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All for the Glory of God!

⁴ And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. Then he got up early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain with twelve memorial stones for the twelve tribes of Israel.

¹⁸ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. ¹⁹ For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. ²⁰ For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

¹ Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. ² We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. ³ Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? ⁴ Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? ⁵ But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.

⁶ He will render to each one according to his works: ⁷ to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; ⁸ but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. ⁹There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, ¹⁰ but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. ¹¹ For God shows no partiality. ¹² For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. ¹³ For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. ¹⁴ For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. ¹⁵ They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them ¹⁶ on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

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,

⁶ I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, ⁷ everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”

²¹ For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²² Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

²⁴ Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, ²⁵ because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

¹ Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

⁹ What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; ¹⁰ as it is written:

  “There is no righteous person, not even one;
 ¹¹ There is no one who understands,
  There is no one who seeks out God;
 ¹² They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt;
  There is no one who does good,
  There is not even one.”
 ¹³ “Their throat is an open grave,
  With their tongues they keep deceiving,”
  “The venom of asps is under their lips”;
 ¹⁴ “Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”;
 ¹⁵ “Their feet are swift to shed blood,
 ¹⁶ Destruction and misery are in their paths,
 ¹⁷ And they have not known the way of peace.”
 ¹⁸ “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”


¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; ²⁰ because by the works of the Law none of mankind will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes knowledge of sin.

²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

²¹ But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, ²² but it is the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵ whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in God’s merciful restraint He let the sins previously committed go unpunished; ²⁶ for the demonstration, that is, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

²⁵ He who was delivered over because of our wrongdoings, and was raised because of our justification.

⁶ For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ For one will hardly die for a righteous person; though perhaps for the good person someone would even dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. ¹⁰ For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

¹⁸ So then, as through one offense the result was condemnation to all mankind, so also through one act of righteousness the result was justification of life to all mankind.

¹ Therefore there is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus. ² For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. ³ For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴ so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

¹⁷ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written: “But the righteous one will live by faith.”

²⁰ because by the works of the Law none of mankind will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes knowledge of sin.

Justification by Faith

²¹ But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, ²² but it is the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵ whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in God’s merciful restraint He let the sins previously committed go unpunished; ²⁶ for the demonstration, that is, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

²⁷ Where then is boasting? It has been excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. ²⁸ For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. ²⁹ Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one.

³¹ Do we then nullify the Law through faith? Far from it! On the contrary, we establish the Law.

²² Therefore it was also credited to him as righteousness. ²³ Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, ²⁴ but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, to us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, ²⁵ He who was delivered over because of our wrongdoings, and was raised because of our justification.

¹¹ So you too, consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

¹² Therefore sin is not to reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, ¹³ and do not go on presenting the parts of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead, and your body’s parts as instruments of righteousness for God. ¹⁴ For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under the Law but under grace.

¹⁰ If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. ¹¹ But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

⁹ that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; ¹⁰ for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. ¹¹ For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame.” ¹² For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; ¹³ for “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

¹⁴ And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ so that everyone who believes will have eternal life in Him.

¹⁶ “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.

³⁶ The one who believes in the Son has eternal life; but the one who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

²⁷ My sheep listen to My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; ²⁸ and I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.”

³ And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

¹⁶ Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost sinner Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life. ¹⁷ Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

¹² and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all time, having obtained eternal redemption.

¹¹ And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. ¹² The one who has the Son has the life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.

This Is Written That You May Know

¹³ These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

¹ “Now, Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I am teaching you to perform, so that you will live and go in and take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. ² You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, so that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I am commanding you.

¹⁹ And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, so that he will learn to fear the Lord his God, by carefully following all the words of this Law and these statutes,

³⁴ Then afterward he read all the words of the Law, the blessing and the curse, according to everything that is written in the Book of the Law.

⁷ The Law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul;
  The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
⁸ The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
  The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
⁹ The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
   judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether.
¹⁰ They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much pure gold;
  Sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.

⁷ I have treasured Your word in my heart,
  So that I may not sin against You.

⁴ Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.

¹⁹ Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,

⁹ that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;

³⁸ Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

¹⁶ Seek from the book of the Lord, and read:
 Not one of these will be missing;
 None will lack its mate.
 For His mouth has commanded,
 And His Spirit has gathered them.

⁸ The grass withers, the flower fades,
 But the word of our God stands forever.

