Latest / Lamp and Light Bible Reading Plan / May 20, 2026 - Numbers 3 & Psalm 109

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May 20, 2026 - Numbers 3 & Psalm 109 · Lamp and Light Bible Reading Plan

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the Lamp and Light Bywearding Plan, where we are seeking to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength with God's word lighting the way.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Josiah Smith, joined by Tyler Sanborn.
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  SPEAKER_01: Today is Wednesday, May 20th, 2026.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_01: Here's a quick summary of Numbers three.
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  SPEAKER_01: Numbers three begins by detailing the generations of Aaron and Moses, specifically the sons of Aaron.
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  SPEAKER_01: Nadab, the firstborn, Abihu, Elieazar, and Ithamar.
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  SPEAKER_01: And of course, if you remember back in Leviticus, Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord when they offered unauthorized or stranged fire.
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  SPEAKER_01: And so the only ones left were Elie and Ithamar, and they served as priests.
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  SPEAKER_01: And so the rest of the chapter details the duties of the Levites, their priestly roles and responsibilities, where they were supposed to encamp themselves in proximity to the tabernacle, the roles that they were supposed to do, and even some of the seriousness of if they were to violate these roles or or to step outside of the boundaries of the roles.
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  SPEAKER_01: And of course, there's also a talk of redemption of the firstborn that's connected back to the Exodus event.
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  SPEAKER_01: And so ultimately, chapter three of Numbers kind of focuses on the Levites, the priests, through the line of Aaron, the Aaronic priesthood, specifically focusing on Elieazar and Ithamar.
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  SPEAKER_00: Listen intently to God's written word.
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  SPEAKER_00: Be not silent, O God of my praise, for wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues.
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  SPEAKER_00: They encircle me with words of hate and attack me without cause.
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  SPEAKER_00: In return for my love they accuse me, but I give myself to prayer.
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  SPEAKER_00: So they reward me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
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  SPEAKER_00: Appoint a wicked man against him, let an accuser stand at his right hand.
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  SPEAKER_00: When he is tried, let him come forth guilty.
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  SPEAKER_00: Let his prayer be counted as sin.
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  SPEAKER_00: May his days be few, may other take his office, may his children be fatherless and his wife a widow.
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  SPEAKER_00: May his children wander about and beg, seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit.
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  SPEAKER_00: May the creditor seize all that he has, may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil, let there be none to extend kindness to him, nor any to pity his fatherless children.
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  SPEAKER_00: May his posterity be cut off, may his name be blotted out in the second generation, may the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord, and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
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  SPEAKER_00: Let them be before the Lord continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth.
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  SPEAKER_00: For he did not remember to show kindness, but pursued the poor and needy and the broken hearted to put them to death.
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  SPEAKER_00: He loved to curse, let curses come upon him.
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  SPEAKER_00: He did not delight in blessing, may it be far from him.
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  SPEAKER_00: He clothed himself with cursing as his coat, may it soak into the body, his body like water, like oil into his bones, may it be like a garment that he wraps around him, like a belt that he puts on every day.
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  SPEAKER_00: May this be the reward of my accusers from the Lord, of those who speak evil against my life.
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  SPEAKER_00: But you, O God, my Lord, deal on my behalf for your name's sake, because your steadfast love is good, deliver me, for I am poor and needy, and my heart is stricken within me.
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  SPEAKER_00: I am gone like a shadow at evening, I am shaken off like a locust, my knees are weak through fasting, my body has become gaunt with no fat.
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  SPEAKER_00: I am an object of scorn to my accusers.
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  SPEAKER_00: When they see me, they wag their heads.
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  SPEAKER_00: Help me, O Lord my God, save me according to your steadfast love.
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  SPEAKER_00: Let them know that this is your hand.
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  SPEAKER_00: You, O Lord, have done it.
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  SPEAKER_00: Let them curse, but you will bless.
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  SPEAKER_00: They are they rise and are put to shame, but your servant will be glad.
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  SPEAKER_00: May my accusers be clothed with dishonor.
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  SPEAKER_00: May they be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak.
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  SPEAKER_00: With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord.
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  SPEAKER_00: I will praise him in the midst of the throng.
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  SPEAKER_00: For he stands at the right hand of the needy one to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.
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  SPEAKER_01: One of the things that really sticks out to me concerning Numbers three is the discussion of the firstborn that connects all the way back to Egypt.
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  SPEAKER_01: So let me just read verses eleven through thirteen.
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  SPEAKER_01: It says, Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Behold, I have taken the Levites, again from the tribe of Levi, from among the people of Israel, instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel.
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  SPEAKER_01: The Levites shall be mine, for all the firstborn are mine.
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  SPEAKER_01: On the date that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast.
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  SPEAKER_01: They shall be mine.
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  SPEAKER_01: I am the Lord.
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  SPEAKER_01: And God sets aside these firstborns, or here in the Numbers chapter three, these Levites.
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  SPEAKER_01: Now, I I just thought of it, made me think of Colossians chapter one, where Paul refers to Jesus as the firstborn of the world.
