66.1 If The Sinners Return, I Will Remember The Covenant

(Leviticus 26:40-45)

"But your descendants will confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors, who resisted me and rebelled against me, and caused me to turn against them and send them into exile in the land of their enemies.  At last, when your descendants are humbled and they have paid the penalty for their sin and rebellion, I will remember my covenant with Jacob and with Isaac and with Abraham, and I will renew my promise to give my people the land.  First, however, the land must be rid of its people, so that it can enjoy its complete rest, and they must pay the full penalty for having rejected my laws and my commands.  But even then, wen they are still in the land of their enemies, I will not completely abandon them or destroy them.  That would put an end to my covenant with them, and I am the Lord their God.  I will renew the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I showed all the nations my power by bringing my people out of Egypt, in order that I, the Lord might be their God."

65.5 The Law Of God

(Psalm 119:9-16, 57-64)

How can a young man keep his life pure?
By obeying your commands.
With all my heart I try to serve you;
keep me from disobeying your commandments.
I keep your law in my heart,
so that I will not sin against you.
I praise you , O Lord; teach me your ways.
I will repeat aloud  all the laws you have given.
I delight in following your commands
more than in having great wealth.
I study your instructions; I examine your teachings.
I take pleasure in your laws;
your commands I will not forget.

You are all I want, O Lord;
I promise to obey your laws.
I ask you with all my heart
to have mercy on me,as you have promised!
I have considered my conduct,
and I promise to follow your instructions.
Without delay I hurry to obey your commands.
The wicked have laid a trap for me,
but I do not forget your law.
In the middle of the night I wake up
to praise you for your righteous judgments.
I am a friend of all who serve you,
of all who obey your laws.
Lord the earth is full of your constant love;
teach me your commandments.

65.4 If We Obey We Are United With God

(1 John 2:3-6)

If we obey God's commands, then we are sure that we know him.  If someone says that he  knows him, but does not obey his commands, such a person is a liar and there is no truth in him.. But whoever obeys his word is the one whose love for God has really been made perfect.  This is how we can be sure that we are in union with God: whoever says that he remains in union with God should live just as Jesus Christ did. 

65.3 Christ's Humility And Greatness

(Philippians 2:6-11)

He always had the nature of God, but he did not think that by force

he should try to become equal with God.

Instead of this, of his own free will he gave up all he had,

and took the nature of a servant.

He became like man and appeared in human likeness.

He was humble and walked the path of obedience all the way to death--his death on the cross.

For this reason God raised him to the highest place above

and gave him the name that is greater than any other name.

And so, in honor of the name of Jesus,all beings in heaven, on earth, 

and in the world below will fall on their knees,

and all will openly proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

65.2 The Wicked Will Be Destroyed

(Daniel 8:23-27)

"When the end of those kingdoms is near and they have become so wicked that they must be punished, there will be a stubborn, vicious, and deceitful king.  He will grow strong--but not by his own power.  He will cause terrible destruction and be successful in everything he does.  He will bring destruction on powerful men and on God's own people.  Because he is cunning, he will succeed in his deceitful ways.  He will be proud of himself and destroy many people without warning.  He will even defy the greatest King of all, but he will be destroyed without the use of any human power. This vision about the evening and morning sacrifices which has been explained to you will come true.  But keep it secret now, because it will be a long time before it does come true."

I was depressed and ill for several days.  Then I got up and went back to the work that the king had assigned to me, but I was puzzled by the vision and could not understand it.

65.1 Obedience Is The Keeping Of The Covenant

(Exodus 19:3b-8)

The Lord called to Moses from the mountain and him to say to the Israelites, Jacob's descendants: "You saw what I, the Lord, did to the Egyptians and how I carried  you as an eagle carries her young on her wings, and brought you here to me. Now,if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own people.  The whole earth is mine., but you will be my chosen people, a people dedicated to me alone, and you will serve me as priests."  So Moses went down and called the leaders of the people together and told them everything that the Lord had commanded him.  Then all the people answered together, "We will do everything that the Lord has said," and Moses reported this to the Lord.

64.4 Sing A New Song

(Psalm 96)

Sing a new song to the Lord!
Sing to the Lord, all the world!
Sing to the Lord, and praise him!
Proclaim every day the good news that he has saved us.
Proclaim his glory to the nations,
his mighty acts to all peoples.

The Lord is great and is to be highly praised;
he is to be honored more than all the gods.
The gods of all other nations are only idols,
but the Lord created the heavens.
Glory and majesty surround him;
power and beauty fill his temple.

Praise the Lord, all people on earth;
praise his glory and might.
Praise the Lord's glorious name;
bring an offering and come into his Temple.
Bow down before the Holy One when he appears;
tremble before him, all the earth!

Say to all nations, "The Lord is king!
The earth is set firmly in place and cannot be moved;
he will judge the peoples with justice."
Be glad, earth and sky!
Roar, sea, and every creature in you;
be glad, fields, and everything in you!
The trees in the woods will shout for joy
when the Lord comes to rule the earth.
He will rule the peoples of the world with justice and fairness.

64.3 A New Heart

(Ezekiel 36:25-32)

"I will sprinkle clean water on you and make you clean from all your idols and everything else that has defiled you.  I will give you a new heart and a new mind.  I will take away your stubborn heart of stone and give you an obedient heart.  I will put my spirit in you and will see to it that you follow my laws and keep all the commands I have given you.  Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors.  You will be my people, and I will be your God.  I will save you from everything that defiles you. I will command the grain to be plentiful, so that you will not have any more famines.  I will increase the yield of your fruit trees and your fields, so that there will be no more famines to disgrace you among the nations.  You will remember your evil conduct and the wrongs that you committed , and you will be disgusted with yourselves because of your sins and your iniquities. Israel, I want you to know that I am not doing all this for your sake. I want you to feel the shame and disgrace f what you are doing. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken."

64.2 A New Era of Justice And Peace

(Isaiah 54:11-17)

The Lord says, "O Jerusalem, you suffering, helpless city, with no one to comfort you,

I will rebuild your foundations with precious stones.

I will build your towers with rubies, your gates with stones that glow like fire, and the wall around you with jewels.

"I myself will teach your people and give prosperity and peace.

Justice and right will make you strong.

You will be safe from oppression and terror.

If anyone attacks you, he does it without my consent; whoever fights against you will fall.

I create the blacksmith, who builds a fire and forges weapons.

I also create the soldier, who uses the weapons to kill.

But no weapon will be able to hurt you; you will have an answer for all who accuse you.

I will defend my servants and give them victory."

The Lord has spoken.

64.1 A New Covenant Of Peace

(Exodus 34:23-30)

"Three times a year all of your men must come to worship me, the Lord, the God of Israel.  After I have driven out the nations before you and extended your territory, no one will try to conquer your country during the three festivals.

"Do not offer bread made with yeast when you sacrifice an animal to me.  Do not keep until the following morning any part of the animal killed at the Passover Festival.

"Each year bring to the house of the Lord the first grain that you harvest. Do not cook a young sheep or goat in it's mother's milk."

The Lord said to Moses, "Write these words down, because it is on the basis of these words that I am making a covenant with you and Israel." Moses stayed there with the Lord forty days and forty nights, eating and drinking nothing.   He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant-- the Ten Commandments.

When Moses went down from Mount Sinai carrying the ten commandments, his face was shining  because he had been speaking with the Lord, but he did not know it.  Aaron and all the people looked at Moses and saw that his face was shining, and they were afraid to go near him.

63.4 Confident That God Will Help Us

(Psalm 54)

Save me by your power, O God; set me free by your might!
Hear my prayer, O God; listen to my words!
Proud men are coming to attack me; cruel men are trying to kill me--
men who do not care about God.

But God is my helper. The Lord is my defender.
May God use their own evil to punish my enemies.
He will destroy them because he is faithful.

I will gladly offer you a sacrifice, O Lord;
I will give you thanks because you are good.
You have rescued me from all my troubles,
and I have seen my enemies defeated.

63.3 It Is My Duty To Preach (Am I Ruined If I Do Not Preach)

(1 Corinthians 9:15-18)

But I haven't made use of any of these rights, nor am I writing this now in order to claim such rights for myself, I would rather die first!  Nobody is going to turn my rightful boast into empty words!  I have no right to boast just because I preach the gospel.  After all, I am under orders to do so.  And how terrible it would be for me if I did not preach the gospel!  If I did my work as a matter of free choice, then I could expect to be paid; but I do it as a matter of duty, because God has entrusted me with this task.  What pay do I get, then?  It is the privilege of preaching the Good News without charging for it, without claiming my rights in my work for the gospel.

63.2 Witness To The Nations

(Acts 26:12-18)

"It was for this purpose that I went to Damascus with authority and orders from the chief priests. It was on the road at midday, Your majesty, that I saw a light much brighter than the sun, coming from the sky and shining around me and the men traveling with me.  All of us fell to the ground, and I heard a voice say to me in Hebrew, 'Saul, Saul! Why are you persecuting me?  You are hurting yourself by hitting back, like an ox, kicking against its owner's stick." 'Who are you, Lord?' I asked.  And the Lord answered, 'I am Jesus, whom you persecute.  But get up and stand on your feet.  I have appeared to you to appoint you as my servant.  You are to tell others what you have seen of me today and what I will show you in the future.  I will rescue you from the people of Israel and from the Gentiles to whom I will send you.  You are to open their eyes and turn them from the darkness to the light and from the power of Satan to God, so that through their faith in me they will have their sins forgiven and receive their place among God's chosen people."

