November 20: Psalm 89:1–18; Psalm 89:19–52; 1 Maccabees 3:1-24; Revelation 20:7–15; Matthew 17:1–13 - a podcast by Crossway

Psalm 89:1–18(Listen)

I Will Sing of the Steadfast Love of theLord

A Maskil¹of Ethan the Ezrahite.

89   I will sing of the steadfast love of the LORD, forever;
    with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.
2   For I said, “Steadfast love will be built up forever;
    in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness.”
3   You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
    I have sworn to David my servant:
4   ‘I will establish your offspring forever,
    and build your throne for all generations.’”Selah
5   Let the heavens praise your wonders, O LORD,
    your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones!
6   For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD?
    Who among the heavenly beings²is like the LORD,
7   a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones,
    and awesome above all who are around him?
8   O LORD God of hosts,
    who is mighty as you are, O LORD,
    with your faithfulness all around you?
9   You rule the raging of the sea;
    when its waves rise, you still them.
10   You crushed Rahab like a carcass;
    you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
11   The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours;
    the world and all that is in it, you have founded them.
12   The north and the south, you have created them;
    Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.
13   You have a mighty arm;
    strong is your hand, high your right hand.
14   Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
    steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.
15   Blessed are the people who know the festal shout,
    who walk, O LORD, in the light of your face,
16   who exult in your name all the day
    and in your righteousness are exalted.
17   For you are the glory of their strength;
    by your favor our horn is exalted.
18   For our shield belongs to the LORD,
    our king to the Holy One of Israel.

(ESV)

Psalm 89:19–52(Listen)

19   Of old you spoke in a vision to your godly one,¹and said:
    “I have granted help to one who is mighty;
    I have exalted one chosen from the people.
20   I have found David, my servant;
    with my holy oil I have anointed him,
21   so that my hand shall be established with him;
    my arm also shall strengthen him.
22   The enemy shall not outwit him;
    the wicked shall not humble him.
23   I will crush his foes before him
    and strike down those who hate him.
24   My faithfulness and my steadfast love shall be with him,
    and in my name shall his horn be exalted.
25   I will set his hand on the sea
    and his right hand on the rivers.
26   He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father,
    my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’
27   And I will make him the firstborn,
    the highest of the kings of the earth.
28   My steadfast love I will keep for him forever,
    and my covenant will stand firm²for him.
29   I will establish his offspring forever
    and his throne as the days of the heavens.
30   If his children forsake my law
    and do not walk according to my rules,³
31   if they violate my statutes
    and do not keep my commandments,
32   then I will punish their transgression with the rod
    and their iniquity with stripes,
33   but I will not remove from him my steadfast love
    or be false to my faithfulness.
34   I will not violate my covenant
    or alter the word that went forth from my lips.
35   Once for all I have sworn by my holiness;
    I will not lie to David.
36   His offspring shall endure forever,
    his throne as long as the sun before me.
37   Like the moon it shall be established forever,
    a faithful witness in the skies.”Selah
38   But now you have cast off and rejected;
    you are full of wrath against your anointed.
39   You have renounced the covenant with your servant;
    you have defiled his crown in the dust.
40   You have breached all his walls;
    you have laid his strongholds in ruins.
41   All who pass by plunder him;
    he has become the scorn of his neighbors.
42   You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
    you have made all his enemies rejoice.
43   You have also turned back the edge of his sword,
    and you have not made him stand in battle.
44   You have made his splendor to cease
    and cast his throne to the ground.
45   You have cut short the days of his youth;
    you have covered him with shame.Selah
46   How long, O LORD? Will you hide yourself forever?
    How long will your wrath burn like fire?
47   Remember how short my time is!
    For what vanity you have created all the children of man!
48   What man can live and never see death?
    Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol?Selah
49   Lord, where is your steadfast love of old,
    which by your faithfulness you swore to David?
50   Remember, O Lord, how your servants are mocked,
    and how I bear in my heart the insults⁴of all the many nations,
51   with which your enemies mock, O LORD,
    with which they mock the footsteps of your anointed.
52   Blessed be the LORD forever!
      Amen and Amen.

(ESV)

Revelation 20:7–15(Listen)

The Defeat of Satan

7 And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison8 and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea.9 And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven¹and consumed them,10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Judgment Before the Great White Throne

11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

(ESV)

Matthew 17:1–13(Listen)

The Transfiguration

17 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.4 And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”5 He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son,¹with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”6 When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified.7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying,“Rise, and have no fear.”8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

9 And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them,“Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.”10 And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?”11 He answered,“Elijah does come, and he will restore all things.12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.”13 Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

(ESV)