Read the Bible: Psalm 35

Oppose my opponents, LORD;
fight those who fight me.
2 Take your shields ​— ​large and small —
and come to my aid.
3 Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers,
and assure me, “I am your deliverance.”

4 Let those who intend to take my life
be disgraced and humiliated;
let those who plan to harm me
be turned back and ashamed.
5 Let them be like chaff in the wind,
with the angel of the LORD driving them away.
6 Let their way be dark and slippery,
with the angel of the LORD pursuing them.
7 They hid their net for me without cause;
they dug a pit for me without cause.
8 Let ruin come on him unexpectedly,
and let the net that he hid ensnare him;
let him fall into it ​— ​to his ruin.

9 Then I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will delight in his deliverance.
10 All my bones will say,
“LORD, who is like you,
rescuing the poor from one too strong for him,
the poor or the needy from one who robs him? ”

11 Malicious witnesses come forward;
they question me about things I do not know.
12 They repay me evil for good,
making me desolate.
13 Yet when they were sick,
my clothing was sackcloth;
I humbled myself with fasting,
and my prayer was genuine.
14 I went about mourning as if for my friend or brother;
I was bowed down with grief,
like one mourning for a mother.
15 But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee;
they gathered against me.
Assailants I did not know
tore at me and did not stop.
16 With godless mockery
they gnashed their teeth at me.

17 Lord, how long will you look on?
Rescue me from their ravages;
rescue my precious life from the young lions.
18 I will praise you in the great assembly;
I will exalt you among many people.
19 Do not let my deceitful enemies rejoice over me;
do not let those who hate me without cause
wink at me maliciously.
20 For they do not speak in friendly ways,
but contrive fraudulent schemes
against those who live peacefully in the land.
21 They open their mouths wide against me and say,
“Aha, aha! We saw it! ”

22 You saw it, LORD; do not be silent.
Lord, do not be far from me.
23 Wake up and rise to my defense,
to my cause, my God and my Lord!
24 Vindicate me, LORD my God,
in keeping with your righteousness,
and do not let them rejoice over me.
25 Do not let them say in their hearts,
“Aha! Just what we wanted.”
Do not let them say,
“We have swallowed him up! ”
26 Let those who rejoice at my misfortune
be disgraced and humiliated;
let those who exalt themselves over me
be clothed with shame and reproach.

27 Let those who want my vindication
shout for joy and be glad;
let them continually say,
“The LORD be exalted.
He takes pleasure in his servant’s well-being.”
28 And my tongue will proclaim your righteousness,
your praise all day long.

Psalms 35:1-28 (CSB)

Read the Bible: Psalm 34

I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
2 I will boast in the LORD;
the humble will hear and be glad.
3 Proclaim the LORD’s greatness with me;
let us exalt his name together.

4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and rescued me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant with joy;
their faces will never be ashamed.
6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him
and saved him from all his troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and rescues them.

8 Taste and see that the LORD is good.
How happy is the person who takes refuge in him!
9 You who are his holy ones, fear the LORD,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 Young lions lack food and go hungry,
but those who seek the LORD
will not lack any good thing.

11 Come, children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12 Who is someone who desires life,
loving a long life to enjoy what is good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from deceitful speech.
14 Turn away from evil and do what is good;
seek peace and pursue it.

15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their cry for help.
16 The face of the LORD is set
against those who do what is evil,
to remove all memory of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears,
and rescues them from all their troubles.
18 The LORD is near the brokenhearted;
he saves those crushed in spirit.

19 One who is righteous has many adversities,
but the LORD rescues him from them all.
20 He protects all his bones;
not one of them is broken.
21 Evil brings death to the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be punished.
22 The LORD redeems the life of his servants,
and all who take refuge in him will not be punished.

Psalms 34:1-22 (CSB)

Read the Bible: Psalm 33

Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous ones;
praise from the upright is beautiful.
2 Praise the LORD with the lyre;
make music to him with a ten-stringed harp.
3 Sing a new song to him;
play skillfully on the strings, with a joyful shout.

