Psalm 19; Exodus 20:1–4; Exodus 20:7–9; Exodus 20:12–20; Matthew 21:33–46; Philippians 3:4–14

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Psalm 19

The Law of the Lord Is Perfect

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

iThe heavens declare the glory of God,

and the sky above1 proclaims his handiwork.

Day to day pours out speech,

and night to night reveals knowledge.

There is no speech, nor are there words,

whose voice is not heard.

jTheir kvoice2 goes out through all the earth,

and their words to the end of the world.

In them he has set a tent for lthe sun,

mwhich comes out like na bridegroom leaving his chamber,

and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.

Its rising is from the end of the heavens,

and its circuit to the end of them,

and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

oThe law of the Lord is perfect,3

previving the soul;

qthe testimony of the Lord is rsure,

smaking wise tthe simple;

uthe precepts of the Lord are right,

rejoicing the heart;

the commandment of the Lord is vpure,

wenlightening the eyes;

the fear of the Lord is clean,

enduring forever;

the rules4 of the Lord are xtrue,

and righteous altogether.

10  More to be desired are they than ygold,

even much zfine gold;

asweeter also than honey

and drippings of bthe honeycomb.

11  Moreover, by them is your servant warned;

cin keeping them there is great reward.

12  dWho can discern his errors?

eDeclare me innocent from fhidden faults.

13  gKeep back your servant also from hpresumptuous sins;

let them not have idominion over me!

Then I shall be blameless,

and innocent of great transgression.

14  Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

be acceptable in your sight,

O Lord, my jrock and my kredeemer.


Exodus 20:1–4

The Ten Commandments

zAnd aGod spoke all these words, saying,

bI am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

cYou shall have no other gods before1 me.

dYou shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.


Exodus 20:7–9

hYou shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

iRemember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. jSix days you shall labor, and do all your work,


Exodus 20:12–20

12 nHonor your father and your mother, othat your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

13 pYou shall not murder.1

14 qYou shall not commit adultery.

15 rYou shall not steal.

16 sYou shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

17 tYou shall not covet uyour neighbor’s house; vyou shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.

18 Now when all the people saw wthe thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid2 and trembled, and they stood far off 19 and said to Moses, xYou speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die. 20 yMoses said to the people, Do not fear, for God has come to ztest you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.


Matthew 21:33–46

The Parable of the Tenants

33 qHear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted ra vineyard sand put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and tleased it to tenants, and uwent into another country. 34 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants1 to the tenants tto get his fruit. 35 vAnd the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and wstoned another. 36 xAgain he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. 37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, They will respect my son. 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, yThis is the heir. Come, zlet us kill him and have his inheritance. 39 And they took him and athrew him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 bWhen therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants? 41 They said to him, cHe will put those wretches to a miserable death and dlet out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.

42 Jesus said to them, eHave you never read in the Scriptures:

fThe stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone;2

this was the Lord’s doing,

and it is marvelous in our eyes?

43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God gwill be taken away from you and given to a people hproducing its fruits. 44 And ithe one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and jwhen it falls on anyone, it will crush him.3

45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. 46 And lalthough they were seeking to arrest him, mthey feared the crowds, because they held him to be na prophet.


Philippians 3:4–14

sthough I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: tcircumcised on the eighth day, uof the people of Israel, vof the tribe of Benjamin, ua Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, wa Pharisee; xas to zeal, ya persecutor of the church; zas to righteousness under the law,1 blameless. But awhatever gain I had, bI counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of cthe surpassing worth of dknowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I ehave suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having fa righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but gthat which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith 10 hthat I may know him and ithe power of his resurrection, and jmay share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may kattain the resurrection from the dead.

Straining Toward the Goal

12 Not that I have already lobtained this or mam already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: nforgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for othe prize of the upward pcall of God in Christ Jesus.