MAY 4
PSALMS: 4, 34, 64, 94, 124
PROVERBS: 4
OLD TESTAMENT: 2 CHRONICLES 11:1 - 13:22
NEW TESTAMENT: ROMANS 8:26 - 39
PSALMS: 4
1 For the leader.
With stringed instruments.
A psalm of David:
O God, my vindicator!
Answer me when I call!
When I was distressed, you set me free;
now have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.
2 Men of rank, how long will you shame my honor,
love what is vain, chase after lies?
(Selah)
3 Understand that ADONAI sets apart the godly person for himself;
ADONAI will hear when I call to him.
4 You can be angry, but do not sin!
Think about this as you lie in bed, and calm down.
(Selah)
5 Offer sacrifices rightly,
and put your trust in ADONAI.
6 Many ask, "Who can show us some good?"
ADONAI, lift the light of your face over us!
7 You have filled my heart with more joy
than all their grain and new wine.
8 I will lie down and sleep in peace;
for, ADONAI, you alone make me live securely.
PSALMS: 34
1 By David,
when he pretended to be insane before Avimelekh,
who then drove him away;
so he left:
I will bless ADONAI at all times;
his praise will always be in my mouth.
2 When I boast, it will be about ADONAI;
the humble will hear of it and be glad.
3 Proclaim with me the greatness of ADONAI;
let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought ADONAI, and he answered me;
he rescued me from everything I feared.
5 They looked to him and grew radiant;
their faces will never blush for shame.
6 This poor man cried;
ADONAI heard and saved him from all his troubles.
7 The angel of ADONAI,
who encamps around those who fear him, delivers them.
8 Taste, and see that ADONAI is good.
How blessed are those who take refuge in him!
9 Fear ADONAI, you holy ones of his,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 Young lions can be needy, they can go hungry,
but those who seek ADONAI lack nothing good.
11 Come, children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of ADONAI.
12 Which of you takes pleasure in living?
Who wants a long life to see good things?
13 [If you do,] keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from deceiving talk;
14 turn from evil, and do good;
seek peace, go after it!
15 The eyes of ADONAI watch over the righteous,
and his ears are open to their cry.
16 But the face of ADONAI opposes those who do evil,
to cut off all memory of them from the earth.
17 [The righteous] cried out, and ADONAI heard,
and he saved them from all their troubles.
18 ADONAI is near those with broken hearts;
he saves those whose spirit is crushed.
19 The righteous person suffers many evils,
but ADONAI rescues him out of them all.
20 He protects all his bones;
not one of them gets broken.
21 Evil will kill the wicked, and those who
hate the righteous will be condemned.
22 But ADONAI redeems his servants;
no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.
PSALMS: 64
1 For the leader.
A psalm of David:
Hear my voice, God, as I plead:
preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the secret intrigues of the wicked
and the open insurrection of evildoers.
3 They sharpen their tongues like a sword;
they aim their arrows, poisoned words,
4 in order to shoot from cover at the innocent,
shooting suddenly and fearing nothing.
5 They support each other's evil plans;
they talk of hiding snares and ask, "Who would see them?"
6 They search for ways to commit crimes,
bringing their diligent search to completion when each
of them has thought it through in the depth of his heart.
7 Suddenly God shoots them down with an arrow,
leaving them with wounds;
8 their own tongues make them stumble.
All who see them shake their heads.
9 Everyone is awestruck they acknowledge that it is God at work,
they understand what he has done.
10 The righteous will rejoice in ADONAI;
they will take refuge in him;
all the upright in heart will exult.
PSALMS: 94
1 God of vengeance, ADONAI!
God of vengeance, appear!
2 Assert yourself as judge of the earth!
Pay back the proud as they deserve!
3 How long are the wicked, ADONAI,
how long are the wicked to triumph?
4 They pour out insolent words,
they go on bragging, all these evildoers.
5 They crush your people, ADONAI,
they oppress your heritage.
6 They kill widows and strangers
and murder the fatherless.
7 They say, "Yah isn't looking;
the God of Ya'akov won't notice."
8 Take notice, yourselves, you boors among the people!
You fools, when will you understand?
9 Will the one who planted the ear not hear?
Will the one who formed the eye not see?
