Proverbs 8:1-21 and Psalm 88

Proverbs 8:1-21

[1]Does not wisdom call, and does not understanding raise her voice? [2] On the heights, beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand; [3] beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries out: [4] "To you, O people, I call, and my cry is to all that live. [5] O simple ones, learn prudence; acquire intelligence, you who lack it. [6] Hear, for I will speak noble things, and from my lips will come what is right; [7] for my mouth will utter truth; wickedness is an abomination to my lips. [8] All the words of my mouth are righteous; there is nothing twisted or crooked in them. [9] They are all straight to one who understands and right to those who find knowledge. [10] Take my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold; [11] for wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her. [12] I, wisdom, live with prudence, and I attain knowledge and discretion. [13] The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate. [14] I have good advice and sound wisdom; I have insight, I have strength. [15] By me kings reign, and rulers decree what is just; [16] by me rulers rule, and nobles, all who govern rightly. [17] I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me. [18] Riches and honor are with me, enduring wealth and prosperity. [19] My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold, and my yield than choice silver. [20] I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice, [21] endowing with wealth those who love me, and filling their treasuries. 

****************************************

Psalm 88

[1]   O LORD, God of my salvation,   
    when, at night, I cry out in your presence,   
[2]   let my prayer come before you;   
         incline your ear to my cry.

[3]   For my soul is full of troubles,   
         and my life draws near to Sheol.   
[4]   I am counted among those who go down to the Pit;   
         I am like those who have no help,   
[5]   like those forsaken among the dead,   
         like the slain that lie in the grave,   
    like those whom you remember no more,   
         for they are cut off from your hand.   
[6]   You have put me in the depths of the Pit,   
         in the regions dark and deep.   
[7]   Your wrath lies heavy upon me,   
         and you overwhelm me with all your waves.               Selah

[8]   You have caused my companions to shun me;   
         you have made me a thing of horror to them.   
    I am shut in so that I cannot escape;   
[9]        my eye grows dim through sorrow.   
    Every day I call on you, O LORD;   
         I spread out my hands to you.   
[10]  Do you work wonders for the dead?   
         Do the shades rise up to praise you?                                
 Selah   
[11]  Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,   
         or your faithfulness in Abaddon?   
[12]  Are your wonders known in the darkness,   
         or your saving help in the land of forgetfulness?

[13]  But I, O LORD, cry out to you;   
         in the morning my prayer comes before you.   
[14]  O LORD, why do you cast me off?   
         Why do you hide your face from me?   
[15]  Wretched and close to death from my youth up,   
         I suffer your terrors; I am desperate.   
[16]  Your wrath has swept over me;   
         your dread assaults destroy me.   
[17]  They surround me like a flood all day long;   
         from all sides they close in on me.   
[18]  You have caused friend and neighbor to shun me;   
         my companions are in darkness.

  

Proverbs 7:1-27 and Psalm 143

Proverbs 7:1-27

[1]My child, keep my words and store up my commandments with you; [2]keep my commandments and live, keep my teachings as the apple of your eye; [3]bind them on your fingers, write them on the tablet of your heart. [4]Say to wisdom, "You are my sister", and call insight your intimate friend, [5]that they may keep you from the loose woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words.

[6]For at the window of my house I looked out through my lattice, [7]and I saw among the simple ones, I observed among the youths, a young man without sense, [8]passing along the street near her corner, taking the road to her house [9]in the twilight, in the evening, at the time of night and darkness.

[10]Then a woman comes towards him, decked out like a prostitute, wily of heart. [11]She is loud and wayward; her feet do not stay at home; [12]now in the street, now in the squares, and at every corner she lies in wait. [13]She seizes him and kisses him, and with impudent face she says to him: [14]"I had to offer sacrifices, and today I have paid my vows; [15]so now I have come out to meet you, to seek you eagerly, and I have found you! [16]I have decked my couch with coverings, coloured spreads of Egyptian linen; [17]I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. [18]Come, let us take our fill of love until morning; let us delight ourselves with love. [19]For my husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey. [20]He took a bag of money with him; he will not come home until full moon."

[21]With much seductive speech she persuades him; with her smooth talk she compels him. [22]Right away he follows her, and goes like an ox to the slaughter, or bounds like a stag towards the trap [23]until an arrow pierces its entrails. He is like a bird rushing into a snare, not knowing that it will cost him his life.

