Psalms 84–86; Romans 12

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Psalms 84–86

My Soul Longs for the Courts of the Lord

To the choirmaster: according to pThe Gittith.1 A Psalm of qthe Sons of Korah.

How rlovely is your sdwelling place,

O Lord of hosts!

My soul tlongs, yes, ufaints

for the courts of the Lord;

my heart and flesh sing for joy

to vthe living God.

Even the sparrow finds a home,

and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may lay her young,

at your altars, O Lord of hosts,

wmy King and my God.

xBlessed are those who dwell in your house,

ever ysinging your praise! Selah

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

zin whose heart are the highways to Zion.2

As they go through the Valley of Baca

they make it a place of springs;

athe early rain also covers it with bpools.

They go cfrom strength to strength;

each one dappears before God in Zion.

O eLord God of hosts, hear my prayer;

give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah

fBehold our gshield, O God;

look on the face of your anointed!

10  For a day hin your courts is better

than a thousand elsewhere.

I would rather be ia doorkeeper in the house of my God

than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

11  For the Lord God is ja sun and gshield;

the Lord bestows favor and honor.

kNo good thing does he withhold

from those who lwalk uprightly.

12  O Lord of hosts,

mblessed is the one who trusts in you!

Revive Us Again

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of nthe Sons of Korah.

Lord, you were ofavorable to your land;

you prestored the fortunes of Jacob.

You qforgave the iniquity of your people;

you qcovered all their sin. Selah

You withdrew all your wrath;

you rturned from your hot anger.

sRestore us again, O God of our salvation,

and put away your indignation toward us!

tWill you be angry with us forever?

Will you prolong your anger to all generations?

Will you not urevive us again,

that your people may vrejoice in you?

Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,

and grant us your salvation.

wLet me hear what God the Lord will speak,

for he will xspeak peace to his people, to his ysaints;

but let them not zturn back to afolly.

Surely his bsalvation is near to those who fear him,

that cglory may dwell in our land.

10  dSteadfast love and faithfulness meet;

erighteousness and peace kiss each other.

11  Faithfulness springs up from the ground,

and righteousness looks down from the sky.

12  Yes, fthe Lord will give what is good,

and our land gwill yield its increase.

13  hRighteousness will go before him

and make his footsteps a way.

Great Is Your Steadfast Love

iA Prayer of David.

jIncline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,

for I am kpoor and needy.

Preserve my life, for I am lgodly;

save your servant, who mtrusts in youyou are my God.

nBe gracious to me, O Lord,

for to you do I cry all the day.

Gladden the soul of your servant,

for oto you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

For you, O Lord, are good and pforgiving,

qabounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.

rGive ear, O Lord, to my prayer;

listen to my plea for grace.

In sthe day of my trouble I call upon you,

tfor you answer me.

There is unone like you among the gods, O Lord,

vnor are there any works like yours.

wAll the nations you have made shall come

and worship before you, O Lord,

and shall glorify your name.

10  For xyou are great and ydo wondrous things;

zyou alone are God.

11  aTeach me your way, O Lord,

that I may bwalk in your truth;

cunite my heart to fear your name.

12  I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,

and I will glorify your name forever.

13  dFor great is your steadfast love toward me;

you have edelivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

14  O God, insolent men have frisen up against me;

a band of ruthless men seeks my life,

and they do not set you before them.

15  But you, O Lord, are a God gmerciful and gracious,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

16  hTurn to me and be gracious to me;

give your strength to iyour servant,

and save ithe son of your maidservant.

17  jShow me a sign of your kfavor,

that those who hate me may see and be put to shame

because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.


Romans 12

A Living Sacrifice

zI appeal to you therefore, brothers,1 by the mercies of God, ato present your bodies bas a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.2 cDo not be conformed to this world,3 but be transformed by dthe renewal of your mind, that by testing you may ediscern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.4

Gifts of Grace

For fby the grace given to me I say to everyone among you gnot to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, heach according to ithe measure of faith that God has assigned. For jas in one body we have many members,5 and the members do not all have the same function, so we, kthough many, lare one body in Christ, and individually mmembers one of another. nHaving gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if oprophecy, pin proportion to our faith; if qservice, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; rthe one who leads,6 with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with scheerfulness.

Marks of the True Christian

tLet love be genuine. uAbhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 vLove one another with brotherly affection. wOutdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, xbe fervent in spirit,7 yserve the Lord. 12 zRejoice in hope, abe patient in tribulation, bbe constant in prayer. 13 cContribute to the needs of the saints and dseek to show hospitality.

14 eBless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 fRejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 gLive in harmony with one another. hDo not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.8 iNever be wise in your own sight. 17 jRepay no one evil for evil, but kgive thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, llive peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, mnever avenge yourselves, but leave it9 to the wrath of God, for it is written, nVengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. 20 To the contrary, oif your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head. 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.