You Are My Refuge
A Maskil1 of David, when he was in kthe cave. A Prayer.
1 With my voice I lcry out to the Lord;
with my voice I mplead for mercy to the Lord.
2 I npour out my complaint before him;
I tell my trouble before him.
3 When my spirit ofaints within me,
you know my way!
In the path where I walk
they have phidden a trap for me.
4 qLook to the rright and see:
sthere is none who takes notice of me;
tno refuge remains to me;
no one cares for my soul.
5 I cry to you, O Lord;
I say, “You are my urefuge,
my vportion in wthe land of the living.”
6 xAttend to my cry,
for yI am brought very low!
Deliver me from my persecutors,
zfor they are too strong for me!
7 aBring me out of prison,
that I may give thanks to your name!
The righteous will surround me,
for you will bdeal bountifully with me.
My Soul Thirsts for You
A Psalm of David.
1 Hear my prayer, O Lord;
cgive ear to my pleas for mercy!
In your dfaithfulness answer me, in your drighteousness!
2 eEnter not into judgment with your servant,
for no one living is righteous fbefore you.
3 For the enemy has pursued my soul;
ghe has crushed my life to the ground;
hhe has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.
4 Therefore my spirit ifaints within me;
my heart within me is appalled.
5 jI remember the days of old;
kI meditate on all that you have done;
I ponder the work of your hands.
6 lI stretch out my hands to you;
7 oAnswer me quickly, O Lord!
pMy spirit fails!
qHide not your face from me,
rlest I be like those who go down to the pit.
8 sLet me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,
for in you I ttrust.
uMake me know the way I should go,
vfor to you I lift up my soul.
9 wDeliver me from my enemies, O Lord!
I have fled to you for refuge.1
10 xTeach me to do your will,
for you are my God!
yLet your good Spirit zlead me
on alevel ground!
11 bFor your name’s sake, O Lord, cpreserve my life!
In your righteousness dbring my soul out of trouble!
12 And in your steadfast love you will ecut off my enemies,
and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,
for I am your fservant.
Naomi Widowed
1 In the days awhen the judges ruled there was ba famine in the land, and a man of cBethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. 2 The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were dEphrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. 3 But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, 5 and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.
Ruth’s Loyalty to Naomi
6 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that ethe Lord had visited his people and fgiven them food. 7 So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. 8 But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the Lord gdeal kindly with you, as you have dealt with hthe dead and with me. 9 The Lord grant that you may find irest, each of you in the house of her husband!” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. 10 And they said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” 11 But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb jthat they may become your husbands? 12 Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, 13 would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that kthe hand of the Lord has gone out against me.” 14 Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ
18 jNow it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” 19 And they answered, k“John the Baptist. But others say, lElijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.” 20 Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, m“The Christ of God.”
Jesus Foretells His Death
21 nAnd he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, 22 osaying, p“The Son of Man must qsuffer many things and rbe rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on sthe third day be raised.”
Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus
23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him tdeny himself and utake up his cross vdaily and follow me. 24 For uwhoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25 wFor what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? 26 For xwhoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed ywhen he comes in zhis glory and the glory of the Father and of athe holy angels. 27 But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not btaste death cuntil they see the kingdom of God.”