4 For the word of the LORD is right,
and all his work is trustworthy.
5 He loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of the LORD’s unfailing love.

6 The heavens were made by the word of the LORD,
and all the stars, by the breath of his mouth.
7 He gathers the water of the sea into a heap;
he puts the depths into storehouses.
8 Let the whole earth fear the LORD;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
9 For he spoke, and it came into being;
he commanded, and it came into existence.

10 The LORD frustrates the counsel of the nations;
he thwarts the plans of the peoples.
11 The counsel of the LORD stands forever,
the plans of his heart from generation to generation.
12 Happy is the nation whose God is the LORD —
the people he has chosen to be his own possession!

13 The LORD looks down from heaven;
he observes everyone.
14 He gazes on all the inhabitants of the earth
from his dwelling place.
15 He forms the hearts of them all;
he considers all their works.
16 A king is not saved by a large army;
a warrior will not be rescued by great strength.
17 The horse is a false hope for safety;
it provides no escape by its great power.

18 But look, the LORD keeps his eye on those who fear him —
those who depend on his faithful love
19 to rescue them from death
and to keep them alive in famine.

20 We wait for the LORD;
he is our help and shield.
21 For our hearts rejoice in him
because we trust in his holy name.
22 May your faithful love rest on us, LORD,
for we put our hope in you.

Psalms 33:1-22 (CSB)

Sunday School is for All Ages!

Struggling with his calling to go to the pharaoh & the Israelites bound in Egyptian slavery, Moses raised two key objections.

His first: “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” (Ex. 3:11). God’s answer was revealing—He rightly restored Himself as the center of the narrative (Ex. 3:12).

Moses’s second objection, in essence, is “Who are you?” (Ex 3:13). God’s answer was again revealing: “I AM WHO I AM” (Ex. 3:14). No human in all of history can make that claim. We are because our parents were first. A.W. Tozer writes, “Man is a created being, a derived and contingent self, who of himself possesses nothing but is dependent each moment for his existence upon the One who created him after His own likeness” (1961, emphasis mine).

Only God can say, “I AM THAT I AM.” The rest of us say, “I am because He is.”

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

A.W. Tozer. (1961). The Knowledge of the Holy. New York: Harper Collins.

Second Sunday of Lent (A Prayer)

“O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from Your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of Your Word, Jesus Christ Your Son; who with You and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God for ever and ever. Amen” (The 1979 Book of Common Prayer, 2005).

Read more:

• Luke 15

• Ephesians 2:1-10

• Exodus 34:1-8

• Jude 20-25

Read the Bible: Psalm 32

How joyful is the one
whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered!
2 How joyful is a person whom
the LORD does not charge with iniquity
and in whose spirit is no deceit!

3 When I kept silent, my bones became brittle
from my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was drained
as in the summer’s heat. Selah
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not conceal my iniquity.
I said, I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,”
and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah

6 Therefore let everyone who is faithful pray to you
immediately.
When great floodwaters come,
they will not reach him.
7 You are my hiding place;
you protect me from trouble.
You surround me with joyful shouts of deliverance. Selah

8 I will instruct you and show you the way to go;
with my eye on you, I will give counsel.
9 Do not be like a horse or mule,
without understanding,
that must be controlled with bit and bridle
or else it will not come near you.

10 Many pains come to the wicked,
but the one who trusts in the LORD
will have faithful love surrounding him.
11 Be glad in the LORD and rejoice,
you righteous ones;
shout for joy,
all you upright in heart.

Psalms 32:1-11 (CSB)

Read the Bible: Psalm 31

LORD, I seek refuge in you;
let me never be disgraced.
Save me by your righteousness.
2 Listen closely to me; rescue me quickly.
Be a rock of refuge for me,
a mountain fortress to save me.
3 For you are my rock and my fortress;
you lead and guide me
for your name’s sake.
4 You will free me from the net
that is secretly set for me,
for you are my refuge.
5 Into your hand I entrust my spirit;
you have redeemed me, LORD, God of truth.

