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)

¹ Praise the LORD! Praise the name of the LORD, give praise, O servants of the LORD,
² who stand in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our God!
³ Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good; sing to his name, for it is pleasant!
⁴ For the LORD has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel as his own possession.
⁵ For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods.
⁶ Whatever the LORD pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps.
⁷ He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth, who makes lightnings for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.
⁸ He it was who struck down the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and of beast;
⁹ who in your midst, O Egypt, sent signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants;
¹⁰ who struck down many nations and killed mighty kings,
¹¹ Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan,
¹² and gave their land as a heritage, a heritage to his people Israel.
¹³ Your name, O LORD, endures forever, your renown, O LORD, throughout all ages.
¹⁴ For the LORD will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants.
¹⁵ The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands.
¹⁶ They have mouths, but do not speak; they have eyes, but do not see;
¹⁷ they have ears, but do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouths.
¹⁸ Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.
¹⁹ O house of Israel, bless the LORD! O house of Aaron, bless the LORD!
²⁰ O house of Levi, bless the LORD! You who fear the LORD, bless the LORD!
²¹ Blessed be the LORD from Zion, he who dwells in Jerusalem! Praise the LORD! (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 “You shall therefore love the LORD your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always.
² And consider today (since I am not speaking to your children who have not known or seen it), consider the discipline of the LORD your God, his greatness, his mighty hand and his outstretched arm,
³ his signs and his deeds that he did in Egypt to Pharaoh the king of Egypt and to all his land,
⁴ and what he did to the army of Egypt, to their horses and to their chariots, how he made the water of the Red Sea flow over them as they pursued after you, and how the LORD has destroyed them to this day,
⁵ and what he did to you in the wilderness, until you came to this place,
⁶ and what he did to Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, son of Reuben, how the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households, their tents, and every living thing that followed them, in the midst of all Israel.
⁷ For your eyes have seen all the great work of the LORD that he did.
⁸ “You shall therefore keep the whole commandment that I command you today, that you may be strong, and go in and take possession of the land that you are going over to possess,
⁹ and that you may live long in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers to give to them and to their offspring, a land flowing with milk and honey.
¹⁰ For the land that you are entering to take possession of it is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and irrigated it, like a garden of vegetables.
¹¹ But the land that you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water by the rain from heaven,
¹² a land that the LORD your God cares for. The eyes of the LORD your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.
¹³ “And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,
¹⁴ he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil.
¹⁵ And he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full.
¹⁶ Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them;
¹⁷ then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and he will shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain, and the land will yield no fruit, and you will perish quickly off the good land that the LORD is giving you.
¹⁸ “You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
¹⁹ You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
²⁰ You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates,
²¹ that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth.
²² For if you will be careful to do all this commandment that I command you to do, loving the LORD your God, walking in all his ways, and holding fast to him,
²³ then the LORD will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations greater and mightier than you.
²⁴ Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours. Your territory shall be from the wilderness to the Lebanon, and from the River, the river Euphrates, to the western sea.
²⁵ No one shall be able to stand against you. The LORD your God will lay the fear of you and the dread of you on all the land that you shall tread, as he promised you. (ESV)

¹⁸ Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side.
¹⁹ And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
²⁰ And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
²¹ Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
²² And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”
²³ And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him.
²⁴ And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.
²⁵ And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.”
²⁶ And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.
²⁷ And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”
²⁸ And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way.
²⁹ And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”
³⁰ Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them.
³¹ And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.”
³² And he said to them, “Go.” So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters.
³³ The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men.
³⁴ And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region. (ESV)

