Psalm 20; Psalm 21; 1 Chronicles 22; Ephesians 5:1–17

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Psalm 20

Trust in the Name of the Lord Our God

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1  oMay the Lord answer you in the day of trouble!

May the pname of the God of Jacob protect you!

2  May he send you help from the sanctuary

and give you support from Zion!

3  May he remember all your offerings

and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah

4  May he qgrant you your heart’s desire

and fulfill all your plans!

5  May we shout for joy over your salvation,

and in the name of our God set up our banners!

May the Lord fulfill all your petitions!

6  Now I know that the Lord saves his ranointed;

he will answer him from his holy heaven

with the saving might of his right hand.

7  sSome trust in chariots and some in thorses,

but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

8  They collapse and fall,

but we rise and stand upright.

9  O Lord, save the king!

May he answer us when we call.


Psalm 21

The King Rejoices in the Lord’s Strength

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1  O Lord, in your strength uthe king rejoices,

and in your salvation how greatly he exults!

2  You have vgiven him his heart’s desire

and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah

3  For you wmeet him with rich blessings;

you set a crown of fine gold upon his head.

4  xHe asked life of you; you gave it to him,

length of days forever and ever.

5  His yglory is great through your salvation;

zsplendor and majesty you bestow on him.

6  For you make him most ablessed forever;1

you make him glad with the joy of your presence.

7  For the king trusts in the Lord,

and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.

8  Your hand will find out all your enemies;

your right hand will find out those who hate you.

9  You will make them bas a blazing oven

when you appear.

The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath,

and cfire will consume them.

10  You will destroy their descendants from the earth,

and their offspring from among the children of man.

11  Though they plan evil against you,

though they devise mischief, they will not succeed.

12  For you will put them to flight;

you will aim at their faces with your bows.

13  Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength!

We will sing and praise your power.


1 Chronicles 22

1 Then David said, d“Here shall be the house of the Lord God and here the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”

David Prepares for Temple Building

2 David commanded to gather together the eresident aliens who were in the land of Israel, and he set stonecutters to prepare dressed stones for building the house of God. 3 David also fprovided great quantities of iron for nails for the doors of the gates and for clamps, as well as bronze in quantities gbeyond weighing, 4 and cedar timbers without number, for the Sidonians and Tyrians hbrought great quantities of cedar to David. 5 For David said, i“Solomon my son is young and inexperienced, and jthe house that is to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly magnificent, of fame and glory throughout all lands. I will therefore make preparation for it.” So David provided materials in great quantity before his death.

Solomon Charged to Build the Temple

6 Then he called for Solomon his son and charged him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. 7 David said to Solomon, “My son, I had it kin my heart to build a house lto the name of the Lord my God. 8 But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘You have shed much blood and have waged great wars. mYou shall not build a house to my name, because you have shed so much blood before me on the earth. 9 Behold, a son shall be born to you who shall be a man of rest. I will give him nrest from all his surrounding enemies. For ohis name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. 10 pHe shall build a house for my name. He shall be my son, and I will be his father, and I will qestablish his royal throne in Israel forever.’

11 “Now, my son, the Lord be with you, so that you may succeed in building the house of the Lord your God, as he has spoken concerning you. 12 Only, rmay the Lord grant you discretion and understanding, that when he gives you charge over Israel you may keep the law of the Lord your God. 13 Then you will sprosper tif you are careful to observe the statutes and the rules that the Lord commanded Moses for Israel. uBe strong and courageous. vFear not; do not be dismayed. 14 With great pains wI have provided for the house of the Lord x100,000 talents1 of gold, a million talents of silver, and bronze and iron beyond weighing, for there is so much of it; timber and stone, too, I have provided. To these you must add. 15 You have an abundance of workmen: stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and all kinds of craftsmen without number, skilled in working 16 gold, silver, bronze, and iron. Arise and work! The Lord be with you!”

17 David also commanded yall the leaders of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying, 18 “Is not the Lord your God with you? And has he not zgiven you peace2 on every side? For he has delivered the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the Lord and his people. 19 Now aset your mind and heart to seek the Lord your God. Arise and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so that bthe ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy vessels of God may be brought into a house built for the name of the Lord.”


Ephesians 5:1–17

Walk in Love

1 Therefore rbe imitators sof God, as beloved children. 2 And twalk uin love, as Christ loved us vand wgave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

3 But xsexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 yLet there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 zFor you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous a(that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you bwith empty words, for cbecause of these things the wrath of God comes upon the dsons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not become partners with them; 8 for eat one time you were fdarkness, but now you are light in the Lord. gWalk as hchildren of light 9 (for the ifruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to jdiscern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 kTake no part in the unfruitful lworks of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But mwhen anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

n“Awake, O sleeper,

and arise from the dead,

and Christ will oshine on you.”

15 Look carefully then phow you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the qdays are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but runderstand what the will of the Lord is.