Daily Lectionary in Poetry Tuesday 3rd February 2015

Psalm 35:1-10

Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies
Of David.

1 Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me;
    fight against those who fight against me!
2 Take hold of shield and buckler,
    and rise up to help me!
3 Draw the spear and javelin
    against my pursuers;
say to my soul,
    “I am your salvation.”
4 Let them be put to shame and dishonour
    who seek after my life.
Let them be turned back and confounded
    who devise evil against me.
5 Let them be like chaff before the wind,
    with the angel of the Lord driving them on.
6 Let their way be dark and slippery,
    with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.
7 For without cause they hid their net[a] for me;
    without cause they dug a pit[b] for my life.
8 Let ruin come on them unawares.
And let the net that they hid ensnare them;
    let them fall in it—to their ruin.
9 Then my soul shall rejoice in the Lord,
    exulting in his deliverance.
10 All my bones shall say,
    “O Lord, who is like you?
You deliver the weak
    from those too strong for them,
    the weak and needy from those who despoil them.”

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Lord I am begging you
Please be beside me in my battles
Let my enemies by fearful
Let all badness by blown away
Please deliver me
For I am weak
And I am only strong
In you Lord.

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Numbers 22:22-28

Balaam, the Donkey, and the Angel

22 God’s anger was kindled because he was going, and the angel of the Lord took his stand in the road as his adversary. Now he was riding on the donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 The donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand; so the donkey turned off the road, and went into the field; and Balaam struck the donkey, to turn it back onto the road. 24 Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on either side. 25 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it scraped against the wall, and scraped Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he struck it again. 26 Then the angel of the Lord went ahead, and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right or to the left. 27 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it lay down under Balaam; and Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff. 28 Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”

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God told Balaam to go

And he went

But that was not what God wanted

Because it was not of a pure heart

Even the donkey

Knew more about God

Than this prophet

Balaam was blind to it all

The Donkey recognised an Angel

It showed it's obedience to God

It laid under the prophet 

Who still was blind and deaf

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1 Corinthians 7:32-40

I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord; 33 but the married man is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please his wife, 34 and his interests are divided. And the unmarried woman and the virgin are anxious about the affairs of the Lord, so that they may be holy in body and spirit; but the married woman is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please her husband. 35 I say this for your own benefit, not to put any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and unhindered devotion to the Lord.

36 If anyone thinks that he is not behaving properly toward his fiancée,[a] if his passions are strong, and so it has to be, let him marry as he wishes; it is no sin. Let them marry. 37 But if someone stands firm in his resolve, being under no necessity but having his own desire under control, and has determined in his own mind to keep her as his fiancée,[b] he will do well. 38 So then, he who marries his fiancée[c] does well; and he who refrains from marriage will do better.

39 A wife is bound as long as her husband lives. But if the husband dies,[d] she is free to marry anyone she wishes, only in the Lord. 40 But in my judgment she is more blessed if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have the Spirit of God.

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Do not fear

Put anxieties away

Know God is with you

And it will always be that way

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