PSALM 91

Security of the One Who Trusts in the Lord.

1He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

2I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,

My God, in whom I trust!”

3For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper

And from the deadly pestilence.

4He will cover you with His pinions,

And under His wings you may seek refuge;

His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.

5You will not be afraid of the terror by night,

Or of the arrow that flies by day;

6Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness,

Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.

7A thousand may fall at your side

And ten thousand at your right hand,

But it shall not approach you.

8You will only look on with your eyes

And see the recompense of the wicked.

9For you have made the Lord, my refuge,

Even the Most High, your dwelling place.

10No evil will befall you,

Nor will any plague come near your tent.

11For He will give His angels charge concerning you,

To guard you in all your ways.

12They will bear you up in their hands,

That you do not strike your foot against a stone.

13You will tread upon the lion and cobra,

The young lion and the serpent you will trample down.

14“Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him;

I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.

15He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble;

I will rescue him and honor him.

16With a long life I will satisfy him

And let him see My salvation.”

21He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.” 22Judas (not Iscariot) *said to Him, “Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?” 23Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.

1) How is obedience connected to dwelling in יהוה’s presence?

2) Why does intimacy require covenant faithfulness?

3) What blessings flow from keeping His commandments?

16Who will stand up for me against evildoers?

Who will take his stand for me against those who do wickedness?

17If the Lord had not been my help,

My soul would soon have dwelt in the abode of silence.

18If I should say, “My foot has slipped,”

Your lovingkindness, O Lord, will hold me up.

19When my anxious thoughts multiply within me,

Your consolations delight my soul.

20Can a throne of destruction be allied with You,

One which devises mischief by decree?

21They band themselves together against the life of the righteous

And condemn the innocent to death.

22But the Lord has been my stronghold,

And my God the rock of my refuge.

23He has brought back their wickedness upon them

And will destroy them in their evil;

The Lord our God will destroy them.

Preaching of John the Baptist

1The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

2As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

“Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You,

Who will prepare Your way;

3The voice of one crying in the wilderness,

‘Make ready the way of the Lord,

Make His paths straight.’ ”

4John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. 6John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist, and his diet was locusts and wild honey. 7And he was preaching, and saying, “After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals. 8I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

The Baptism of Jesus

9In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; 11and a voice came out of the heavens: “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”

12Immediately the Spirit *impelled Him to go out into the wilderness. 13And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to Him.

Jesus Preaches in Galilee

14Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, 15and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

16As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. 17And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. 19Going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets. 20Immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away to follow Him.

21They *went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and began to teach. 22They were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 23Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, 24saying, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” 25And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” 26Throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him. 27They were all amazed, so that they debated among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” 28Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding district of Galilee.

Crowds Healed

29And immediately after they came out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and immediately they *spoke to Jesus about her. 31And He came to her and raised her up, taking her by the hand, and the fever left her, and she waited on them.

32When evening came, after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were demon-possessed. 33And the whole city had gathered at the door. 34And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.

35In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there. 36Simon and his companions searched for Him; 37they found Him, and *said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.” 38He *said to them, “Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for.” 39And He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching and casting out the demons.

You Walk in the Truth

1The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.

2Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. 3For I was very glad when brethren came and testified to your truth, that is, how you are walking in truth. 4I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.

5Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brethren, and especially when they are strangers; 6and they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. 7For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. 8Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers with the truth.

9I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say. 10For this reason, if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words; and not satisfied with this, he himself does not receive the brethren, either, and he forbids those who desire to do so and puts them out of the church.

11Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God. 12Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself; and we add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true.

13I had many things to write to you, but I am not willing to write them to you with pen and ink; 14but I hope to see you shortly, and we will speak face to face.