JOB 36

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Elihu Speaks of God’s Dealings with Men  36:1 Then Elihu continued and said,

2 “Wait for me a little, and I will show you

That there is yet more to be said in God’s behalf.

3 “I will fetch my knowledge from afar,

And I will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.

4 “For truly my words are not false;

One who is perfect in knowledge is with you.

5 “Behold, God is mighty but does not despise any;

He is mighty in strength of understanding.

6 “He does not keep the wicked alive,

But gives justice to the afflicted.

7 “He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous;

But with kings on the throne

He has seated them forever, and they are exalted.

8 “And if they are bound in fetters,

And are caught in the cords of affliction,

9 Then He declares to them their work

And their transgressions, that they have magnified themselves.

10 “He opens their ear to instruction,

And commands that they return from evil.

11 “If they hear and serve Him,

They will end their days in prosperity

And their years in pleasures.

12 “But if they do not hear, they shall perish by the sword

And they will die without knowledge.

13 “But the godless in heart lay up anger;

They do not cry for help when He binds them.

14 “They die in youth,

And their life perishes among the cult prostitutes.

15 “He delivers the afflicted in their affliction,

And opens their ear in time of oppression.

16 “Then indeed, He enticed you from the mouth of distress,

Instead of it, a broad place with no constraint;

And that which was set on your table was full of fatness.

17 “But you were full of judgment on the wicked;

Judgment and justice take hold of you.

18 “Beware that wrath does not entice you to scoffing;

And do not let the greatness of the ransom turn you aside.

19 “Will your riches keep you from distress,

Or all the forces of your strength?

20 “Do not long for the night,

When people vanish in their place.

21 “Be careful, do not turn to evil,

For you have preferred this to affliction.

22 “Behold, God is exalted in His power;

Who is a teacher like Him?

23 “Who has appointed Him His way,

And who has said, ‘You have done wrong’?

24 “Remember that you should exalt His work,

Of which men have sung.

25 “All men have seen it;

Man beholds from afar.

26 “Behold, God is exalted, and we do not know Him;

The number of His years is unsearchable.

27 “For He draws up the drops of water,

They distill rain from the mist,

28 Which the clouds pour down,

They drip upon man abundantly.

29 “Can anyone understand the spreading of the clouds,

The thundering of His pavilion?

30 “Behold, He spreads His lightning about Him,

And He covers the depths of the sea.

31 “For by these He judges peoples;

He gives food in abundance.

32 “He covers His hands with the lightning,

And commands it to strike the mark.

33 “Its noise declares His presence;

The cattle also, concerning what is coming up.

PSALM 44

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Former Deliverances and Present Troubles.For the choir director. A Maskil of the sons of Korah.
44:1 O God, we have heard with our ears,

Our fathers have told us

The work that You did in their days,

In the days of old.

2 You with Your own hand drove out the nations;

Then You planted them;

You afflicted the peoples,

Then You spread them abroad.

3 For by their own sword they did not possess the land,

And their own arm did not save them,

But Your right hand and Your arm and the light of Your presence,

For You favored them.

4 You are my King, O God;

Command victories for Jacob.

5 Through You we will push back our adversaries;

Through Your name we will trample down those who rise up against us.

6 For I will not trust in my bow,

Nor will my sword save me.

7 But You have saved us from our adversaries,

And You have put to shame those who hate us.

8 In God we have boasted all day long,

And we will give thanks to Your name forever. Selah.

9 Yet You have rejected us and brought us to dishonor,

And do not go out with our armies.

10 You cause us to turn back from the adversary;

And those who hate us have taken spoil for themselves.

11 You give us as sheep to be eaten

And have scattered us among the nations.

12 You sell Your people cheaply,

And have not profited by their sale.

13 You make us a reproach to our neighbors,

A scoffing and a derision to those around us.

14 You make us a byword among the nations,

A laughingstock among the peoples.

15 All day long my dishonor is before me

And my humiliation has overwhelmed me,

16 Because of the voice of him who reproaches and reviles,

Because of the presence of the enemy and the avenger.

17 All this has come upon us, but we have not forgotten You,

And we have not dealt falsely with Your covenant.

18 Our heart has not turned back,

And our steps have not deviated from Your way,

19 Yet You have crushed us in a place of jackals

And covered us with the shadow of death.

