Friday, September 20, 2024

Are You a True Worshiper of God?


“But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” JOHN 4:23-24

 

PONDER THIS


Joyce had a brother who’s now in Heaven. He raced boats and automobiles and was a businessman. Joyce and I prayed for him continuously. Every now and then, grudgingly, he’d come hear me preach. And then he got saved and he radically, dramatically changed. When he came to hear me preach later, he said, “Adrian, you don’t preach like you used to.” I responded, “Gordon, I preach the same way I’ve been preaching. But you don’t hear like you used to.” When you get your heart right, a church service is not going to be boring. You’ve never been in a boring worship service. There is no such thing. Worship is a loving response to the God revealed in the Bible.


Some people say, “What are we going to have today? Are we going to have a Bible study or a worship service?” Yes! The preaching of the Word of God is worship. We worship God in truth. And if we don’t do that, the Church becomes watered-down. Psalm 47:7 says: “For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with understanding.” That’s spirit and truth. If you have all emotionalism, you blow up. If you have all truth, you dry up. But if you have spirit and truth, you grow up. Jesus said we’re to worship in spirit and in truth.


What is your typical approach when you come to worship?

How have you grown in your appreciation for worship?


PRACTICE THIS


Discuss with a fellow Christian what it looks like to worship God in spirit and in truth.



LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Not Nearly Hedonistic Enough


“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:19–20)


The message that needs to be shouted from the houses of high finance is this: Secular man, you are not nearly hedonistic enough!


Quit being satisfied with the little 2% yields of pleasure that get eaten up by the moths of inflation and the rust of death. Invest in the blue-chip, high-yield, divinely insured securities of heaven.


Devoting a life to material comforts and security and thrills is like throwing money down a rat hole. But investing a life in the labor of love yields dividends of joy unsurpassed and unending:


“Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. [And thus] provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail” (Luke 12:33).


This message is very good news: Come to Christ, in whose presence are fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore. Join us in the labor of Christian Hedonism. For the Lord has spoken: It is more blessed to love than to live in luxury! More blessed now, and forever.


John Piper 

September 20


Luke 23:50-56


Jesus Is Buried


[50] Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, [51] who had not consented to their decision and action; and he was looking for the kingdom of God. [52] This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. [53] Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid him in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever yet been laid. [54] It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning. [55] The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. [56] Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. 


On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment. 


Hebrews 11:17-31


[17] By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, [18] of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” [19] He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. [20] By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. [21] By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. [22] By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.


[23] By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. [24] By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, [25] choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. [26] He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. [27] By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. [28] By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.


[29] By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. [30] By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. [31] By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.


Proverbs 28:1-14


    [1] The wicked flee when no one pursues,

        but the righteous are bold as a lion. 

    [2] 

    When a land transgresses, it has many rulers,

        but with a man of understanding and knowledge,

        its stability will long continue. 

    [3] 

    A poor man who oppresses the poor

        is a beating rain that leaves no food. 

    [4] 

    Those who forsake the law praise the wicked,

        but those who keep the law strive against them. 

    [5] 

    Evil men do not understand justice,

        but those who seek the LORD understand it completely. 

    [6] 

    Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity

        than a rich man who is crooked in his ways. 

    [7] 

    The one who keeps the law is a son with understanding,

        but a companion of gluttons shames his father. 

    [8] 

    Whoever multiplies his wealth by interest and profit

        gathers it for him who is generous to the poor. 

    [9] 

    If one turns away his ear from hearing the law,

        even his prayer is an abomination. 

    [10] 

    Whoever misleads the upright into an evil way

        will fall into his own pit,

        but the blameless will have a goodly inheritance. 

    [11] 

    A rich man is wise in his own eyes,

        but a poor man who has understanding will find him out. 

    [12] 

    When the righteous triumph, there is great glory,

        but when the wicked rise, people hide themselves. 

    [13] 

    Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper,

        but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. 

    [14] 

    Blessed is the one who fears the LORD always,

        but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity.


Isaiah 51


The LORD’s Comfort for Zion


    [1] “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,

        you who seek the LORD:

    look to the rock from which you were hewn,

        and to the quarry from which you were dug. 

    [2] Look to Abraham your father

        and to Sarah who bore you;

    for he was but one when I called him,

        that I might bless him and multiply him. 

    [3] For the LORD comforts Zion;

        he comforts all her waste places

    and makes her wilderness like Eden,

        her desert like the garden of the LORD;

    joy and gladness will be found in her,

        thanksgiving and the voice of song.


    [4] “Give attention to me, my people,

        and give ear to me, my nation;

    for a law will go out from me,

        and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples. 

    [5] My righteousness draws near,

        my salvation has gone out,

        and my arms will judge the peoples;

    the coastlands hope for me,

        and for my arm they wait. 

    [6] Lift up your eyes to the heavens,

        and look at the earth beneath;

    for the heavens vanish like smoke,

        the earth will wear out like a garment,

        and they who dwell in it will die in like manner;

    but my salvation will be forever,

        and my righteousness will never be dismayed.


    [7] “Listen to me, you who know righteousness,

        the people in whose heart is my law;

    fear not the reproach of man,

        nor be dismayed at their revilings. 

    [8] For the moth will eat them up like a garment,

        and the worm will eat them like wool,

    but my righteousness will be forever,

        and my salvation to all generations.”


    [9] Awake, awake, put on strength,

        O arm of the LORD;

    awake, as in days of old,

        the generations of long ago.

    Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces,

        who pierced the dragon? 

    [10] Was it not you who dried up the sea,

        the waters of the great deep,

    who made the depths of the sea a way

        for the redeemed to pass over? 

    [11] And the ransomed of the LORD shall return

        and come to Zion with singing;

    everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;

        they shall obtain gladness and joy,

        and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.


    [12] “I, I am he who comforts you;

        who are you that you are afraid of man who dies,

        of the son of man who is made like grass, 

    [13] and have forgotten the LORD, your Maker,

        who stretched out the heavens

        and laid the foundations of the earth,

    and you fear continually all the day

        because of the wrath of the oppressor,

    when he sets himself to destroy?

        And where is the wrath of the oppressor? 

    [14] He who is bowed down shall speedily be released;

        he shall not die and go down to the pit,

        neither shall his bread be lacking. 

    [15] I am the LORD your God,

        who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—

        the LORD of hosts is his name. 

    [16] And I have put my words in your mouth

        and covered you in the shadow of my hand,

    establishing the heavens

        and laying the foundations of the earth,

        and saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.’”


    [17] Wake yourself, wake yourself,

        stand up, O Jerusalem,

    you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD

        the cup of his wrath,

    who have drunk to the dregs

        the bowl, the cup of staggering. 

    [18] There is none to guide her

        among all the sons she has borne;

    there is none to take her by the hand

        among all the sons she has brought up. 

    [19] These two things have happened to you—

        who will console you?—

    devastation and destruction, famine and sword;

        who will comfort you? 

    [20] Your sons have fainted;

        they lie at the head of every street

        like an antelope in a net;

    they are full of the wrath of the LORD,

        the rebuke of your God.


    [21] Therefore hear this, you who are afflicted,

        who are drunk, but not with wine: 

    [22] Thus says your Lord, the LORD,

        your God who pleads the cause of his people:

    “Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering;

    the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more; 

    [23] and I will put it into the hand of your tormentors,

        who have said to you,

        ‘Bow down, that we may pass over’;

    and you have made your back like the ground

        and like the street for them to pass over.”


Isaiah 52


The LORD’s Coming Salvation


    [1] Awake, awake,

        put on your strength, O Zion;

    put on your beautiful garments,

        O Jerusalem, the holy city;

    for there shall no more come into you

        the uncircumcised and the unclean. 

    [2] Shake yourself from the dust and arise;

        be seated, O Jerusalem;

    loose the bonds from your neck,

        O captive daughter of Zion.