¹⁷ “Do not presume that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. ¹⁸ For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter shall pass from the Law, until all is accomplished!

²⁹ But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, since you do not understand the Scriptures nor the power of God.

³³ Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

⁴⁴ Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all the things that are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” ⁴⁵ Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, ⁴⁶ and He said to them, “So it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,

³⁹ You examine the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is those very Scriptures that testify about Me;

¹³ But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify Me, for He will take from Mine and will disclose it to you. ¹⁵ All things that the Father has are Mine; this is why I said that He takes from Mine and will disclose it to you.

¹⁷ Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.

¹⁶ Your words were found and I ate them,
 And Your words became a joy to me and the delight of my heart;
 For I have been called by Your name,
 Lord God of armies.

Jeremiah’s Scroll Read in the Temple
36 ¹In the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, ² “Take a scroll and write on it all the words which I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah, and all the nations, from the day I first spoke to you, from the days of Josiah, even to this day. ³ Perhaps the house of Judah will listen to all the disaster which I plan to carry out against them, so that every person will turn from his evil way; then I will forgive their wrongdoing and their sin.”

⁴ Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote on a scroll [c]at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord which He had spoken to him. ⁵ Jeremiah then commanded Baruch, saying, “I am restricted; I cannot go into the house of the Lord. ⁶ So you go and read from the scroll, which you have written at my dictation, the words of the Lord to the people at the Lord’s house on a day of fasting. And you shall also read them to all the people of Judah who come from their cities. ⁷ Perhaps their pleading will come before the Lord, and everyone will turn from his evil way; for great is the anger and the wrath that the Lord has pronounced against this people.” ⁸ So Baruch the son of Neriah acted in accordance with all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading from the book the words of the Lord in the Lord’s house.

⁹ Now in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem proclaimed a fast before the Lord. 10 Then Baruch read to all the people from the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the Lord in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the upper courtyard, at the entry of the New Gate of the Lord’s house. ¹¹ Now when Micaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard all the words of the Lord from the book, ¹² he went down to the king’s house, into the scribe’s chamber. And behold, all the officials were sitting there—Elishama the scribe, Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, Elnathan the son of Achbor, Gemariah the son of Shaphan, Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. ¹³ And Micaiah declared to them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read from the book to the people. ¹⁴ Then all the officials sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, who was the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, “Take in your hand the scroll from which you have read to the people and come.” So Baruch the son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand and came to them. 15 And they said to him, “Sit down, please, and read it to us.” So Baruch read it to them. ¹⁶ When they had heard all the words, they turned in fear one to another. And they said to Baruch, “We will certainly report all these words to the king.” ¹⁷ Then they asked Baruch, saying, “Tell us, please, how did you write all these words? Was it at Jeremiah’s dictation?” ¹⁸ And Baruch said to them, “He dictated all these words to me, and I wrote them with ink on the book.” ¹⁹ Then the officials said to Baruch, “Go, hide yourself, you and Jeremiah, and do not let anyone know where you are.”

The Scroll Is Burned

²⁰ So they came to the king in the courtyard, but they had deposited the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe; and they reported all the words to the king. ²¹ Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe. And Jehudi read it to the king as well as to all the officials who were standing beside the king. ²² Now the king was sitting in the winter house in the ninth month, with a fire burning in the brazier before him. ²³ And when Jehudi had read three or four columns, the king cut it with a scribe’s knife and threw it into the fire that was in the brazier, until all of the scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the brazier. ²⁴ Yet the king and all his servants who heard all these words did not tremble in fear, nor did they tear their garments. ²⁵ Even though Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. ²⁶ And the king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son, Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the Lord hid them.

The Scroll Is Replaced ²⁷ Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah after the king had burned the scroll and the words which Baruch had written at the dictation of Jeremiah, saying, ²⁸ “Take again another scroll and write on it all the previous words that were on the first scroll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah burned. ²⁹ And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, ‘This is what the Lord says: “You have burned this scroll, saying, ‘Why have you written on it that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will make mankind and animals disappear from it?’” 30 Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: “He shall have no one to sit on the throne of David, and his dead body shall be thrown out to the heat of the day and the frost of the night. ³¹ I will also punish him, his descendants, and his servants for their wrongdoing, and I will bring on them and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the people of Judah all the disaster that I have declared to them—but they did not listen.”’”

³² Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch the son of Neriah, and he wrote on it at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire; and many similar words were added to them.

¹⁰ For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
And do not return there without watering the earth
And making it produce and sprout,
And providing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;

¹¹ So will My word be which goes out of My mouth;
It will not return to Me empty,
Without accomplishing what I desire,
And without succeeding in the purpose for which I sent it.

Godly Living

¹ In the same way, you wives, be subject to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won over without a word by the behavior of their wives, ² as they observe your pure and respectful behavior. ³ Your adornment must not be merely the external—braiding the hair, wearing gold jewelry, or putting on apparel; ⁴ but it should be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. ⁵ For in this way the holy women of former times, who hoped in God, also used to adorn themselves, being subject to their own husbands, ⁶ just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord; and you have proved to be her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear.

⁷ You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.

The Lord’s Covenant with David and Israel’s Afflictions.

A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.

¹ I will sing of the graciousness of the Lord forever;
 To all generations I will make Your faithfulness known with my mouth.
² For I have said, “Graciousness will be built up forever;
 In the heavens You will establish Your faithfulness.”
³ “I have made a covenant with My chosen;
 I have sworn to My servant David,
⁴ I will establish your descendants forever
 And build up your throne to all generations.” Selah

⁵ The heavens will praise Your wonders, Lord;
 Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones.
⁶ For who in the skies is comparable to the Lord?
 Who among the sons of the mighty is like the Lord,
⁷ A God greatly feared in the council of the holy ones,
 And awesome above all those who are around Him?
⁸ Lord God of armies, who is like You, mighty Lord?
 Your faithfulness also surrounds You.
⁹ You rule the surging of the sea;
 When its waves rise, You calm them.
¹⁰ You Yourself crushed Rahab like one who is slain;
 You scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.

¹¹ The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours;
 The world and all it contains, You have established them.
¹² The north and the south, You have created them;
 Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at Your name.
¹³ You have a strong arm;
 Your hand is mighty, Your right hand is exalted.
¹⁴ Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
 Mercy and truth go before You.
¹⁵ Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound!
 Lord, they walk in the light of Your face.
¹⁶ In Your name they rejoice all the day,
 And by Your righteousness they are exalted.
¹⁷ For You are the glory of their strength,
 And by Your favor our horn is exalted.
¹⁸ For our shield belongs to the Lord,
 And our king to the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁹ Once You spoke in vision to Your godly ones,
 And said, “I have given help to one who is mighty;
 I have exalted one chosen from the people.
²⁰ I have found My servant David;
 With My holy oil I have anointed him,
²¹ With whom My hand will be established;
 My arm also will strengthen him.
²² The enemy will not deceive him,
 Nor will the son of wickedness afflict him.
²³ But I will crush his adversaries before him,
 And strike those who hate him.
²⁴ My faithfulness and My favor will be with him,
 And in My name his horn will be exalted.
²⁵ I will also place his hand on the sea,
 And his right hand on the rivers.
²⁶ He will call to Me, ‘You are my Father,
 My God, and the rock of my salvation.’
²⁷ I will also make him My firstborn,
 The highest of the kings of the earth.
²⁸ I will maintain My favor for him forever,
 And My covenant shall be confirmed to him.
²⁹ So I will establish his descendants forever,
 And his throne as the days of heaven.

³⁰ “If his sons abandon My Law
 And do not walk in My judgments,
³¹ If they violate My statutes
 And do not keep My commandments,
³² Then I will punish their wrongdoing with the rod,
 And their guilt with afflictions.
³³ But I will not withhold My favor from him,
 Nor deal falsely in My faithfulness.
³⁴ I will not violate My covenant,
 Nor will I alter the utterance of My lips.
³⁵ Once I have sworn by My holiness;
 I will not lie to David.
³⁶ His descendants shall endure forever,
 And his throne as the sun before Me.
³⁷ It shall be established forever like the moon,
 And a witness in the sky is faithful.” Selah