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  SPEAKER_01: Now, of course, in that context, uh it's not necessarily kind of the same sort of parallel language, but I can't help but think of that firstborn language.
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  SPEAKER_01: He is a firstborn among many brothers.
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  SPEAKER_01: Uh, Jesus is referred to as the firstborn in a variety of different ways, and you can't get around in our study of Hebrews his priestly work.
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  SPEAKER_01: And so just like in the Exodus event, God passes over the firstborns of the Israelites and then enlists them in his service as priest, uh, both there, of course, in Egypt and now ongoing in the life of Israel, their service was to the Lord and Jesus Himself.
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  SPEAKER_01: He was he is referred to as the firstborn of creation, not that he was created like every other firstborn, but that was a position, that was a status, uh, one of honor.
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  SPEAKER_01: Well, he was, you know, the the one who inherits all things, as even Hebrews 1 talks about.
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  SPEAKER_01: And as the firstborn, uh, who is the rightful heir of all things, he's also put in the service of God as a priest.
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  SPEAKER_01: That's what Hebrews says.
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  SPEAKER_01: Hebrews chapter 2, he had to become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God.
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  SPEAKER_01: And so God consecrates his son and sets him apart for the priestly work that he had for him that connects all the way back to the priestly work of the tribe of Levi, the sons of Aaron, that we're seeing here.
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  SPEAKER_01: So just a cool connection that I saw here in numbers that points us forward yet again to Jesus, the firstborn of many brothers.
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  SPEAKER_01: Uh, the firstborn, uh, even it talks about Paul referencing his resurrection, him being the first fruits of the resurrection.
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  SPEAKER_01: He is that what has happened to Jesus in terms of him receiving a glorified body will happen to us one day.
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  SPEAKER_01: And there's hope in that.
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  SPEAKER_01: There's hope in a glorified body uh after the resurrection of the dead in Christ Jesus.
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  SPEAKER_01: And there's all of these connections between the Old Testament and the New Testament, of course, because the Old Testament sort of points forward and uh expects and anticipates Jesus, who is the fulfillment.
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  SPEAKER_01: And so we have the priesthood here that's really sort of in its budding, blooming stage, with the sons of Aaron just really now getting into making all the sacrifices, the the construction of the tabernacle has just happened recently.
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  SPEAKER_01: And so now the priests have been anointed, their garments have been made, they've been uh all of their ordination things have happened, all of the laws, all of the sacrifices have been stipulated.
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  SPEAKER_01: And so we're we're starting to see, okay, what's their work?
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  SPEAKER_01: Uh what do they do?
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  SPEAKER_01: And uh here's it says the duties of the Levites, and um they, of course, get involved in the priestly ministry that God created for them, for the nation of Israel, to bring about atonement, forgiveness of sins, things like that.
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  SPEAKER_01: Uh, that was a mere shadow of the substance of Christ.
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  SPEAKER_01: So just a cool connection again of the firstborn here being the Levites, the ones who were the priest of Israel.
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  SPEAKER_01: Jesus is called the firstborn.
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  SPEAKER_01: He is our great high priest.
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  SPEAKER_01: He is the one who is ultimately the one that makes purification for sins.
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  SPEAKER_01: He is our intercessor, he lives to make intercession for us, and just a lot of great things happening here in Numbers.
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  SPEAKER_00: PJ, have you ever been misrepresented, falsely accused, or just flat out lied against?
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  SPEAKER_00: Never.
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  SPEAKER_01: No, yeah, I have being in uh pastoral ministry.
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  SPEAKER_01: Unfortunately, that is something that is not um foreign to the world that I am in.
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  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, I've definitely experienced those things.
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  SPEAKER_00: Um so I I was thinking about a time when I was in elementary school and another time in middle school where there was some kind of competition, um, and the person who took second place was was making false accusations um against me.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: Uh the person who was not the victor, not the one um who came out on top, would uh try to persuade other people, whether it's other students or teachers or staff members, that um went about it in just a wicked way.
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  SPEAKER_00: And in a certain sense, this is what we see uh here in Psalm 109.
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  SPEAKER_00: David is praying that God would execute justice, uh, and and he's calling out in in some very um colorful pretty graphic ways, yeah.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's I had a hard time reading some of them because it it just it it breaks my mind a little bit to to pray this against somebody else, and and uh some commentators would look at this psalm and say David is is thinking of Saul in in this situation.
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  SPEAKER_00: Um and who pursued him, who wanted to take his life, who hounded him, pursuing pursuing him on multiple occasions, seeking to take his life.
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  SPEAKER_00: Now, the people who are lying against me were not seeking to take my life, but in this opening uh section here, there's there's kindness for this other man, there is love for this other man, and the only thing that comes in return, hate is is reciprocated.
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  SPEAKER_00: And uh we have we have to look at the song, the psalm, and and and remind ourselves that uh it's the Lord that that is our help.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's the Lord that is going to ultimately judge one day.
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  SPEAKER_00: And when we when we think about living a life that is above reproach, living a life that is uh seeking to honor and and glorify the Lord, I think we could look to the 21st verse here and and and look to David's heart.
