Evening Devotion

¹ Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, you are very great! You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
² covering yourself with light as with a garment, stretching out the heavens like a tent.
³ He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters; he makes the clouds his chariot; he rides on the wings of the wind;
⁴ he makes his messengers winds, his ministers a flaming fire.
⁵ He set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be moved.
⁶ You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.
⁷ At your rebuke they fled; at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.
⁸ The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place that you appointed for them.
⁹ You set a boundary that they may not pass, so that they might not again cover the earth.
¹⁰ You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills;
¹¹ they give drink to every beast of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
¹² Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell; they sing among the branches.
¹³ From your lofty abode you water the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.
¹⁴ You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth
¹⁵ and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man’s heart.
¹⁶ The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
¹⁷ In them the birds build their nests; the stork has her home in the fir trees.
¹⁸ The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.
¹⁹ He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting.
²⁰ You make darkness, and it is night, when all the beasts of the forest creep about.
²¹ The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God.
²² When the sun rises, they steal away and lie down in their dens.
²³ Man goes out to his work and to his labor until the evening.
²⁴ O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
²⁵ Here is the sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, living things both small and great.
²⁶ There go the ships, and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.
²⁷ These all look to you, to give them their food in due season.
²⁸ When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
²⁹ When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.
³⁰ When you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground.
³¹ May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in his works,
³² who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke!
³³ I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
³⁴ May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the LORD.
³⁵ Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more! Bless the LORD, O my soul! Praise the LORD! (ESV)

A Prayer of David.
¹ Hear a just cause, O LORD; attend to my cry! Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!
² From your presence let my vindication come! Let your eyes behold the right!
³ You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night, you have tested me, and you will find nothing; I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.
⁴ With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent.
⁵ My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped.
⁶ I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me; hear my words.
⁷ Wondrously show your steadfast love, O Savior of those who seek refuge from their adversaries at your right hand.
⁸ Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings,
⁹ from the wicked who do me violence, my deadly enemies who surround me.
¹⁰ They close their hearts to pity; with their mouths they speak arrogantly.
¹¹ They have now surrounded our steps; they set their eyes to cast us to the ground.
¹² He is like a lion eager to tear, as a young lion lurking in ambush.
¹³ Arise, O LORD! Confront him, subdue him! Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,
¹⁴ from men by your hand, O LORD, from men of the world whose portion is in this life. You fill their womb with treasure; they are satisfied with children, and they leave their abundance to their infants.
¹⁵ As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness. (ESV)

⁵⁷ When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus.
⁵⁸ He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him.
⁵⁹ And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud
⁶⁰ and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. (ESV)

¹ The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.
² All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirit.
³ Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established.
⁴ The LORD has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.
⁵ Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the LORD; be assured, he will not go unpunished.
⁶ By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD one turns away from evil.
⁷ When a man’s ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
⁸ Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice.
⁹ The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.
¹⁰ An oracle is on the lips of a king; his mouth does not sin in judgment.
¹¹ A just balance and scales are the LORD’s; all the weights in the bag are his work.
¹² It is an abomination to kings to do evil, for the throne is established by righteousness.
¹³ Righteous lips are the delight of a king, and he loves him who speaks what is right.
¹⁴ A king’s wrath is a messenger of death, and a wise man will appease it.
¹⁵ In the light of a king’s face there is life, and his favor is like the clouds that bring the spring rain.
¹⁶ How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.
¹⁷ The highway of the upright turns aside from evil; whoever guards his way preserves his life.
¹⁸ Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
¹⁹ It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud.
²⁰ Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.
²¹ The wise of heart is called discerning, and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness.
²² Good sense is a fountain of life to him who has it, but the instruction of fools is folly.
²³ The heart of the wise makes his speech judicious and adds persuasiveness to his lips.
²⁴ Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body. (ESV)

¹ “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away.
² They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.
³ And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.
⁴ But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you. “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you.
⁵ But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’
⁶ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.
⁷ Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.
⁸ And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:
⁹ concerning sin, because they do not believe in me;
¹⁰ concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer;
¹¹ concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
¹² “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
¹³ When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
¹⁴ He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
¹⁵ All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
¹⁶ “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” (ESV)

