FEBRUARY
5
PSALMS: 5, 35, 65, 95,
125
PROVERBS: 5
OLD
TESTAMENT: JUDGES 7:1 - 8:17
NEW
TESTAMENT: LUKE 23:13 - 43
PSALMS:
5
For
the director of music. For flutes. A psalm of David.
1
Give
ear to my words, O LORD,
consider
my sighing.
2
Listen
to my cry for help,
my
King and my God,
for
to you I pray.
3
In
the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice;
in
the morning I lay my requests before you
and
wait in expectation.
4
You
are not a God who takes pleasure in evil;
with
you the wicked cannot dwell.
5
The
arrogant cannot stand in your presence;
you
hate all who do wrong.
6
You
destroy those who tell lies;
bloodthirsty
and deceitful men
the
LORD abhors.
7
But
I, by your great mercy,
will
come into your house;
in
reverence will I bow down
toward
your holy temple.
8
Lead
me, O LORD, in your righteousness
because
of my enemies--
make
straight your way before me. [1]
9
Not
a word from their mouth can be trusted;
their
heart is filled with destruction.
Their
throat is an open grave;
with
their tongue they speak deceit.
10
Declare
them guilty, O God!
Let
their intrigues be their downfall.
Banish
them for their many sins,
for
they have rebelled against you.
11
But
let all who take refuge in you be glad;
let
them ever sing for joy.
Spread
your protection over them,
that
those who love your name may rejoice in you.
12
For
surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous;
you
surround them with your favor as with a shield. [2]
PSALMS: 35
Of
David.
1
Contend,
O LORD, with those who contend with me;
fight
against those who fight against me.
2
Take
up shield and buckler;
arise
and come to my aid.
3
Brandish
spear and javelin A
against
those who pursue me.
Say
to my soul,
"I am your salvation."
4
May
those who seek my life
be
disgraced and put to shame;
may
those who plot my ruin
be
turned back in dismay.
5
May
they be like chaff before the wind,
with
the angel of the LORD driving them away;
6
may
their path be dark and slippery,
with
the angel of the LORD pursuing them.
7
Since
they hid their net for me without cause
and
without cause dug a pit for me,
8
may
ruin overtake them by surprise--
may
the net they hid entangle them,
may
they fall into the pit, to their ruin.
9
Then
my soul will rejoice in the LORD
and
delight in his salvation.
10
My
whole being will exclaim,
"Who
is like you, O LORD?
You
rescue the poor from those too strong for them,
the
poor and needy from those who rob them." [3]
11
Ruthless
witnesses come forward;
they
question me on things I know nothing about.
12
They
repay me evil for good
and
leave my soul forlorn.
13
Yet
when they were ill, I put on sackcloth
and
humbled myself with fasting.
When
my prayers returned to me unanswered,
14
I
went about mourning
as
though for my friend or brother.
I
bowed my head in grief
as
though weeping for my mother.
15
But
when I stumbled, they gathered in glee;
attackers
gathered against me when I was unaware.
They
slandered me without ceasing.
16
Like
the ungodly they maliciously mocked B;
they
gnashed their teeth at me.
17
O
Lord, how long will you look on?
Rescue
my life from their ravages,
my
precious life from these lions.
18
I
will give you thanks in the great assembly;
among
throngs of people I will praise you.
19
Let
not those gloat over me
who
are my enemies without cause;
let
not those who hate me without reason
maliciously
wink the eye.
20
They
do not speak peaceably,
but
devise false accusations
against
those who live quietly in the land.
21
They
gape at me and say, "Aha! Aha!
With
our own eyes we have seen it." [4]
22
O
LORD, you have seen this; be not silent.
Do
not be far from me, O Lord.
23
Awake,
and rise to my defense!
Contend
for me, my God and Lord.
24
Vindicate
me in your righteousness, O LORD my God;
do
not let them gloat over me.
25
Do
not let them think, "Aha, just what we wanted!"
or
say, "We have swallowed him up."
26
May
all who gloat over my distress
be
put to shame and confusion;
may
all who exalt themselves over me
be
clothed with shame and disgrace.
27
May
those who delight in my vindication
shout
for joy and gladness;
may
they always say, "The LORD be exalted,
who
delights in the well-being of his servant."
28
My
tongue will speak of your righteousness
and
of your praises all day long. [5]
PSALMS: 65
For
the director of music. A psalm of David. A song.
1
Praise
awaits A you, O God, in Zion;
to
you our vows will be fulfilled.
2
O
you who hear prayer,
to
you all men will come.
3
When
we were overwhelmed by sins,
you
forgave B our transgressions.
4
Blessed
are those you choose
and
bring near to live in your courts!
We
are filled with the good things of your house,
of
your holy temple.
5
You
answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness,
O
God our Savior,
the
hope of all the ends of the earth
and
of the farthest seas,
6
who
formed the mountains by your power,
having
armed yourself with strength,
7
who
stilled the roaring of the seas,
the
roaring of their waves,
and
the turmoil of the nations.
