the Week of Proper 17 / Ordinary 22
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
July 21 - Old & New Testament
csb
Psalms 1,2,10
Psalm 1
The Two Ways
1 How happy is the man
who does not follow[a] the advice of the wicked
or take[b] the path of sinners
or join a group[c] of mockers!(a)
2 Instead, his delight is in the
Lord
's instruction,
and he meditates on it day and night.(b)
3 He is like a tree planted beside streams of water[d]
that bears its fruit in season[e](c)
and whose leaf does not wither.(d)
Whatever he does prospers.(e)
4 The wicked are not like this;
instead, they are like chaff that the wind blows away.(f)
5 Therefore the wicked will not survive[f] the judgment,(g)
and sinners will not be in the community of the righteous.
6 For the
Lord
watches over the way of the righteous,(h)
but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.(i)
Psalm 2
Coronation of the Son
1 Why(a) do the nations rebel[a](b)
and the peoples plot in vain?(c)
2 The kings of the earth take their stand,(d)
and the rulers conspire together
against the
Lord
and His Anointed One:[b](e)
3 "Let us tear off their chains
and free ourselves from their restraints."[c](f)
4 The One enthroned[d] in heaven laughs;
the Lord ridicules them.(g)
5 Then He speaks to them in His anger
and terrifies them in His wrath:(h)
6 "I have consecrated My King[e]
on Zion, My holy mountain."(i)
7 I will declare the
Lord
's decree:
He said to Me, "You are My Son;[f]
today I have become Your[g] Father.(j)
8 Ask of Me,
and I will make the nations Your[h] inheritance
and the ends of the earth Your[i] possession.(k)
9 You will break[j] them with a rod of iron;
You[k] will shatter them like pottery."[l](l)
10 So now, kings, be wise;
receive instruction, you judges of the earth.
11 Serve the
Lord
with reverential awe
and rejoice with trembling.(m)
12 Pay homage to[m] the Son or He[n] will be angry
and you will perish in your rebellion,[o](n)
for His[p] anger may ignite at any moment.(o)
All those who take refuge in Him[q] are happy.(p)
Psalm 3
Confidence in Troubled Times
A psalm of David when he fled from his son Absalom.(a)
1
Lord
, how my foes increase!
There are many who attack me.(b)
2 Many say about me,
"There is no help for him in God."(c)
3 But You,
Lord
, are a shield around me,(d)
my glory,(e) and the One who lifts up my head.(f)
4 I cry aloud to the
Lord
,
and He answers me from His holy mountain.(g)
5 I lie down and sleep;
I wake again because the
Lord
sustains me.(h)
6 I am not afraid of the thousands of people
who have taken their stand against me on every side.(i)
7 Rise up,
Lord
!(j)
Save me, my God!
You strike all my enemies on the cheek;(k)
You break the teeth of the wicked.(l)
8 Salvation belongs to the
Lord
;(m)
may Your blessing be on Your people.(n)
Psalm 4
A Night Prayer
For the choir director: with stringed instruments.(a) A Davidic psalm.
1 Answer me when I call,
God, who vindicates me.[a](b)
You freed me from affliction;(c)
be gracious to me and hear my prayer.
2 How long, exalted men, will my honor be insulted?(d)
How long will you love what is worthless(e)
and pursue a lie?
3 Know that the
Lord
has set apart
the faithful for Himself;
the
Lord
will hear when I call to Him.
4 Be angry[b] and do not sin;(f)
on your bed, reflect in your heart and be still.(g)
5 Offer sacrifices in righteousness[c](h)
and trust in the
Lord
.(i)
6 Many are saying, "Who can show us anything good?"
Look on us with favor,
Lord
.(j)
7 You have put more joy in my heart
than they have when their grain and new wine abound.(k)
8 I will both lie down and sleep in peace,(l)
for You alone,
Lord
, make me live in safety.(m)
Psalm 5
The Refuge of the Righteous
For the choir director: with the flutes. A Davidic psalm.
1 Listen to my words,
Lord
;
consider my sighing.(a)
2 Pay attention to the sound of my cry,(b)
my King and my God,(c)
for I pray to You.
3 At daybreak,(d)
Lord
, You hear my voice;
at daybreak I plead my case to You(e) and watch expectantly.
4 For You are not a God who delights in wickedness;
evil cannot dwell with You.(f)
5 The boastful cannot stand in Your presence;(g)
You hate all evildoers.(h)
6 You destroy those who tell lies;(i)
the
Lord
abhors a man of bloodshed and treachery.(j)
7 But I enter Your house
by the abundance of Your faithful love;(k)
I bow down toward Your holy temple
in reverential awe of You.(l)
8
Lord
, lead me in Your righteousness(m)
because of my adversaries;[a]
make Your way straight before me.(n)
9 For there is nothing reliable in what they say;[b](o)
destruction is within them;
their throat is an open grave;
they flatter with their tongues.(p)
10 Punish them, God;
let them fall by their own schemes.(q)
Drive them out(r) because of their many crimes,
for they rebel against You.(s)
11 But let all who take refuge in You rejoice;(t)
let them shout for joy forever.
