April 20: Psalm 26; Psalm 28; Psalm 36; Psalm 39; Daniel 4:28–37; 1 John 4:7–21; Luke 4:31–37 - a podcast by Crossway

Psalm 26 (Listen)

I Will Bless the Lord

Of David.

26   Vindicate me, O LORD,
    for I have walked in my integrity,
    and I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.
2   Prove me, O LORD, and try me;
    test my heart and my mind.¹
3   For your steadfast love is before my eyes,
    and I walk in your faithfulness.


4   I do not sit with men of falsehood,
    nor do I consort with hypocrites.
5   I hate the assembly of evildoers,
    and I will not sit with the wicked.


6   I wash my hands in innocence
    and go around your altar, O LORD,
7   proclaiming thanksgiving aloud,
    and telling all your wondrous deeds.


8   O LORD, I love the habitation of your house
    and the place where your glory dwells.
9   Do not sweep my soul away with sinners,
    nor my life with bloodthirsty men,
10   in whose hands are evil devices,
    and whose right hands are full of bribes.


11   But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity;
    redeem me, and be gracious to me.
12   My foot stands on level ground;
    in the great assembly I will bless the LORD.

(ESV)

Psalm 28 (Listen)

The Lord Is My Strength and My Shield

Of David.

28   To you, O LORD, I call;
    my rock, be not deaf to me,
  lest, if you be silent to me,
    I become like those who go down to the pit.
2   Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy,
    when I cry to you for help,
  when I lift up my hands
    toward your most holy sanctuary.¹


3   Do not drag me off with the wicked,
    with the workers of evil,
  who speak peace with their neighbors
    while evil is in their hearts.
4   Give to them according to their work
    and according to the evil of their deeds;
  give to them according to the work of their hands;
    render them their due reward.
5   Because they do not regard the works of the LORD
    or the work of his hands,
  he will tear them down and build them up no more.


6   Blessed be the LORD!
    For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.
7   The LORD is my strength and my shield;
    in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;
  my heart exults,
    and with my song I give thanks to him.


8   The LORD is the strength of his people;²
    he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
9   Oh, save your people and bless your heritage!
    Be their shepherd and carry them forever.

(ESV)

Psalm 36 (Listen)

How Precious Is Your Steadfast Love

To the choirmaster. Of David, the servant of the LORD.

36   Transgression speaks to the wicked
    deep in his heart;¹
  there is no fear of God
    before his eyes.
2   For he flatters himself in his own eyes
    that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
3   The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit;
    he has ceased to act wisely and do good.
4   He plots trouble while on his bed;
    he sets himself in a way that is not good;
    he does not reject evil.


5   Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens,
    your faithfulness to the clouds.
6   Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
    your judgments are like the great deep;
    man and beast you save, O LORD.


7   How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
    The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8   They feast on the abundance of your house,
    and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
9   For with you is the fountain of life;
    in your light do we see light.


10   Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you,
    and your righteousness to the upright of heart!
11   Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me,
    nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12   There the evildoers lie fallen;
    they are thrust down, unable to rise.

(ESV)

Psalm 39 (Listen)

What Is the Measure of My Days?

To the choirmaster: to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

39   I said, “I will guard my ways,
    that I may not sin with my tongue;
  I will guard my mouth with a muzzle,
    so long as the wicked are in my presence.”
2   I was mute and silent;
    I held my peace to no avail,
  and my distress grew worse.
3     My heart became hot within me.
  As I mused, the fire burned;
    then I spoke with my tongue:


4   “O LORD, make me know my end
    and what is the measure of my days;
    let me know how fleeting I am!
5   Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,
    and my lifetime is as nothing before you.
  Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah
6     Surely a man goes about as a shadow!
  Surely for nothing¹ they are in turmoil;
    man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!


7   “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?
    My hope is in you.
8   Deliver me from all my transgressions.
    Do not make me the scorn of the fool!
9   I am mute; I do not open my mouth,
    for it is you who have done it.
10   Remove your stroke from me;
    I am spent by the hostility of your hand.
11   When you discipline a man
    with rebukes for sin,
  you consume like a moth what is dear to him;
    surely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah


12   “Hear my prayer, O LORD,
    and give ear to my cry;
    hold not your peace at my tears!
  For I am a sojourner with you,
    a guest, like all my fathers.
13   Look away from me, that I may smile again,
    before I depart and am no more!”

(ESV)

Daniel 4:28–37 (Listen)

Nebuchadnezzar’s Humiliation

28 All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” 31 While the words were still in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you, 32 and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.” 33 Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers, and his nails were like birds’ claws.

Nebuchadnezzar Restored

34 At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever,

  for his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
    and his kingdom endures from generation to generation;
35   all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,
    and he does according to his will among the host of heaven
    and among the inhabitants of the earth;
  and none can stay his hand
    or say to him, “What have you done?”

36 At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me. My counselors and my lords sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was added to me. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

(ESV)

1 John 4:7–21 (Listen)

God Is Love

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot¹ love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

(ESV)

Luke 4:31–37 (Listen)

Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Demon

31 And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath, 32 and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority. 33 And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Ha!¹ What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” 35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. 36 And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” 37 And reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

(ESV)