September 16: Proverbs 21-22; Psalm 71; John 12

Proverbs 21-22

21   The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD;
    he turns it wherever he will.
  Every way of a man is right in his own eyes,
    but the LORD weighs the heart.
  To do righteousness and justice
    is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
  Haughty eyes and a proud heart,
    the lamp¹ of the wicked, are sin.
  The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance,
    but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.
  The getting of treasures by a lying tongue
    is a fleeting vapor and a snare of death.²
  The violence of the wicked will sweep them away,
    because they refuse to do what is just.
  The way of the guilty is crooked,
    but the conduct of the pure is upright.
  It is better to live in a corner of the housetop
    than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.
  The soul of the wicked desires evil;
    his neighbor finds no mercy in his eyes.
  When a scoffer is punished, the simple becomes wise;
    when a wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge.
  The Righteous One observes the house of the wicked;
    he throws the wicked down to ruin.
  Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor
    will himself call out and not be answered.
  A gift in secret averts anger,
    and a concealed bribe,³ strong wrath.
  When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous
    but terror to evildoers.
  One who wanders from the way of good sense
    will rest in the assembly of the dead.
  Whoever loves pleasure will be a poor man;
    he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.
  The wicked is a ransom for the righteous,
    and the traitor for the upright.
  It is better to live in a desert land
    than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman.
  Precious treasure and oil are in a wise man's dwelling,
    but a foolish man devours it.
  Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness
    will find life, righteousness, and honor.
  A wise man scales the city of the mighty
    and brings down the stronghold in which they trust.
  Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue
    keeps himself out of trouble.
  “Scoffer” is the name of the arrogant, haughty man
    who acts with arrogant pride.
  The desire of the sluggard kills him,
    for his hands refuse to labor.
  All day long he craves and craves,
    but the righteous gives and does not hold back.
  The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination;
    how much more when he brings it with evil intent.
  A false witness will perish,
    but the word of a man who hears will endure.
  A wicked man puts on a bold face,
    but the upright gives thought to⁴ his ways.
  No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel
    can avail against the LORD.
  The horse is made ready for the day of battle,
    but the victory belongs to the LORD.
22   A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,
    and favor is better than silver or gold.
  The rich and the poor meet together;
    the LORD is the Maker of them all.
  The prudent sees danger and hides himself,
    but the simple go on and suffer for it.
  The reward for humility and fear of the LORD
    is riches and honor and life.⁵
  Thorns and snares are in the way of the crooked;
    whoever guards his soul will keep far from them.
  Train up a child in the way he should go;
    even when he is old he will not depart from it.
  The rich rules over the poor,
    and the borrower is the slave of the lender.
  Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity,
    and the rod of his fury will fail.
  Whoever has a bountiful⁶ eye will be blessed,
    for he shares his bread with the poor.
  Drive out a scoffer, and strife will go out,
    and quarreling and abuse will cease.
  He who loves purity of heart,
    and whose speech is gracious, will have the king as his friend.
  The eyes of the LORD keep watch over knowledge,
    but he overthrows the words of the traitor.
  The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside!
    I shall be killed in the streets!”
  The mouth of forbidden⁷ women is a deep pit;
    he with whom the LORD is angry will fall into it.
  Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,
    but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.
  Whoever oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth,
    or gives to the rich, will only come to poverty.

Words of the Wise

  Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise,
    and apply your heart to my knowledge,
  for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you,
    if all of them are ready on your lips.
  That your trust may be in the LORD,
    I have made them known to you today, even to you.
  Have I not written for you thirty sayings
    of counsel and knowledge,
  to make you know what is right and true,
    that you may give a true answer to those who sent you?
  Do not rob the poor, because he is poor,
    or crush the afflicted at the gate,
  for the LORD will plead their cause
    and rob of life those who rob them.
  Make no friendship with a man given to anger,
    nor go with a wrathful man,
  lest you learn his ways
    and entangle yourself in a snare.
  Be not one of those who give pledges,
    who put up security for debts.
  If you have nothing with which to pay,
    why should your bed be taken from under you?
  Do not move the ancient landmark
    that your fathers have set.
  Do you see a man skillful in his work?
    He will stand before kings;
    he will not stand before obscure men.

(ESV)

Psalm 71

Forsake Me Not When My Strength Is Spent

71   In you, O LORD, do I take refuge;
    let me never be put to shame!
  In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;
    incline your ear to me, and save me!
  Be to me a rock of refuge,
    to which I may continually come;
  you have given the command to save me,
    for you are my rock and my fortress.
  Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
    from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.
  For you, O Lord, are my hope,
    my trust, O LORD, from my youth.
  Upon you I have leaned from before my birth;
    you are he who took me from my mother's womb.
  My praise is continually of you.
  I have been as a portent to many,
    but you are my strong refuge.
  My mouth is filled with your praise,
    and with your glory all the day.
  Do not cast me off in the time of old age;
    forsake me not when my strength is spent.
  For my enemies speak concerning me;
    those who watch for my life consult together
  and say, “God has forsaken him;
    pursue and seize him,
    for there is none to deliver him.”
  O God, be not far from me;
    O my God, make haste to help me!
  May my accusers be put to shame and consumed;
    with scorn and disgrace may they be covered
    who seek my hurt.
  But I will hope continually
    and will praise you yet more and more.
  My mouth will tell of your righteous acts,
    of your deeds of salvation all the day,
    for their number is past my knowledge.
  With the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD I will come;
    I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.
  O God, from my youth you have taught me,
    and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.
  So even to old age and gray hairs,
    O God, do not forsake me,
  until I proclaim your might to another generation,
    your power to all those to come.
  Your righteousness, O God,
    reaches the high heavens.
  You who have done great things,
    O God, who is like you?
  You who have made me see many troubles and calamities
    will revive me again;
  from the depths of the earth
    you will bring me up again.
  You will increase my greatness
    and comfort me again.
  I will also praise you with the harp
    for your faithfulness, O my God;
  I will sing praises to you with the lyre,
    O Holy One of Israel.
  My lips will shout for joy,
    when I sing praises to you;
    my soul also, which you have redeemed.
  And my tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long,
  for they have been put to shame and disappointed
    who sought to do me hurt.

(ESV)

John 12

Mary Anoints Jesus at Bethany

12 Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. Mary therefore took a pound¹ of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii² and given to the poor?” He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it³ for the day of my burial.For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”

The Plot to Kill Lazarus

When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus⁴ was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.

The Triumphal Entry

The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,

  “Fear not, daughter of Zion;
  behold, your king is coming,
    sitting on a donkey's colt!”

His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.”

Some Greeks Seek Jesus

Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

The Son of Man Must Be Lifted Up

“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour.Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine.Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.”

The Unbelief of the People

When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

  “Lord, who has believed what he heard from us,
    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said,

  “He has blinded their eyes
    and hardened their heart,
  lest they see with their eyes,
    and understand with their heart, and turn,
    and I would heal them.”

Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him. Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

Jesus Came to Save the World

And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me.And whoever sees me sees him who sent me.I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak.And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”

(ESV)