63.1 Speak The Word Of God

(Ezekiel 2:1-3:11)

When I saw this, I fell face downward on the ground. Then I heard a voice saying, "Mortal man, stand up.  I want to talk to you." While the voice was speaking, God's spirit entered me and raised me to my feet, and I heard the voice continue, "Mortal man, I am sending you to the people of Israel.  They have rebelled and turned against me and are still rebels, just as their ancestors were.  They are stubborn and do not respect me, so I am sending you to tell them what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying to them.  Whether those rebels listen to you or not, they will know that a prophet has been among them.

"But you, mortal man, must not be afraid of them or of anything they say. They will defy and despise you; it will be like living among scorpions.  Still, don't be afraid of those rebels or of anything they say.  You will tell them whatever I tell you to say, whether they listen or not.  Remember what rebels they are.

"Mortal man, listen to what I tell you. Don't be rebellious like them.  Open your mouth and eat what I am going to give you." I saw a hand reaching out toward me, and it was holding a scroll.  The hand unrolled the scroll, and I saw that there was writing on both sides--cries of grief were written there, and wails and groans.

God said, "Mortal man, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel."

So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat. He said, "mortal man, eat this scroll that I give you; fill your stomach with it." I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey.

Then God said, Mortal man, go to the people of Israel and say to them whatever I tell you to say.  I am not sending you to a nation that speaks a difficult foreign language, but to the Israelites.  If I sent you to great nations that spoke difficult languages you didn't understand, they would listen to you.  But none of people of Israel will be willing to listen; they will not even listen to me.  All of them are stubborn and defiant.  Now I will make you as stubborn and as tough as they are.  I will make you as firm as a rock, as hard as a diamond; don't be afraid of those rebels."

God continued, "Mortal man, pay close attention and remember everything I tell you.  Then go to your countrymen who are in exile and tell them what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying to them, whether they pay attention to you or not."

62.4 Unless The Lord Builds The House, We Labor In Vain

(Psalm 127)

If the Lord does not build the house, the work of the builders is useless;
If the Lord does not protect the city, it does no good for the sentries to stand guard
It is useless to work so hard for a living, getting up early and going to bed late.
For the Lord provides for those he loves, while they are asleep.
Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a real blessing.
The sons a man has when he is young are like arrows in a soldier's hand.
Happy is the man who has many such arrows.
He will never be defeated when he meets his enemies in the place of judgment.

62.3 Ministers Are Just Servants: The Real Growth Comes From God

(1 Corinthians 3:5-9)

After all, who is Apollos?  And who is Paul? We are simply God's servants, by whom you were led to believe.

Each one of us does the work which the Lord gave him to do: I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plant, but it was God who made the plant grow.  The one who plants and the one who waters really do not matter. It is God matters, because he makes the plant grow.  There is no difference between the man who plants and man who waters; God will reward each one according to the work he has done.  For we are partners working together for God, and you are God's field.

62.2 They Will Hate You As They Hated Me

(John 15:18-20)

"If the world hates you, just remember that it has hated me first.  If you belonged to the world, then the world would love you as its own.  But I chose you from this world, and you do not belong to it; that is why the world hates you.  Remember what I told you: 'No slave is greater than his master,' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you too; if they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours too.

62.1 The Blind Guide And The Log In Your Eye

(Luke 6:39-42)

And Jesus told them this parable:  "One blind man cannot lead another one; if he does, both will fall into a ditch.  No pupil is greater than his teacher; but every pupil, when he has completed his training, will be like his teacher.

"Why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but pay no attention to the log in your own eye?  How can you say to your brother, 'Please, brother, let me take that speck out of your eye,' yet cannot even see the log in your own eye?  You hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will be able to see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

61.4 Praise The Lord

(Psalm 150)

Praise the Lord!

Praise God in his Temple!
Praise the strength in heaven!
Praise him for the mighty things he has done.
Praise his supreme greatness.

Praise him with trumpets.
Praise him with harps and lyres.
Praise him with drums and dancing
Praise him with harps and flutes.
Praise him with cymbals.
Praise him with loud cymbals.
Praise the Lord, all living creatures!

Praise the Lord!

61.3 Magnificat

(Luke 1:46-55)

Mary said, "My heart praises the Lord; my soul is glad because of God my Savior, for he has remembered me, his lowly servant! 

From now on all people will call me happy, because of the great things the Mighty God has done for me.

