Thursday, April 21, 2022

The Daily Bible Readings for Friday, April 22, 2022 — Easter Friday

 

The Daily Bible Readings
Friday, April 22, 2022
Easter Friday
Psalm 150; 1 Samuel 17:19-32; Acts 5:17-26
with commentaries from Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible

Today’s Verse of the Day:
Romans 1:20

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
God desires that we know Him, and He has provided a way for us to have a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. From the beginning, He revealed Himself to Adam and Eve. Unfortunately, through their disobedience, sin came into the world (Gen. 3). Since then, people have rebelled against God, creating their own deities and even denying His existence. Yet even if someone has never seen a Bible or heard about Jesus Christ, that person has no excuse because creation itself testifies that He exists.

Today’s Lectionary Readings:
From the Psalter
Psalm 150
Let Everything Praise the Lord

1 Praise the Lord.

  Praise God in his sanctuary;
     praise him in his mighty heavens.
2 Praise him for his acts of power;
     praise him for his surpassing greatness.
3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
     praise him with the harp and lyre,
4 praise him with timbrel and dancing,
     praise him with the strings and pipe,
5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,
     praise him with resounding cymbals.

6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

  Praise the Lord.


Commentary
A psalm of praise.

We are here stirred up to praise God. Praise God for his sanctuary, and the privileges we enjoy by having it among us; praise him because of his power and glory in the firmament. Those who praise the Lord in heaven, behold displays of his power and glory which we cannot now conceive. But the greatest of all his mighty acts is known in his earthly sanctuary. The holiness and the love of our God are more displayed in man's redemption, than in all his other works. Let us praise our God and Savior for it. We need not care to know what instruments of music are mentioned. Hereby is meant that in serving God we should spare no cost or pains. Praise God with strong faith; praise him with holy love and delight; praise him with entire confidence in Christ; praise him with believing triumph over the powers of darkness; praise him by universal respect to all his commands; praise him by cheerful submission to all his disposals; praise him by rejoicing in his love, and comforting ourselves in his goodness; praise him by promoting the interests of the kingdom of his grace; praise him by lively hope and expectation of the kingdom of his glory. Since we must shortly breathe our last, while we have breath let us praise the Lord; then we shall breathe our last with comfort. Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord. Such is the very suitable end of a book inspired by the Spirit of God, written for the work of praise; a book which has supplied the songs of the church for more than three thousand years; a book which is quoted more frequently than any other by Christ and his apostles; a book which presents the loftiest ideas of God and his government, which is fitted to every state of human life, which sets forth every state of religious experience, and which bears simple and clear marks of its Divine origin.


From the Historical Books
1 Samuel 17:19-32
David Announces He will Fight Goliath

17:19 They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.”

20 Early in the morning David left the flock in the care of a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry. 21 Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other. 22 David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and asked his brothers how they were. 23 As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it. 24 Whenever the Israelites saw the man, they all fled from him in great fear.

25 Now the Israelites had been saying, “Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his family from taxes in Israel.”

26 David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

27 They repeated to him what they had been saying and told him, “This is what will be done for the man who kills him.”

28 When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.”

29 “Now what have I done?” said David. “Can’t I even speak?” 30 He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter, and the men answered him as before. 31 What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him.

32 David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”

Commentary
David comes to the camp.

In times of general formality and lukewarmness, every degree of zeal which implies readiness to go further, or to venture more in the cause of God than others, will be blamed as pride and ambition, and by none more than by near relations, like Eliab, or negligent superiors. It was a trial of David's meekness, patience, and constancy. He had right and reason on his side, and did not render railing for railing; with a soft answer he turned away his brother's wrath. This conquest of his own passion was more honorable than that of Goliath. Those who undertake great and public services, must not think it strange if they are spoken ill of, and opposed by those from whom they expect support and assistance. They must humbly go on with their work, in the face not only of enemies' threats, but of friends' slights and suspicions.


From the Acts of the Apostles
Acts 5:17-26
The Apostles Freed from Prison

5:17 Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. 18 They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. 20 “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people all about this new life.”

21 At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people.

When the high priest and his associates arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin—the full assembly of the elders of Israel—and sent to the jail for the apostles.
22 But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they went back and reported, 23 “We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.” 24 On hearing this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were at a loss, wondering what this might lead to.

25 Then someone came and said, “Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people.” 26 At that, the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles. They did not use force, because they feared that the people would stone them.

Commentary
The apostles imprisoned, but set free by an angel.

