AUGUST
21
PSALMS: 20,
50, 80, 110, 140
PROVERBS: 20
OLD TESTAMENT: EZEKIEL 21:1 - 22:31
NEW TESTAMENT: HEBREWS 10:1 - 17
PSALMS: 21
For
the director of music. A psalm of David.
1
O LORD, the king rejoices in your strength.
How
great is his joy in the victories you give!
2
You have granted him the desire of his heart
and
have not withheld the request of his lips.
Selah
3
You welcomed him with rich blessings
and
placed a crown of pure gold on his head.
4
He asked you for life, and you gave it to him--
length
of days, for ever and ever.
5
Through the victories you gave, his glory is great;
you
have bestowed on him splendor and majesty.
6
Surely you have granted him eternal blessings
and
made him glad with the joy of your presence.
7
For the king trusts in the LORD;
through
the unfailing love of the Most High
he
will not be shaken.
8
Your hand will lay hold on all your enemies;
your
right hand will seize your foes.
9
At the time of your appearing
you
will make them like a fiery furnace.
In
his wrath the LORD will swallow them up,
and
his fire will consume them.
10
You will destroy their descendants from the earth,
their
posterity from mankind.
11
Though they plot evil against you
and
devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed;
12
for you will make them turn their backs
when
you aim at them with drawn bow. [1]
13
Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength;
we
will sing and praise your might. [2]
PSALMS: 51
For
the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him
after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.
1
Have mercy on me, O God,
according
to your unfailing love;
according
to your great compassion
blot
out my transgressions.
2
Wash away all my iniquity
and
cleanse me from my sin.
3
For I know my transgressions,
and
my sin is always before me.
4
Against you, you only, have I sinned
and
done what is evil in your sight,
so
that you are proved right when you speak
and
justified when you judge.
5
Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful
from the time my mother conceived me.
6
Surely you desire truth in the inner parts A;
you
teachB me wisdom in the inmost place.
7
Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash
me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let
the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9
Hide your face from my sins
and
blot out all my iniquity. [3]
10
Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and
renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11
Do not cast me from your presence
or
take your Holy Spirit from me.
12
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and
grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13
Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and
sinners will turn back to you.
14
Save me from bloodguilt, O God,
the
God who saves me,
and
my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15
O Lord, open my lips,
and
my mouth will declare your praise.
16
You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you
do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17
The sacrifices of God are C a broken
spirit;
a
broken and contrite heart,
O
God, you will not despise.
18
In your good pleasure make Zion prosper;
build
up the walls of Jerusalem.
19
Then there will be righteous sacrifices,
whole
burnt offerings to delight you;
then
bulls will be offered on your altar. [4]
PSALMS: 81
For
the director of music. According to gittith. A Of Asaph.
1
Sing for joy to God our strength;
shout
aloud to the God of Jacob!
2
Begin the music, strike the tambourine,
play
the melodious harp and lyre.
3
Sound the ram's horn at the New Moon,
and
when the moon is full, on the day of our Feast;
4
this is a decree for Israel,
an
ordinance of the God of Jacob.
5
He established it as a statute for Joseph
when
he went out against Egypt,
where
we heard a language we did not understand. B
6
He says, "I removed
the burden from their shoulders;
their hands were set free from the basket.
7 In your distress you called and I
rescued you,
I answered you out of a thundercloud;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.
Selah
8
"Hear, O my people,
and I will warn you--
if you would but listen to me, O Israel!
9 You shall
have no foreign god among you;
you shall not bow down to an alien god.
10 I am the
LORD your God,
who brought you up out of Egypt.
Open wide your mouth and I will fill it. [5]
11
"But my people would
not listen to me;
Israel would not submit to me.
12 So I gave
them over to their stubborn hearts
to follow their own devices.
13
"If my people would
but listen to me,
if Israel would follow my ways,
14 how
quickly would I subdue their enemies
and turn my hand against their foes!
15 Those who
hate the LORD would cringe before him,
and their punishment would last forever.
16 But you
would be fed with the finest of wheat;
with honey from the rock I would satisfy you."
[6]
PSALMS: 111
1
Praise A
the LORD. B
I
will extol the LORD with all my heart
in
the council of the upright and in the assembly.
2
Great are the works of the LORD;
they
are pondered by all who delight in them.
3
Glorious and majestic are his deeds,
and
his righteousness endures forever.
4
He has caused his wonders to be remembered;
the
LORD is gracious and compassionate.
5
He provides food for those who fear him;
he
remembers his covenant forever.
6
He has shown his people the power of his works,
giving
them the lands of other nations.
7
The works of his hands are faithful and just;
all
his precepts are trustworthy.
8
They are steadfast for ever and ever,
done
in faithfulness and uprightness.
9
He provided redemption for his people;
he
ordained his covenant forever--
holy
and awesome is his name.
10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
all
who follow his precepts have good understanding.
To
him belongs eternal praise. [7]
PSALMS: 141
A
psalm of David.
1
O LORD, I call to you; come quickly to me.
Hear
my voice when I call to you.
2
May my prayer be set before you like incense;
may
the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.
3
Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD;
keep
watch over the door of my lips.
4
Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil,
to
take part in wicked deeds
with
men who are evildoers;
let
me not eat of their delicacies.
5
Let a righteous man A strike me--it is a
kindness;
let
him rebuke me--it is oil on my head.
My
head will not refuse it.
Yet
my prayer is ever against the deeds of evildoers;
6
their rulers will be thrown down from the cliffs,
and
the wicked will learn that my words were well spoken.
7
They will say, "As one plows and breaks up the
earth,
so
our bones have been scattered at the mouth of the grave. B"
8
But my eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign LORD;
in
you I take refuge--do not give me over to death.
9
Keep me from the snares they have laid for me,
from
the traps set by evildoers.
10
Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
while
I pass by in safety. [8]
PROVERBS: 21
21
1 The king's heart is in
the hand of the LORD;
he
directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.
2
All a man's ways seem right to him,
but
the LORD weighs the heart.
3
To do what is right and just
is
more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
4
Haughty eyes and a proud heart,
the
lamp of the wicked, are sin!
5
The plans of the diligent lead to profit
as
surely as haste leads to poverty.
6
A fortune made by a lying tongue
is
a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare. A
7
The violence of the wicked will drag them away,
for
they refuse to do what is right.
8
The way of the guilty is devious,
but
the conduct of the innocent is upright.
9
Better to live on a corner of the roof
than
share a house with a quarrelsome wife.
10
The wicked man craves evil;
his
neighbor gets no mercy from him. [9]
11
When a mocker is punished, the simple gain wisdom;
when
a wise man is instructed, he gets knowledge.
12
The Righteous One B takes note of the house
of the wicked
and
brings the wicked to ruin.
13
If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor,
he
too will cry out and not be answered.
14
A gift given in secret soothes anger,
and
a bribe concealed in the cloak pacifies great wrath.
15
When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous
but
terror to evildoers.
16
A man who strays from the path of understanding
comes
to rest in the company of the dead.
17
He who loves pleasure will become poor;
whoever
loves wine and oil will never be rich.
18
The wicked become a ransom for the righteous,
and
the unfaithful for the upright.
19
Better to live in a desert
than
with a quarrelsome and ill-tempered wife.
20
In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and
oil,
but
a foolish man devours all he has.
21
He who pursues righteousness and love
finds
life, prosperity C and honor. [10]
22
A wise man attacks the city of the mighty
and
pulls down the stronghold in which they trust.
23
He who guards his mouth and his tongue
keeps
himself from calamity.
24
The proud and arrogant man--"Mocker" is his
name;
he
behaves with overweening pride.
25
The sluggard's craving will be the death of him,
because
his hands refuse to work.
26
All day long he craves for more,
but
the righteous give without sparing.
27
The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable--
how
much more so when brought with evil intent!
28
A false witness will perish,
and
whoever listens to him will be destroyed forever. D
29
A wicked man puts up a bold front,
but
an upright man gives thought to his ways.
30
There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan
that
can succeed against the LORD.
31
The horse is made ready for the day of battle,
but
victory rests with the LORD. [11]
OLD TESTAMENT: EZEKIEL 21:1 - 22:31
21 1
The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Son of man, set your face against Jerusalem and preach
against the sanctuary. Prophesy against the land of Israel 3 and say to her: `This
is what the LORD says: I am against you. I will draw my sword from its scabbard
and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked. 4 Because I am going to
cut off the righteous and the wicked, my sword will be unsheathed against
everyone from south to north. 5 Then all people will know that I the LORD have drawn my
sword from its scabbard; it will not return again.'
