Old/New Testament
A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.
123 I look up and pray to you.
Your throne is in heaven.
2 Slaves depend on their masters.
A female slave depends on the woman she works for.
In the same way, we depend on the Lord our God.
We wait for him to have mercy on us.
3 Lord, have mercy on us. Have mercy on us,
because people haven’t stopped making fun of us.
4 We have had to put up with a lot from those who are proud.
They were always laughing at us.
A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord. A psalm of David.
124 Here is what Israel should say.
Suppose the Lord had not been on our side.
2 Suppose the Lord had not been on our side
when our enemies attacked us.
3 Suppose he had not been on our side
when their burning anger blazed out against us.
Then they would have swallowed us alive.
4 They would have been like a flood that drowned us.
They would have swept over us like a rushing river.
5 They would have washed us away
like a swollen stream.
6 Give praise to the Lord.
He has not let our enemies chew us up.
7 We have escaped like a bird
from a hunter’s trap.
The trap has been broken,
and we have escaped.
8 Our help comes from the Lord.
He is the Maker of heaven and earth.
A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.
125 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion.
They will always be secure. They will last forever.
2 Like the mountains around Jerusalem,
the Lord is all around his people
both now and forever.
3 Evil people will not always rule
the land the Lord gave to those who do right.
If they did, those who do right
might do what is evil.
4 Lord, do good to those who are good.
Do good to those whose hearts are honest.
5 But the Lord will drive out those who have taken crooked paths.
He will drive them out with those who do evil things.
May Israel enjoy peace.
Warnings From Israel’s History
10 Brothers and sisters, I want you to know something about our people who lived long ago. They were all led by the cloud. They all walked through the Red Sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food. 4 They all drank the same spiritual water. They drank from the spiritual rock that went with them. That rock was Christ. 5 But God was not pleased with most of them. Their bodies were scattered in the desert.
6 Now those things happened as examples for us. They are supposed to keep us from wanting evil things. The people of Israel wanted these evil things. 7 So don’t worship statues of gods, as some of them did. It is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink. Then they got up to dance wildly in front of their god.” (Exodus 32:6) 8 We should not commit sexual sins, as some of them did. In one day 23,000 of them died. 9 We should not test the Messiah, as some of them did. They were killed by snakes. 10 Don’t speak against God. That’s what some of the people of Israel did. And they were killed by the destroying angel.
11 Those things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us. That’s because we are living at the time when God’s work is being completed. 12 So be careful. When you think you are standing firm, you might fall. 13 You are tempted in the same way all other human beings are. God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted any more than you can take. But when you are tempted, God will give you a way out. Then you will be able to deal with it.
Sharing in the Lord’s Supper
14 My dear friends, run away from statues of gods. Don’t worship them. 15 I’m talking to people who are reasonable. Judge for yourselves what I say. 16 We give thanks for the cup at the Lord’s Supper. When we do, aren’t we sharing in the blood of Christ? When we break the bread, aren’t we sharing in the body of Christ? 17 Just as there is one loaf, so we who are many are one body. We all share the one loaf.
18 Think about the people of Israel. Don’t those who eat the offerings share in the altar?
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