Psalms 84–86
For the Music Director. According to The Gittith. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
1 How lovely is Your dwelling place,
O Lord of Hosts!
2 My soul longs, yes, even faints
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my body cry out
for the living God.
3 Yes, the sparrow has found a home
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
even at Your altars,
O Lord of Hosts, my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in Your house;
they continually praise You. Selah
5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
in whose heart are the paths to Zion.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they make it a spring;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength;
every one of them appears in Zion before God.
8 O Lord God of Hosts, hear my prayer,
and give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah
9 Behold, O God our shield,
and look upon the face of Your anointed.
10 For a day in Your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord will give favor and glory,
for no good thing will He withhold
from the one who walks uprightly.
12 O Lord of Hosts,
blessed is the man who trusts in You.
Psalm 85
For the Music Director. A Psalm of the songs of Korah.
1 Lord, You have been favorable to Your land;
You have brought back the captivity of Jacob.
2 You have forgiven the iniquity of Your people;
You have covered all their sin. Selah
3 You have withdrawn all Your wrath;
You have turned from the fierceness of Your anger.
4 Restore us, O God of our salvation,
and put away Your indignation toward us.
5 Will You be angry with us forever?
Will You draw out Your anger to all generations?
6 Will You not revive us again,
that Your people may rejoice in You?
7 Show us Your mercy, O Lord,
and grant us Your deliverance.
8 I will hear what God the Lord will speak,
for He will speak peace to His people and to His saints,
but let them not turn again to folly.
9 Surely His salvation is near to them who fear Him,
that glory may dwell in our land.
10 Mercy and truth have met together;
righteousness and peace have kissed.
11 Truth springs from the ground,
and righteousness looks down from the sky.
12 Yes, the Lord gives that which is good,
and our land shall yield its increase.
13 Righteousness shall go before Him
and prepare a way for His footsteps.
Psalm 86
A Prayer of David.
1 Incline Your ear, O Lord, and answer me,
for I am oppressed and needy.
2 Preserve my soul, for I am godly;
You are my God; save Your servant
who trusts in You.
3 Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for to You I cry all day long.
4 Gladden the soul of Your servant,
for to You, O Lord,
I lift my soul.
5 For You, Lord, are good, and forgiving,
abounding in kindness to all who call on You.
6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer,
and attend to my plea for mercy.
7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon You,
for You will answer me.
8 Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord;
neither are there any works like Your works.
9 All nations whom You have made
shall come and worship before You, O Lord,
and shall glorify Your name.
10 For You are great and do wondrous deeds;
You are God alone.
11 Teach me Your way, O Lord,
that I will walk in Your truth;
bind my heart
to fear Your name.
12 I will give You thanks, O Lord my God, with all my heart,
and I will glorify Your name forever.
13 For great is Your mercy toward me,
and You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.
14 O God, insolent men have risen against me,
and bands of violent men have sought my life;
they have not set You before them.
15 But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion and gracious,
slow to anger, and abundant in mercy and truth.
16 Turn to me and have mercy on me;
give Your strength to Your servant,
and save the humble son of Your female servant.
17 Show me a sign of Your favor,
that those who hate me may see it and be ashamed
because You, Lord, have helped and comforted me.
Romans 12
1 I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service of worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sound judgment, according to the measure of faith God has distributed to every man. 4 For just as we have many parts in one body, and not all parts have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and all are parts of one another. 6 We have diverse gifts according to the grace that is given to us: if prophecy, according to the proportion of faith; 7 if service, in serving; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with generosity; he who rules, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Hate what is evil. Cleave to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another with brotherly love; prefer one another in honor, 11 do not be lazy in diligence, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord, 12 rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer, 13 contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless, and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Do not pretend to be wiser than you are.
17 Repay no one evil for evil. Commend what is honest in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as it depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to God’s wrath, for it is written: “Vengeance is Mine. I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 Therefore
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him a drink;
for in doing so you will heap coals of fire on his head.”
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.