(Psalm 86)
Listen to me, Lord, and answer me,
for I am helpless and weak.
Save me from death, because I am loyal to you;
save me, for I am your servant and I trust in you.
You are my God, so be merciful to me;
I pray to you all day long.
Make your servant glad, O Lord,
because my prayers go up to you.
You are good to us and forgiving,
full of constant love for all who pray to you.
Listen, Lord, to my prayer;
hear my cries for help.
I call to you in times of trouble,
because you answer my prayers.
There is no god like you, O Lord,
not one has done what you have done.
All the nations that you have created
will come and bow down to you;
they will praise your greatness.
You are almighty and do wonderful things;
you alone are God.
Teach me, Lord what you want me to do,
and I will obey you faithfully;
teach me to serve you with complete devotion.
I will praise you with all my heart, O lord my God;
I will proclaim your greatness forever.
How great is your constant love for me!
You have saved me from the grave itself.
Proud men are coming against me, o God;
a gang of cruel men is trying to kill me—
people who pay no attention to you.
But you, O Lord, are a merciful and loving God,
always patient, always kind and faithful.
Turn to me and have mercy on me;
strengthen me and save me,
because I serve you just as my mother did.
Show me proof of your goodness, Lord;
those who hate me will be ashamed
when they see that you have given me comfort
and help.
Showing posts with label God's Long Suffering. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God's Long Suffering. Show all posts
Thursday, February 18, 2010
30.3 God Waited Patiently. Now We Can Be Saved
(1 Peter 3:18-22)
For Christ died for sins once and for all, a good man on behalf of sinners, in order to lead you to God. He was put to death physically, but made alive spiritually, and in his spiritual existence he went and preached to the imprisoned spirits. These were the spirits of those who had not obeyed God when he waited patiently during the days that Noah was building his boat. The few people in the boat—eight in all—were saved by the water, which was a symbol pointing to baptism, which now saves you. It is not the washing off of bodily dirt, but the promise made to God from a good conscience. It saves you through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone to heaven and is at the right side of God, ruling over all angels and heavenly authorities and powers.
For Christ died for sins once and for all, a good man on behalf of sinners, in order to lead you to God. He was put to death physically, but made alive spiritually, and in his spiritual existence he went and preached to the imprisoned spirits. These were the spirits of those who had not obeyed God when he waited patiently during the days that Noah was building his boat. The few people in the boat—eight in all—were saved by the water, which was a symbol pointing to baptism, which now saves you. It is not the washing off of bodily dirt, but the promise made to God from a good conscience. It saves you through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone to heaven and is at the right side of God, ruling over all angels and heavenly authorities and powers.
30.2 Vineyard Song: What More Could I Have Done?
(Isaiah 5:1-7)
Listen while I sing this song,
a song of my friend and his vineyard:
My friend had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.
He dug the soil and cleared it of stones;
he planted the finest vines.
He built a tower to guard them,
dug a pit for treading the grapes.
He waited for the grapes to ripen,
but every grape was sour.
Israel is the vineyard of the Lord Almighty;
the people of Judah are the vines he planted.
He expected them to do what was good,
but instead they committed murder.
He expected them to do what was right,
but their victims cried out for justice.
Listen while I sing this song,
a song of my friend and his vineyard:
My friend had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.
He dug the soil and cleared it of stones;
he planted the finest vines.
He built a tower to guard them,
dug a pit for treading the grapes.
He waited for the grapes to ripen,
but every grape was sour.
So now my friend says, “You people who live in Jerusalem and Judah, judge between my vineyard and me. Is there anything I failed to do for it? Then why did it produce sour grapes and not the good grapes I expected?
“Here is what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge around it, break down the wall that protects it, and let wild animals eat it and trample it down. I will let it be overgrown with weeds. I will not trim the vines or hoe the ground; instead, I will let briers and thorns cover it. I will even forbid the clouds to let rain fall on it.”
“Here is what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge around it, break down the wall that protects it, and let wild animals eat it and trample it down. I will let it be overgrown with weeds. I will not trim the vines or hoe the ground; instead, I will let briers and thorns cover it. I will even forbid the clouds to let rain fall on it.”
Israel is the vineyard of the Lord Almighty;
the people of Judah are the vines he planted.
He expected them to do what was good,
but instead they committed murder.
He expected them to do what was right,
but their victims cried out for justice.
30.1 I Have Sent My Prophets Untiringly
(Jeremiah 7:24-28)
But they did not obey or pay any attention. Instead, they did whatever their stubborn and evil hearts told them to do, and they became worse instead of better. From the day that your ancestors came out of Egypt I have until this very day kept on sending to you my servants, the prophets. Yet no one listened or paid any attention. Instead, you became more stubborn and rebellious than your ancestors.
“So, Jeremiah, you will speak all these words to my people, but they will not listen to you; you will call them, but they will not answer. You will tell them that their nation does not obey me, the Lord their God, or learn from their punishment. Faithfulness is dead. No longer is it even talked about.
But they did not obey or pay any attention. Instead, they did whatever their stubborn and evil hearts told them to do, and they became worse instead of better. From the day that your ancestors came out of Egypt I have until this very day kept on sending to you my servants, the prophets. Yet no one listened or paid any attention. Instead, you became more stubborn and rebellious than your ancestors.
“So, Jeremiah, you will speak all these words to my people, but they will not listen to you; you will call them, but they will not answer. You will tell them that their nation does not obey me, the Lord their God, or learn from their punishment. Faithfulness is dead. No longer is it even talked about.
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