Psalms 94–96; Romans 15:14–33

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Psalms 94–96

The Lord Will Not Forsake His People

O Lord, God of pvengeance,

O God of vengeance, qshine forth!

rRise up, O sjudge of the earth;

repay to the tproud what they deserve!

O Lord, uhow long shall the wicked,

how long shall vthe wicked exult?

They pour out their warrogant words;

all xthe evildoers boast.

They ycrush your people, O Lord,

and afflict your heritage.

They kill zthe widow and the sojourner,

and murder zthe fatherless;

aand they say, The Lord does not see;

the God of Jacob does not perceive.

bUnderstand, O dullest of the people!

Fools, when will you be wise?

cHe who planted the ear, does he not hear?

He who formed the eye, does he not see?

10  He who ddisciplines the nations, does he not rebuke?

He who eteaches man knowledge

11  fthe Lordknows the thoughts of man,

that they are gbut a breath.1

12  hBlessed is the man whom you idiscipline, O Lord,

and whom you teach out of your law,

13  to give him jrest from kdays of trouble,

until la pit is dug for the wicked.

14  mFor the Lord will not forsake his npeople;

he will not abandon his nheritage;

15  for ojustice will return to the righteous,

and all the upright in heart will pfollow it.

16  qWho rises up for me against the wicked?

Who stands up for me against evildoers?

17  rIf the Lord had not been my help,

my soul would soon have lived in the land of ssilence.

18  When I thought, tMy foot slips,

your steadfast love, O Lord, uheld me up.

19  When the cares of my heart are many,

your consolations cheer my soul.

20  Can wwicked rulers be allied with you,

those who frame2 injustice by xstatute?

21  They yband together against the life of the righteous

and condemn zthe innocent to death.3

22  But the Lord has become my astronghold,

and my God bthe rock of my crefuge.

23  He will bring back on them dtheir iniquity

and ewipe them out for their wickedness;

the Lord our God will wipe them out.

Let Us Sing Songs of Praise

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;

let us fmake a joyful noise to gthe rock of our salvation!

Let us hcome into his presence with thanksgiving;

let us fmake a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!

For the Lord is ia great God,

and a great King jabove all gods.

In his hand are the depths of the earth;

the heights of the mountains are his also.

The sea is his, for khe made it,

and his hands formed kthe dry land.

Oh come, let us worship and bow down;

let us lkneel before the Lord, our mMaker!

For he is our nGod,

and we are the people of his opasture,

and the sheep of his hand.

pToday, if you qhear his voice,

rdo not harden your hearts, as at sMeribah,

as on the day at tMassah in the wilderness,

when your fathers put me to the utest

and put me to the proof, though they had seen my vwork.

10  wFor forty years I loathed that generation

and said, They are a people who go astray in their heart,

and they have not known xmy ways.

11  Therefore I yswore in my wrath,

They shall not enter zmy rest.

Worship in the Splendor of Holiness

aOh sing to the Lord ba new song;

sing to the Lord, all the earth!

Sing to the Lord, bless his name;

ctell of his salvation from day to day.

Declare his glory among the nations,

his marvelous works among all the peoples!

For dgreat is the Lord, and egreatly to be praised;

he is to be feared above fall gods.

For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,

but the Lord gmade the heavens.

Splendor and majesty are before him;

hstrength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

Ascribe to the Lord, O ifamilies of the peoples,

jascribe to the Lord glory and strength!

Ascribe to the Lord kthe glory due his name;

bring lan offering, and mcome into his courts!

Worship the Lord in nthe splendor of holiness;4

otremble before him, all the earth!

10  Say among the nations, pThe Lord reigns!

Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;

he will qjudge the peoples with equity.

11  Let rthe heavens be glad, and let sthe earth rejoice;

let tthe sea roar, and all that fills it;

12  let uthe field exult, and everything in it!

Then shall all vthe trees of the forest sing for joy

13  before the Lord, for he comes,

for he comes wto judge the earth.

He will judge the world in righteousness,

and the peoples in his faithfulness.


Romans 15:14–33

Paul the Minister to the Gentiles

14 mI myself am satisfied about you, my brothers,1 that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with nall knowledge and able to instruct one another. 15 But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, obecause of the grace given me by God 16 to be pa minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles qin the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that rthe offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17 In Christ Jesus, then, I have sreason to be proud of tmy work for God. 18 For I will not venture to speak of anything except uwhat Christ has accomplished through me vto bring the Gentiles to obedienceby word and deed, 19 wby the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of Godso that xfrom Jerusalem and all the way around yto Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; 20 and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, zlest I build on someone else’s foundation, 21 but as it is written,

aThose who have never been told of him will see,

and those who have never heard will understand.

Paul’s Plan to Visit Rome

22 This is the reason why bI have so often been hindered from coming to you. 23 But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and csince I have longed for many years to come to you, 24 I hope to see you in passing as I go dto Spain, and eto be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while. 25 At present, however, fI am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. 26 For gMacedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. 27 For they were pleased to do it, and indeed hthey owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings. 28 When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected,2 I will leave ifor Spain by way of you. 29 I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing3 of Christ.

30 I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by jthe love of the Spirit, kto strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, 31 lthat I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that mmy service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 32 so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and nbe refreshed in your company. 33 May othe God of peace be with you all. Amen.