[24]And now, my children, listen to me, and be attentive to the words of my mouth. [25]Do not let your hearts turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her paths. [26]for many are those she has laid low, and numerous are her victims. [27]Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death.

****************************************

Psalm 143

[1]   Hear my prayer, O LORD;  
          give ear to my supplications in your faithfulness;  
          answer me in your righteousness.  
[2]   Do not enter into judgment with your servant,  
          for no one living is righteous before you.

[3]   For the enemy has pursued me,  
          crushing my life to the ground,  
          making me sit in darkness like those long dead.  
[4]   Therefore my spirit faints within me;  
          my heart within me is appalled.

[5]   I remember the days of old,  
          I think about all your deeds,  
          I meditate on the works of your hands.  
[6]   I stretch out my hands to you;  
          my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.                  
Selah

[7]   Answer me quickly, O LORD;  
          my spirit fails.  
     Do not hide your face from me,  
          or I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.  
[8]   Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning,  
          for in you I put my trust.  
     Teach me the way I should go,  
          for to you I lift up my soul.

[9]   Save me, O LORD, from my enemies;  
          I have fled to you for refuge.  
[10]  Teach me to do your will,  
          for you are my God.  
     Let your good spirit lead me  
          on a level path.

[11]  For your name's sake, O LORD, preserve my life.  
          In your righteousness bring me out of trouble.  
[12]  In your steadfast love cut off my enemies,  
          and destroy all my adversaries,  
          for I am your servant.

Proverbs 6:1-19 and Psalm 65

Proverbs 6:1-19

[1]My child, if you have given your pledge to your neighbor, if you have bound yourself to another, [2] you are snared by the utterance of your lips, caught by the words of your mouth. [3] So do this, my child, and save yourself, for you have come into your neighbor's power: go, hurry, and plead with your neighbor. [4] Give your eyes no sleep and your eyelids no slumber; [5] save yourself like a gazelle from the hunter, like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

[6] Go to the ant, you lazybones; consider its ways, and be wise. [7] Without having any chief or officer or ruler, [8] it prepares its food in summer, and gathers its sustenance in harvest. [9] How long will you lie there, O lazybones? When will you rise from your sleep? [10] A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, [11] and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want, like an armed warrior.

[12] A scoundrel and a villain goes around with crooked speech, [13] winking the eyes, shuffling the feet, pointing the fingers, [14] with perverted mind devising evil, continually sowing discord; [15] on such a one calamity will descend suddenly; in a moment, damage beyond repair.

[16] There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: [17] haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, [18] a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that hurry to run to evil, [19] a lying witness who testifies falsely, and one who sows discord in a family.

****************************************

Psalm 65

[1]   Praise is due to you,  
          O God, in Zion;  
     and to you shall vows be performed,  
[2]        O you who answer prayer!  
     To you all flesh shall come.  
[3]   When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us,  
          you forgive our transgressions.  
[4]   Happy are those whom you choose and bring near  
          to live in your courts.  
     We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,  
          your holy temple.

[5]   By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance,  
          O God of our salvation;  
     you are the hope of all the ends of the earth  
          and of the farthest seas.  
[6]   By your strength you established the mountains;  
          you are girded with might.  
[7]   You silence the roaring of the seas,  
          the roaring of their waves,  
          the tumult of the peoples.  
[8]   Those who live at earth's farthest bounds are awed by your signs;  
          you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.

[9]   You visit the earth and water it,  
          you greatly enrich it;  
     the river of God is full of water;  
          you provide the people with grain,  
          for so you have prepared it.  
[10]  You water its furrows abundantly,  
          settling its ridges,  
     softening it with showers,  
          and blessing its growth.  
[11]  You crown the year with your bounty;  
          your wagon tracks overflow with richness.  
[12]  The pastures of the wilderness overflow,  
          the hills gird themselves with joy,  
[13]  the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,  
          the valleys deck themselves with grain,  
          they shout and sing together for joy.

1 John 4:7-21 and Psalm 99

1 John 4:7-21

[7]Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. [8]Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. [9]God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. [10]In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. [11]Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. [12]No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.

[13]By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. [14]And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. [15]God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. [16]So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.

God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.

[17]Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. [18]There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. [19]We love because he first loved us. [20]Those who say, "I love God," and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. [21]The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.

****************************************

Psalm 99

[1]   The LORD is king; let the peoples tremble!  

          He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!  

