Patterns In The Bible

  • Matthew 2: 1-12

    1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem,

    2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

    3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

    5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

    6 “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
    for from you shall come a ruler
    who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

    7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying,

    “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” 9 After listening to the king, they went on their way.

    And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

    12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

  • Ephesians 2: 1-10

    1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked,

    following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—

    3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

    4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us,

    5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—

    by grace you have been saved—

    6 and raised us up with him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

    7 so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

    8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

    9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,

    which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

  • Isaiah 22: 1-14

    1 The oracle concerning the valley of vision.

    What do you mean that you have gone up,
    all of you, to the housetops,
    2 you who are full of shoutings,
    tumultuous city, exultant town?
    Your slain are not slain with the sword
    or dead in battle.
    3 All your leaders have fled together;
    without the bow they were captured.
    All of you who were found were captured,
    though they had fled far away.

    4 Therefore I said:
    “Look away from me;
    let me weep bitter tears;
    do not labor to comfort me
    concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people.”

    5 For the Lord God of hosts has a day
    of tumult and trampling and confusion
    in the valley of vision,
    a battering down of walls
    and a shouting to the mountains.
    6 And Elam bore the quiver
    with chariots and horsemen,
    and Kir uncovered the shield.
    7 Your choicest valleys were full of chariots,
    and the horsemen took their stand at the gates.
    8 He has taken away the covering of Judah.

    In that day you looked to the weapons of the House of the Forest, 9 and you saw that the breaches of the city of David were many. You collected the waters of the lower pool, 10 and you counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall. 11 You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not look to Him who did it, or see Him who planned it long ago.

    12 In that day the Lord God of hosts
    called for weeping and mourning,
    for baldness and wearing sackcloth;

    13 and behold, joy and gladness,
    killing oxen and slaughtering sheep,
    eating flesh and drinking wine.
    “Let us eat and drink,
    for tomorrow we die.”
    14 The Lord of hosts has revealed Himself in my ears:
    “Surely this iniquity will not be atoned for you until you die,”
    says the Lord God of hosts.

  • Isaiah 24: 4-7

    4 The earth mourns and withers;
    the world languishes and withers;
    the highest people of the earth languish.

    5 The earth lies defiled
    under its inhabitants;

    for they have transgressed the laws,
    violated the statutes,
    broken the everlasting covenant.

    6 Therefore a curse devours the earth,
    and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt;
    therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched,
    and few men are left.

    7 The wine mourns,
    the vine languishes,
    all the merry-hearted sigh.

  • Isaiah 25: 1-26: 2

    1 O Lord, you are my God;
    I will exalt you; I will praise your name,
    for you have done wonderful things,
    plans formed of old, faithful and sure.

    2 For you have made the city a heap,
    the fortified city a ruin;
    the foreigners’ palace is a city no more;
    it will never be rebuilt.
    3 Therefore strong peoples will glorify you;
    cities of ruthless nations will fear you.
    4 For you have been a stronghold to the poor,
    a stronghold to the needy in his distress,
    a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat;
    for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall,

    5 like heat in a dry place.
    You subdue the noise of the foreigners;
    as heat by the shade of a cloud,
    so the song of the ruthless is put down.

    6 On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
    a feast of rich food,
    a feast of well-aged wine,
    of rich food full of marrow,
    of aged wine well refined.
    7 And He will swallow up on this mountain
    the covering that is cast over all peoples,
    the veil that is spread over all nations.
    8 He will swallow up death forever;
    and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,
    and the reproach of His people He will take away from all the earth,
    for the Lord has spoken.

    9 It will be said on that day,
    “Behold, this is our God;
    we have waited for Him,
    that He might save us.
    This is the Lord;
    we have waited for Him;
    let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”

    10 For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain,
    and Moab shall be trampled down in his place,
    as straw is trampled down in a dunghill.

    11 And he will spread out his hands in the midst of it
    as a swimmer spreads his hands out to swim, but the Lord will lay low his pompous pride together with the skill of his hands.
    12 And the high fortifications of his walls He will bring down, lay low, and cast to the ground, to the dust.

    26:1 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
    “We have a strong city; He sets up salvation as walls and bulwarks.

    2 Open the gates, that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in.

  • Isaiah 25: 7-10

    7 And He will swallow up on this mountain
    the covering that is cast over all peoples,
    the veil that is spread over all nations.
    8 He will swallow up death forever;
    and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,
    and the reproach of His people He will take away from all the earth,
    for the Lord has spoken.

    9 It will be said on that day,
    “Behold, this is our God;
    we have waited for Him,
    that He might save us.
    This is the Lord;
    we have waited for Him;
    let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”

    10 For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain,
    and Moab shall be trampled down in his place,
    as straw is trampled down in a dunghill.

  • Romans 3: 21-26

    21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—

    22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.

    For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

    25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.

    This was to show God’s righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show His righteousness at the present time, so that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

  • Psalm 1

    1 Blessed is the man
    who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
    nor stands in the way of sinners,
    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
    2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and on His law he meditates day and night.

    3 He is like a tree
    planted by streams of water
    that yields its fruit in its season,
    and its leaf does not wither.
    In all that he does, he prospers.
    4 The wicked are not so,
    but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

    5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
    6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked will perish.

    1 Blessed is the man
    who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
    nor stands in the way of sinners,
    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
    2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and on His law he meditates day and night.

    3 He is like a tree
    planted by streams of water
    that yields its fruit in its season,
    and its leaf does not wither.
    In all that he does, he prospers.
    4 The wicked are not so,
    but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

    5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
    6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked will perish.

  • Psalm 2

    1 Why do the nations rage
    and the peoples plot in vain?
    2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
    and the rulers take counsel together,
    against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,
    3 “Let us burst their bonds apart
    and cast away their cords from us.”

    [God speaks]

    4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;
    the Lord holds them in derision.
    5 Then He will speak to them in His wrath,
    and terrify them in His fury, saying,
    6 “As for me, I have set my King
    on Zion, my holy hill.”

    [God’s Son speaks]

    7 I will tell of the decree:
    The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;
    today I have begotten you.
    8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
    and the ends of the earth your possession.
    9 You shall break them with a rod of iron
    and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

    10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
    be warned, O rulers of the earth.
    11 Serve the Lord with fear,
    and rejoice with trembling.
    12 Kiss the Son,
    lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
    for his wrath is quickly kindled.
    Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

  • Psalm 26

    Of David.

    1 Vindicate me, O Lord,
    for I have walked in my integrity,
    and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
    2 Prove me, O Lord, and try me;
    test my heart and my mind.
    3 For your steadfast love is before my eyes,
    and I walk in your faithfulness.

    [Sinners]

    4 I do not sit with men of falsehood,
    nor do I consort with hypocrites.
    5 I hate the assembly of evildoers,
    and I will not sit with the wicked.

    6 I wash my hands in innocence
    and go around your altar, O Lord,

    7 proclaiming thanksgiving aloud,
    and telling all your wondrous deeds.

    8 O Lord, I love the habitation of your house
    and the place where your glory dwells.

    [Sinners]

    9 Do not sweep my soul away with sinners,
    nor my life with bloodthirsty men,
    10 in whose hands are evil devices,
    and whose right hands are full of bribes.

    11 But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity;
    redeem me, and be gracious to me.
    12 My foot stands on level ground;
    in the great assembly I will bless the Lord.