THEINC-HIM Daily Bible Meditation

Ten Commandments

SEPTEMBER 6

PSALMS: 6, 36, 66, 96, 126

PROVERBS: 6

OLD TESTAMENT: DANIEL 2:24 – 3:30

NEW TESTAMENT: 1 PETER 4:7 – 5:14

PSALMS: 6

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. According to sheminith. ^A A psalm of David.

¹O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger

or discipline me in your wrath.

²Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am faint;

O LORD, heal me, for my bones are in agony.

³My soul is in anguish.

How long, O LORD, how long?

⁴Turn, O LORD, and deliver me;

save me because of your unfailing love.

⁵No one remembers you when he is dead.

Who praises you from the grave ^B?

⁶I am worn out from groaning;

all night long I flood my bed with weeping

and drench my couch with tears.

⁷My eyes grow weak with sorrow;

they fail because of all my foes.

⁸Away from me, all you who do evil,

for the LORD has heard my weeping.

⁹The LORD has heard my cry for mercy;

the LORD accepts my prayer.

¹⁰All my enemies will be ashamed and dismayed;

they will turn back in sudden disgrace. ¹

PSALMS: 36

For the director of music. Of David the servant of the LORD.

¹An oracle is within my heart

concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: ^A

There is no fear of God

before his eyes.

²For in his own eyes he flatters himself

too much to detect or hate his sin.

³The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful;

he has ceased to be wise and to do good.

⁴Even on his bed he plots evil;

he commits himself to a sinful course

and does not reject what is wrong.

⁵Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens,

your faithfulness to the skies.

⁶Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,

your justice like the great deep.

O LORD, you preserve both man and beast.

⁷How priceless is your unfailing love!

Both high and low among men

find ^B refuge in the shadow of your wings.

⁸They feast on the abundance of your house;

you give them drink from your river of delights.

⁹For with you is the fountain of life;

in your light we see light.

¹⁰Continue your love to those who know you,

your righteousness to the upright in heart.

¹¹May the foot of the proud not come against me, ²

nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.

¹²See how the evildoers lie fallen–

thrown down, not able to rise! ³

PSALMS: 66

For the director of music. A song. A psalm.

¹Shout with joy to God, all the earth!

²Sing the glory of his name;

make his praise glorious!

³Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!

So great is your power

that your enemies cringe before you.

⁴All the earth bows down to you;

they sing praise to you,

they sing praise to your name.”

Selah

⁵Come and see what God has done,

how awesome his works in man’s behalf!

⁶He turned the sea into dry land,

they passed through the waters on foot–

come, let us rejoice in him.

⁷He rules forever by his power,

his eyes watch the nations–

let not the rebellious rise up against him.

Selah

⁸Praise our God, O peoples,

let the sound of his praise be heard;

⁹he has preserved our lives

and kept our feet from slipping.

¹⁰For you, O God, tested us;

you refined us like silver.

¹¹You brought us into prison

and laid burdens on our backs.

¹²You let men ride over our heads; ⁴

we went through fire and water,

but you brought us to a place of abundance.

¹³I will come to your temple with burnt offerings

and fulfill my vows to you–

¹⁴vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke

when I was in trouble.

¹⁵I will sacrifice fat animals to you

and an offering of rams;

I will offer bulls and goats.

Selah

¹⁶Come and listen, all you who fear God;

let me tell you what he has done for me.

¹⁷I cried out to him with my mouth;

his praise was on my tongue.

¹⁸If I had cherished sin in my heart,

the Lord would not have listened;

¹⁹but God has surely listened

and heard my voice in prayer.

²⁰Praise be to God,

who has not rejected my prayer

or withheld his love from me! ⁵

PSALMS: 96

¹Sing to the LORD a new song;

sing to the LORD, all the earth.

²Sing to the LORD, praise his name;

proclaim his salvation day after day.

³Declare his glory among the nations,

his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

⁴For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;

he is to be feared above all gods.

⁵For all the gods of the nations are idols,

but the LORD made the heavens.

⁶Splendor and majesty are before him;

strength and glory are in his sanctuary.

⁷Ascribe to the LORD, O families of nations,

ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.

⁸Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;

bring an offering and come into his courts.

⁹Worship the LORD in the splendor of his ^A holiness;

tremble before him, all the earth.

¹⁰Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns.”

The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved;

he will judge the peoples with equity.

¹¹Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;

let the sea resound, and all that is in it;

¹²let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them.

Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy;

¹³they will sing before the LORD, for he comes,

he comes to judge the earth.

He will judge the world in righteousness

and the peoples in his truth. ⁶

PSALMS: 126

A song of ascents.

¹When the LORD brought back the captives to ^A Zion,

we were like men who dreamed. ^B

²Our mouths were filled with laughter,

our tongues with songs of joy.

Then it was said among the nations,

“The LORD has done great things for them.”

³The LORD has done great things for us,

and we are filled with joy.

⁴Restore our fortunes, ^C O LORD,

like streams in the Negev.

⁵Those who sow in tears

will reap with songs of joy.

⁶He who goes out weeping,

carrying seed to sow,

will return with songs of joy,

carrying sheaves with him. ⁷

PROVERBS: 6

6 ¹ My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor,

if you have struck hands in pledge for another,

²if you have been trapped by what you said,

ensnared by the words of your mouth,

³then do this, my son, to free yourself,

since you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands:

Go and humble yourself;

press your plea with your neighbor!

