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32 But recall those earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, ³³sometimes being publicly exposed to abuse and persecution, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. ³⁴For you had compassion for those who were in prison, and you cheerfully accepted the plundering of your possessions, knowing that you yourselves possessed something better and more lasting. ³⁵Do not, therefore, abandon that confidence of yours; it brings a great reward. ³⁶For you need endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. ³⁷For yet
‘in a very little while,
   the one who is coming will come and will not delay;
³⁸ but my righteous one will live by faith.
   My soul takes no pleasure in anyone who shrinks back.’
³⁹But we are not among those who shrink back and so are lost, but among those who have faith and so are saved.

Psalm 37

Exhortation to Patience and Trust

Of David.
¹ Do not fret because of the wicked;
   do not be envious of wrongdoers,
² for they will soon fade like the grass,
   and wither like the green herb.

³ Trust in the Lord, and do good;
   so you will live in the land, and enjoy security.
⁴ Take delight in the Lord,
   and he will give you the desires of your heart.

⁵ Commit your way to the Lord;
   trust in him, and he will act.
⁶ He will make your vindication shine like the light,
   and the justice of your cause like the noonday.

⁷ Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him;
   do not fret over those who prosper in their way,
   over those who carry out evil devices.

⁸ Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath.
   Do not fret—it leads only to evil.
⁹ For the wicked shall be cut off,
   but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.

¹⁰ Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more;
   though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there.
¹¹ But the meek shall inherit the land,
   and delight in abundant prosperity.

¹² The wicked plot against the righteous,
   and gnash their teeth at them;
¹³ but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
   for he sees that their day is coming.

¹⁴ The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows
   to bring down the poor and needy,
   to kill those who walk uprightly;
¹⁵ their sword shall enter their own heart,
   and their bows shall be broken.

¹⁶ Better is a little that the righteous person has
   than the abundance of many wicked.
¹⁷ For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
   but the Lord upholds the righteous.

¹⁸ The Lord knows the days of the blameless,
   and their heritage will abide for ever;
¹⁹ they are not put to shame in evil times,
   in the days of famine they have abundance.

²⁰ But the wicked perish,
   and the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures;
   they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.

²¹ The wicked borrow, and do not pay back,
   but the righteous are generous and keep giving;
²² for those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the land,
   but those cursed by him shall be cut off.

²³ Our steps^* are made firm by the Lord,
   when he delights in our^* way;
²⁴ though we stumble,^* we^* shall not fall headlong,
   for the Lord holds us^* by the hand.

²⁵ I have been young, and now am old,
   yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
   or their children begging bread.
²⁶ They are ever giving liberally and lending,
   and their children become a blessing.

²⁷ Depart from evil, and do good;
   so you shall abide for ever.
²⁸ For the Lord loves justice;
   he will not forsake his faithful ones.

The righteous shall be kept safe for ever,
   but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
²⁹ The righteous shall inherit the land,
   and live in it for ever.

³⁰ The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,
   and their tongues speak justice.
³¹ The law of their God is in their hearts;
   their steps do not slip.

³² The wicked watch for the righteous,
   and seek to kill them.
³³ The Lord will not abandon them to their power,
   or let them be condemned when they are brought to trial.

³⁴ Wait for the Lord, and keep to his way,
   and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
   you will look on the destruction of the wicked.

³⁵ I have seen the wicked oppressing,
   and towering like a cedar of Lebanon.^*
36 Again I^* passed by, and they were no more;
   though I sought them, they could not be found.

³⁷ Mark the blameless, and behold the upright,
   for there is posterity for the peaceable.
³⁸ But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;
   the posterity of the wicked shall be cut off.

³⁹ The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
   he is their refuge in the time of trouble.
⁴⁰ The Lord helps them and rescues them;
   he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them,
   because they take refuge in him.

The Parable of the Growing Seed

26 He also said, ‘The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, ²⁷and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. ²⁸The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. ²⁹But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.’

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

30 He also said, ‘With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? ³¹It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; ³²yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.’

The Use of Parables

33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; ³⁴he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.