³⁸ But You have rejected and refused,
 You have been full of wrath against Your anointed.
³⁹ You have repudiated the covenant of Your servant;
 You have profaned his crown in the dust.
⁴⁰ You have broken down all his walls;
 You have brought his strongholds to ruin.
⁴¹ All who pass along the way plunder him;
 He has become a disgrace to his neighbors.
⁴² You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries;
 You have made all his enemies rejoice.
⁴³ You also turn back the edge of his sword,
 And have not made him stand in battle.
⁴⁴ You have put an end to his splendor
 And cast his throne to the ground.
⁴⁵ You have shortened the days of his youth;
 You have covered him with shame. Selah

⁴⁶ How long, Lord?
 Will You hide Yourself forever?
 Will Your wrath burn like fire?
⁴⁷ Remember what my lifespan is;
 For what futility You have created all the sons of mankind!
⁴⁸ What man can live and not see death?
 Can he save his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah

⁴⁹ Where are Your former acts of favor, Lord,
 Which You swore to David in Your faithfulness?
⁵⁰ Remember, Lord, the taunt against Your servants;
 How I carry in my heart the taunts of all the many peoples,
⁵¹ With which Your enemies have taunted, Lord,
 With which they have taunted the footsteps of Your anointed.

⁵² Blessed be the Lord forever!
 Amen and Amen.

The Lord’s Wonderful Works in Behalf of Israel.

¹  Give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name;
  Make His deeds known among the peoples.
²  Sing to Him, sing praises to Him;
  Tell of all His wonders.
³  Boast in His holy name;
  May the heart of those who seek the Lord be joyful.
⁴  Seek the Lord and His strength;
  Seek His face continually.
⁵  Remember His wonders which He has done,
  His marvels and the judgments spoken by His mouth,
⁶  You descendants of Abraham, His servant,
  You sons of Jacob, His chosen ones!
⁷  He is the Lord our God;
  His judgments are in all the earth.

⁸  He has remembered His covenant forever,
  The word which He commanded to a thousand generations,
⁹  The covenant which He made with Abraham,
  And His oath to Isaac.
¹⁰  Then He confirmed it to Jacob as a statute,
  To Israel as an everlasting covenant,
¹¹  Saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
  As the portion of your inheritance,”
¹²  When they were only a few people in number,
  Very few, and strangers in it.
¹³  And they wandered from nation to nation,
  From one kingdom to another people,
¹⁴  He allowed no one to oppress them,
  And He rebuked kings for their sakes, saying,
¹⁵  “Do not touch My anointed ones,
  And do not harm My prophets.”

¹⁶  And He called for a famine upon the land;
  He broke the whole staff of bread.
¹⁷  He sent a man before them,
  Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
¹⁸ They forced his feet into shackles,
  He was put in irons;
¹⁹  Until the time that his word came to pass,
  The word of the Lord refined him.
²⁰  The king sent and released him,
  The ruler of peoples, and set him free.
²¹  He made him lord of his house,
  And ruler over all his possessions,
²²  To imprison his high officials at will,
  That he might teach his elders wisdom.
²³  Israel also came into Egypt;
  So Jacob lived in the land of Ham.
²⁴  And He made His people very fruitful,
  And made them stronger than their enemies.

²⁵  He turned their heart to hate His people,
  To deal cunningly with His servants.
²⁶  He sent His servant Moses,
  Aaron, whom He had chosen.
²⁷  They performed His wondrous acts among them,
  And miracles in the land of Ham.
²⁸  He sent darkness and made it dark;
  And they did not rebel against His words.
²⁹  He turned their waters into blood,
  And caused their fish to die.
³⁰  Their land swarmed with frogs
  Even in the chambers of their kings.
³¹  He spoke, and a swarm of flies
  And gnats invaded all their territory.
³²  He gave them hail for rain,
  And flaming fire in their land.
³³  He also struck their vines and their fig trees,
  And smashed the trees of their territory.
³⁴  He spoke, and locusts came,
  And creeping locusts, beyond number,
³⁵  And they ate all the vegetation in their land,
  And ate the fruit of their ground.
³⁶  He also fatally struck all the firstborn in their land,
  The first fruits of all their vigor.

³⁷  Then He brought the Israelites out with silver and gold,
  And among His tribes there was not one who stumbled.
³⁸  Egypt was glad when they departed,
  For the dread of them had fallen upon the Egyptians.
³⁹  He spread out a cloud as a covering,
  And fire to illumine by night.
⁴⁰  They asked, and He brought quail,
  And satisfied them with the bread of heaven.
⁴¹  He opened the rock and water flowed out;
  It ran in the dry places like a river.
⁴²  For He remembered His holy word
  With His servant Abraham;
⁴³  And He led out His people with joy,
  His chosen ones with a joyful shout.
⁴⁴  He also gave them the lands of the nations,
  So that they might take possession of the fruit of the peoples’ labor,
⁴⁵  And that they might keep His statutes
  And comply with His laws;
  Praise the Lord!

