Evening Devotion

A Psalm of David.
¹ O LORD, I call upon you; hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to you!
² Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!
³ Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!
⁴ Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with men who work iniquity, and let me not eat of their delicacies!
⁵ Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it. Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.
⁶ When their judges are thrown over the cliff, then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant.
⁷ As when one plows and breaks up the earth, so shall our bones be scattered at the mouth of Sheol.
⁸ But my eyes are toward you, O GOD, my Lord; in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless!
⁹ Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me and from the snares of evildoers!
¹⁰ Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by safely. (ESV)

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments; according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.
¹ O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath.
² Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing; heal me, O LORD, for my bones are troubled.
³ My soul also is greatly troubled. But you, O LORD—how long?
⁴ Turn, O LORD, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
⁵ For in death there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol who will give you praise?
⁶ I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping.
⁷ My eye wastes away because of grief; it grows weak because of all my foes.
⁸ Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.
⁹ The LORD has heard my plea; the LORD accepts my prayer.
¹⁰ All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled; they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment. (ESV)

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
¹⁴ Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
¹⁵ and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.
¹⁶ In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;
¹⁷ and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
¹⁸ praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, (ESV)

¹ The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin,
² to whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.
³ It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, and until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.
⁴ Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
⁵ “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
⁶ Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.”
⁷ But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
⁸ Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD.”
⁹ Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.
¹⁰ See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”
¹¹ And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see an almond branch.”
¹² Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”
¹³ The word of the LORD came to me a second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot, facing away from the north.”
¹⁴ Then the LORD said to me, “Out of the north disaster shall be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land.
¹⁵ For behold, I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, declares the LORD, and they shall come, and every one shall set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls all around and against all the cities of Judah.
¹⁶ And I will declare my judgments against them, for all their evil in forsaking me. They have made offerings to other gods and worshiped the works of their own hands.
¹⁷ But you, dress yourself for work; arise, and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them.
¹⁸ And I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land.
¹⁹ They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the LORD, to deliver you.” (ESV)

²³ And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”
²⁴ Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things.
²⁵ The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’
²⁶ But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”
²⁷ So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
²⁸ “What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’
²⁹ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went.
³⁰ And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but did not go.
³¹ Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.
³² For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.
³³ “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country.
³⁴ When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit.
³⁵ And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another.
³⁶ Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them.
³⁷ Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
³⁸ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’
³⁹ And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
⁴⁰ When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”
⁴¹ They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”
⁴² Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
⁴³ Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.
⁴⁴ And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them.
⁴⁶ And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet. (ESV)

¹⁸ Then the LORD became jealous for his land and had pity on his people.
¹⁹ The LORD answered and said to his people, “Behold, I am sending to you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations.
²⁰ “I will remove the northerner far from you, and drive him into a parched and desolate land, his vanguard into the eastern sea, and his rear guard into the western sea; the stench and foul smell of him will rise, for he has done great things.
²¹ “Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the LORD has done great things!
²² Fear not, you beasts of the field, for the pastures of the wilderness are green; the tree bears its fruit; the fig tree and vine give their full yield.
²³ “Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given the early rain for your vindication; he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before.
²⁴ “The threshing floors shall be full of grain; the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
²⁵ I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you.
²⁶ “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame.
²⁷ You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame.
²⁸ “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.
²⁹ Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.
³⁰ “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke.
³¹ The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.
³² And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls.

¹ “For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,
² I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land,
³ and have cast lots for my people, and have traded a boy for a prostitute, and have sold a girl for wine and have drunk it.
⁴ “What are you to me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Are you paying me back for something? If you are paying me back, I will return your payment on your own head swiftly and speedily.
⁵ For you have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried my rich treasures into your temples.
⁶ You have sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks in order to remove them far from their own border.
⁷ Behold, I will stir them up from the place to which you have sold them, and I will return your payment on your own head.
⁸ I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, to a nation far away, for the LORD has spoken.”
⁹ Proclaim this among the nations: Consecrate for war; stir up the mighty men. Let all the men of war draw near; let them come up.
¹⁰ Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, “I am a warrior.”
¹¹ Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves there. Bring down your warriors, O LORD.
¹² Let the nations stir themselves up and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations.
¹³ Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Go in, tread, for the winepress is full. The vats overflow, for their evil is great.
¹⁴ Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
¹⁵ The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.
¹⁶ The LORD roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth quake. But the LORD is a refuge to his people, a stronghold to the people of Israel.
¹⁷ “So you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain. And Jerusalem shall be holy, and strangers shall never again pass through it.
¹⁸ “And in that day the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the streambeds of Judah shall flow with water; and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the LORD and water the Valley of Shittim.
¹⁹ “Egypt shall become a desolation and Edom a desolate wilderness, for the violence done to the people of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.
²⁰ But Judah shall be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem to all generations.
²¹ I will avenge their blood, blood I have not avenged, for the LORD dwells in Zion.” (ESV)

¹ Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it.
² For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.
³ For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, “As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest,’” although his works were finished from the foundation of the world.
⁴ For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.”
⁵ And again in this passage he said, “They shall not enter my rest.”
⁶ Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience,
⁷ again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”
⁸ For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on.
⁹ So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God,
¹⁰ for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.
¹¹ Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.
¹² For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
¹³ And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (ESV)

Qoph
¹⁴⁵ With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O LORD! I will keep your statutes.
¹⁴⁶ I call to you; save me, that I may observe your testimonies.
¹⁴⁷ I rise before dawn and cry for help; I hope in your words.
¹⁴⁸ My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promise.
¹⁴⁹ Hear my voice according to your steadfast love; O LORD, according to your justice give me life.
¹⁵⁰ They draw near who persecute me with evil purpose; they are far from your law.
¹⁵¹ But you are near, O LORD, and all your commandments are true.
¹⁵² Long have I known from your testimonies that you have founded them forever. (ESV)