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  SPEAKER_00: He he wants the Lord to deliver him, he wants his his name to be cleared for the Lord's name, for the glory of his name, for your name's sake.
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  SPEAKER_00: This is what David is saying.
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  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, this psalm also has me thinking back to Leviticus, where there are clear instructions on how to bring an accusation against uh someone who has done wrong.
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  SPEAKER_00: There needs to be uh witnesses, and here we see we see no evidence of uh David uh having uh multiple witnesses um against him, and it's uh a challenge.
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  SPEAKER_00: And when we feel misrepresented or lied against in this life, we can we can feel strongly about this other person, but um what what I think is uh clear for us to see is just the need for for the Lord, the need for a regenerate heart.
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  SPEAKER_00: And as we face tricky situations, trials in in our lives, there's gonna be people that are going just for the fact that you seek to love the Lord your God with all of your heart, your soul, your mind, and your strength, people are going to hate you for that.
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  SPEAKER_00: And in in response, I think for us, as we look to this song, we we can be praying for salvation.
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  SPEAKER_00: We we don't necessarily uh want to be praying for people's offspring to be cut off or um or for creditors to seize all that they have, but uh our heart should be for these the people that are lost in this world that might be saying harmful or wicked things against us.
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  SPEAKER_00: Lord, change their heart, help them to see their need for you, help them to see that that you died on the cross to to pay the debt for these sins, these sins against God and and sins against man.
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  SPEAKER_00: So this is this is just where my head is as I look to this Psalm, Psalm 109.
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  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and I think this connects really well to what we talked about two Sundays ago, with Jesus being our help, our help in temptation.
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  SPEAKER_01: That really is the heart cry of David here in verse 26: help me, O Lord my God, save me according to your steadfast love.
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  SPEAKER_01: And so uh all throughout the Bible, we have this truth that God is our helper.
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  SPEAKER_01: Jesus is our helper.
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  SPEAKER_01: He provides help uh through his intercessory work, through answering our prayers, as we talked about a few Sundays ago.
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  SPEAKER_01: And and David really, uh, through all of this, through some of the intense language that we see in verses 8 through 14 specifically, uh, where it says, May his days be few, may another take his office, may his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow, may his children wander about and beg, may the creditor seize all that he has, may his posterity be cut off, may the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord.
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  SPEAKER_01: All of those things.
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  SPEAKER_01: Ultimately, David, in the midst of that, he recognizes that God is his place of help, God is his source of help.
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  SPEAKER_01: That's why in verse 26, again, he says, Help me, O Lord my God.
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  SPEAKER_01: Verse 27, let them know that this is your hand.
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  SPEAKER_01: You, O Lord, have done it.
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  SPEAKER_01: So even the imprecatory things that he is praying against whoever's on the other side of this, whether it was uh, you know, sol or not, um, we we want to make sure that we see David's heart in this, which is uh that he recognizes that his help comes from the Lord.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_01: And so he says, Let them curse, uh, let them curse, but you will bless.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_01: He says, They arise and are put to shame, but your servant will be glad.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_01: May my accusers be clothed with dishonor, and may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_01: And then he kind of concludes by saying, With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord, I will praise him in the midst of the throng, for he stands at the right hand of the needy one to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_01: So again, he he understands uh that if he's going to be freed from this, if he's going to be delivered, if he's going to be saved, God is going to be the half, he's going to be the one that has to do it.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_01: And so he, it's kind of what uh later on in the Psalms, we've quoted it before, but where does our help come from?
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_01: Our help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_01: And that's really David's underlying question here is where can I find help in the midst of accusations, in the midst of slander, in the midst of all of those things, where can I find help?
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_01: And his heart recognizes that his help is found and the Lord, help me, O Lord my God, he says here in verse 26.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, great reminder for us to remember where our help comes from because we would in our flesh figure out some other ways to help ourselves out of the situation, whether it's uh retaliation or vengeance.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but no, we we need to be fixed and focused on um enduring trials.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes they we can't escape them.
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  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes our our oppressors or those who would accuse us are just lingering.
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  SPEAKER_00: God is allowing them to remain in our lives.
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  SPEAKER_00: But we have we have a helper and we have a a just judge who will one day make all wrongs right and who will uh wipe away the tears and the sorrow, the pain will be erased, and we won't have to endure this um for eternity.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_00: But for those who are not in Christ, uh that the judgment is coming, and and uh the just judge will not will not overlook um sin.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: And uh if you if you have uh only yourself to to bear the weight of your sin, uh you will surely bear it.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: But if you have Christ, he has taken that uh taken that suffering for you.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's our hope, and just even the promise that God is our help, he is the one who is, as it says here, he stands at our right hand.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_01: Uh even the whole idea of the one who is needy, he stands at the right hand of the needy one.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_01: He's close by, he's right where he needs to be, he's always on time, and he is our help.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_01: Well, thank you so much for joining us today on the Lamp and Light Bible Reading Podcast.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_01: For more information about Compass Bible Church South Valley, visit compass Bible SV.org.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_01: Keep reading, keep growing.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_01: God's word is a lamp to your feet and a light to your path.