Reading the Bible Together

The Passage for the Day

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth.  A song.

   1 God is our refuge and strength, 
       an ever-present help in trouble.

    2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way 
       and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

    3 though its waters roar and foam 
       and the mountains quake with their surging. 

    4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, 
       the holy place where the Most High dwells.

    5 God is within her, she will not fall; 
       God will help her at break of day.

    6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; 
       he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

    7 The LORD Almighty is with us; 
       the God of Jacob is our fortress.

    8 Come and see what the LORD has done, 
       the desolations he has brought on the earth.

    9 He makes wars cease 
       to the ends of the earth. 
       He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; 
       he burns the shields with fire.

    10 “Be still, and know that I am God; 
       I will be exalted among the nations, 
       I will be exalted in the earth.”

    11 The LORD Almighty is with us; 
       the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Points of interest:

·         ‘According to alamoth’—no one really knows anymore what ‘alamoth’ is.  The commentaries helpfully tell us that it’s probably some sort of musical term.

·         ‘our refuge and strength’—I believe the ‘our’ here refers to the Israelites, or even more specifically the residents of Jerusalem, the capital city and the site of the temple.

·          ‘There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God’—this reminds me of Genesis 1, our passage from the first day of the guide.  Everything is an empty, wet chaos until God gets involved; but where God is, things are very good.  In fact, this psalm reminds me even more of Genesis 2, when God creates the Garden of Eden (in which a multi-streamed river also features prominently).  I think the psalmist is presenting Jerusalem as a new Garden of Eden: a well-situated, pleasant, and peaceful place when everywhere else is pretty scary.

·         ‘Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall’—it turns out that natural disasters aren’t really the problem.  The floods, earthquakes, tidal waves, and landslides from earlier in the psalm are metaphors for turmoil in society, politics, and international relations.

·         ‘the desolations he has brought’—interestingly, the psalmist is most impressed with, and wants everyone to know about, God’s incredible power to destroy.  Even more interestingly, it turns out that God uses that destructive power to destroy war.  It’s like God is the natural disaster of natural disasters; God destroys the destructive power of those earthquakes and floods from earlier.

·         ‘I will be exalted among the nations’—the psalmist is testifying specifically to the peace God has brought to Jerusalem, but it’s a benefit God can give to other nations as well.  In fact, the psalmist promises that God will, in fact, bring peace everywhere.  After all, this psalm tells us that peace comes wherever God lives; and, as Solomon said in his prayer at the temple, God is far too big to dwell in one little place.

Taking it home:

·         For you: Take a moment today and try to sit still and silent, even if for just a minute. Our lives are so busy and noisy that this can be surprisingly hard to do.   It can also be surprisingly refreshing.  When we are still, it can be easier to hear from and connect with God.  After your moment of stillness, reflect on how it went: Was it hard to quiet down? Did any feelings or thoughts come to the surface? Were you bombarded by a running list of to-do items or reminded of a particular situation you are anxious about? Lift those things up to God.

·         For your six: Is there tumult in the lives of any of your six?  Ask God to give them a respite.  Pray that they would have peace and calm.

.        For America: Regardless of your views are on war, ask that God would not only put a complete end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but that God would also restore all the lives that have been affected.  Pray that our nation would be able to live at peace with other nations.  Ask God that any hatred we have towards other nations or hatred that other nations have towards us would somehow be replaced with peace and love. 

The Disciples Rejoin Jesus

²⁷ Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”

²⁸ Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, ²⁹ “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” ³⁰ They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

³¹ Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”

³² But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”

³³ Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”

³⁴ “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. ³⁵ Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. ³⁶ Even now those who reap draw their wages, even now they harvest the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. ³⁷ Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. ³⁸ I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”

Many Samaritans Believe

³⁹ Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” ⁴⁰ So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. ⁴¹ And because of his words many more became believers.

⁴² They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”

Romans 1

¹ Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— ² the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures ³ regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, ⁴ and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. ⁵ Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to faith and obedience for his name’s sake. ⁶ And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

⁷ To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul’s Longing to Visit Rome

⁸ First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. ⁹ God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you ¹⁰ in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.

¹¹ I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— ¹² that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. ¹³ I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.

¹⁴ I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. ¹⁵ That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.

¹¹ The word of the LORD came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?”
“I see the branch of an almond tree,” I replied.

¹² The LORD said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.”

¹³ The word of the LORD came to me again: “What do you see?”
“I see a pot that is boiling,” I answered. “It is tilting toward us from the north.”

¹⁴ The LORD said to me, “From the north disaster will be poured out on all who live in the land. ¹⁵ I am about to summon all the peoples of the northern kingdoms,” declares the LORD.
“Their kings will come and set up their thrones
in the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem;
they will come against all her surrounding walls
and against all the towns of Judah.

¹⁶ I will pronounce my judgments on my people
because of their wickedness in forsaking me,
in burning incense to other gods
and in worshiping what their hands have made.

¹⁷ “Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. ¹⁸ Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. ¹⁹ They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD.

For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam. When he had fled from Saul into the cave.

¹ Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me,
for in you I take refuge.
I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings
until the disaster has passed.

² I cry out to God Most High,
to God, who vindicates me.

³ He sends from heaven and saves me,
rebuking those who hotly pursue me—
God sends forth his love and his faithfulness.

⁴ I am in the midst of lions;
I am forced to dwell among man-eating beasts,
whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongues are sharp swords.

⁵ Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth.

⁶ They spread a net for my feet—
I was bowed down in distress.
They dug a pit in my path—
but they have fallen into it themselves.

⁷ My heart, O God, is steadfast,
my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and make music.

⁸ Awake, my soul!
Awake, harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.

⁹ I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
I will sing of you among the peoples.

¹⁰ For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

¹¹ Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth.