A Call to Praise the Lord for His Righteousness.

A Psalm.

The Lord, an Abundant Helper.

Moses on Sinai

19 ^(A)In the third month after the sons of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, ^[a]on that very day they came into the wilderness of ^(B)Sinai. ² When they set out from ^(C)Rephidim, they came to the wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness; and there Israel camped in front of ^(D)the mountain. ³ And Moses went up to God, and ^(E)the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “This is what you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the sons of Israel: ⁴ ‘^(F)You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you on ^(G)eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself. ⁵ Now then, ^(H)if you will indeed obey My voice and ^(I)keep My covenant, then you shall be ^(J)My ^[b]own possession among all the peoples, for ^(K)all the earth is Mine; ⁶ and you shall be to Me ^(L)a kingdom of priests and ^(M)a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.”

^7 (N)So Moses came and called the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which the Lord had commanded him. ⁸ Then ^(O)all the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do!” And Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord. ⁹ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in ^(P)a thick cloud, so that the ^(Q)people may hear when I speak with you and may also trust in you forever.” Then Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.

¹⁰ The Lord also said to Moses, “Go to the people and ^(R)consecrate them today and tomorrow, and have them ^(S)wash their garments; ¹¹ and have them ready for the third day, for on ^(T)the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. ¹² But you shall set boundaries for the people all around, saying, ‘^[c]Beware that you do not go up on the mountain or touch the border of it; ^(U)whoever touches the mountain shall certainly be put to death. ¹³ No hand shall touch him, but ^(V)he shall certainly be stoned or ^[d]shot through; whether animal or person, the violator shall not live.’ When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, they shall come up to ^(W)the mountain.” ¹⁴ So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people, and they washed their garments. ¹⁵ He also said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman.”

^16 (X)So it came about on the third day, when it was morning, that there were ^[e]thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud over the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.

Thankfulness for Spiritual Attainments

1 ^(A)Paul, ^(B)an apostle of Christ Jesus ^[a](C)by the will of God, and ^(D)Timothy ^[b]our brother,

² To the ^[c](E)saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ who are at Colossae: ^(F)Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

^3 (G)We ^[d]give thanks to God, ^(H)the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, ^4 (I)since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the ^(J)love which you have ^[e]for ^(K)all the ^[f]saints; ⁵ because of the ^(L)hope ^(M)reserved for you in ^[g]heaven, of which you previously ^(N)heard in the word of truth, ^[h]the gospel ⁶ which has come to you, just as ^[i](O)in all the world also it is bearing ^(P)fruit and ^[j]increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you ^(Q)heard it and ^[k]understood the grace of God in truth; ⁷ just as you learned it from ^(R)Epaphras, our ^(S)beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, ⁸ and he also informed us of your ^(T)love in the Spirit.

⁹ For this reason we also, ^(U)since the day we heard about it, ^(V)have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the ^[l](W)knowledge of His will in all spiritual ^(X)wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰ so that you will ^(Y)walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, ^[m](Z)to please Him in all respects, ^(AA)bearing fruit in every good work and ^[n]increasing in the ^[o]knowledge of God; ^11 (AB)strengthened with all power, according to ^[p]His glorious might, ^[q]for the attaining of all perseverance and ^[r]patience; ^(AC)joyously ¹² giving thanks to ^(AD)the Father, who has qualified us ^[s]to share in ^(AE)the inheritance of the ^[t]saints in ^(AF)light.

The Incomparable Christ

^13 [u]For He rescued us from the ^[v](AG)domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of ^[w](AH)His beloved Son, ^14 (AI)in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

⁷ But when he saw many of the ^(A)Pharisees and ^(B)Sadducees coming for ^[a]baptism, he said to them, “You ^[b](C)offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from ^(D)the wrath to come? ^8 (E)Therefore produce fruit ^(F)consistent with repentance; ⁹ and do not assume that you can say to yourselves, ‘^(G)We have Abraham as our father’; for I tell you that God is able, from these stones, to raise up children for Abraham. ¹⁰ And the ^(H)axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore, ^(I)every tree that does not bear good fruit is being cut down and thrown into the fire.

¹¹ “As for me, ^(J)I baptize you ^[c]with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; ^(K)He will baptize you ^[d]with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His ^(L)winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will ^(M)gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the ^(N)chaff with ^(O)unquenchable fire.”