THEINC-HIM Daily Bible Meditation - August 26 - Full Text - Happy Birthday to my Beloved wife Patricia Annette Thompson-Horowitz!

Genesis 1:1 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 

THEINC-HIM Daily Bible Meditation

AUGUST 26

PSALMS: 26, 56, 86, 116, 146

PROVERBS: 26

OLD TESTAMENT: EZEKIEL 31:1 - 32:32

NEW TESTAMENT: HEBREWS 12:14 - 29

PSALMS: 26

1 Judge me, LORD, for I have walked in my integrity.

I have trusted also in LORD without wavering. 

2 Examine me, LORD, and prove me.

Try my heart and my mind. 

3 For your loving kindness is before my eyes.

I have walked in your truth. 

4 I have not sat with deceitful men,

Neither will I go in with hypocrites. 

5 I hate the assembly of evil-doers,

And will not sit with the wicked. 

6 I will wash my hands in innocence,

So I will go about your altar, LORD; 

7 That I may make the voice of thanksgiving to be heard,

And tell of all your wondrous works. 

8 LORD, I love the habitation of your house,

The place where your glory dwells. 

9 Don't gather my soul with sinners,

Nor my life with bloodthirsty men; 

10 In whose hands is wickedness,

Their right hand is full of bribes. 

11 But as for me, I will walk in my integrity.

Redeem me, and be merciful to me. 

12 My foot stands in an even place.

In the congregations will I bless the LORD.

PSALMS: 56

1 Be merciful to me, God, for man wants to swallow me up.

All day long, he attacks and oppresses me. 

2 My enemies want to swallow me up all day long,

For they are many who fight proudly against me. 

3 When I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. 

4 In God, I praise his word. In God,

I put my trust. I will not be afraid.

What can flesh do to me? 

5 All day long they twist my words.

All their thoughts are against me for evil. 

6 They conspire and lurk,

Watching my steps, they are eager to take my life. 

7 Shall they escape by iniquity? I

n anger cast down the peoples, God. 

8 You number my wanderings.

You put my tears into your bottle.

Aren't they in your book? 

9 Then shall my enemies turn back in the day that I call.

I know this, that God is for me. 

10 In God, I will praise his word. In the LORD,

I will praise his word. 

11 I have put my trust in God.

I will not be afraid.

What can man do to me? 

12 Your vows are on me, God.

I will give thank offerings to you. 

13 For you have delivered my soul from death,

And prevented my feet from falling,

That I may walk before God in the light of the living.

PSALMS: 86

1 Hear, LORD, and answer me,

For I am poor and needy. 

2 Preserve my soul, for I am godly.

You, my God, save your servant who trusts in you. 

3 Be merciful to me, Lord,

For I call to you all day long.

4 Bring joy to the soul of your servant,

For to you, Lord, do I lift up my soul. 

5 For you, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive;

Abundant in loving kindness to all those who call on you. 

6 Hear, LORD, my prayer.

Listen to the voice of my petitions. 

7  In the day of my trouble I will call on you,

For you will answer me. 

8 There is no one like you among the gods, Lord,

Nor any deeds like your deeds. 

9 All nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord.

They shall glorify your name. 

10 For you are great, and do wondrous things.

You are God alone. 

11 Teach me your way, LORD.

I will walk in your truth.

Make my heart undivided to fear your name. 

12 I will praise you, Lord my God, with my whole heart.

I will glorify your name forevermore. 

13 For your loving kindness is great toward me.

You have delivered my soul from the lowest She'ol. 

14 God, the proud have risen up against me.

A company of violent men have sought after my soul,

And they don't hold regard for you before them. 

15 But you, Lord, are a merciful and gracious God,

Slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth. 

16 Turn to me, and have mercy on me!

Give your strength to your servant.

Save the son of your handmaid. 

17  Show me a sign of your goodness,

That those who hate me may see it, and be put to shame,

Because you, LORD, have helped me, and comforted me.

PSALMS: 116

1 I love the LORD, because he listens to my voice,

And my cries for mercy. 

2 Because he has turned his ear to me,

Therefore I will call on him as long as I live. 

3 The cords of death surrounded me,

The pains of She'ol got a hold on me.

