Psalm 56  "Be gracious to me, O God..."  The psalmist begins with an urgent prayer.   It is a request for God Himself to stoop down, to bend down to us in kindness, to bestow favor, to take pity on us.
It is a prayer, a petition, a beseeching cry for the Most Holy God to come and help. It is an acknowledgment that although we are fighting as hard as we can...
That we are losing.
That we have been trampled.
That we are outnumbered.
That we are afraid.
But it is also a cry of faith!  "When I am afraid, I will put my trust in Thee.  In God, whose word I praise, in God I have put my trust. I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me?" ( v3-4)
When fear and dread and terror come, we have a refuge.  We can be confident and even bold and secure in the Lord, our God. 
The enemy may :
distort our words
have evil thoughts about us
attack
lurk
watch our steps
wait to pounce on us, ready to even murder us
But God sees all!
He puts "my tears in (His) bottle" and writes it down in "His book"
"This I know, that God is for me."  What a statement!
The God of the universe is for us!  Make this statement of faith your own.  Respond like the psalmist did.
Praise His Word.
Put your trust in Him. 
Keep your vows to Him.
Render thanks to Him.
Walk before Him in light.. in truth and righteousness, in obedience to the Word.
"What can man do to me?" 
Nothing that God can't take care of.  He sees.  He knows. He delivers. He is on our side!

Father in Heaven,  how holy is Your Name!  I praise You.  I thank You for Your Word that lights my path.  Here is Your will for us, plainly written out...trust You.  Believe that You are for us.  Help me to walk in this truth today.  That no matter what the enemy tries to do, no matter what temptations he throws at me, I will KNOW that God is for me! Deliver me from the evil one, O God!  He wants me to doubt You.  To forget that You are on my side!  O may I not forget.  May I boldly proclaim in faith "In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid".  Be gracious to me, O God! I need You every hour!
Thank You!  Praise and honor and glory to our Mighty God and Heavenly Father.
Amen.

Matthew 5
You are the salt of the earth,  Jesus tells his followers .  You are the light of the world.  Tasteless salt is worthless. Hidden light is useless.  "Let your light shine before men is such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."
What good works?  What glorifies the Father?
In the next statement Jesus states that He came to "fulfill" the Law.  To produce a righteousness that surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees.  Though they "kept" the Law, they never fulfilled it.
Only Jesus did that.  And He calls us to that kind of righteousness. To the greatest commandment that sums up them all.  "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself." ( Matt. 22:37-39)
The religious leaders prided themselves on their "keeping" of the Law.  They were full of works.  But they had no love.  No love for God and no love for their neighbors.  That only comes when we have come to Jesus. When we are "blessed" by : knowing we are poor, mourning our sin,  humbling ourselves , being satisfied in Him.... By being transformed by His Word and Power.

Father, let Your light shine in me.  Let the light of Your Love flood my life and bring glory to You!
Be glorified today!
Amen.