Night Watch Devotion

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
¹ Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
² Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
³ For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
⁴ Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.
⁵ Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.
⁶ Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.
⁷ Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
⁹ Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
¹¹ Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
¹³ Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.
¹⁴ Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
¹⁵ O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
¹⁶ For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
¹⁸ Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem;
¹⁹ then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar. (ESV)

¹ Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul!
² I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
³ Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
⁴ When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.
⁵ Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God,
⁶ who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever;
⁷ who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free;
⁸ the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous.
⁹ The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
¹⁰ The LORD will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD! (ESV)

²³ Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. (ESV)

¹ “If in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess someone is found slain, lying in the open country, and it is not known who killed him,
² then your elders and your judges shall come out, and they shall measure the distance to the surrounding cities.
³ And the elders of the city that is nearest to the slain man shall take a heifer that has never been worked and that has not pulled in a yoke.
⁴ And the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with running water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and shall break the heifer’s neck there in the valley.
⁵ Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister to him and to bless in the name of the LORD, and by their word every dispute and every assault shall be settled.
⁶ And all the elders of that city nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley,
⁷ and they shall testify, ‘Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it shed.
⁸ Accept atonement, O LORD, for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, and do not set the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of your people Israel, so that their blood guilt be atoned for.’
⁹ So you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from your midst, when you do what is right in the sight of the LORD.
¹⁰ “When you go out to war against your enemies, and the LORD your God gives them into your hand and you take them captive,
¹¹ and you see among the captives a beautiful woman, and you desire to take her to be your wife,
¹² and you bring her home to your house, she shall shave her head and pare her nails.
¹³ And she shall take off the clothes in which she was captured and shall remain in your house and lament her father and her mother a full month. After that you may go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife.
¹⁴ But if you no longer delight in her, you shall let her go where she wants. But you shall not sell her for money, nor shall you treat her as a slave, since you have humiliated her.
¹⁵ “If a man has two wives, the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him children, and if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved,
¹⁶ then on the day when he assigns his possessions as an inheritance to his sons, he may not treat the son of the loved as the firstborn in preference to the son of the unloved, who is the firstborn,
¹⁷ but he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the firstfruits of his strength. The right of the firstborn is his.
¹⁸ “If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them,
¹⁹ then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives,
²⁰ and they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’
²¹ Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear, and fear.
²² “And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree,
²³ his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance. (ESV)

¹ That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea.
² And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach.
³ And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow.
⁴ And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.
⁵ Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil,
⁶ but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away.
⁷ Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.
⁸ Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
⁹ He who has ears, let him hear.”
¹⁰ Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”
¹¹ And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
¹² For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
¹³ This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
¹⁴ Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “‘“You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
¹⁵ For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’
¹⁶ But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.
¹⁷ For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
¹⁸ “Hear then the parable of the sower:
¹⁹ When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path.
²⁰ As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy,
²¹ yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.
²² As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.
²³ As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” (ESV)