I found trouble and sorrow. 

4 Then called I on the name of the LORD:

"The LORD, I beg you, deliver my soul." 

5 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous;

Yes, our God is merciful. 

6 The LORD preserves the simple.

I was brought low, and he saved me. 

7 Return to your rest, my soul,

For the LORD has dealt bountifully with you. 

8 For you have delivered my soul from death,

My eyes from tears,

And my feet from falling. 

9 I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living. 

10 I believed, therefore I said,

"I was greatly afflicted." 

11 I said in my haste,

"All men are liars." 

12 What will I give to the LORD for all his benefits toward me?

13 I will take the cup of salvation,

and call on the name of the LORD. 

14 I will pay my vows to the LORD,

Yes, in the presence of all his people. 

15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his holy ones. 

16 LORD, truly I am your servant.

I am your servant, the son of your handmaid.

You have freed me from my chains. 

17 I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving,

And will call on the name of the LORD. 

18 I will pay my vows to the LORD,

Yes, in the presence of all his people, 

19 In the courts of the LORD's house,

In the midst of you, Yerushalayim.

Praise the LORD!

PSALMS: 146

1 Praise the LORD!

Praise the LORD, my soul. 

2 While I live, I will praise the LORD.

I will sing praises to my God as long as I exist. 

3 Don't put your trust in princes,

Each a son of man in whom there is no help. 

4 His spirit departs, and he returns to the eretz.

In that very day, his thoughts perish. 

5 Happy is he who has the God of Ya`akov for his help,

Whose hope is in the LORD, his God: 

6 Who made heaven and eretz,

The sea, and all that is in them;

Who keeps truth forever; 

7 Who executes justice for the oppressed;

Who gives food to the hungry.

The LORD frees the prisoners. 

8 The LORD opens the eyes of the blind.

The LORD raises up those who are bowed down.

The LORD loves the righteous. 

9 The LORD preserves the sojourners.

He upholds the fatherless and widow,

But the way of the wicked he turns upside down. 

10 The LORD will reign forever;

Your God, O Tziyon, to all generations. Praise the LORD!

PROVERBS: 26

1 Like snow in summer, and as rain in harvest,

So honor is not fitting for a fool. 

2 Like a fluttering sparrow,

Like a darting swallow,

So the undeserved curse doesn't come to rest. 

3 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,

And a rod for the back of fools! 

4 Don't answer a fool according to his folly,

Lest you also be like him.

5 Answer a fool according to his folly,

Lest he be wise in his own eyes. 

6 One who sends a message by the hand of a fool

Is cutting off feet and drinking violence. 

7 Like the legs of the lame that hang loose:

So is a parable in the mouth of fools. 

8 As one who binds a stone in a sling,

So is he who gives honor to a fool. 

9 Like a thornbush that goes into the hand of a drunkard,

So is a parable in the mouth of fools. 

10 As an archer who wounds all,

So is he who hires a fool

Or he who hires those who pass by. 

11 As a dog that returns to his vomit,

So is a fool who repeats his folly. 

12 Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?

There is more hope for a fool than for him. 

13 The sluggard says,

"There is a lion in the road!

A fierce lion roams the streets!" 

14 As the door turns on its hinges,

So does the sluggard on his bed. 

15 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish.

He is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth. 

16 The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes

Than seven men who answer with discretion. 

17 Like one who seizes a dog's ears

Is one who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own. 

18 Like a madman who shoots firebrands, arrows, and death, 

19 Is the man who deceives his neighbor and says,

"Am I not joking?" 

20 For lack of wood the fire goes out;

Where there is no gossip, a quarrel dies down. 

21 As coals are to hot embers, And wood to fire,

So is a contentious man to kindle strife.

22 The words of a whisperer are as dainty morsels,

They go down into the innermost parts. 

23 Like silver dross on an earthen vessel

Are the lips of a fervent one with an evil heart. 

24 A malicious man disguises himself with his lips,

But he harbors evil in his heart. 

25 When his speech is charming, don't believe him;

For there are seven abominations in his heart: 

26 His malice may be concealed by deception,

But his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly. 

27 Whoever digs a pit shall fall into it. ‘

Whoever rolls a stone, it will come back on him. 

