Old/New Testament
Psalm 123
Supplication for Mercy
A Song of Ascents.
1 To you I lift up my eyes,
O you who are enthroned in the heavens!(A)
2 As the eyes of servants
look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maid
to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
until he has mercy upon us.(B)
3 Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,
for we have had more than enough of contempt.(C)
4 Our soul has had more than its fill
of the scorn of those who are at ease,
of the contempt of the proud.(D)
Psalm 124
Thanksgiving for Israel’s Deliverance
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
1 If it had not been the Lord who was on our side
—let Israel now say—(E)
2 if it had not been the Lord who was on our side,
when our enemies attacked us,
3 then they would have swallowed us up alive,
when their anger was kindled against us;(F)
4 then the flood would have swept us away;
the torrent would have gone over us;(G)
5 then over us would have gone
the raging waters.
6 Blessed be the Lord,
who has not given us
as prey to their teeth.(H)
7 We have escaped like a bird
from the snare of the hunters;
the snare is broken,
and we have escaped.(I)
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.(J)
Psalm 125
The Security of God’s People
A Song of Ascents.
1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be moved but abides forever.(K)
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the Lord surrounds his people
from this time on and forevermore.(L)
3 For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest
on the land allotted to the righteous,
so that the righteous might not stretch out
their hands to do wrong.(M)
4 Do good, O Lord, to those who are good
and to those who are upright in their hearts.(N)
5 But those who turn aside to their own crooked ways,
the Lord will lead away with evildoers.
Peace be upon Israel!(O)
Warnings from Israel’s History
10 I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea,(A) 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food,(B) 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.(C) 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness.(D)
6 Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did.(E) 7 Do not become idolaters as some of them did, as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.”(F) 8 We must not engage in sexual immorality, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day.(G) 9 We must not put Christ[a] to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents.(H) 10 And do not complain, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer.(I) 11 These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come.(J) 12 So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. 13 No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.(K)
14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from the worship of idols.(L) 15 I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.(M) 18 Consider the people of Israel:[b] Are not those who eat the sacrifices partners in the altar?(N)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.