My Help Comes from the Lord
A Song of mAscents.
1 I vlift up my eyes to wthe hills.
From where does my help come?
2 xMy help comes from the Lord,
who ymade heaven and earth.
3 He will not zlet your foot be moved;
he who akeeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your bshade on your cright hand.
6 dThe sun shall not estrike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will akeep you from all evil;
he will akeep your life.
8 The Lord will keep
your fgoing out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.
Let Us Go to the House of the Lord
A Song of mAscents. Of David.
1 I was glad when they said to me,
g“Let us go to the house of the Lord!”
2 Our feet have been standing
within your gates, O Jerusalem!
3 Jerusalem—hbuilt as a city
that is ibound firmly together,
4 to which the tribes jgo up,
the tribes of the Lord,
to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5 There lthrones for judgment were set,
the thrones of the house of David.
6 mPray for the peace of Jerusalem!
“May they be secure who love you!
7 Peace be within your nwalls
and security within your ntowers!”
8 For my brothers and companions’ sake
I will say, o“Peace be within you!”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will pseek your good.
Give Thanks to the Lord
Of David.
1 bI give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;
before cthe gods I sing your praise;
2 I bow down dtoward your eholy temple
and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,
for you have exalted above all things
your name and your word.1
3 On the day I called, you answered me;
my strength of soul you increased.2
4 fAll the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord,
for they have heard the words of your mouth,
5 and they shall sing of gthe ways of the Lord,
for great is the glory of the Lord.
6 hFor though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,
but the haughty he knows from afar.
7 iThough I walk in the midst of trouble,
you jpreserve my life;
you kstretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
and your lright hand delivers me.
8 The Lord will mfulfill his purpose for me;
nyour steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.
Do not forsake othe work of your hands.
32 oSo everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but pwhoever denies me before men, qI also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
Not Peace, but a Sword
34 r“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. sI have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 rFor I have come tto set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 uAnd a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37 vWhoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And wwhoever does not take his cross and xfollow me is not worthy of me. 39 yWhoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Rewards
40 z“Whoever receives you receives me, and awhoever receives me receives him who sent me. 41 bThe one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And cwhoever gives one of dthese little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”
Messengers from John the Baptist
1 When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.