¹⁵ Thus the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it.
¹⁶ They shall drink and stagger and be crazed because of the sword that I am sending among them.”
¹⁷ So I took the cup from the LORD’s hand, and made all the nations to whom the LORD sent me drink it:
¹⁸ Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and officials, to make them a desolation and a waste, a hissing and a curse, as at this day;
¹⁹ Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his officials, all his people,
²⁰ and all the mixed tribes among them; all the kings of the land of Uz and all the kings of the land of the Philistines (Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod);
²¹ Edom, Moab, and the sons of Ammon;
²² all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the coastland across the sea;
²³ Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who cut the corners of their hair;
²⁴ all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the mixed tribes who dwell in the desert;
²⁵ all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of Media;
²⁶ all the kings of the north, far and near, one after another, and all the kingdoms of the world that are on the face of the earth. And after them the king of Babylon shall drink.
²⁷ “Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Drink, be drunk and vomit, fall and rise no more, because of the sword that I am sending among you.’
²⁸ “And if they refuse to accept the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: You must drink!
²⁹ For behold, I begin to work disaster at the city that is called by my name, and shall you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth, declares the LORD of hosts.’
³⁰ “You, therefore, shall prophesy against them all these words, and say to them: “‘The LORD will roar from on high, and from his holy habitation utter his voice; he will roar mightily against his fold, and shout, like those who tread grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.
³¹ The clamor will resound to the ends of the earth, for the LORD has an indictment against the nations; he is entering into judgment with all flesh, and the wicked he will put to the sword, declares the LORD.’
³² “Thus says the LORD of hosts: Behold, disaster is going forth from nation to nation, and a great tempest is stirring from the farthest parts of the earth!
³³ “And those pierced by the LORD on that day shall extend from one end of the earth to the other. They shall not be lamented, or gathered, or buried; they shall be dung on the surface of the ground.
³⁴ “Wail, you shepherds, and cry out, and roll in ashes, you lords of the flock, for the days of your slaughter and dispersion have come, and you shall fall like a choice vessel.
³⁵ No refuge will remain for the shepherds, nor escape for the lords of the flock.
³⁶ A voice—the cry of the shepherds, and the wail of the lords of the flock! For the LORD is laying waste their pasture,
³⁷ and the peaceful folds are devastated because of the fierce anger of the LORD.
³⁸ Like a lion he has left his lair, for their land has become a waste because of the sword of the oppressor, and because of his fierce anger.”

¹ In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the LORD:
² “Thus says the LORD: Stand in the court of the LORD’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah that come to worship in the house of the LORD all the words that I command you to speak to them; do not hold back a word.
³ It may be they will listen, and every one turn from his evil way, that I may relent of the disaster that I intend to do to them because of their evil deeds.
⁴ You shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD: If you will not listen to me, to walk in my law that I have set before you,
⁵ and to listen to the words of my servants the prophets whom I send to you urgently, though you have not listened,
⁶ then I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city a curse for all the nations of the earth.’”
⁷ The priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the LORD.
⁸ And when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him, saying, “You shall die!
⁹ Why have you prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, without inhabitant’?” And all the people gathered around Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.
¹⁰ When the officials of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the LORD and took their seat in the entry of the New Gate of the house of the LORD.
¹¹ Then the priests and the prophets said to the officials and to all the people, “This man deserves the sentence of death, because he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears.”
¹² Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials and all the people, saying, “The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the words you have heard.
¹³ Now therefore mend your ways and your deeds, and obey the voice of the LORD your God, and the LORD will relent of the disaster that he has pronounced against you.
¹⁴ But as for me, behold, I am in your hands. Do with me as seems good and right to you.
¹⁵ Only know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood upon yourselves and upon this city and its inhabitants, for in truth the LORD sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears.”
¹⁶ Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “This man does not deserve the sentence of death, for he has spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God.”
¹⁷ And certain of the elders of the land arose and spoke to all the assembled people, saying,
¹⁸ “Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and said to all the people of Judah: ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “‘Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height.’
¹⁹ Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Did he not fear the LORD and entreat the favor of the LORD, and did not the LORD relent of the disaster that he had pronounced against them? But we are about to bring great disaster upon ourselves.”
²⁰ There was another man who prophesied in the name of the LORD, Uriah the son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim. He prophesied against this city and against this land in words like those of Jeremiah.
²¹ And when King Jehoiakim, with all his warriors and all the officials, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death. But when Uriah heard of it, he was afraid and fled and escaped to Egypt.
²² Then King Jehoiakim sent to Egypt certain men, Elnathan the son of Achbor and others with him,
²³ and they took Uriah from Egypt and brought him to King Jehoiakim, who struck him down with the sword and dumped his dead body into the burial place of the common people.
²⁴ But the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah so that he was not given over to the people to be put to death. (ESV)

¹ Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you.
² For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
³ While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
⁴ But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.
⁵ For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.
⁶ So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.
⁷ For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night.
⁸ But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.
⁹ For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
¹⁰ who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.
¹¹ Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
¹² We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you,
¹³ and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.
¹⁴ And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.
¹⁵ See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.
¹⁶ Rejoice always,
¹⁷ pray without ceasing,
¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit.
²⁰ Do not despise prophecies,
²¹ but test everything; hold fast what is good.
²² Abstain from every form of evil.
²³ Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
²⁴ He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.
²⁵ Brothers, pray for us.
²⁶ Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.
²⁷ I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.
²⁸ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. (ESV)

Gimel
¹⁷ Deal bountifully with your servant, that I may live and keep your word.
¹⁸ Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.
¹⁹ I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments from me!
²⁰ My soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times.
²¹ You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones, who wander from your commandments.
²² Take away from me scorn and contempt, for I have kept your testimonies.
²³ Even though princes sit plotting against me, your servant will meditate on your statutes.
²⁴ Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors. (ESV)