¹ Now King David was old and advanced in years. And although they covered him with clothes, he could not get warm.
² Therefore his servants said to him, “Let a young woman be sought for my lord the king, and let her wait on the king and be in his service. Let her lie in your arms, that my lord the king may be warm.”
³ So they sought for a beautiful young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king.
⁴ The young woman was very beautiful, and she was of service to the king and attended to him, but the king knew her not.
⁵ Now Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will be king.” And he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.
⁶ His father had never at any time displeased him by asking, “Why have you done thus and so?” He was also a very handsome man, and he was born next after Absalom.
⁷ He conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest. And they followed Adonijah and helped him.
⁸ But Zadok the priest and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada and Nathan the prophet and Shimei and Rei and David’s mighty men were not with Adonijah.
⁹ Adonijah sacrificed sheep, oxen, and fattened cattle by the Serpent’s Stone, which is beside En-rogel, and he invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the royal officials of Judah,
¹⁰ but he did not invite Nathan the prophet or Benaiah or the mighty men or Solomon his brother.
¹¹ Then Nathan said to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, “Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has become king and David our lord does not know it?
¹² Now therefore come, let me give you advice, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon.
¹³ Go in at once to King David, and say to him, ‘Did you not, my lord the king, swear to your servant, saying, “Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne”? Why then is Adonijah king?’
¹⁴ Then while you are still speaking with the king, I also will come in after you and confirm your words.”
¹⁵ So Bathsheba went to the king in his chamber (now the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was attending to the king).
¹⁶ Bathsheba bowed and paid homage to the king, and the king said, “What do you desire?”
¹⁷ She said to him, “My lord, you swore to your servant by the LORD your God, saying, ‘Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.’
¹⁸ And now, behold, Adonijah is king, although you, my lord the king, do not know it.
¹⁹ He has sacrificed oxen, fattened cattle, and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king, Abiathar the priest, and Joab the commander of the army, but Solomon your servant he has not invited.
²⁰ And now, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, to tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.
²¹ Otherwise it will come to pass, when my lord the king sleeps with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be counted offenders.”
²² While she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet came in.
²³ And they told the king, “Here is Nathan the prophet.” And when he came in before the king, he bowed before the king, with his face to the ground.
²⁴ And Nathan said, “My lord the king, have you said, ‘Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne’?
²⁵ For he has gone down this day and has sacrificed oxen, fattened cattle, and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king’s sons, the commanders of the army, and Abiathar the priest. And behold, they are eating and drinking before him, and saying, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’
²⁶ But me, your servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon he has not invited.
²⁷ Has this thing been brought about by my lord the king and you have not told your servants who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”
²⁸ Then King David answered, “Call Bathsheba to me.” So she came into the king’s presence and stood before the king.
²⁹ And the king swore, saying, “As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my soul out of every adversity,
³⁰ as I swore to you by the LORD, the God of Israel, saying, ‘Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place,’ even so will I do this day.”
³¹ Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the ground and paid homage to the king and said, “May my lord King David live forever!”
³² King David said, “Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” So they came before the king.
³³ And the king said to them, “Take with you the servants of your lord and have Solomon my son ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon.
³⁴ And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet there anoint him king over Israel. Then blow the trumpet and say, ‘Long live King Solomon!’
³⁵ You shall then come up after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne, for he shall be king in my place. And I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah.”
³⁶ And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, “Amen! May the LORD, the God of my lord the king, say so.
³⁷ As the LORD has been with my lord the king, even so may he be with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David.”
³⁸ So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon ride on King David’s mule and brought him to Gihon.
³⁹ There Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the tent and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the trumpet, and all the people said, “Long live King Solomon!”
⁴⁰ And all the people went up after him, playing on pipes, and rejoicing with great joy, so that the earth was split by their noise.
⁴¹ Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they finished feasting. And when Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, “What does this uproar in the city mean?”
⁴² While he was still speaking, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came. And Adonijah said, “Come in, for you are a worthy man and bring good news.”
⁴³ Jonathan answered Adonijah, “No, for our lord King David has made Solomon king,
⁴⁴ and the king has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites. And they had him ride on the king’s mule.
⁴⁵ And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon, and they have gone up from there rejoicing, so that the city is in an uproar. This is the noise that you have heard.
⁴⁶ Solomon sits on the royal throne.
⁴⁷ Moreover, the king’s servants came to congratulate our lord King David, saying, ‘May your God make the name of Solomon more famous than yours, and make his throne greater than your throne.’ And the king bowed himself on the bed.
⁴⁸ And the king also said, ‘Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who has granted someone to sit on my throne this day, my own eyes seeing it.’”
⁴⁹ Then all the guests of Adonijah trembled and rose, and each went his own way.
⁵⁰ And Adonijah feared Solomon. So he arose and went and took hold of the horns of the altar.
⁵¹ Then it was told Solomon, “Behold, Adonijah fears King Solomon, for behold, he has laid hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me first that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.’”
⁵² And Solomon said, “If he will show himself a worthy man, not one of his hairs shall fall to the earth, but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.”
⁵³ So King Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and paid homage to King Solomon, and Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.”

