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ESV — Daily Office Lectionary: Day 590
 
590
First Psalm
Ps. 55

Second Psalm
Ps. 138,139:1-17,18-23

Old Testament
Exod. 40:18-38

New Testament
1 Thess. 4:1-12

Gospel
Matt. 5:38-48

Cast Your Burden on the Lord

To the choirmaster: with fstringed instruments. A Maskil1 of David.

55 gGive ear to my prayer, O God,

and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!

Attend to me, and answer me;

I am restless hin my complaint and I imoan,

because of the noise of the enemy,

because of the oppression of the wicked.

For they jdrop trouble upon me,

and in anger they bear a grudge against me.

My heart is in anguish within me;

kthe terrors of death have fallen upon me.

Fear and trembling come upon me,

and lhorror moverwhelms me.

And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!

I would fly away and be at rest;

nyes, I would wander far away;

I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah

I would hurry to find a shelter

from othe raging wind and tempest.”

Destroy, O Lord, pdivide their tongues;

for I see qviolence and strife in the city.

10 Day and night they go around it

on its walls,

and riniquity and trouble are within it;

11 ruin is in its midst;

soppression and fraud

do not depart from its marketplace.

12 For it is not an enemy who taunts me—

then I could bear it;

it is not an adversary who tdeals insolently with me—

then I could hide from him.

13 uBut it is you, a man, my equal,

my companion, my familiar friend.

14 We used to take sweet counsel together;

within God's house we walked in vthe throng.

15 Let death steal over them;

let them go down to Sheol walive;

for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.

16 But I call to God,

and the Lord will save me.

17 xEvening and ymorning and at znoon

I autter my complaint and moan,

and he hears my voice.

18 He redeems my soul in safety

from the battle that I wage,

for bmany are arrayed against me.

19 God will give ear and humble them,

he who is centhroned from of old, Selah

because they do not dchange

and do not fear God.

20 My companion2 estretched out his hand against his friends;

he violated his covenant.

21 His fspeech was gsmooth as butter,

yet war was in his heart;

his words were softer than oil,

yet they were hdrawn swords.

22 iCast your burden on the Lord,

and he will sustain you;

jhe will never permit

the righteous to be moved.

23 But you, O God, kwill cast them down

into lthe pit of destruction;

men of mblood and treachery

shall not nlive out half their days.

But I will otrust in you.

Footnotes

[1] 55:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
[2] 55:20 Hebrew He

Give Thanks to the Lord

Of David.

138 bI give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;

before cthe gods I sing your praise;

I bow down dtoward your eholy temple

and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,

for you have exalted above all things

your name and your word.1

On the day I called, you answered me;

my strength of soul you increased.2

fAll the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord,

for they have heard the words of your mouth,

and they shall sing of gthe ways of the Lord,

for great is the glory of the Lord.

hFor though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,

but the haughty he knows from afar.

iThough I walk in the midst of trouble,

you jpreserve my life;

you kstretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,

and your lright hand delivers me.

The Lord will mfulfill his purpose for me;

nyour steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.

Do not forsake othe work of your hands.

Footnotes

[1] 138:2 Or you have exalted your word above all your name
[2] 138:3 Hebrew you made me bold in my soul with strength

Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

139 O Lord, you have psearched me and known me!

You qknow when I sit down and when I rise up;

you rdiscern my thoughts from afar.

You search out my path and my lying down

and are acquainted with all my ways.

Even before a word is on my tongue,

behold, O Lord, syou know it altogether.

You them me in, behind and before,

and ulay your hand upon me.

vSuch knowledge is wtoo wonderful for me;

it is high; I cannot attain it.

xWhere shall I go from your Spirit?

Or where yshall I flee from your presence?

zIf I ascend to heaven, you are there!

aIf I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

If I take the wings of the morning

and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

10 even there your hand shall blead me,

and your right hand shall hold me.