Prayer for Protection against the Wicked.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

¹    Rescue me, Lord, from evil people;
  Protect me from violent men
²    Who devise evil things in their hearts;
  They continually stir up wars.
³    They sharpen their tongues like a snake;
  The venom of a viper is under their lips. Selah

⁴    Keep me, Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
  Protect me from violent men
  Who intend to trip up my feet.
⁵    The proud have hidden a trap for me, and snares;
  They have spread a net at the wayside;
  They have set snares for me. Selah

⁶    I said to the Lord, “You are my God;
  Listen, Lord, to the sound of my pleadings.
⁷    God the Lord, the strength of my salvation,
  You have covered my head on the day of battle.
⁸    Do not grant, Lord, the desires of the wicked;
  Do not bring about his evil planning, so that they are not exalted. Selah

⁹    “As for the head of those who surround me,
  May the harm of their lips cover them.
¹⁰  May burning coals fall upon them;
  May they be cast into the fire,
  Into bottomless pits from which they cannot rise.
¹¹  May a slanderer not endure on the earth;
  May evil hunt a violent person violently.”

¹²  I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted,
  And justice for the poor.
¹³  Certainly the righteous will give thanks to Your name;
  The upright will dwell in Your presence.

¹⁶ but this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel:

¹¹ Now these people were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.

⁴ For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

²⁵ Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past, ²⁶ but now has been disclosed, and through the Scriptures of the prophets, in accordance with the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith;

¹⁵ and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; ¹⁷ so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work.

God’s Final Word in His Son ¹ God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, ² in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom He also made the world.

¹² For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

²⁵ But the word of the Lord endures forever.”
And this is the word which was preached to you.

¹⁹ And so we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. ²⁰ But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture becomes a matter of someone’s own interpretation, ²¹ for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

²⁶ Then God said, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth.” ²⁷ So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. ²⁸ God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” ²⁹ Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; ³⁰ and to every animal of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to everything that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so.

⁵ Now no shrub of the field was yet on the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground.

¹⁸ Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” ¹⁹ And out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. ²⁰ The man gave names to all the livestock, and to the birds of the sky, and to every animal of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. ²¹ So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. ²² And the Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.

³ Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

⁶ Whoever sheds human blood,
   By man his blood shall be shed,
   For in the image of God
   He made mankind.

The Righteous and the Wicked Contrasted.

¹ Blessed is the person who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
  Nor stand in the path of sinners,
  Nor sit 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 will be like a tree planted by streams of water,
  Which yields its fruit in its season,
  And its leaf does not wither;
  And in whatever he does, he prospers.

⁴ The wicked are not so,
  But they are like chaff which the wind blows away.
⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
  Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
⁶ For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
  But the way of the wicked will perish.

³ When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
  The moon and the stars, which You have set in place;
⁴ What is man that You think of him,
  And a son of man that You are concerned about him?
⁵ Yet You have made him a little lower than God,
  And You crown him with glory and majesty!
⁶ You have him rule over the works of Your hands;
  You have put everything under his feet,

Blessedness of Forgiveness and of Trust in God.

32 A Psalm of David.

¹How blessed is he whose wrongdoing is forgiven,
  Whose sin is covered!
² How blessed is a person whose guilt the Lord does not take into account,
  And in whose spirit there is no deceit!

³ When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away
   Through my groaning all day long.
⁴ For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
   My vitality failed as with the dry heat of summer. Selah
⁵ I acknowledged my sin to You,
   And I did not hide my guilt;
   I said, “I will confess my wrongdoings to the Lord”;
   And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah

⁵ Behold, I was brought forth in guilt,
   And in sin my mother conceived me.

⁵ Then I said,

   “Woe to me, for I am ruined!
   Because I am a man of unclean lips,
   And I live among a people of unclean lips;
   For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of armies.”

⁵ This is what the Lord says:
   “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind
   And makes flesh his strength,
   And whose heart turns away from the Lord.

