Prayer for Relief from Contempt

A Song of Ascents.

123 Unto You (A)I lift up my eyes,
O You (B)who dwell in the heavens.
Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters,
As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
(C)So our eyes look to the Lord our God,
Until He has mercy on us.

Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us!
For we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
Our soul is exceedingly filled
With the scorn of those who are at ease,
With the contempt of the proud.

The Lord the Defense of His People

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

124 “If it had not been the Lord who was on our (D)side,”
(E)Let Israel now say—
“If it had not been the Lord who was on our side,
When men rose up against us,
Then they would have (F)swallowed us alive,
When their wrath was kindled against us;
Then the waters would have overwhelmed us,
The stream would have [a]gone over our soul;
Then the swollen waters
Would have [b]gone over our soul.”

Blessed be the Lord,
Who has not given us as prey to their teeth.
(G)Our soul has escaped (H)as a bird from the snare of the [c]fowlers;
The snare is broken, and we have escaped.
(I)Our help is in the name of the Lord,
(J)Who made heaven and earth.

The Lord the Strength of His People

A Song of Ascents.

125 Those who trust in the Lord
Are like Mount Zion,
Which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
So the Lord surrounds His people
From this time forth and forever.

For (K)the scepter of wickedness shall not rest
On the land allotted to the righteous,
Lest the righteous reach out their hands to iniquity.

Do good, O Lord, to those who are good,
And to those who are upright in their hearts.

As for such as turn aside to their (L)crooked ways,
The Lord shall lead them away
With the workers of iniquity.

(M)Peace be upon Israel!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 124:4 swept over
  2. Psalm 124:5 swept over
  3. Psalm 124:7 Persons who catch birds in a trap or snare

Psalm 123

A song of ascents.

I lift up my eyes to you,
    to you who sit enthroned(A) in heaven.
As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,
    as the eyes of a female slave look to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord(B) our God,
    till he shows us his mercy.

Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us,
    for we have endured no end of contempt.
We have endured no end
    of ridicule from the arrogant,
    of contempt from the proud.

Psalm 124

A song of ascents. Of David.

If the Lord had not been on our side—
    let Israel say(C)
if the Lord had not been on our side
    when people attacked us,
they would have swallowed us alive
    when their anger flared against us;
the flood(D) would have engulfed us,
    the torrent(E) would have swept over us,
the raging waters
    would have swept us away.

Praise be to the Lord,
    who has not let us be torn by their teeth.
We have escaped like a bird
    from the fowler’s snare;(F)
the snare has been broken,(G)
    and we have escaped.
Our help is in the name(H) of the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven(I) and earth.

Psalm 125

A song of ascents.

Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,(J)
    which cannot be shaken(K) but endures forever.
As the mountains surround Jerusalem,(L)
    so the Lord surrounds(M) his people
    both now and forevermore.

The scepter(N) of the wicked will not remain(O)
    over the land allotted to the righteous,
for then the righteous might use
    their hands to do evil.(P)

Lord, do good(Q) to those who are good,
    to those who are upright in heart.(R)
But those who turn(S) to crooked ways(T)
    the Lord will banish(U) with the evildoers.

Peace be on Israel.(V)

Old Testament Examples

10 Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under (A)the cloud, all passed through (B)the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same (C)spiritual food, and all drank the same (D)spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies (E)were scattered in the wilderness.

Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as (F)they also lusted. (G)And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, (H)“The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” (I)Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as (J)some of them did, and (K)in one day twenty-three thousand fell; nor let us [a]tempt Christ, as (L)some of them also tempted, and (M)were destroyed by serpents; 10 nor complain, as (N)some of them also complained, and (O)were destroyed by (P)the destroyer. 11 Now [b]all these things happened to them as examples, and (Q)they were written for our [c]admonition, (R)upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

12 Therefore (S)let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but (T)God is faithful, (U)who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to [d]bear it.

Flee from Idolatry

14 Therefore, my beloved, (V)flee from idolatry. 15 I speak as to (W)wise men; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 (X)The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the [e]communion of the blood of Christ? (Y)The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 17 For (Z)we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.

18 Observe (AA)Israel (AB)after the flesh: (AC)Are not those who eat of the sacrifices [f]partakers of the altar?

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 10:9 test
  2. 1 Corinthians 10:11 NU omits all
  3. 1 Corinthians 10:11 instruction
  4. 1 Corinthians 10:13 endure
  5. 1 Corinthians 10:16 fellowship or sharing
  6. 1 Corinthians 10:18 fellowshippers or sharers

Warnings From Israel’s History

10 For I do not want you to be ignorant(A) of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud(B) and that they all passed through the sea.(C) They were all baptized into(D) Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food(E) and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock(F) that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.(G)

Now these things occurred as examples(H) to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters,(I) as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.”[a](J) We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died.(K) We should not test Christ,[b](L) as some of them did—and were killed by snakes.(M) 10 And do not grumble, as some of them did(N)—and were killed(O) by the destroying angel.(P)

11 These things happened to them as examples(Q) and were written down as warnings for us,(R) on whom the culmination of the ages has come.(S) 12 So, if you think you are standing firm,(T) be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation[c] has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful;(U) he will not let you be tempted[d] beyond what you can bear.(V) But when you are tempted,[e] he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

Idol Feasts and the Lord’s Supper

14 Therefore, my dear friends,(W) flee from idolatry.(X) 15 I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break(Y) a participation in the body of Christ?(Z) 17 Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body,(AA) for we all share the one loaf.

18 Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices(AB) participate in the altar?

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 10:7 Exodus 32:6
  2. 1 Corinthians 10:9 Some manuscripts test the Lord
  3. 1 Corinthians 10:13 The Greek for temptation and tempted can also mean testing and tested.
  4. 1 Corinthians 10:13 The Greek for temptation and tempted can also mean testing and tested.
  5. 1 Corinthians 10:13 The Greek for temptation and tempted can also mean testing and tested.