There is no prison so dark, so strong, but God can visit his people in it, and, if he pleases, fetch them out. Recoveries from sickness, releases out of trouble, are granted, not that we may enjoy the comforts of life, but that God may be honored with the services of our life. It is not for the preachers of Christ's gospel to retire into corners, as long as they can have any opportunity of preaching in the great congregation. They must preach to the lowest, whose souls are as precious to Christ as the souls of the greatest. Speak to all, for all are concerned. Speak as those who resolve to stand to it, to live and die by it. Speak all the words of this heavenly, divine life, in comparison with which the present earthly life does not deserve the name. These words of life, which the Holy Ghost puts into your mouth. The words of the gospel are the words of life; words whereby we may be saved. How wretched are those who are vexed at the success of the gospel! They cannot but see that the word and power of the Lord are against them; and they tremble for the consequences, yet they will go on.



Today’s Lectionary Readings are selected from the Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings, a three-year cyclical lectionary. We are currently in Year C. Beginning with the first Sunday of Advent in 2022, we will be in Year A. The year which ended at Advent 2021 was Year B. These readings complement the Sunday and festival readings: Thursday through Saturday readings help prepare the reader for the Sunday ahead; Monday through Wednesday readings help the reader reflect and digest what they heard in worship. Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings, copyright © 2005 Consultation on Common Texts. www.commontexts.org. The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle, and Gospel lessons are from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Commentaries from Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible.

The Morning Prayer for Friday, April 22, 2022

 

The Morning Prayer
Friday, April 22, 2022


Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him.
Luke 12:35–36, NIV


Lord our God, we wait in expectation. Even in the great distress on earth, we wait in longing for your day to come, for the pangs of death to pass, so that your kingdom may arise and the reign of Jesus Christ may spread over the whole world in power and glory. May your promise be fulfilled and your will be done on earth. May there always be people who believe and who pray in faith, “Lord God, come! Come, Lord God. Humankind does not understand how to live. Send us Jesus Christ, the Savior, Lord, and Judge of the dead and the living. Put an end to sin and death!” We thank you for giving us this faith and for letting us pray at all times, “Come, Lord Jesus. Yes, come soon, Lord Jesus!” We ask you to protect us in this faith. Bring this faith to fulfillment for the glory of your name. Amen.

Verse of the Day for Friday, April 22, 2022

 

Verse of the Day
Friday, April 22, 2022


Romans 1:20
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
God desires that we know Him, and He has provided a way for us to have a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. From the beginning, He revealed Himself to Adam and Eve. Unfortunately, through their disobedience, sin came into the world (Gen. 3). Since then, people have rebelled against God, creating their own deities and even denying His existence. Yet even if someone has never seen a Bible or heard about Jesus Christ, that person has no excuse because creation itself testifies that He exists.

Read the Full Chapter



Scripture from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

Our Daily Bread — Gratitude on Earth Day

 

Gratitude on Earth Day

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. Genesis 2:15

READ Genesis 2:4–10, 15



Earth Day is an annual event observed on April 22. In recent years, more than one billion people in about two hundred countries have taken part in educational and service activities. Each year, Earth Day is a reminder of the importance of caring for our amazing planet. But the mandate to care for the environment is far older than this annual event—it goes all the way back to creation.

In Genesis, we learn that God created the entire universe and formed the earth as a place for humans to dwell. Not only did He fashion the mountain peaks and lush plains, God also created the garden of Eden, a beautiful place providing food, shelter, and beauty for its inhabitants (Genesis 2:8–9).

After breathing life into His most important creation, humans, God placed them in this garden (vv. 8, 22) and gave them the responsibility “to work it and take care of it” (v. 15). After Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden, caring for God’s creation became more difficult (3:17–19), but to this day God Himself cares for our planet and its creatures (Psalm 65:9–13) and asks us to do the same (Proverbs 12:10).

Whether we live in crowded cities or rural areas, we all have ways we can care for the areas God has entrusted to us. And as we tend the earth, may it be an act of gratitude to Him for this beautiful planet.

By Lisa M. Samra
REFLECT & PRAY


What part of creation takes your breath away? How might you care for the part of the earth God has entrusted to you?

Creator God, You’ve entrusted to us a marvelous planet that sustains and astonishes me. Please help me to respond to Your gift by caring for it as a way to express thankfulness for Your provision.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

Ancient Hebrew literature often conveyed meaning through intentional wordplays. In Genesis 2, the Hebrew word translated “man”—’adam (Genesis 2:7) is very similar to the Hebrew word translated “ground” (vv. 5–7)—’adamah. If a modern translation attempted to capture this wordplay, it might translate “man” (’adam) as “earthling” and “ground” (’adamah) as “earth.” By pairing these words, the passage communicates key insights into human nature. Humanity was formed from the earth or ground (v. 7) and so is intimately connected to it. But humanity was also given a unique relationship to God, who gave human beings the “breath of life” (v. 7). Formed from the earth, human beings are also those to whom creation’s care is entrusted (v. 15).

Monica La Rose