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Psalm 131

Song of Quiet Trust

A Song of Ascents. Of David.
¹ O Lord, my heart is not lifted up,
   my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
   too great and too marvellous for me.
² But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
   like a weaned child with its mother;
   my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.^*

³ O Israel, hope in the Lord
   from this time on and for evermore.

Psalm 132

The Eternal Dwelling of God in Zion

A Song of Ascents.
¹ O Lord, remember in David’s favour
   all the hardships he endured;
² how he swore to the Lord
   and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,
³ ‘I will not enter my house
   or get into my bed;
⁴ I will not give sleep to my eyes
   or slumber to my eyelids,
⁵ until I find a place for the Lord,
   a dwelling-place for the Mighty One of Jacob.’

⁶ We heard of it in Ephrathah;
   we found it in the fields of Jaar.
⁷ ‘Let us go to his dwelling-place;
   let us worship at his footstool.’

⁸ Rise up, O Lord, and go to your resting-place,
   you and the ark of your might.
⁹ Let your priests be clothed with righteousness,
   and let your faithful shout for joy.
¹⁰ For your servant David’s sake
   do not turn away the face of your anointed one.

¹¹ The Lord swore to David a sure oath
   from which he will not turn back:
‘One of the sons of your body
   I will set on your throne.
¹² If your sons keep my covenant
   and my decrees that I shall teach them,
their sons also, for evermore,
   shall sit on your throne.’

¹³ For the Lord has chosen Zion;
   he has desired it for his habitation:
¹⁴ ‘This is my resting-place for ever;
   here I will reside, for I have desired it.
¹⁵ I will abundantly bless its provisions;
   I will satisfy its poor with bread.
¹⁶ Its priests I will clothe with salvation,
   and its faithful will shout for joy.
¹⁷ There I will cause a horn to sprout up for David;
   I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one.
¹⁸ His enemies I will clothe with disgrace,
   but on him, his crown will gleam.’

Psalm 133

The Blessedness of Unity

A Song of Ascents.
¹ How very good and pleasant it is
   when kindred live together in unity!
² It is like the precious oil on the head,
   running down upon the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
   running down over the collar of his robes.
³ It is like the dew of Hermon,
   which falls on the mountains of Zion.
For there the Lord ordained his blessing,
   life for evermore.

Psalm 140

Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies

To the leader. A Psalm of David.
¹ Deliver me, O Lord, from evildoers;
   protect me from those who are violent,
² who plan evil things in their minds
   and stir up wars continually.
³ They make their tongue sharp as a snake’s,
   and under their lips is the venom of vipers.
          Selah

⁴ Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
   protect me from the violent
   who have planned my downfall.
⁵ The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,
   and with cords they have spread a net;^*
   along the road they have set snares for me.
          Selah

⁶ I say to the Lord, ‘You are my God;
   give ear, O Lord, to the voice of my supplications.’
⁷ O Lord, my Lord, my strong deliverer,
   you have covered my head in the day of battle.
⁸ Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;
   do not further their evil plot.^*
          Selah

⁹ Those who surround me lift up their heads;^*
   let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
¹⁰ Let burning coals fall on them!
   Let them be flung into pits, no more to rise!
¹¹ Do not let the slanderer be established in the land;
   let evil speedily hunt down the violent!

¹² I know that the Lord maintains the cause of the needy,
   and executes justice for the poor.
¹³ Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;
   the upright shall live in your presence.

Psalm 142

Prayer for Deliverance from Persecutors

A Maskil of David. When he was in the cave. A Prayer.
¹ With my voice I cry to the Lord;
   with my voice I make supplication to the Lord.
² I pour out my complaint before him;
   I tell my trouble before him.
³ When my spirit is faint,
   you know my way.

In the path where I walk
   they have hidden a trap for me.
⁴ Look on my right hand and see—
   there is no one who takes notice of me;
no refuge remains to me;
   no one cares for me.

⁵ I cry to you, O Lord;
   I say, ‘You are my refuge,
   my portion in the land of the living.’
⁶ Give heed to my cry,
   for I am brought very low.

Save me from my persecutors,
   for they are too strong for me.
⁷ Bring me out of prison,
   so that I may give thanks to your name.
The righteous will surround me,
   for you will deal bountifully with me.

25 Seven days passed after the Lord had struck the Nile.

The Second Plague: Frogs

8^*Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go to Pharaoh and say to him, “Thus says the Lord: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. ²If you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs. ³The river shall swarm with frogs; they shall come up into your palace, into your bedchamber and your bed, and into the houses of your officials and of your people,^* and into your ovens and your kneading bowls. ⁴The frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all your officials.” ’ ^5*And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Say to Aaron, “Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, the canals, and the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.” ’ ⁶So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. ⁷But the magicians did the same by their secret arts, and brought frogs up on the land of Egypt.

8 Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron, and said, ‘Pray to the Lord to take away the frogs from me and my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.’ ⁹Moses said to Pharaoh, ‘Kindly tell me when I am to pray for you and for your officials and for your people, that the frogs may be removed from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile.’ ¹⁰And he said, ‘Tomorrow.’ Moses said, ‘As you say! So that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God, ¹¹the frogs shall leave you and your houses and your officials and your people; they shall be left only in the Nile.’ ¹²Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh; and Moses cried out to the Lord concerning the frogs that he had brought upon Pharaoh.^{* 13}And the Lord did as Moses requested: the frogs died in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields. ¹⁴And they gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. ¹⁵But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart, and would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.

The Third Plague: Gnats

16 Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Say to Aaron, “Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may become gnats throughout the whole land of Egypt.” ’ ¹⁷And they did so; Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and gnats came on humans and animals alike; all the dust of the earth turned into gnats throughout the whole land of Egypt. ¹⁸The magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, but they could not. There were gnats on both humans and animals. ¹⁹And the magicians said to Pharaoh, ‘This is the finger of God!’ But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.

7 Now if the ministry of death, chiselled in letters on stone tablets,^* came in glory so that the people of Israel could not gaze at Moses’ face because of the glory of his face, a glory now set aside, ⁸how much more will the ministry of the Spirit come in glory? ⁹For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, much more does the ministry of justification abound in glory! ¹⁰Indeed, what once had glory has lost its glory because of the greater glory; ¹¹for if what was set aside came through glory, much more has the permanent come in glory!

12 Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness, ¹³not like Moses, who put a veil over his face to keep the people of Israel from gazing at the end of the glory that^* was being set aside. ¹⁴But their minds were hardened. Indeed, to this very day, when they hear the reading of the old covenant, that same veil is still there, since only in Christ is it set aside. ¹⁵Indeed, to this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds; ¹⁶but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. ¹⁷Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. ¹⁸And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.

The Rich Man

17 As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ ¹⁸Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. ¹⁹You know the commandments: “You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honour your father and mother.” ’ ²⁰He said to him, ‘Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.’ ²¹Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, ‘You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money^* to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ ²²When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

23 Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, ‘How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!’ ²⁴And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, ‘Children, how hard it is^* to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’ ²⁶They were greatly astounded and said to one another,^* ‘Then who can be saved?’ ²⁷Jesus looked at them and said, ‘For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.’

28 Peter began to say to him, ‘Look, we have left everything and followed you.’ ²⁹Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news,^{* 30}who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. ³¹But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.’