10 Will the one who disciplines nations not correct them?
Will the teacher of humanity not know?
11 ADONAI understands that people's thoughts
are merely a puff of wind.
12 How happy the man whom you correct, Yah,
whom you teach from your Torah,
13 giving him respite from days of trouble,
till a pit is dug for the wicked!
14 For ADONAI will not desert his people,
he will not abandon his heritage.
15 Justice will once again become righteous,
and all the upright in heart will follow it.
16 Who will champion my cause against the wicked?
Who will stand up for me against evildoers?
17 If ADONAI hadn't helped me,
I would soon have dwelt in the land of silence.
18 When I said, "My foot is slipping!"
your grace, ADONAI, supported me.
19 When my cares within me are many,
your comforts cheer me up.
20 Can unjust judges be allied with you,
those producing wrong in the name of law?
21 They band together against the righteous
and condemn the innocent to death.
22 But ADONAI has become my stronghold,
my God is my rock of refuge.
23 But he repays them as their guilt deserves;
he will cut them off with their own evil;
ADONAI our God will cut them off.
PSALMS: 124
1 A song of ascents.
By David:
If ADONAI hadn't been for us -let Isra'el repeat it -
2 If ADONAI hadn't been for us
when people rose to attack us,
3 then, when their anger blazed against us,
they would have swallowed us alive!
4 Then the water would have engulfed us,
the torrent would have swept over us.
5 Yes, the raging water would have swept right over us.
6 Blessed be ADONAI,
who did not leave us to be a prey for their teeth!
7 We escaped like a bird from the hunter's trap;
the trap is broken, and we have escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of ADONAI,
the maker of heaven and earth.
PROVERBS: 4
1 Listen, children, to a father's instruction;
pay attention, in order to gain insight;
2 for I am giving you good advice;
so don't abandon my teaching.
3 For I too was once a child to my father;
and my mother, too, thought of me as her special darling.
4 He too taught me; he said to me,
"Let your heart treasure my words;
keep my commands, and live;
5 gain wisdom, gain insight;
don't forget or turn from the words I am saying.
6 Don't abandon [wisdom];
then she will preserve you;
love her, and she will protect you.
7 The beginning of wisdom is: get wisdom!
And along with all your getting, get insight!
8 Cherish her, and she will exalt you;
embrace her, and she will bring you honor;
9 she will give your head a garland of grace,
bestow on you a crown of glory."
10 Listen, my son, receive what I say,
and the years of your life will be many.
11 I'm directing you on the way of wisdom,
guiding you in paths of uprightness;
12 when you walk, your step won't be hindered;
and if you run, you won't stumble.
13 Hold fast to discipline, don't let it go;
guard it, for it is your life.
14 Don't follow the path of the wicked
or walk on the way of evildoers.
15 Avoid it, don't go on it,
turn away from it, and pass on.
16 For they can't sleep if they haven't done evil,
they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone fall.
17 For they eat the bread of wickedness
and drink the wine of violence.
18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,
shining ever brighter until full daylight.
19 The way of the wicked is like darkness;
they don't even know what makes them stumble.
20 My son, pay attention to what I am saying;
incline your ear to my words.
21 Don't let them out of your sight,
keep them deep in your heart;
22 for they are life to those who find them
and health to their whole being.
23 Above everything else, guard your heart;
for it is the source of life's consequences.
24 Keep crooked speech out of your mouth,
banish deceit from your lips.
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead,
fix your gaze on what lies in front of you.
26 Level the path for your feet,
let all your ways be properly prepared;
27 then deviate neither right nor left;
and keep your foot far from evil.
