Tag: faith

¹³ I also saw under the sun this example of wisdom that greatly impressed me: ¹⁴ There was once a small city with only a few people in it. And a powerful king came against it, surrounded it and built huge siege works against it. ¹⁵ Now there lived in that city a man poor but wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom. But nobody remembered that poor man. ¹⁶ So I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” But the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded.

¹⁷ The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded
    than the shouts of a ruler of fools.
¹⁸ Wisdom is better than weapons of war,
    but one sinner destroys much good.

Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering, ‘It will be happier.’

Alfred Lord Tennyson

19 Better the poor whose walk is blameless
    than a fool whose lips are perverse.

² Desire without knowledge is not good—
    how much more will hasty feet miss the way!

³ A person’s own folly leads to their ruin,
    yet their heart rages against the Lord.

⁴ Wealth attracts many friends,
    but even the closest friend of the poor person deserts them.

⁵ A false witness will not go unpunished,
    and whoever pours out lies will not go free.

⁶ Many curry favor with a ruler,
    and everyone is the friend of one who gives gifts.

⁷ The poor are shunned by all their relatives—
    how much more do their friends avoid them!
Though the poor pursue them with pleading,
    they are nowhere to be found.^[a]

⁸ The one who gets wisdom loves life;
    the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper.

⁹ A false witness will not go unpunished,
    and whoever pours out lies will perish.

¹⁰ It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury—
    how much worse for a slave to rule over princes!

¹¹ A person’s wisdom yields patience;
    it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.

¹² A king’s rage is like the roar of a lion,
    but his favor is like dew on the grass.

¹³ A foolish child is a father’s ruin,
    and a quarrelsome wife is like
    the constant dripping of a leaky roof.

¹⁴ Houses and wealth are inherited from parents,
    but a prudent wife is from the Lord.

¹⁵ Laziness brings on deep sleep,
    and the shiftless go hungry.

¹⁶ Whoever keeps commandments keeps their life,
    but whoever shows contempt for their ways will die.

¹⁷ Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord,
    and he will reward them for what they have done.

You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.

Jack London

¹ In you, Lord my God,
    I put my trust.

² I trust in you;
    do not let me be put to shame,
    nor let my enemies triumph over me.
³ No one who hopes in you
    will ever be put to shame,
but shame will come on those
    who are treacherous without cause.

⁴ Show me your ways, Lord,
    teach me your paths.
⁵ Guide me in your truth and teach me,
    for you are God my Savior,
    and my hope is in you all day long.
⁶ Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love,
    for they are from of old.
⁷ Do not remember the sins of my youth
    and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
    for you, Lord, are good.

⁸ Good and upright is the Lord;
    therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
⁹ He guides the humble in what is right
    and teaches them his way.
¹⁰ All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful
    toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.
¹¹ For the sake of your name, Lord,
    forgive my iniquity, though it is great.

¹² Who, then, are those who fear the Lord?
    He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.^[b]
13 They will spend their days in prosperity,
    and their descendants will inherit the land.
¹⁴ The Lord confides in those who fear him;
    he makes his covenant known to them.
¹⁵ My eyes are ever on the Lord,
    for only he will release my feet from the snare.

¹⁶ Turn to me and be gracious to me,
    for I am lonely and afflicted.
¹⁷ Relieve the troubles of my heart
    and free me from my anguish.
¹⁸ Look on my affliction and my distress
    and take away all my sins.
¹⁹ See how numerous are my enemies
    and how fiercely they hate me!

²⁰ Guard my life and rescue me;
    do not let me be put to shame,
    for I take refuge in you.
²¹ May integrity and uprightness protect me,
    because my hope, Lord,^[c] is in you.

²² Deliver me, O God,
    from all my troubles!

As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so a life well spent brings happy death.

Leonardo da Vinci