2Corinthians 3-4; Psalms 150 - Prayer Tents

The Glory of the New Covenant

7The old way, with laws etched in stone, led to death, though it began with such glory that the people of Israel could not bear to look at Moses’ face. For his face shone with the glory of God, even though the brightness was already fading away.G1161G1487G1248G2288G1722G1121G1795G1722G3037G1096G1722G1391G5620G5207G2474G1410G3361G816G1519G4383G3475G1223G1391G846G4383G3588G2673

8Shouldn’t we expect far greater glory under the new way, now that the Holy Spirit is giving life?G4459G1248G3780G1248G4151G2071G3123G1722G1391

9If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God!G1063G1487G1248G2633G1391G4183G3123G1248G1343G4052G1722G1391

10In fact, that first glory was not glorious at all compared with the overwhelming glory of the new way.G1063G2532G1392G3761G1392G1722G5129G3313G1752G1391G5235

11So if the old way, which has been replaced, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new, which remains forever!G1063G1487G2673G1223G1391G4183G3123G3306G1722G1391

12Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold.G3767G2192G5108G1680G5530G4183G3954

13We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so the people of Israel would not see the glory, even though it was destined to fade away.G2532G3756G2509G3475G5087G2571G1909G1438G4383G4314G5207G2474G816G3361G816G1519G5056G2673

14But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ.G235G846G3540G4456G1063G891G4594G3306G846G2571G3361G343G1909G320G3820G1242G3748G2673G1722G5547

15Yes, even today when they read Moses’ writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand.G235G2193G4594G2259G3475G314G2571G2749G1909G846G2588

16But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.G1161G2259G302G1994G4314G2962G2571G4014

17For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.G1161G2962G2076G4151G1161G3757G4151G2962G1563G1657

18So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.G1161G2249G3956G343G4383G2734G1391G2962G3339G846G1504G575G1391G1519G1391G2509G575G4151G2962

Treasure in Fragile Clay Jars

4Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up.G1223G5124G2192G5026G1248G2531G1653G1573G3756 2We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this.G235G550G2927G152G3361G4043G1722G3834G3366G1389G3056G2316G1389G235G5321G225G4921G1438G4314G3956G444G4893G1799G2316 3If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing.G1161G1499G2257G2098G2076G2572G2076G2572G1722G622 4Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.G1722G3739G2316G5127G165G5186G3540G571G1519G3361G5462G1391G2098G5547G3739G2076G1504G2316G826G846 5You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake.G1063G2784G3756G1438G235G5547G2424G2962G1161G1438G5216G1401G1223G2424G1223 6For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.G3754G2316G3588G2036G5457G2989G1537G4655G3739G2989G1722G2257G2588G4314G5462G1108G1391G2316G1722G4383G2424G5547 7We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.G1161G2192G5126G2344G1722G3749G4632G2443G5236G1411G5600G2316G2532G3361G1537G2257 8We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair.G2346G1722G3956G235G3756G4729G639G235G3756G1820 9We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.G1377G235G3756G1459G2598G235G3756G622 10Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.G3842G4064G1722G4983G3500G2962G2424G2443G2222G2532G2424G5319G1722G2257G4983 11Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies.G2249G3588G2198G3860G104G1063G3860G1519G2288G1223G2424G1223G2443G2222G2532G2424G5319G1722G2257G2349G4561 12So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.G5620G3303G2288G1754G1722G2254G1161G2222G1722G5213 13But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.”G1161G2192G846G4151G4102G2596G1125G4100G1352G2980G2249G2532G4100G2532G1352G2980 14We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you.G1492G3754G1453G2962G2424G1453G2248G2532G1223G2424G2532G3936G4862G5213 15All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.G1063G3956G1223G5209G1223G2443G4121G5485G4052G1223G2169G4119G4052G1519G1391G2316 16That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.G1352G1573G3756G235G1499G2257G1854G444G1311G235G2081G341G2250G2532G2250 17For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!G1063G2257G1645G2347G3588G3910G2716G2254G2596G5236G1519G5236G166G922G1391 18So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.G4648G2257G4648G3361G4648G991G235G991G3361G991G1063G991G4340G1161G991G3361G991G166

150Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heaven!H1984H3050H1984H410H6944H1984H7549H5797 2Praise him for his mighty works; praise his unequaled greatness!H1984H1369H1984H7230H1433 3Praise him with a blast of the ram’s horn; praise him with the lyre and harp!H1984H8629H7782H1984H5035H3658 4Praise him with the tambourine and dancing; praise him with strings and flutes!H1984H8596H4234H1984H4482H5748 5Praise him with a clash of cymbals; praise him with loud clanging cymbals.H1984H8088H6767H1984H8643H6767 6Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord! Praise the Lord!H5397H1984H3050H1984H3050