His name is holy; from one generation to another he shows mercy to those who honor him.

He has stretched out his mighty arm and scattered the proud with all their plans.

He has brought down mighty kings from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away with empty hands.

He has kept the promise he made to our ancestors, and has come to the help of his servant Israel.

He has remembered to show mercy to Abraham and to all his descendants forever!"

6.2 Mary Suffered At The Cross

(John 19:25-27)

Standing close to Jesus' cross were his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.  Jesus saw his mother and the disciple he loved standing there; so he said to his mother, "He is your son."

Then he said to the disciple, "She is your mother."  From that time the disciple took her to live in his home.

61.1 The Annunciation: Mary Accepts The Will Of God

(Luke 1:35-38)

The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come on you, and God's power will rest upon you. For this reason the holy child will be called the Son of God.  Remember your relative Elizabeth.  It is said that she cannot have children but she herself is now six months pregnant, even though she is very old.  For there is nothing that God cannot do."  "I am the Lord's servant, said Mary; "may it happen to me as you have said." And the angel left her.

60.4 Thanksgiving For Victory

(Psalm 76)

God is known in Judah; his name is honored in Israel.

He has his home in Jerusalem; he lives in Mt. Zion.

There he broke the arrows of the enemy, their shields and swords, yes all their weapons.

How glorious you are, O God!

How majestic, as you return from the mountains where you defeated your foes.

Their brave soldiers have been stripped of all they had and now are sleeping the sleep of death; 

all their strength and skill was useless.

When you threatened them, O God of Jacob, the horses and their riders fell dead.

But you, Lord, are feared by all.

No one can stand in your presence when you are angry.

You made your judgment known from heaven; the world was afraid and kept silent, when you rose up to pronounce judgment, to save all the oppressed on earth.

Men's anger only results in more praise for you; those who survive the wars will keep your festivals.

Give the Lord your God what you promised him; bring gifts to him, all you nearby nations.

God makes men fear him; he humbles proud princes and terrifies great kings.

60.3 Song Of Victory Tor The Faithful

(Revelation 19:5-10)

Then there came from the throne the sound of a voice, saying, "Praise our God, all his servants and all people, both great and small, who have reverence for him!"  Then I heard what sounded like a crowd, like the sound of a roaring waterfall, like loud peals of thunder.  I heard them say, "Praise God!  For the Lord, our Almighty God, is King!  Let us rejoice and be glad; let us praise his greatness!  For the time has come for the wedding of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself for it.  She has been given clean shining linen to wear"  (The linen is the good deeds of God's people.)

Then the angel said to me, "Write this:  Happy are those who have been invited to the weeding feast of the Lamb."  And the angel added, "These are the true words of God."

I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, "Don't do it! I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brothers, all those who hold to the truth that Jesus revealed.  Worship God!"

For the truth that Jesus revealed is what inspires the prophets.

60. 2 Final Condemnation For Persecutors

(Revelation 18:21-24)

Then a mighty angel picked up a stone the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, "This is how the great city Babylon will be violently thrown down and will never be seen again.  The music of harps and of human voices, of players of the flute and the trumpet, will never be heard in you again!  No workman in any trade will ever be found in you again; and the sound of the millstone will be heard no more! Never again will the light of a lamp be seen in you; no more will the voices of brides and grooms be heard in you.  Your businessmen were the most powerful in your world, and with your false magic you deceived all the peoples of the world!"

Babylon was punished because the blood of prophets and God's people was found in the city; yes, the blood of all those who have been killed on earth. 

60.1 Persecutors Will Be Punished

(Matthew 23:32-39)

Go on, then, and finish up what your ancestors started!  You snakes and sons of snakes! How do you expect to escape from being condemned to hell?  And so I tell you that I will send you prophets and wise men and teachers; you will kill some of them, crucify others, and whip others in the synagogues and chase them from town to town.  As a result, the punishment for the murder of all innocent men will fall on you, from the murder of innocent Abel to the murder of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.  I tell you indeed: the punishment for all these murderers will fall on the people of this day!

"Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and stone the messengers God has sent you! How many times I wanted to put my arms around all your people, just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would not let me! And so your temple will be abandoned and empty.  From now on, I tell you, you will never see me again until you say, 'God bless him who comes in the name of the Lord.'"

59.4 A Prayer For Help

(Psalm 70)

Save me, O God! Lord, help me now!
May those who try to kill me be defeated and confused.
May those who are happy because of my troubles be turned back and disgraced.
May those who make fun of me be dismayed by their defeat.

May all who come to you be glad and joyful.
May all who are thankful for your salvation always say, "how great is God!"

I am weak and helpless; come to me quickly, O God.
You are my savior and my Lord-- hurry to my aid!