Psalm 121; Psalm 122; Psalm 123; Jeremiah 10:1–16; Matthew 16:13–28

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Psalm 121

My Help Comes from the Lord

A Song of mAscents.

I vlift up my eyes to wthe hills.

From where does my help come?

xMy help comes from the Lord,

who ymade heaven and earth.

He will not zlet your foot be moved;

he who akeeps you will not slumber.

Behold, he who keeps Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper;

the Lord is your bshade on your cright hand.

dThe sun shall not estrike you by day,

nor the moon by night.

The Lord will akeep you from all evil;

he will akeep your life.

The Lord will keep

your fgoing out and your coming in

from this time forth and forevermore.


Psalm 122

Let Us Go to the House of the Lord

A Song of mAscents. Of David.

I was glad when they said to me,

gLet us go to the house of the Lord!

Our feet have been standing

within your gates, O Jerusalem!

Jerusalemhbuilt as a city

that is ibound firmly together,

to which the tribes jgo up,

the tribes of the Lord,

as was kdecreed for1 Israel,

to give thanks to the name of the Lord.

There lthrones for judgment were set,

the thrones of the house of David.

mPray for the peace of Jerusalem!

May they be secure who love you!

Peace be within your nwalls

and security within your ntowers!

For my brothers and companions’ sake

I will say, oPeace be within you!

For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,

I will pseek your good.


Psalm 123

Our Eyes Look to the Lord Our God

A Song of mAscents.

To you I qlift up my eyes,

O you who are renthroned in the heavens!

Behold, as the eyes of servants

look to the hand of their master,

as the eyes of a maidservant

to the hand of her mistress,

so our eyes look to the Lord our God,

till he has mercy upon us.

sHave mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,

for we have had more than enough of tcontempt.

Our soul has had more than enough

of uthe scorn of vthose who are at ease,

of the contempt of wthe proud.


Jeremiah 10:1–16

Idols and the Living God

Hear the word that the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel. Thus says the Lord:

Learn not the way of the nations,

nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens

because the nations are dismayed at them,

ffor the customs of the peoples are vanity.1

gA tree from the forest is cut down

and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.

hThey decorate it with silver and gold;

ithey fasten it with hammer and nails

so that it cannot move.

Their idols2 are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,

and jthey cannot speak;

kthey have to be carried,

for they cannot walk.

Do not be afraid of them,

lfor they cannot do evil,

neither is it in them to do good.

mThere is none like you, O Lord;

you are great, and your name is great in might.

nWho would not fear you, O King of the nations?

For this is your due;

for among all the wise ones of the nations

and in all their kingdoms

there is none like you.

oThey are both pstupid and foolish;

the instruction of idols is but wood!

qBeaten silver is brought from rTarshish,

and gold from sUphaz.

qThey are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith;

their clothing is violet and purple;

tthey are all the work of skilled men.

10  uBut the Lord is the true God;

vhe is the living God and the everlasting King.

At his wrath the earth quakes,

and the nations cannot endure his indignation.

11 Thus shall you say to them: wThe gods who did not make the heavens and the earth xshall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.3

12  yIt is he who zmade the earth by his power,

zwho established the world by his wisdom,

and aby his understanding stretched out the heavens.

13  bWhen he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,

cand he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.

cHe makes lightning dfor the rain,

cand he brings forth the wind efrom his storehouses.

14  fEvery man is stupid and without knowledge;

gevery goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,

for his images are false,

hand there is no breath in them.

15  They are worthless, a work of delusion;

at the time of their punishment they shall perish.

16  Not like these is he who is ithe portion of Jacob,

for he is the one who formed all things,

jand Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;

kthe Lord of hosts is his name.


Matthew 16:13–28

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

13 xNow when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, Who do people say that the Son of Man is? 14 And they said, Some say yJohn the Baptist, others say zElijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. 15 He said to them, But who do you say that I am? 16 Simon Peter replied, aYou are bthe Christ, cthe Son of dthe living God. 17 And Jesus answered him, eBlessed are you, fSimon Bar-Jonah! For gflesh and blood has not revealed this to you, hbut my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, iyou are Peter, and jon this rock1 I will build my church, and kthe gates of lhell2 shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you mthe keys of the kingdom of heaven, and nwhatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed3 in heaven. 20 oThen he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

21 pFrom that time Jesus began to show his disciples that qhe must go to Jerusalem and rsuffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on sthe third day be raised. 22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, Far be it from you, Lord!4 This shall never happen to you. 23 But he turned and said to Peter, tGet behind me, Satan! You are ua hindrance5 to me. For you vare not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, If anyone would come after me, let him wdeny himself and xtake up his cross and follow me. 25 For xwhoever would save his life6 will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For ywhat will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or zwhat shall a man give in return for his soul? 27 aFor the Son of Man is going to come with bhis angels in the glory of his Father, and cthen he will repay each person according to what he has done. 28 Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not dtaste death euntil they see the Son of Man fcoming in his kingdom.