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: according to Shushan Eduth. A Miktam of David; for instruction; when he strove with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and when Joab on his return struck down twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.
¹ O God, you have rejected us, broken our defenses; you have been angry; oh, restore us.
² You have made the land to quake; you have torn it open; repair its breaches, for it totters.
³ You have made your people see hard things; you have given us wine to drink that made us stagger.
⁴ You have set up a banner for those who fear you, that they may flee to it from the bow. Selah
⁵ That your beloved ones may be delivered, give salvation by your right hand and answer us!
⁶ God has spoken in his holiness: “With exultation I will divide up Shechem and portion out the Vale of Succoth.
⁷ Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet; Judah is my scepter.
⁸ Moab is my washbasin; upon Edom I cast my shoe; over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
⁹ Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?
¹⁰ Have you not rejected us, O God? You do not go forth, O God, with our armies.
¹¹ Oh, grant us help against the foe, for vain is the salvation of man!
¹² With God we shall do valiantly; it is he who will tread down our foes. (ESV)

¹³ Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?”
¹⁴ I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
¹⁵ “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
¹⁶ They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.
¹⁷ For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (ESV)

⁴⁷ When Saul had taken the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, against the Ammonites, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines. Wherever he turned he routed them.
⁴⁸ And he did valiantly and struck the Amalekites and delivered Israel out of the hands of those who plundered them.
⁴⁹ Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malchi-shua. And the names of his two daughters were these: the name of the firstborn was Merab, and the name of the younger Michal.
⁵⁰ And the name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz. And the name of the commander of his army was Abner the son of Ner, Saul’s uncle.
⁵¹ Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel.
⁵² There was hard fighting against the Philistines all the days of Saul. And when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he attached him to himself.
¹ And Samuel said to Saul, “The LORD sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the LORD.
² Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt.
³ Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”
⁴ So Saul summoned the people and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand men on foot, and ten thousand men of Judah.
⁵ And Saul came to the city of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley.
⁶ Then Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, depart; go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.
⁷ And Saul defeated the Amalekites from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt.
⁸ And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword.
⁹ But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction. (ESV)

¹ And after five days the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and a spokesman, one Tertullus. They laid before the governor their case against Paul.
² And when he had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying: “Since through you we enjoy much peace, and since by your foresight, most excellent Felix, reforms are being made for this nation,
³ in every way and everywhere we accept this with all gratitude.
⁴ But, to detain you no further, I beg you in your kindness to hear us briefly.
⁵ For we have found this man a plague, one who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world and is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.
⁶ He even tried to profane the temple, but we seized him.
⁸ By examining him yourself you will be able to find out from him about everything of which we accuse him.”
⁹ The Jews also joined in the charge, affirming that all these things were so.
¹⁰ And when the governor had nodded to him to speak, Paul replied: “Knowing that for many years you have been a judge over this nation, I cheerfully make my defense.
¹¹ You can verify that it is not more than twelve days since I went up to worship in Jerusalem,
¹² and they did not find me disputing with anyone or stirring up a crowd, either in the temple or in the synagogues or in the city.
¹³ Neither can they prove to you what they now bring up against me.
¹⁴ But this I confess to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets,
¹⁵ having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust.
¹⁶ So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man.
¹⁷ Now after several years I came to bring alms to my nation and to present offerings.
¹⁸ While I was doing this, they found me purified in the temple, without any crowd or tumult. But some Jews from Asia—
¹⁹ they ought to be here before you and to make an accusation, should they have anything against me.
²⁰ Or else let these men themselves say what wrongdoing they found when I stood before the council,
²¹ other than this one thing that I cried out while standing among them: ‘It is with respect to the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you this day.’”
²² But Felix, having a rather accurate knowledge of the Way, put them off, saying, “When Lysias the tribune comes down, I will decide your case.”
²³ Then he gave orders to the centurion that he should be kept in custody but have some liberty, and that none of his friends should be prevented from attending to his needs. (ESV)

