A shiggaion^[a] of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning Cush, a Benjamite.

1 O LORD my God, I take refuge in you;
save and deliver me from all who pursue me,

2 or they will tear me like a lion
and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me.

3 O LORD my God, if I have done this
and there is guilt on my hands-

4 if I have done evil to him who is at peace with me
or without cause have robbed my foe-

5 then let my enemy pursue and overtake me;
let him trample my life to the ground
and make me sleep in the dust.
Selah

6 Arise, O LORD, in your anger;
rise up against the rage of my enemies.
Awake, my God; decree justice.

7 Let the assembled peoples gather around you.
Rule over them from on high;

8 let the LORD judge the peoples.
Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness,
according to my integrity, O Most High.

9 O righteous God,
who searches minds and hearts,
bring to an end the violence of the wicked
and make the righteous secure.

10 My shield ^[b] is God Most High,
who saves the upright in heart.

11 God is a righteous judge,
a God who expresses his wrath every day.

12 If he does not relent,
he ^[c] will sharpen his sword;
he will bend and string his bow.

13 He has prepared his deadly weapons;
he makes ready his flaming arrows.

14 He who is pregnant with evil
and conceives trouble gives birth to disillusionment.

15 He who digs a hole and scoops it out
falls into the pit he has made.

16 The trouble he causes recoils on himself;
his violence comes down on his own head.

17 I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness
and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 7:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
2. Psalm 7:10 Or sovereign
3. Psalm 7:12 Or If a man does not repent, / God

Prayer for Mercy in Time of Trouble.

For the choir director; with stringed instruments, upon an eight-string lyre. A Psalm of David.

1 O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger,
Nor chasten me in Your wrath.

2 Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am pining away;
Heal me, O LORD, for my bones are dismayed.

3 And my soul is greatly dismayed;
But You, O LORD–how long?

4 Return, O LORD, rescue my soul;
Save me because of Your lovingkindness.

5 For there is no mention of You in death;
In Sheol who will give You thanks?

6 I am weary with my sighing;
Every night I make my bed swim,
I dissolve my couch with my tears.

7 My eye has wasted away with grief;
It has become old because of all my adversaries.

8 Depart from me, all you who do iniquity,
For the LORD has heard the voice of my weeping.

9 The LORD has heard my supplication,
The LORD receives my prayer.

10 All my enemies will be ashamed and greatly dismayed;
They shall turn back, they will suddenly be ashamed.

For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by the flute.

1 O Lord, hear me as I pray;
pay attention to my groaning.
2 Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God,
for I pray to no one but you.
3 Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord.
Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.

4 O God, you take no pleasure in wickedness;
you cannot tolerate the sins of the wicked.
5 Therefore, the proud may not stand in your presence,
for you hate all who do evil.
6 You will destroy those who tell lies.
The Lord detests murderers and deceivers.

7 Because of your unfailing love, I can enter your house;
I will worship at your Temple with deepest awe.
8 Lead me in the right path, O Lord,
or my enemies will conquer me.
Make your way plain for me to follow.

9 My enemies cannot speak a truthful word.
Their deepest desire is to destroy others.
Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave.
Their tongues are filled with flattery.^[a]
10 O God, declare them guilty.
Let them be caught in their own traps.
Drive them away because of their many sins,
for they have rebelled against you.

11 But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
let them sing joyful praises forever.
Spread your protection over them,
that all who love your name may be filled with joy.
12 For you bless the godly, O Lord;
you surround them with your shield of love.

Evening Prayer of Trust in God.

For the choir director; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.

1 Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have relieved me in my distress;
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer.

2 O sons of men, how long will my honor become a reproach?
How long will you love what is worthless and aim at deception? Selah.

3 But know that the LORD has set apart the godly man for Himself;
The LORD hears when I call to Him.

4 Tremble, and do not sin;
Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.

5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness,
And trust in the LORD.

6 Many are saying, “Who will show us any good?”
Lift up the light of Your countenance upon us, O LORD!

7 You have put gladness in my heart,
More than when their grain and new wine abound.

8 In peace I will both lie down and sleep,
For You alone, O LORD, make me to dwell in safety.

Morning Prayer of Trust in God.

A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.

1 O LORD, how my adversaries have increased!
Many are rising up against me.

2 Many are saying of my soul,
“There is no deliverance for him in God.” Selah.

3 But You, O LORD, are a shield about me,
My glory, and the One who lifts my head.

4 I was crying to the LORD with my voice,
And He answered me from His holy mountain. Selah.

5 I lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the LORD sustains me.

6 I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people
Who have set themselves against me round about.

7 Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God!
For You have smitten all my enemies on the cheek;
You have shattered the teeth of the wicked.

