Psalms 123; Psalms 124; Psalms 125; 1 Corinthians 10:1-18

1 I look up and pray to you. Your throne is in heaven.

2 Slaves depend on their masters. Maids depend on the women they work for. In the same way, we depend on the LORD our God. We wait for him to show us his favor.

3 Lord, show us your favor. Show us your favor, because people have made so much fun of us.

4 We have had to put up with a lot from those who are proud. They were always laughing at us.

1 Here is what Israel should say. Suppose the LORD had not been on our side.

2 Suppose the LORD had not been on our side when our enemies attacked us.

3 Suppose he had not been on our side when their anger blazed out against us. Then they would have swallowed us alive.

4 They would have been like a flood that drowned us. They would have swept over us like a rushing river.

5 They would have washed us away like a swollen stream.

6 Give praise to the Lord. He has not let our enemies chew us up.

7 We have escaped like a bird from a hunter's trap. The trap has been broken, and we have escaped.

8 Our help comes from the Lord. He is the Maker of heaven and earth.

1 Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion. They will always be secure. They will last forever.

2 Like the mountains around Jerusalem, the LORD is all around his people both now and forever.

3 Evil people will not always rule the land the LORD gave to those who do right. If they did, those who do right might do what is evil.

4 Lord, do good to those who are good. Do good to those whose hearts are honest.

5 But what about those who have taken paths that are crooked? The LORD will drive them out, along with those who do what is evil. May Israel enjoy peace.

1 Brothers and sisters, here is what I want you to know about our people who lived long ago. They were all led by the cloud. They all walked through the Red Sea.

2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.

3 They all ate the same supernatural food.

4 They all drank the same supernatural water. They drank from the supernatural rock that went with them. That rock was Christ.

5 But God was not pleased with most of them. Their bodies were scattered all over the desert.

6 Now those things happened as examples for us. They are supposed to keep us from longing for evil things, as the people of Israel did.

7 So don't worship statues of gods, as some of them did. It is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink. Then they got up to dance wildly in front of their god."(Exodus 32:6)

8 We should not commit sexual sins, as some of them did. In one day 23,000 of them died.

9 We should not put the Lord to the test, as some of them did. They were killed by snakes.

10 Don't tell your leaders how unhappy you are with them. That's what some of the people of Israel did. And they were killed by the destroying angel.

11 Those things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who are living at the time when God's work is being completed.

12 So be careful. When you think you are standing firm, you might fall.

13 You are tempted in the same way all other human beings are. God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted any more than you can take. But when you are tempted, God will give you a way out so that you can stand up under it.

14 My dear friends, run away from statues of gods. Don't worship them.

15 I'm talking to people who are reasonable. Judge for yourselves what I say.

16 When we give thanks for the cup at the Lord's Supper, aren't we sharing in the blood of Christ? When we break the bread, aren't we sharing in the body of Christ?

17 Just as there is one loaf, so we who are many are one body. We all eat from the one loaf.

18 Think about the people of Israel. Don't those who eat the offerings share in the altar?