Evening Devotion

A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.
¹ O LORD, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me;
² many are saying of my soul, “There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah
³ But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.
⁴ I cried aloud to the LORD, and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah
⁵ I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me.
⁶ I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.
⁷ Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.
⁸ Salvation belongs to the LORD; your blessing be on your people! Selah (ESV)

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.
¹ In Judah God is known; his name is great in Israel.
² His abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion.
³ There he broke the flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah
⁴ Glorious are you, more majestic than the mountains full of prey.
⁵ The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil; they sank into sleep; all the men of war were unable to use their hands.
⁶ At your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both rider and horse lay stunned.
⁷ But you, you are to be feared! Who can stand before you when once your anger is roused?
⁸ From the heavens you uttered judgment; the earth feared and was still,
⁹ when God arose to establish judgment, to save all the humble of the earth. Selah
¹⁰ Surely the wrath of man shall praise you; the remnant of wrath you will put on like a belt.
¹¹ Make your vows to the LORD your God and perform them; let all around him bring gifts to him who is to be feared,
¹² who cuts off the spirit of princes, who is to be feared by the kings of the earth. (ESV)

²⁸ So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther,
²⁹ but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them.
³⁰ When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them.
³¹ And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. (ESV)

¹ Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa.
² And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul.
³ The battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by the archers.
⁴ Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and mistreat me.” But his armor-bearer would not, for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it.
⁵ And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him.
⁶ Thus Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together.
⁷ And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. And the Philistines came and lived in them.
⁸ The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.
⁹ So they cut off his head and stripped off his armor and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines, to carry the good news to the house of their idols and to the people.
¹⁰ They put his armor in the temple of Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.
¹¹ But when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,
¹² all the valiant men arose and went all night and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh and burned them there.
¹³ And they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted seven days. (ESV)

²⁵ Now concerning the betrothed, I have no command from the Lord, but I give my judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy.
²⁶ I think that in view of the present distress it is good for a person to remain as he is.
²⁷ Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife.
²⁸ But if you do marry, you have not sinned, and if a betrothed woman marries, she has not sinned. Yet those who marry will have worldly troubles, and I would spare you that.
²⁹ This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none,
³⁰ and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods,
³¹ and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.
³² I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord.
³³ But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife,
³⁴ and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband.
³⁵ I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.
³⁶ If anyone thinks that he is not behaving properly toward his betrothed, if his passions are strong, and it has to be, let him do as he wishes: let them marry—it is no sin.
³⁷ But whoever is firmly established in his heart, being under no necessity but having his desire under control, and has determined this in his heart, to keep her as his betrothed, he will do well.
³⁸ So then he who marries his betrothed does well, and he who refrains from marriage will do even better.
³⁹ A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.
⁴⁰ Yet in my judgment she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have the Spirit of God. (ESV)

¹³ I have also seen this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me.
¹⁴ There was a little city with few men in it, and a great king came against it and besieged it, building great siegeworks against it.
¹⁵ But there was found in it a poor, wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that poor man.
¹⁶ But I say that wisdom is better than might, though the poor man’s wisdom is despised and his words are not heard.
¹⁷ The words of the wise heard in quiet are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools.
¹⁸ Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.

¹ Dead flies make the perfumer’s ointment give off a stench; so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.
² A wise man’s heart inclines him to the right, but a fool’s heart to the left.
³ Even when the fool walks on the road, he lacks sense, and he says to everyone that he is a fool.
⁴ If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your place, for calmness will lay great offenses to rest.
⁵ There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as it were an error proceeding from the ruler:
⁶ folly is set in many high places, and the rich sit in a low place.
⁷ I have seen slaves on horses, and princes walking on the ground like slaves.
⁸ He who digs a pit will fall into it, and a serpent will bite him who breaks through a wall.
⁹ He who quarries stones is hurt by them, and he who splits logs is endangered by them.
¹⁰ If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge, he must use more strength, but wisdom helps one to succeed.
¹¹ If the serpent bites before it is charmed, there is no advantage to the charmer.
¹² The words of a wise man’s mouth win him favor, but the lips of a fool consume him.
¹³ The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness, and the end of his talk is evil madness.
¹⁴ A fool multiplies words, though no man knows what is to be, and who can tell him what will be after him?
¹⁵ The toil of a fool wearies him, for he does not know the way to the city.
¹⁶ Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, and your princes feast in the morning!
¹⁷ Happy are you, O land, when your king is the son of the nobility, and your princes feast at the proper time, for strength, and not for drunkenness!
¹⁸ Through sloth the roof sinks in, and through indolence the house leaks.
¹⁹ Bread is made for laughter, and wine gladdens life, and money answers everything.
²⁰ Even in your thoughts, do not curse the king, nor in your bedroom curse the rich, for a bird of the air will carry your voice, or some winged creature tell the matter.

¹ Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.
² Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth.
³ If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the earth, and if a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.
⁴ He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.
⁵ As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.
⁶ In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.
⁷ Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun.
⁸ So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is vanity.
⁹ Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.
¹⁰ Remove vexation from your heart, and put away pain from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.

¹ Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”;
² before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain,
³ in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed,
⁴ and the doors on the street are shut—when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low—
⁵ they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets—
⁶ before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern,
⁷ and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
⁸ Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.
⁹ Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care.
¹⁰ The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.
¹¹ The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd.
¹² My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
¹³ The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
¹⁴ For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. (ESV)

¹ Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord?
² If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you, for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.
³ This is my defense to those who would examine me.
⁴ Do we not have the right to eat and drink?
⁵ Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?
⁶ Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living?
⁷ Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk?
⁸ Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same?
⁹ For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned?
¹⁰ Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop.
¹¹ If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you?
¹² If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.
¹³ Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings?
¹⁴ In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.
¹⁵ But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision. For I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting.
¹⁶ For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!
¹⁷ For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship.
¹⁸ What then is my reward? That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel. (ESV)

¹ Oh sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth!
² Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day.
³ Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!
⁴ For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.
⁵ For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens.
⁶ Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
⁷ Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!
⁸ Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts!
⁹ Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!
¹⁰ Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.”
¹¹ Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
¹² let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
¹³ before the LORD, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness. (ESV)