Night Watch Devotion

A Song of Ascents.
¹ Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD!
² O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy!
³ If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?
⁴ But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.
⁵ I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;
⁶ my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.
⁷ O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.
⁸ And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities. (ESV)

¹ He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
² I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
³ For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.
⁴ He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
⁵ You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
⁷ A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
⁸ You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked.
⁹ Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place— the Most High, who is my refuge—
¹⁰ no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent.
¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.
¹² On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.
¹³ You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.
¹⁴ “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name.
¹⁵ When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.
¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” (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. (ESV)

¹ Now the famine was severe in the land.
² And when they had eaten the grain that they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go again, buy us a little food.”
³ But Judah said to him, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’
⁴ If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food.
⁵ But if you will not send him, we will not go down, for the man said to us, ‘You shall not see my face, unless your brother is with you.’”
⁶ Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly as to tell the man that you had another brother?”
⁷ They replied, “The man questioned us carefully about ourselves and our kindred, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ What we told him was in answer to these questions. Could we in any way know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?”
⁸ And Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the boy with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones.
⁹ I will be a pledge of his safety. From my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever.
¹⁰ If we had not delayed, we would now have returned twice.”
¹¹ Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take some of the choice fruits of the land in your bags, and carry a present down to the man, a little balm and a little honey, gum, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds.
¹² Take double the money with you. Carry back with you the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks. Perhaps it was an oversight.
¹³ Take also your brother, and arise, go again to the man.
¹⁴ May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, and may he send back your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.”
¹⁵ So the men took this present, and they took double the money with them, and Benjamin. They arose and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.
¹⁶ When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Bring the men into the house, and slaughter an animal and make ready, for the men are to dine with me at noon.”
¹⁷ The man did as Joseph told him and brought the men to Joseph’s house.
¹⁸ And the men were afraid because they were brought to Joseph’s house, and they said, “It is because of the money, which was replaced in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that he may assault us and fall upon us to make us servants and seize our donkeys.”
¹⁹ So they went up to the steward of Joseph’s house and spoke with him at the door of the house,
²⁰ and said, “Oh, my lord, we came down the first time to buy food.
²¹ And when we came to the lodging place we opened our sacks, and there was each man’s money in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight. So we have brought it again with us,
²² and we have brought other money down with us to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks.”
²³ He replied, “Peace to you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has put treasure in your sacks for you. I received your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.
²⁴ And when the man had brought the men into Joseph’s house and given them water, and they had washed their feet, and when he had given their donkeys fodder,
²⁵ they prepared the present for Joseph’s coming at noon, for they heard that they should eat bread there.
²⁶ When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him the present that they had with them and bowed down to him to the ground.
²⁷ And he inquired about their welfare and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?”
²⁸ They said, “Your servant our father is well; he is still alive.” And they bowed their heads and prostrated themselves. (ESV)

¹³ And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk.
¹⁴ And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?”
¹⁵ But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.”
¹⁶ And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.”
¹⁷ Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at him.
¹⁸ And Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying,
¹⁹ “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.
²⁰ There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring.
²¹ And the second took her, and died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise.
²² And the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died.
²³ In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.”
²⁴ Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?
²⁵ For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
²⁶ And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?
²⁷ He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.” (ESV)

²⁵ The LORD said to Moses,
²⁶ “Take the count of the plunder that was taken, both of man and of beast, you and Eleazar the priest and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the congregation,
²⁷ and divide the plunder into two parts between the warriors who went out to battle and all the congregation.
²⁸ And levy for the LORD a tribute from the men of war who went out to battle, one out of five hundred, of the people and of the oxen and of the donkeys and of the flocks.
²⁹ Take it from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest as a contribution to the LORD.
³⁰ And from the people of Israel’s half you shall take one drawn out of every fifty, of the people, of the oxen, of the donkeys, and of the flocks, of all the cattle, and give them to the Levites who keep guard over the tabernacle of the LORD.”
³¹ And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses.
³² Now the plunder remaining of the spoil that the army took was 675,000 sheep,
³³ 72,000 cattle,
³⁴ 61,000 donkeys,
³⁵ and 32,000 persons in all, women who had not known man by lying with him.
³⁶ And the half, the portion of those who had gone out in the army, numbered 337,500 sheep,
³⁷ and the LORD’s tribute of sheep was 675.
³⁸ The cattle were 36,000, of which the LORD’s tribute was 72.
³⁹ The donkeys were 30,500, of which the LORD’s tribute was 61.
⁴⁰ The persons were 16,000, of which the LORD’s tribute was 32 persons.
⁴¹ And Moses gave the tribute, which was the contribution for the LORD, to Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses.
⁴² From the people of Israel’s half, which Moses separated from that of the men who had served in the army—
⁴³ now the congregation’s half was 337,500 sheep,
⁴⁴ 36,000 cattle,
⁴⁵ and 30,500 donkeys,
⁴⁶ and 16,000 persons—
⁴⁷ from the people of Israel’s half Moses took one of every 50, both of persons and of beasts, and gave them to the Levites who kept guard over the tabernacle of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses.
⁴⁸ Then the officers who were over the thousands of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, came near to Moses
⁴⁹ and said to Moses, “Your servants have counted the men of war who are under our command, and there is not a man missing from us.
⁵⁰ And we have brought the LORD’s offering, what each man found, articles of gold, armlets and bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and beads, to make atonement for ourselves before the LORD.”
⁵¹ And Moses and Eleazar the priest received from them the gold, all crafted articles.
⁵² And all the gold of the contribution that they presented to the LORD, from the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, was 16,750 shekels.
⁵³ (The men in the army had each taken plunder for himself.)
⁵⁴ And Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tent of meeting, as a memorial for the people of Israel before the LORD.

