By Faith
1 Now faith is the assurance of things ohoped for, the conviction of things pnot seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that qthe universe was created rby the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
8 By faith xAbraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith yhe went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the zcity that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. 11 By faith aSarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful bwho had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and him cas good as dead, were born descendants das many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.
13 These all died in faith, enot having received the things promised, but having fseen them and greeted them from afar, and ghaving acknowledged that they were strangers and hexiles on the earth. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not iashamed to be called jtheir God, for he has prepared for them a city.
The Steadfast Love of the Lord
1 fShout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!
gPraise befits the upright.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;
hmake melody to him with the harp of ten strings!
3 Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully on the strings, with iloud shouts.
4 For the word of the Lord is upright,
and all his work is done in faithfulness.
5 He loves righteousness and justice;
jthe earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.
6 kBy the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
7 lHe gathers the waters of the sea as a heap;
mhe puts the deeps in storehouses.
8 nLet all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
9 For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.
10 oThe Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
phe frustrates the plans of the peoples.
11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
the plans of his heart to all generations.
12 qBlessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
13 The Lord looks down from heaven;
he sees all the children of man;
14 from where he sits enthroned he looks out
on all the inhabitants of the earth,
15 he who fashions the hearts of them all
and observes all their deeds.
16 The king is not saved by his great army;
a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
17 uThe war horse is a false hope for salvation,
and by its great might it cannot rescue.
18 Behold, the veye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
on those who whope in his steadfast love,
19 that he may deliver their soul from death
and keep them alive xin famine.
20 Our soul waits for the Lord;
he is our help and our yshield.
21 For our heart is zglad in him,
because we trust in his holy name.
22 Let your asteadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
even as we hope in you.
32 b“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 cSell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
You Must Be Ready
35 d“Stay dressed for action1 and keep your lamps burning, 36 and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. 37 eBlessed are those servants2 whom the master finds fawake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, ghe will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! 39 But know this, that hif the master of the house had iknown at what hour the jthief was coming, he3 would not have left his house to be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is kcoming at an hour you do not expect.”
