891 I will sing of the Lord 's unfailing love forever! Young and old will hear of your faithfulness. 2 Your unfailing love will last forever. Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens. 3 The Lord said, "I have made a covenant with David, my chosen servant. I have sworn this oath to him: 4 'I will establish your descendants as kings forever; they will sit on your throne from now until eternity.'" Interlude
5 All heaven will praise your great wonders, Lord ; myriads of angels will praise you for your faithfulness. 6 For who in all of heaven can compare with the Lord ? What mightiest angel is anything like the Lord ? 7 The highest angelic powers stand in awe of God. He is far more awesome than all who surround his throne. 8 O Lord God of Heaven's Armies! Where is there anyone as mighty as you, O Lord ? You are entirely faithful. 9 You rule the oceans. You subdue their storm-tossed waves. 10 You crushed the great sea monster. You scattered your enemies with your mighty arm. 11 The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours; everything in the world is yours-you created it all. 12 You created north and south. Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon praise your name. 13 Powerful is your arm! Strong is your hand! Your right hand is lifted high in glorious strength. 14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. Unfailing love and truth walk before you as attendants.
15 Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord . 16 They rejoice all day long in your wonderful reputation. They exult in your righteousness. 17 You are their glorious strength. It pleases you to make us strong. 18 Yes, our protection comes from the Lord, and he, the Holy One of Israel, has given us our king.
19 Long ago you spoke in a vision to your faithful people. You said, "I have raised up a warrior. I have selected him from the common people to be king. 20 I have found my servant David. I have anointed him with my holy oil. 21 I will steady him with my hand; with my powerful arm I will make him strong. 22 His enemies will not defeat him, nor will the wicked overpower him. 23 I will beat down his adversaries before him and destroy those who hate him. 24 My faithfulness and unfailing love will be with him, and by my authority he will grow in power. 25 I will extend his rule over the sea, his dominion over the rivers. 26 And he will call out to me, 'You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation.' 27 I will make him my firstborn son, the mightiest king on earth. 28 I will love him and be kind to him forever; my covenant with him will never end. 29 I will preserve an heir for him; his throne will be as endless as the days of heaven. 30 But if his descendants forsake my instructions and fail to obey my regulations, 31 if they do not obey my decrees and fail to keep my commands, 32 then I will punish their sin with the rod, and their disobedience with beating. 33 But I will never stop loving him nor fail to keep my promise to him. 34 No, I will not break my covenant; I will not take back a single word I said. 35 I have sworn an oath to David, and in my holiness I cannot lie: 36 His dynasty will go on forever; his kingdom will endure as the sun. 37 It will be as eternal as the moon, my faithful witness in the sky!" Interlude
38 But now you have rejected him and cast him off. You are angry with your anointed king. 39 You have renounced your covenant with him; you have thrown his crown in the dust. 40 You have broken down the walls protecting him and ruined every fort defending him. 41 Everyone who comes along has robbed him, and he has become a joke to his neighbors. 42 You have strengthened his enemies and made them all rejoice. 43 You have made his sword useless and refused to help him in battle. 44 You have ended his splendor and overturned his throne. 45 You have made him old before his time and publicly disgraced him. Interlude 46 O Lord, how long will this go on? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your anger burn like fire? 47 Remember how short my life is, how empty and futile this human existence! 48 No one can live forever; all will die. No one can escape the power of the grave. Interlude 49 Lord, where is your unfailing love? You promised it to David with a faithful pledge. 50 Consider, Lord, how your servants are disgraced! I carry in my heart the insults of so many people. 51 Your enemies have mocked me, O Lord ; they mock your anointed king wherever he goes. 52 Praise the Lord forever! Amen and amen!
901 Lord, through all the generations you have been our home! 2 Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, you are God. 3 You turn people back to dust, saying, "Return to dust, you mortals!" 4 For you, a thousand years are as a passing day, as brief as a few night hours. 5 You sweep people away like dreams that disappear. They are like grass that springs up in the morning. 6 In the morning it blooms and flourishes, but by evening it is dry and withered.
7 We wither beneath your anger; we are overwhelmed by your fury. 8 You spread out our sins before you- our secret sins-and you see them all. 9 We live our lives beneath your wrath, ending our years with a groan. 10 Seventy years are given to us! Some even live to eighty. But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble; soon they disappear, and we fly away. 11 Who can comprehend the power of your anger? Your wrath is as awesome as the fear you deserve.
12 Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom. 13 O Lord, come back to us! How long will you delay? Take pity on your servants! 14 Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives. 15 Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery! Replace the evil years with good. 16 Let us, your servants, see you work again; let our children see your glory. 17 And may the Lord our God show us his approval and make our efforts successful. Yes, make our efforts successful!
141 Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don't argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. 2 For instance, one person believes it's all right to eat anything. But another believer with a sensitive conscience will eat only vegetables. 3 Those who feel free to eat anything must not look down on those who don't. And those who don't eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to condemn someone else's servants? Their own master will judge whether they stand or fall. And with the Lord's help, they will stand and receive his approval. 5 In the same way, some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike. You should each be fully convinced that whichever day you choose is acceptable. 6 Those who worship the Lord on a special day do it to honor him. Those who eat any kind of food do so to honor the Lord, since they give thanks to God before eating. And those who refuse to eat certain foods also want to please the Lord and give thanks to God. 7 For we don't live for ourselves or die for ourselves. 8 If we live, it's to honor the Lord. And if we die, it's to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 Christ died and rose again for this very purpose-to be Lord both of the living and of the dead. 10 So why do you condemn another believer ? Why do you look down on another believer? Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. 11 For the Scriptures say, "'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will declare allegiance to God. '" 12 Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God. 13 So let's stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall. 14 I know and am convinced on the authority of the Lord Jesus that no food, in and of itself, is wrong to eat. But if someone believes it is wrong, then for that person it is wrong. 15 And if another believer is distressed by what you eat, you are not acting in love if you eat it. Don't let your eating ruin someone for whom Christ died. 16 Then you will not be criticized for doing something you believe is good. 17 For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God, and others will approve of you, too. 19 So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up. 20 Don't tear apart the work of God over what you eat. Remember, all foods are acceptable, but it is wrong to eat something if it makes another person stumble. 21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything else if it might cause another believer to stumble. 22 You may believe there's nothing wrong with what you are doing, but keep it between yourself and God. Blessed are those who don't feel guilty for doing something they have decided is right. 23 But if you have doubts about whether or not you should eat something, you are sinning if you go ahead and do it. For you are not following your convictions. If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning.