¹ When David’s time to die drew near, he commanded Solomon his son, saying,
² “I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man,
³ and keep the charge of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn,
⁴ that the LORD may establish his word that he spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’
⁵ “Moreover, you also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, how he dealt with the two commanders of the armies of Israel, Abner the son of Ner, and Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, avenging in time of peace for blood that had been shed in war, and putting the blood of war on the belt around his waist and on the sandals on his feet.
⁶ Act therefore according to your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace.
⁷ But deal loyally with the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table, for with such loyalty they met me when I fled from Absalom your brother.
⁸ And there is also with you Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse on the day when I went to Mahanaim. But when he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the LORD, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’
⁹ Now therefore do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man. You will know what you ought to do to him, and you shall bring his gray head down with blood to Sheol.”
¹⁰ Then David slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David.
¹¹ And the time that David reigned over Israel was forty years. He reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.
¹² So Solomon sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established. (ESV)

²³ So he invited them in to be his guests. The next day he rose and went away with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him.
²⁴ And on the following day they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.
²⁵ When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him.
²⁶ But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am a man.”
²⁷ And as he talked with him, he went in and found many persons gathered.
²⁸ And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean.
²⁹ So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.”
³⁰ And Cornelius said, “Four days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at the ninth hour, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing
³¹ and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God.
³² Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.’
³³ So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”
³⁴ So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality,
³⁵ but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.
³⁶ As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all),
³⁷ you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed:
³⁸ how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
³⁹ And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree,
⁴⁰ but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear,
⁴¹ not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.
⁴² And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead.
⁴³ To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
⁴⁴ While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word.
⁴⁵ And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles.
⁴⁶ For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared,
⁴⁷ “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”
⁴⁸ And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.

¹ Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.
² So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying,
³ “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.”
⁴ But Peter began and explained it to them in order:
⁵ “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, something like a great sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me.
⁶ Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air.
⁷ And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’
⁸ But I said, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’
⁹ But the voice answered a second time from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, do not call common.’
¹⁰ This happened three times, and all was drawn up again into heaven.
¹¹ And behold, at that very moment three men arrived at the house in which we were, sent to me from Caesarea.
¹² And the Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house.
¹³ And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter;
¹⁴ he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’
¹⁵ As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning.
¹⁶ And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’
¹⁷ If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?”
¹⁸ When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.” (ESV)

¹⁰ How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile your name forever?
¹¹ Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand? Take it from the fold of your garment and destroy them!
¹² Yet God my King is from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.
¹³ You divided the sea by your might; you broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters.
¹⁴ You crushed the heads of Leviathan; you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
¹⁵ You split open springs and brooks; you dried up ever-flowing streams.
¹⁶ Yours is the day, yours also the night; you have established the heavenly lights and the sun.
¹⁷ You have fixed all the boundaries of the earth; you have made summer and winter. (ESV)