Old/New Testament
A Prayer for the Lord’s Help
123 I lift up my eyes to You, O You Whose throne is in the heavens. 2 See, the eyes of servants look to the hand of their owner. The eyes of a woman servant look to the hand of her owner. So our eyes look to the Lord our God, until He shows us loving-kindness.
3 Show loving-kindness to us, O Lord. Show loving-kindness to us. For we have had our fill of hate. 4 The proud have laughed at us too long. We have had more than enough of their hate.
God Watches Over His People
124 “If the Lord had not been on our side,” let Israel say, 2 “If the Lord had not been on our side when men came against us, 3 they would have eaten us up alive. Because their anger burned against us. 4 The waters would have covered us. The river would have passed over our soul. 5 The angry waters would have passed over our soul.”
6 Honor and thanks be to the Lord! He has not let us be torn by their teeth. 7 We have become free like a bird out of a trap. The net is broken and now we are free. 8 Our help is in the name of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.
God’s People Are Safe
125 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but stands forever. 2 The Lord is around His people like the mountains are around Jerusalem, now and forever. 3 For the sinful will not rule over the land of those who are right with God. So those who are right and good may not use their hands to do wrong.
4 O Lord, do good to those who are good, and to those who are right in their hearts. 5 But the Lord will let all those who turn aside to their sinful ways go with those who are sinners. Peace be upon Israel.
The Danger of Worshiping False Gods
10 Christian brothers, I want you to know what happened to our early fathers. They all walked from the country of Egypt under the cloud that showed them the way, and they all passed through the waters of the Red Sea. 2 They were all baptized as they followed Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 All of them ate the same holy food. 4 They all drank the same holy drink. They drank from a holy Rock that went along with them. That holy Rock was Christ. 5 Even then most of them did not please God. He destroyed them in the desert.
6 These things show us something. They teach us not to want things that are bad for us like those people did. 7 We must not worship false gods as some of them did. The Holy Writings tell us, “The people sat down to eat and drink. Then they got up to play.” (A) 8 We must not do sex sins as some of them did. In one day 23,000 died. 9 We must not test the Lord as some of them did. They were destroyed by snakes. 10 We must not complain against God as some of them did. That is why they were destroyed.
11 All these things happened to show us something. They were written to teach us that the end of the world is near. 12 So watch yourself! The person who thinks he can stand against sin had better watch that he does not fall into sin. 13 You have never been tempted to sin in any different way than other people. God is faithful. He will not allow you to be tempted more than you can take. But when you are tempted, He will make a way for you to keep from falling into sin.
Teaching About the Lord’s Supper
14 My dear friends, keep away from the worship of false gods. 15 I am speaking to you who are able to understand. See if what I am saying is true. 16 When we give thanks for the fruit of the vine at the Lord’s supper, are we not sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread we eat at the Lord’s supper, are we not sharing in the body of Christ? 17 There is one bread, and many of us Christians make up the body of Christ. All of us eat from that bread.
18 Look at the Jews. They ate the animals that were brought to God as gifts in worship and put on the altar. Did this not show they were sharing with God?
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