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Psalm 33

1  Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous, ♦︎
   for it is good for the just to sing praises.
2  Praise the Lord with the lyre; ♦︎
   on the ten-stringed harp sing his praise.
3  Sing for him a new song; ♦︎
   play skilfully, with shouts of praise.
4  For the word of the Lord is true ♦︎
   and all his works are sure.
5  He loves righteousness and justice; ♦︎
   the earth is full of the loving-kindness of the Lord.
6  By the word of the Lord were the heavens made ♦︎
   and all their host by the breath of his mouth.
7  He gathers up the waters of the sea as in a waterskin ♦︎
   and lays up the deep in his treasury.
8  Let all the earth fear the Lord; ♦︎
   stand in awe of him, all who dwell in the world.
9  For he spoke, and it was done; ♦︎
   he commanded, and it stood fast.
10  The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to naught; ♦︎
   he frustrates the designs of the peoples.
11  But the counsel of the Lord shall endure for ever ♦︎
   and the designs of his heart from generation to generation.
12  Happy the nation whose God is the Lord ♦︎
   and the people he has chosen for his own.
13  The Lord looks down from heaven ♦︎
   and beholds all the children of earth.
14  From where he sits enthroned he turns his gaze ♦︎
   on all who dwell on the earth.
15  He fashions all the hearts of them ♦︎
   and understands all their works.
16  No king is saved by the might of his host; ♦︎
   no warrior delivered by his great strength.
17  A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; ♦︎
   for all its strength it cannot save.
18  Behold, the eye of the Lord
      is upon those who fear him, ♦︎
   on those who wait in hope for his steadfast love,
19  To deliver their soul from death ♦︎
   and to feed them in time of famine.
20  Our soul waits longingly for the Lord; ♦︎
   he is our help and our shield.
21  Indeed, our heart rejoices in him; ♦︎
   in his holy name have we put our trust.
22  Let your loving-kindness, O Lord, be upon us, ♦︎
   as we have set our hope on you.

¹⁰And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked towards the wilderness, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. ¹¹The Lord spoke to Moses and said, ¹²‘I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, “At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.” ’

13 In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. ¹⁴When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. ¹⁵When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, ‘What is it?’^* For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, ‘It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. ¹⁶This is what the Lord has commanded: “Gather as much of it as each of you needs, an omer to a person according to the number of persons, all providing for those in their own tents.” ’ ¹⁷The Israelites did so, some gathering more, some less. ¹⁸But when they measured it with an omer, those who gathered much had nothing over, and those who gathered little had no shortage; they gathered as much as each of them needed. ¹⁹And Moses said to them, ‘Let no one leave any of it over until morning.’ ²⁰But they did not listen to Moses; some left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and became foul. And Moses was angry with them. ²¹Morning by morning they gathered it, as much as each needed; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.

22 On the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, two omers apiece. When all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses,

Live as Servants of God

11 Beloved, I urge you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul. ¹²Conduct yourselves honourably among the Gentiles, so that, though they malign you as evildoers, they may see your honourable deeds and glorify God when he comes to judge.^*

13 For the Lord’s sake accept the authority of every human institution,^* whether of the emperor as supreme, ¹⁴or of governors, as sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right. ¹⁵For it is God’s will that by doing right you should silence the ignorance of the foolish. ¹⁶As servants^* of God, live as free people, yet do not use your freedom as a pretext for evil. ¹⁷Honour everyone. Love the family of believers.^* Fear God. Honour the emperor.

The Example of Christ’s Suffering

18 Slaves, accept the authority of your masters with all deference, not only those who are kind and gentle but also those who are harsh. ¹⁹For it is to your credit if, being aware of God, you endure pain while suffering unjustly. ²⁰If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, where is the credit in that? But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God’s approval. ²¹For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.
²² ‘He committed no sin,
   and no deceit was found in his mouth.’
²³When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. ²⁴He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross,^* so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds^* you have been healed. ²⁵For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.