Old/New Testament

Psalm 132

A Song of ^[a]Ascents.

¹ Lord, [earnestly] remember to David’s credit all his humiliations and hardships and endurance—

² How he swore to the Lord and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:

³ Surely I will not enter my dwelling house or get into my bed—

⁴ I will not permit my eyes to sleep or my eyelids to slumber,

⁵ Until I have found a place for the Lord, a habitation for the Mighty One of Jacob.^(A)

⁶ Behold, at Ephratah we [first] heard of [the discovered ark]; we found it in the fields of the wood [at Kiriath-jearim].^(B)

⁷ Let us go into His tabernacle; let us worship at His footstool.

⁸ Arise, O Lord, to Your resting-place, You and the ark [the symbol] of Your strength.

⁹ Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness (right living and right standing with God); and let Your saints shout for joy!

¹⁰ For Your servant David’s sake, turn not away the face of Your anointed and reject not Your own king.

¹¹ The Lord swore to David in truth; He will not turn back from it: One of the fruit of your body I will set upon your throne.^(C)

¹² If your children will keep My covenant and My testimony that I shall teach them, their children also shall sit upon your throne forever.

¹³ For the Lord has chosen Zion, He has desired it for His habitation:

¹⁴ This is My resting-place forever [says the Lord]; here will I dwell, for I have desired it.

¹⁵ I will surely and abundantly bless her provision; I will satisfy her poor with bread.

¹⁶ Her priests also will I clothe with salvation, and her saints shall shout aloud for joy.

¹⁷ There will I make a horn spring forth and bud for David; I have ordained and prepared a lamp for My anointed [fulfilling the promises of old].^(D)

¹⁸ His enemies will I clothe with shame, but upon himself shall his crown flourish.

Psalm 133

A Song of ^[b]Ascents. Of David.

¹ Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

² It is like the precious ointment poured on the head, that ran down on the beard, even the beard of Aaron [the first high priest], that came down upon the collar and skirts of his garments [consecrating the whole body].^(E)

³ It is like the dew of [lofty] Mount Hermon and the dew that comes on the hills of Zion; for there the Lord has commanded the blessing, even life forevermore [upon the high and the lowly].

Psalm 134

A Song of ^[c]Ascents.

¹ Behold, bless (affectionately and gratefully praise) the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, [singers] who by night stand in the house of the Lord.^(F)

² Lift up your hands in holiness and to the sanctuary and bless the Lord [affectionately and gratefully praise Him]!

³ The Lord bless you out of Zion, even He Who made heaven and earth.

¹⁷ But in what I instruct [you] next I do not commend [you], because when you meet together, it is not for the better but for the worse.

¹⁸ For in the first place, when you assemble as a congregation, I hear that there are cliques (divisions and factions) among you; and I in part believe it,

¹⁹ For doubtless there have to be factions or parties among you in order that they who are genuine and of approved fitness may become evident and plainly recognized among you.

²⁰ So when you gather for your meetings, it is not the supper instituted by the Lord that you eat,

²¹ For in eating each one [hurries] to get his own supper first [not waiting for the poor], and one goes hungry while another gets drunk.

²² What! Do you have no houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and mean to show contempt for it, while you humiliate those who are poor (have no homes and have brought no food)? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, [most certainly] I will not!

²³ For I received from the Lord Himself that which I passed on to you [it was given to me personally], that the Lord Jesus on the night when He was treacherously delivered up and while His betrayal was in progress took bread,

²⁴ And when He had given thanks, He broke [it] and said, Take, eat. This is My body, which is broken for you. Do this to call Me [affectionately] to remembrance.

²⁵ Similarly when supper was ended, He took the cup also, saying, This cup is the new covenant [ratified and established] in My blood. Do this, as often as you drink [it], to call Me [affectionately] to remembrance.

²⁶ For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are representing and signifying and proclaiming the fact of the Lord’s death until He comes [again].

²⁷ So then whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in a way that is unworthy [of Him] will be guilty of [profaning and sinning against] the body and blood of the Lord.

²⁸ Let a man [thoroughly] examine himself, and [only when he has done] so should he eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

²⁹ For anyone who eats and drinks without discriminating and recognizing with due appreciation that [it is Christ’s] body, eats and drinks a sentence (a verdict of judgment) upon himself.

³⁰ That [careless and unworthy participation] is the reason many of you are weak and sickly, and quite enough of you have fallen into the sleep of death.

³¹ For if we searchingly examined ourselves [detecting our shortcomings and recognizing our own condition], we should not be judged and penalty decreed [by the divine judgment].

³² But when we [fall short and] are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined and chastened, so that we may not [finally] be condemned [to eternal punishment along] with the world.

³³ So then, my brothers, when you gather together to eat [the Lord’s Supper], wait for one another.

³⁴ If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together to bring judgment [on yourselves]. About the other matters, I will give you directions [personally] when I come.