Midday Devotion

A Song of Ascents.
¹ I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?
² My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
³ He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.
⁴ Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
⁵ The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand.
⁶ The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.
⁷ The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
⁸ The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. (ESV)

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Maskil of David.
¹ Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!
² Attend to me, and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and I moan,
³ because of the noise of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked. For they drop trouble upon me, and in anger they bear a grudge against me.
⁴ My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
⁵ Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me.
⁶ And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest;
⁷ yes, I would wander far away; I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah
⁸ I would hurry to find a shelter from the raging wind and tempest.”
⁹ Destroy, O Lord, divide their tongues; for I see violence and strife in the city.
¹⁰ Day and night they go around it on its walls, and iniquity and trouble are within it;
¹¹ ruin is in its midst; oppression and fraud do not depart from its marketplace.
¹² For it is not an enemy who taunts me— then I could bear it; it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me— then I could hide from him.
¹³ But it is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend.
¹⁴ We used to take sweet counsel together; within God’s house we walked in the throng.
¹⁵ Let death steal over them; let them go down to Sheol alive; for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.
¹⁶ But I call to God, and the LORD will save me.
¹⁷ Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice.
¹⁸ He redeems my soul in safety from the battle that I wage, for many are arrayed against me.
¹⁹ God will give ear and humble them, he who is enthroned from of old, Selah because they do not change and do not fear God.
²⁰ My companion stretched out his hand against his friends; he violated his covenant.
²¹ His speech was smooth as butter, yet war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords.
²² Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.
²³ But you, O God, will cast them down into the pit of destruction; men of blood and treachery shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in you. (ESV)

²⁴ “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light,
²⁵ and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
²⁶ And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.
²⁷ And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. (ESV)

¹ When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel.
² The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba.
³ Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.
⁴ Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah
⁵ and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.”
⁶ But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the LORD.
⁷ And the LORD said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.
⁸ According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you.
⁹ Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.”
¹⁰ So Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking for a king from him.
¹¹ He said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots.
¹² And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots.
¹³ He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.
¹⁴ He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants.
¹⁵ He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants.
¹⁶ He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work.
¹⁷ He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves.
¹⁸ And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day.”
¹⁹ But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us,
²⁰ that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”
²¹ And when Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the LORD.
²² And the LORD said to Samuel, “Obey their voice and make them a king.” Samuel then said to the men of Israel, “Go every man to his city.” (ESV)

¹⁵ After these days we got ready and went up to Jerusalem.
¹⁶ And some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us, bringing us to the house of Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we should lodge.
¹⁷ When we had come to Jerusalem, the brothers received us gladly.
¹⁸ On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present.
¹⁹ After greeting them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.
²⁰ And when they heard it, they glorified God. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed. They are all zealous for the law,
²¹ and they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or walk according to our customs.
²² What then is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come.
²³ Do therefore what we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow;
²⁴ take these men and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, so that they may shave their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also live in observance of the law.
²⁵ But as for the Gentiles who have believed, we have sent a letter with our judgment that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality.”
²⁶ Then Paul took the men, and the next day he purified himself along with them and went into the temple, giving notice when the days of purification would be fulfilled and the offering presented for each one of them.
²⁷ When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him,
²⁸ crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place. Moreover, he even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.”
²⁹ For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple.
³⁰ Then all the city was stirred up, and the people ran together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut.
³¹ And as they were seeking to kill him, word came to the tribune of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion.
³² He at once took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. And when they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.
³³ Then the tribune came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. He inquired who he was and what he had done.
³⁴ Some in the crowd were shouting one thing, some another. And as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into the barracks.
³⁵ And when he came to the steps, he was actually carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd,
³⁶ for the mob of the people followed, crying out, “Away with him!” (ESV)

¹ Israel is a luxuriant vine that yields its fruit. The more his fruit increased, the more altars he built; as his country improved, he improved his pillars.
² Their heart is false; now they must bear their guilt. The LORD will break down their altars and destroy their pillars.
³ For now they will say: “We have no king, for we do not fear the LORD; and a king—what could he do for us?”
⁴ They utter mere words; with empty oaths they make covenants; so judgment springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field.
⁵ The inhabitants of Samaria tremble for the calf of Beth-aven. Its people mourn for it, and so do its idolatrous priests— those who rejoiced over it and over its glory— for it has departed from them.
⁶ The thing itself shall be carried to Assyria as tribute to the great king. Ephraim shall be put to shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his idol.
⁷ Samaria’s king shall perish like a twig on the face of the waters.
⁸ The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed. Thorn and thistle shall grow up on their altars, and they shall say to the mountains, “Cover us,” and to the hills, “Fall on us.”
⁹ From the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, O Israel; there they have continued. Shall not the war against the unjust overtake them in Gibeah?
¹⁰ When I please, I will discipline them, and nations shall be gathered against them when they are bound up for their double iniquity.
¹¹ Ephraim was a trained calf that loved to thresh, and I spared her fair neck; but I will put Ephraim to the yoke; Judah must plow; Jacob must harrow for himself.
¹² Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
¹³ You have plowed iniquity; you have reaped injustice; you have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your own way and in the multitude of your warriors,
¹⁴ therefore the tumult of war shall arise among your people, and all your fortresses shall be destroyed, as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle; mothers were dashed in pieces with their children.
¹⁵ Thus it shall be done to you, O Bethel, because of your great evil. At dawn the king of Israel shall be utterly cut off.

¹ When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.
² The more they were called, the more they went away; they kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to idols.
³ Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up by their arms, but they did not know that I healed them.
⁴ I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them.
⁵ They shall not return to the land of Egypt, but Assyria shall be their king, because they have refused to return to me.
⁶ The sword shall rage against their cities, consume the bars of their gates, and devour them because of their own counsels.
⁷ My people are bent on turning away from me, and though they call out to the Most High, he shall not raise them up at all.
⁸ How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender.
⁹ I will not execute my burning anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath.
¹⁰ They shall go after the LORD; he will roar like a lion; when he roars, his children shall come trembling from the west;
¹¹ they shall come trembling like birds from Egypt, and like doves from the land of Assyria, and I will return them to their homes, declares the LORD.
¹² Ephraim has surrounded me with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit, but Judah still walks with God and is faithful to the Holy One. (ESV)

¹⁸ For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
¹⁹ For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.
²⁰ For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope
²¹ that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
²² For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.
²³ And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
²⁴ For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?
²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
²⁶ Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
²⁷ And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
²⁸ And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
²⁹ For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
³⁰ And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
³¹ What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
³² He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
³³ Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.
³⁴ Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
³⁶ As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
³⁸ For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,
³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (ESV)

A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.
¹ I will sing of the steadfast love of the LORD forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.
² For I said, “Steadfast love will be built up forever; in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness.”
³ You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant:
⁴ ‘I will establish your offspring forever, and build your throne for all generations.’” Selah
⁵ Let the heavens praise your wonders, O LORD, your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones!
⁶ For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD? Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD,
⁷ a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones, and awesome above all who are around him?
⁸ O LORD God of hosts, who is mighty as you are, O LORD, with your faithfulness all around you? (ESV)