53.4 Lord, You Know Everything, Guide Me

(Psalm 139)

Lord, you have examined me and you know me.
You know everything I do; from far away you understand all my thoughts.
You see me, whether I am working or resting; you know all my actions.
Even before I speak, you already know what I will say.
You are all around me on every side; you protect me with your power.
Your knowledge of me is too deep; it is beyond my understanding.

Where could I go to escape from you?
Where could I get away from your presence?
If I went up to heaven, you would be there; if I lay down in the world of the dead, you would be there.
If I flew away beyond the east or live in farthest place in the west, you would be there to lead me, you would be there to help me.

I could ask the darkness to hide me or the light around me to turn into night, but even darkness is not dark for you, and the night is as bright as the day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.

You created every part of me; you put me together you are to be feared; all you do is strange and wonderful.
I know it with all my heart.
When my bones were being formed, carefully put together in my mother’s womb, when I was growing there in secret, you knew that I was there—you saw me before I was born.
The days allotted to me had all been recorded in your book, before any of them ever began.
O God, how difficult I find your thoughts; how many of them there are!
If I counted them, they would be more than the grains of sand.
When I awake, I am still with you.

O God, how I wish you would kill the wicked!
How I wish violent men would leave me alone!
They say wicked things about you; they speak evil things against your name.
O Lord, how I hate those who rebel against you!
I hate them with a total hatred; I regard them as my enemies.

Examine me, O God, and know my mind; test me, and discover my thoughts.
Find out if there is any evil in me and guide me in the everlasting way.

53.3 Judgment Of The Wicked

(Ezekiel 9:1-6)

Then I heard God shout, “Come here, you men who are going to punish the city. Bring your weapons with you.” A once six men came from the outer north gate of the Temple, each one carrying a weapon. With them was a man dressed in linen clothes, carrying something to write with. They all came and stood by the bronze altar.

Then the dazzling light of the presence of the God of Israel rose up from the winged creatures where it had been, and moved to the entrance of the Temple. The Lord called to the man dressed in linen, “Go through the whole city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the forehead of everyone who is distressed and troubled because of all the disgusting things being done in the city.”

And I heard God say to the other men, “Follow him through the city and kill. Spare no one; have mercy on no one. Kill the old men, young men, young women, mothers, and children. But don’t touch anyone who has the mark on his forehead. Start here at my Temple.” So they began with the leaders who were standing there at the Temple.

53.2 Judgment According to Conduct

(Ezekiel 7:1-9)

The Lord spoke to me. “Mortal man,” he said, “this is what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying to the land of Israel: This is the end for the whole land!

“Israel, the end has come. You will feel my anger, because I am judging you for what you have done. I will pay you back for all your disgusting conduct. I will not spare you or show you any mercy. I am going to punish you for the disgusting things you have done, so that you will know that I am the Lord”.

This is what the Sovereign Lord is saying: “One disaster after another is coming on you. It’s all over. This is the end. You are finished. The end is coming for you people who live in the land. The time is near when there will be no more celebrations at the mountain shrines, only confusion.

“Very soon now you will feel all the force of my anger. I am judging you for what you have done, and I will pay you back for all your disgusting conduct. I will not spare you or show you any mercy. I am going to punish you for the disgusting things you have done, so that you will know that I am the Lord and that I am the one who punishes you.”

53.1 Reward According To Our Ways

(Jeremiah 17:10-11)

“I, the Lord, search the minds and rest the hearts of men.
I treat each one according to the way he lives, according to what he does.”

The person who gets money dishonestly is like a bird that hatches eggs it didn’t lay.
In the prime of life he will lose his riches, and in the end he is nothing but a fool.