    [3] For thus says the LORD: “You were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money.” [4] For thus says the Lord GOD: “My people went down at the first into Egypt to sojourn there, and the Assyrian oppressed them for nothing. [5] Now therefore what have I here,” declares the LORD, “seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? Their rulers wail,” declares the LORD, “and continually all the day my name is despised. [6] Therefore my people shall know my name. Therefore in that day they shall know that it is I who speak; here I am.”


    [7] How beautiful upon the mountains

        are the feet of him who brings good news,

    who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness,

        who publishes salvation,

        who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” 

    [8] The voice of your watchmen—they lift up their voice;

        together they sing for joy;

    for eye to eye they see

        the return of the LORD to Zion. 

    [9] Break forth together into singing,

        you waste places of Jerusalem,

    for the LORD has comforted his people;

        he has redeemed Jerusalem. 

    [10] The LORD has bared his holy arm

        before the eyes of all the nations,

    and all the ends of the earth shall see

        the salvation of our God.


    [11] Depart, depart, go out from there;

        touch no unclean thing;

    go out from the midst of her; purify yourselves,

        you who bear the vessels of the LORD. 

    [12] For you shall not go out in haste,

        and you shall not go in flight,

    for the LORD will go before you,

        and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.


    He Was Pierced for Our Transgressions


    [13] Behold, my servant shall act wisely;

        he shall be high and lifted up,

        and shall be exalted. 

    [14] As many were astonished at you—

        his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,

        and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—

    [15] so shall he sprinkle many nations.

        Kings shall shut their mouths because of him,

    for that which has not been told them they see,

        and that which they have not heard they understand.


Isaiah 53


    [1] Who has believed what he has heard from us?

        And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 

    [2] 

    For he grew up before him like a young plant,

        and like a root out of dry ground;

    he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,

        and no beauty that we should desire him. 

    [3] 

    He was despised and rejected by men,

        a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;

    and as one from whom men hide their faces

        he was despised, and we esteemed him not.


    [4] 

    Surely he has borne our griefs

        and carried our sorrows;

    yet we esteemed him stricken,

        smitten by God, and afflicted. 

    [5] 

    But he was pierced for our transgressions;

        he was crushed for our iniquities;

    upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,

        and with his wounds we are healed. 

    [6] 

    All we like sheep have gone astray;

        we have turned—every one—to his own way;

    and the LORD has laid on him

        the iniquity of us all.


    [7] 

    He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,

        yet he opened not his mouth;

    like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,

        and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,

        so he opened not his mouth. 

    [8] 

    By oppression and judgment he was taken away;

        and as for his generation, who considered

    that he was cut off out of the land of the living,

        stricken for the transgression of my people? 

    [9] 

    And they made his grave with the wicked

        and with a rich man in his death,

    although he had done no violence,

        and there was no deceit in his mouth.


    [10] 

    Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him;

        he has put him to grief;

    when his soul makes an offering for guilt,

        he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;

    the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 

    [11] 

    Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;

    by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,

        make many to be accounted righteous,

        and he shall bear their iniquities. 

    [12] 

    Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,

        and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,

    because he poured out his soul to death

        and was numbered with the transgressors;

    yet he bore the sin of many,

        and makes intercession for the transgressors.

Thursday, September 19, 2024

Trusting God Through Prayer


“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”

MATTHEW 7:7-11

 

PONDER THIS


There’s no substitute for prayer. Not enthusiasm. Not eloquence. Not energy. There is no substitute for prayer. The reason many of us fail and the reason many of us are poverty-stricken in our spiritual lives is we’ve never learned to pray. May God help us to pray!


Why do we pray? We invite God to be a part of our lives so we can delight ourselves in the Lord. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 6:1 that we are, “Workers together with Him.” God loves us so much that God gives us the privilege of participating in His kingdom work through prayer.


Now, God can work without our prayers, but we cannot work without God, and it is prayer that causes us to depend on Him. God does not want us to live independent of Him. If God simply blessed us without our asking, what would that do? It would teach us to live independently from God. But God wants you to abide with Him. And that’s the reason God taught us to pray—to invite Him to take control of our lives moment by moment.


How often do you go to God in prayer?

What would it look like to invite God to be a part of every aspect of your life through prayer? What would change?


