Give Thanks to the Lord
Of David.
1 bI give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;
before cthe gods I sing your praise;
2 I bow down dtoward your eholy temple
and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,
for you have exalted above all things
your name and your word.1
3 On the day I called, you answered me;
my strength of soul you increased.2
4 fAll the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord,
for they have heard the words of your mouth,
5 and they shall sing of gthe ways of the Lord,
for great is the glory of the Lord.
6 hFor though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,
but the haughty he knows from afar.
7 iThough I walk in the midst of trouble,
you jpreserve my life;
you kstretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
and your lright hand delivers me.
8 The Lord will mfulfill his purpose for me;
nyour steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.
Do not forsake othe work of your hands.
Put Not Your Trust in Princes
1 nPraise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
2 I will praise the Lord oas long as I live;
pI will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
3 qPut not your trust in princes,
rin a son of man, in whom there is sno salvation.
4 When this breath departs, he returns to the earth;
on that very day his plans perish.
5 uBlessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose vhope is in the Lord his God,
6 wwho made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
xwho keeps faith forever;
7 ywho executes justice for the oppressed,
zwho gives food to the hungry.
aThe Lord sets the prisoners free;
8 bthe Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
cThe Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
dthe Lord loves the righteous.
9 eThe Lord watches over the sojourners;
fhe upholds the widow and the fatherless,
but gthe way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
10 hThe Lord will reign forever,
your God, O Zion, to all generations.
nPraise the Lord!
11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, declares the Lord of hosts. 12 iFor there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, jand the heavens shall give their dew. kAnd I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. 13 And as lyou have been a byword of cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, mso will I save you, and nyou shall be a blessing. oFear not, but elet your hands be strong.”
14 For thus says the Lord of hosts: p“As I purposed to bring disaster to you when your fathers provoked me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the Lord of hosts, 15 so again have I purposed in these days to bring good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; ofear not. 16 These are the things that you shall do: qSpeak the truth to one another; rrender in your gates judgments sthat are true and make for peace; 17 tdo not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and ulove no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the Lord.”
18 And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, 19 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the vfourth month and the fast of the wfifth and the fast of the xseventh and the fast of the ytenth shall be to the house of Judah zseasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love atruth and peace.
20 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, even the inhabitants of many cities. 21 The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, b‘Let us go at once cto entreat the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts; I myself am going.’ 22 bMany peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and cto entreat the favor of the Lord. 23 Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days dten men efrom the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for fwe have heard that God is with you.’”
1 Brothers,1 my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that bthey have a zeal for God, cbut not according to knowledge. 3 For, being ignorant of dthe righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 For eChrist is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.2
The Message of Salvation to All
5 For fMoses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that gthe person who does the commandments shall live by them. 6 But hthe righteousness based on faith says, i“Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the jabyss?’” (that is, kto bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? l“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if myou confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and nbelieve in your heart othat God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, p“Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 qFor there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; rfor the same Lord is Lord of all, sbestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For t“everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him uof whom they have never heard?3 And how are they to hear vwithout someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, w“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But xthey have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, y“Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So zfaith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
18 But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for
a“Their voice has gone out bto all the earth,
and their words to the ends of the world.”
19 But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says,
c“I will dmake you jealous of those who are not a nation;
with a efoolish nation I will make you angry.”
20 Then Isaiah is so bold as to say,
f“I have been found by those who did not seek me;
I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.”
