Let Us Sing Songs of Praise

Bread from Heaven

16 They ^(A)set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. ² And the whole congregation of the people of Israel ^(B)grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, ³ and the people of Israel said to them, ^(C)“Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, ^(D)when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain ^(E)bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may ^(F)test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. ⁵ On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, ^(G)it will be twice as much as they gather daily.” ⁶ So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, ^(H)“At evening ^(I)you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, ⁷ and in the morning you shall see the ^(J)glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against the Lord. For ^(K)what are we, that you grumble against us?” ⁸ And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the Lord has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him—^(L)what are we? Your grumbling is not ^(M)against us but against the Lord.”

The Preeminence of Christ

^15 (A)He is the image of ^(B)the invisible God, ^(C)the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶ For by^[a] him all things were created, ^(D)in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether ^(E)thrones or ^(F)dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created ^(G)through him and for him. ¹⁷ And ^(H)he is before all things, and in him all things ^(I)hold together. ¹⁸ And ^(J)he is the head of the body, the church. He is ^(K)the beginning, ^(L)the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. ¹⁹ For ^(M)in him all the ^(N)fullness of God was pleased to dwell, ²⁰ and ^(O)through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, ^(P)making peace ^(Q)by the blood of his cross.

^21 (R)And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, ^(S)doing evil deeds, ²² he has now reconciled ^(T)in his body of flesh by his death, ^(U)in order to present you holy and blameless and ^(V)above reproach before him, ^23 (W)if indeed you continue in the faith, ^(X)stable and steadfast, not shifting from ^(Y)the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed ^(Z)in all creation^[b] under heaven, ^(AA)and of which I, Paul, became a minister.