8
Those
living far away fear your wonders;
where
morning dawns and evening fades
you
call forth songs of joy.
9
You
care for the land and water it;
you
enrich it abundantly.
The
streams of God are filled with water
to
provide the people with grain, [6]
for
so you have ordained it. C
10
You
drench its furrows
and
level its ridges;
you
soften it with showers
and
bless its crops.
11
You
crown the year with your bounty,
and
your carts overflow with abundance.
12
The
grasslands of the desert overflow;
the
hills are clothed with gladness.
13
The
meadows are covered with flocks
and
the valleys are mantled with grain;
they
shout for joy and sing. [7]
PSALMS: 95
1
Come,
let us sing for joy to the LORD;
let
us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
2
Let
us come before him with thanksgiving
and
extol him with music and song.
3
For
the LORD is the great God,
the
great King above all gods.
4
In
his hand are the depths of the earth,
and
the mountain peaks belong to him.
5
The
sea is his, for he made it,
and
his hands formed the dry land.
6
Come,
let us bow down in worship,
let
us kneel before the LORD our Maker;
7
for
he is our God
and
we are the people of his pasture,
the
flock under his care.
Today,
if you hear his voice,
8
do
not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, A
as
you did that day at Massah B in the desert,
9
where
your fathers tested and tried me,
though
they had seen what I did.
10
For
forty years I was angry with that generation;
I
said, "They are a people whose hearts go
astray,
and
they have not known my ways."
11
So
I declared on oath in my anger,
"They shall never enter my rest." [8]
PSALMS: 125
A
song of ascents.
1
Those
who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion,
which
cannot be shaken but endures forever.
2
As
the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so
the LORD surrounds his people
both
now and forevermore.
3
The
scepter of the wicked will not remain
over
the land allotted to the righteous,
for
then the righteous might use
their
hands to do evil.
4
Do
good, O LORD, to those who are good,
to
those who are upright in heart.
5
But
those who turn to crooked ways
the
LORD will banish with the evildoers.
Peace
be upon Israel. [9]
PROVERBS: 5
5
1
My son, pay attention to my wisdom,
listen
well to my words of insight,
2
that
you may maintain discretion
and
your lips may preserve knowledge.
3
For
the lips of an adulteress drip honey,
and
her speech is smoother than oil;
4
but
in the end she is bitter as gall,
sharp
as a double-edged sword.
5
Her
feet go down to death;
her
steps lead straight to the grave. A
6
She
gives no thought to the way of life;
her
paths are crooked, but she knows it not.
7
Now
then, my sons, listen to me;
do
not turn aside from what I say.
8
Keep
to a path far from her,
do
not go near the door of her house,
9
lest
you give your best strength to others
and
your years to one who is cruel,
10
lest
strangers feast on your wealth
and
your toil enrich another man's house.
11
At
the end of your life you will groan,
when
your flesh and body are spent.
12
You
will say, "How I hated discipline!
How
my heart spurned correction!
13
I
would not obey my teachers
or
listen to my instructors.
14
I
have come to the brink of utter ruin
in
the midst of the whole assembly."
15
Drink
water from your own cistern,
running
water from your own well.
16
Should
your springs overflow in the streets,
your
streams of water in the public squares?
17
Let
them be yours alone, [10]
never
to be shared with strangers.
18
May
your fountain be blessed,
and
may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.
19
A
loving doe, a graceful deer--
may
her breasts satisfy you always,
may
you ever be captivated by her love.
20
Why
be captivated, my son, by an adulteress?
Why
embrace the bosom of another man's wife?
21
For
a man's ways are in full view of the LORD,
and
he examines all his paths.
22
The
evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him;
the
cords of his sin hold him fast.
23
He
will die for lack of discipline,
led
astray by his own great folly. [11]
OLD
TESTAMENT: JUDGES 7:1 - 8:17
7
1
Early
in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all his men camped at the
spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the
hill of Moreh. 2 The LORD said to Gideon, "You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their
hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has
saved her, 3 announce now to the
people, `Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount
Gilead.' " So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.
4
But
the LORD said to Gideon, "There are still too many
men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say,
`This one shall go with you,' he shall go; but if I say, `This one shall not go
with you,' he shall not go."
5
So
Gideon took the men down to the water. There the LORD told him, "Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a
dog from those who kneel down to drink."
6
Three
hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths. All the rest got down on
their knees to drink.
7
The
LORD said to Gideon, "With the three hundred men that
lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the
other men go, each to his own place." 8 So Gideon sent the
rest of the Israelites to their tents but kept the three hundred, who took over
the provisions and trumpets of the others.
Now
the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley. 9 During that night
the LORD said to Gideon, "Get up, go down against the
camp, because I am going to give it into your hands. 10 If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your
servant Purah
11
and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to
[12]
attack the camp."
