The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears; He delivers them from all their troubles.
The LORD is near to the brokenhearted; He saves the contrite in spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him from them all.
He protects all his bones; not one of them will be broken.
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Of David, when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, so that the king drove him away. I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise will always be on my lips.
My soul boasts in the LORD; let the oppressed hear and rejoice.
Magnify the LORD with me; let us exalt His name together.
I sought the LORD, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to Him are radiant with joy; their faces shall never be ashamed.
. . .
As a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings, and a partaker of the glory to be revealed, I appeal to the elders among you:
Be shepherds of God’s flock that is among you, watching over them not out of compulsion, but because it is God’s will; not out of greed, but out of eagerness;
not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.
And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.
Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
. . .
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Put not your trust in princes, in mortal man, who cannot save.
When his spirit departs, he returns to the ground; on that very day his plans perish.
Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God,
For the choirmaster. According to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph. I cried out to God; I cried aloud to God to hear me.
In the day of trouble I sought the Lord; through the night my outstretched hands did not grow weary; my soul refused to be comforted.
I remembered You, O God, and I groaned; I mused and my spirit grew faint. Selah
You have kept my eyes from closing; I am too troubled to speak.
I considered the days of old, the years long in the past.
. . .
When Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and set out for his house in his hometown. He put his affairs in order and hanged himself. So he died and was buried in his father’s tomb.
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and asked Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
This promise belongs to you and your children and to all who are far off—to all whom the Lord our God will call to Himself.”
Though the mountains may be removed and the hills may be shaken, My loving devotion will not depart from you, and My covenant of peace will not be broken,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe in Me as well.
In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and welcome you into My presence, so that you also may be where I am.
You know the way to the place where I am going.”
“Lord,” said Thomas, “we do not know where You are going, so how can we know the way?”
. . .
For at that time there will be great tribulation, unmatched from the beginning of the world until now, and never to be seen again.
If those days had not been cut short, nobody would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short.
Though the LORD is on high, He attends to the lowly; but the proud He knows from afar.
If I walk in the midst of trouble, You preserve me from the anger of my foes; You extend Your hand, and Your right hand saves me.
The LORD will fulfill His purpose for me. O LORD, Your loving devotion endures forever—do not abandon the works of Your hands.
Of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—whom shall I dread?
When the wicked came upon me to devour my flesh, my enemies and foes stumbled and fell.
Though an army encamps around me, my heart will not fear; though a war breaks out against me, I will keep my trust.
One thing I have asked of the LORD; this is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and seek Him in His temple.
For the choirmaster. Of the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A song. God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth is transformed and the mountains are toppled into the depths of the seas,
though their waters roar and foam and the mountains quake in the surge. Selah
There is a river whose streams delight the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her; she will not be moved. God will help her when morning dawns.
. . .
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the LORD, “You are my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
Surely He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the deadly plague.
He will cover you with His feathers; under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
. . .
Then the fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth, and it was given the key to the pit of the Abyss.
The star opened the pit of the Abyss, and smoke rose out of it like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the pit.
And out of the smoke, locusts descended on the earth, and they were given power like that of the scorpions of the earth.
They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.
The locusts were not given power to kill them, but only to torment them for five months, and their torment was like the stinging of a scorpion.
. . .
Now the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the works of their hands. They did not stop worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
If a man marries a woman, but she becomes displeasing to him because he finds some indecency in her, he may write her a certificate of divorce, hand it to her, and send her away from his house.
If, after leaving his house, she goes and becomes another man’s wife,
and the second man hates her, writes her a certificate of divorce, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house, or if he dies,
then the husband who divorced her first may not remarry her after she has been defiled, for that is an abomination to the LORD. You must not bring sin upon the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.
When Pharaoh heard about this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, where he sat down beside a well.
Now the angel of the LORD found Hagar by a spring of water in the desert—the spring along the road to Shur.
“Hagar, servant of Sarai,” he said, “where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I am running away from my mistress Sarai,” she replied.
