;
       you have laid your hand upon me.

 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
       too lofty for me to attain.

 7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
       Where can I flee from your presence?

 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
       if I make my bed in the depths,
a]">[
a] you are there.

 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
       if I settle on the far side of the sea,

 10 even there your hand will guide me,
       your right hand will hold me fast.

 11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
       and the light become night around me,"

 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
       the night will shine like the day,
       for darkness is as light to you.

 13 For you created my inmost being;
       you knit me together in my mother's womb.

 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
       your works are wonderful,
       I know that full well.

 15 My frame was not hidden from you
       when I was made in the secret place.
       When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

 16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
       All the days ordained for me
       were written in your book
       before one of them came to be.

 17 How precious to b]">[b] me are your thoughts, O God!
       How vast is the sum of them!

 18 Were I to count them,
       they would outnumber the grains of sand.
       When I awake,
       I am still with you.

 19 If only you would slay the wicked, O God!
       Away from me, you bloodthirsty men!

 20 They speak of you with evil intent;
       your adversaries misuse your name.

 21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD,
       and abhor those who rise up against you?

 22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
       I count them my enemies.

 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
       test me and know my anxious thoughts.

 24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
       and lead me in the way everlasting.


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Psalm 138: A Prayer

by Melani Pyke on 4/3/2010 8:45:08 PM
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To me this psalm reads like a heartfelt prayer, so today it is my prayer, too.  It's a prayer of praise for God, a prayer for the government, and a prayer of gratitude that God will help me through my troubles as well as fulfill his purpose for my life.   I didn't intend this to be a self portrait, but she ended up looking a little bit like me.

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Psalm 137: Grieving in a Foreign Land

by Melani Pyke on 4/2/2010 8:37:09 PM
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While in exile, the Jews mourned the destruction of their city.
"By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept
       when we remembered Zion."


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Psalm 136: Thanks Again

by Melani Pyke on 4/1/2010 3:34:27 PM
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Psalm 136 reminds us to give thanks to God for the great things he has done for us.  I thought the sun would be a good symbol for something that gives and governs life, since it is mentioned in verse 8.

Psalm 136 (New International Version)

 1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. 
       His love endures forever.

 2 Give thanks to the God of gods. 
       His love endures forever.

 3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords: 
       His love endures forever.

 4 to him who alone does great wonders, 
       His love endures forever.

 5 who by his understanding made the heavens, 
       His love endures forever.

 6 who spread out the earth upon the waters, 
       His love endures forever.

 7 who made the great lights— 
       His love endures forever.

 8 the sun to govern the day, 
       His love endures forever.

 9 the moon and stars to govern the night; 
       His love endures forever.

 10 to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt 
       His love endures forever.

 11 and brought Israel out from among them 
       His love endures forever.

 12 with a mighty hand and outstretched arm; 
       His love endures forever.

 13 to him who divided the Red Sea a]'>[a] asunder 
       His love endures forever.

 14 and brought Israel through the midst of it, 
       His love endures forever.

 15 but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea; 
       His love endures forever.

 16 to him who led his people through the desert, 
       His love endures forever.

 17 who struck down great kings, 
       His love endures forever.

 18 and killed mighty kings— 
       His love endures forever.

 19 Sihon king of the Amorites 
       His love endures forever.

 20 and Og king of Bashan— 
       His love endures forever.

 21 and gave their land as an inheritance, 
       His love endures forever.

 22 an inheritance to his servant Israel; 
       His love endures forever.

 23 to the One who remembered us in our low estate 
       His love endures forever.

 24 and freed us from our enemies, 
       His love endures forever.

 25 and who gives food to every creature. 
       His love endures forever.

 26 Give thanks to the God of heaven. 
       His love endures forever.


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Psalm 135: He Brings Out the Wind

by Melani Pyke on 3/31/2010 9:18:10 PM
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Today's painting is based especially on verses 6 and 7, which remind us of God's greatness and control over everything.  The painting makes me look for a shape of something in the cloud.  I can see sort of a face, but now I wish I had put something in there intentionally.

6 The LORD does whatever pleases him,
       in the heavens and on the earth,
       in the seas and all their depths.

 7 He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth;
       he sends lightning with the rain
       and brings out the wind from his storehouses.


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Psalm 134: Praise and Blessings

by Melani Pyke on 3/30/2010 8:47:19 PM
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I used Gerber daisies to symbolize praising God, reaching up to heaven, as Psalm 134 inspires us to do.  I used rain to symbolize the blessings that come back down to us.

Psalm 134 (Contemporary English Version)

(A song for worship.)
Praising the LORD at Night
 1Everyone who serves the LORD,

   come and offer praises.

   Everyone who has gathered

   in his temple tonight,

    2lift your hands in prayer

   toward his holy place

   and praise the LORD.

    3The LORD is the Creator

   of heaven and earth,

   and I pray that the LORD

   will bless you from Zion.


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Psalm 133: Together in Unity

by Melani Pyke on 3/29/2010 9:00:05 PM
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This song celebrates unity, and oil running down and dew falling could make interesting imagery for a painting.  Even as I put the brush to the canvas, though, I didn't know what I was going to paint.  I started with mountains, mentioned in verse 3, and then a city, to represent people living together in some sort of unity.  Reminds me of Vancouver, and what better city to represent unity, with its unique mix of cultures and landscapes.

Psalm 133 (New International Version)
A song of ascents. Of David.
 1 How good and pleasant it is
       when brothers live together in unity!

 2 It is like precious oil poured on the head,
       running down on the beard,
       running down on Aaron's beard,
       down upon the collar of his robes.

 3 It is as if the dew of Hermon
       were falling on Mount Zion.
       For there the LORD bestows his blessing,
       even life forevermore.



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