So he and Purah his servant went down to the outposts of the camp. 12
The Midianites, the Amalekites and all the other eastern peoples had
settled in the valley, thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted
than the sand on the seashore.
13
Gideon
arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream. "I had a dream," he was
saying. "A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It
struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed."
14
His
friend responded, "This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of
Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his
hands."
15
When
Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped God. He returned to
the camp of Israel and called out, "Get up! The LORD has given the Midianite
camp into your hands." 16 Dividing the three hundred men into three
companies, he placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them, with
torches inside.
17
"Watch
me," he told them. "Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do
exactly as I do. 18 When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets,
then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, `For the LORD and for
Gideon.'"
19
Gideon
and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of
the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their
trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands.
20
The
three companies blew the trumpets and [13]
smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their
right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, "A sword for the LORD
and for Gideon!" 21 While each man held his position around the camp,
all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled.
22
When
the three hundred trumpets sounded, the LORD caused the men throughout the camp
to turn on each other with their swords. The army fled to Beth Shittah toward
Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath.
23
Israelites
from Naphtali, Asher and all Manasseh were called out, and they pursued the
Midianites. 24 Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of
Ephraim, saying, "Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the
Jordan ahead of them as far as Beth Barah."
So
all the men of Ephraim were called out and they took the waters of the Jordan as
far as Beth Barah. 25 They also captured two of the Midianite
leaders, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb at the
winepress of Zeeb. They pursued the Midianites and brought the heads of Oreb and
Zeeb to Gideon, who was by the Jordan.
8
1
Now
the Ephraimites asked Gideon, "Why have you treated us like this? Why didn't you
call us when you went to fight Midian?" And they criticized him sharply.
2
But
he answered them, "What have I accomplished compared to you? Aren't the
gleanings of Ephraim's grapes better than the full grape harvest of Abiezer?
3 God gave Oreb and Zeeb, the Midianite [14]
leaders, into your hands. What was I able to do compared to you?" At this, their
resentment against him subsided.
4
Gideon
and his three hundred men, exhausted yet keeping up the pursuit, came to the
Jordan and crossed it. 5 He said to the men of Succoth, "Give my
troops some bread; they are worn out, and I am still pursuing Zebah and
Zalmunna, the kings of Midian."
6
But
the officials of Succoth said, "Do you already have the hands of Zebah and
Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your troops?"
7
Then
Gideon replied, "Just for that, when the LORD has given Zebah and Zalmunna into
my hand, I will tear your flesh with desert thorns and briers."
8
From
there he went up to PenielA and made the same request of them, but
they answered as the men of Succoth had. 9 So he said to the men of
Peniel, "When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower."
10
Now
Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with a force of about fifteen thousand men,
all that were left of the armies of the eastern peoples; a hundred and twenty
thousand swordsmen had fallen. 11 Gideon went up by the route of the
nomads east of Nobah and Jogbehah and fell upon the unsuspecting army. 12
Zebah and Zalmunna, the two kings of Midian, fled, but he pursued them and
captured them, routing their entire army. [15]
NEW
TESTAMENT: LUKE 23:13 - 43
13
Pilate
called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, 14 and
said to them, "You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to
rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your
charges against him. 15 Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to
us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. 16
Therefore, I will punish him and then release him. C"
18
With
one voice they cried out, "Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!"
19
(Barabbas
had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.)
20
Wanting
to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. 21 But they kept
shouting, "Crucify him! Crucify him!"
22
For
the third time he spoke to them: "Why? What crime has this man committed? I have
found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him
punished and then release him."
23
But
with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their
shouts prevailed. 24 So Pilate decided to grant their demand. 25
He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and
murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.
26
As
they led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the
country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. 27
A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and
wailed for him.
28
Jesus
turned and said to them, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do
not [16] weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children.
29 For the time will come when you
will say, `Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the
breasts that never nursed!'
30
Then "`they
will say to the mountains, "Fall on us!"
and
to the hills, "Cover us!" 'D
31 For if men do these things when
the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?"
32
Two
other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33
When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him,
along with the criminals--one on his right, the other on his left. 34
Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do
not know what they are doing." E And they divided up his clothes by casting
lots.
35
The
people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, "He saved
others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One."
36
The
soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37
and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself."
38
There
was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
39
One
of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ?
Save yourself and us!"
40
But
the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are
under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are
getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has [17]
done nothing wrong."
42
Then
he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.F"
43
Jesus
answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be
with me in paradise." [18]
[1]
Excerpted from Compton
[2]
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[3]
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[4]
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[5]
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[6]
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[7]
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[8]
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[9]
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[10]
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[11]
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[12]
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[13]
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[14]
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[15]
Excerpted from Compton
[16]
Excerpted from Compton
[17]
Excerpted from Compton
[18]
Excerpted from Compton
John 3:16-21 16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, F that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.G 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." H
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