NEHEMIAH 1

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Nehemiah’s Grief for the Exiles  1:1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah.
    Now it happened in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in Susa the capitol, 2 that Hanani, one of my brothers, and some men from Judah came; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped and had survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem. 3 They said to me, “The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire.”
    4 When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. 5 I said, “I beseech You, O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who preserves the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, 6 let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against You; I and my father’s house have sinned. 7 We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. 8 Remember the word which You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful I will scatter you among the peoples; 9 but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been scattered were in the most remote part of the heavens, I will gather them from there and will bring them to the place where I have chosen to cause My name to dwell.’ 10 They are Your servants and Your people whom You redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand. 11 O Lord, I beseech You, may Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to revere Your name, and make Your servant successful today and grant him compassion before this man.”
    Now I was the cupbearer to the king.

PSALM 18

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The LORD Praised for Giving Deliverance.For the choir director. A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD, who spoke to the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said,
18:1 “I love You, O LORD, my strength.”

2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,

My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;

My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

3 I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised,

And I am saved from my enemies.

4 The cords of death encompassed me,

And the torrents of ungodliness terrified me.

5 The cords of Sheol surrounded me;

The snares of death confronted me.

6 In my distress I called upon the LORD,

And cried to my God for help;

He heard my voice out of His temple,

And my cry for help before Him came into His ears.

7 Then the earth shook and quaked;

And the foundations of the mountains were trembling

And were shaken, because He was angry.

8 Smoke went up out of His nostrils,

And fire from His mouth devoured;

Coals were kindled by it.

9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down

With thick darkness under His feet.

10 He rode upon a cherub and flew;

And He sped upon the wings of the wind.

11 He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him,

Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.

12 From the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds,

Hailstones and coals of fire.

13 The LORD also thundered in the heavens,

And the Most High uttered His voice,

Hailstones and coals of fire.

14 He sent out His arrows, and scattered them,

And lightning flashes in abundance, and routed them.

15 Then the channels of water appeared,

And the foundations of the world were laid bare

At Your rebuke, O LORD,

At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

16 He sent from on high, He took me;

He drew me out of many waters.

17 He delivered me from my strong enemy,

And from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.

18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,

But the LORD was my stay.

19 He brought me forth also into a broad place;

He rescued me, because He delighted in me.

20 The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness;

According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.

21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD,

And have not wickedly departed from my God.

22 For all His ordinances were before me,

And I did not put away His statutes from me.

23 I was also blameless with Him,

And I kept myself from my iniquity.

24 Therefore the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness,

According to the cleanness of my hands in His eyes.

25 With the kind You show Yourself kind;

With the blameless You show Yourself blameless;

26 With the pure You show Yourself pure,

And with the crooked You show Yourself astute.

27 For You save an afflicted people,

But haughty eyes You abase.

28 For You light my lamp;

The LORD my God illumines my darkness.

29 For by You I can run upon a troop;

And by my God I can leap over a wall.

30 As for God, His way is blameless;

The word of the LORD is tried;

He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

31 For who is God, but the LORD?

And who is a rock, except our God,

32 The God who girds me with strength

And makes my way blameless?

33 He makes my feet like hinds’ feet,

And sets me upon my high places.

34 He trains my hands for battle,

So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

35 You have also given me the shield of Your salvation,

And Your right hand upholds me;

And Your gentleness makes me great.

36 You enlarge my steps under me,

And my feet have not slipped.

37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them,

And I did not turn back until they were consumed.

38 I shattered them, so that they were not able to rise;

They fell under my feet.

39 For You have girded me with strength for battle;

You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.

40 You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me,

And I destroyed those who hated me.

41 They cried for help, but there was none to save,

Even to the LORD, but He did not answer them.

42 Then I beat them fine as the dust before the wind;

I emptied them out as the mire of the streets.

43 You have delivered me from the contentions of the people;

You have placed me as head of the nations;

A people whom I have not known serve me.

44 As soon as they hear, they obey me;

Foreigners submit to me.

45 Foreigners fade away,

And come trembling out of their fortresses.

46 The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock;

And exalted be the God of my salvation,

47 The God who executes vengeance for me,

And subdues peoples under me.

48 He delivers me from my enemies;

Surely You lift me above those who rise up against me;

You rescue me from the violent man.

49 Therefore I will give thanks to You among the nations, O LORD,

And I will sing praises to Your name.

50 He gives great deliverance to His king,

And shows lovingkindness to His anointed,

To David and his descendants forever.

PSALM 19

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The Works and the Word of God.For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
19:1 The heavens are telling of the glory of God;

And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.

2 Day to day pours forth speech,

And night to night reveals knowledge.

3 There is no speech, nor are there words;

Their voice is not heard.

4 Their line has gone out through all the earth,

And their utterances to the end of the world.

In them He has placed a tent for the sun,

5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber;

It rejoices as a strong man to run his course.

6 Its rising is from one end of the heavens,

And its circuit to the other end of them;

And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

7 The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul;

The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.

8 The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;

The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.

9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever;

The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether.

10 They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;

Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.

11 Moreover, by them Your servant is warned;

In keeping them there is great reward.

12 Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults.

13 Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins;

Let them not rule over me;

Then I will be blameless,

And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

Be acceptable in Your sight,

O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.

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.