¹ The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
² The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
³ The children of Amram: Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. The sons of Aaron: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
⁴ Eleazar fathered Phinehas, Phinehas fathered Abishua,
⁵ Abishua fathered Bukki, Bukki fathered Uzzi,
⁶ Uzzi fathered Zerahiah, Zerahiah fathered Meraioth,
⁷ Meraioth fathered Amariah, Amariah fathered Ahitub,
⁸ Ahitub fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered Ahimaaz,
⁹ Ahimaaz fathered Azariah, Azariah fathered Johanan,
¹⁰ and Johanan fathered Azariah (it was he who served as priest in the house that Solomon built in Jerusalem).
¹¹ Azariah fathered Amariah, Amariah fathered Ahitub,
¹² Ahitub fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered Shallum,
¹³ Shallum fathered Hilkiah, Hilkiah fathered Azariah,
¹⁴ Azariah fathered Seraiah, Seraiah fathered Jehozadak;
¹⁵ and Jehozadak went into exile when the LORD sent Judah and Jerusalem into exile by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.
¹⁶ The sons of Levi: Gershom, Kohath, and Merari.
¹⁷ And these are the names of the sons of Gershom: Libni and Shimei.
¹⁸ The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.
¹⁹ The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites according to their fathers.
²⁰ Of Gershom: Libni his son, Jahath his son, Zimmah his son,
²¹ Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son, Jeatherai his son.
²² The sons of Kohath: Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son,
²³ Elkanah his son, Ebiasaph his son, Assir his son,
²⁴ Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son, and Shaul his son.
²⁵ The sons of Elkanah: Amasai and Ahimoth,
²⁶ Elkanah his son, Zophai his son, Nahath his son,
²⁷ Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, Elkanah his son.
²⁸ The sons of Samuel: Joel his firstborn, the second Abijah.
²⁹ The sons of Merari: Mahli, Libni his son, Shimei his son, Uzzah his son,
³⁰ Shimea his son, Haggiah his son, and Asaiah his son.
³¹ These are the men whom David put in charge of the service of song in the house of the LORD after the ark rested there.
³² They ministered with song before the tabernacle of the tent of meeting until Solomon built the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, and they performed their service according to their order.
³³ These are the men who served and their sons. Of the sons of the Kohathites: Heman the singer the son of Joel, son of Samuel,
³⁴ son of Elkanah, son of Jeroham, son of Eliel, son of Toah,
³⁵ son of Zuph, son of Elkanah, son of Mahath, son of Amasai,
³⁶ son of Elkanah, son of Joel, son of Azariah, son of Zephaniah,
³⁷ son of Tahath, son of Assir, son of Ebiasaph, son of Korah,
³⁸ son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, son of Israel;
³⁹ and his brother Asaph, who stood on his right hand, namely, Asaph the son of Berechiah, son of Shimea,
⁴⁰ son of Michael, son of Baaseiah, son of Malchijah,
⁴¹ son of Ethni, son of Zerah, son of Adaiah,
⁴² son of Ethan, son of Zimmah, son of Shimei,
⁴³ son of Jahath, son of Gershom, son of Levi.
⁴⁴ On the left hand were their brothers, the sons of Merari: Ethan the son of Kishi, son of Abdi, son of Malluch,
⁴⁵ son of Hashabiah, son of Amaziah, son of Hilkiah,
⁴⁶ son of Amzi, son of Bani, son of Shemer,
⁴⁷ son of Mahli, son of Mushi, son of Merari, son of Levi.
⁴⁸ And their brothers the Levites were appointed for all the service of the tabernacle of the house of God.
⁴⁹ But Aaron and his sons made offerings on the altar of burnt offering and on the altar of incense for all the work of the Most Holy Place, and to make atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded.
⁵⁰ These are the sons of Aaron: Eleazar his son, Phinehas his son, Abishua his son,
⁵¹ Bukki his son, Uzzi his son, Zerahiah his son,
⁵² Meraioth his son, Amariah his son, Ahitub his son,
⁵³ Zadok his son, Ahimaaz his son.
⁵⁴ These are their dwelling places according to their settlements within their borders: to the sons of Aaron of the clans of Kohathites, for theirs was the first lot,
⁵⁵ to them they gave Hebron in the land of Judah and its surrounding pasturelands,
⁵⁶ but the fields of the city and its villages they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh.
⁵⁷ To the sons of Aaron they gave the cities of refuge: Hebron, Libnah with its pasturelands, Jattir, Eshtemoa with its pasturelands,
⁵⁸ Hilen with its pasturelands, Debir with its pasturelands,
⁵⁹ Ashan with its pasturelands, and Beth-shemesh with its pasturelands;
