Psalms 132; Psalms 133; Psalms 134; 1 Corinthians 11:17-34

1 O LORD, remember David and all the hardships he endured.

2 Remember how he swore an oath to the LORD and made this vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:

3 "I will not step inside my house,

4 get into my bed, shut my eyes, or close my eyelids

5 until I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob."

6 Now, we have heard about the ark [of the promise] being in Ephrathah. We have found it in Jaar.

7 Let's go to his dwelling place. Let's worship at his footstool.

8 O LORD, arise, and come to your resting place with the ark of your power.

9 Clothe your priests with righteousness. Let your godly ones sing with joy.

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

11 The LORD swore an oath to David. This is a truth he will not take back: "I will set one of your own descendants on your throne.

12 If your sons are faithful to my promise and my written instructions that I will teach them, then their descendants will also sit on your throne forever."

13 The LORD has chosen Zion. He wants it for his home.

14 "This will be my resting place forever. Here I will sit enthroned because I want Zion.

15 I will certainly bless all that Zion needs. I will satisfy its needy people with food.

16 I will clothe its priests with salvation. Then its godly ones will sing joyfully.

17 There I will make a horn sprout up for David. I will prepare a lamp for my anointed one.

18 I will clothe his enemies with shame, but the crown on my anointed one will shine."

1 See how good and pleasant it is when brothers and sisters live together in harmony!

2 It is like fine, scented oil on the head, running down the beard--down Aaron's beard-- running over the collar of his robes.

3 It is like dew on [Mount] Hermon, dew which comes down on Zion's mountains. That is where the LORD promised the blessing of eternal life.

1 Praise the LORD, all you servants of the LORD, all who stand in the house of the LORD night after night.

2 Lift your hands toward the holy place, and praise the LORD.

3 May the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion.

17 I have no praise for you as I instruct you in the following matter: When you gather, it results in more harm than good.

18 In the first place, I hear that when you gather as a church you split up into opposing groups. I believe some of what I hear.

19 Factions have to exist in order to make it clear who the genuine believers among you are.

20 When you gather in the same place, you can't possibly be eating the Lord's Supper.

21 Each of you eats his own supper [without waiting for each other]. So one person goes hungry and another gets drunk.

22 Don't you have homes in which to eat and drink? Do you despise God's church and embarrass people who don't have anything to eat? What can I say to you? Should I praise you? I won't praise you for this.

23 After all, I passed on to you what I had received from the Lord. On the night he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread

24 and spoke a prayer of thanksgiving. He broke the bread and said, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me."

25 When supper was over, he did the same with the cup. He said, "This cup is the new promise made with my blood. Every time you drink from it, do it to remember me."

26 Every time you eat this bread and drink from this cup, you tell about the Lord's death until he comes.

27 Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks from the Lord's cup in an improper way will be held responsible for the Lord's body and blood.

28 With this in mind, individuals must determine whether what they are doing is proper when they eat the bread and drink from the cup.

29 Anyone who eats and drinks is eating and drinking a judgment against himself when he doesn't recognize the Lord's body.

30 This is the reason why many of you are weak and sick and quite a number [of you] have died.

31 If we were judging ourselves correctly, we would not be judged.

32 But when the Lord judges us, he disciplines us so that we won't be condemned along with the rest of the world.

33 Therefore, brothers and sisters, when you gather to eat, wait for each other.

34 Whoever is hungry should eat at home so that you don't have a gathering that brings judgment on you. I will give directions concerning the other matters when I come.