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Psalm 20

Prayer for Victory

To the leader. A Psalm of David.
¹ The Lord answer you in the day of trouble!
   The name of the God of Jacob protect you!
² May he send you help from the sanctuary,
   and give you support from Zion.
³ May he remember all your offerings,
   and regard with favour your burnt sacrifices.
          Selah

⁴ May he grant you your heart’s desire,
   and fulfil all your plans.
⁵ May we shout for joy over your victory,
   and in the name of our God set up our banners.
May the Lord fulfil all your petitions.

⁶ Now I know that the Lord will help his anointed;
   he will answer him from his holy heaven
   with mighty victories by his right hand.
⁷ Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses,
   but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God.
⁸ They will collapse and fall,
   but we shall rise and stand upright.

⁹ Give victory to the king, O Lord;
   answer us when we call.^*

Psalm 21

Thanksgiving for Victory

To the leader. A Psalm of David.
¹ In your strength the king rejoices, O Lord,
   and in your help how greatly he exults!
² You have given him his heart’s desire,
   and have not withheld the request of his lips.
          Selah
³ For you meet him with rich blessings;
   you set a crown of fine gold on his head.
⁴ He asked you for life; you gave it to him—
   length of days for ever and ever.
⁵ His glory is great through your help;
   splendour and majesty you bestow on him.
⁶ You bestow on him blessings for ever;
   you make him glad with the joy of your presence.
⁷ For the king trusts in the Lord,
   and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.

⁸ Your hand will find out all your enemies;
   your right hand will find out those who hate you.
⁹ You will make them like a fiery furnace
   when you appear.
The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath,
   and fire will consume them.
¹⁰ You will destroy their offspring from the earth,
   and their children from among humankind.
¹¹ If they plan evil against you,
   if they devise mischief, they will not succeed.
¹² For you will put them to flight;
   you will aim at their faces with your bows.

¹³ Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength!
   We will sing and praise your power.

Psalm 110

Assurance of Victory for God’s Priest-King

Of David. A Psalm.
¹ The Lord says to my lord,
   ‘Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies your footstool.’

² The Lord sends out from Zion
   your mighty sceptre.
   Rule in the midst of your foes.
³ Your people will offer themselves willingly
   on the day you lead your forces
   on the holy mountains.^*
From the womb of the morning,
   like dew, your youth^* will come to you.
⁴ The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind,
   ‘You are a priest for ever according to the order of Melchizedek.’^*

⁵ The Lord is at your right hand;
   he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.
⁶ He will execute judgement among the nations,
   filling them with corpses;
he will shatter heads
   over the wide earth.
⁷ He will drink from the stream by the path;
   therefore he will lift up his head.

Psalm 116

Thanksgiving for Recovery from Illness

¹ I love the Lord, because he has heard
   my voice and my supplications.
² Because he inclined his ear to me,
   therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
³ The snares of death encompassed me;
   the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
   I suffered distress and anguish.
⁴ Then I called on the name of the Lord:
   ‘O Lord, I pray, save my life!’

⁵ Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
   our God is merciful.
⁶ The Lord protects the simple;
   when I was brought low, he saved me.
⁷ Return, O my soul, to your rest,
   for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

⁸ For you have delivered my soul from death,
   my eyes from tears,
   my feet from stumbling.
⁹ I walk before the Lord
   in the land of the living.
¹⁰ I kept my faith, even when I said,
   ‘I am greatly afflicted’;
¹¹ I said in my consternation,
   ‘Everyone is a liar.’

¹² What shall I return to the Lord
   for all his bounty to me?
¹³ I will lift up the cup of salvation
   and call on the name of the Lord,
¹⁴ I will pay my vows to the Lord
   in the presence of all his people.
¹⁵ Precious in the sight of the Lord
   is the death of his faithful ones.
¹⁶ O Lord, I am your servant;
   I am your servant, the child of your serving-maid.
   You have loosed my bonds.
¹⁷ I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice
   and call on the name of the Lord.
¹⁸ I will pay my vows to the Lord
   in the presence of all his people,
¹⁹ in the courts of the house of the Lord,
   in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!

Psalm 117

Universal Call to Worship

¹ Praise the Lord, all you nations!
   Extol him, all you peoples!
² For great is his steadfast love towards us,
   and the faithfulness of the Lord endures for ever.
Praise the Lord!

Water from the Rock

17From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. ²The people quarrelled with Moses, and said, ‘Give us water to drink.’ Moses said to them, ‘Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?’ ³But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?’ ⁴So Moses cried out to the Lord, ‘What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.’ ⁵The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. ⁶I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.’ Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. ⁷He called the place Massah^* and Meribah,^* because the Israelites quarrelled and tested the Lord, saying, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’

Amalek Attacks Israel and Is Defeated

8 Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. ⁹Moses said to Joshua, ‘Choose some men for us and go out; fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.’ ¹⁰So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. ¹¹Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. ¹²But Moses’ hands grew weary; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; so his hands were steady until the sun set. ¹³And Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the sword.

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Write this as a reminder in a book and recite it in the hearing of Joshua: I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.’ ¹⁵And Moses built an altar and called it, The Lord is my banner. ¹⁶He said, ‘A hand upon the banner of the Lord! ^* The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.’

7 The end of all things is near;^* therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers. ⁸Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins. ⁹Be hospitable to one another without complaining. ¹⁰Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. ¹¹Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Suffering as a Christian

12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. ¹³But rejoice in so far as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. ¹⁴If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory,^* which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you.^{* 15}But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, a criminal, or even as a mischief-maker. ¹⁶Yet if any of you suffers as a Christian, do not consider it a disgrace, but glorify God because you bear this name. ¹⁷For the time has come for judgement to begin with the household of God; if it begins with us, what will be the end for those who do not obey the gospel of God? ¹⁸And
‘If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,
   what will become of the ungodly and the sinners?’
¹⁹Therefore, let those suffering in accordance with God’s will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator, while continuing to do good.

Sorrow Will Turn into Joy

16 ‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me.’ ¹⁷Then some of his disciples said to one another, ‘What does he mean by saying to us, “A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me”; and “Because I am going to the Father”?’ ¹⁸They said, ‘What does he mean by this “a little while”? We do not know what he is talking about.’ ¹⁹Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, ‘Are you discussing among yourselves what I meant when I said, “A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me”? ²⁰Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy. ²¹When a woman is in labour, she has pain, because her hour has come. But when her child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world. ²²So you have pain now; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. ²³On that day you will ask nothing of me.^* Very truly, I tell you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.^{* 24}Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

Peace for the Disciples

25 ‘I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures, but will tell you plainly of the Father. ²⁶On that day you will ask in my name. I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; ²⁷for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.^{* 28}I came from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and am going to the Father.’

29 His disciples said, ‘Yes, now you are speaking plainly, not in any figure of speech! ³⁰Now we know that you know all things, and do not need to have anyone question you; by this we believe that you came from God.’ ³¹Jesus answered them, ‘Do you now believe? ³²The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each one to his home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. ³³I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!’