July 21, 2026 PORTALS OF PRAYER READINGS
Matthew 20:1-16
Laborers in the Vineyard
20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master
of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After
agreeing with the laborers for a denarius[a] a
day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And
going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too,
and whatever is right I will give you.’ 5 So
they went. Going out again
about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out and
found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all
day?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because
no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ 8 And when evening came, the owner of the
vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages,
beginning with the last, up to the first.’ 9 And
when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a
denarius. 10 Now when those hired
first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also
received a denarius. 11 And on
receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, 12 saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you
have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the
scorching heat.’ 13 But he replied
to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with
me for a denarius? 14 Take what
belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what
belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’[b] 16 So the
last will be first, and the first last.”
Footnotes
- Matthew 20:2 A denarius was
a day's wage for a laborer
- Matthew 20:15 Or is your
eye bad because I am good?
Psalm 90
Book Four
From Everlasting to Everlasting
A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.
90 Lord, you have been
our dwelling place[a]
in all
generations.
2 Before the mountains were brought
forth,
or ever
you had formed the earth and the world,
from
everlasting to everlasting you are God.
3 You return man to dust
and
say, “Return, O children of man!”[b]
4 For a thousand years in your sight
are but
as yesterday when it is past,
or
as a watch in the night.
5 You sweep them away
as with a flood; they are like a dream,
like grass
that is renewed in the morning:
6 in the morning it flourishes and is
renewed;
in the
evening it fades and withers.
7 For we are brought to an
end by your anger;
by your
wrath we are dismayed.
8 You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret
sins in the light of your presence.
9 For all our days pass
away under your wrath;
we bring
our years to an end like a sigh.
10 The years of our life are seventy,
or even
by reason of strength eighty;
yet their span[c] is
but toil and trouble;
they are
soon gone, and we fly away.
11 Who considers the power of your anger,
and your
wrath according to the fear of you?
12 So teach
us to number our days
that we
may get a heart of wisdom.
13 Return, O Lord! How long?
Have pity
on your servants!
14 Satisfy us in the morning with your
steadfast love,
that we
may rejoice and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad for as many days as you
have afflicted us,
and for
as many years as we have seen evil.
16 Let your work be shown to your
servants,
and your
glorious power to their children.
17 Let the favor[d] of
the Lord our God be upon us,
and
establish the work of our hands upon us;
yes,
establish the work of our hands!
Footnotes
- Psalm 90:1 Some Hebrew manuscripts (compare Septuagint) our
refuge
- Psalm 90:3 Or of Adam
- Psalm 90:10 Or pride
- Psalm 90:17 Or beauty
ESV® - The
Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a
division of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.
Source for Bible text - www.biblegateway.com
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