God Shall Scatter His Enemies
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.
1 eGod shall arise, his enemies shall be fscattered;
and those who hate him shall flee before him!
2 As gsmoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away;
has wax melts before fire,
so the wicked shall perish before God!
3 But ithe righteous shall be glad;
they shall exult before God;
they shall be jubilant with joy!
4 Sing to God, jsing praises to his name;
klift up a song to him who lrides through mthe deserts;
his name is nthe Lord;
exult before him!
5 oFather of the fatherless and pprotector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
6 God qsettles the solitary in a home;
he rleads out the prisoners to prosperity,
7 O God, when you uwent out before your people,
vwhen you marched through wthe wilderness, Selah
8 xthe earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain,
before God, the One of Sinai,
before God,1 the God of Israel.
9 yRain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad;
you restored your inheritance as it languished;
10 your flock2 found a dwelling in it;
in your goodness, O God, you zprovided for the needy.
32 jO kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;
sing praises to the Lord, Selah
33 to him kwho rides in lthe heavens, the ancient heavens;
behold, he msends out his voice, his mighty voice.
34 nAscribe power to God,
whose majesty is over Israel,
and whose opower is in pthe skies.
35 qAwesome is God from his1 rsanctuary;
the God of Israel—he is the one who gives spower and strength to his people.
Blessed be God!
The Ascension
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, jwill you at this time krestore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, l“It is not for you to know mtimes or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive npower owhen the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and pyou will be qmy witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and rSamaria, and sto the end of the earth.” 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, the was lifted up, and ua cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, vtwo wmen stood by them in xwhite robes, 11 and said, y“Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, zwill acome in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
Matthias Chosen to Replace Judas
12 Then bthey returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. 13 And when they had entered, they went up to cthe upper room, where they were staying, dPeter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon ethe Zealot and Judas the son of James. 14 All these fwith one accord gwere devoting themselves to prayer, together with hthe women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and ihis brothers.1
The High Priestly Prayer
1 When Jesus had spoken these words, mhe lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, nthe hour has come; oglorify your Son that the Son may pglorify you, 2 since qyou have given him authority over all flesh, rto give eternal life to all swhom you have given him. 3 tAnd this is eternal life, uthat they know you, vthe only wtrue God, and xJesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I yglorified you on earth, zhaving accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, aglorify me in your own presence with the glory bthat I had with you cbefore the world existed.
6 d“I have manifested your name to the people ewhom you gave me out of the world. fYours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything fthat you have given me is from you. 8 For I have given them gthe words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that hI came from you; and ithey have believed that you sent me. 9 I am praying for them. jI am not praying for the world but for those kwhom you have given me, for lthey are yours. 10 mAll mine are yours, and yours are mine, and nI am glorified in them. 11 And I am no longer in the world, but othey are in the world, and pI am coming to you. qHoly Father, rkeep them in your name, swhich you have given me, tthat they may be one, ueven as we are one.
Suffering as a Christian
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at zthe fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice ainsofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad bwhen his glory is revealed. 14 cIf you are insulted dfor the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory1 and of God rests upon you.
6 xHumble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 ycasting all your anxieties on him, because zhe cares for you. 8 aBe sober-minded; bbe watchful. Your cadversary the devil dprowls around elike a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 fResist him, gfirm in your faith, knowing that hthe same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And iafter you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, jwho has called you to his keternal glory in Christ, will himself lrestore, mconfirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 nTo him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.