1071 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures for ever! 2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble 3 and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. 4 Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in; 5 hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. 6 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress; 7 he led them by a straight way, till they reached a city to dwell in. 8 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to the sons of men! 9 For he satisfies him who is thirsty, and the hungry he fills with good things.
10 Some sat in darkness and in gloom, prisoners in affliction and in irons, 11 for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High. 12 Their hearts were bowed down with hard labor; they fell down, with none to help. 13 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress; 14 he brought them out of darkness and gloom, and broke their bonds asunder. 15 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to the sons of men! 16 For he shatters the doors of bronze, and cuts in two the bars of iron.
17 Some were sick through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction; 18 they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. 19 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress; 20 he sent forth his word, and healed them, and delivered them from destruction. 21 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to the sons of men! 22 And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!
23 Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters; 24 they saw the deeds of the Lord, his wondrous works in the deep. 25 For he commanded, and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea. 26 They mounted up to heaven, they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight; 27 they reeled and staggered like drunken men, and were at their wits' end. 28 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress; 29 he made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. 30 Then they were glad because they had quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven. 31 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to the sons of men! 32 Let them extol him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
33 He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground, 34 a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the wickedness of its inhabitants. 35 He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water. 36 And there he lets the hungry dwell, and they establish a city to live in; 37 they sow fields, and plant vineyards, and get a fruitful yield. 38 By his blessing they multiply greatly; and he does not let their cattle decrease. 39 When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, trouble, and sorrow, 40 he pours contempt upon princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes; 41 but he raises up the needy out of affliction, and makes their families like flocks. 42 The upright see it and are glad; and all wickedness stops its mouth. 43 Whoever is wise, let him give heed to these things; let men consider the steadfast love of the Lord.
1081 A Song. A Psalm of David. My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast! I will sing and make melody! Awake, my soul! 2 Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn! 3 I will give thanks to thee, O Lord, among the peoples, I will sing praises to thee among the nations. 4 For thy steadfast love is great above the heavens, thy faithfulness reaches to the clouds. 5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let thy glory be over all the earth!
6 That thy beloved may be delivered, give help by thy right hand, and answer me! 7 God has promised in his sanctuary: "With exultation I will divide up Shechem, and portion out the Vale of Succoth. 8 Gilead is mine; Manas'seh is mine; E'phraim is my helmet; Judah my scepter. 9 Moab is my washbasin; upon Edom I cast my shoe; over Philistia I shout in triumph." 10 Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom? 11 Hast thou not rejected us, O God? Thou dost not go forth, O God, with our armies. 12 O grant us help against the foe, for vain is the help of man! 13 With God we shall do valiantly; it is he who will tread down our foes.
1091 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. Be not silent, O God of my praise! 2 For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues. 3 They beset me with words of hate, and attack me without cause. 4 In return for my love they accuse me, even as I make prayer for them. 5 So they reward me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
6 Appoint a wicked man against him; let an accuser bring him to trial. 7 When he is tried, let him come forth guilty; let his prayer be counted as sin! 8 May his days be few; may another seize his goods! 9 May his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow! 10 May his children wander about and beg; may they be driven out of the ruins they inhabit! 11 May the creditor seize all that he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil! 12 Let there be none to extend kindness to him, nor any to pity his fatherless children! 13 May his posterity be cut off; may his name be blotted out in the second generation! 14 May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord, and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out! 15 Let them be before the Lord continually; and may his memory be cut off from the earth! 16 For he did not remember to show kindness, but pursued the poor and needy and the brokenhearted to their death. 17 He loved to curse; let curses come on him! He did not like blessing; may it be far from him! 18 He clothed himself with cursing as his coat, may it soak into his body like water, like oil into his bones! 19 May it be like a garment which he wraps round him, like a belt with which he daily girds himself! 20 May this be the reward of my accusers from the Lord, of those who speak evil against my life!
21 But thou, O GOD my Lord, deal on my behalf for thy name's sake; because thy steadfast love is good, deliver me! 22 For I am poor and needy, and my heart is stricken within me. 23 I am gone, like a shadow at evening; I am shaken off like a locust. 24 My knees are weak through fasting; my body has become gaunt. 25 I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they wag their heads. 26 Help me, O Lord my God! Save me according to thy steadfast love! 27 Let them know that this is thy hand; thou, O Lord, hast done it! 28 Let them curse, but do thou bless! Let my assailants be put to shame; may thy servant be glad! 29 May my accusers be clothed with dishonor; may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a mantle! 30 With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord; I will praise him in the midst of the throng. 31 For he stands at the right hand of the needy, to save him from those who condemn him to death.
41 This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. 3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. I do not even judge myself. 4 I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then every man will receive his commendation from God. 6 I have applied all this to myself and Apol'los for your benefit, brethren, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another.
7 For who sees anything different in you? What have you that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if it were not a gift? 8 Already you are filled! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you! 9 For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men. 10 We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. 11 To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are ill-clad and buffeted and homeless, 12 and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; 13 when slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become, and are now, as the refuse of the world, the offscouring of all things.
14 I do not write this to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. 15 For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 16 I urge you, then, be imitators of me.
17 Therefore I sent to you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church. 18 Some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. 19 But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power. 20 For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. 21 What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?
