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David’s Prayer

18 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and said, ‘Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? ¹⁹And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God; you have spoken also of your servant’s house for a great while to come. May this be instruction for the people,^* O Lord God! ²⁰And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord God! ²¹Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have wrought all this greatness, so that your servant may know it. ²²Therefore you are great, O Lord God; for there is no one like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. ²³Who is like your people, like Israel? Is there another^* nation on earth whose God went to redeem it as a people, and to make a name for himself, doing great and awesome things for them,^* by driving out^* before his people nations and their gods?^{* 24}And you established your people Israel for yourself to be your people for ever; and you, O Lord, became their God. ²⁵And now, O Lord God, as for the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, confirm it for ever; do as you have promised. ²⁶Thus your name will be magnified for ever in the saying, “The Lord of hosts is God over Israel”; and the house of your servant David will be established before you. ²⁷For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, “I will build you a house”; therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. ²⁸And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant; ²⁹now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue for ever before you; for you, O Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed for ever.’

Psalm 60

1  O God, you have cast us off and broken us; ♦︎
   you have been angry; restore us to yourself again.
2  You have shaken the earth and torn it apart; ♦︎
   heal its wounds, for it trembles.
3  You have made your people drink bitter things; ♦︎
   we reel from the deadly wine you have given us.
4  You have made those who fear you to flee, ♦︎
   to escape from the range of the bow.
5  That your beloved may be delivered, ♦︎
   save us by your right hand and answer us.
6  God has spoken in his holiness: ♦︎
   ‘I will triumph and divide Shechem,
      and share out the valley of Succoth.
7  ‘Gilead is mine and Manasseh is mine; ♦︎
   Ephraim is my helmet and Judah my sceptre.
8  ‘Moab shall be my washpot;
      over Edom will I cast my sandal; ♦︎
   across Philistia will I shout in triumph.’
9  Who will lead me into the strong city? ♦︎
   Who will bring me into Edom?
10  Have you not cast us off, O God? ♦︎
   Will you no longer go forth with our troops?
11  Grant us your help against the enemy, ♦︎
   for earthly help is in vain.
12  Through God will we do great acts, ♦︎
   for it is he that shall tread down our enemies.
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Psalm 63

1  O God, you are my God; eagerly I seek you; ♦︎
   my soul is athirst for you.
2  My flesh also faints for you, ♦︎
   as in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.
3  So would I gaze upon you in your holy place, ♦︎
   that I might behold your power and your glory.
4  Your loving-kindness is better than life itself ♦︎
   and so my lips shall praise you.
5  I will bless you as long as I live ♦︎
   and lift up my hands in your name.
6  My soul shall be satisfied, as with marrow and fatness, ♦︎
   and my mouth shall praise you with joyful lips,
7  When I remember you upon my bed ♦︎
   and meditate on you in the watches of the night.
8  For you have been my helper ♦︎
   and under the shadow of your wings will I rejoice.
9  My soul clings to you; ♦︎
   your right hand shall hold me fast.
10  But those who seek my soul to destroy it ♦︎
   shall go down to the depths of the earth;
11  Let them fall by the edge of the sword ♦︎
   and become a portion for jackals.
12  But the king shall rejoice in God;
      all those who swear by him shall be glad, ♦︎
   for the mouth of those who speak lies shall be stopped.
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Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem

41 As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, ⁴²saying, ‘If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. ⁴³Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. ⁴⁴They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.’^*

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

45 Then he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling things there; ⁴⁶and he said, ‘It is written,
“My house shall be a house of prayer”;
   but you have made it a den of robbers.’

47 Every day he was teaching in the temple. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people kept looking for a way to kill him; ⁴⁸but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were spellbound by what they heard.

The Authority of Jesus Questioned

20One day, as he was teaching the people in the temple and telling the good news, the chief priests and the scribes came with the elders ²and said to him, ‘Tell us, by what authority are you doing these things? Who is it who gave you this authority?’ ³He answered them, ‘I will also ask you a question, and you tell me: ⁴Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?’ ⁵They discussed it with one another, saying, ‘If we say, “From heaven”, he will say, “Why did you not believe him?” ⁶But if we say, “Of human origin”, all the people will stone us; for they are convinced that John was a prophet.’ ⁷So they answered that they did not know where it came from. ⁸Then Jesus said to them, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.’