Thematic Bible: Desire select readings, psalms 42; 84


Thematic Bible




I desperately long to know your regulations at all times.


I look for you during the night, my spirit within me seeks you at dawn, for when your judgments come upon the earth, those who live in the world learn about justice.


"Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. "Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.

All Judah was happy about the oath, because they made the vow with their whole heart. They willingly sought the Lord and he responded to them. He made them secure on every side.

A psalm of David, written when he was in the Judean wilderness. O God, you are my God! I long for you! My soul thirsts for you, my flesh yearns for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.


I open my mouth and pant, because I long for your commands.


and constant bickering by people corrupted in their minds and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a way of making a profit.


For a long time Israel had no true God, or priest to instruct them, or law.


Be certain of this, the time is coming," says the sovereign Lord, "when I will send a famine through the land -- not a shortage of food or water but an end to divine revelation!

(Tet) Her city gates have fallen to the ground; he smashed to bits the bars that lock her gates. Her king and princes were taken into exile; there is no more guidance available. As for her prophets, they no longer receive a vision from the Lord.


Disaster after disaster will come, and one rumor after another. They will seek a vision from a prophet; priestly instruction will disappear, along with counsel from the elders.

Then after he had spent everything, a severe famine took place in that country, and he began to be in need.


No one thinks to himself, nor do they comprehend or understand and say to themselves: 'I burned half of it in the fire -- yes, I baked bread over the coals; I roasted meat and ate it. With the rest of it should I make a disgusting idol? Should I bow down to dry wood?'

"Son of man, you are living in the midst of a rebellious house. They have eyes to see, but do not see, and ears to hear, but do not hear, because they are a rebellious house.

The spiritually insensitive do not recognize this; the fool does not understand this.

You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how can you not know how to interpret the present time?



On this topic we have much to say and it is difficult to explain, since you have become sluggish in hearing.


The oppressed and the poor look for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched from thirst. I, the Lord, will respond to their prayers; I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them.

Therefore my people will be deported because of their lack of understanding. Their leaders will have nothing to eat, their masses will have nothing to drink.


A psalm of David, written when he was in the Judean wilderness. O God, you are my God! I long for you! My soul thirsts for you, my flesh yearns for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.

For you will be like a tree whose leaves wither, like an orchard that is unwatered.

They will be like a shrub in the desert. They will not experience good things even when they happen. It will be as though they were growing in the desert, in a salt land where no one can live.

In that day your beautiful young women and your young men will faint from thirst.



So give your servant a discerning mind so he can make judicial decisions for your people and distinguish right from wrong. Otherwise no one is able to make judicial decisions for this great nation of yours."

He will take delight in obeying the Lord. He will not judge by mere appearances, or make decisions on the basis of hearsay.

He will eat sour milk and honey, which will help him know how to reject evil and choose what is right.



There is still medicinal ointment available in Gilead! There is still a physician there! Why then have my dear people not been restored to health?

Why do you insist on being battered? Why do you continue to rebel? Your head has a massive wound, your whole body is weak.

Moreover, the Lord says to the people of Zion, "Your injuries are incurable; your wounds are severe.

For Samaria's disease is incurable. It has infected Judah; it has spread to the leadership of my people and has even contaminated Jerusalem!

When Jesus heard this he said to them, "Those who are healthy don't need a physician, but those who are sick do. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."


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