Today’s Reading: Psalm 45-47 & Proverbs 27

To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah; a love song.

45   My heart overflows with a pleasing theme;
    I address my verses to the king;
    my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.
  You are the most handsome of the sons of men;
    grace is poured upon your lips;
    therefore God has blessed you forever.
  Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one,
    in your splendor and majesty!
  In your majesty ride out victoriously
    for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness;
    let your right hand teach you awesome deeds!
  Your arrows are sharp
    in the heart of the king’s enemies;
    the peoples fall under you.
  Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.
    The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;
    you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.
  Therefore God, your God, has anointed you
    with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;
    your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia.
  From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad;
    daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor;
    at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.
10   Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear:
    forget your people and your father’s house,
11     and the king will desire your beauty.
  Since he is your lord, bow to him.
12     The people of Tyre will seek your favor with gifts,
    the richest of the people.
13   All glorious is the princess in her chamber, with robes interwoven with gold.
14     In many-colored robes she is led to the king,
    with her virgin companions following behind her.
15   With joy and gladness they are led along
    as they enter the palace of the king.
16   In place of your fathers shall be your sons;
    you will make them princes in all the earth.
17   I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations;
    therefore nations will praise you forever and ever.

To the choirmaster. Of the Sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A Song.

46   God is our refuge and strength,
    a very present help in trouble.
  Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
    though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
  though its waters roar and foam,
    though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
  There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy habitation of the Most High.
  God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
    God will help her when morning dawns.
  The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
    he utters his voice, the earth melts.
  The LORD of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
  Come, behold the works of the LORD,
    how he has brought desolations on the earth.
  He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
    he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    he burns the chariots with fire.
10   “Be still, and know that I am God.
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth!”
11   The LORD of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.

47   Clap your hands, all peoples!
    Shout to God with loud songs of joy!
  For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared,
    a great king over all the earth.
  He subdued peoples under us,
    and nations under our feet.
  He chose our heritage for us,
    the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah
  God has gone up with a shout,
    the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
  Sing praises to God, sing praises!
    Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
  For God is the King of all the earth;
    sing praises with a psalm!
  God reigns over the nations;
    God sits on his holy throne.
  The princes of the peoples gather
    as the people of the God of Abraham.
  For the shields of the earth belong to God;
    he is highly exalted!

— Psalm 45-47

27   Do not boast about tomorrow,
    for you do not know what a day may bring.
  Let another praise you, and not your own mouth;
    a stranger, and not your own lips.
  A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty,
    but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.
  Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming,
    but who can stand before jealousy?
  Better is open rebuke
    than hidden love.
  Faithful are the wounds of a friend;
    profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
  One who is full loathes honey,
    but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet.
  Like a bird that strays from its nest
    is a man who strays from his home.
  Oil and perfume make the heart glad,
    and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.
10   Do not forsake your friend and your father’s friend,
    and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity.
  Better is a neighbor who is near
    than a brother who is far away.
11   Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad,
    that I may answer him who reproaches me.
12   The prudent sees danger and hides himself,
    but the simple go on and suffer for it.
13   Take a man’s garment when he has put up security for a stranger,
    and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for an adulteress.
14   Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice,
    rising early in the morning,
    will be counted as cursing.
15   A continual dripping on a rainy day
    and a quarrelsome wife are alike;
16   to restrain her is to restrain the wind
    or to grasp oil in one’s right hand.
17   Iron sharpens iron,
    and one man sharpens another.
18   Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,
    and he who guards his master will be honored.
19   As in water face reflects face,
    so the heart of man reflects the man.
20   Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied,
    and never satisfied are the eyes of man.
21   The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
    and a man is tested by his praise.
22   Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle
    along with crushed grain,
    yet his folly will not depart from him.
23   Know well the condition of your flocks,
    and give attention to your herds,
24   for riches do not last forever;
    and does a crown endure to all generations?
25   When the grass is gone and the new growth appears
    and the vegetation of the mountains is gathered,
26   the lambs will provide your clothing,
    and the goats the price of a field.
27   There will be enough goats’ milk for your food,
    for the food of your household
    and maintenance for your girls.

— Proverbs 27