the Week of Proper 19 / Ordinary 24
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
May 26 - Old & New Testament
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Psalms 17,19
Psalm 17
A Prayer for Protection
A Davidic prayer.
1
Lord
, hear a just cause;(a)
pay attention to my cry;
listen to my prayer—
from lips free of deceit.(b)
2 Let my vindication come from You,
for You see what is right.(c)
3 You have tested my heart;(d)
You have examined me at night.
You have tried me and found nothing evil;(e)
I have determined that my mouth will not sin.[a]
4 Concerning what people do:
by the word of Your lips[b]
I have avoided the ways of the violent.(f)
5 My steps are on Your paths;
my feet have not slipped.(g)
6 I call on You, God,
because You will answer me;(h)
listen closely to me; hear what I say.
7 Display the wonders of Your faithful love,(i)
Savior of all who seek refuge(j)
from those who rebel against Your right hand.[c]
8 Protect me as the pupil of Your eye;(k)
hide me in the shadow of Your wings(l)
9 from[d] the wicked who treat me violently,[e]
my deadly enemies who surround me.(m)
10 They have become hardened;[f](n)
their mouths speak arrogantly.(o)
11 They advance against me;[g] now they surround me.(p)
They are determined[h]
to throw me to the ground.(q)
12 They are[i] like a lion eager to tear,
like a young lion lurking in ambush.(r)
13 Rise up,
Lord
!
Confront him; bring him down.(s)
With Your sword, save me from the wicked.(t)
14 With Your hand,
Lord
, save me from men,
from men of the world
whose portion is in this life:
You fill their bellies with what You have in store;
their sons are satisfied,
and they leave their surplus to their children.(u)
15 But I will see Your face in righteousness;(v)
when I awake, I will be satisfied with Your presence.[j](w)
Psalm 18
Praise for Deliverance
For the choir director. Of the servant of the Lord , David, who spoke the words of this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.(a) He said:
1 I love You,
Lord
, my strength.
2 The
Lord
is my rock,
my fortress, and my deliverer,(b)
my God, my mountain where I seek refuge,
my shield(c) and the horn of my salvation,(d)
my stronghold.
3 I called to the
Lord
, who is worthy of praise,(e)
and I was saved from my enemies.(f)
4 The ropes of death were wrapped around me;
the torrents of destruction terrified me.(g)
5 The ropes of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.(h)
6 I called to the
Lord
in my distress,
and I cried to my God for help.
From His temple He heard my voice,(i)
and my cry to Him reached His ears.(j)
7 Then the earth shook and quaked;
the foundations of the mountains trembled;(k)
they shook because He burned with anger.
8 Smoke rose from His nostrils,
and consuming fire came from His mouth;
coals were set ablaze by it.[a](l)
9 He parted the heavens and came down,(m)
a dark cloud beneath His feet.
10 He rode on a cherub and flew,
soaring on the wings of the wind.(n)
11 He made darkness His hiding place,
dark storm clouds His canopy around Him.(o)
12 From the radiance of His presence,(p)
His clouds swept onward with hail and blazing coals.
13 The
Lord
thundered from[b] heaven;
the Most High projected His voice.[c](q)
14 He shot His arrows and scattered them;
He hurled[d] lightning bolts and routed them.(r)
15 The depths of the sea became visible,
the foundations of the world were exposed,
at Your rebuke,
Lord
,
at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.(s)
16 He reached down from heaven
and took hold of me;
He pulled me out of deep waters.(t)
17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were too strong for me.(u)
18 They confronted me in the day of my distress,
but the
Lord
was my support.(v)
19 He brought me out to a spacious place;(w)
He rescued me because He delighted in me.(x)
20 The
Lord
rewarded me
according to my righteousness;(y)
He repaid me
according to the cleanness of my hands.(z)
21 For I have kept the ways of the
Lord
and have not turned from my God to wickedness.(aa)
22 Indeed, I have kept all His ordinances in mind[e]
and have not disregarded His statutes.(ab)
23 I was blameless toward Him(ac)
and kept myself from sinning.
24 So the
Lord
repaid me
according to my righteousness,(ad)
according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.(ae)
25 With the faithful
You prove Yourself faithful;
with the blameless man
You prove Yourself blameless;
26 with the pure
You prove Yourself pure,
but with the crooked
You prove Yourself shrewd.(af)
27 For You rescue an afflicted people,(ag)
but You humble those with haughty eyes.(ah)
28
Lord
, You light my lamp;
my God illuminates my darkness.(ai)
29 With You I can attack a barrier,[f]
and with my God I can leap over a wall.(aj)
30 God—His way is perfect;(ak)
the word of the
Lord
is pure.(al)
He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.(am)
31 For who is God besides Yahweh?(an)
And who is a rock? Only our God.(ao)
32 God—He clothes me with strength(ap)
and makes my way perfect.