28 A lying tongue hates those it hurts;

And a flattering mouth works ruin.

OLD TESTAMENT: EZEKIEL 31:1 - 32:32

31:1 It happened in the eleventh year, in the third [month], in the first [day] of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 Son of man, tell Par`oh king of Mitzrayim, and to his multitude: Whom are you like in your greatness? 3 Behold, the Ashshur was a cedar in Levanon with beautiful branches, and with a forest-like shade, and of high stature; and its top was among the thick boughs. 4 The waters nourished it, the deep made it to grow: the rivers of it ran round about its plantation; and it sent out its channels to all the trees of the field. 5 Therefore its stature was exalted above all the trees of the field; and its boughs were multiplied, and its branches became long by reason of many waters, when it shot [them] forth. 6 All the birds of the sky made their nests in its boughs; and under its branches did all the animals of the field bring forth their young; and under its shadow lived all great nations. 7  Thus was it beautiful in its greatness, in the length of its branches; for its root was by many waters. 8 The cedars in the garden of God could not hide it; the fir trees were not like its boughs, and the plane trees were not as its branches; nor was any tree in the garden of God like it in its beauty. 9 I made it beautiful by the multitude of its branches, so that all the trees of `Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied it. 10 Therefore thus said the Lord GOD: Because you are exalted in stature, and he has set his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height; 11 I will even deliver him into the hand of the mighty one of the nations; he shall surely deal with him; I have driven him out for his wickedness. 12 Strangers, the terrible of the nations, have cut him off, and have left him: on the mountains and in all the valleys his branches are fallen, and his boughs are broken by all the watercourses of the land; and all the peoples of the eretz are gone down from his shadow, and have left him. 13 On his ruin all the birds of the sky shall dwell, and all the animals of the field shall be on his branches; 14 to the end that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves in their stature, neither set their top among the thick boughs, nor that their mighty ones stand up on their height, [even] all who drink water: for they are all delivered to death, to the lower parts of the eretz, in the midst of the children of men, with those who go down to the pit. 15 Thus says the Lord GOD: In the day when he went down to She'ol I caused a mourning: I covered the deep for him, and I restrained the rivers of it; and the great waters were stayed; and I caused Levanon to mourn for him, and all the trees of the field fainted for him. 16 I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to She'ol with those who descend into the pit; and all the trees of `Eden, the choice and best of Levanon, all that drink water, were comforted in the lower parts of the eretz. 17  They also went down into She'ol with him to those who are slain by the sword; yes, those who were his arm, [that] lived under his shadow in the midst of the nations. 18 To whom are you thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of `Eden? yet shall you be brought down with the trees of `Eden to the lower parts of the eretz: you shall lie in the midst of the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword. This is Par`oh and all his multitude, says the Lord GOD.

