Hear my prayer, O Lord;
give ear to my supplications in your faithfulness;
answer me in your righteousness.
(Psalm 143:1)
Zechariah 6:1-7:14
A vision four chariots foretells the coming of the Lord. In a response to the question of how to demonstrate faithfulness to God, hypocrisy is condemned. Don't fast from particular foods and drink just to show off. Rather, fast from unkindness. Render true judgments. Show kindness and mercy to one another. Don't oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor. Your ancestors didn't do these things, so I punished them.
Revelation 15:1-8
The last portent appears: 7 angels with 7 plagues. With them, the wrath of God is ended. The conquerers of evil offer praises to God, Almighty Lord. The hymn they use echoes the song of Moses giving thanks for rescue. John's contemporaries would have been comforted by the memory that in a time of despair, God had rescued their ancestors. Still a comfort for us.
Then John's vision tells that the wrath of God will live forever and ever. As long as we have evil, we will need God to deal with it.
Psalm 143:1-12
Another plea for help.
Proverbs 30:24-28
Four things on earth are small,
yet they are exceedingly wise:
the ants are a people without strength,
yet they provide their food in the summer;
the badgers are a people without power,
yet they make their homes in the rocks;
the locusts have no king,
yet all of them march in rank;
the lizard can be grasped in the hand,
yet it is found in kings' palaces.
Prayer for Today: Pray the verses of Psalm 143 that fit your life today.
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