6 "Therefore groan, son of man! Groan
before them with broken heart and bitter grief.
7 And when they ask you, `Why are you
groaning?' you shall say, `Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will
melt and every hand go limp; every spirit will become faint and every knee become
as weak as water.' It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the
Sovereign LORD."
8 The
word of the LORD came to me: 9 "Son of
man, prophesy and say, `This is what the Lord says:
"`A
sword, a sword,
sharpened and
polished--
10 sharpened for
the slaughter,
polished to
flash like lightning!
"`Shall
we rejoice in the scepter of my son Judah? The sword despises every such stick.
11 "`The
sword is appointed to be polished,
to be grasped
with the hand;
it is
sharpened and polished,
made ready
for the hand of the slayer.
12 Cry out and
wail, son of man,
for it is
against my people;
it is against
all the princes of Israel.
They are
thrown to the sword
along with my
people.
Therefore
beat your breast. [12]
13 "`Testing will surely come. And what if the scepter of Judah,
which the sword despises, does not continue? declares the Sovereign LORD.'
14 "So then, son of man, prophesy
and strike
your hands together.
Let the sword
strike twice,
even three
times.
It is a sword
for slaughter--
a sword for
great slaughter,
closing in on
them from every side.
15 So that
hearts may melt
and the
fallen be many,
I have
stationed the sword for slaughter A
at all their
gates.
Oh! It is
made to flash like lightning,
it is grasped
for slaughter.
16 O sword,
slash to the right,
then to the
left,
wherever your
blade is turned.
17 I too will
strike my hands together,
and my wrath
will subside.
I the LORD
have spoken." [13]
18 The
word of the LORD came to me: 19 "Son
of man, mark out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to take, both
starting from the same country. Make a signpost where the road branches off to
the city. 20 Mark out one road for the sword to come against Rabbah of
the Ammonites and another against Judah and fortified Jerusalem. 21 For the king of
Babylon will stop at the fork in the road, at the junction of the two roads, to
seek an omen: He will cast lots with arrows, he will consult his idols, he will
examine the liver.
22 Into his
right hand will come the lot for Jerusalem, where he is to set up battering
rams, to give the command to slaughter, to sound the battle cry, to set
battering rams against the gates, to build a ramp and to erect siege works. 23 It will seem
like a false omen to those who have sworn allegiance to him, but he will remind
them of their guilt and take them captive.
24 "Therefore
this is what the Sovereign LORD says: `Because you people have brought to mind
your guilt by your open rebellion, revealing your sins in all that you do--because
you have done this, you will be taken captive.
25 "`O profane and wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come, whose
time of punishment has reached its climax, 26 this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Take off the turban, remove the
crown. It will not be as it was: The lowly will be exalted and the exalted will
be brought low. 27 A ruin! A ruin! I will make it a ruin! It will not be restored until he
comes to whom it rightfully belongs; to him I will give it.'
28 "And
you, son of man, prophesy and say, `This is what the Sovereign LORD says about
the Ammonites and their insults:
"`A
sword, a sword,
drawn for the
slaughter,
polished to
consume
and to flash
like lightning!
29 Despite false
visions concerning you
and lying
divinations about you,
it will be
laid on the necks
of the wicked
who are to be slain,
whose day has
come,
whose time of
punishment has reached its climax.
30 Return the
sword to its scabbard.
In the place
where you were created,
in the land
of your ancestry, [14]
I will judge
you.
31 I will pour
out my wrath upon you
and breathe
out my fiery anger against you;
I will hand
you over to brutal men,
men skilled
in destruction.
32 You will be
fuel for the fire,
your blood
will be shed in your land,
you will be
remembered no more;
for I the
LORD have spoken.'"
22 1
The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Son of man, will you judge her? Will you judge this city of
bloodshed? Then confront her with all her detestable practices 3 and say: `This is
what the Sovereign LORD says: O city that brings on herself doom by shedding
blood in her midst and defiles herself by making idols,
4 you have become guilty because of the blood
you have shed and have become defiled by the idols you have made. You have
brought your days to a close, and the end of your years has come. Therefore I
will make you an object of scorn to the nations and a laughingstock to all the
countries. 5 Those who are near and those who are far away will mock you, O infamous
city, full of turmoil.