²⁶ For what good will it do a person if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul? Or what will a person give in exchange for his soul?

²⁶ and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, ²⁷ that they would seek God, if perhaps they might feel around for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; ²⁸ for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His descendants.’ ²⁹ Therefore, since we are the descendants of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by human skill and thought. ³⁰ So having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now proclaiming to mankind that all people everywhere are to repent, ³¹ because He has set a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all people by raising Him from the dead.”

¹⁹ because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. ²⁰ For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse. ²¹ For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their reasonings, and their senseless hearts were darkened. ²² Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and they exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible mankind, of birds, four-footed animals, and crawling creatures.

²⁴ Therefore God gave them up to vile impurity in the lusts of their hearts, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. ²⁵ For they exchanged the truth of God for falsehood, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

²⁶ For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged natural relations for that which is contrary to nature, ²⁷ and likewise the men, too, abandoned natural relations with women and burned in their desire toward one another, males with males committing shameful acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

²⁸ And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a depraved mind, to do those things that are not proper, ²⁹ people having been filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, and evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice; they are gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, ³¹ without understanding, untrustworthy, unfeeling, and unmerciful; ³² and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also approve of those who practice them.

¹⁰ as it is written:

   “There is no righteous person, not even one;
¹¹ There is no one who understands,
     There is no one who seeks out God;
¹² They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt;
     There is no one who does good,
     There is not even one.”
¹³ “Their throat is an open grave,
     With their tongues they keep deceiving,”
     “The venom of asps is under their lips”;
¹⁴ “Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”;
¹⁵ “Their feet are swift to shed blood,
¹⁶ Destruction and misery are in their paths,
¹⁷ And they have not known the way of peace.”
¹⁸ “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
     ...
²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

⁶ For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

¹⁹ For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.

⁶ knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;

The Conflict of Serving Two Masters

¹⁴ For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, sold into bondage to sin. ¹⁵ For I do not understand what I am doing; for I am not practicing what I want to do, but I do the very thing I hate. ¹⁶ However, if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, that the Law is good. ¹⁷ But now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin that dwells in me. ¹⁸ For I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. ¹⁹ For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. ²⁰ But if I do the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin that dwells in me.

²¹ I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. ²² For I joyfully agree with the law of God in the inner person, ²³ but I see a different law in the parts of my body waging war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin, the law which is in my body’s parts. ²⁴ Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.

¹⁴ For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons and daughters of God. ¹⁵ For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons and daughters by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” ¹⁶ The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

¹⁸ For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

²⁹ For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters;

²¹ For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. ²² For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; ²³ but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness, ²⁴ but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ For the foolishness of God is wiser than mankind, and the weakness of God is stronger than mankind.

²⁶ For consider your calling, brothers and sisters, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; ²⁷ but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, ²⁸ and the insignificant things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, ²⁹ so that no human may boast before God. ³⁰ But it is due to Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, ³¹ so that, just as it is written: “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

¹⁹ If we have hoped in Christ only in this life, we are of all people most to be pitied.

Made Alive in Christ

2 ¹ And you were dead in your offenses and sins, ² in which you previously walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. ³ Among them we too all previously lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the rest. ⁴ But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, 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 ages to come He might show the boundless 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 of yourselves, 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 so that we would walk in them.

¹¹ Therefore remember that previously you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “Uncircumcision” by the so-called “Circumcision” which is performed in the flesh by human hands— ¹² remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the people of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who previously were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, ¹⁵ by abolishing in His flesh the hostility, which is the Law composed of commandments expressed in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two one new person, in this way establishing peace; ¹⁶ and that He might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the hostility. ¹⁷ And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; ¹⁸ for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. ¹⁹ So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, ²⁰ having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, ²¹ in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, ²² in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

²¹ And although you were previously alienated and hostile in attitude, engaged in evil deeds, ²² yet He has now reconciled you in His body of flesh through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach—

⁹ Do not lie to one another, since you stripped off the old self with its evil practices, ¹⁰ and have put on the new self, which is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created it— ¹¹ a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, and free, but Christ is all, and in all.

¹⁵ And I will make enemies
   Of you and the woman,
   And of your offspring and her Descendant;
   He shall bruise you on the head,
   And you shall bruise Him on the heel.”