PRACTICE THIS


Pray and invite God to control every part of your life today.



LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Our Unspeakable Privilege


God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” (Exodus 3:14)


One implication of the magnificent name, I AM WHO I AM, is that this infinite, absolute, self-determining God has drawn near to us in Jesus Christ.


In John 8:56–58 Jesus is answering the criticism of the Jewish leaders. He says, “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” The Jews then said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”


Could Jesus have taken any more exalted words upon his lips? When Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I am,” he took up all the majestic truth of the name of God, wrapped it in the humility of servanthood, offered himself to atone for all our rebellion, and made a way for us to see the glory of this infinite, absolute, all-sufficient God — without fear.


In Jesus Christ we who are born of God have the unspeakable privilege of knowing Yahweh as our Father — I AM WHO I AM — the God


who exists

whose personality and power is owing solely to himself

who never changes

from whom all power and energy in the universe flows

and to whom all creation should conform its life.

May those who know the name of God put their trust in him (Psalm 9:10).



John Piper 

September 19


Luke 23:44-49


The Death of Jesus


[44] It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, [45] while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. [46] Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. [47] Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!” [48] And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. [49] And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things.


Hebrews 11:1-16


By Faith


[1] Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. [2] For by it the people of old received their commendation. [3] By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.


[4] By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. [5] By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. [6] And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. [7] By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.


[8] By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. [9] By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. [10] For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. [11] By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. [12] Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.


[13] These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. [14] For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. [15] If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. [16] But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.


Proverbs 27:15-27


    [15] 

    A continual dripping on a rainy day

        and a quarrelsome wife are alike; 

    [16] 

    to restrain her is to restrain the wind

        or to grasp oil in one’s right hand. 

    [17] 

    Iron sharpens iron,

        and one man sharpens another. 

    [18] 

    Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,

        and he who guards his master will be honored. 

    [19] 

    As in water face reflects face,

        so the heart of man reflects the man. 

    [20] 

    Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied,

        and never satisfied are the eyes of man. 

    [21] 

    The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,

        and a man is tested by his praise. 

    [22] 

    Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle

        along with crushed grain,

        yet his folly will not depart from him.


    [23] 

    Know well the condition of your flocks,

        and give attention to your herds, 

    [24] 

    for riches do not last forever;

        and does a crown endure to all generations? 

    [25] 

    When the grass is gone and the new growth appears

        and the vegetation of the mountains is gathered, 

    [26] 

    the lambs will provide your clothing,

        and the goats the price of a field. 

    [27] 

    There will be enough goats’ milk for your food,

        for the food of your household

        and maintenance for your girls.


Isaiah 49


The Servant of the LORD


    [1] Listen to me, O coastlands,

        and give attention, you peoples from afar.

    The LORD called me from the womb,

        from the body of my mother he named my name. 

    [2] He made my mouth like a sharp sword;

        in the shadow of his hand he hid me;

    he made me a polished arrow;

        in his quiver he hid me away. 

    [3] And he said to me, “You are my servant,

        Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” 

    [4] But I said, “I have labored in vain;

        I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;

    yet surely my right is with the LORD,

        and my recompense with my God.”


    [5] And now the LORD says,

        he who formed me from the womb to be his servant,

    to bring Jacob back to him;

        and that Israel might be gathered to him—

    for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD,

        and my God has become my strength—

    [6] he says:

    “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant

        to raise up the tribes of Jacob

        and to bring back the preserved of Israel;

    I will make you as a light for the nations,

        that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”


    [7] Thus says the LORD,

        the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,

    to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation,

        the servant of rulers:

    “Kings shall see and arise;

        princes, and they shall prostrate themselves;

    because of the LORD, who is faithful,

        the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”


    The Restoration of Israel


    [8] Thus says the LORD:

    “In a time of favor I have answered you;

        in a day of salvation I have helped you;

    I will keep you and give you

        as a covenant to the people,

    to establish the land,

        to apportion the desolate heritages, 

    [9] saying to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’

        to those who are in darkness, ‘Appear.’

