Psalm 4; Psalm 16; Ezekiel 3:16–27; 2 Corinthians 4

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Psalm 4

Answer Me When I Call

To the echoirmaster: with estringed instruments. A Psalm of David.

Answer me when I call, O God of my frighteousness!

You have ggiven me relief when I was in distress.

Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!

O men,1 how long shall my honor be turned into shame?

How long will you love vain words and seek after hlies? Selah

But know that the Lord has iset apart jthe godly for himself;

the Lord hears when I call to him.

kBe angry,2 and do not sin;

lponder in your own hearts mon your beds, and be silent. Selah

Offer nright sacrifices,

and put your otrust in the Lord.

There are many who say, Who will show us some good?

pLift up qthe light of your face upon us, O Lord!

You have put rmore joy in my heart

than they have when their grain and wine abound.

In peace I will both slie down and sleep;

for you alone, O Lord, make me tdwell in safety.


Psalm 16

You Will Not Abandon My Soul

A hMiktam1 of David.

Preserve me, O God, for in you I itake refuge.

I say to the Lord, You are my Lord;

jI have no good apart from you.

As for kthe saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,

in whom is all my delight.2

The sorrows of those who run after3 another god shall multiply;

their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out

or ltake their names on my lips.

The Lord is mmy chosen portion and my ncup;

you hold my olot.

pThe lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

I bless the Lord who qgives me counsel;

in rthe night also my sheart instructs me.4

tI have uset the Lord always before me;

because he is at my vright hand, I shall not be wshaken.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my xwhole being5 rejoices;

my flesh also dwells secure.

10  For you will not abandon my soul to ySheol,

zor let your aholy one see bcorruption.6

11  You make known to me cthe path of life;

in your presence there is dfullness of joy;

at your right hand are epleasures forevermore.


Ezekiel 3:16–27

A Watchman for Israel

16 sAnd at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me: 17 tSon of man, uI have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall vgive them warning from me. 18 wIf I say to the wicked, xYou shall surely die, vand you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person yshall die for1 his iniquity, zbut his blood I will require at your hand. 19 aBut if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, bbut you cwill have delivered your soul. 20 dAgain, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, eand I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. vBecause you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, dand his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, zbut his blood I will require at your hand. 21 But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul.

22 fAnd the hand of the Lord was upon me there. And he said to me, Arise, go out into gthe valley,2 and hthere I will speak with you. 23 So I arose and went out into the valley, and behold, ithe glory of the Lord stood there, like the glory that I had seen jby the Chebar canal, iand I fell on my face. 24 kBut the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and he spoke with me and said to me, Go, shut yourself within your house. 25 And you, O son of man, behold, lcords will be placed upon you, and you shall be bound with them, so that you cannot go out among the people. 26 And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that myou shall be mute and unable to reprove them, nfor they are a rebellious house. 27 oBut when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, pThus says the Lord God. qHe who will hear, let him hear; and he who will refuse to hear, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house.


2 Corinthians 4

The Light of the Gospel

Therefore, having xthis ministry yby the mercy of God,1 we do not lose heart. But we have renounced zdisgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice2 cunning or ato tamper with God’s word, but bby the open statement of the truth cwe would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even dif our gospel is veiled, eit is veiled to fthose who are perishing. In their case gthe god of this world dhas blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing hthe light of ithe gospel of the glory of Christ, jwho is the image of God. For what kwe proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with lourselves as your servants3 for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, mLet light shine out of darkness, nhas shone in our hearts to give othe light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Treasure in Jars of Clay

But we have this treasure in pjars of clay, qto show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are rafflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but snot forsaken; tstruck down, but not destroyed; 10 ualways carrying in the body the death of Jesus, vso that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So wdeath is at work in us, but life in you.

13 Since we have xthe same spirit of faith according to what has been written, yI believed, and so I spoke, we also believe, and so we also speak, 14 knowing that zhe who raised the Lord Jesus awill raise us also with Jesus and bbring us with you into his presence. 15 For cit is all for your sake, so that as dgrace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, eto the glory of God.

16 So we do not lose heart. fThough our outer self4 is wasting away, gour inner self his being renewed day by day. 17 For ithis light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 jas we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.