August 27, 2026

Psalms74

Arise, O God, Defend Your Cause

A Maskil of Asaph.

1 O God, why do you cast us off forever?

Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?

2 Remember your congregation, which you have purchased of old,

which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage!

Remember Mount Zion, where you have dwelt.

3 Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins;

the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary!

4 Your foes have roared in the midst of your meeting place;

they set up their own signs for signs.

5 They were like those who swing axes

in a forest of trees.

6 And all its carved wood

they broke down with hatchets and hammers.

7 They set your sanctuary on fire;

they profaned the dwelling place of your name,

bringing it down to the ground.

8 They said to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”;

they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

9 We do not see our signs;

there is no longer any prophet,

and there is none among us who knows how long.

10 How long, O God, is the foe to scoff?

Is the enemy to revile your name forever?

11 Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?

Take it from the fold of your garment and destroy them!

12 Yet God my King is from of old,

working salvation in the midst of the earth.

13 You divided the sea by your might;

you broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters.

14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan;

you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.

15 You split open springs and brooks;

you dried up ever-flowing streams.

16 Yours is the day, yours also the night;

you have established the heavenly lights and the sun.

17 You have fixed all the boundaries of the earth;

you have made summer and winter.

18 Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs,

and a foolish people reviles your name.

19 Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild beasts;

do not forget the life of your poor forever.

20 Have regard for the covenant,

for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.

21 Let not the downtrodden turn back in shame;

let the poor and needy praise your name.

22 Arise, O God, defend your cause;

remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day!

23 Do not forget the clamor of your foes,

the uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually!

Psalms75

God Will Judge with Equity

To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.

1 We give thanks to you, O God;

we give thanks, for your name is near.

We recount your wondrous deeds.

2 “At the set time that I appoint

I will judge with equity.

3 When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants,

it is I who keep steady its pillars. Selah

4 I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’

and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn;

5 do not lift up your horn on high,

or speak with haughty neck.’”

6 For not from the east or from the west

and not from the wilderness comes lifting up,

7 but it is God who executes judgment,

putting down one and lifting up another.

8 For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup

with foaming wine, well mixed,

and he pours out from it,

and all the wicked of the earth

shall drain it down to the dregs.

9 But I will declare it forever;

I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.

10 All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,

but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.

Psalms76

Who Can Stand Before You?

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.

1 In Judah God is known;

his name is great in Israel.

2 His abode has been established in Salem,

his dwelling place in Zion.

3 There he broke the flashing arrows,

the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah

4 Glorious are you, more majestic

than the mountains full of prey.

5 The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil;

they sank into sleep;

all the men of war

were unable to use their hands.

6 At your rebuke, O God of Jacob,

both rider and horse lay stunned.

7 But you, you are to be feared!

Who can stand before you

when once your anger is roused?

8 From the heavens you uttered judgment;

the earth feared and was still,

9 when God arose to establish judgment,

to save all the humble of the earth. Selah

10 Surely the wrath of man shall praise you;

the remnant of wrath you will put on like a belt.

11 Make your vows to the Lord your God and perform them;

let all around him bring gifts

to him who is to be feared,

12 who cuts off the spirit of princes,

who is to be feared by the kings of the earth.

Psalms77

In the Day of Trouble I Seek the Lord

To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.

1 I cry aloud to God,

aloud to God, and he will hear me.

2 In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;

in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;

my soul refuses to be comforted.

3 When I remember God, I moan;

when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah

4 You hold my eyelids open;

I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

5 I consider the days of old,

the years long ago.

6 I said, “Let me remember my song in the night;

let me meditate in my heart.”

Then my spirit made a diligent search:

7 “Will the Lord spurn forever,

and never again be favorable?

8 Has his steadfast love forever ceased?

Are his promises at an end for all time?

9 Has God forgotten to be gracious?

Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah

10 Then I said, “I will appeal to this,

to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”

11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;

yes, I will remember your wonders of old.

12 I will ponder all your work,

and meditate on your mighty deeds.

13 Your way, O God, is holy.

What god is great like our God?

14 You are the God who works wonders;

you have made known your might among the peoples.

15 You with your arm redeemed your people,

the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah

16 When the waters saw you, O God,

when the waters saw you, they were afraid;

indeed, the deep trembled.

17 The clouds poured out water;

the skies gave forth thunder;

your arrows flashed on every side.

18 The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;

your lightnings lighted up the world;

the earth trembled and shook.

19 Your way was through the sea,

your path through the great waters;

yet your footprints were unseen.

20 You led your people like a flock

by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

1 Corinthians4

The Ministry of Apostles

1 This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. 3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. 4 For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.

6 I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another. 7 For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?

8 Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you! 9 For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. 10 We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. 11 To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, 12 and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; 13 when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.

14 I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. 15 For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 16 I urge you, then, be imitators of me. 17 That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church. 18 Some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. 19 But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power. 20 For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. 21 What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?