OLD TESTAMENT: 2 CHRONICLES 11:1 - 13:22
11:1 When Rechav`am was come to Yerushalayim, he assembled the house of Yehudah and Binyamin, one hundred eighty thousand chosen men, who were warriors, to fight against Yisra'el, to bring the kingdom again to Rechav`am. 2 But the word of the LORD came to Shemayah the man of God, saying, 3 Speak to Rechav`am the son of Shlomo, king of Yehudah, and to all Yisra'el in Yehudah and Binyamin, saying, 4 Thus says the LORD, You shall not go up, nor fight against your brothers: return every man to his house; for this thing is of me. So they listened to the words of the LORD, and returned from going against Yarov`am. 5 Rechav`am lived in Yerushalayim, and built cities for defense in Yehudah. 6 He built Beit-Lechem, and `Etam, and Tekoa, 7 Beit-Tzur, and Sokho, and `Adullam, 8 and Gat, and Mareshah, and Zif, 9 and Adorayim, and Lakhish, and `Azeka, 10 and Tzor`ah, and Ayalon, and Hevron, which are in Yehudah and in Binyamin, fortified cities. 11 He fortified the strongholds, and put captains in them, and stores of victuals, and oil and wine. 12 In every city [he put] shields and spears, and made them exceeding strong. Yehudah and Binyamin belonged to him. 13 The Kohanim and the Levites who were in all Yisra'el resorted to him out of all their border. 14 For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Yehudah and Yerushalayim: for Yarov`am and his sons cast them off, that they should not execute the Kohen's office to the LORD; 15 and he appointed him Kohanim for the high places, and for the male goats, and for the calves which he had made. 16 After them, out of all the tribes of Yisra'el, such as set their hearts to seek the LORD, the God of Yisra'el, came to Yerushalayim to sacrifice to the LORD, the God of their fathers. 17 So they strengthened the kingdom of Yehudah, and made Rechav`am the son of Shlomo strong, three years; for they walked three years in the way of David and Shlomo. 18 Rechav`am took him a wife, Machalat the daughter of Yerimot the son of David, [and of] Avichayil the daughter of Eli'av the son of Yishai; 19 and she bore him sons: Ye`ush, and Shemaryahu, and Zaham. 20 After her he took Ma`akhah the daughter of Avshalom; and she bore him Aviyah, and `Attai, and Ziza, and Shelomit. 21 Rechav`am loved Ma`akhah the daughter of Avshalom above all his wives and his concubines: (for he took eighteen wives, and sixty concubines, and became the father of twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.) 22 Rechav`am appointed Aviyah the son of Ma`akhah to be chief, [even] the prince among his brothers; for [he was minded] to make him king. 23 He dealt wisely, and dispersed of all his sons throughout all the lands of Yehudah and Binyamin, to every fortified city: and he gave them victuals in abundance. He sought [for them] many wives.
12:1 It happened, when the kingdom of Rechav`am was established, and he was strong, that he forsook the law of the LORD, and all Yisra'el with him. 2 It happened in the fifth year of king Rechav`am, that Shishak king of Mitzrayim came up against Yerushalayim, because they had trespassed against the LORD, 3 with twelve hundred chariots, and sixty thousand horsemen. The people were without number who came with him out of Mitzrayim: the Luvim, the Sukkiyim, and the Kushim. 4 He took the fortified cities which pertained to Yehudah, and came to Yerushalayim. 5 Now Shemayah the prophet came to Rechav`am, and to the princes of Yehudah, who were gathered together to Yerushalayim because of Shishak, and said to them, Thus says the LORD, You have forsaken me, therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak. 6 Then the princes of Yisra'el and the king humbled themselves; and they said, the LORD is righteous. 7 When the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemayah, saying, They have humbled themselves: I will not destroy them; but I will grant them some deliverance, and my wrath shall not be poured out on Yerushalayim by the hand of Shishak. 8 Nevertheless they shall be his servants, that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries. 9 So Shishak king of Mitzrayim came up against Yerushalayim, and took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house: he took all away: he took away also the shields of gold which Shlomo had made. 10 King Rechav`am made in their place shields of brass, and committed them to the hands of the captains of the guard, who kept the door of the king's house. 11 It was so, that as often as the king entered into the house of the LORD, the guard came and bore them, and brought them back into the guard-chamber.
12 When he humbled himself, the wrath of the LORD turned from him, so as not to destroy him altogether: and moreover in Yehudah there were good things [found]. 13 So king Rechav`am strengthened himself in Yerushalayim, and reigned: for Rechav`am was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Yerushalayim, the city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Yisra'el, to put his name there: and his mother's name was Na`amah the `Ammonite. 14 He did that which was evil, because he didn't set his heart to seek the LORD. 15 Now the acts of Rechav`am, first and last, aren't they written in the histories of Shemayah the prophet and of `Iddo the seer, after the manner of genealogies? There were wars between Rechav`am and Yarov`am continually. 16 Rechav`am slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David: and Aviyah his son reigned in his place.