[2]   The LORD is great in Zion;  

          he is exalted over all the peoples.  

[3]   Let them praise your great and awesome name.  

          Holy is he!  

[4]   Mighty King, lover of justice,  

          you have established equity;  

     you have executed justice  

          and righteousness in Jacob.  

[5]   Extol the LORD our God;  

          worship at his footstool.  

          Holy is he!  

[6]   Moses and Aaron were among his priests,  

          Samuel also was among those who called on his name.  

          They cried to the LORD, and he answered them.  

[7]   He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud;  

          they kept his decrees,  

          and the statutes that he gave them.

[8]   O LORD our God, you answered them;  

          you were a forgiving God to them,  

          but an avenger of their wrongdoings.  

[9]   Extol the LORD our God,  

          and worship at his holy mountain;  

          for the LORD our God is holy.

1 John 3:18-24 and Psalm 57

1 John 3:18-24

[18]Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. [19]And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him [20]whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. [21]Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; [22]and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.

[23]And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. [24]All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.

****************************************

Psalm 57

[1]   Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
          for in you my soul takes refuge;
     in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
          until the destroying storms pass by.
[2]   I cry to God Most High,
          to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
[3   ]He will send from heaven and save me,
          he will put to shame those who trample on me.           Selah
     God will send forth his steadfast love and his faithfulness.

[4]   I lie down among lions
          that greedily devour human prey;
     their teeth are spears and arrows,
          their tongues sharp swords.

[5]   Be exalted, O God, above the heavens.
          Let your glory be over all the earth.

[6]   They set a net for my steps;
          my soul was bowed down.
     They dug a pit in my path,
          but they have fallen into it themselves.                      
Selah
[7]   My heart is steadfast, O God,
          my heart is steadfast.
     I will sing and make melody.
[8]        Awake, my soul!
     Awake, O harp and lyre!
          I will awake the dawn.
[9]   I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
          I will sing praises to you among the nations.
[10]   For your steadfast love is as high as the heavens;
          your faithfulness extends to the clouds.

[11]   Be exalted, O God, above the heavens.
     Let your glory be over all the earth.

1 John 3:1-3 and Psalm 130

1 John 3:1-3

[1]See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. [2]Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. [3]And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. 

****************************************

Psalm 130

[1]   Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD.   
[2]       Lord, hear my voice!   
    Let your ears be attentive   
         to the voice of my supplications!

[3]   If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities,   
         Lord, who could stand?   
[4]   But there is forgiveness with you,   
         so that you may be revered.

[5]   I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,   
         and in his word I hope;   
[6]   my soul waits for the Lord   
         more than those who watch for the morning,   
         more than those who watch for the morning.

[7]   O Israel, hope in the LORD!   
         For with the LORD there is steadfast love,   
         and with him is great power to redeem.   
[8]   It is he who will redeem Israel   
         from all its iniquities.

John 10:19-30 and Psalm 36

John 10:19-30

[19]Again the Jews were divided because of these words. [20]Many of them were saying, "He has a demon and is out of his mind. Why listen to him?" [21]Others were saying, "These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?" [22]At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, [23]and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. [24]So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly." [25]Jesus answered, "I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name testify to me; [26]but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. [27]My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. [28]I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. [29]What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father's hand. [30]The Father and I are one." 

****************************************

Psalm 36

[1]   Transgression speaks to the wicked  

          deep in their hearts;  

     there is no fear of God  

          before their eyes.  

[2]   For they flatter themselves in their own eyes  

          that their iniquity cannot be found out and hated.  

[3]   The words of their mouths are mischief and deceit;  

          they have ceased to act wisely and do good.  

[4]   They plot mischief while on their beds;  

          they are set on a way that is not good;  

          they do not reject evil.

[5]   Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens,  

          your faithfulness to the clouds.  

[6]   Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,  

          your judgments are like the great deep;  

          you save humans and animals alike, O LORD.

[7]   How precious is your steadfast love, O God!  

          All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings.  

[8]   They feast on the abundance of your house,  

          and you give them drink from the river of your delights.  

[9]   For with you is the fountain of life;  

          in your light we see light.

[10]  O continue your steadfast love to those who know you,  

          and your salvation to the upright of heart!  

[11]  Do not let the foot of the arrogant tread on me,  

          or the hand of the wicked drive me away.  

[12]  There the evildoers lie prostrate;  

          they are thrust down, unable to rise.