Old/New Testament
Psalm 143[a]
A psalm of David.
143 O Lord, hear my prayer.
Pay attention to my plea for help.
Because of your faithfulness and justice, answer me.
2 Do not sit in judgment on[b] your servant,
for no one alive is innocent before you.[c]
3 Certainly[d] my enemies[e] chase me.
They smash me into the ground.[f]
They force me to live[g] in dark regions,[h]
like those who have been dead for ages.
4 My strength leaves me;[i]
I am absolutely shocked.[j]
5 I recall the old days.[k]
I meditate on all you have done;
I reflect on your accomplishments.[l]
6 I spread my hands out to you in prayer;[m]
my soul thirsts for you in a parched[n] land.[o] (Selah)
7 Answer me quickly, Lord.
My strength is fading.[p]
Do not reject me,[q]
or I will join[r] those descending into the grave.[s]
8 May I hear about your loyal love in the morning,[t]
for I trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,[u]
because I long for you.[v]
9 Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord.
I run to you for protection.[w]
10 Teach me to do what pleases you,[x]
for you are my God.
May your kind presence[y]
lead me[z] into a level land.[aa]
11 O Lord, for the sake of your reputation,[ab] revive me.[ac]
Because of your justice, rescue me from trouble.[ad]
12 As a demonstration of your loyal love,[ae] destroy my enemies.
Annihilate[af] all who threaten my life,[ag]
for I am your servant.
Psalm 144[ah]
By David.
144 The Lord, my Protector,[ai] deserves praise[aj]—
the one who trains my hands for battle,[ak]
and my fingers for war,
2 who loves me[al] and is my stronghold,
my refuge[am] and my deliverer,
my shield and the one in whom I take shelter,
who makes nations submit to me.[an]
3 O Lord, of what importance is the human race,[ao] that you should notice them?
Of what importance is mankind,[ap] that you should be concerned about them?[aq]
4 People[ar] are like a vapor,
their days like a shadow that disappears.[as]
5 O Lord, make the sky sink[at] and come down.[au]
Touch the mountains and make them smolder.[av]
6 Hurl lightning bolts and scatter the enemy.
Shoot your arrows and rout them.[aw]
7 Reach down[ax] from above.
Grab me and rescue me from the surging water,[ay]
from the power of foreigners,[az]
8 who speak lies,
and make false promises.[ba]
9 O God, I will sing a new song to you.
Accompanied by a ten-stringed instrument, I will sing praises to you,
10 the one who delivers[bb] kings,
and rescued David his servant from a deadly[bc] sword.
11 Grab me and rescue me from the power of foreigners,[bd]
who speak lies,
and make false promises.[be]
12 Then[bf] our sons will be like plants,
that quickly grow to full size.[bg]
Our daughters will be like corner pillars,[bh]
carved like those in a palace.[bi]
13 Our storehouses[bj] will be full,
providing all kinds of food.[bk]
Our sheep will multiply by the thousands
and fill[bl] our pastures.[bm]
14 Our cattle will be weighted down with produce.[bn]
No one will break through our walls,
no one will be taken captive,
and there will be no terrified cries in our city squares.[bo]
15 How blessed are the people who experience these things.[bp]
How blessed are the people whose God is the Lord.
Psalm 145[bq]
A psalm of praise; by David.
145 I will extol you, my God, O King.
I will praise your name continually.[br]
2 Every day I will praise you.
I will praise your name continually.[bs]
3 The Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise.
No one can fathom his greatness.[bt]
4 One generation will praise your deeds to another,
and tell about your mighty acts.[bu]
5 I will focus on your honor and majestic splendor,
and your amazing deeds.[bv]
6 They will proclaim[bw] the power of your awesome acts.
I will declare your great deeds.
7 They will talk about the fame of your great kindness,[bx]
and sing about your justice.[by]
8 The Lord is merciful and compassionate;
he is patient[bz] and demonstrates great loyal love.[ca]
9 The Lord is good to all,
and has compassion on all he has made.[cb]
10 All your works will give thanks to you, Lord.
Your loyal followers will praise you.
11 They will proclaim the splendor of your kingdom;
they will tell about your power,
12 so that mankind[cc] might acknowledge your mighty acts,
and the majestic splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an eternal kingdom,[cd]
and your dominion endures through all generations.
14 [ce] The Lord supports all who fall,
and lifts up all who are bent over.[cf]
15 Everything looks to you in anticipation,[cg]
and you provide them with food on a regular basis.[ch]
16 You open your hand,
and fill every living thing with the food it desires.[ci]
17 The Lord is just in all his actions,[cj]
and exhibits love in all he does.[ck]
18 The Lord is near all who cry out to him,
all who cry out to him sincerely.[cl]
19 He satisfies the desire[cm] of his loyal followers;[cn]
he hears their cry for help and delivers them.
20 The Lord protects all those who love him,
but he destroys all the wicked.
21 My mouth will praise the Lord.[co]
Let all who live[cp] praise his holy name forever.
21 It is written in the law: “By people with strange tongues and by the lips of strangers I will speak to this people, yet not even in this way will they listen to me,”[a] says the Lord. 22 So then, tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers. Prophecy, however, is not for unbelievers but for believers. 23 So if the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and unbelievers or uninformed people enter, will they not say that you have lost your minds? 24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or uninformed person enters, he will be convicted by all, he will be called to account by all. 25 The secrets of his heart are disclosed, and in this way he will fall down with his face to the ground and worship God, declaring, “God is really among you.”
Church Order
26 What should you do then, brothers and sisters?[b] When you come together, each one has a song, has a lesson, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all these things be done for the strengthening of the church. 27 If someone speaks in a tongue, it should be two, or at the most three, one after the other, and someone must interpret. 28 But if there is no interpreter, he should be silent in the church. Let him speak to himself and to God. 29 Two or three prophets should speak and the others should evaluate what is said. 30 And if someone sitting down receives a revelation, the person who is speaking should conclude. 31 For you can all prophesy one after another, so all can learn and be encouraged. 32 Indeed, the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets, 33 for God is not characterized by disorder but by peace.
As in all the churches of the saints,[c] 34 the women[d] should be silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak.[e] Rather, let them be in submission, as in fact the law says. 35 If they want to find out about something, they should ask their husbands at home, because it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in church.[f] 36 Did the word of God begin with you,[g] or did it come to you alone?
37 If anyone considers himself a prophet or spiritual person, he should acknowledge that what I write to you is the Lord’s command. 38 If someone does not recognize this, he is not recognized. 39 So then, brothers and sisters,[h] be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid anyone from speaking in tongues.[i] 40 And do everything in a decent and orderly manner.
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