Psalm 124

English Standard Version

Our Help Is in the Name of the Lord

A Song of ^(A)Ascents. Of David.

124 ^(B)If it had not been the Lord who was on our side—
    ^(C)let Israel now say—
²if it had not been the Lord who was on our side
    when people rose up against us,
³then they would have ^(D)swallowed us up alive,
    when their anger was kindled against us;
⁴then ^(E)the flood would have ^(F)swept us away,
    the torrent would have gone ^(G)over us;
⁵then over us would have gone
    the raging waters.

⁶Blessed be the Lord,
    who has not given us
    as prey to their teeth!
⁷We have escaped like a bird
    from ^(H)the snare of the fowlers;
the snare is broken,
    and we have escaped!

⁸^(I)Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.

Psalm 125

English Standard Version

The Lord Surrounds His People

A Song of ^(A)Ascents.

125 Those who ^(B)trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
    which ^(C)cannot be moved, but abides forever.
²As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
    so ^(D)the Lord surrounds his people,
    from this time forth and forevermore.
³For ^(E)the scepter of wickedness shall not ^(F)rest
    on ^(G)the land allotted to the righteous,
lest the righteous ^(H)stretch out
    their hands to do wrong.
⁴^(I)Do good, O Lord, to those who are good,
    and to those who are ^(J)upright in their hearts!
⁵But those who ^(K)turn aside to their ^(L)crooked ways
    the Lord will lead away with ^(M)evildoers!
    ^(N)Peace be upon Israel!

Psalm 126

English Standard Version

Restore Our Fortunes, O Lord

A Song of ^(A)Ascents.

126 When the Lord ^(B)restored the fortunes of Zion,
    we were like those who ^(C)dream.
²Then our ^(D)mouth was filled with laughter,
    and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then they said among the nations,
    ^(E)“The Lord has done great things for them.”
³The Lord has done great things for us;
    we are glad.

⁴Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
    like streams in the Negeb!
⁵^(F)Those who sow in tears
    shall reap with shouts of joy!
⁶He who goes out weeping,
    bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
    bringing his sheaves with him.

James 4

English Standard Version

Warning Against Worldliness

4 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions^[a] are ^(A)at war within you?^[b] ²You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. ³You ask and do not receive, because you ask ^(B)wrongly, to spend it on your passions. ⁴^(C)You adulterous people!^[c] Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? ^(D)Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. ⁵Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit ^(E)that he has made to dwell in us”? ⁶But ^(F)he gives more grace. Therefore it says, ^(G)“God opposes the proud but ^(H)gives grace to the humble.” ⁷Submit yourselves therefore to God. ^(I)Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸^(J)Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. ^(K)Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and ^(L)purify your hearts, ^(M)you double-minded. ⁹^(N)Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰^(O)Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

¹¹^(P)Do not speak evil against one another, brothers.^[d] The one who speaks against a brother or ^(Q)judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. ¹²There is only ^(R)one lawgiver and ^(S)judge, he who is able to save and ^(T)to destroy. But ^(U)who are you to judge your neighbor?

Boasting About Tomorrow

¹³Come now, you who say, ^(V)“Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— ¹⁴yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For ^(W)you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. ¹⁵Instead you ought to say, ^(X)“If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” ¹⁶As it is, you boast in your arrogance. ^(Y)All such boasting is evil. ¹⁷^(Z)So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.