August 20: Psalm 140; Psalm 142; Psalm 141; Psalm 143; 2 Samuel 19:24–43; Acts 24:24–25:12; Mark 12:35–44 - a podcast by Crossway

Psalm 140 (Listen)

Deliver Me, O Lord, from Evil Men

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

140   Deliver me, O LORD, from evil men;
    preserve me from violent men,
2   who plan evil things in their heart
    and stir up wars continually.
3   They make their tongue sharp as a serpent’s,
    and under their lips is the venom of asps. Selah


4   Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;
    preserve me from violent men,
    who have planned to trip up my feet.
5   The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,
    and with cords they have spread a net;¹
    beside the way they have set snares for me. Selah


6   I say to the LORD, You are my God;
    give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O LORD!
7   O LORD, my Lord, the strength of my salvation,
    you have covered my head in the day of battle.
8   Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked;
    do not further their² evil plot, or they will be exalted! Selah


9   As for the head of those who surround me,
    let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
10   Let burning coals fall upon them!
    Let them be cast into fire,
    into miry pits, no more to rise!
11   Let not the slanderer be established in the land;
    let evil hunt down the violent man speedily!


12   I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted,
    and will execute justice for the needy.
13   Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;
    the upright shall dwell in your presence.

(ESV)

Psalm 142 (Listen)

You Are My Refuge

A Maskil¹ of David, when he was in the cave. A Prayer.

142   With my voice I cry out to the LORD;
    with my voice I plead for mercy to the LORD.
2   I pour out my complaint before him;
    I tell my trouble before him.


3   When my spirit faints within me,
    you know my way!
  In the path where I walk
    they have hidden a trap for me.
4   Look to the right and see:
    there is none who takes notice of me;
  no refuge remains to me;
    no one cares for my soul.


5   I cry to you, O LORD;
    I say, “You are my refuge,
    my portion in the land of the living.”
6   Attend to my cry,
    for I am brought very low!
  Deliver me from my persecutors,
    for they are too strong for me!
7   Bring me out of prison,
    that I may give thanks to your name!
  The righteous will surround me,
    for you will deal bountifully with me.

(ESV)

Psalm 141 (Listen)

Give Ear to My Voice

A Psalm of David.

141   O LORD, I call upon you; hasten to me!
    Give ear to my voice when I call to you!
2   Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,
    and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!


3   Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth;
    keep watch over the door of my lips!
4   Do not let my heart incline to any evil,
    to busy myself with wicked deeds
  in company with men who work iniquity,
    and let me not eat of their delicacies!


5   Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness;
    let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head;
    let my head not refuse it.
  Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.
6   When their judges are thrown over the cliff,¹
    then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant.
7   As when one plows and breaks up the earth,
    so shall our bones be scattered at the mouth of Sheol.²


8   But my eyes are toward you, O GOD, my Lord;
    in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless!³
9   Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me
    and from the snares of evildoers!
10   Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
    while I pass by safely.

(ESV)

Psalm 143 (Listen)

My Soul Thirsts for You

A Psalm of David.

143   Hear my prayer, O LORD;
    give ear to my pleas for mercy!
    In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!
2   Enter not into judgment with your servant,
    for no one living is righteous before you.


3   For the enemy has pursued my soul;
    he has crushed my life to the ground;
    he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.
4   Therefore my spirit faints within me;
    my heart within me is appalled.


5   I remember the days of old;
    I meditate on all that you have done;
    I ponder the work of your hands.
6   I stretch out my hands to you;
    my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah


7   Answer me quickly, O LORD!
    My spirit fails!
  Hide not your face from me,
    lest I be like those who go down to the pit.
8   Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,
    for in you I trust.
  Make me know the way I should go,
    for to you I lift up my soul.


9   Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD!
    I have fled to you for refuge.¹
10   Teach me to do your will,
    for you are my God!
  Let your good Spirit lead me
    on level ground!


11   For your name’s sake, O LORD, preserve my life!
    In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!
12   And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies,
    and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,
    for I am your servant.

