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Psalm 112

Blessings of the Righteous

¹ Praise the Lord!
   Happy are those who fear the Lord,
   who greatly delight in his commandments.
² Their descendants will be mighty in the land;
   the generation of the upright will be blessed.
³ Wealth and riches are in their houses,
   and their righteousness endures for ever.
⁴ They rise in the darkness as a light for the upright;
   they are gracious, merciful, and righteous.
⁵ It is well with those who deal generously and lend,
   who conduct their affairs with justice.
⁶ For the righteous will never be moved;
   they will be remembered for ever.
⁷ They are not afraid of evil tidings;
   their hearts are firm, secure in the Lord.
⁸ Their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid;
   in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.
⁹ They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor;
   their righteousness endures for ever;
   their horn is exalted in honour.
¹⁰ The wicked see it and are angry;
   they gnash their teeth and melt away;
   the desire of the wicked comes to nothing.

⁶ Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence
   or stand in the place of the great;
⁷ for it is better to be told, ‘Come up here’,
   than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.

What your eyes have seen

Service Well-Pleasing to God

13Let mutual love continue. ²Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. ³Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured.^{* 4}Let marriage be held in honour by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers. ⁵Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’ ⁶So we can say with confidence,
‘The Lord is my helper;
   I will not be afraid.
What can anyone do to me?’

7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. ⁸Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever. ¹⁵Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. ¹⁶Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Jesus Heals the Man with Dropsy

14On one occasion when Jesus^* was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely.

Humility and Hospitality

7 When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honour, he told them a parable. ⁸‘When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honour, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; ⁹and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, “Give this person your place”, and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. ¹⁰But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, “Friend, move up higher”; then you will be honoured in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. ¹¹For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.’

12 He said also to the one who had invited him, ‘When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbours, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. ¹³But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. ¹⁴And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’