February 7: Psalm 80; Psalm 77; Psalm 79; Genesis 25:19–34; Hebrews 13:1–16; John 7:37–52 - a podcast by Crossway

Psalm 80(Listen)

Restore Us, O God

To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Testimony. Of Asaph, a Psalm.

80   Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
    you who lead Joseph like a flock.
  You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth.
2     Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,
  stir up your might
    and come to save us!
3   Restore us,¹O God;
    let your face shine, that we may be saved!
4   O LORD God of hosts,
    how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?
5   You have fed them with the bread of tears
    and given them tears to drink in full measure.
6   You make us an object of contention for our neighbors,
    and our enemies laugh among themselves.
7   Restore us, O God of hosts;
    let your face shine, that we may be saved!
8   You brought a vine out of Egypt;
    you drove out the nations and planted it.
9   You cleared the ground for it;
    it took deep root and filled the land.
10   The mountains were covered with its shade,
    the mighty cedars with its branches.
11   It sent out its branches to the sea
    and its shoots to the River.²
12   Why then have you broken down its walls,
    so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?
13   The boar from the forest ravages it,
    and all that move in the field feed on it.
14   Turn again, O God of hosts!
    Look down from heaven, and see;
  have regard for this vine,
15     the stock that your right hand planted,
    and for the son whom you made strong for yourself.
16   They have burned it with fire; they have cut it down;
    may they perish at the rebuke of your face!
17   But let your hand be on the man of your right hand,
    the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!
18   Then we shall not turn back from you;
    give us life, and we will call upon your name!
19   Restore us, O LORD God of hosts!
    Let your face shine, that we may be saved!

(ESV)

Psalm 77(Listen)

In the Day of Trouble I Seek the Lord

To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.

77   I cry aloud to God,
    aloud to God, and he will hear me.
2   In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
    in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
    my soul refuses to be comforted.
3   When I remember God, I moan;
    when I meditate, my spirit faints.Selah
4   You hold my eyelids open;
    I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
5   I consider the days of old,
    the years long ago.
6   I said,¹“Let me remember my song in the night;
    let me meditate in my heart.”
    Then my spirit made a diligent search:
7   “Will the Lord spurn forever,
    and never again be favorable?
8   Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
    Are his promises at an end for all time?
9   Has God forgotten to be gracious?
    Has he in anger shut up his compassion?”Selah
10   Then I said, “I will appeal to this,
    to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”²
11   I will remember the deeds of the LORD;
    yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
12   I will ponder all your work,
    and meditate on your mighty deeds.
13   Your way, O God, is holy.
    What god is great like our God?
14   You are the God who works wonders;
    you have made known your might among the peoples.
15   You with your arm redeemed your people,
    the children of Jacob and Joseph.Selah
16   When the waters saw you, O God,
    when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
    indeed, the deep trembled.
17   The clouds poured out water;
    the skies gave forth thunder;
    your arrows flashed on every side.
18   The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
    your lightnings lighted up the world;
    the earth trembled and shook.
19   Your way was through the sea,
    your path through the great waters;
    yet your footprints were unseen.³
20   You led your people like a flock
    by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

(ESV)

Psalm 79(Listen)

How Long, OLord?

A Psalm of Asaph.

79   O God, the nations have come into your inheritance;
    they have defiled your holy temple;
    they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
2   They have given the bodies of your servants
    to the birds of the heavens for food,
    the flesh of your faithful to the beasts of the earth.
3   They have poured out their blood like water
    all around Jerusalem,
    and there was no one to bury them.
4   We have become a taunt to our neighbors,
    mocked and derided by those around us.
5   How long, O LORD? Will you be angry forever?
    Will your jealousy burn like fire?
6   Pour out your anger on the nations
    that do not know you,
  and on the kingdoms
    that do not call upon your name!
7   For they have devoured Jacob
    and laid waste his habitation.
8   Do not remember against us our former iniquities;¹
    let your compassion come speedily to meet us,
    for we are brought very low.
9   Help us, O God of our salvation,
    for the glory of your name;
  deliver us, and atone for our sins,
    for your name’s sake!
10   Why should the nations say,
    “Where is their God?”
  Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants
    be known among the nations before our eyes!
11   Let the groans of the prisoners come before you;
    according to your great power, preserve those doomed to die!
12   Return sevenfold into the lap of our neighbors
    the taunts with which they have taunted you, O Lord!
13   But we your people, the sheep of your pasture,
    will give thanks to you forever;
    from generation to generation we will recount your praise.

(ESV)

Genesis 25:19–34(Listen)

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

19 These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham fathered Isaac,20 and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife.21 And Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived.22 The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?”¹So she went to inquire of the LORD.23 And the LORD said to her,

  “Two nations are in your womb,
    and two peoples from within you²shall be divided;
  the one shall be stronger than the other,
    the older shall serve the younger.”

24 When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb.25 The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau.26 Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau’s heel, so his name was called Jacob.³Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

27 When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents.28 Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Esau Sells His Birthright

29 Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted.30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom.⁴)31 Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.”32 Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?”33 Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob.34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

(ESV)

Hebrews 13:1–16(Listen)

Sacrifices Pleasing to God

13 Let brotherly love continue.2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.3 Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”6 So we can confidently say,

  “The Lord is my helper;
    I will not fear;
  what can man do to me?”

7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.9 Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tent¹have no right to eat.11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp.12 So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.13 Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured.14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

(ESV)

John 7:37–52(Listen)

Rivers of Living Water

37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out,“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.38 Whoever believes in me, as¹the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Division Among the People

40 When they heard these words, some of the people said, “This really is the Prophet.”41 Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee?42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?”43 So there was a division among the people over him.44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

45 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?”46 The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!”47 The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived?48 Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him?49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.”50 Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them,51 “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?”52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”

(ESV)