Thursday, April 27, 2023

Proverbs 8:1–21

¹Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice? ²On the heights along the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand; ³beside the gates leading into the city, at the entrances, she cries aloud: ⁴"To you, O men, I call out; I raise my voice to all mankind. ⁵You who are simple, gain prudence; you who are foolish, gain understanding. ⁶Listen, for I have worthy things to say; I open my lips to speak what is right. ⁷My mouth speaks what is true, for my lips detest wickedness. ⁸All the words of my mouth are just; none of them is crooked or perverse. ⁹To the discerning all of them are right; they are faultless to those who have knowledge. ¹⁰Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, ¹¹for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her.

¹²"I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion. ¹³To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. ¹⁴Counsel and sound judgment are mine; I have understanding and power. ¹⁵By me kings reign and rulers make laws that are just; ¹⁶by me princes govern, and all nobles who rule on earth. ¹⁷I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me. ¹⁸With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity. ¹⁹My fruit is better than fine gold; what I yield surpasses choice silver. ²⁰I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice, ²¹bestowing wealth on those who love me and making their treasuries full.

 

 

Psalm 106

¹Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. ²Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the LORD or fully declare his praise? ³Blessed are they who maintain justice, who constantly do what is right. ⁴Remember me, O LORD, when you show favor to your people, come to my aid when you save them, ⁵that I may enjoy the prosperity of your chosen ones, that I may share in the joy of your nation and join your inheritance in giving praise. ⁶We have sinned, even as our fathers did; we have done wrong and acted wickedly. ⁷When our fathers were in Egypt, they gave no thought to your miracles; they did not remember your many kindnesses, and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea. ⁸Yet he saved them for his name's sake, to make his mighty power known. ⁹He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up; he led them through the depths as through a desert. ¹⁰He saved them from the hand of the foe; from the hand of the enemy he redeemed them. ¹¹The waters covered their adversaries; not one of them survived. ¹²Then they believed his promises and sang his praise. ¹³But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his counsel. ¹⁴In the desert they gave in to their craving; in the wasteland they put God to the test. ¹⁵So he gave them what they asked for, but sent a wasting disease upon them. ¹⁶In the camp they grew envious of Moses and of Aaron, who was consecrated to the LORD. ¹⁷The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan; it buried the company of Abiram. ¹⁸Fire blazed among their followers; a flame consumed the wicked. ¹⁹At Horeb they made a calf and worshiped an idol cast from metal. ²⁰They exchanged their Glory for an image of a bull, which eats grass. ²¹They forgot the God who saved them, who had done great things in Egypt, ²²miracles in the land of Ham and awesome deeds by the Red Sea. ²³So he said he would destroy them-- had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him to keep his wrath from destroying them. ²⁴Then they despised the pleasant land; they did not believe his promise. ²⁵They grumbled in their tents and did not obey the LORD. ²⁶So he swore to them with uplifted hand that he would make them fall in the desert, ²⁷make their descendants fall among the nations and scatter them throughout the lands. ²⁸They yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods; ²⁹they provoked the LORD to anger by their wicked deeds, and a plague broke out among them. ³⁰But Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was checked. ³¹This was credited to him as righteousness for endless generations to come. ³²By the waters of Meribah they angered the LORD, and trouble came to Moses because of them; ³³for they rebelled against the Spirit of God, and rash words came from Moses' lips. ³⁴They did not destroy the peoples as the LORD had commanded them, ³⁵but they mingled with the nations and adopted their customs. ³⁶They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them. ³⁷They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons. ³⁸They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was desecrated by their blood. ³⁹They defiled themselves by what they did; by their deeds they prostituted themselves. ⁴⁰Therefore the LORD was angry with his people and abhorred his inheritance. ⁴¹He handed them over to the nations, and their foes ruled over them. ⁴²Their enemies oppressed them and subjected them to their power. ⁴³Many times he delivered them, but they were bent on rebellion and they wasted away in their sin. ⁴⁴But he took note of their distress when he heard their cry; ⁴⁵for their sake he remembered his covenant and out of his great love he relented. ⁴⁶He caused them to be pitied by all who held them captive. ⁴⁷Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise. ⁴⁸Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, "Amen!" Praise the LORD.

 

 

Hebrews 10:32–39

³²Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. ³³Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. ³⁴You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.

³⁵So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. ³⁶You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. ³⁷For in just a very little while,

"He who is coming will come and will not delay. ³⁸But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him."

³⁹But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.