Psalms 132; Psalms 133; Titus 1; Titus 2

Psalms 132

1 LORD, remember David and all his self-denial.

2 He swore an oath to the LORD, he made a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:

3 “I will not enter my house or go to my bed,

4 I will allow no sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids,

5 till I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

6 We heard it in Ephrathah, we came upon it in the fields of Jaar:

7 “Let us go to his dwelling place, let us worship at his footstool, saying,

8 ‘Arise, LORD, and come to your resting place, you and the ark of your might.

9 May your priests be clothed with your righteousness; may your faithful people sing for joy.’ ”

10 For the sake of your servant David, do not reject your anointed one.

11 The LORD swore an oath to David, a sure oath he will not revoke: “One of your own descendants I will place on your throne.

12 If your sons keep my covenant and the statutes I teach them, then their sons will sit on your throne for ever and ever.”

13 For the LORD has chosen Zion, he has desired it for his dwelling, saying,

14 “This is my resting place for ever and ever; here I will sit enthroned, for I have desired it.

15 I will bless her with abundant provisions; her poor I will satisfy with food.

16 I will clothe her priests with salvation, and her faithful people will ever sing for joy.

17 “Here I will make a horn grow for David and set up a lamp for my anointed one.

18 I will clothe his enemies with shame, but his head will be adorned with a radiant crown.”

Psalms 133

1 How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!

2 It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe.

3 It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.

Titus 1

1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness—

2 in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time,

3 and which now at his appointed season he has brought to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior,

4 To Titus, my true son in our common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

5 The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.

6 An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient.

7 Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain.

8 Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.

9 He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

10 For there are many rebellious people, full of meaningless talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision group.

11 They must be silenced, because they are disrupting whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain.

12 One of Crete’s own prophets has said it: “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.”

13 This saying is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith

14 and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the merely human commands of those who reject the truth.

15 To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted.

16 They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.

Titus 2

1 You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine.

2 Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.

3 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good.

4 Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children,

5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

6 Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled.

7 In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness

8 and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.

9 Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them,

10 and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.

11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.

12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,

13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,

14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

15 These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.