Song of Solomon 2:8–3:11 (Listen)

The Bride Adores Her Beloved

8   The voice of my beloved!
    Behold, he comes,
  leaping over the mountains,
    bounding over the hills.
9   My beloved is like a gazelle
    or a young stag.
  Behold, there he stands
    behind our wall,
  gazing through the windows,
    looking through the lattice.
10   My beloved speaks and says to me:
  “Arise, my love, my beautiful one,
    and come away,
11   for behold, the winter is past;
    the rain is over and gone.
12   The flowers appear on the earth,
    the time of singing has come,
  and the voice of the turtledove
    is heard in our land.
13   The fig tree ripens its figs,
    and the vines are in blossom;
    they give forth fragrance.
  Arise, my love, my beautiful one,
    and come away.
14   O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,
    in the crannies of the cliff,
  let me see your face,
    let me hear your voice,
  for your voice is sweet,
    and your face is lovely.
15   Catch the foxes for us,
    the little foxes
  that spoil the vineyards,
    for our vineyards are in blossom.”
16   My beloved is mine, and I am his;
    he grazes among the lilies.
17   Until the day breathes
    and the shadows flee,
  turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle
    or a young stag on cleft mountains.

The Bride’s Dream

3:1   On my bed by night
  I sought him whom my soul loves;
    I sought him, but found him not.
2   I will rise now and go about the city,
    in the streets and in the squares;
  I will seek him whom my soul loves.
    I sought him, but found him not.
3   The watchmen found me
    as they went about in the city.
  “Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”
4   Scarcely had I passed them
    when I found him whom my soul loves.
  I held him, and would not let him go
    until I had brought him into my mother’s house,
    and into the chamber of her who conceived me.
5   I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
    by the gazelles or the does of the field,
  that you not stir up or awaken love
    until it pleases.

Solomon Arrives for the Wedding

6   What is that coming up from the wilderness
    like columns of smoke,
  perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
    with all the fragrant powders of a merchant?
7   Behold, it is the litter of Solomon!
  Around it are sixty mighty men,
    some of the mighty men of Israel,
8   all of them wearing swords
    and expert in war,
  each with his sword at his thigh,
    against terror by night.
9   King Solomon made himself a carriage
    from the wood of Lebanon.
10   He made its posts of silver,
    its back of gold, its seat of purple;
  its interior was inlaid with love
    by the daughters of Jerusalem.
11   Go out, O daughters of Zion,
    and look upon King Solomon,
  with the crown with which his mother crowned him
    on the day of his wedding,
    on the day of the gladness of his heart.

Psalm 18:31–50 (Listen)

31   For who is God, but the LORD?
    And who is a rock, except our God?—
32   the God who equipped me with strength
    and made my way blameless.
33   He made my feet like the feet of a deer
    and set me secure on the heights.
34   He trains my hands for war,
    so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35   You have given me the shield of your salvation,
    and your right hand supported me,
    and your gentleness made me great.
36   You gave a wide place for my steps under me,
    and my feet did not slip.
37   I pursued my enemies and overtook them,
    and did not turn back till they were consumed.
38   I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise;
    they fell under my feet.
39   For you equipped me with strength for the battle;
    you made those who rise against me sink under me.
40   You made my enemies turn their backs to me,
    and those who hated me I destroyed.
41   They cried for help, but there was none to save;
    they cried to the LORD, but he did not answer them.
42   I beat them fine as dust before the wind;
    I cast them out like the mire of the streets.
43   You delivered me from strife with the people;
    you made me the head of the nations;
    people whom I had not known served me.
44   As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me;
    foreigners came cringing to me.
45   Foreigners lost heart
    and came trembling out of their fortresses.
46   The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock,
    and exalted be the God of my salvation—
47   the God who gave me vengeance
    and subdued peoples under me,
48   who rescued me from my enemies;
    yes, you exalted me above those who rose against me;
    you delivered me from the man of violence.
49   For this I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations,
    and sing to your name.
50   Great salvation he brings to his king,
    and shows steadfast love to his anointed,
    to David and his offspring forever.

Matthew 10:26–42 (Listen)

Have No Fear

26 “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

Not Peace, but a Sword

34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Rewards

40 “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. 41 The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016.