Ezek. 28

28:1 The Lord’s message came to me: 2“Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘Your heart is proud and you said, “I am a god;

I sit in the seat of gods, in the heart of the seas”—

yet you are a man and not a god,

though you think you are godlike.

3Look, you are wiser than Daniel;

no secret is hidden from you.

4By your wisdom and understanding you have gained wealth for yourself;

you have amassed gold and silver in your treasuries.

5By your great skill in trade you have increased your wealth,

and your heart is proud because of your wealth.

6“‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

Because you think you are godlike,

7I am about to bring foreigners against you, the most terrifying of nations.

They will draw their swords against the grandeur made by your wisdom,

and they will defile your splendor.

8They will bring you down to the Pit, and you will die violently in the heart of the seas.

9Will you still say, “I am a god,” before the one who kills you—

though you are a man and not a god—

when you are in the power of those who wound you?

10You will die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of foreigners;

for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

11The Lord’s message came to me: 12“Son of man, sing a lament for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘You were the sealer of perfection,

full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.

13You were in Eden, the garden of God.

Every precious stone was your covering,

the ruby, topaz, and emerald,

the chrysolite, onyx, and jasper,

the sapphire, turquoise, and beryl;

your settings and mounts were made of gold.

On the day you were created they were prepared.

14I placed you there with an anointed guardian cherub;

you were on the holy mountain of God;

you walked about amidst fiery stones.

15You were blameless in your behavior from the day you were created,

until sin was discovered in you.

16In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned;

so I defiled you and banished you from the mountain of God—

the guardian cherub expelled you from the midst of the stones of fire.

17Your heart was proud because of your beauty;

you corrupted your wisdom on account of your splendor.

I threw you down to the ground;

I placed you before kings, that they might see you.

18By the multitude of your iniquities, through the sinfulness of your trade,

you desecrated your sanctuaries.

So I drew fire out from within you;

it consumed you,

and I turned you to ashes on the earth

before the eyes of all who saw you.

19All who know you among the peoples are shocked at you;

you have become terrified and will be no more.’”

20The Lord’s message came to me: 21“Son of man, turn toward Sidon and prophesy against it. 22Say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘Look, I am against you, Sidon,

and I will magnify myself in your midst.

Then they will know that I am the Lord

when I execute judgments on her

and reveal my sovereign power in her.

23I will send a plague into the city and bloodshed into its streets;

the slain will fall within it, by the sword that attacks it from every side.

Then they will know that I am the Lord.

24“‘No longer will Israel suffer from the sharp briers or painful thorns of all who surround and scorn them. Then they will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.

25“‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When I regather the house of Israel from the peoples where they are dispersed, I will reveal my sovereign power over them in the sight of the nations, and they will live in their land that I gave to my servant Jacob. 26They will live securely in it; they will build houses and plant vineyards. They will live securely when I execute my judgments on all those who scorn them and surround them. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.’”

Ps. 89

89:1 A well-written song by Ethan the Ezrahite.

I will sing continually about the Lord’s faithful deeds;

to future generations I will proclaim your faithfulness.

2For I say, “Loyal love is permanently established;

in the skies you set up your faithfulness.”

3The Lord said,

“I have made a covenant with my chosen one;

I have made a promise on oath to David, my servant:

4‘I will give you an eternal dynasty

and establish your throne throughout future generations.’” (Selah)

5O Lord, the heavens praise your amazing deeds,

as well as your faithfulness in the angelic assembly.

6For who in the skies can compare to the Lord?

Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings,

7a God who is honored in the great angelic assembly,

and more awesome than all who surround him?

8O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies!

Who is strong like you, O Lord?

Your faithfulness surrounds you.

9You rule over the proud sea.

When its waves surge, you calm them.

10You crushed the Proud One and killed it;

with your strong arm you scattered your enemies.

11The heavens belong to you, as does the earth.

You made the world and all it contains.

12You created the north and the south.

Tabor and Hermon rejoice in your name.

13Your arm is powerful,

your hand strong,

your right hand victorious.

14Equity and justice are the foundation of your throne.

Loyal love and faithfulness characterize your rule.

15How blessed are the people who worship you!

O Lord, they experience your favor.

16They rejoice in your name all day long,

and are vindicated by your justice.

17For you give them splendor and strength.

By your favor we are victorious.

18For our shield belongs to the Lord,

our king to the Holy One of Israel.

19Then you spoke through a vision to your faithful followers and said:

“I have placed a young hero over a warrior;

I have raised up a young man from the people.

20I have discovered David, my servant.

With my holy oil I have anointed him as king.

21My hand will support him,

and my arm will strengthen him.

22No enemy will be able to exact tribute from him;

a violent oppressor will not be able to humiliate him.

23I will crush his enemies before him;

I will strike down those who hate him.

24He will experience my faithfulness and loyal love,

and by my name he will win victories.

25I will place his hand over the sea,

his right hand over the rivers.

26He will call out to me,

‘You are my father, my God, and the protector who delivers me.’

27I will appoint him to be my firstborn son,

the most exalted of the earth’s kings.

28I will always extend my loyal love to him,

and my covenant with him is secure.

29I will give him an eternal dynasty

and make his throne as enduring as the skies above.

30If his sons reject my law

and disobey my regulations,

31if they break my rules

and do not keep my commandments,

32I will punish their rebellion by beating them with a club,

their sin by inflicting them with bruises.

33But I will not remove my loyal love from him

nor be unfaithful to my promise.

34I will not break my covenant

or go back on what I promised.

35Once and for all I have vowed by my own holiness,

I will never deceive David.

36His dynasty will last forever.

His throne will endure before me, like the sun;

37it will remain stable, like the moon.

His throne will endure like the skies.” (Selah)

38But you have spurned and rejected him;

you are angry with your chosen king.

39You have repudiated your covenant with your servant;

you have thrown his crown to the ground.

40You have broken down all his walls;

you have made his strongholds a heap of ruins.

41All who pass by have robbed him;

he has become an object of disdain to his neighbors.

42You have allowed his adversaries to be victorious

and all his enemies to rejoice.

43You turn back his sword from the adversary

and have not sustained him in battle.

44You have brought to an end his splendor

and have knocked his throne to the ground.

45You have cut short his youth

and have covered him with shame. (Selah)

46How long, O Lord, will this last?

Will you remain hidden forever?

Will your anger continue to burn like fire?

47Take note of my brief lifespan.

Why do you make all people so mortal?

48No man can live on without experiencing death

or deliver his life from the power of Sheol. (Selah)

49Where are your earlier faithful deeds, O Lord,

the ones performed in accordance with your reliable oath to David?

50Take note, O Lord, of the way your servants are taunted

and of how I must bear so many insults from people.

51Your enemies, O Lord, hurl insults;

they insult your chosen king as they dog his footsteps.

52 The Lord deserves praise forevermore!

We agree! We agree!

Heb. 3:1–11

3:1 Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, partners in a heavenly calling, take note of Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess, 2who is faithful to the one who appointed him, as Moses was also in God’s house. 3For he has come to deserve greater glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house deserves greater honor than the house itself! 4For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. 5Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that would be spoken. 6But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house. We are of his house, if in fact we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope we take pride in.

7Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,

“Oh, that today you would listen as he speaks!

8Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness.

9There your fathers tested me and tried me, and they saw my works for forty years.

10Therefore, I became provoked at that generation and said, ‘Their hearts are always wandering, and they have not known my ways.’

11As I swore in my anger, ‘They will never enter my rest!’”