His Time - Scripture Studies: Psalm 18, Proverbs 9, Zechariah 2 & 3

1. Meditation on the Day’s Psalm

Rev. Jonathan Fisk gives a meditation on the Psalm of the Day, Psalm 18:46-50.

Psalm 18:46-50

⁴⁶The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,
    and exalted be the God of my salvation—
⁴⁷the God who gave me vengeance
    and subdued peoples under me,
⁴⁸who rescued me from my enemies;
    yes, you exalted me above those who rose against me;
    you delivered me from the man of violence.

⁴⁹For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,
    and sing to your name.
⁵⁰Great salvation he brings to his king,
    and shows steadfast love to his anointed,
    to David and his offspring forever.

2. Meditation on Proverbs

Rev. Jonathan Fisk gives a meditation on Proverbs 9:1-6.

Proverbs 9:1-6

The Way of Wisdom

9 Wisdom has built her house;
    she has hewn her seven pillars.
²She has slaughtered her beasts; she has mixed her wine;
    she has also set her table.
³She has sent out her young women to call
    from the highest places in the town,
⁴“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
    To him who lacks sense she says,
⁵“Come, eat of my bread
    and drink of the wine I have mixed.
⁶Leave your simple ways,^[a] and live,
    and walk in the way of insight.”

Footnotes:

Proverbs 9:6 Or Leave the company of the simple

3. Meditation on the Old Testament Reading

Rev. Jonathan Fisk gives a meditation on the Old Testament Reading, Zechariah 2:1-3:10.

Zechariah 2:1-3:10

A Vision of a Man with a Measuring Line

2 ^[a] And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand! ²Then I said, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, “To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length.”³And behold, the angel who talked with me came forward, and another angel came forward to meet him ⁴and said to him, “Run, say to that young man, ‘Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of people and livestock in it. ⁵And I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst.’”

⁶Up! Up! Flee from the land of the north, declares the Lord. For I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heavens, declares the Lord.⁷Up! Escape to Zion, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon. ⁸For thus said the Lord of hosts, after his glory sent me^[b] to the nations who plundered you, for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye:⁹“Behold, I will shake my hand over them, and they shall become plunder for those who served them. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me. ¹⁰Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the Lord. ¹¹And many nations shall join themselves to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. ¹²And the Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem.”

¹³Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.

A Vision of Joshua the High Priest

3 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan^[c] standing at his right hand to accuse him. ²And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand^[d] plucked from the fire?” ³Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. ⁴And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.” ⁵And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord was standing by.

⁶And the angel of the Lord solemnly assured Joshua, ⁷“Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my charge, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here. ⁸Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch. ⁹For behold, on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven eyes,^[e] I will engrave its inscription, declares the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. ¹⁰In that day, declares the Lord of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor to come under his vine and under his fig tree.”