Read the Bible: Psalm 119:9-16 (Beth)

 
 

ב Beth

9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By keeping your word.
10 I have sought you with all my heart;
don’t let me wander from your commands.
11 I have treasured your word in my heart
so that I may not sin against you.
12 Lord, may you be blessed;
teach me your statutes.
13 With my lips I proclaim
all the judgments from your mouth.
14 I rejoice in the way revealed by your decrees
as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on your precepts
and think about your ways.
16 I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.

Psalms 119:9-16 (CSB)

Read all of Psalm 119 using the link below.

 

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Read the Bible: Introduction to Psalm 119

 
 

Psalm 119 celebrates the gift of God’s covenant instruction as the perfect guide for life. By singing and praying this psalm, worshippers express heartfelt admiration to God, who has so lovingly given the great gift of His Word, and deep yearning that their personal lives reflect the goodness and loveliness of God’s law.

At 176 verses, Psalm 119 is not only the longest psalm, but also the longest chapter in all of Scripture, longer than many entire books. The psalm’s structure follows a strict acrostic pattern: there are 22 stanzas of eight verses each, following the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet in sequence. Within a stanza, the first word of each verse begins with the same letter, the letter to which the entire stanza corresponds.

The Law of God has fallen on hard times in our current culture. It is pitted against the gospel in ways neither intended nor helpful. An entire psalm proclaiming the beauty of God’s law as a guide to a life that is genuinely good and bountiful is a timely correction.

There’s no way that selecting about 15 verses out of 176 will do Psalm 119 justice. So, we’ll break from our pattern for a bit. Rather than post an entire psalm per day, we’ll post a stanza, along with the Hebrew letter it represents each day for 22 days. And for 22 days, we’ll walk in the same paths of our forebearers of the faith, delighting in the goodness of the law of God.

Read all of Psalm 119 using the link below.

Source

ESV Study Bible: Notes on Psalm 119. (2001). Crossway. https://www.esv.org/Psalm+119/

 

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Read the Bible: Psalm 119:1-8 (Aleph)

 
 

א Aleph

How happy are those whose way is blameless,
who walk according to the LORD’s instruction!
2 Happy are those who keep his decrees
and seek him with all their heart.
3 They do nothing wrong;
they walk in his ways.
4 You have commanded that your precepts
be diligently kept.
5 If only my ways were committed
to keeping your statutes!
6 Then I would not be ashamed
when I think about all your commands.
7 I will praise you with an upright heart
when I learn your righteous judgments.
8 I will keep your statutes;
never abandon me.

Psalms 119:1-8 (CSB)

Read all of Psalm 119 using the link below.

 

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Read the Bible: Psalm 118

 
 

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his faithful love endures forever.
2 Let Israel say,
“His faithful love endures forever.”
3 Let the house of Aaron say,
“His faithful love endures forever.”
4 Let those who fear the LORD say,
“His faithful love endures forever.”

5 I called to the LORD in distress;
the LORD answered me
and put me in a spacious place.
6 The LORD is for me; I will not be afraid.
What can a mere mortal do to me?
7 The LORD is my helper;
therefore, I will look in triumph on those who hate me.

8 It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in humanity.
9 It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in nobles.

10 All the nations surrounded me;
in the name of the LORD I destroyed them.
11 They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me;
in the name of the LORD I destroyed them.
12 They surrounded me like bees;
they were extinguished like a fire among thorns;
in the name of the LORD I destroyed them.
13 They pushed me hard to make me fall,
but the LORD helped me.
14 The LORD is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.

Psalms 118:1-14 (CSB)

Read all of Psalm 118 using the link below.

 

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Read the Bible: Psalm 116

 
 

I love the LORD because he has heard
my appeal for mercy.
2 Because he has turned his ear to me,
I will call out to him as long as I live.

3 The ropes of death were wrapped around me,
and the torments of Sheol overcame me;
I encountered trouble and sorrow.
4 Then I called on the name of the LORD:
“LORD, save me! ”

5 The LORD is gracious and righteous;
our God is compassionate.
6 The LORD guards the inexperienced;
I was helpless, and he saved me.
7 Return to your rest, my soul,
for the LORD has been good to you.
8 For you, LORD, rescued me from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling.
9 I will walk before the LORD
in the land of the living.
10 I believed, even when I said,
“I am severely oppressed.”
11 In my alarm I said,
“Everyone is a liar.”

12 How can I repay the LORD
for all the good he has done for me?
13 I will take the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the LORD.
14 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all his people.

