Invitation — Psalm 57:9-10
"I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies."
Quiet
Bible Song — Psalm 64:1-8
Hear me, my God, as I voice my complaint;
protect my life from the threat of the enemy.
Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked,
from the plots of evildoers.
They sharpen their tongues like swords
and aim cruel words like deadly arrows.
They shoot from ambush at the innocent;
they shoot suddenly, without fear.
They encourage each other in evil plans,
they talk about hiding their snares;
they say, "Who will see it?"
They plot injustice and say,
"We have devised a perfect plan!"
Surely the human mind and heart are cunning.
But God will shoot them with his arrows;
they will suddenly be struck down.
He will turn their own tongues against them
and bring them to ruin;
all who see them will shake their heads in scorn.
Bible Reading — Numbers 14:1-2a, 10b-13, 17-24
That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron...
Then the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites. The Lord said to Moses, "How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them? I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they."
Moses said to the Lord, "Then the Egyptians will hear about it! By your power you brought these people up from among them...
"Now may the Lord's strength be displayed, just as you have declared: 'The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.' In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now."
The Lord replied, "I have forgiven them, as you asked. Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth, not one of those who saw my glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times — not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their ancestors. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it."
Quiet
Dwelling
Become aware of God's loving presence and read again ... what in God's Word has caught your heart's attention? Is there a command to be obeyed, a comfort to be savored? Talk to God about the Scripture you've just read ... yield yourself to God and enjoy his presence.
Free Prayer
- for great wonder at Christ's sacrifice
- for our capacity to suffer with others
- for those who are orphaned, and those who care for them
Prayer — WLC 180
Father, I hear Moses pray, describing your character and bombarding you with appeals to your promises. Give me that same hope-filled boldness, which flows out of an intimacy with Jesus, my praying mediator. And help me, like Moses, to pray even for those who treat you with contempt and refuse to believe. Forgive and show them your mercy. In the name of Jesus, amen.
Blessing — 2 Timothy 1:7
"For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline."