Evening Devotion

To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of David.
¹ O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
² Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.
³ When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
⁴ what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?
⁵ Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.
⁶ You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet,
⁷ all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,
⁸ the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
⁹ O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! (ESV)

Of David.
¹ The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
² When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall.
³ Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.
⁴ One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.
⁵ For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock.
⁶ And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the LORD.
⁷ Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me!
⁸ You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, LORD, do I seek.”
⁹ Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger, O you who have been my help. Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation!
¹⁰ For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the LORD will take me in.
¹¹ Teach me your way, O LORD, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.
¹² Give me not up to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me, and they breathe out violence.
¹³ I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living!
¹⁴ Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD! (ESV)

⁶ On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
⁷ And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations.
⁸ He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken.
⁹ It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” (ESV)

¹ King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its breadth six cubits. He set it up on the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.
² Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
³ Then the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
⁴ And the herald proclaimed aloud, “You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages,
⁵ that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.
⁶ And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace.”
⁷ Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
⁸ Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews.
⁹ They declared to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever!
¹⁰ You, O king, have made a decree, that every man who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image.
¹¹ And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace.
¹² There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
¹³ Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king.
¹⁴ Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up?
¹⁵ Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?”
¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.
¹⁷ If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.
¹⁸ But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
¹⁹ Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated.
²⁰ And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.
²¹ Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace.
²² Because the king’s order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
²³ And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace.
²⁴ Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”
²⁵ He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”
²⁶ Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire.
²⁷ And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them.
²⁸ Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.
²⁹ Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.”
³⁰ Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon. (ESV)

¹ Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain.
² And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years,
³ and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.
⁴ Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
⁵ The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection.
⁶ Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.
⁷ And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison
⁸ and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea.
⁹ And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them,
¹⁰ and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
¹¹ Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.
¹² And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.
¹³ And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.
¹⁴ Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
¹⁵ And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (ESV)

¹ Then he led me to the gate, the gate facing east.
² And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory.
³ And the vision I saw was just like the vision that I had seen when he came to destroy the city, and just like the vision that I had seen by the Chebar canal. And I fell on my face.
⁴ As the glory of the LORD entered the temple by the gate facing east,
⁵ the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the temple.
⁶ While the man was standing beside me, I heard one speaking to me out of the temple,
⁷ and he said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the people of Israel forever. And the house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoring and by the dead bodies of their kings at their high places,
⁸ by setting their threshold by my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with only a wall between me and them. They have defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed, so I have consumed them in my anger.
⁹ Now let them put away their whoring and the dead bodies of their kings far from me, and I will dwell in their midst forever.
¹⁰ “As for you, son of man, describe to the house of Israel the temple, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and they shall measure the plan.
¹¹ And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple, its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, that is, its whole design; and make known to them as well all its statutes and its whole design and all its laws, and write it down in their sight, so that they may observe all its laws and all its statutes and carry them out.
¹² This is the law of the temple: the whole territory on the top of the mountain all around shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the temple.
¹³ “These are the measurements of the altar by cubits (the cubit being a cubit and a handbreadth): its base shall be one cubit high and one cubit broad, with a rim of one span around its edge. And this shall be the height of the altar:
¹⁴ from the base on the ground to the lower ledge, two cubits, with a breadth of one cubit; and from the smaller ledge to the larger ledge, four cubits, with a breadth of one cubit;
¹⁵ and the altar hearth, four cubits; and from the altar hearth projecting upward, four horns.
¹⁶ The altar hearth shall be square, twelve cubits long by twelve broad.
¹⁷ The ledge also shall be square, fourteen cubits long by fourteen broad, with a rim around it half a cubit broad, and its base one cubit all around. The steps of the altar shall face east.”
¹⁸ And he said to me, “Son of man, thus says the Lord GOD: These are the ordinances for the altar: On the day when it is erected for offering burnt offerings upon it and for throwing blood against it,
¹⁹ you shall give to the Levitical priests of the family of Zadok, who draw near to me to minister to me, declares the Lord GOD, a bull from the herd for a sin offering.
²⁰ And you shall take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar and on the four corners of the ledge and upon the rim all around. Thus you shall purify the altar and make atonement for it.
²¹ You shall also take the bull of the sin offering, and it shall be burned in the appointed place belonging to the temple, outside the sacred area.
²² And on the second day you shall offer a male goat without blemish for a sin offering; and the altar shall be purified, as it was purified with the bull.
²³ When you have finished purifying it, you shall offer a bull from the herd without blemish and a ram from the flock without blemish.
²⁴ You shall present them before the LORD, and the priests shall sprinkle salt on them and offer them up as a burnt offering to the LORD.
²⁵ For seven days you shall provide daily a male goat for a sin offering; also, a bull from the herd and a ram from the flock, without blemish, shall be provided.
²⁶ Seven days shall they make atonement for the altar and cleanse it, and so consecrate it.
²⁷ And when they have completed these days, then from the eighth day onward the priests shall offer on the altar your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, and I will accept you, declares the Lord GOD.”

¹ Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces east. And it was shut.
² And the LORD said to me, “This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered by it. Therefore it shall remain shut.
³ Only the prince may sit in it to eat bread before the LORD. He shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gate, and shall go out by the same way.”
⁴ Then he brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple, and I looked, and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the temple of the LORD. And I fell on my face.
⁵ And the LORD said to me, “Son of man, mark well, see with your eyes, and hear with your ears all that I shall tell you concerning all the statutes of the temple of the LORD and all its laws. And mark well the entrance to the temple and all the exits from the sanctuary.
⁶ And say to the rebellious house, to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: O house of Israel, enough of all your abominations,
⁷ in admitting foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, to be in my sanctuary, profaning my temple, when you offer to me my food, the fat and the blood. You have broken my covenant, in addition to all your abominations.
⁸ And you have not kept charge of my holy things, but you have set others to keep my charge for you in my sanctuary.
⁹ “Thus says the Lord GOD: No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the people of Israel, shall enter my sanctuary.
¹⁰ But the Levites who went far from me, going astray from me after their idols when Israel went astray, shall bear their punishment.
¹¹ They shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the temple and ministering in the temple. They shall slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before the people, to minister to them.
¹² Because they ministered to them before their idols and became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I have sworn concerning them, declares the Lord GOD, and they shall bear their punishment.
¹³ They shall not come near to me, to serve me as priest, nor come near any of my holy things and the things that are most holy, but they shall bear their shame and the abominations that they have committed.
¹⁴ Yet I will appoint them to keep charge of the temple, to do all its service and all that is to be done in it.
¹⁵ “But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept the charge of my sanctuary when the people of Israel went astray from me, shall come near to me to minister to me. And they shall stand before me to offer me the fat and the blood, declares the Lord GOD.
¹⁶ They shall enter my sanctuary, and they shall approach my table, to minister to me, and they shall keep my charge.
¹⁷ When they enter the gates of the inner court, they shall wear linen garments. They shall have nothing of wool on them, while they minister at the gates of the inner court, and within.
¹⁸ They shall have linen turbans on their heads, and linen undergarments around their waists. They shall not bind themselves with anything that causes sweat.
¹⁹ And when they go out into the outer court to the people, they shall put off the garments in which they have been ministering and lay them in the holy chambers. And they shall put on other garments, lest they transmit holiness to the people with their garments.
²⁰ They shall not shave their heads or let their locks grow long; they shall surely trim the hair of their heads.
²¹ No priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court.
²² They shall not marry a widow or a divorced woman, but only virgins of the offspring of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest.
²³ They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean.
²⁴ In a dispute, they shall act as judges, and they shall judge it according to my judgments. They shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my appointed feasts, and they shall keep my Sabbaths holy.
²⁵ They shall not defile themselves by going near to a dead person. However, for father or mother, for son or daughter, for brother or unmarried sister they may defile themselves.
²⁶ After he has become clean, they shall count seven days for him.
²⁷ And on the day that he goes into the Holy Place, into the inner court, to minister in the Holy Place, he shall offer his sin offering, declares the Lord GOD.
²⁸ “This shall be their inheritance: I am their inheritance: and you shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession.
²⁹ They shall eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering, and every devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs.
³⁰ And the first of all the firstfruits of all kinds, and every offering of all kinds from all your offerings, shall belong to the priests. You shall also give to the priests the first of your dough, that a blessing may rest on your house.
³¹ The priests shall not eat of anything, whether bird or beast, that has died of itself or is torn by wild animals. (ESV)

⁴ As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious,
⁵ you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
⁶ For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
⁷ So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”
⁸ and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
⁹ But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
¹⁰ Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
¹¹ Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.
¹² Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
¹³ Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme,
¹⁴ or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.
¹⁵ For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.
¹⁶ Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.
¹⁷ Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.
¹⁸ Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust.
¹⁹ For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly.
²⁰ For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.
²¹ For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.
²² He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.
²³ When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.
²⁴ He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
²⁵ For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (ESV)

A Song of Ascents.
¹ Remember, O LORD, in David’s favor, all the hardships he endured,
² how he swore to the LORD and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,
³ “I will not enter my house or get into my bed,
⁴ I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids,
⁵ until I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
⁶ Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah; we found it in the fields of Jaar.
⁷ “Let us go to his dwelling place; let us worship at his footstool!”
⁸ Arise, O LORD, and go to your resting place, you and the ark of your might.
⁹ Let your priests be clothed with righteousness, and let your saints shout for joy.
¹⁰ For the sake of your servant David, do not turn away the face of your anointed one.
¹¹ The LORD swore to David a sure oath from which he will not turn back: “One of the sons of your body I will set on your throne.
¹² If your sons keep my covenant and my testimonies that I shall teach them, their sons also forever shall sit on your throne.”
¹³ For the LORD has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his dwelling place:
¹⁴ “This is my resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it.
¹⁵ I will abundantly bless her provisions; I will satisfy her poor with bread.
¹⁶ Her priests I will clothe with salvation, and her saints will shout for joy.
¹⁷ There I will make a horn to sprout for David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed.
¹⁸ His enemies I will clothe with shame, but on him his crown will shine.” (ESV)