8 Salvation belongs to the LORD;
Your blessing be upon Your people! Selah.

1 Why do the nations conspire ^[a]
and the peoples plot in vain?

2 The kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers gather together
against the LORD
and against his Anointed One. ^[b]

3 “Let us break their chains,” they say,
“and throw off their fetters.”

4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
the Lord scoffs at them.

5 Then he rebukes them in his anger
and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,

6 “I have installed my King ^[c]
on Zion, my holy hill.”

7 I will proclaim the decree of the LORD :
He said to me, “You are my Son ^[d] ;
today I have become your Father. ^[e]

8 Ask of me,
and I will make the nations your inheritance,
the ends of the earth your possession.

9 You will rule them with an iron scepter ^[f] ;
you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”

10 Therefore, you kings, be wise;
be warned, you rulers of the earth.

11 Serve the LORD with fear
and rejoice with trembling.

12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry
and you be destroyed in your way,
for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Psalm 1:

1 Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.

4 Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.

5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

Greetings and Love Expressed

1I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea;

2that you receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and that you help her in whatever matter she may have need of you; for she herself has also been a helper of many, and of myself as well.

3Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus,

4who for my life risked their own necks, to whom not only do I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles;

5also greet the church that is in their house Greet Epaenetus, my beloved, who is the first convert to Christ from Asia.

6Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you.

7Greet Andronicus and Junias, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners, who are outstanding among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.

8Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord.

9Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and Stachys my beloved.

10Greet Apelles, the approved in Christ. Greet those who are of the household of Aristobulus.

11Greet Herodion, my kinsman. Greet those of the household of Narcissus, who are in the Lord.

12Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, workers in the Lord. Greet Persis the beloved, who has worked hard in the Lord.

13Greet Rufus, a choice man in the Lord, also his mother and mine.

14Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the brethren with them.

15Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them.

16Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

17Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them.

18For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.

19For the report of your obedience has reached to all; therefore I am rejoicing over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil.

20The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

21Timothy my fellow worker greets you, and so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.

22I, Tertius, who write this letter, greet you in the Lord.

23Gaius, host to me and to the whole church, greets you Erastus, the city treasurer greets you, and Quartus, the brother.

24[The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.]

25Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past,

26but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith;

27to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen.

Self-denial on Behalf of Others
1Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves.

2Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification.

3For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “THE REPROACHES OF THOSE WHO REPROACHED YOU FELL ON ME.”

4For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

5Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus,

6so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

7Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.

8For I say that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers,

9and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy; as it is written,
“THEREFORE I WILL GIVE PRAISE TO YOU AMONG THE GENTILES,
AND I WILL SING TO YOUR NAME.”

10Again he says,
“REJOICE, O GENTILES, WITH HIS PEOPLE.”

11And again,
“PRAISE THE LORD ALL YOU GENTILES,
AND LET ALL THE PEOPLES PRAISE HIM.”

12Again Isaiah says,
“THERE SHALL COME THE ROOT OF JESSE,
AND HE WHO ARISES TO RULE OVER THE GENTILES,
IN HIM SHALL THE GENTILES HOPE.”

13Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

14And concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish one another.

15But I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again, because of the grace that was given me from God,

16to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

17Therefore in Christ Jesus I have found reason for boasting in things pertaining to God.

18For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed,

19in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.

20And thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, so that I would not build on another man’s foundation;

21but as it is written,
“THEY WHO HAD NO NEWS OF HIM SHALL SEE,
AND THEY WHO HAVE NOT HEARD SHALL UNDERSTAND.”

22For this reason I have often been prevented from coming to you;

23but now, with no further place for me in these regions, and since I have had for many years a longing to come to you

24whenever I go to Spain–for I hope to see you in passing, and to be helped on my way there by you, when I have first enjoyed your company for a while–

25but now, I am going to Jerusalem serving the saints.

26For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.

27Yes, they were pleased to do so, and they are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to minister to them also in material things.

28Therefore, when I have finished this, and have put my seal on this fruit of theirs, I will go on by way of you to Spain.

29I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.

30Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me,

31that I may be rescued from those who are disobedient in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the saints;

32so that I may come to you in joy by the will of God and find refreshing rest in your company.

33Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Principles of Conscience

1Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions.

2One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only.

3The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him.

4Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

5One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind.

6He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God.

7For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself;

8for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.

9For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

10But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.

11For it is written,
“AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME,
AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL GIVE PRAISE TO GOD.”

12So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.

13Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this–not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way.

14I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.

15For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died.

16Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil;

17for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

18For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.

19So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.

20Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense.

21It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles.

22The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.

23But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.