So the angel of the LORD told her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her authority.”
Then the angel added, “I will greatly multiply your offspring so that they will be too numerous to count.”
The angel of the LORD proceeded: “Behold, you have conceived and will bear a son. And you shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard your cry of affliction.
Then God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, “What is wrong, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he lies.
Get up, lift up the boy, and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.”
Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.
And God was with the boy, and he grew up and settled in the wilderness and became a great archer.
And while he was dwelling in the Wilderness of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
And now, do not be distressed or angry with yourselves that you sold me into this place, because it was to save lives that God sent me before you.
For the famine has covered the land these two years, and there will be five more years without plowing or harvesting.
God sent me before you to preserve you as a remnant on the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.
Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.
You know that when you were pagans, you were influenced and led astray to mute idols.
Therefore I inform you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
There are different gifts, but the same Spirit.
There are different ministries, but the same Lord.
. . .
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.
To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband.
But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.
Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run it through me, or these uncircumcised men will come and run me through and torture me!” But his armor-bearer was terrified and refused to do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it.
When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his own sword and died with him.
But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me.
Most importantly, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.
“Where is the promise of His coming?” they will ask. “Ever since our fathers fell asleep, everything continues as it has from the beginning of creation.”
Although God overlooked the ignorance of earlier times, He now commands all people everywhere to repent.
For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.”
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.
Suddenly a sound like a mighty rushing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.
They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.
. . .
Repent, then, and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped away,
that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus, the Christ, who has been appointed for you.
Heaven must take Him in until the time comes for the restoration of all things, which God announced long ago through His holy prophets.
“At that time Michael, the great prince who stands watch over your people, will rise up. There will be a time of distress, the likes of which will not have occurred from the beginning of nations until that time. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered.
Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
As for Ishmael, I have heard you, and I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He will become the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation.
This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maidservant, bore to Abraham.
These are the names of the sons of Ishmael in the order of their birth: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,
Mishma, Dumah, Massa,
Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.
These were the sons of Ishmael, and these were their names by their villages and encampments—twelve princes of their tribes.
. . .
Abraham lived a total of 175 years.
And at a ripe old age he breathed his last and died, old and contented, and was gathered to his people.
His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite.
This was the field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites. Abraham was buried there with his wife Sarah.
And as they sat down to eat a meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh on their way down to Egypt.
Caravans of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah, and all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and frankincense and proclaiming the praises of the LORD.
Then Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites: “This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Because you have obeyed the command of your forefather Jonadab and have kept all his commandments and have done all that he charged you to do,
Have You not placed a hedge on every side around him and his household and all that he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.
After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stood over the place where the Child was.
When they saw the star, they rejoiced with great delight.
On coming to the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.
And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they withdrew to their country by another route.
While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?”
“Do not judge, or you will be judged.
For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but fail to notice the beam in your own eye?
How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while there is still a beam in your own eye?
You hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
. . .
Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes
and said to the whole congregation of Israel, “The land we passed through and explored is an exceedingly good land.
If the LORD delights in us, He will bring us into this land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and He will give it to us.
Only do not rebel against the LORD, and do not be afraid of the people of the land, for they will be like bread for us. Their protection has been removed, and the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them!”
But the whole congregation threatened to stone Joshua and Caleb. Then the glory of the LORD appeared to all the Israelites at the Tent of Meeting.
Of David. To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul;
in You, my God, I trust. Do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me.
Surely none who wait for You will be put to shame; but those who are faithless without cause will be disgraced.
Show me Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths.
Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; all day long I wait for You.
. . .
This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon come to pass. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John,
who testifies to everything he saw. This is the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and obey what is written in it, because the time is near.
Then the fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth, and it was given the key to the pit of the Abyss.
The star opened the pit of the Abyss, and smoke rose out of it like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the pit.
And out of the smoke, locusts descended on the earth, and they were given power like that of the scorpions of the earth.
And do this, understanding the occasion. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.