⁴Allow no sleep to your eyes,

no slumber to your eyelids.

⁵Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,

like a bird from the snare of the fowler.

⁶Go to the ant, you sluggard;

consider its ways and be wise!

⁷It has no commander,

no overseer or ruler,

⁸yet it stores its provisions in summer

and gathers its food at harvest.

⁹How long will you lie there, you sluggard?

When will you get up from your sleep?

¹⁰A little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the hands to rest–

¹¹and poverty will come on you like a bandit

and scarcity like an armed man. ^A

¹²A scoundrel and villain,

who goes about with a corrupt mouth,

¹³ who winks with his eye,

signals with his feet

and motions with his fingers,

¹⁴ who plots evil with deceit in his heart–

he always stirs up dissension.

¹⁵Therefore disaster will overtake him in an instant; ⁸

he will suddenly be destroyed–without remedy.

¹⁶There are six things the LORD hates,

seven that are detestable to him:

¹⁷haughty eyes,

a lying tongue,

hands that shed innocent blood,

¹⁸a heart that devises wicked schemes,

feet that are quick to rush into evil,

¹⁹a false witness who pours out lies

and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.

²⁰My son, keep your father’s commands

and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.

²¹Bind them upon your heart forever;

fasten them around your neck.

²²When you walk, they will guide you;

when you sleep, they will watch over you;

when you awake, they will speak to you.

²³For these commands are a lamp,

this teaching is a light,

and the corrections of discipline

are the way to life,

²⁴keeping you from the immoral woman,

from the smooth tongue of the wayward wife.

²⁵Do not lust in your heart after her beauty

or let her captivate you with her eyes,

²⁶for the prostitute reduces you to a loaf of bread,

and the adulteress preys upon your very life.

²⁷Can a man scoop fire into his lap

without his clothes being burned?

²⁸Can a man walk on hot coals

without his feet being scorched?

²⁹So is he who sleeps with another man’s wife; ⁹

no one who touches her will go unpunished.

³⁰Men do not despise a thief if he steals

to satisfy his hunger when he is starving.

³¹Yet if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold,

though it costs him all the wealth of his house.

³²But a man who commits adultery lacks judgment;

whoever does so destroys himself.

³³Blows and disgrace are his lot,

and his shame will never be wiped away;

³⁴for jealousy arouses a husband’s fury,

and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.

³⁵He will not accept any compensation;

he will refuse the bribe, however great it is. ¹⁰

OLD TESTAMENT: DANIEL 2:24 – 3:30

²⁴Then Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, “Do not execute the wise men of Babylon. Take me to the king, and I will interpret his dream for him.”

²⁵Arioch took Daniel to the king at once and said, “I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can tell the king what his dream means.”

²⁶The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar), “Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?”

²⁷Daniel replied, “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, ²⁸but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind as you lay on your bed are these:

²⁹“As you were lying there, O king, your mind turned to things to come, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen. ³⁰As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have greater wisdom than other living men, but so that you, O king, may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went through your mind.

³¹“You looked, O king, and there before you stood a large statue–an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. ³²The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, ³³its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. ³⁴While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. ³⁵Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.

³⁶“This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king. ³⁷You, O king, are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; ³⁸in your hands he has placed mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds of the air. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold.

³⁹“After you, another kingdom will rise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. ⁴⁰Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron–for iron breaks and smashes everything–and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. ⁴¹Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. ⁴²As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. ⁴³And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.

⁴⁴“In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It ¹¹ will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. ⁴⁵This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands–a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.

“The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and the interpretation is trustworthy.”

⁴⁶Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him. ⁴⁷The king said to Daniel, “Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.”

⁴⁸Then the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men. ⁴⁹Moreover, at Daniel’s request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself remained at the royal court.

3 ¹King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, ninety feet high and nine feet^A wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. ²He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up. ³So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.

⁴Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “This is what you are commanded to do, O peoples, nations and men of every language: ⁵As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. ⁶Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”

⁷Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations and men of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

⁸At this time some astrologers ^B came forward and denounced the Jews. ⁹They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! ¹⁰You have issued a decree, O king, that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold, ¹¹and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. ¹²But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon–Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego–who pay no attention to you, O king. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.” ¹²

¹³Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, ¹⁴and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? ¹⁵Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”

¹⁶Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. ¹⁷If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. ¹⁸But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

¹⁹Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual ²⁰and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. ²¹So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. ²²The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, ²³and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.

²⁴Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?”

They replied, “Certainly, O king.”

²⁵He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”

²⁶Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”

So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, ²⁷and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.

²⁸Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own ¹³ God. ²⁹Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”

³⁰Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon. ¹⁴

NEW TESTAMENT: 1 PETER 4:7 – 5:14

⁷The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. ⁸Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

⁹Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. ¹⁰Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.

¹¹If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

¹²Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. ¹³But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. ¹⁴If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. ¹⁵If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. ¹⁶However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. ¹⁷For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? ¹⁸And,

“If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,

what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?“^A

¹⁹So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

5 ¹To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: ²Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers–not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; ³not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. ⁴And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

⁵Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ¹⁵

“God opposes the proud

but gives grace to the humble.” ^A

⁶Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. ⁷Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

⁸Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. ⁹Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

¹⁰And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

¹¹To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

¹²With the help of Silas, ^B whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.

¹³She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark. ¹⁴Greet one another with a kiss of love.

Peace to all of you who are in Christ. ¹⁶