20 If we had forgotten the name of our God

Or extended our hands to a strange god,

21 Would not God find this out?

For He knows the secrets of the heart.

22 But for Your sake we are killed all day long;

We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

23 Arouse Yourself, why do You sleep, O Lord?

Awake, do not reject us forever.

24 Why do You hide Your face

And forget our affliction and our oppression?

25 For our soul has sunk down into the dust;

Our body cleaves to the earth.

26 Rise up, be our help,

And redeem us for the sake of Your lovingkindness.

PSALM 45

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A Song Celebrating the King’s Marriage.For the choir director; according to the Shoshannim. A Maskil of the sons of Korah. A Song of Love.
45:1 My heart overflows with a good theme;

I address my verses to the King;

My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.

2 You are fairer than the sons of men;

Grace is poured upon Your lips;

Therefore God has blessed You forever.

3 Gird Your sword on Your thigh, O Mighty One,

In Your splendor and Your majesty!

4 And in Your majesty ride on victoriously,

For the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness;

Let Your right hand teach You awesome things.

5 Your arrows are sharp;

The peoples fall under You;

Your arrows are in the heart of the King’s enemies.

6 Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;

A scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom.

7 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;

Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You

With the oil of joy above Your fellows.

8 All Your garments are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia;

Out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made You glad.

9 Kings’ daughters are among Your noble ladies;

At Your right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir.

10 Listen, O daughter, give attention and incline your ear:

Forget your people and your father’s house;

11 Then the King will desire your beauty.

Because He is your Lord, bow down to Him.

12 The daughter of Tyre will come with a gift;

The rich among the people will seek your favor.

13 The King’s daughter is all glorious within;

Her clothing is interwoven with gold.

14 She will be led to the King in embroidered work;

The virgins, her companions who follow her,

Will be brought to You.

15 They will be led forth with gladness and rejoicing;

They will enter into the King’s palace.

16 In place of your fathers will be your sons;

You shall make them princes in all the earth.

17 I will cause Your name to be remembered in all generations;

Therefore the peoples will give You thanks forever and ever.

PROVERBS 16

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Contrast the Upright and the Wicked16:1 The plans of the heart belong to man,

But the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.

2 All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight,

But the LORD weighs the motives.

3 Commit your works to the LORD

And your plans will be established.

4 The LORD has made everything for its own purpose,

Even the wicked for the day of evil.

5 Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD;

Assuredly, he will not be unpunished.

6 By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for,

And by the fear of the LORD one keeps away from evil.

7 When a man’s ways are pleasing to the LORD,

He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

8 Better is a little with righteousness

Than great income with injustice.

9 The mind of man plans his way,

But the LORD directs his steps.

10 A divine decision is in the lips of the king;

His mouth should not err in judgment.

11 A just balance and scales belong to the LORD;

All the weights of the bag are His concern.

12 It is an abomination for kings to commit wicked acts,

For a throne is established on righteousness.

13 Righteous lips are the delight of kings,

And he who speaks right is loved.

14 The fury of a king is like messengers of death,

But a wise man will appease it.

15 In the light of a king’s face is life,

And his favor is like a cloud with the spring rain.

16 How much better it is to get wisdom than gold!

And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver.

17 The highway of the upright is to depart from evil;

He who watches his way preserves his life.

18 Pride goes before destruction,

And a haughty spirit before stumbling.

19 It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly

Than to divide the spoil with the proud.

20 He who gives attention to the word will find good,

And blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.

21 The wise in heart will be called understanding,

And sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness.

22 Understanding is a fountain of life to one who has it,

But the discipline of fools is folly.

23 The heart of the wise instructs his mouth

And adds persuasiveness to his lips.

24 Pleasant words are a honeycomb,

Sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

25 There is a way which seems right to a man,

But its end is the way of death.

26 A worker’s appetite works for him,

For his hunger urges him on.

27 A worthless man digs up evil,

While his words are like scorching fire.

28 A perverse man spreads strife,

And a slanderer separates intimate friends.

29 A man of violence entices his neighbor

And leads him in a way that is not good.

30 He who winks his eyes does so to devise perverse things;

He who compresses his lips brings evil to pass.

31 A gray head is a crown of glory;

It is found in the way of righteousness.

32 He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty,

And he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city.

33 The lot is cast into the lap,

But its every decision is from the LORD.