    They shall feed along the ways;

        on all bare heights shall be their pasture; 

    [10] they shall not hunger or thirst,

        neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them,

    for he who has pity on them will lead them,

        and by springs of water will guide them. 

    [11] And I will make all my mountains a road,

        and my highways shall be raised up. 

    [12] Behold, these shall come from afar,

        and behold, these from the north and from the west,

        and these from the land of Syene.”


    [13] Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;

        break forth, O mountains, into singing!

    For the LORD has comforted his people

        and will have compassion on his afflicted.


    [14] But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me;

        my Lord has forgotten me.”


    [15] “Can a woman forget her nursing child,

        that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?

    Even these may forget,

        yet I will not forget you. 

    [16] Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;

        your walls are continually before me. 

    [17] Your builders make haste;

        your destroyers and those who laid you waste go out from you. 

    [18] Lift up your eyes around and see;

        they all gather, they come to you.

    As I live, declares the LORD,

        you shall put them all on as an ornament;

        you shall bind them on as a bride does.


    [19] “Surely your waste and your desolate places

        and your devastated land—

    surely now you will be too narrow for your inhabitants,

        and those who swallowed you up will be far away. 

    [20] The children of your bereavement

        will yet say in your ears:

    ‘The place is too narrow for me;

        make room for me to dwell in.’ 

    [21] Then you will say in your heart:

        ‘Who has borne me these?

    I was bereaved and barren,

        exiled and put away,

        but who has brought up these?

    Behold, I was left alone;

        from where have these come?’”


    [22] Thus says the Lord GOD:

    “Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations,

        and raise my signal to the peoples;

    and they shall bring your sons in their arms,

        and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders. 

    [23] Kings shall be your foster fathers,

        and their queens your nursing mothers.

    With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you,

        and lick the dust of your feet.

    Then you will know that I am the LORD;

        those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.”


    [24] Can the prey be taken from the mighty,

        or the captives of a tyrant be rescued? 

    [25] For thus says the LORD:

    “Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken,

        and the prey of the tyrant be rescued,

    for I will contend with those who contend with you,

        and I will save your children. 

    [26] I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh,

        and they shall be drunk with their own blood as with wine.

    Then all flesh shall know

        that I am the LORD your Savior,

        and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”


Isaiah 50


Israel’s Sin and the Servant’s Obedience


    [1] Thus says the LORD:

    “Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce,

        with which I sent her away?

    Or which of my creditors is it

        to whom I have sold you?

    Behold, for your iniquities you were sold,

        and for your transgressions your mother was sent away. 

    [2] Why, when I came, was there no man;

        why, when I called, was there no one to answer?

    Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem?

        Or have I no power to deliver?

    Behold, by my rebuke I dry up the sea,

        I make the rivers a desert;

    their fish stink for lack of water

        and die of thirst. 

    [3] I clothe the heavens with blackness

        and make sackcloth their covering.”


    [4] The Lord GOD has given me

        the tongue of those who are taught,

    that I may know how to sustain with a word

        him who is weary.

    Morning by morning he awakens;

        he awakens my ear

        to hear as those who are taught. 

    [5] The Lord GOD has opened my ear,

        and I was not rebellious;

        I turned not backward. 

    [6] I gave my back to those who strike,

        and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard;

    I hid not my face

        from disgrace and spitting.


    [7] But the Lord GOD helps me;

        therefore I have not been disgraced;

    therefore I have set my face like a flint,

        and I know that I shall not be put to shame. 

    [8]     He who vindicates me is near.

    Who will contend with me?

        Let us stand up together.

    Who is my adversary?

        Let him come near to me. 

    [9] Behold, the Lord GOD helps me;

        who will declare me guilty?

    Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment;

        the moth will eat them up.


    [10] Who among you fears the LORD

        and obeys the voice of his servant?

    Let him who walks in darkness

        and has no light

    trust in the name of the LORD

        and rely on his God. 

    [11] Behold, all you who kindle a fire,

        who equip yourselves with burning torches!

    Walk by the light of your fire,

        and by the torches that you have kindled!

    This you have from my hand:

        you shall lie down in torment.