(ESV)

2 Samuel 19:24–43 (Listen)

24 And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king. He had neither taken care of his feet nor trimmed his beard nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came back in safety. 25 And when he came to Jerusalem to meet the king, the king said to him, “Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?” 26 He answered, “My lord, O king, my servant deceived me, for your servant said to him, ‘I will saddle a donkey for myself,¹ that I may ride on it and go with the king.’ For your servant is lame. 27 He has slandered your servant to my lord the king. But my lord the king is like the angel of God; do therefore what seems good to you. 28 For all my father’s house were but men doomed to death before my lord the king, but you set your servant among those who eat at your table. What further right have I, then, to cry to the king?” 29 And the king said to him, “Why speak any more of your affairs? I have decided: you and Ziba shall divide the land.” 30 And Mephibosheth said to the king, “Oh, let him take it all, since my lord the king has come safely home.”

31 Now Barzillai the Gileadite had come down from Rogelim, and he went on with the king to the Jordan, to escort him over the Jordan. 32 Barzillai was a very aged man, eighty years old. He had provided the king with food while he stayed at Mahanaim, for he was a very wealthy man. 33 And the king said to Barzillai, “Come over with me, and I will provide for you with me in Jerusalem.” 34 But Barzillai said to the king, “How many years have I still to live, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem? 35 I am this day eighty years old. Can I discern what is pleasant and what is not? Can your servant taste what he eats or what he drinks? Can I still listen to the voice of singing men and singing women? Why then should your servant be an added burden to my lord the king? 36 Your servant will go a little way over the Jordan with the king. Why should the king repay me with such a reward? 37 Please let your servant return, that I may die in my own city near the grave of my father and my mother. But here is your servant Chimham. Let him go over with my lord the king, and do for him whatever seems good to you.” 38 And the king answered, “Chimham shall go over with me, and I will do for him whatever seems good to you, and all that you desire of me I will do for you.” 39 Then all the people went over the Jordan, and the king went over. And the king kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and he returned to his own home. 40 The king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went on with him. All the people of Judah, and also half the people of Israel, brought the king on his way.

41 Then all the men of Israel came to the king and said to the king, “Why have our brothers the men of Judah stolen you away and brought the king and his household over the Jordan, and all David’s men with him?” 42 All the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, “Because the king is our close relative. Why then are you angry over this matter? Have we eaten at all at the king’s expense? Or has he given us any gift?” 43 And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, “We have ten shares in the king, and in David also we have more than you. Why then did you despise us? Were we not the first to speak of bringing back our king?” But the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel.

(ESV)

Acts 24:24–25:12 (Listen)

24 After some days Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, and he sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. 25 And as he reasoned about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment, Felix was alarmed and said, “Go away for the present. When I get an opportunity I will summon you.” 26 At the same time he hoped that money would be given him by Paul. So he sent for him often and conversed with him. 27 When two years had elapsed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. And desiring to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison.

Paul Appeals to Caesar

25 Now three days after Festus had arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. 2 And the chief priests and the principal men of the Jews laid out their case against Paul, and they urged him, 3 asking as a favor against Paul¹ that he summon him to Jerusalem—because they were planning an ambush to kill him on the way. 4 Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea and that he himself intended to go there shortly. 5 “So,” said he, “let the men of authority among you go down with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them bring charges against him.”

6 After he stayed among them not more than eight or ten days, he went down to Caesarea. And the next day he took his seat on the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought. 7 When he had arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many and serious charges against him that they could not prove. 8 Paul argued in his defense, “Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I committed any offense.” 9 But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Do you wish to go up to Jerusalem and there be tried on these charges before me?” 10 But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar’s tribunal, where I ought to be tried. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you yourself know very well. 11 If then I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything for which I deserve to die, I do not seek to escape death. But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar.” 12 Then Festus, when he had conferred with his council, answered, “To Caesar you have appealed; to Caesar you shall go.”

(ESV)

Mark 12:35–44 (Listen)

Whose Son Is the Christ?

35 And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? 36 David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared,

  “‘The Lord said to my Lord,
  “Sit at my right hand,
    until I put your enemies under your feet.”’

37 David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son?” And the great throng heard him gladly.

Beware of the Scribes

38 And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces 39 and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, 40 who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

The Widow’s Offering

41 And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny.¹ 43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. 44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

(ESV)