Old Testament

The Book of Psalms Chapter 89:1-52

 A Contemplation of Ethan the Ezrahite.

I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever;
With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations.

For I have said, "Mercy shall be built up forever;
Your faithfulness You shall establish in the very heavens."

"I have made a covenant with My chosen,
I have sworn to My servant David:

'Your seed I will establish forever,
And build up your throne to all generations.' " Selah

And the heavens will praise Your wonders, O Lord;
Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the saints.

For who in the heavens can be compared to the Lord?
Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the Lord?

God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints,
And to be held in reverence by all those around Him.

O Lord God of hosts,
Who is mighty like You, O Lord?
Your faithfulness also surrounds You.

You rule the raging of the sea;
When its waves rise, You still them.
(10)
You have broken Rahab in pieces, as one who is slain;
You have scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.

The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours;
The world and all its fullness, You have founded them.

The north and the south, You have created them;
Tabor and Hermon rejoice in Your name.

You have a mighty arm;
Strong is Your hand, and high is Your right hand.

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
Mercy and truth go before Your face.

Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound!
They walk, O Lord, in the light of Your countenance.

In Your name they rejoice all day long,
And in Your righteousness they are exalted.

For You are the glory of their strength,
And in Your favor our horn is exalted.

For our shield belongs to the Lord,
And our king to the Holy One of Israel.

Then You spoke in a vision to Your holy one,
And said: "I have given help to one who is mighty;
I have exalted one chosen from the people.
(20)
I have found My servant David;
With My holy oil I have anointed him,

With whom My hand shall be established;
Also My arm shall strengthen him.

The enemy shall not outwit him,
Nor the son of wickedness afflict him.

I will beat down his foes before his face,
And plague those who hate him.

"But My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with him,
And in My name his horn shall be exalted.

Also I will set his hand over the sea,
And his right hand over the rivers.

He shall cry to Me, 'You are my Father,
My God, and the rock of my salvation.'

Also I will make him My firstborn,
The highest of the kings of the earth.

My mercy I will keep for him forever,
And My covenant shall stand firm with him.

His seed also I will make to endure forever,
And his throne as the days of heaven.
(30)
"If his sons forsake My law
And do not walk in My judgments,

If they break My statutes
And do not keep My commandments,

Then I will punish their transgression with the rod,
And their iniquity with stripes.

Nevertheless My lovingkindness I will not utterly take from him,
Nor allow My faithfulness to fail.

My covenant I will not break,
Nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips.

Once I have sworn by My holiness;
I will not lie to David:

His seed shall endure forever,
And his throne as the sun before Me;

It shall be established forever like the moon,
Even like the faithful witness in the sky." Selah

But You have cast off and abhorred,
You have been furious with Your anointed.

You have renounced the covenant of Your servant;
You have profaned his crown by casting it to the ground.
(40)
You have broken down all his hedges;
You have brought his strongholds to ruin.

All who pass by the way plunder him;
He is a reproach to his neighbors.

You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries;
You have made all his enemies rejoice.

You have also turned back the edge of his sword,
And have not sustained him in the battle.

You have made his glory cease,
And cast his throne down to the ground.

The days of his youth You have shortened;
You have covered him with shame. Selah

How long, Lord?
Will You hide Yourself forever?
Will Your wrath burn like fire?

Remember how short my time is;
For what futility have You created all the children of men?

What man can live and not see death?
Can he deliver his life from the power of the grave? Selah

Lord, where are Your former lovingkindnesses,
Which You swore to David in Your truth?
(50)
Remember, Lord, the reproach of Your servants--
How I bear in my bosom the reproach of all the many peoples,

With which Your enemies have reproached, O Lord,
With which they have reproached the footsteps of Your anointed.

Blessed be the Lord forevermore!
Amen and Amen.

New Testament (NKJV)

The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Philippians Chapter 3:1-12-17-21

Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe. Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.

Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame--who set their mind on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.