6 I hate those who are devoted to worthless idols,
but I trust in the LORD.
7 I will rejoice and be glad in your faithful love
because you have seen my affliction.
You know the troubles of my soul
8 and have not handed me over to the enemy.
You have set my feet in a spacious place.

9 Be gracious to me, LORD,
because I am in distress;
my eyes are worn out from frustration —
my whole being as well.
10 Indeed, my life is consumed with grief
and my years with groaning;
my strength has failed
because of my iniquity,
and my bones waste away.
11 I am ridiculed by all my adversaries
and even by my neighbors.
I am dreaded by my acquaintances;
those who see me in the street run from me.
12 I am forgotten: gone from memory
like a dead person ​— ​like broken pottery.
13 I have heard the gossip of many;
terror is on every side.
When they conspired against me,
they plotted to take my life.

14 But I trust in you, LORD;
I say, “You are my God.”
15 The course of my life is in your power;
rescue me from the power of my enemies
and from my persecutors.
16 Make your face shine on your servant;
save me by your faithful love.
17 LORD, do not let me be disgraced when I call on you.
Let the wicked be disgraced;
let them be quiet in Sheol.
18 Let lying lips
that arrogantly speak against the righteous
in proud contempt be silenced.

19 How great is your goodness,
which you have stored up for those who fear you.
In the presence of everyone you have acted
for those who take refuge in you.
20 You hide them in the protection of your presence;
you conceal them in a shelter
from human schemes,
from quarrelsome tongues.
21 Blessed be the LORD,
for he has wondrously shown his faithful love to me
in a city under siege.
22 In my alarm I said,
“I am cut off from your sight.”
But you heard the sound of my pleading
when I cried to you for help.

23 Love the LORD, all his faithful ones.
The LORD protects the loyal,
but fully repays the arrogant.
24 Be strong, and let your heart be courageous,
all you who put your hope in the LORD.

Psalms 31:1-24 (CSB)

Read the Bible: Psalm 30

I will exalt you, LORD,
because you have lifted me up
and have not allowed my enemies
to triumph over me.
2 LORD my God,
I cried to you for help, and you healed me.
3 LORD, you brought me up from Sheol;
you spared me from among those
going down to the Pit.

4 Sing to the LORD, you his faithful ones,
and praise his holy name.
5 For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor, a lifetime.
Weeping may stay overnight,
but there is joy in the morning.

6 When I was secure, I said,
“I will never be shaken.”
7 LORD, when you showed your favor,
you made me stand like a strong mountain;
when you hid your face, I was terrified.
8 LORD, I called to you;
I sought favor from my Lord:
9 “What gain is there in my death,
if I go down to the Pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it proclaim your truth?
10 LORD, listen and be gracious to me;
LORD, be my helper.”

11 You turned my lament into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness,
12 so that I can sing to you and not be silent.
LORD my God, I will praise you forever.

Psalms 30:1-12 (CSB)

Read the Bible: Psalm 29

Ascribe to the LORD, you heavenly beings,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
worship the LORD
in the splendor of his holiness.

3 The voice of the LORD is above the waters.
The God of glory thunders —
the LORD, above the vast water,
4 the voice of the LORD in power,
the voice of the LORD in splendor.
5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
the LORD shatters the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
and Sirion, like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the LORD flashes flames of fire.
8 The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;
the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth
and strips the woodlands bare.

In his temple all cry, “Glory! ”

10 The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
the LORD sits enthroned, King forever.
11 The LORD gives his people strength;
the LORD blesses his people with peace.

Psalms 29:1-11 (CSB)

TONIGHT: Ladies' Auxiliary & Brotherhood Meet

There is a place for you to serve among the women’s and men’s ministries at Springfield PFWB Church. Join us at 7 PM.