His Steadfast Love Endures Forever
A Psalm for ogiving thanks.
1 pMake a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
2 qServe the Lord with gladness!
rCome into his presence with singing!
3 Know that sthe Lord, he is God!
4 xEnter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his ycourts with praise!
Give thanks to him; zbless his name!
5 aFor the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his bfaithfulness to all generations.
I Will Walk with Integrity
A Psalm of David.
1 I will sing of csteadfast love and justice;
to you, O Lord, I will make music.
2 I will dponder the way ethat is blameless.
Oh when will you fcome to me?
I will gwalk with hintegrity of heart
within my house;
3 I will not set before my eyes
anything ithat is worthless.
I hate the work of those who jfall away;
it shall not cling to me.
4 kA perverse heart shall be far from me;
I will lknow nothing of evil.
5 Whoever slanders his neighbor msecretly
I will ndestroy.
Whoever has a ohaughty look and an parrogant heart
I will not endure.
6 I will look with favor on the faithful in the land,
that they may dwell with me;
he who walks in qthe way that is blameless
shall minister to me.
7 No one who rpractices deceit
shall dwell in my house;
no one who utters lies
shall scontinue before my eyes.
8 tMorning by morning I will destroy
all the wicked in the land,
ucutting off all vthe evildoers
from wthe city of the Lord.
Do Not Hide Your Face from Me
A Prayer of one afflicted, when he is xfaint and ypours out his complaint before the Lord.
1 zHear my prayer, O Lord;
let my cry acome to you!
2 bDo not hide your face from me
in cthe day of my distress!
dIncline your ear to me;
3 For my days gpass away like smoke,
and my hbones burn like a furnace.
4 My heart is istruck down like grass and jhas withered;
I kforget to eat my bread.
5 Because of my loud groaning
my lbones cling to my flesh.
6 I am like ma desert owl of the wilderness,
like an owl2 of the waste places;
7 I nlie awake;
I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop.
8 All the day my enemies taunt me;
those who oderide me puse my name for a curse.
9 For I eat ashes like bread
and qmingle tears with my drink,
10 because of your indignation and anger;
for you have rtaken me up and sthrown me down.
11 My days are like tan evening shadow;
I jwither away like grass.
12 But you, O Lord, are uenthroned forever;
you vare remembered throughout all generations.
13 You will warise and have xpity on Zion;
it is the time to favor her;
ythe appointed time has come.
14 For your servants hold her zstones dear
and have pity on her dust.
15 Nations will afear the name of the Lord,
and all bthe kings of the earth will fear your glory.
16 For the Lord cbuilds up Zion;
he dappears in his glory;
17 he eregards the prayer of the destitute
and does not despise their prayer.
18 Let this be frecorded for ga generation to come,
so that ha people yet to be created may praise the Lord:
19 that he ilooked down from his holy height;
from heaven the Lord looked at the earth,
20 to hear jthe groans of the prisoners,
to set free kthose who were doomed to die,
21 that they may ldeclare in Zion the name of the Lord,
and in Jerusalem his praise,
22 when mpeoples gather together,
and kingdoms, to worship the Lord.
23 He has broken my strength in midcourse;
he nhas shortened my days.
24 “O my God,” oI say, “take me not away
in the midst of my days—
pyou whose years endure
throughout all generations!”
25 qOf old you laid the foundation of the earth,
and rthe heavens are the work of your hands.
26 sThey will perish, but tyou will remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,
27 but uyou are the same, and your years have no end.
28 vThe children of your servants wshall dwell secure;
xtheir offspring shall be established before you.
Final Warnings
1 kThis is the third time I am coming to you. Every charge must be established lby the evidence of two or three witnesses. 2 mI warned nthose who sinned before and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when present on my second visit, that oif I come again I will not spare them— 3 since you seek proof that Christ pis speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but qis powerful among you. 4 For rhe was crucified in weakness, but slives by the power of God. For twe also are weak in him, but in dealing with you uwe will live with him by the power of God.
5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. vTest yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that wJesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! 6 I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test. 7 But we pray to God that you may not do wrong—not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed. 8 For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. 9 For we are glad when xwe are weak and you are strong. Your yrestoration is what we pray for. 10 For this reason I write these things while I am away from you, that when I come zI may not have to be asevere in my use of bthe authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down.
Final Greetings
11 Finally, brothers,1 rejoice. cAim for restoration, comfort one another,2 dagree with one another, elive in peace; and the God of love and fpeace will be with you. 12 gGreet one another with a holy kiss. 13 hAll the saints greet you.
14 iThe grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and jthe love of God and kthe fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.