Your Name Endures Forever

  Shaped by the Word is a daily, Bible-reading devotional. I do not publish supplemental material on Sundays, but I do include a suggested Scripture reading. Please be sure to subscribe to this page so you can follow along each day. Thanks for reading! Reading the Word Psalm 135:13–21 (ESV) 13 Your name, O LORD, endures forever, your renown, O LORD, throughout all ages. 14 For the LORD will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants. 15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands. 16 They have mouths, but do not … Continue reading Your Name Endures Forever

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Whatever the Lord Pleases

Reading the Word Psalm 135:1–12 (ESV) 1 Praise the LORD! Praise the name of the LORD, give praise, O servants of the LORD, 2 who stand in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our God! 3 Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good; sing to his name, for it is pleasant! 4 For the LORD has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel as his own possession. 5 For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. 6 Whatever the LORD pleases, he does, in heaven and on … Continue reading Whatever the Lord Pleases

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Praise Him in the Night

  Reading the Word Psalm 134:1–3 (ESV) 1 Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD, who stand by night in the house of the LORD! 2 Lift up your hands to the holy place and bless the LORD! 3 May the LORD bless you from Zion, he who made heaven and earth! Understanding and Applying the Word This psalm is written to the priests and Levites who serve in the Temple sanctuary. It seems to specifically address those who served in the night hours (v. 1). The psalmist calls on these servants to praise God, the Creator. … Continue reading Praise Him in the Night

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Unity

Reading the Word Psalm 133:1–3 (ESV) 1 Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! 2 It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! 3 It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the LORD has commanded the blessing, life forevermore. Understanding and Applying the Word Unity is a wonderful thing. When the people of God are working together, it is pleasant and brings great pleasure. The psalmist uses … Continue reading Unity

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Promise Kept

Reading the Word Psalm 132:11–18 (ESV) 11 The LORD swore to David a sure oath from which he will not turn back: “One of the sons of your body I will set on your throne. 12 If your sons keep my covenant and my testimonies that I shall teach them, their sons also forever shall sit on your throne.” 13 For the LORD has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his dwelling place: 14 “This is my resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it. 15 I will abundantly bless her provisions; I will satisfy … Continue reading Promise Kept

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God’s Dwelling Place

Reading the Word Psalm 132:1–10 (ESV) 1 Remember, O LORD, in David’s favor, all the hardships he endured, 2 how he swore to the LORD and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob, 3 “I will not enter my house or get into my bed, 4 I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, 5 until I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.” 6 Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah; we found it in the fields of Jaar. 7 “Let us go to his dwelling … Continue reading God’s Dwelling Place

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Like a Child

  Reading the Word Psalm 131:1–3 (ESV) 1 O LORD, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. 2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. 3 O Israel, hope in the LORD from this time forth and forevermore. Understanding and Applying the Word The psalmist voices his trust in the Lord. Some things are too great to be grasped. We are limited in … Continue reading Like a Child

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More than Watchmen for the Morning

Shaped by the Word is a daily, Bible-reading devotional. I do not publish supplemental material on Sundays, but I do include a suggested Scripture reading. Please take the time to subscribe to this page so you can follow along each day. Thanks for reading! Reading the Word Psalm 130:1–8 (ESV) 1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD! 2 O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy! 3 If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? 4 But with you there is forgiveness, … Continue reading More than Watchmen for the Morning

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Protector of the Oppressed

  Reading the Word Psalm 129:1–8 (ESV) 1 “Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth”— let Israel now say— 2 “Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth, yet they have not prevailed against me. 3 The plowers plowed upon my back; they made long their furrows.” 4 The LORD is righteous; he has cut the cords of the wicked. 5 May all who hate Zion be put to shame and turned backward! 6 Let them be like the grass on the housetops, which withers before it grows up, 7 with which the reaper does not fill his hand … Continue reading Protector of the Oppressed

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The Blessed

  Reading the Word Psalm 128:1–6 (ESV) 1 Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in his ways! 2 You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you. 3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table. 4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD. 5 The LORD bless you from Zion! May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life! 6 May you … Continue reading The Blessed

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