15 The death of his faithful ones
is valuable in the LORD’s sight.
16 LORD, I am indeed your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your female servant.
You have loosened my bonds.

17 I will offer you a thanksgiving sacrifice
and call on the name of the LORD.
18 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the LORD’s house —
within you, Jerusalem.
Hallelujah!

Psalms 116:1-19 (CSB)

 

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Sunday School is for All Ages!

 
 

Yearly, our church hosts an Easter Eggstravaganza that includes an Easter egg hunt. After hiding about 450 eggs all around our small church, we open the doors and loose basket-wielding children eager to fill them with as many eggs as quickly as they can. As you can imagine, some are better gatherers than others. Some are quick with a keen eye; they fill their baskets, their pockets, and soon enough are handing surplus eggs off to parents and friends. Some come back with a comparatively meager haul. For some reason, we never do seem to find as many as we hide.

I couldn’t help thinking of this Easter scene when reading how God rained bread from heaven for the children of Israel (Exodus 16:4). Similar to the problem of thirst at Marah in Exodus 15:22-27, the desert conditions of the land where they sojourned simply could not provide sustenance for such a large number of people. When the hunger pangs were severe enough, they again grumbled to Moses. Moses again cried out to the LORD, and the LORD again promised provision.

“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘I am going to rain bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. This way I will test them to see whether or not they will follow my instructions. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days’” (Exodus 16:4-5, emphasis mine).

In their hunger, the children of Israel are tested by God to see whether or not they would follow His instructions. The test wasn’t their hunger, but their obedience. And God’s instructions, described throughout the rest of Exodus 16, boil down to three principles:

  1. Only gather what you need, sufficient for the day.

  2. Don’t hoard extra.

  3. On the Sabbath, rest from gathering.

In the midst of the manifold ways Israel failed all three of these tests (Exodus 16:20 & Exodus 16:27-29), we read an interesting principle for daily bread application:

“So the Israelites did this. Some gathered a lot, some a little. When they measured it by quarts, the person who gathered a lot had no surplus, and the person who gathered a little had no shortage. Each gathered as much as he needed to eat” (Exodus 16:17-18).

Much like our Easter egg hunt, when the children of Israel begin to fill their baskets with manna, some are better gatherers than others. But in the end, we read that one person’s surplus meets another person’s need. What if we thought of our daily bread in this way? “I have what I need for the day; to whom can I give my surplus?” “My quart jars are full for the day; whose aren’t?”

Such was the posture of the earliest church following Pentecost. We read that they “held all things in common. They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as any had need” (Acts 2:44-45). Not out of compulsion, to satisfy a law, but because their hearts were moved to be part of the daily bread provision for their brothers and sisters in the faith.

Sufficient unto the day is the manna thereof. Sufficient: enough to meet the demands of a situation or proposed end; occurring in such quantity, quality, or scope as to fully meet demands, needs, or expectations. Sufficient, not surplus. Whose sufficiency is lacking for want of our freely offered surplus?

“Give me neither poverty nor wealth;
feed me with the food I need.
Otherwise, I might have too much
and deny you, saying, “Who is the LORD?”
or I might have nothing and steal,
profaning the name of my God” (Proverbs 30:8-9).

Sunday School for all ages begins weekly at 9:45 AM. All are warmly welcome.

 

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Read the Bible: Psalm 115

 
 

Not to us, LORD, not to us,
but to your name give glory
because of your faithful love, because of your truth.
2 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God? ”
3 Our God is in heaven
and does whatever he pleases.

4 Their idols are silver and gold,
made by human hands.
5 They have mouths but cannot speak,
yes, but cannot see.
6 They have ears but cannot hear,
noses, but cannot smell.
7 They have hands but cannot feel,
feet, but cannot walk.
They cannot make a sound with their throats.
8 Those who make them are just like them,
as are all who trust in them.

9 Israel, trust in the LORD!
He is their help and shield.
10 House of Aaron, trust in the LORD!
He is their help and shield.
11 You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD!
He is their help and shield.
12 The LORD remembers us and will bless us.
He will bless the house of Israel;
he will bless the house of Aaron;
13 he will bless those who fear the LORD —
small and great alike.

14 May the LORD add to your numbers,
both yours and your children’s.
15 May you be blessed by the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
16 The heavens are the LORD’s,
but the earth he has given to the human race.
17 It is not the dead who praise the LORD,
nor any of those descending into the silence of death.
18 But we will bless the LORD,
both now and forever.
Hallelujah!

Psalms 115:1-18 (CSB)

 

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