⁷ Concerning Edom. Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Is wisdom no more in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom vanished?
⁸ Flee, turn back, dwell in the depths, O inhabitants of Dedan! For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time when I punish him.
⁹ If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave gleanings? If thieves came by night, would they not destroy only enough for themselves?
¹⁰ But I have stripped Esau bare; I have uncovered his hiding places, and he is not able to conceal himself. His children are destroyed, and his brothers, and his neighbors; and he is no more.
¹¹ Leave your fatherless children; I will keep them alive; and let your widows trust in me.”
¹² For thus says the LORD: “If those who did not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, will you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, but you must drink.
¹³ For I have sworn by myself, declares the LORD, that Bozrah shall become a horror, a taunt, a waste, and a curse, and all her cities shall be perpetual wastes.”
¹⁴ I have heard a message from the LORD, and an envoy has been sent among the nations: “Gather yourselves together and come against her, and rise up for battle!
¹⁵ For behold, I will make you small among the nations, despised among mankind.
¹⁶ The horror you inspire has deceived you, and the pride of your heart, you who live in the clefts of the rock, who hold the height of the hill. Though you make your nest as high as the eagle’s, I will bring you down from there, declares the LORD.
¹⁷ “Edom shall become a horror. Everyone who passes by it will be horrified and will hiss because of all its disasters.
¹⁸ As when Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities were overthrown, says the LORD, no man shall dwell there, no man shall sojourn in her.
¹⁹ Behold, like a lion coming up from the jungle of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make him run away from her. And I will appoint over her whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd can stand before me?
²⁰ Therefore hear the plan that the LORD has made against Edom and the purposes that he has formed against the inhabitants of Teman: Even the little ones of the flock shall be dragged away. Surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate.
²¹ At the sound of their fall the earth shall tremble; the sound of their cry shall be heard at the Red Sea.
²² Behold, one shall mount up and fly swiftly like an eagle and spread his wings against Bozrah, and the heart of the warriors of Edom shall be in that day like the heart of a woman in her birth pains.”
²³ Concerning Damascus: “Hamath and Arpad are confounded, for they have heard bad news; they melt in fear, they are troubled like the sea that cannot be quiet.
²⁴ Damascus has become feeble, she turned to flee, and panic seized her; anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her, as of a woman in labor.
²⁵ How is the famous city not forsaken, the city of my joy?
²⁶ Therefore her young men shall fall in her squares, and all her soldiers shall be destroyed in that day, declares the LORD of hosts.
²⁷ And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad.”
²⁸ Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck down. Thus says the LORD: “Rise up, advance against Kedar! Destroy the people of the east!
²⁹ Their tents and their flocks shall be taken, their curtains and all their goods; their camels shall be led away from them, and men shall cry to them: ‘Terror on every side!’
³⁰ Flee, wander far away, dwell in the depths, O inhabitants of Hazor! declares the LORD. For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has made a plan against you and formed a purpose against you.
³¹ “Rise up, advance against a nation at ease, that dwells securely, declares the LORD, that has no gates or bars, that dwells alone.
³² Their camels shall become plunder, their herds of livestock a spoil. I will scatter to every wind those who cut the corners of their hair, and I will bring their calamity from every side of them, declares the LORD.
³³ Hazor shall become a haunt of jackals, an everlasting waste; no man shall dwell there; no man shall sojourn in her.”
³⁴ The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah.
³⁵ Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the mainstay of their might.
³⁶ And I will bring upon Elam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven. And I will scatter them to all those winds, and there shall be no nation to which those driven out of Elam shall not come.
³⁷ I will terrify Elam before their enemies and before those who seek their life. I will bring disaster upon them, my fierce anger, declares the LORD. I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them,
³⁸ and I will set my throne in Elam and destroy their king and officials, declares the LORD.
³⁹ “But in the latter days I will restore the fortunes of Elam, declares the LORD.”

¹ The word that the LORD spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by Jeremiah the prophet:
² “Declare among the nations and proclaim, set up a banner and proclaim, conceal it not, and say: ‘Babylon is taken, Bel is put to shame, Merodach is dismayed. Her images are put to shame, her idols are dismayed.’
³ “For out of the north a nation has come up against her, which shall make her land a desolation, and none shall dwell in it; both man and beast shall flee away.
⁴ “In those days and in that time, declares the LORD, the people of Israel and the people of Judah shall come together, weeping as they come, and they shall seek the LORD their God.
⁵ They shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, saying, ‘Come, let us join ourselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.’
⁶ “My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains. From mountain to hill they have gone. They have forgotten their fold.
⁷ All who found them have devoured them, and their enemies have said, ‘We are not guilty, for they have sinned against the LORD, their habitation of righteousness, the LORD, the hope of their fathers.’
⁸ “Flee from the midst of Babylon, and go out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as male goats before the flock.
⁹ For behold, I am stirring up and bringing against Babylon a gathering of great nations, from the north country. And they shall array themselves against her. From there she shall be taken. Their arrows are like a skilled warrior who does not return empty-handed.
¹⁰ Chaldea shall be plundered; all who plunder her shall be sated, declares the LORD. (ESV)

¹ You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus,
² and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.
³ Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
⁴ No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.
⁵ An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.
⁶ It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.
⁷ Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
⁸ Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel,
⁹ for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound!
¹⁰ Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
¹¹ The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
¹² if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us;
¹³ if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.
¹⁴ Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers.
¹⁵ Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
¹⁶ But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness,
¹⁷ and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,
¹⁸ who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some.
¹⁹ But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”
²⁰ Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable.
²¹ Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.
²² So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
²³ Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels.
²⁴ And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil,
²⁵ correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth,
²⁶ and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. (ESV)

²¹ If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,
²² for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.
²³ The north wind brings forth rain, and a backbiting tongue, angry looks.
²⁴ It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.
²⁵ Like cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.
²⁶ Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.
²⁷ It is not good to eat much honey, nor is it glorious to seek one’s own glory.
²⁸ A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.

¹ Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.
² Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, a curse that is causeless does not alight. (ESV)