February 11: Psalm 88; Psalms 91–92; Genesis 27:46–28:4; Genesis 28:10–22; Romans 13; John 8:33–47 - a podcast by Crossway

Psalm 88(Listen)

I Cry Out Day and Night Before You

A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil¹of Heman the Ezrahite.

88   O LORD, God of my salvation,
    I cry out day and night before you.
2   Let my prayer come before you;
    incline your ear to my cry!
3   For my soul is full of troubles,
    and my life draws near to Sheol.
4   I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
    I am a man who has no strength,
5   like one set loose among the dead,
    like the slain that lie in the grave,
  like those whom you remember no more,
    for they are cut off from your hand.
6   You have put me in the depths of the pit,
    in the regions dark and deep.
7   Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
    and you overwhelm me with all your waves.Selah
8   You have caused my companions to shun me;
    you have made me a horror²to them.
  I am shut in so that I cannot escape;
9     my eye grows dim through sorrow.
  Every day I call upon you, O LORD;
    I spread out my hands to you.
10   Do you work wonders for the dead?
    Do the departed rise up to praise you?Selah
11   Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
    or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
12   Are your wonders known in the darkness,
    or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
13   But I, O LORD, cry to you;
    in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14   O LORD, why do you cast my soul away?
    Why do you hide your face from me?
15   Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,
    I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.³
16   Your wrath has swept over me;
    your dreadful assaults destroy me.
17   They surround me like a flood all day long;
    they close in on me together.
18   You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me;
    my companions have become darkness.⁴

(ESV)

Psalms 91–92(Listen)

My Refuge and My Fortress

91   He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2   I will say¹to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”
3   For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
    and from the deadly pestilence.
4   He will cover you with his pinions,
    and under his wings you will find refuge;
    his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
5   You will not fear the terror of the night,
    nor the arrow that flies by day,
6   nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
    nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
7   A thousand may fall at your side,
    ten thousand at your right hand,
    but it will not come near you.
8   You will only look with your eyes
    and see the recompense of the wicked.
9   Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place—
    the Most High, who is my refuge²—
10   no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
    no plague come near your tent.
11   For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways.
12   On their hands they will bear you up,
    lest you strike your foot against a stone.
13   You will tread on the lion and the adder;
    the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.
14   “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
    I will protect him, because he knows my name.
15   When he calls to me, I will answer him;
    I will be with him in trouble;
    I will rescue him and honor him.
16   With long life I will satisfy him
    and show him my salvation.”

How Great Are Your Works

A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath.

92   It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
    to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
2   to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
    and your faithfulness by night,
3   to the music of the lute and the harp,
    to the melody of the lyre.
4   For you, O LORD, have made me glad by your work;
    at the works of your hands I sing for joy.
5   How great are your works, O LORD!
    Your thoughts are very deep!
6   The stupid man cannot know;
    the fool cannot understand this:
7   that though the wicked sprout like grass
    and all evildoers flourish,
  they are doomed to destruction forever;
8     but you, O LORD, are on high forever.
9   For behold, your enemies, O LORD,
    for behold, your enemies shall perish;
    all evildoers shall be scattered.
10   But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox;
    you have poured over me³fresh oil.
11   My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;
    my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants.
12   The righteous flourish like the palm tree
    and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13   They are planted in the house of the LORD;
    they flourish in the courts of our God.
14   They still bear fruit in old age;
    they are ever full of sap and green,
15   to declare that the LORD is upright;
    he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

(ESV)

Genesis 27:46–28:4(Listen)

46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I loathe my life because of the Hittite women.¹If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women like these, one of the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?”

Jacob Sent to Laban

28 Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and directed him, “You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women.2 Arise, go to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father, and take as your wife from there one of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother.3 God Almighty²bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples.4 May he give the blessing of Abraham to you and to your offspring with you, that you may take possession of the land of your sojournings that God gave to Abraham!”

(ESV)

Genesis 28:10–22(Listen)

Jacob’s Dream

10 Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran.11 And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep.12 And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder¹set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!13 And behold, the LORD stood above it²and said, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring.14 Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.”17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

18 So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it.19 He called the name of that place Bethel,³but the name of the city was Luz at the first.20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear,21 so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God,22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”

(ESV)

Romans 13(Listen)

Submission to the Authorities

13 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval,4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience.6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing.7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Fulfilling the Law Through Love

8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

(ESV)

John 8:33–47(Listen)

33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

34 Jesus answered them,“Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave¹to sin.35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever.36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you.38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”

You Are of Your Father the Devil

39 They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them,“If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did,40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did.41 You are doing the works your father did.”They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.”42 Jesus said to them,“If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me.43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

(ESV)