#i’m hiding from the flesh with hezekiah wakely :(

[dfroza]

Today’s reading in the ancient book of Proverbs and Psalms

for Saturday, july 25 of 2020 with Proverbs 25 and Psalm 25 accompanied by Psalm 36 for the 36th day of Summer and Psalm 57 for day 207 of the year

[Proverbs 25]

Solomon’s proverbs, published by the scribes of King Hezekiah:

God conceals the revelation of his word

in the hiding place of his glory.

But the honor of kings is revealed

by how they thoroughly search out

the deeper meaning of all that God says.

The heart of a king is full of understanding,

like the heavens are high and the ocean is deep.

If you burn away the impurities from silver,

a sterling vessel will emerge from the fire.

And if you purge corruption from the kingdom,

a king’s reign will be established in righteousness.

Don’t boast in the presence of a king

or promote yourself by taking a seat at the head table

and pretend that you’re someone important.

For it is better for the king to say to you,

“Come, you should sit at the head table,”

than for him to say in front of everyone,

“Please get up and move—

you’re sitting in the place of the prince.”

Don’t be hasty to file a lawsuit.

By starting something you wish you hadn’t,

you could be humiliated when you lose your case.

Don’t reveal another person’s secret

just to prove a point in an argument,

or you could be accused of being a gossip

and gain a reputation for being one

who betrays the confidence of a friend.

Winsome words spoken at just the right time

are as appealing as apples gilded in gold

and surrounded with silver.

To humbly receive wise correction

adorns your life with beauty

and makes you a better person.

A reliable, trustworthy messenger

refreshes the heart of his master,

like a gentle breeze blowing at harvest time—

cooling the sweat from his brow.

Clouds that carry no water

and a wind that brings no refreshing rain—

that’s what you’re like when you boast

of a gift that you don’t have.

[Wisdom Practices Self-Control]

Use patience and kindness when you want to persuade leaders

and watch them change their minds right in front of you.

For your gentle wisdom will quell the strongest resistance.

When you discover something sweet,

don’t overindulge and eat more than you need,

for excess in anything can make you sick of even a good thing.

Don’t wear out your welcome

by staying too long at the home of your friends,

or they may get fed up with always having you there

and wish you hadn’t come.

Lying about and slandering people

are as bad as hitting them with a club,

or wounding them with an arrow,

or stabbing them with a sword.

You can’t depend on an unreliable person

when you really need help.

It can be compared to biting down on an abscessed tooth

or walking with a sprained ankle.

When you sing a song of joy to someone suffering

in the deepest grief and heartache,

it can be compared to disrobing in the middle of a blizzard

or rubbing salt in a wound.

Is your enemy hungry? Buy him lunch.

Win him over with your kindness.

Your surprising generosity will awaken his conscience

and God will reward you with favor.

As the north wind brings a storm,

saying things you shouldn’t brings a storm to any relationship.

It’s better to live all alone in a rundown shack

than to share a castle with a crabby spouse!

Like a drink of cool water to a weary, thirsty soul,

so hearing good news revives the spirit.

When a lover of God gives in and compromises with wickedness,

it can be compared to contaminating a stream with sewage

or polluting a fountain.

It’s good to eat sweet things,

but you can take too much.

It’s good to be honored,

but to seek words of praise is not honor at all.

If you live without restraint

and are unable to control your temper,

you’re as helpless as a city with broken-down defenses,

open to attack.

The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 25 (The Passion Translation)

[Psalm 25]

A David Psalm

My head is high, God, held high;

I’m looking to you, God;

No hangdog skulking for me.

I’ve thrown in my lot with you;

You won’t embarrass me, will you?

Or let my enemies get the best of me?

Don’t embarrass any of us

Who went out on a limb for you.

It’s the traitors who should be humiliated.

Show me how you work, God;

School me in your ways.

Take me by the hand;

Lead me down the path of truth.

You are my Savior, aren’t you?

Mark the milestones of your mercy and love, God;

Rebuild the ancient landmarks!

Forget that I sowed wild oats;

Mark me with your sign of love.

Plan only the best for me, God!

God is fair and just;

He corrects the misdirected,

Sends them in the right direction.

He gives the rejects his hand,

And leads them step-by-step.

From now on every road you travel

Will take you to God.

Follow the Covenant signs;

Read the charted directions.

Keep up your reputation, God;

Forgive my bad life;

It’s been a very bad life.

My question: What are God-worshipers like?

Your answer: Arrows aimed at God’s bull’s-eye.

They settle down in a promising place;

Their kids inherit a prosperous farm.

God-friendship is for God-worshipers;

They are the ones he confides in.

If I keep my eyes on God,

I won’t trip over my own feet.

Look at me and help me!

I’m all alone and in big trouble.

My heart and kidneys are fighting each other;

Call a truce to this civil war.

Take a hard look at my life of hard labor,

Then lift this ton of sin.

Do you see how many people

Have it in for me?

How viciously they hate me?

Keep watch over me and keep me out of trouble;

Don’t let me down when I run to you.

Use all your skill to put me together;

I wait to see your finished product.

God, give your people a break

From this run of bad luck.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 25 (The Message)

[Psalm 36]

For the worship leader. A song of David, the Eternal’s servant.

Sin speaks in the depths of the soul

of those who oppose God; they listen closely to its urgings.

You’ll never see the fear of God

in their eyes,

For they flatter themselves—

convinced their sin will remain secret, undiscovered, and so unhated.

They speak words of evil and deceit.

Wisdom and goodness, they deserted long ago.

Even as they sleep, they are plotting mischief.

They journey along a path far from anything good,

gravitating to trouble, welcoming evil.

Your love, O Eternal One, towers high into the heavens.

Even the skies are lower than Your faithfulness.

Your justice is like the majestic mountains.

Your judgments are as deep as the oceans, and yet in Your greatness,

You, O Eternal, offer life for every person and animal.

Your strong love, O True God, is precious.

All people run for shelter under the shadow of Your wings.

In Your house, they eat and are full at Your table.

They drink from the river of Your overflowing kindness.

You have the fountain of life that quenches our thirst.

Your light has opened our eyes and awakened our souls.

May Your love continue to grow deeply in the lives of all who know You.

May Your salvation reach every heart committed to do right.

Give me shelter from prideful feet that hunt me down

and wicked hands that push me from Your path.

It is there, far away from You, that the wicked will be forced down,

face to the earth, never again returning to their feet.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 36 (The Voice)

[Psalm 57]

A David Psalm, When He Hid in a Cave from Saul

Be good to me, God—and now!

I’ve run to you for dear life.

I’m hiding out under your wings

until the hurricane blows over.

I call out to High God,

the God who holds me together.

He sends orders from heaven and saves me,

he humiliates those who kick me around.

God delivers generous love,

he makes good on his word.

I find myself in a pride of lions

who are wild for a taste of human flesh;

Their teeth are lances and arrows,

their tongues are sharp daggers.

Soar high in the skies, O God!

Cover the whole earth with your glory!

They booby-trapped my path;

I thought I was dead and done for.

They dug a mantrap to catch me,

and fell in headlong themselves.

I’m ready, God, so ready,

ready from head to toe,

Ready to sing, ready to raise a tune:

“Wake up, soul!

Wake up, harp! wake up, lute!

Wake up, you sleepyhead sun!”

I’m thanking you, God, out loud in the streets,

singing your praises in town and country.

The deeper your love, the higher it goes;

every cloud is a flag to your faithfulness.

Soar high in the skies, O God!

Cover the whole earth with your glory!

The Book of Psalms, Poem 57 (The Message)