⁶⁰ and from the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon, Geba with its pasturelands, Alemeth with its pasturelands, and Anathoth with its pasturelands. All their cities throughout their clans were thirteen.
⁶¹ To the rest of the Kohathites were given by lot out of the clan of the tribe, out of the half-tribe, the half of Manasseh, ten cities.
⁶² To the Gershomites according to their clans were allotted thirteen cities out of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and Manasseh in Bashan.
⁶³ To the Merarites according to their clans were allotted twelve cities out of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.
⁶⁴ So the people of Israel gave the Levites the cities with their pasturelands.
⁶⁵ They gave by lot out of the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin these cities that are mentioned by name.
⁶⁶ And some of the clans of the sons of Kohath had cities of their territory out of the tribe of Ephraim.
⁶⁷ They were given the cities of refuge: Shechem with its pasturelands in the hill country of Ephraim, Gezer with its pasturelands,
⁶⁸ Jokmeam with its pasturelands, Beth-horon with its pasturelands,
⁶⁹ Aijalon with its pasturelands, Gath-rimmon with its pasturelands,
⁷⁰ and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Aner with its pasturelands, and Bileam with its pasturelands, for the rest of the clans of the Kohathites.
⁷¹ To the Gershomites were given out of the clan of the half-tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan with its pasturelands and Ashtaroth with its pasturelands;
⁷² and out of the tribe of Issachar: Kedesh with its pasturelands, Daberath with its pasturelands,
⁷³ Ramoth with its pasturelands, and Anem with its pasturelands;
⁷⁴ out of the tribe of Asher: Mashal with its pasturelands, Abdon with its pasturelands,
⁷⁵ Hukok with its pasturelands, and Rehob with its pasturelands;
⁷⁶ and out of the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee with its pasturelands, Hammon with its pasturelands, and Kiriathaim with its pasturelands.
⁷⁷ To the rest of the Merarites were allotted out of the tribe of Zebulun: Rimmono with its pasturelands, Tabor with its pasturelands,
⁷⁸ and beyond the Jordan at Jericho, on the east side of the Jordan, out of the tribe of Reuben: Bezer in the wilderness with its pasturelands, Jahzah with its pasturelands,
⁷⁹ Kedemoth with its pasturelands, and Mephaath with its pasturelands;
⁸⁰ and out of the tribe of Gad: Ramoth in Gilead with its pasturelands, Mahanaim with its pasturelands,
⁸¹ Heshbon with its pasturelands, and Jazer with its pasturelands. (ESV)

³³ Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
³⁴ “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?”
³⁵ “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?”
³⁶ For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

¹ I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
² Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
³ For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
⁴ For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function,
⁵ so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
⁶ Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith;
⁷ if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching;
⁸ the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
⁹ Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.
¹⁰ Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.
¹¹ Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.
¹² Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
¹³ Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.
¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.
¹⁷ Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.
¹⁸ If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
¹⁹ Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
²⁰ To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”
²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (ESV)

³⁰ If his children forsake my law and do not walk according to my rules,
³¹ if they violate my statutes and do not keep my commandments,
³² then I will punish their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes,
³³ but I will not remove from him my steadfast love or be false to my faithfulness.
³⁴ I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went forth from my lips.
³⁵ Once for all I have sworn by my holiness; I will not lie to David.
³⁶ His offspring shall endure forever, his throne as long as the sun before me.
³⁷ Like the moon it shall be established forever, a faithful witness in the skies.” Selah (ESV)