Psalms 51–53; Romans 2

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Psalms 51–53

Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when vNathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

wHave mercy on me,1 O God,

according to your steadfast love;

according to your xabundant mercy

yblot out my transgressions.

zWash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

and acleanse me from my sin!

bFor I know my transgressions,

and my sin is ever before me.

cAgainst you, you only, have I sinned

and done what is evil din your sight,

eso that you may be justified in your words

and blameless in your judgment.

Behold, fI was brought forth in iniquity,

and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Behold, you delight in truth in gthe inward being,

and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

Purge me hwith hyssop, and I shall be clean;

zwash me, and I shall be iwhiter than snow.

Let me hear joy and gladness;

jlet the bones kthat you have broken rejoice.

lHide your face from my sins,

and yblot out all my iniquities.

10  mCreate in me a nclean heart, O God,

and orenew a right2 spirit within me.

11  pCast me not away from your presence,

and take not qyour Holy Spirit from me.

12  Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

and uphold me with a willing spirit.

13  Then I will teach transgressors your ways,

and sinners will rreturn to you.

14  Deliver me from sbloodguiltiness, O God,

O tGod of my salvation,

and umy tongue will sing aloud of your vrighteousness.

15  O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will declare your praise.

16  wFor you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;

you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.

17  The sacrifices of God are xa broken spirit;

a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

18  yDo good to Zion in your good pleasure;

zbuild up the walls of Jerusalem;

19  then will you delight in aright sacrifices,

in burnt offerings and bwhole burnt offerings;

then bulls will be offered on your altar.

The Steadfast Love of God Endures

To the choirmaster. A Maskil3 of David, when cDoeg, the Edomite, came and told Saul, David has come to the house of Ahimelech.

Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man?

The steadfast love of God endures all the day.

Your dtongue plots destruction,

like ea sharp razor, you fworker of deceit.

You love evil more than good,

and glying more than speaking what is right. Selah

You love all words that devour,

O deceitful tongue.

But God will break you down forever;

he will snatch and htear you from your tent;

he will uproot you from ithe land of the living. Selah

The righteous shall jsee and fear,

and shall klaugh at him, saying,

See the man who would not make

God his refuge,

but ltrusted in the abundance of his riches

and sought refuge in his own destruction!4

But I am like ma green olive tree

in the house of God.

I trust in the steadfast love of God

forever and ever.

I will thank you forever,

because you have done it.

I will wait for your name, nfor it is good,

in the presence of the ogodly.

There Is None Who Does Good

To the choirmaster: according to pMahalath. A Maskil5 of David.

qThe fool says in his heart, There is no God.

They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity;

there is none who does good.

God looks down from heaven

on the children of man

to see if there are any who understand,6

who seek after God.

They have all fallen away;

together they have become corrupt;

there is none who does good,

not even one.

Have those who work evil no knowledge,

who eat up my people as they eat bread,

and do not call upon God?

There they are, in great terror,

rwhere there is no terror!

For God sscatters the bones of him who encamps against you;

you put them to shame, for God has rejected them.

Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!

When God restores the fortunes of his people,

let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.


Romans 2

God’s Righteous Judgment

Therefore you have fno excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For gin passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. Do you suppose, O manyou who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourselfthat you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on hthe riches of his kindness and iforbearance and jpatience, knot knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are lstoring up mwrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

nHe will render to each one according to his works: to those who oby patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking1 and pdo not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress qfor every human being who does evil, the Jew rfirst and also the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and speace for everyone who does good, tthe Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For uGod shows no partiality.

God’s Judgment and the Law

12 For all who have sinned vwithout the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For wit 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, xby 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 ywritten on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them 16 zon that day when, aaccording to my gospel, God judges bthe secrets of men cby Christ Jesus.

17 But if you call yourself a Jew and drely on the law and boast in God 18 and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; 19 and if you are sure that you yourself are ea guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law fthe embodiment of gknowledge and truth 21 hyou then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you irob temples? 23 You who jboast in the law kdishonor God by breaking the law. 24 For, las it is written, The name of God is blasphemed mamong the Gentiles because of you.

25 For circumcision indeed is of value nif you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. 26 So, if oa man who is uncircumcised keeps pthe precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded2 as circumcision? 27 Then he who is physically3 uncircumcised but keeps the law qwill condemn you who have rthe written code4 and circumcision but break the law. 28 For sno one is a Jew twho is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 29 But a Jew is one uinwardly, and vcircumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. wHis praise is not from man but from God.