February 10: Psalm 83; Psalms 146–147; Psalms 85–86; Genesis 27:30–45; Romans 12:9–21; John 8:21–32 - a podcast by Crossway

Psalm 83(Listen)

O God, Do Not Keep Silence

A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.

83   O God, do not keep silence;
    do not hold your peace or be still, O God!
2   For behold, your enemies make an uproar;
    those who hate you have raised their heads.
3   They lay crafty plans against your people;
    they consult together against your treasured ones.
4   They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;
    let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”
5   For they conspire with one accord;
    against you they make a covenant—
6   the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
    Moab and the Hagrites,
7   Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,
    Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
8   Asshur also has joined them;
    they are the strong arm of the children of Lot.Selah
9   Do to them as you did to Midian,
    as to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon,
10   who were destroyed at En-dor,
    who became dung for the ground.
11   Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
    all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12   who said, “Let us take possession for ourselves
    of the pastures of God.”
13   O my God, make them like whirling dust,¹
    like chaff before the wind.
14   As fire consumes the forest,
    as the flame sets the mountains ablaze,
15   so may you pursue them with your tempest
    and terrify them with your hurricane!
16   Fill their faces with shame,
    that they may seek your name, O LORD.
17   Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever;
    let them perish in disgrace,
18   that they may know that you alone,
    whose name is the LORD,
    are the Most High over all the earth.

(ESV)

Psalms 146–147(Listen)

Put Not Your Trust in Princes

146   Praise the LORD!
  Praise the LORD, O my soul!
2   I will praise the LORD as long as I live;
    I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
3   Put not your trust in princes,
    in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
4   When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;
    on that very day his plans perish.
5   Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
    whose hope is in the LORD his God,
6   who made heaven and earth,
    the sea, and all that is in them,
  who keeps faith forever;
7     who executes justice for the oppressed,
    who gives food to the hungry.
  The LORD sets the prisoners free;
8     the LORD opens the eyes of the blind.
  The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;
    the LORD loves the righteous.
9   The LORD watches over the sojourners;
    he upholds the widow and the fatherless,
    but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
10   The LORD will reign forever,
    your God, O Zion, to all generations.
  Praise the LORD!

He Heals the Brokenhearted

147   Praise the LORD!
  For it is good to sing praises to our God;
    for it is pleasant,¹and a song of praise is fitting.
2   The LORD builds up Jerusalem;
    he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
3   He heals the brokenhearted
    and binds up their wounds.
4   He determines the number of the stars;
    he gives to all of them their names.
5   Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
    his understanding is beyond measure.
6   The LORD lifts up the humble;²
    he casts the wicked to the ground.
7   Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;
    make melody to our God on the lyre!
8   He covers the heavens with clouds;
    he prepares rain for the earth;
    he makes grass grow on the hills.
9   He gives to the beasts their food,
    and to the young ravens that cry.
10   His delight is not in the strength of the horse,
    nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,
11   but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him,
    in those who hope in his steadfast love.
12   Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem!
    Praise your God, O Zion!
13   For he strengthens the bars of your gates;
    he blesses your children within you.
14   He makes peace in your borders;
    he fills you with the finest of the wheat.
15   He sends out his command to the earth;
    his word runs swiftly.
16   He gives snow like wool;
    he scatters frost like ashes.
17   He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs;
    who can stand before his cold?
18   He sends out his word, and melts them;
    he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.
19   He declares his word to Jacob,
    his statutes and rules³to Israel.
20   He has not dealt thus with any other nation;
    they do not know his rules.⁴
  Praise the LORD!

(ESV)

Psalms 85–86(Listen)

Revive Us Again

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.

85   LORD, you were favorable to your land;
    you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
2   You forgave the iniquity of your people;
    you covered all their sin.Selah
3   You withdrew all your wrath;
    you turned from your hot anger.
4   Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
    and put away your indignation toward us!
5   Will you be angry with us forever?
    Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
6   Will you not revive us again,
    that your people may rejoice in you?
7   Show us your steadfast love, O LORD,
    and grant us your salvation.
8   Let me hear what God the LORD will speak,
    for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints;
    but let them not turn back to folly.
9   Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,
    that glory may dwell in our land.
10   Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;
    righteousness and peace kiss each other.
11   Faithfulness springs up from the ground,
    and righteousness looks down from the sky.
12   Yes, the LORD will give what is good,
    and our land will yield its increase.
13   Righteousness will go before him
    and make his footsteps a way.

Great Is Your Steadfast Love

A Prayer of David.

86   Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me,
    for I am poor and needy.
2   Preserve my life, for I am godly;
    save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God.
3   Be gracious to me, O Lord,
    for to you do I cry all the day.
4   Gladden the soul of your servant,
    for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
5   For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
    abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.
6   Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer;
    listen to my plea for grace.
7   In the day of my trouble I call upon you,
    for you answer me.
8   There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,
    nor are there any works like yours.
9   All the nations you have made shall come
    and worship before you, O Lord,
    and shall glorify your name.
10   For you are great and do wondrous things;
    you alone are God.
11   Teach me your way, O LORD,
    that I may walk in your truth;
    unite my heart to fear your name.
12   I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
    and I will glorify your name forever.
13   For great is your steadfast love toward me;
    you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.
14   O God, insolent men have risen up against me;
    a band of ruthless men seeks my life,
    and they do not set you before them.
15   But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
16   Turn to me and be gracious to me;
    give your strength to your servant,
    and save the son of your maidservant.
17   Show me a sign of your favor,
    that those who hate me may see and be put to shame
    because you, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.

(ESV)

Genesis 27:30–45(Listen)

30 As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, when Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting.31 He also prepared delicious food and brought it to his father. And he said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that you may bless me.”32 His father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” He answered, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.”33 Then Isaac trembled very violently and said, “Who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me, and I ate it all before you came, and I have blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed.”34 As soon as Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!”35 But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully, and he has taken away your blessing.”36 Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob?¹For he has cheated me these two times. He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.” Then he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?”37 Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Behold, I have made him lord over you, and all his brothers I have given to him for servants, and with grain and wine I have sustained him. What then can I do for you, my son?”38 Esau said to his father, “Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.

39 Then Isaac his father answered and said to him:

  “Behold, away from²the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be,
    and away from³the dew of heaven on high.
40   By your sword you shall live,
    and you shall serve your brother;
  but when you grow restless
    you shall break his yoke from your neck.”

41 Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”42 But the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son and said to him, “Behold, your brother Esau comforts himself about you by planning to kill you.43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice. Arise, flee to Laban my brother in Haran44 and stay with him a while, until your brother’s fury turns away—45 until your brother’s anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I be bereft of you both in one day?”

(ESV)

Romans 12:9–21(Listen)

Marks of the True Christian

9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit,¹serve the Lord.12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.²Never be wise in your own sight.17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it³to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

(ESV)

John 8:21–32(Listen)

21 So he said to them again,“I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.”22 So the Jews said, “Will he kill himself, since he says,‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?”23 He said to them,“You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.”25 So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them,“Just what I have been telling you from the beginning.26 I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.”27 They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father.28 So Jesus said to them,“When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.29 And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.”30 As he was saying these things, many believed in him.

The Truth Will Set You Free

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him,“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

(ESV)