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Psalm 11

1  In the Lord have I taken refuge; ♦︎
   how then can you say to me,
      ‘Flee like a bird to the hills,
2  ‘For see how the wicked bend the bow
      and fit their arrows to the string, ♦︎
   to shoot from the shadows at the true of heart.
3  ‘When the foundations are destroyed, ♦︎
   what can the righteous do?’
4  The Lord is in his holy temple; ♦︎
   the Lord’s throne is in heaven.
5  His eyes behold, ♦︎
   his eyelids try every mortal being.
6  The Lord tries the righteous as well as the wicked, ♦︎
   but those who delight in violence his soul abhors.
7  Upon the wicked he shall rain coals of fire
      and burning sulphur; ♦︎
   scorching wind shall be their portion to drink.
8  For the Lord is righteous;
      he loves righteous deeds, ♦︎
   and those who are upright shall behold his face.

Impending Judgement on the Earth

24Now the Lord is about to lay waste the earth and make it desolate,
   and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.
² And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest;
   as with the slave, so with his master;
   as with the maid, so with her mistress;
as with the buyer, so with the seller;
   as with the lender, so with the borrower;
   as with the creditor, so with the debtor.
³ The earth shall be utterly laid waste and utterly despoiled;
   for the Lord has spoken this word.

⁴ The earth dries up and withers,
   the world languishes and withers;
   the heavens languish together with the earth.
⁵ The earth lies polluted
   under its inhabitants;
for they have transgressed laws,
   violated the statutes,
   broken the everlasting covenant.
⁶ Therefore a curse devours the earth,
   and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt;
therefore the inhabitants of the earth dwindled,
   and few people are left.
⁷ The wine dries up,
   the vine languishes,
   all the merry-hearted sigh.
⁸ The mirth of the timbrels is stilled,
   the noise of the jubilant has ceased,
   the mirth of the lyre is stilled.
⁹ No longer do they drink wine with singing;
   strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
¹⁰ The city of chaos is broken down,
   every house is shut up so that no one can enter.
¹¹ There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine;
   all joy has reached its eventide;
   the gladness of the earth is banished.
¹² Desolation is left in the city,
   the gates are battered into ruins.
¹³ For thus it shall be on the earth
   and among the nations,
as when an olive tree is beaten,
   as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is ended.

17 By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son, ¹⁸of whom he had been told, ‘It is through Isaac that descendants shall be named after you.’ ¹⁹He considered the fact that God is able even to raise someone from the dead—and figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. ²⁰By faith Isaac invoked blessings for the future on Jacob and Esau. ²¹By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, ‘bowing in worship over the top of his staff.’ ²²By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions about his burial.^*

The Faith of Moses

23 By faith Moses was hidden by his parents for three months after his birth, because they saw that the child was beautiful; and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.^{* 24}By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called a son of Pharaoh’s daughter, ²⁵choosing rather to share ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. ²⁶He considered abuse suffered for the Christ^* to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to the reward. ²⁷By faith he left Egypt, unafraid of the king’s anger; for he persevered as though^* he saw him who is invisible. ²⁸By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.^*