How Precious Is Your Steadfast Love
To the choirmaster. Of David, the xservant of the Lord.
1 Transgression speaks to the wicked
deep in his heart;1
ythere is no fear of God
before his eyes.
2 zFor he flatters himself in his own eyes
that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
3 The words of his mouth are atrouble and deceit;
bhe has ceased to act wisely and do good.
4 He cplots dtrouble while on his bed;
he sets himself in ea way that is not good;
fhe does not reject evil.
5 Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
6 gYour righteousness is like the mountains of God;
hyour judgments are like the great deep;
man and beast you isave, O Lord.
7 jHow precious is your steadfast love, O God!
The children of mankind take refuge kin the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast on lthe abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from mthe river of nyour delights.
9 For with you is othe fountain of life;
pin your light do we see light.
10 Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who qknow you,
and your righteousness to rthe upright of heart!
11 Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me,
nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12 There sthe evildoers lie fallen;
they are thrust down, tunable to rise.
He Will Not Forsake His Saints
2 Of David.
1 uFret not yourself because of evildoers;
be not venvious of wrongdoers!
2 For they will soon wfade like xthe grass
and wither ylike the green herb.
3 zTrust in the Lord, and do good;
adwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.3
4 bDelight yourself in the Lord,
and he will cgive you the desires of your heart.
5 dCommit your way to the Lord;
ztrust in him, and he will act.
6 eHe will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as fthe noonday.
7 gBe still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
hfret not yourself over the one who iprospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!
8 jRefrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
hFret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
9 kFor the evildoers shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the Lord shall linherit the land.
10 In mjust a little while, the wicked will be no more;
though you look carefully at nhis place, he will not be there.
11 But othe meek shall inherit the land
and delight themselves in pabundant peace.
12 The wicked qplots against the righteous
and rgnashes his teeth at him,
13 but the Lord slaughs at the wicked,
for he sees that his tday is coming.
14 The wicked draw the sword and ubend their bows
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose vway is upright;
15 their sword shall enter their own heart,
and their wbows shall be broken.
16 xBetter is the little that the righteous has
than the abundance of many wicked.
17 For ythe arms of the wicked shall be broken,
but the Lord zupholds the righteous.
18 The Lord aknows the days of the blameless,
and their bheritage will remain forever;
19 they are not put to shame in evil times;
in cthe days of famine they have abundance.
20 But the wicked will perish;
the enemies of the Lord are like dthe glory of the pastures;
they vanish—like esmoke they vanish away.
21 The wicked borrows but does not pay back,
but the righteous fis generous and gives;
22 for those blessed by the Lord4 shall ginherit the land,
but those cursed by him hshall be cut off.
23 The isteps of a man are jestablished by the Lord,
when he delights in his way;
24 kthough he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
for the Lord lupholds his hand.
25 I have been young, and now am old,
yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
or his children mbegging for bread.
26 He is ever nlending generously,
and his children become a blessing.
27 oTurn away from evil and do good;
so shall you pdwell forever.
28 For the Lord qloves justice;
he will not forsake his rsaints.
They are preserved forever,
but the children of the wicked shall be scut off.
29 The righteous shall inherit the land
and pdwell upon it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks justice.
31 tThe law of his God is in his heart;
his usteps do not slip.
32 The wicked vwatches for the righteous
and seeks to put him to death.
33 The Lord will not wabandon him to his power
or let him xbe condemned when he is brought to trial.
34 yWait for the Lord and keep his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
you will look on zwhen the wicked are cut off.
35 aI have seen a wicked, ruthless man,
spreading himself like ba green laurel tree.5
36 But he passed away,6 and behold, che was no more;
though I sought him, he could not be found.
37 Mark the blameless and behold the upright,
for there is a future for the man of dpeace.
38 But etransgressors shall be altogether destroyed;
the future of the wicked fshall be cut off.
39 gThe salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
he is their stronghold in hthe time of trouble.
40 The Lord helps them and idelivers them;
jhe delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they ktake refuge in him.
Do Not Forsake Me, O Lord
A Psalm of David, lfor the memorial offering.
1 O Lord, mrebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath!
2 For your narrows have sunk into me,
and your hand ohas come down on me.
3 There is pno soundness in my flesh
because of your indignation;
there is no health in my qbones
because of my sin.
4 For my riniquities have gone over my head;
like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.
5 My wounds stink and fester
because of my foolishness,
6 I am sutterly bowed down and tprostrate;
all the day I ugo about mourning.
7 For my sides are filled with burning,
and there is pno soundness in my flesh.
8 I am feeble and crushed;
I vgroan because of the tumult of my heart.
9 O Lord, all my longing is before you;
my wsighing is not hidden from you.
10 My heart throbs; my strength fails me,
and xthe light of my eyes—it also has gone from me.
11 My yfriends and companions zstand aloof from my aplague,
and my nearest kin bstand far off.
12 Those who seek my life clay their snares;
those who seek my hurt dspeak of ruin
and meditate etreachery all day long.
13 But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear,
like fa mute man who does not open his mouth.
14 I have become like a man who does not hear,
and in whose mouth are no grebukes.
15 But for hyou, O Lord, do I wait;
it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.
16 For I said, “Only ilet them not rejoice over me,
17 For I am lready to fall,
and my pain is ever before me.
18 I mconfess my iniquity;
I am nsorry for my sin.
19 But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty,
and many are those who hate me owrongfully.
20 Those who prender me evil for good
21 Do not forsake me, O Lord!
O my God, be not sfar from me!
22 tMake haste to help me,
O Lord, my usalvation!
Mary Anoints Jesus at Bethany
1 Six days before ithe Passover, jJesus therefore came to Bethany, kwhere Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they gave a dinner for him there. lMartha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. 3 mMary therefore took a pound1 of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii2 and ngiven to the poor?” 6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and nhaving charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it3 for the day of my burial. 8 For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”
The Plot to Kill Lazarus
9 When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus4 was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, owhom he had raised from the dead. 10 pSo the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, 11 because qon account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.
The Triumphal Entry
12 The next day rthe large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches of spalm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, t“Hosanna! Blessed is uhe who comes in the name of the Lord, even vthe King of Israel!” 14 And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,
15 w“Fear not, daughter of Zion;
behold, your king is coming,
sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
16 xHis disciples did not understand these things at first, but ywhen Jesus was glorified, then zthey remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. 17 aThe crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. 18 The reason why the crowd went to meet him bwas that they heard he had done this sign. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, c“You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, dthe world has gone after him.”
Some Greeks Seek Jesus
20 Now eamong those who went up to worship at the feast were some fGreeks. 21 So these came to gPhilip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went and told hAndrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 And Jesus answered them, i“The hour has come jfor the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, kunless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 lWhoever loves his life loses it, and mwhoever nhates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, he must ofollow me; and pwhere I am, there will my servant be also. qIf anyone serves me, rthe Father will honor him.