33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer(aq)
and sets me securely on the heights.[g](ar)
34 He trains my hands for war;(as)
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.(at)
35 You have given me the shield of Your salvation;
Your right hand upholds me,(au)
and Your humility exalts me.
36 You widen a place beneath me for my steps,(av)
and my ankles do not give way.(aw)
37 I pursue my enemies and overtake them;
I do not turn back until they are wiped out.(ax)
38 I crush them, and they cannot get up;
they fall beneath my feet.(ay)
39 You have clothed me with strength for battle;(az)
You subdue my adversaries beneath me.(ba)
40 You have made my enemies retreat before me;[h](bb)
I annihilate those who hate me.(bc)
41 They cry for help, but there is no one to save them(bd)—
they cry to the
Lord
, but He does not answer them.(be)
42 I pulverize them like dust before the wind;(bf)
I trample them[i] like mud in the streets.(bg)
43 You have freed me from the feuds among the people;
You have appointed me the head of nations;(bh)
a people I had not known serve me.(bi)
44 Foreigners submit to me grudgingly;
as soon as they hear,[j] they obey me.(bj)
45 Foreigners lose heart
and come trembling from their fortifications.(bk)
46 The
Lord
lives—may my rock be praised!
The God of my salvation is exalted.(bl)
47 God—He gives me vengeance(bm)
and subdues peoples under me.(bn)
48 He frees me from my enemies.
You exalt me above my adversaries;
You rescue me from violent men.(bo)
49 Therefore I will praise You, Yahweh, among the nations;
I will sing about Your name.(bp)
50 He gives great victories to His king;(bq)
He shows loyalty to His anointed,
to David and his descendants forever.(br)
Psalm 19
The Witness of Creation and Scripture
For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky[a] proclaims the work of His hands.(a)
2 Day after day they pour out speech;
night after night they communicate knowledge.[b]
3 There is no speech; there are no words;
their voice is not heard.
4 Their message[c] has gone out to all the earth,
and their words to the ends of the world.(b)
In the heavens[d] He has pitched a tent for the sun.(c)
5 It is like a groom coming from the[e] bridal chamber;
it rejoices like an athlete running a course.
6 It rises from one end of the heavens
and circles[f] to their other end;(d)
nothing is hidden from its heat.
7 The instruction of the
Lord
is perfect,
renewing one's life;(e)
the testimony of the
Lord
is trustworthy,
making the inexperienced wise.(f)
8 The precepts of the
Lord
are right,
making the heart glad;(g)
the command of the
Lord
is radiant,
making the eyes light up.(h)
9 The fear of the
Lord
is pure,
enduring forever;(i)
the ordinances of the
Lord
are reliable
and altogether righteous.(j)
10 They are more desirable than gold—
than an abundance of pure gold;(k)
and sweeter than honey,
which comes from the honeycomb.(l)
11 In addition, Your servant is warned by them;
there is great reward in keeping them.(m)
12 Who perceives his unintentional sins?
Cleanse me from my hidden faults.(n)
13 Moreover, keep Your servant from willful sins;(o)
do not let them rule over me.(p)
Then I will be innocent
and cleansed from blatant rebellion.(q)
14 May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable to You,(r)
Lord
, my rock and my Redeemer.(s)
John 9:24-41
Chapter 9
24 So a second time they summoned the man who had been blind and told him, "Give glory(t) to God.[d](u) We know that this man is a sinner!"
25 He answered, "Whether or not He's a sinner, I don't know. One thing I do know: I was blind, and now I can see!"
26 Then they asked him, "What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?"
27 "I already told you," he said, "and you didn't listen. Why do you want to hear it again? You don't want to become His disciples too, do you?"
28 They ridiculed him: "You're that man's disciple, but we're Moses'(v) disciples. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses. But this man—we don't know where He's from!"(w)
30 "This is an amazing thing," the man told them. "You don't know where He is from, yet He opened my eyes! 31 We know that God doesn't listen to sinners,(x) but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will,(y) He listens to him.(z) 32 Throughout history[e] no one has ever heard of someone opening the eyes of a person born blind.(aa) 33 If this man were not from God, He wouldn't be able to do anything."(ab)
34 "You were born entirely in sin,"(ac) they replied, "and are you trying to teach us?" Then they threw him out.[f](ad)
The Blind Man's Sight and the Pharisees' Blindness
35 When Jesus heard that they had thrown the man out, He found him and asked, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" [g](ae)
36 "Who is He, Sir,(af) that I may believe in Him?" he asked.
37 Jesus answered, "You have seen Him; in fact, He is the One speaking with you."
38 "I believe, Lord!" he said, and he worshiped Him.
39 Jesus said, "I came into this world(ag) for judgment,(ah) in order that those who do not see will see and those who do see will become blind." (ai)
40 Some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and asked Him, "We aren't blind too, are we?"
41 "If you were blind," Jesus told them, "you wouldn't have sin. [h](aj) But now that you say, ‘We see'—your sin remains.
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