1 I will sing of the graciousness of the Lord forever;
To all generations I will make Your faithfulness known with my mouth.
2 For I have said, “Graciousness will be built up forever;
In the heavens You will establish Your faithfulness.”
3 “I have made a covenant with My chosen;
I have sworn to My servant David,
4 I will establish your descendants forever
And build up your throne to all generations.” Selah
5 The heavens will praise Your wonders, Lord;
Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones.
6 For who in the skies is comparable to the Lord?
Who among the sons of the mighty is like the Lord,
7 A God greatly feared in the council of the holy ones,
And awesome above all those who are around Him?
8 Lord God of armies, who is like You, mighty Lord?
Your faithfulness also surrounds You.
9 You rule the surging of the sea;
When its waves rise, You calm them.
10 You Yourself crushed Rahab like one who is slain;
You scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.
11 The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours;
The world and all it contains, You have established them.
12 The north and the south, You have created them;
Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at Your name.
13 You have a strong arm;
Your hand is mighty, Your right hand is exalted.
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
Mercy and truth go before You.
15 Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound!
Lord, they walk in the light of Your face.
16 In Your name they rejoice all the day,
And by Your righteousness they are exalted.
17 For You are the glory of their strength,
And by Your favor our horn is exalted.
18 For our shield belongs to the Lord,
And our king to the Holy One of Israel.
19 Once You spoke in vision to Your godly ones,
And said, “I have given help to one who is mighty;
I have exalted one chosen from the people.
20 I have found My servant David;
With My holy oil I have anointed him,
21 With whom My hand will be established;
My arm also will strengthen him.
22 The enemy will not deceive him,
Nor will the son of wickedness afflict him.
23 But I will crush his adversaries before him,
And strike those who hate him.
24 My faithfulness and My favor will be with him,
And in My name his horn will be exalted.
25 I will also place his hand on the sea,
And his right hand on the rivers.
26 He will call to Me, ‘You are my Father,
My God, and the rock of my salvation.’
27 I will also make him My firstborn,
The highest of the kings of the earth.
28 I will maintain My favor for him forever,
And My covenant shall be confirmed to him.
29 So I will establish his descendants forever,
And his throne as the days of heaven.
30 “If his sons abandon My Law
And do not walk in My judgments,
31 If they violate My statutes
And do not keep My commandments,
32 Then I will punish their wrongdoing with the rod,
And their guilt with afflictions.
33 But I will not withhold My favor from him,
Nor deal falsely in My faithfulness.
34 I will not violate My covenant,
Nor will I alter the utterance of My lips.
35 Once I have sworn by My holiness;
I will not lie to David.
36 His descendants shall endure forever,
And his throne as the sun before Me.
37 It shall be established forever like the moon,
And a witness in the sky is faithful.” Selah
38 But You have rejected and refused,
You have been full of wrath against Your anointed.
39 You have repudiated the covenant of Your servant;
You have profaned his crown in the dust.
40 You have broken down all his walls;
You have brought his strongholds to ruin.
41 All who pass along the way plunder him;
He has become a disgrace to his neighbors.
42 You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries;
You have made all his enemies rejoice.
43 You also turn back the edge of his sword,
And have not made him stand in battle.
44 You have put an end to his splendor
And cast his throne to the ground.
45 You have shortened the days of his youth;
You have covered him with shame. Selah
46 How long, Lord?
Will You hide Yourself forever?
Will Your wrath burn like fire?
47 Remember what my lifespan is;
For what futility You have created all the sons of mankind!
48 What man can live and not see death?
Can he save his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah
49 Where are Your former acts of favor, Lord,
Which You swore to David in Your faithfulness?
50 Remember, Lord, the taunt against Your servants;
How I carry in my heart the taunts of all the many peoples,
51 With which Your enemies have taunted, Lord,
With which they have taunted the footsteps of Your anointed.
52 Blessed be the Lord forever!
Amen and Amen.
1 On one of the days while He was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders confronted Him, 2 and they declared, saying to Him, “Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority?” 3 But He replied to them, “I will also ask you a question, and you tell Me: 4 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?” 5 They discussed among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us to death, since they are convinced that John was a prophet.” 7 And so they answered that they did not know where it came from. 8 And Jesus said to them, “Neither am I telling you by what authority I do these things.”
9 But He began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and leased it to vine-growers, and went on a journey for a long time. 10 At the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, so that they would give him his share of the produce of the vineyard; but the vine-growers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 And he proceeded to send another slave; but they beat him also and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. 12 And he proceeded to send a third; but this one too they wounded and threw out. 13 Now the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What am I to do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ 14 But when the vine-growers saw him, they discussed with one another, saying, ‘This is the heir; let’s kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.’ 15 And so they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What, then, will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and put these vine-growers to death, and will give the vineyard to others.” However, when they heard this, they said, “May it never happen!” 17 But Jesus looked at them and said, “Then what is this statement that has been written:
‘A stone which the builders rejected,
This has become the chief cornerstone’?
18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will crush him.”
19 The scribes and the chief priests tried to lay hands on Him that very hour, and yet they feared the people; for they were aware that He had spoken this parable against them. 20 And so they watched Him closely, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, in order that they might catch Him in some statement, so that they could hand Him over to the jurisdiction and authority of the governor. 21 And the spies questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, we know that You speak and teach correctly, and You are not partial to anyone, but You teach the way of God on the basis of truth. 22 Is it permissible for us to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 23 But He saw through their trickery and said to them, 24 “Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.” 25 And He said to them, “Then pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 26 And they were unable to catch Him in a statement in the presence of the people; and they were amazed at His answer, and said nothing.
27 Now some of the Sadducees (who maintain that there is no resurrection) came to Him, 28 and they questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife, and he is childless, that his brother is to marry the wife and raise up children for his brother. 29 So then, there were seven brothers; and the first took a wife and died childless; 30 and the second 31 and the third married her; and in the same way all seven died, leaving no children. 32 Finally the woman also died. 33 Therefore, in the resurrection, which one’s wife does the woman become? For all seven married her.”
34 Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and the women are given in marriage, 35 but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; 36 for they cannot even die anymore, for they are like angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. 37 But as for the fact that the dead are raised, even Moses revealed this in the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 38 Now He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; for all live to Him.” 39 Some of the scribes answered and said, “Teacher, You have spoken well.” 40 For they did not have the courage to question Him any longer about anything.
41 But He said to them, “How is it that they say the Christ is David’s son? 42 For David himself says in the book of Psalms,
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
43 Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”’
44 Therefore David calls Him ‘Lord,’ and so how is He his son?”
45 And while all the people were listening, He said to the disciples, 46 “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love personal greetings in the marketplaces, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, 47 who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers. These will receive all the more condemnation.”