6 "`See how each of the princes of
Israel who are in you uses his power to shed blood.
7 In you they have treated father and mother with contempt; in you they
have oppressed the alien and mistreated the fatherless and the widow. 8 You have
despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths.
9 In you are slanderous men bent on shedding
blood; in you are those who eat at the mountain shrines and commit lewd acts. 10 In you are
those who dishonor their fathers' bed; in you are those who violate women
during their period, when they are ceremonially unclean. 11 In you one
man commits a detestable offense with his neighbor's wife, another shamefully
defiles his daughter-in-law, and another violates his sister, his own father's
daughter. 12 In you men accept bribes to shed blood; you take usury and excessive
interest A and make
unjust gain from your neighbors by extortion. And you have forgotten me,
declares the Sovereign LORD.
13 "`I will
surely strike my hands together at the unjust gain you have made and at the blood
you have shed in your midst. 14 Will your
courage endure or your hands be strong in the day I deal with you? I the LORD
have spoken, and I will do it. 15 I will
disperse you among the nations and scatter you through the countries; and I
will put an end to your uncleanness. 16 When you have
been defiledB in the eyes of the nations, you will [15]know that I am the LORD.'"
17 Then the word
of the LORD came to me: 18 "Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me; all of
them are the copper, tin, iron and lead left inside a furnace. They are but the
dross of silver. 19 Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: `Because you have all
become dross, I will gather you into Jerusalem. 20
As men gather silver, copper, iron, lead
and tin into a furnace to melt it with a fiery blast, so will I gather you in
my anger and my wrath and put you inside the city and melt you. 21
I will gather you and I will blow on you
with my fiery wrath, and you will be melted inside her. 22 As silver is
melted in a furnace, so you will be melted inside her, and you will know that I the LORD have poured out my wrath upon you.'"
23 Again
the word of the LORD came to me: 24 "Son
of man, say to the land, `You are a land that has had no rain or showersC
in the day of wrath.' 25 There is a conspiracy of her princesD within her
like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they devour people, take treasures and
precious things and make many widows within her.
26 Her priests
do violence to my law and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish
between the holy and the common; they teach that there is no difference between
the unclean and the clean; and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my
Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. 27 Her officials
within her are like wolves tearing their prey; they shed blood and kill people
to make unjust gain. 28 Her prophets whitewash these deeds for them by false visions and lying
divinations. They say, `This is what the Sovereign LORD says'--when the LORD
has not spoken. 29 The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they
oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the alien, denying them justice.
30 "I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall
and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to
destroy it, but I found none. 31 So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my
fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the
Sovereign LORD." [16]
NEW TESTAMENT: HEBREWS 10:1 - 17
10 1
The law is only a shadow of the good things that are
coming--not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same
sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near
to worship. 2 If it could, would they not have stopped being
offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no
longer have felt guilty for their sins. 3 But those sacrifices are
an annual reminder of sins, 4 because it is impossible for the blood
of bulls and goats to take away sins.
5 Therefore,
when Christ came into the world, he said:
"Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body
you prepared for me;
6 with burnt offerings and sin offerings
you were not
pleased.
7 Then I said, `Here I am--it is written
about me in the scroll--
I have come
to do your will, O God.'" A
8 First he said, "Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings
you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them" (although the
law required them to be made).
9 Then
he said, "Here I am, I have come to do your will."
He sets aside the first to establish the second. 10 And by that
will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ
once for all.
11 Day
after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and
again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But
when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down
at the right hand of God.
13 Since
that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, 14 because
by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
15 The
Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:
16 "This is the covenant I will make with them
after that
time, says the Lord.
I will put my
laws in their hearts,
and I will
write them on their minds." B
"Their
sins and lawless acts
[1]
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[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] Excerpted from Compton's
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Inc. All Rights Reserved
[11] Excerpted from Compton's
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[12] Excerpted from Compton's
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[13] Excerpted from Compton's
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[14] Excerpted from Compton's
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[15] Excerpted from Compton's
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[16] Excerpted from Compton's
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[17] Excerpted from Compton's
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[18] Excerpted from Compton's
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