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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.

Psalm 12

1  Help me, Lord, for no one godly is left; ♦︎
   the faithful have vanished from the whole human race.
2  They all speak falsely with their neighbour; ♦︎
   they flatter with their lips, but speak from a double heart.
3  O that the Lord would cut off all flattering lips ♦︎
   and the tongue that speaks proud boasts!
4  Those who say, ‘With our tongue will we prevail; ♦︎
   our lips we will use; who is lord over us?’
5  ‘Because of the oppression of the needy,
      and the groaning of the poor, ♦︎
   I will rise up now,’ says the Lord,
      ‘and set them in the safety that they long for.’
6  The words of the Lord are pure words, ♦︎
   like silver refined in the furnace
      and purified seven times in the fire.
7  You, O Lord, will watch over us ♦︎
   and guard us from this generation for ever.
8  The wicked strut on every side, ♦︎
   when what is vile is exalted by the whole human race.

Matthias Chosen to Replace Judas

12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away. ¹³When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of^* James. ¹⁴All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.

15 In those days Peter stood up among the believers^* (together the crowd numbered about one hundred and twenty people) and said, ¹⁶‘Friends,^* the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit through David foretold concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus— ¹⁷for he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.’
²¹So one of the men who have accompanied us throughout the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, ²²beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these must become a witness with us to his resurrection.’ ²³So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. ²⁴Then they prayed and said, ‘Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen ²⁵to take the place^* in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.’ ²⁶And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.