Psalm 101; Ezekiel 34:17–31; 2 Timothy 2:1–15

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Psalm 101

I Will Walk with Integrity

A Psalm of David.

I will sing of csteadfast love and justice;

to you, O Lord, I will make music.

I will dponder the way ethat is blameless.

Oh when will you fcome to me?

I will gwalk with hintegrity of heart

within my house;

I will not set before my eyes

anything ithat is worthless.

I hate the work of those who jfall away;

it shall not cling to me.

kA perverse heart shall be far from me;

I will lknow nothing of evil.

Whoever slanders his neighbor msecretly

I will ndestroy.

Whoever has a ohaughty look and an parrogant heart

I will not endure.

I will look with favor on the faithful in the land,

that they may dwell with me;

he who walks in qthe way that is blameless

shall minister to me.

No one who rpractices deceit

shall dwell in my house;

no one who utters lies

shall scontinue before my eyes.

tMorning by morning I will destroy

all the wicked in the land,

ucutting off all vthe evildoers

from wthe city of the Lord.


Ezekiel 34:17–31

17 As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord God: iBehold, I judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and jmale goats. 18 Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture; and to drink of kclear water, that you must muddy the rest of the water with your feet? 19 And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have muddied with your feet?

20 Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: Behold, I, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because you push with side and shoulder, and lthrust at all the mweak with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad, 22 I will rescue1 my flock; nthey shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep. 23 And oI will set up over them one shepherd, pmy servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24 And qI, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. rI am the Lord; I have spoken.

The Lord’s Covenant of Peace

25 sI will make with them a covenant of peace and tbanish wild beasts from the land, uso that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. 26 And I will make them and the places all around my hill va blessing, and wI will send down the showers in their season; they shall be xshowers of blessing. 27 yAnd the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, uand they shall be secure in their land. And zthey shall know that I am the Lord, when aI break the bars of their yoke, and adeliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them. 28 nThey shall no more be a prey to the nations, tnor shall the beasts of the land devour them. uThey shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid. 29 And I will provide for them brenowned plantations so that cthey shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no longer dsuffer the reproach of the nations. 30 And they shall know that qI am the Lord their God with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Lord God. 31 And you are my sheep, ehuman sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord God.


2 Timothy 2:1–15

A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus

You then, wmy child, xbe strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and ywhat you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses zentrust to faithful men,1 awho will be able to teach others also. bShare in suffering as ca good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier dgets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. eAn athlete is not fcrowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is gthe hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

Remember Jesus Christ, hrisen from the dead, the ioffspring of David, jas preached in my gospel, kfor which I am suffering, lbound with chains as a criminal. But mthe word of God is not bound! 10 Therefore nI endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain othe salvation that is in Christ Jesus with peternal glory. 11 The saying is qtrustworthy, for:

rIf we have died with him, we will also slive with him;

12  tif we endure, we will also reign with him;

uif we deny him, he also will deny us;

13  vif we are faithless, whe remains faithful

for xhe cannot deny himself.

A Worker Approved by God

14 Remind them of these things, and ycharge them before God2 znot to quarrel about words, awhich does no good, but only ruins the hearers. 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,3 a worker bwho has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.