11 If I say, c“Surely the darkness shall cover me,

and the light about me be night,”

12 deven the darkness is not dark to you;

the night is bright as the day,

for darkness is as light with you.

13 For you eformed my inward parts;

you fknitted me together in my mother's womb.

14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.1

gWonderful are your works;

my soul knows it very well.

15 hMy frame was not hidden from you,

when I was being made in secret,

intricately woven in ithe depths of the earth.

16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;

in your jbook were written, every one of them,

the days that were formed for me,

when as yet there was none of them.

17 How precious to me are your kthoughts, O God!

How vast is the sum of them!

Footnotes

[1] 139:14 Or for I am fearfully set apart

18 lIf I would count them, they are more than mthe sand.

I awake, and I am still with you.

19 Oh that you would nslay the wicked, O God!

O omen of blood, pdepart from me!

20 They qspeak against you with malicious intent;

your enemies rtake your name in vain.1

21 sDo I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?

And do I not tloathe those who urise up against you?

22 I hate them with complete hatred;

I count them my enemies.

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!

vTry me and know my thoughts!2

Footnotes

[1] 139:20 Hebrew lacks your name
[2] 139:23 Or cares

18 Moses erected the tabernacle. He laid its bases, and set up its frames, and put in its poles, and raised up its pillars. 19 And he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent over it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 20 He wtook the testimony and put it into the ark, and put the poles on the ark and set the mercy seat above on the ark. 21 And he brought the ark into the tabernacle and xset up the veil of the screen, and screened ythe ark of the testimony, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 22 zHe put the table in the tent of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil, 23 and arranged the bread on it before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 24 aHe put the lampstand in the tent of meeting, opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle, 25 band set up the lamps before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 26 cHe put the golden altar in the tent of meeting before the veil, 27 and burned fragrant incense on it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 28 dHe put in place the screen for the door of the tabernacle. 29 eAnd he set the altar of burnt offering at the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the fgrain offering, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 30 gHe set the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it for washing, 31 with which Moses and hAaron and his sons iwashed their hands and their feet. 32 When they went into the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, as the Lord commanded Moses. 33 jAnd he erected the court around the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the screen of the gate of the court. So kMoses finished the work.

The Glory of the Lord

34 Then lthe cloud covered the tent of meeting, and mthe glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 36 Throughout all their journeys, nwhenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. 37 But oif the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. 38 For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys.

A Life Pleasing to God

Finally, then, brothers,1 we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you dreceived from us ehow you ought to walk and fto please God, just as you are doing, that you gdo so more and more. For hyou know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, iyour sanctification:2 jthat you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own kbody3 in holiness and lhonor, not in mthe passion of lust nlike the Gentiles owho do not know God; that no one transgress and pwrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is qan avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For rGod has not called us for simpurity, but in holiness. Therefore twhoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, uwho gives his Holy Spirit to you.

Now concerning vbrotherly love wyou have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been xtaught by God yto love one another, 10 for that indeed is what zyou are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to ado this more and more, 11 and to aspire bto live quietly, and cto mind your own affairs, and dto work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may ewalk properly before foutsiders and be dependent on no one.

Footnotes

[1] 4:1 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 10, 13
[2] 4:3 Or your holiness
[3] 4:4 Or how to take a wife for himself; Greek how to possess his own vessel

Retaliation

38 h“You have heard that it was said, y‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, zDo not resist the one who is evil. But aif anyone bslaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And zif anyone would sue you and take your tunic,1 let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone cforces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 dGive to the one who begs from you, and edo not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

Love Your Enemies

43 f“You have heard that it was said, g‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, iLove your enemies and jpray for those who persecute you, 45 kso that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and lsends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 mFor if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers,2 what more are you doing than others? Do not even nthe Gentiles do the same? 48 oYou therefore must be pperfect, qas your heavenly Father is perfect.

Footnotes

[1] 5:40 Greek chiton, a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin
[2] 5:47 Or brothers and sisters. The plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) refers to siblings in a family. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, adelphoi may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters