1 He said:
“I love you, Lord, my source of strength!
2 The Lord is my high ridge, my stronghold, my deliverer.
My God is my rocky summit where I take shelter,
my shield, the horn that saves me, and my refuge.
3 I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and I was delivered from my enemies.
4 The waves of death engulfed me,
the currents of chaos overwhelmed me.
5 The ropes of Sheol tightened around me,
the snares of death trapped me.
6 In my distress I called to the Lord;
I cried out to my God.
From his heavenly temple he heard my voice;
he listened to my cry for help.
7 The earth heaved and shook.
The roots of the mountains trembled;
they heaved because he was angry.
8 Smoke ascended from his nose;
fire devoured as it came from his mouth.
He hurled down fiery coals.
9 He made the sky sink as he descended;
a thick cloud was under his feet.
10 He mounted a winged angel and flew;
he glided on the wings of the wind.
11 He shrouded himself in darkness,
in thick rain clouds.
12 From the brightness in front of him came
hail and fiery coals.
13 The Lord thundered in the sky;
the Most High shouted.
14 He shot his arrows and scattered them,
many lightning bolts and routed them.
15 The depths of the sea were exposed;
the inner regions of the world were uncovered
by your battle cry, Lord,
by the powerful breath from your nose.
16 He reached down from above and took hold of me;
he pulled me from the surging water.
17 He rescued me from my strong enemy,
from those who hate me,
for they were too strong for me.
18 They confronted me in my day of calamity,
but the Lord helped me.
19 He brought me out into a wide open place;
he delivered me because he was pleased with me.
20 The Lord repaid me for my godly deeds;
he rewarded my blameless behavior.
21 For I have obeyed the Lord’s commands;
I have not rebelled against my God.
22 For I am aware of all his regulations,
and I do not reject his rules.
23 I was innocent before him,
and kept myself from sinning.
24 The Lord rewarded me for my godly deeds;
he took notice of my blameless behavior.
25 You prove to be loyal to one who is faithful;
you prove to be trustworthy to one who is innocent.
26 You prove to be reliable to one who is blameless,
but you prove to be deceptive to one who is perverse.
27 For you deliver oppressed people,
but you bring down those who have a proud look.
28 Indeed, you light my lamp, Lord.
My God illuminates the darkness around me.
29 Indeed, with your help I can charge against an army;
by my God’s power I can jump over a wall.
30 The one true God acts in a faithful manner;
the Lord’s promise is reliable.
He is a shield to all who take shelter in him.
31 Indeed, who is God besides the Lord?
Who is a protector besides our God?
32 The one true God gives me strength;
he removes the obstacles in my way.
33 He gives me the agility of a deer;
he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain.
34 He trains my hands for battle;
my arms can bend even the strongest bow.
35 You give me your protective shield;
your right hand supports me.
Your willingness to help enables me to prevail.
36 You widen my path;
my feet do not slip.
37 I chase my enemies and catch them;
I do not turn back until I wipe them out.
38 I beat them to death;
they fall at my feet.
39 You give me strength for battle;
you make my foes kneel before me.
40 You make my enemies retreat;
I destroy those who hate me.
41 They cry out, but there is no one to help them;
they cry out to the Lord, but he does not answer them.
42 I grind them as fine windblown dust;
I beat them underfoot like clay in the streets.
43 You rescue me from a hostile army.
You make me a leader of nations;
people over whom I had no authority are now my subjects.
44 When they hear of my exploits, they submit to me.
Foreigners are powerless before me.
45 Foreigners lose their courage;
they shake with fear as they leave their strongholds.
46 The Lord is alive!
My Protector is praiseworthy.
The God who delivers me is exalted as king.
47 The one true God completely vindicates me;
he makes nations submit to me.
48 He delivers me from my enemies.
You snatch me away from those who attack me;
you rescue me from violent men.
49 So I will give you thanks before the nations, O Lord.
I will sing praises to you.
50 He gives his king magnificent victories;
he is faithful to his chosen ruler,
to David and his descendants forever.”
1 On that day after Jesus went out of the house, he sat by the lake. 2 And such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat to sit while the whole crowd stood on the shore. 3 He told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground where they did not have much soil. They sprang up quickly because the soil was not deep. 6 But when the sun came up, they were scorched, and because they did not have sufficient root, they withered. 7 Other seeds fell among the thorns, and they grew up and choked them. 8 But other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty. 9 The one who has ears had better listen!”
10 Then the disciples came to him and said, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 He replied, “You have been given the opportunity to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but they have not. 12 For whoever has will be given more, and will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 13 For this reason I speak to them in parables: Although they see they do not see, and although they hear they do not hear nor do they understand. 14 And concerning them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:
‘You will listen carefully yet will never understand,
you will look closely yet will never comprehend.
15 For the heart of this people has become dull;
they are hard of hearing,
and they have shut their eyes,
so that they would not see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’
16 “But your eyes are blessed because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
18 “So listen to the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches what was sown in his heart; this is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed sown on rocky ground is the person who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. 21 But he has no root in himself and does not endure; when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 The seed sown among thorns is the person who hears the word, but worldly cares and the seductiveness of wealth choke the word, so it produces nothing. 23 But as for the seed sown on good soil, this is the person who hears the word and understands. He bears fruit, yielding a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown.”
24 He presented them with another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a person who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and sowed darnel among the wheat and went away. 26 When the plants sprouted and produced grain, then the darnel also appeared. 27 So the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the darnel come from?’ 28 He said, ‘An enemy has done this!’ So the slaves replied, ‘Do you want us to go and gather it?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, since in gathering the darnel you may uproot the wheat along with it. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burned, but then gather the wheat into my barn.”’”