Today's Readings and Stuff == Saturday, 10 March 2018
Had a bit of an unsettled night overnight. Nothing too awful, nothing like that. But alone in the dark with thoughts and the recognition, again, of my many failures. Yes, gratitude, to say the least, for what the Lord has done for me and for so many others, and what He has brought us from and through. And how poor my response to that has been.
And, at the same time, some songs that begin to approach that. I don't really understand that, and perhaps I'm not the only person who hears songs, and, yes, sometimes the replayed memories of conversations or things read, when caught up in some thoughts.
One that I usually associate with childrn's programs, although it is certainly appropriate for anyone of any age. Come Into My Heart Lord Jesus which in this version flows quite naturally into another. But it seems to fit.
And then, one, well, two, that describe our -- my -- desperate need for Him and for a closer walk with Him.
Oh, I Want To Know You More but also Just A Closer Walk (and I love Patsy Cline)
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Numbers 19
1 And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
2 This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord
hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they
bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon
which never came yoke:
3 And
ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest, that he may bring her forth
without the camp, and one shall slay her before his face:
4 And
Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, and
sprinkle of her blood directly before the tabernacle of the congregation
seven times:
5 And one shall burn the heifer in his sight; her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall he burn:
6 And the priest shall take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer.
7 Then
the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in
water, and afterward he shall come into the camp, and the priest shall
be unclean until the even.
8 And he that burneth her shall wash his clothes in water, and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until the even.
9 And
a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay
them up without the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the
congregation of the children of Israel for a water of separation: it is a
purification for sin.
10 And
he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and
be unclean until the even: and it shall be unto the children of Israel,
and unto the stranger that sojourneth among them, for a statute for
ever.
11 He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days.
12 He
shall purify himself with it on the third day, and on the seventh day
he shall be clean: but if he purify not himself the third day, then the
seventh day he shall not be clean.
13 Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the Lord;
and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water of
separation was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his
uncleanness is yet upon him.
14 This
is the law, when a man dieth in a tent: all that come into the tent,
and all that is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days.
15 And every open vessel, which hath no covering bound upon it, is unclean.
16 And
whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields,
or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven
days.
17 And
for an unclean person they shall take of the ashes of the burnt heifer
of purification for sin, and running water shall be put thereto in a
vessel:
18 And
a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle
it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the persons that
were there, and upon him that touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead,
or a grave:
19 And
the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day, and
on the seventh day: and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, and
wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at
even.
20 But
the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul
shall be cut off from among the congregation, because he hath defiled
the sanctuary of the Lord: the water of separation hath not been sprinkled upon him; he is unclean.
21 And
it shall be a perpetual statute unto them, that he that sprinkleth the
water of separation shall wash his clothes; and he that toucheth the
water of separation shall be unclean until even.
22 And whatsoever the unclean person toucheth shall be unclean; and the soul that toucheth it shall be unclean until even.
Numbers 20
1 Then
came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into the
desert of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in Kadesh; and
Miriam died there, and was buried there.
2 And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.
3 And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the Lord!
4 And why have ye brought up the congregation of the Lord into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there?
5 And
wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto
this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of
pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.
6 And
Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of
the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces: and
the glory of the Lord appeared unto them.
7 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
8 Take
the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy
brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give
forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the
rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.
9 And Moses took the rod from before the Lord, as he commanded him.
10 And
Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and
he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of
this rock?
11 And
Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and
the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their
beasts also.
12 And the Lord
spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me
in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this
congregation into the land which I have given them.
13 This is the water of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the Lord, and he was sanctified in them.
14 And
Moses sent messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Edom, Thus saith thy
brother Israel, Thou knowest all the travail that hath befallen us
15 How our fathers went down into Egypt, and we have dwelt in Egypt a long time; and the Egyptians vexed us, and our fathers:
16 And when we cried unto the Lord,
he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and hath brought us forth out of
Egypt: and, behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of thy
border:
17 Let
us pass, I pray thee, through thy country: we will not pass through the
fields, or through the vineyards, neither will we drink of the water of
the wells: we will go by the king's high way, we will not turn to the
right hand nor to the left, until we have passed thy borders.
18 And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt not pass by me, lest I come out against thee with the sword.
19 And
the children of Israel said unto him, We will go by the high way: and
if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it: I will
only, without doing any thing else, go through on my feet.
20 And he said, Thou shalt not go through. And Edom came out against him with much people, and with a strong hand.
21 Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border: wherefore Israel turned away from him.
22 And the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh, and came unto mount Hor.
23 And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in mount Hor, by the coast of the land of Edom, saying,
24 Aaron
shall be gathered unto his people: for he shall not enter into the land
which I have given unto the children of Israel, because ye rebelled
against my word at the water of Meribah.
25 Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up unto mount Hor:
26 And
strip Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son: and
Aaron shall be gathered unto his people, and shall die there.
27 And Moses did as the Lord commanded: and they went up into mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation.
28 And
Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his
son; and Aaron died there in the top of the mount: and Moses and Eleazar
came down from the mount.
29 And when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they mourned for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel.
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The poetry reading is Psalm 51. This one is tough. As the preface shows, this was composed by David after his great sin with Bathsheba. It is hard, and perhaps it should be, but tremendously necessary to go to the Lord when we have sinned and fallen. Which all of us have done. All.
Psalm 51
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bath–sheba.
1 Have
mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto
the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against
thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that
thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou
judgest.
5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.right: or, constant
11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.bloodguiltiness: Heb. bloods
15 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.
16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.else…: or, that I should
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
18 Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then
shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt
offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon
thine altar.
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Luke 6
1 And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands.
2 And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days?
3 And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were with him;
4 How
he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the shewbread, and
gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but
for the priests alone?
5And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
6And
it came to pass also on another sabbath, that he entered into the
synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered.
7And
the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the
sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him.
8 But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth.
9Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?
10 And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other.
11 And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.
12 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
13 And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;
14 Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew,
15 Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes,
16 And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.
17 And
he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his
disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and
Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear
him, and to be healed of their diseases;
18 And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed.
19 And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all.
20And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.
22 Blessed
are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from
their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil,
for the Son of man's sake.
23 Rejoice
ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in
heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.
24 But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.
25 Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.
26 Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.
27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,
28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.
29 And
unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and
him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also.
30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.
31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.
32 For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.
33 And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.
34 And
if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for
sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.
35 But
love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again;
and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the
Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
38 Give,
and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken
together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the
same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
39 And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?
40 The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.
41 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
42 Either
how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote
that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is
in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine
own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in
thy brother's eye.
43 For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
44 For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.
45 A
good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that
which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart
bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his
mouth speaketh.
46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
48 He
is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the
foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat
vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded
upon a rock.
49 But
he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation
built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat
vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was
great.