May You shelter them,(u)
and may those who love Your name boast about You.(v)
12 For You,
Lord
, bless the righteous one;
You surround him with favor like a shield.(w)
Psalm 6
A Prayer for Mercy
For the choir director: with stringed instruments, according to Sheminith.(a) A Davidic psalm.
1
Lord
, do not rebuke me in Your anger;
do not discipline me in Your wrath.(b)
2 Be gracious to me,
Lord
, for I am weak;[a](c)
heal me,(d)
Lord
, for my bones are shaking;(e)
3 my whole being is shaken with terror.(f)
And You,
Lord
—how long?(g)
4 Turn,
Lord
! Rescue me;
save me because of Your faithful love.(h)
5 For there is no remembrance of You in death;
who can thank You in Sheol?(i)
6 I am weary from my groaning;(j)
with my tears I dampen my pillow[b]
and drench my bed every night.(k)
7 My eyes are swollen from grief;(l)
they[c] grow old because of all my enemies.
8 Depart from me, all evildoers,
for the
Lord
has heard the sound of my weeping.(m)
9 The
Lord
has heard my plea for help;(n)
the
Lord
accepts my prayer.(o)
10 All my enemies will be ashamed and shake with terror;
they will turn back(p) and suddenly be disgraced.(q)
Psalm 7
Prayer for Justice
A Shiggaion[a] of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush,[b] a Benjaminite.
1 Yahweh my God, I seek refuge in You;(a)
save me from all my pursuers and rescue me(b)
2 or they[c] will tear me like a lion,
ripping me apart with no one to rescue me.[d](c)
3 Yahweh my God, if I have done this,
if there is injustice on my hands,(d)
4 if I have done harm to one at peace with me(e)
or have plundered[e] my adversary without cause,(f)
5 may an enemy pursue and overtake me;
may he trample me to the ground(g)
and leave my honor in the dust.(h)
6 Rise up,
Lord
, in Your anger;
lift Yourself up against the fury of my adversaries;(i)
awake for me;[f](j)
You have ordained[g] a judgment.(k)
7 Let the assembly of peoples gather around You;(l)
take Your seat[h] on high over it.(m)
8 The
Lord
judges the peoples;(n)
vindicate me,
Lord
,
according to my righteousness and my integrity.[i](o)
9 Let the evil of the wicked come to an end,(p)
but establish the righteous.(q)
The One who examines the thoughts and emotions[j]
is a righteous God.(r)
10 My shield is with[k] God,(s)
who saves the upright in heart.(t)
11 God is a righteous judge
and a God who shows His wrath every day.(u)
12 If anyone does not repent,
God[l] will sharpen His sword;(v)
He has strung[m] His bow and made it ready.(w)
13 He has prepared His deadly weapons;
He tips His arrows with fire.(x)
14 See, the wicked one is pregnant with evil,
conceives trouble, and gives birth to deceit.(y)
15 He dug a pit and hollowed it out
but fell into the hole he had made.(z)
16 His trouble comes back on his own head,
and his violence falls on the top of his head.(aa)
17 I will thank the
Lord
for His righteousness;
I will sing about the name of Yahweh the Most High.(ab)
Psalm 8
God's Glory, Man's Dignity
For the choir director: on the Gittith.(a) A Davidic psalm.
1 Yahweh, our Lord,
how magnificent is Your name throughout the earth!(b)
You have covered the heavens with Your majesty.[a](c)
2 Because of Your adversaries,
You have established a stronghold[b]
from the mouths of children and nursing infants(d)
to silence the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I observe Your heavens,
the work of Your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which You set in place,(e)
4 what is man that You remember him,
the son of man that You look after him?(f)
5 You made him little less than God[c][d]
and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You made him lord over the works of Your hands;
You put everything under his feet:[e](g)
7 all the sheep and oxen,
as well as the animals in the wild,
8 the birds of the sky,
and the fish of the sea
that pass through the currents of the seas.(h)
9 Yahweh, our Lord,
how magnificent is Your name throughout the earth!
Psalm 9
Celebration of God's Justice
For the choir director: according to Muth-labben.[a] A Davidic psalm.
