Wisdom of Solomon 9, 10
1 “O God of our fathers and the Lord of mercy,
Who made all things by Your word
2 And in Your wisdom built a man,
That by You He might be the master of what is created,
3 And manage the world in holiness and righteousness,
And pass judgment with uprightness of soul:
4 Give me the wisdom that sits by Your throne,
And do not reject me from among Your servants;
5 Because I am Your servant and the son of Your maidservant,
A weak man and lasting but a short time,
And inferior in the understanding of judgment and laws.
6 For though one is perfect among the sons of men,
Yet if Your wisdom is absent from him,
He will be regarded as nothing.
7 You chose me to be the king of Your people
And to be the judge over Your sons and daughters.
8 You gave command to build a temple on Your holy mountain
And an altar in the city of Your habitation,
A copy of Your holy tabernacle
Which You prepared from the beginning.
9 With You is wisdom, who knows Your works
And was present when You made the world,
And who understands what is pleasing in Your sight
And what is upright within Your commandments.
10 Send her forth from Your holy heavens,
And send her from Your glorious throne,
That she might be present with me and labor
And that I might know what is well-pleasing to You.
11 For she knows and understands all things,
And she will guide me wisely in my actions
And guard me with her glory.
12 Then my works shall be acceptable,
And I will judge Your people righteously
And shall be worthy of my father’s throne.
13 For what man will know the counsel of God?
Or who will think about what the Lord wills?
14 For the reasoning of mortals is cowardly,
And our intents are unsafe;
15 For a corruptible body weighs down the soul,
And this earthly tent burdens a heart full of thoughts.
16 We can barely form a conjecture of the things upon the earth,
And the things at hand we find with toil;
But who has searched out the things in the heavens?
17 Who has known Your counsel,
Unless You have given him wisdom
And sent him Your Holy Spirit from on high?
18 And thus the paths of those on earth were made straight,
And mankind was taught what pleases You;
So they were saved by wisdom.”
Wisdom in History: Adam
1 Wisdom took care of the first-formed father of the world
When he alone was created;
And she delivered him from his transgression
2 And gave him strength to rule all things.
Cain
3 But when an unrighteous man departed from her in his wrath,
He perished in anger for murdering his brother.
Noah
4 When the earth was flooded because of him,
Again wisdom saved it
And piloted the righteous man by a cheap piece of wood.
Abraham
5 Also when the nations in evil concord were confused,
Wisdom knew the righteous man
And preserved him blameless before God,
And kept him strong in the time of his affection for his child.
Lot
6 Wisdom rescued a righteous man
When the ungodly were perishing,
For he escaped the fire that descended on the five cities,
7 Concerning which a testimony still remains:
A barren land continually blackened with smoke,
Trees bearing fruit which does not ripen in season,
And a pillar of salt standing as a monument
To an unbelieving soul.
8 For since they passed by wisdom,
They not only were injured by not knowing good things,
But also left behind for the living a memorial of their folly,
So they could not forget their fall.
9 Wisdom rescued from troubles those who served her.
Jacob
10 She guided a righteous man on straight paths
When he fled from his brother’s wrath.
She showed him the kingdom of God
And gave him knowledge of holy things.
She prospered him in hardships
And increased the fruit of his labors.
11 When they dishonored him in their covetousness,
She stood by him and made him rich.
12 She protected him from his enemies,
Kept him safe from those who plotted against him,
And arbitrated a strong contest for him,
So he might know that godliness is more powerful than anything.
Joseph
13 When a righteous man was sold,
Wisdom did not abandon him,
But delivered him from sin.
14 She went down with him into a pit,
And she did not leave him in chains
Until she brought him the scepter of a kingdom
And authority over those who tyrannized him.
She showed those who blamed him to be lying
And gave him everlasting glory.
Moses
15 She delivered a holy people and a blameless seed
From a nation of oppressors.
16 She entered the soul of a servant of the Lord
And opposed fearful kings with signs and wonders.
17 She gave to holy men the reward of their labors.
She guided them in a marvelous way
And became for them a shelter by day
And a flame of stars by night.
18 She carried them across the Red Sea
And led them through deep water;
19 But she drowned their enemies
And cast them up from the depth of the abyss.
20 Therefore the righteous stripped the ungodly,
And they sang, O Lord, to Your holy name
And praised with one accord Your defending hand;
21 Because wisdom opened the mouth of the dumb
And made the tongues of infants speak clearly.
Psalm 56
1 For the End; corrupt not; by David; for a pillar inscription, when he escaped from the face of Saul to the cave.
2 Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me,
For my soul trusts in You;
And in the shadow of Your wings I will hope,
Until lawlessness shall pass away.
3 I will cry out to God most High;
My God who is my benefactor.
4 He sent from heaven and saved me;
He gave over to disgrace those who trample me down.
(Pause)
God sent out His mercy and His truth,
5 And delivered my soul from the midst of young lions.
Although troubled, I fell asleep;
As for the sons of men, their teeth are a weapon and arrows,
And their tongue is a sharp dagger.
6 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,
And Your glory above all the earth.
7 They prepared a trap for my feet,
And they bowed down my soul;
They dug a pit before my face,
But they fell into it.
(Pause)
8 My heart is ready, O God,
My heart is ready;
I will sing, and I will sing a psalm.
9 Awake, my glory;
Awake, harp and lyre;
I will arise at dawn.
10 I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing to You among the Gentiles.
11 For Your mercy is magnified to the heavens,
And Your truth to the clouds.
12 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
And Your glory above all the earth.
Proverbs 11:26–30
26 He who plans good things seeks good grace,
But he who seeks evil, it will capture him.
27 He who trusts in riches, this man will fall,
But he who helps the righteous, this man will rise.
28 He who does not deal graciously with his own house will inherit the wind,
And a man without discernment will be servant to one with discernment.
29 A tree of life springs up from the fruit of righteousness,
But the souls of the lawless will be taken away before their time.
30 If the righteous man is scarcely saved,
Then where shall an ungodly man and a sinner appear?
1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13
31 But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way.
The Greatest Gift
1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;
5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;
6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.
9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part.
10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.