32:1 It happened in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first [day] of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 Son of man, take up a lamentation over Par`oh king of Mitzrayim, and tell him, You were likened to a young lion of the nations: yet are you as a monster in the seas; and you did break forth with your rivers, and troubled the waters with your feet, and fouled their rivers. 3 Thus says the Lord GOD: I will spread out my net on you with a company of many peoples; and they shall bring you up in my net. 4 I will leave you on the land, I will cast you forth on the open field, and will cause all the birds of the sky to settle on you, and I will satisfy the animals of the whole eretz with you. 5 I will lay your flesh on the mountains, and fill the valleys with your height. 6 I will also water with your blood the land in which you swim, even to the mountains; and the watercourses shall be full of you. 7  When I shall extinguish you, I will cover the heavens, and make the stars of it dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light. 8 All the bright lights of the sky will I make dark over you, and set darkness on your land, says the Lord GOD. 9 I will also vex the hearts of many peoples, when I shall bring your destruction among the nations, into the countries which you have not known. 10 Yes, I will make many peoples amazed at you, and their kings shall be horribly afraid for you, when I shall brandish my sword before them; and they shall tremble at every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of your fall. 11 For thus says the Lord GOD: The sword of the king of Bavel shall come on you. 12 By the swords of the mighty will I cause your multitude to fall; the terrible of the nations are they all: and they shall bring to nothing the pride of Mitzrayim, and all the multitude of it shall be destroyed. 13 I will destroy also all the animals of it from beside many waters; neither shall the foot of man trouble them any more, nor the hoofs of animals trouble them. 14 Then will I make their waters clear, and cause their rivers to run like oil, says the Lord GOD. 15 When I shall make the land of Mitzrayim desolate and waste, a land destitute of that whereof it was full, when I shall strike all those who dwell therein, then shall they know that I am the LORD. 16 This is the lamentation with which they shall lament; the daughters of the nations shall lament therewith; over Mitzrayim, and over all her multitude, shall they lament therewith, says the Lord GOD. 17 It happened also in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth [day] of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 18 Son of man, wail for the multitude of Mitzrayim, and cast them down, even her, and the daughters of the famous nations, to the lower parts of the eretz, with those who go down into the pit. 19 Whom do you pass in beauty? Go down, and be laid with the uncircumcised. 20 They shall fall in the midst of those who are slain by the sword: she is delivered to the sword; draw her away and all her multitudes. 21 The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of She'ol with those who help him: they are gone down, they lie still, even the uncircumcised, slain by the sword. 22 Ashshur is there and all her company; her graves are round about her; all of them slain, fallen by the sword; 23 whose graves are set in the uttermost parts of the pit, and her company is round about her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who caused terror in the land of the living. 24 There is `Elam and all her multitude round about her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who are gone down uncircumcised into the lower parts of the eretz, who caused their terror in the land of the living, and have borne their shame with those who go down to the pit. 25 They have set her a bed in the midst of the slain with all her multitude; her graves are round about her; all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for their terror was caused in the land of the living, and they have borne their shame with those who go down to the pit: he is put in the midst of those who are slain. 26 There is Meshekh, Tuval, and all their multitude; their graves are round about them; all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for they caused their terror in the land of the living. 27 They shall not lie with the mighty who are fallen of the uncircumcised, who are gone down to She'ol with their weapons of war, and have laid their swords under their heads, and their iniquities are on their bones; for [they were] the terror of the mighty in the land of the living. 28 But you shall be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and shall lie with those who are slain by the sword. 29 There is Edom, her kings and all her princes, who in their might are laid with those who are slain by the sword: they shall lie with the uncircumcised, and with those who go down to the pit. 30 There are the princes of the north, all of them, and all the Tzidonim, who are gone down with the slain; in the terror which they caused by their might they are put to shame; and they lie uncircumcised with those who are slain by the sword, and bear their shame with those who go down to the pit. 31 Par`oh shall see them, and shall be comforted over all his multitude, even Par`oh and all his army, slain by the sword, says the Lord GOD. 32 For I have put his terror in the land of the living; and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword, even Par`oh and all his multitude, says the Lord GOD.

NEW TESTAMENT: HEBREWS 12:14 - 29

12:14 Follow after shalom with all men, and the sanctification without which no man will see the Lord, 

15 looking carefully lest there be any man who falls short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby the many be defiled; 

16 lest there be any sexually immoral person, or profane person, as Esav, who sold his birthright for one meal. 

17 For you know that even when he afterward desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for a change of mind though he sought it diligently with tears. 

18 For you have not come to a mountain that might be touched, and that burned with fire, and to blackness, darkness, tempest, 

19 the sound of a shofar, and the voice of words; which those who heard it begged that not one more word should be spoken to them, 

20 for they could not stand that which was enjoined, "If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned;" 

21 and so fearful was the appearance, that Moshe said, "I am terrified and trembling." 

22 But you have come to Mount Tziyon, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Yerushalayim, and to innumerable hosts of angels, 

23 to the general assembly and assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, 

24 to Yeshua, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better than that of Hevel. 

25 See that you don't refuse him who speaks. For if they didn't escape when they refused him who warned on the Eretz, how much more will we not escape who turn away from him who warns from heaven, 

26 whose voice shook the eretz, then, but now he has promised, saying, "Yet once more will I shake not only the eretz, but also the heavens." 

27  This phrase, "Yet once more," signifies the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that have been made, that those things which are not shaken may remain. 

28 Therefore, receiving a kingdom that can't be shaken, let us have grace, whereby we may offer service well pleasing to God, with reverence and awe, 

29 for our God is a consuming fire.

 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