13:1 In the eighteenth year of king Yarov`am began Aviyah to reign over Yehudah. 2 Three years reigned he in Yerushalayim: and his mother's name was Mikhayahu the daughter of Uri'el of Gevah. There was war between Aviyah and Yarov`am. 3 Aviyah joined battle with an army of valiant men of war, even four hundred thousand chosen men: and Yarov`am set the battle in array against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men, who were mighty men of valor. 4 Aviyah stood up on Mount Tzemaryim, which is in the hill-country of Efrayim, and said, Hear me, Yarov`am and all Yisra'el: 5 Ought you not to know that the LORD, the God of Yisra'el, gave the kingdom over Yisra'el to David forever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt? 6 Yet Yarov`am the son of Nevat, the servant of Shlomo the son of David, rose up, and rebelled against his lord. 7 There were gathered to him worthless men, base fellows, who strengthened themselves against Rechav`am the son of Shlomo, when Rechav`am was young and tender-hearted, and could not withstand them. 8 Now you think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David; and you are a great multitude, and there are with you the golden calves which Yarov`am made you for gods. 9 Haven't you driven out the Kohanim of the LORD, the sons of Aharon, and the Levites, and made you Kohanim after the manner of the peoples of [other] lands? so that whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams, the same may be a Kohen of [those who are] no gods. 10 But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him; and [we have] Kohanim ministering to the LORD, the sons of Aharon, and the Levites in their work: 11 and they burn to the LORD every morning and every evening burnt offerings and sweet incense: the show bread also [set they] in order on the pure table; and the menorah of gold with the lamps of it, to burn every evening: for we keep the charge of the LORD our God; but you have forsaken him. 12 Behold, God is with us at our head, and his Kohanim with the trumpets of alarm to sound an alarm against you. Children of Yisra'el, don't you fight against the LORD, the God of your fathers; for you shall not prosper. 13 But Yarov`am caused an ambush to come about behind them: so they were before Yehudah, and the ambush was behind them. 14 When Yehudah looked back, behold, the battle was before and behind them; and they cried to the LORD, and the Kohanim sounded with the trumpets. 15 Then the men of Yehudah gave a shout: and as the men of Yehudah shouted, it happened, that God struck Yarov`am and all Yisra'el before Aviyah and Yehudah. 16 The children of Yisra'el fled before Yehudah; and God delivered them into their hand. 17 Aviyah and his people killed them with a great slaughter: so there fell down slain of Yisra'el five hundred thousand chosen men. 18 Thus the children of Yisra'el were brought under at that time, and the children of Yehudah prevailed, because they relied on the LORD, the God of their fathers. 19 Aviyah pursued after Yarov`am, and took cities from him, Beit-El with the towns of it, and Yeshanah with the towns of it, and `Efron with the towns of it. 20 Neither did Yarov`am recover strength again in the days of Aviyah: and the LORD struck him, and he died. 21 But Aviyah grew mighty, and took to himself fourteen wives, and became the father of twenty-two sons, and sixteen daughters. 22 The rest of the acts of Aviyah, and his ways, and his sayings, are written in the commentary of the prophet `Iddo.
NEW TESTAMENT: ROMANS 8:26 - 39
8:26 In the same way, the Spirit also helps our weaknesses, for we don't know how to pray as we ought. But the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings which can't be uttered.
27 He who searches the hearts knows what is on the Spirit's mind, because he makes intercession for the holy ones according to God.
28 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.
29 For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
30 Whom he predestined, those he also called. Whom he called, those he also justified. Whom he justified, those he also glorified.
31 What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
32 He who didn't spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how would he not also with him freely give us all things?
33 Who could bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.
34 Who is he who condemns? It is Messiah who died, yes rather, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Messiah? Could oppression, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 Even as it is written, "For your sake we are killed all day long. We were accounted as sheep for the slaughter."
37 No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Messiah Yeshua our Lord.
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