PSALM 27

A Psalm of Fearless Trust in God.

A Psalm of David.

1The Lord is my light and my salvation;

Whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the defense of my life;

Whom shall I dread?

2When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh,

My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell.

3Though a host encamp against me,

My heart will not fear;

Though war arise against me,

In spite of this I shall be confident.

4One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:

That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,

To behold the beauty of the Lord

And to meditate in His temple.

5For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle;

In the secret place of His tent He will hide me;

He will lift me up on a rock.

6And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me,

And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;

I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

7Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice,

And be gracious to me and answer me.

8When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You,

“Your face, O Lord, I shall seek.”

9Do not hide Your face from me,

Do not turn Your servant away in anger;

You have been my help;

Do not abandon me nor forsake me,

O God of my salvation!

10For my father and my mother have forsaken me,

But the Lord will take me up.

11Teach me Your way, O Lord,

And lead me in a level path

Because of my foes.

12Do not deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries,

For false witnesses have risen against me,

And such as breathe out violence.

13I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord

In the land of the living.

14Wait for the Lord;

Be strong and let your heart take courage;

Yes, wait for the Lord.

The Two Witnesses

1Then there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, “Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it. 2Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months. 3And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5And if anyone wants to harm them, fire flows out of their mouth and devours their enemies; so if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way. 6These have the power to shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.

7When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them. 8And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. 9Those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. 10And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.

11But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them. 12And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” Then they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them. 13And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

14The second woe is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly.

The Seventh Trumpet—Christ’s Reign Foreseen

15Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying,

“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.” 16And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17saying,

“We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign. 18And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”

19And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm.

1) Why is dwelling in יהוה’s presence the psalmist’s one desire?

2) How do the Ark and Table on earth point to this heavenly scene?

3) What practices help you behold His beauty amid daily tasks?

Elihu Claims to Speak for God

1“However now, Job, please hear my speech,

And listen to all my words.

2Behold now, I open my mouth,

My tongue in my mouth speaks.

3My words are from the uprightness of my heart,

And my lips speak knowledge sincerely.

4The Spirit of God has made me,

And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

5Refute me if you can;

Array yourselves before me, take your stand.

6Behold, I belong to God like you;

I too have been formed out of the clay.

7Behold, no fear of me should terrify you,

Nor should my pressure weigh heavily on you.

8“Surely you have spoken in my hearing,

And I have heard the sound of your words:

9‘I am pure, without transgression;

I am innocent and there is no guilt in me.

10Behold, He invents pretexts against me;

He counts me as His enemy.

11He puts my feet in the stocks;

He watches all my paths.’

12Behold, let me tell you, you are not right in this,

For God is greater than man.

13“Why do you complain against Him

That He does not give an account of all His doings?

14Indeed God speaks once,

Or twice, yet no one notices it.

15In a dream, a vision of the night,

When sound sleep falls on men,

While they slumber in their beds,

16Then He opens the ears of men,

And seals their instruction,

17That He may turn man aside from his conduct,

And keep man from pride;

18He keeps back his soul from the pit,

And his life from passing over into Sheol.

19“Man is also chastened with pain on his bed,

And with unceasing complaint in his bones;

20So that his life loathes bread,

And his soul favorite food.

21His flesh wastes away from sight,

And his bones which were not seen stick out.

22Then his soul draws near to the pit,

And his life to those who bring death.

23“If there is an angel as mediator for him,

One out of a thousand,

To remind a man what is right for him,

24Then let him be gracious to him, and say,

‘Deliver him from going down to the pit,

I have found a ransom’;

25Let his flesh become fresher than in youth,

Let him return to the days of his youthful vigor;

26Then he will pray to God, and He will accept him,

That he may see His face with joy,

And He may restore His righteousness to man.

27He will sing to men and say,

‘I have sinned and perverted what is right,

And it is not proper for me.

28He has redeemed my soul from going to the pit,

And my life shall see the light.’

29“Behold, God does all these oftentimes with men,

30To bring back his soul from the pit,

That he may be enlightened with the light of life.

31Pay attention, O Job, listen to me;

Keep silent, and let me speak.

32Then if you have anything to say, answer me;

Speak, for I desire to justify you.

33If not, listen to me;

Keep silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”

PSALM 85

Prayer for God’s Mercy upon the Nation.

For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

1O Lord, You showed favor to Your land;

You restored the captivity of Jacob.

2You forgave the iniquity of Your people;

You covered all their sin. Selah.

3You withdrew all Your fury;

You turned away from Your burning anger.

4Restore us, O God of our salvation,

And cause Your indignation toward us to cease.

5Will You be angry with us forever?

Will You prolong Your anger to all generations?

6Will You not Yourself revive us again,

That Your people may rejoice in You?

7Show us Your lovingkindness, O Lord,

And grant us Your salvation.