1 I will thank Yahweh with all my heart;
I will declare all Your wonderful works.(a)
2 I will rejoice and boast about You;(b)
I will sing about Your name, Most High.(c)
3 When my enemies retreat,
they stumble and perish before You.(d)
4 For You have upheld my just cause;[b](e)
You are seated on Your throne as a righteous judge.(f)
5 You have rebuked the nations:(g)
You have destroyed the wicked;(h)
You have erased their name forever and ever.(i)
6 The enemy has come to eternal ruin;
You have uprooted the cities,
and the very memory of them has perished.(j)
7 But the
Lord
sits enthroned forever;(k)
He has established His throne for judgment.(l)
8 He judges the world with righteousness;
He executes judgment on the nations with fairness.(m)
9 The
Lord
is a refuge for the oppressed,
a refuge in times of trouble.(n)
10 Those who know Your name trust in You
because You have not abandoned
those who seek You, Yahweh.(o)
11 Sing to the
Lord
, who dwells in Zion;(p)
proclaim His deeds among the nations.(q)
12 For the One who seeks an accounting
for bloodshed remembers them;(r)
He does not forget the cry of the afflicted.(s)
13 Be gracious to me,
Lord
;
consider my affliction at the hands of those who hate me.(t)
Lift me up from the gates of death,(u)
14 so that I may declare all Your praises.
I will rejoice in Your salvation(v)
within the gates of Daughter Zion.
15 The nations have fallen into the pit they made;
their foot is caught in the net they have concealed.(w)
16 The
Lord
has revealed Himself;
He has executed justice,(x)
striking down[c] the wicked[d]
by the work of their hands.(y)
17 The wicked will return to Sheol(z)—
all the nations that forget God.(aa)
18 For the oppressed will not always be forgotten;
the hope of the afflicted[e] will not perish forever.(ab)
19 Rise up,
Lord
! Do not let man prevail;
let the nations be judged in Your presence.(ac)
20 Put terror in them,
Lord
;(ad)
let the nations know they are only men.(ae)
Psalm 10
1
Lord
,[a][b] why do You stand so far away?(a)
Why do You hide in times of trouble?(b)
2 In arrogance the wicked relentlessly pursue the afflicted;
let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.(c)
3 For the wicked one boasts about his own cravings;(d)
the one who is greedy curses[c] and despises the
Lord
.(e)
4 In all his scheming,
the wicked arrogantly thinks:[d]
"There is no accountability,
since God does not exist."(f)
5 His ways are always secure;[e]
Your lofty judgments are beyond his sight;
he scoffs at all his adversaries.(g)
6 He says to himself, "I will never be moved—
from generation to generation without calamity."(h)
7 Cursing, deceit, and violence fill his mouth;
trouble and malice are under his tongue.(i)
8 He waits in ambush near the villages;(j)
he kills the innocent in secret places.
His eyes are on the lookout for the helpless;(k)
9 he lurks in secret like a lion in a thicket.
He lurks in order to seize the afflicted;
he seizes the afflicted and drags him in his net.
10 So he is oppressed and beaten down;
the helpless fall because of his strength.(l)
11 He says to himself, "God has forgotten;
He hides His face and will never see."(m)
12 Rise up,
Lord
God! Lift up Your hand.(n)
Do not forget the afflicted.(o)
13 Why has the wicked person despised God?
He says to himself, "You will not demand an account."(p)
14 But You Yourself have seen trouble and grief,
observing it in order to take the matter into Your hands.(q)
The helpless entrusts himself to You;
You are a helper of the fatherless.(r)
15 Break the arm of the wicked and evil person;(s)
call his wickedness into account
until nothing remains of it.[f](t)
16 The
Lord
is King forever and ever;(u)
the nations will perish from His land.(v)
17
Lord
, You have heard the desire of the humble;[g]
You will strengthen their hearts.
You will listen carefully,(w)
18 doing justice for the fatherless and the oppressed
so that men of the earth may terrify them no more.(x)
Acts 16:22-40
Chapter 16
22 Then the mob joined in the attack against them, and the chief magistrates stripped off their clothes and ordered them to be beaten with rods.(s) 23 After they had inflicted many blows on them, they threw them in jail, ordering the jailer to keep them securely guarded. 24 Receiving such an order, he put them into the inner prison and secured their feet in the stocks.(t)
A Midnight Deliverance
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the jail were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's chains came loose.(u) 27 When the jailer woke up and saw the doors of the prison open, he drew his sword and was going to kill himself, since he thought the prisoners had escaped.
28 But Paul called out in a loud voice, "Don't harm yourself, because all of us are here!"
29 Then the jailer called for lights, rushed in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he escorted them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"(v)
31 So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household."(w) 32 Then they spoke the message of the Lord to him along with everyone in his house. 33 He took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds. Right away he and all his family were baptized. 34 He brought them into his house, set a meal before them, and rejoiced because he had believed God with his entire household.(x)
An Official Apology
35 When daylight came, the chief magistrates sent the police to say, "Release those men!"
36 The jailer reported these words to Paul: "The magistrates have sent orders for you to be released. So come out now and go in peace."(y)
37 But Paul said to them, "They beat us in public without a trial, although we are Roman citizens, and threw us in jail. And now are they going to smuggle us out secretly? Certainly not! On the contrary, let them come themselves and escort us out!"(z)
38 Then the police reported these words to the magistrates. They were afraid when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. 39 So they came and apologized to them, and escorting them out, they urged them to leave town. 40 After leaving the jail, they came to Lydia's house where they saw and encouraged the brothers, and departed.(aa)
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