Old/New Testament
Longing for the Temple Worship.
For the music director; [a]on the Gittith. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
84 How lovely are Your (A)dwelling places,
Lord of armies!
2 My (B)soul longed and even yearned for the courtyards of the Lord;
My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the (C)living God.
3 The bird also has found a house,
And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may put her young:
Your (D)altars, Lord of armies,
(E)My King and my God.
4 (F)Blessed are those who dwell in Your house!
They are (G)ever praising You. Selah
5 Blessed is the person whose (H)strength is in You,
In [b]whose heart are the (I)roads to Zion!
6 Passing through the Valley of [c]Baca they make it a [d]spring;
The (J)early rain also covers it with blessings.
7 They (K)go from strength to strength,
[e]Every one of them (L)appears before God in Zion.
8 (M)Lord God of armies, hear my prayer;
Listen, (N)God of Jacob! Selah
9 See our (O)shield, God,
And look at the face of (P)Your anointed.
10 For (Q)a day in Your courtyards is better than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God
Than live in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the Lord God is (R)a sun and (S)shield;
The Lord gives grace and (T)glory;
(U)He withholds no good thing [f]from those who walk with integrity.
12 Lord of armies,
(V)Blessed is the person who trusts in You!
Prayer for God’s Mercy upon the Nation.
For the music director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
85 Lord, You showed (W)favor to Your land;
You (X)restored the fortunes of Jacob.
2 You (Y)forgave the guilt of Your people;
You (Z)covered all their sin. Selah
3 You (AA)withdrew all Your fury;
You (AB)turned away from Your burning anger.
4 (AC)Restore us, God of our salvation,
And (AD)cause Your indignation toward us to cease.
5 Will (AE)You be angry with us forever?
Will You prolong Your anger to [g]all generations?
6 Will You not [h](AF)revive us again,
So that Your people may (AG)rejoice in You?
7 Show us Your mercy, Lord,
And (AH)grant us Your salvation.
8 [i]I will hear what God the Lord will say;
For He will (AI)speak peace to His people, to His godly ones;
And may they not (AJ)turn back to [j]foolishness.
9 Certainly (AK)His salvation is near to those who [k]fear Him,
That (AL)glory may dwell in our land.
10 (AM)Graciousness and [l]truth have met together;
(AN)Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
11 [m]Truth (AO)sprouts from the earth,
And righteousness looks down from heaven.
12 Indeed, (AP)the Lord will give what is good,
And our (AQ)land will yield its produce.
13 (AR)Righteousness will go before Him
And will make His footsteps into a way.
Pleading and Trust.
A Prayer of David.
86 (AS)Incline Your ear, Lord, and answer me;
For I am (AT)afflicted and needy.
2 (AU)Protect my [n]soul, for I am (AV)godly;
You my God, save Your servant who (AW)trusts in You.
3 Be (AX)gracious to me, Lord,
For (AY)I call upon You all day long.
4 Make the soul of Your servant joyful,
For to You, Lord, (AZ)I lift up my soul.
5 For You, Lord, are (BA)good, and (BB)ready to forgive,
And (BC)abundant in mercy to all who call upon You.
6 (BD)Listen, Lord, to my prayer;
And give Your attention to the sound of my pleading!
7 On (BE)the day of my trouble I will call upon You,
For (BF)You will answer me.
8 There is (BG)no one like You among the gods, Lord,
Nor are there any works (BH)like Yours.
9 (BI)All nations whom You have made will come and worship before You, Lord,
And they will glorify Your name.
10 For You are (BJ)great, and you (BK)do [o]wondrous deeds;
You alone (BL)are God.
11 (BM)Teach me Your way, Lord;
I will walk in Your truth;
(BN)Unite my heart to fear Your name.
12 I will (BO)give thanks to You, Lord my God, with all my heart,
And I will glorify Your name forever.
13 For Your graciousness toward me is great,
And You have (BP)saved my soul from the [p]depths of [q]Sheol.
14 God, arrogant men have (BQ)risen up against me,
And a gang of violent men have sought my [r]life,
And they have not set You before them.
15 But You, Lord, are a (BR)compassionate and gracious God,
Slow to anger and abundant in mercy and [s]truth.
16 (BS)Turn to me, and be gracious to me;
(BT)Grant Your strength to Your servant,
And save the (BU)son of Your maidservant.
17 (BV)Show me a sign of good,
That those who hate me may (BW)see it and be ashamed,
Because You, Lord, (BX)have helped me and comforted me.
Dedicated Service
12 Therefore (A)I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to (B)present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, [a]acceptable to God, which is your [b]spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not (C)be conformed to (D)this [c]world, but be transformed by the (E)renewing of your mind, so that you may [d](F)prove what the will of God is, that which is good and [e]acceptable and perfect.
3 For through (G)the grace given to me I say to everyone among you (H)not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to (I)each a measure of faith. 4 For (J)just as we have many parts in one body and all [f]the body’s parts do not have the same function, 5 so we, (K)who are many, are (L)one body in Christ, and individually parts of one another. 6 However, since we have gifts that (M)differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to use them properly: if (N)prophecy, [g]in proportion to one’s faith; 7 if [h](O)service, in the act of serving; or the one who (P)teaches, in the act of teaching; 8 or the one who [i](Q)exhorts, in the work of [j]exhortation; the one who gives, with [k](R)generosity; (S)the one who [l]is in leadership, with diligence; the one who shows mercy, with (T)cheerfulness.
9 [m](U)Love must be free of hypocrisy. (V)Detest what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be (W)devoted to one another in brotherly love; [n]give preference to one another (X)in honor, 11 not lagging behind in diligence, (Y)fervent in spirit, (Z)serving the Lord; 12 (AA)rejoicing in hope, (AB)persevering in tribulation, (AC)devoted to prayer, 13 (AD)contributing to the needs of the [o]saints, [p](AE)practicing hospitality.
14 (AF)Bless those who persecute [q]you; bless and do not curse. 15 (AG)Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 (AH)Be of the same mind toward one another; (AI)do not be [r]haughty in mind, but [s]associate with the lowly. (AJ)Do not be wise in your own estimation. 17 (AK)Never repay evil for evil to anyone. [t](AL)Respect what is right in the sight of all people. 18 If possible, (AM)so far as it depends on you, (AN)be at peace with all people. 19 (AO)Never take your own revenge, beloved, but [u]leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written: “(AP)Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 “(AQ)But if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
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