January 8: Psalms 117–118; Psalms 112–113; Exodus 17:1–7; Colossians 1:15–23; John 7:37–52 - a podcast by Crossway

Psalms 117–118 (Listen)

The Lord’s Faithfulness Endures Forever

117   Praise the LORD, all nations!
    Extol him, all peoples!
2   For great is his steadfast love toward us,
    and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.
  Praise the LORD!

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

118   Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
    for his steadfast love endures forever!


2   Let Israel say,
    “His steadfast love endures forever.”
3   Let the house of Aaron say,
    “His steadfast love endures forever.”
4   Let those who fear the LORD say,
    “His steadfast love endures forever.”


5   Out of my distress I called on the LORD;
    the LORD answered me and set me free.
6   The LORD is on my side; I will not fear.
    What can man do to me?
7   The LORD is on my side as my helper;
    I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.


8   It is better to take refuge in the LORD
    than to trust in man.
9   It is better to take refuge in the LORD
    than to trust in princes.


10   All nations surrounded me;
    in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
11   They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;
    in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
12   They surrounded me like bees;
    they went out like a fire among thorns;
    in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
13   I was pushed hard,¹ so that I was falling,
    but the LORD helped me.


14   The LORD is my strength and my song;
    he has become my salvation.
15   Glad songs of salvation
    are in the tents of the righteous:
  “The right hand of the LORD does valiantly,
16     the right hand of the LORD exalts,
    the right hand of the LORD does valiantly!”


17   I shall not die, but I shall live,
    and recount the deeds of the LORD.
18   The LORD has disciplined me severely,
    but he has not given me over to death.


19   Open to me the gates of righteousness,
    that I may enter through them
    and give thanks to the LORD.
20   This is the gate of the LORD;
    the righteous shall enter through it.
21   I thank you that you have answered me
    and have become my salvation.
22   The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone.²
23   This is the LORD’s doing;
    it is marvelous in our eyes.
24   This is the day that the LORD has made;
    let us rejoice and be glad in it.


25   Save us, we pray, O LORD!
    O LORD, we pray, give us success!


26   Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!
    We bless you from the house of the LORD.
27   The LORD is God,
    and he has made his light to shine upon us.
  Bind the festal sacrifice with cords,
    up to the horns of the altar!


28   You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
    you are my God; I will extol you.
29   Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
    for his steadfast love endures forever!

(ESV)

Psalms 112–113 (Listen)

The Righteous Will Never Be Moved

112   ¹ Praise the LORD!
  Blessed is the man who fears the LORD,
    who greatly delights in his commandments!
2   His offspring will be mighty in the land;
    the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3   Wealth and riches are in his house,
    and his righteousness endures forever.
4   Light dawns in the darkness for the upright;
    he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.
5   It is well with the man who deals generously and lends;
    who conducts his affairs with justice.
6   For the righteous will never be moved;
    he will be remembered forever.
7   He is not afraid of bad news;
    his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.
8   His heart is steady;² he will not be afraid,
    until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.
9   He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor;
    his righteousness endures forever;
    his horn is exalted in honor.
10   The wicked man sees it and is angry;
    he gnashes his teeth and melts away;
    the desire of the wicked will perish!

Who Is like the Lord Our God?

113   Praise the LORD!
  Praise, O servants of the LORD,
    praise the name of the LORD!


2   Blessed be the name of the LORD
    from this time forth and forevermore!
3   From the rising of the sun to its setting,
    the name of the LORD is to be praised!


4   The LORD is high above all nations,
    and his glory above the heavens!
5   Who is like the LORD our God,
    who is seated on high,
6   who looks far down
    on the heavens and the earth?
7   He raises the poor from the dust
    and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8   to make them sit with princes,
    with the princes of his people.
9   He gives the barren woman a home,
    making her the joyous mother of children.
  Praise the LORD!

(ESV)

Exodus 17:1–7 (Listen)

Water from the Rock

17 All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the LORD, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?” 3 But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” 4 So Moses cried to the LORD, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” 5 And the LORD said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the name of the place Massah¹ and Meribah,² because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the LORD by saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”

(ESV)

Colossians 1:15–23 (Listen)

The Preeminence of Christ

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by¹ him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation² under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

(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, as¹ the 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)