¹ Now the people of Reuben and the people of Gad had a very great number of livestock. And they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, and behold, the place was a place for livestock.
² So the people of Gad and the people of Reuben came and said to Moses and to Eleazar the priest and to the chiefs of the congregation,
³ “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon,
⁴ the land that the LORD struck down before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.”
⁵ And they said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for a possession. Do not take us across the Jordan.”
⁶ But Moses said to the people of Gad and to the people of Reuben, “Shall your brothers go to the war while you sit here?
⁷ Why will you discourage the heart of the people of Israel from going over into the land that the LORD has given them?
⁸ Your fathers did this, when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land.
⁹ For when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the people of Israel from going into the land that the LORD had given them.
¹⁰ And the LORD’s anger was kindled on that day, and he swore, saying,
¹¹ ‘Surely none of the men who came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they have not wholly followed me,
¹² none except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the LORD.’
¹³ And the LORD’s anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the LORD was gone.
¹⁴ And behold, you have risen in your fathers’ place, a brood of sinful men, to increase still more the fierce anger of the LORD against Israel!
¹⁵ For if you turn away from following him, he will again abandon them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all this people.”
¹⁶ Then they came near to him and said, “We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock, and cities for our little ones,
¹⁷ but we will take up arms, ready to go before the people of Israel, until we have brought them to their place. And our little ones shall live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land.
¹⁸ We will not return to our homes until each of the people of Israel has gained his inheritance.
¹⁹ For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has come to us on this side of the Jordan to the east.”
²⁰ So Moses said to them, “If you will do this, if you will take up arms to go before the LORD for the war,
²¹ and every armed man of you will pass over the Jordan before the LORD, until he has driven out his enemies from before him
²² and the land is subdued before the LORD; then after that you shall return and be free of obligation to the LORD and to Israel, and this land shall be your possession before the LORD.
²³ But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out.
²⁴ Build cities for your little ones and folds for your sheep, and do what you have promised.”
²⁵ And the people of Gad and the people of Reuben said to Moses, “Your servants will do as my lord commands.
²⁶ Our little ones, our wives, our livestock, and all our cattle shall remain there in the cities of Gilead,
²⁷ but your servants will pass over, every man who is armed for war, before the LORD to battle, as my lord orders.”
²⁸ So Moses gave command concerning them to Eleazar the priest and to Joshua the son of Nun and to the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the people of Israel.
²⁹ And Moses said to them, “If the people of Gad and the people of Reuben, every man who is armed to battle before the LORD, will pass with you over the Jordan and the land shall be subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession.
³⁰ However, if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.”
³¹ And the people of Gad and the people of Reuben answered, “What the LORD has said to your servants, we will do.
³² We will pass over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, and the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us beyond the Jordan.”
³³ And Moses gave to them, to the people of Gad and to the people of Reuben and to the half-tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land and its cities with their territories, the cities of the land throughout the country.
³⁴ And the people of Gad built Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer,
³⁵ Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah,
³⁶ Beth-nimrah and Beth-haran, fortified cities, and folds for sheep.
³⁷ And the people of Reuben built Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim,
³⁸ Nebo, and Baal-meon (their names were changed), and Sibmah. And they gave other names to the cities that they built.
³⁹ And the sons of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and captured it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were in it.
⁴⁰ And Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he settled in it.
⁴¹ And Jair the son of Manasseh went and captured their villages, and called them Havvoth-jair.
⁴² And Nobah went and captured Kenath and its villages, and called it Nobah, after his own name. (ESV)

⁴⁰ Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him.
⁴¹ And there came a man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue. And falling at Jesus’ feet, he implored him to come to his house,
⁴² for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. As Jesus went, the people pressed around him.
⁴³ And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone.
⁴⁴ She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased.
⁴⁵ And Jesus said, “Who was it that touched me?” When all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!”
⁴⁶ But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.”
⁴⁷ And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed.
⁴⁸ And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”
⁴⁹ While he was still speaking, someone from the ruler’s house came and said, “Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher any more.”
⁵⁰ But Jesus on hearing this answered him, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.”
⁵¹ And when he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter with him, except Peter and John and James, and the father and mother of the child.
⁵² And all were weeping and mourning for her, but he said, “Do not weep, for she is not dead but sleeping.”
⁵³ And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead.
⁵⁴ But taking her by the hand he called, saying, “Child, arise.”
⁵⁵ And her spirit returned, and she got up at once. And he directed that something should be given her to eat.
⁵⁶ And her parents were amazed, but he charged them to tell no one what had happened.

¹ And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases,
² and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.
³ And he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics.
⁴ And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.
⁵ And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.”
⁶ And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.
⁷ Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead,
⁸ by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen.
⁹ Herod said, “John I beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And he sought to see him. (ESV)

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
¹ I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry.
² He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.
³ He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD.
⁴ Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie!
⁵ You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told.
⁶ In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.
⁷ Then I said, “Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me:
⁸ I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” (ESV)