JOB 7

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Job’s Life Seems Futile7:1 “Is not man forced to labor on earth,

And are not his days like the days of a hired man?

2 “As a slave who pants for the shade,

And as a hired man who eagerly waits for his wages,

3 So am I allotted months of vanity,

And nights of trouble are appointed me.

4 “When I lie down I say,

‘When shall I arise?’

But the night continues,

And I am continually tossing until dawn.

5 “My flesh is clothed with worms and a crust of dirt,

My skin hardens and runs.

6 “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,

And come to an end without hope.

7 “Remember that my life is but breath;

My eye will not again see good.

8 “The eye of him who sees me will behold me no longer;

Your eyes will be on me, but I will not be.

9 “When a cloud vanishes, it is gone,

So he who goes down to Sheol does not come up.

10 “He will not return again to his house,

Nor will his place know him anymore.

11 “Therefore I will not restrain my mouth;

I will speak in the anguish of my spirit,

I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

12 “Am I the sea, or the sea monster,

That You set a guard over me?

13 “If I say, ‘My bed will comfort me,

My couch will ease my complaint,’

14 Then You frighten me with dreams

And terrify me by visions;

15 So that my soul would choose suffocation,

Death rather than my pains.

16 “I waste away; I will not live forever.

Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath.

17 “What is man that You magnify him,

And that You are concerned about him,

18 That You examine him every morning

And try him every moment?

19 “Will You never turn Your gaze away from me,

Nor let me alone until I swallow my spittle?

20 “Have I sinned? What have I done to You,

O watcher of men?

Why have You set me as Your target,

So that I am a burden to myself?

21 “Why then do You not pardon my transgression

And take away my iniquity?

For now I will lie down in the dust;

And You will seek me, but I will not be.”

PSALM 31

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A Psalm of Complaint and of Praise.For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
31:1 In You, O LORD, I have taken refuge;

Let me never be ashamed;

In Your righteousness deliver me.

2 Incline Your ear to me, rescue me quickly;

Be to me a rock of strength,

A stronghold to save me.

3 For You are my rock and my fortress;

For Your name’s sake You will lead me and guide me.

4 You will pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me,

For You are my strength.

5 Into Your hand I commit my spirit;

You have ransomed me, O LORD, God of truth.

6 I hate those who regard vain idols,

But I trust in the LORD.

7 I will rejoice and be glad in Your lovingkindness,

Because You have seen my affliction;

You have known the troubles of my soul,

8 And You have not given me over into the hand of the enemy;

You have set my feet in a large place.

9 Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress;

My eye is wasted away from grief, my soul and my body also.

10 For my life is spent with sorrow

And my years with sighing;

My strength has failed because of my iniquity,

And my body has wasted away.

11 Because of all my adversaries, I have become a reproach,

Especially to my neighbors,

And an object of dread to my acquaintances;

Those who see me in the street flee from me.

12 I am forgotten as a dead man, out of mind;

I am like a broken vessel.

13 For I have heard the slander of many,

Terror is on every side;

While they took counsel together against me,

They schemed to take away my life.

14 But as for me, I trust in You, O LORD,

I say, “You are my God.”

15 My times are in Your hand;

Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me.

16 Make Your face to shine upon Your servant;

Save me in Your lovingkindness.

17 Let me not be put to shame, O LORD, for I call upon You;

Let the wicked be put to shame, let them be silent in Sheol.

18 Let the lying lips be mute,

Which speak arrogantly against the righteous

With pride and contempt.

19 How great is Your goodness,

Which You have stored up for those who fear You,

Which You have wrought for those who take refuge in You,

Before the sons of men!

20 You hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the conspiracies of man;

You keep them secretly in a shelter from the strife of tongues.

21 Blessed be the LORD,

For He has made marvelous His lovingkindness to me in a besieged city.

22 As for me, I said in my alarm,

“I am cut off from before Your eyes”;

Nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications

When I cried to You.

23 O love the LORD, all you His godly ones!

The LORD preserves the faithful

And fully recompenses the proud doer.

24 Be strong and let your heart take courage,

All you who hope in the LORD.

PROVERBS 18

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Contrast the Upright and the Wicked18:1 He who separates himself seeks his own desire,

He quarrels against all sound wisdom.

2 A fool does not delight in understanding,

But only in revealing his own mind.

3 When a wicked man comes, contempt also comes,

And with dishonor comes scorn.

4 The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters;

The fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.

5 To show partiality to the wicked is not good,

Nor to thrust aside the righteous in judgment.

6 A fool’s lips bring strife,

And his mouth calls for blows.

7 A fool’s mouth is his ruin,

And his lips are the snare of his soul.

8 The words of a whisperer are like dainty morsels,

And they go down into the innermost parts of the body.

9 He also who is slack in his work

Is brother to him who destroys.

10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower;

The righteous runs into it and is safe.

11 A rich man’s wealth is his strong city,

And like a high wall in his own imagination.

12 Before destruction the heart of man is haughty,

But humility goes before honor.

13 He who gives an answer before he hears,

It is folly and shame to him.

14 The spirit of a man can endure his sickness,

But as for a broken spirit who can bear it?

15 The mind of the prudent acquires knowledge,

And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.

16 A man’s gift makes room for him

And brings him before great men.

17 The first to plead his case seems right,

Until another comes and examines him.

18 The cast lot puts an end to strife

And decides between the mighty ones.

19 A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city,

And contentions are like the bars of a citadel.

20 With the fruit of a man’s mouth his stomach will be satisfied;

He will be satisfied with the product of his lips.

21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue,

And those who love it will eat its fruit.

22 He who finds a wife finds a good thing

And obtains favor from the LORD.

23 The poor man utters supplications,

But the rich man answers roughly.

24 A man of too many friends comes to ruin,

But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.