Night Watch Devotion

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 Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments!
² His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.
³ Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.
⁴ Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.
⁵ It is well with the man who deals generously and lends; who conducts his affairs with justice.
⁶ For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever.
⁷ He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.
⁸ His heart is steady; he will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.
⁹ He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn is exalted in honor.
¹⁰ The wicked man sees it and is angry; he gnashes his teeth and melts away; the desire of the wicked will perish! (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)

¹⁹ For when the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, the LORD brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the people of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea.
²⁰ Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing.
²¹ And Miriam sang to them: “Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.”
²² Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water.
²³ When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah.
²⁴ And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”
²⁵ And he cried to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the LORD made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them,
²⁶ saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, your healer.”
²⁷ Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they encamped there by the water.
¹ They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt.
² And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness,
³ and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
⁴ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.
⁵ On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.”
⁶ So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “At evening you shall know that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
⁷ and in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your grumbling against the LORD. For what are we, that you grumble against us?”
⁸ And Moses said, “When the LORD gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the LORD has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him—what are we? Your grumbling is not against us but against the LORD.”
⁹ Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, ‘Come near before the LORD, for he has heard your grumbling.’”
¹⁰ And as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.
¹¹ And the LORD said to Moses,
¹² “I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.’” (ESV)

¹ For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.
² Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins?
³ But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year.
⁴ For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
⁵ Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me;
⁶ in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.
⁷ Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”
⁸ When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law),
⁹ then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second.
¹⁰ And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
¹¹ And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
¹² But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,
¹³ waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.
¹⁴ For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
¹⁵ And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,
¹⁶ “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,”
¹⁷ then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”
¹⁸ Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. (ESV)

¹ After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant,
² “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel.
³ Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses.
⁴ From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory.
⁵ No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.
⁶ Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.
⁷ Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.
⁸ This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
⁹ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
¹⁰ And Joshua commanded the officers of the people,
¹¹ “Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, ‘Prepare your provisions, for within three days you are to pass over this Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.’”
¹² And to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh Joshua said,
¹³ “Remember the word that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, saying, ‘The LORD your God is providing you a place of rest and will give you this land.’
¹⁴ Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land that Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but all the men of valor among you shall pass over armed before your brothers and shall help them,
¹⁵ until the LORD gives rest to your brothers as he has to you, and they also take possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving them. Then you shall return to the land of your possession and shall possess it, the land that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise.”
¹⁶ And they answered Joshua, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go.
¹⁷ Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. Only may the LORD your God be with you, as he was with Moses!
¹⁸ Whoever rebels against your commandment and disobeys your words, whatever you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.”

¹ And Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there.
² And it was told to the king of Jericho, “Behold, men of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land.”
³ Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.”
⁴ But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from.
⁵ And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.”
⁶ But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof.
⁷ So the men pursued after them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords. And the gate was shut as soon as the pursuers had gone out.
⁸ Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof
⁹ and said to the men, “I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you.
¹⁰ For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction.
¹¹ And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.
¹² Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a sure sign
¹³ that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.”
¹⁴ And the men said to her, “Our life for yours even to death! If you do not tell this business of ours, then when the LORD gives us the land we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.”
¹⁵ Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was built into the city wall, so that she lived in the wall.
¹⁶ And she said to them, “Go into the hills, or the pursuers will encounter you, and hide there three days until the pursuers have returned. Then afterward you may go your way.”
¹⁷ The men said to her, “We will be guiltless with respect to this oath of yours that you have made us swear.
¹⁸ Behold, when we come into the land, you shall tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and you shall gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household.
¹⁹ Then if anyone goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we shall be guiltless. But if a hand is laid on anyone who is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head.
²⁰ But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be guiltless with respect to your oath that you have made us swear.”
²¹ And she said, “According to your words, so be it.” Then she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.
²² They departed and went into the hills and remained there three days until the pursuers returned, and the pursuers searched all along the way and found nothing.
²³ Then the two men returned. They came down from the hills and passed over and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and they told him all that had happened to them.
²⁴ And they said to Joshua, “Truly the LORD has given all the land into our hands. And also, all the inhabitants of the land melt away because of us.” (ESV)

⁵ And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said,
⁶ “As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”
⁷ And they asked him, “Teacher, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?”
⁸ And he said, “See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them.
⁹ And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end will not be at once.”
¹⁰ Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
¹¹ There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.
¹² But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake.
¹³ This will be your opportunity to bear witness.
¹⁴ Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer,
¹⁵ for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.
¹⁶ You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death.
¹⁷ You will be hated by all for my name’s sake.
¹⁸ But not a hair of your head will perish.
¹⁹ By your endurance you will gain your lives.
²⁰ “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near.
²¹ Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it,
²² for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written.
²³ Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against this people.
²⁴ They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
²⁵ “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves,
²⁶ people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
²⁷ And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
²⁸ Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
²⁹ And he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.
³⁰ As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near.
³¹ So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.
³² Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place.
³³ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
³⁴ “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.
³⁵ For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth.
³⁶ But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
³⁷ And every day he was teaching in the temple, but at night he went out and lodged on the mount called Olivet.
³⁸ And early in the morning all the people came to him in the temple to hear him. (ESV)

¹¹ The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
¹² Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.
¹³ On the lips of him who has understanding, wisdom is found, but a rod is for the back of him who lacks sense.
¹⁴ The wise lay up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near.
¹⁵ A rich man’s wealth is his strong city; the poverty of the poor is their ruin.
¹⁶ The wage of the righteous leads to life, the gain of the wicked to sin.
¹⁷ Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life, but he who rejects reproof leads others astray.
¹⁸ The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever utters slander is a fool.
¹⁹ When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.
²⁰ The tongue of the righteous is choice silver; the heart of the wicked is of little worth. (ESV)