I. Readings
Psalms 16, 62, 97
Judges 14:1-19
Acts 6:15-7:16
John 4:27-42
II. Selections
Psalm 97:10
The LORD loves those who hate evil;
he guards the lives of his faithful;
he rescues them from the hand of the wicked.
Judges 14:15
On the fourth day [ of the wedding feast], [ the young Philistine men who had wagered with Samson] said to Samson's wife, "Coax your husband to explain the riddle to us, or we will burn you and your father's house with fire. Have you invited us here to impoverish us?"
Acts 7:9
" ...The patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him ... " [ Stephen, before the Council]
John 4:38
" ...I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor." [ Jesus to his disciples]
III. Meditation: Guarded, rescued, and called
You guard the lives of the faithful and rescue
them from the hand of the wicked; but you do
more than guard and rescue-you also call
them to enter into the labor of all the others
whom you have guarded, rescued, and called.
It is a wondrously mysterious process, this
saving and calling-often the ones called seem
as wicked as the rest, and the process of rescue
can be hidden, tedious, and torturously slow.
Teach us to hate evil, not the ones who do evil.
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