Psalms 22–27; Romans 11

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Psalms 22–27

Why Have You Forsaken Me?

To the choirmaster: according to The Doe of the Dawn. A Psalm of David.

uMy God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so vfar from saving me, from the words of my wgroaning?

O my God, I cry by xday, but you do not answer,

and by night, but I find no rest.

Yet you are yholy,

zenthroned on athe praises1 of Israel.

In you our fathers trusted;

they trusted, and you delivered them.

To you they bcried and were rescued;

in you they ctrusted and were not put to shame.

But I am da worm and not a man,

escorned by mankind and fdespised by the people.

All who see me gmock me;

they make mouths at me; they hwag their heads;

iHe trusts in the Lord; let him jdeliver him;

let him rescue him, for he kdelights in him!

Yet you are he who ltook me from the womb;

you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts.

10  On you was I cast from my birth,

and from mmy mother’s womb you have been my God.

11  Be not nfar from me,

for trouble is near,

and there is onone to help.

12  Many bulls encompass me;

pstrong bulls of qBashan surround me;

13  they ropen wide their mouths at me,

like a ravening and roaring lion.

14  I am spoured out like water,

and all my bones are tout of joint;

my uheart is like vwax;

it is melted within my breast;

15  my strength is wdried up like a potsherd,

and my xtongue sticks to my jaws;

you lay me in the dust of death.

16  For ydogs encompass me;

a company of evildoers zencircles me;

they have apierced my hands and feet2

17  I can count all my bones

they bstare and gloat over me;

18  cthey divide my garments among them,

and for my clothing they cast lots.

19  But you, O Lord, ndo not be far off!

O you my help, dcome quickly to my aid!

20  Deliver my soul from the sword,

my precious life from the power of ethe dog!

21  Save me from fthe mouth of the lion!

You have rescued3 me from the horns of gthe wild oxen!

22  hI will tell of your name to my ibrothers;

in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:

23  You who jfear the Lord, praise him!

All you offspring of Jacob, kglorify him,

and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!

24  For he has not despised or abhorred

the affliction of lthe afflicted,

and he has not mhidden his face from him,

but has heard, when he ncried to him.

25  From you comes my praise in the great ocongregation;

my pvows I will qperform before those who fear him.

26  rThe afflicted4 shall seat and be satisfied;

those who seek him shall praise the Lord!

May your hearts tlive forever!

27  All uthe ends of the earth shall remember

and turn to the Lord,

and all vthe families of the nations

shall worship before you.

28  For wkingship belongs to the Lord,

and he rules over the nations.

29  All xthe prosperous of the earth eat and worship;

before him shall ybow all who go down to the dust,

even the one who could not zkeep himself alive.

30  Posterity shall serve him;

it shall be told of the Lord to the coming ageneration;

31  they shall bcome and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet cunborn,

that he has done it.

The Lord Is My Shepherd

A Psalm of David.

The Lord is my dshepherd; I shall not ewant.

He makes me lie down in green fpastures.

He leads me beside still waters.5

He grestores my soul.

He hleads me in ipaths of righteousness6

for his jname’s sake.

Even though I kwalk through the valley of lthe shadow of death,7

I will mfear no evil,

for nyou are with me;

your orod and your staff,

they comfort me.

You pprepare a table before me

in qthe presence of my enemies;

you ranoint my head with oil;

my scup overflows.

Surely8 goodness and mercy9 shall follow me

all the days of my life,

and I shall tdwell10 in the house of the Lord

uforever.11

The King of Glory

A Psalm of David.

vThe earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof,12

the world and those who dwell therein,

for he has wfounded it upon xthe seas

and established it upon the rivers.

yWho shall ascend the hill of the Lord?

And who shall stand in his zholy place?

aHe who has bclean hands and ca pure heart,

who does not dlift up his soul to ewhat is false

and does not swear deceitfully.

He will receive fblessing from the Lord

and grighteousness from hthe God of his salvation.

Such is ithe generation of those who seek him,

who jseek the face of the God of Jacob.13 Selah

kLift up your heads, O gates!

And be lifted up, O ancient doors,

that lthe King of glory may come in.

Who is this King of glory?

The Lord, strong and mighty,

the Lord, mmighty in battle!

Lift up your heads, O gates!

And lift them up, O ancient doors,

that the King of glory may come in.

10  Who is this King of glory?

nThe Lord of hosts,

he is the King of glory! Selah

Teach Me Your Paths

14 Of David.

To you, O Lord, I olift up my soul.

O my God, in you I ptrust;

qlet me not be put to shame;

rlet not my enemies exult over me.

Indeed, snone who wait for you shall be put to shame;

they shall be ashamed who are twantonly utreacherous.

vMake me to know your ways, O Lord;

teach me your paths.

Lead me in your wtruth and teach me,

for you are the God of my salvation;

for you I wait all the day long.

Remember your xmercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love,

yfor they have been from of old.

Remember not zthe sins of my youth or my transgressions;

according to your asteadfast love remember me,

for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!

bGood and upright is the Lord;

therefore he cinstructs sinners in the way.

He leads the humble in what is right,

and teaches the humble his way.

10  All the paths of the Lord are dsteadfast love and faithfulness,

for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

11  For your ename’s sake, O Lord,

pardon my guilt, for it is fgreat.

12  Who is the man who fears the Lord?

Him cwill he instruct in the way that he should choose.

13  His soul shall gabide in well-being,

and his hoffspring ishall inherit the land.

14  jThe friendship15 of the Lord is for those who fear him,

and he makes known to them his covenant.

15  My keyes are ever toward the Lord,

for he will lpluck my feet out of the net.

16  mTurn to me and be gracious to me,

for I am lonely and afflicted.

17  The troubles of my heart are enlarged;

bring me out of my distresses.

18  nConsider my affliction and my trouble,

and forgive all my sins.

19  Consider how many are my foes,

and with what violent hatred they hate me.

20  Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me!

oLet me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.

21  May integrity and uprightness preserve me,

for I wait for you.

22  pRedeem Israel, O God,

out of all his troubles.

I Will Bless the Lord

Of David.

qVindicate me, O Lord,

for I have rwalked in my integrity,

and I have strusted in the Lord without wavering.

tProve me, O Lord, and try me;

test my heart and umy mind.16

For your vsteadfast love is before my eyes,

and I wwalk in your vfaithfulness.

I do not xsit with men of yfalsehood,

nor do I consort with hypocrites.

I zhate the assembly of evildoers,

and I will not sit with the wicked.

I awash my hands in innocence

and go around your altar, O Lord,

proclaiming thanksgiving aloud,

and telling all your bwondrous deeds.

O Lord, I clove the habitation of your house

and the place where your glory dwells.

dDo not sweep my soul away with sinners,

nor my life with bloodthirsty men,

10  in whose hands are evil devices,

and whose right hands are full of ebribes.

11  But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity;

redeem me, and be gracious to me.

12  My foot stands on flevel ground;

in gthe great assembly I will bless the Lord.

The Lord Is My Light and My Salvation

Of David.

The Lord is my hlight and my isalvation;

jwhom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold17 of my life;

of whom shall I be afraid?

When evildoers assail me

to keat up my flesh,

my adversaries and foes,

it is they who stumble and fall.

lThough an army encamp against me,

my heart shall not fear;

though war arise against me,

yet18 I will be confident.

mOne thing have I asked of the Lord,

that will I seek after:

that I may ndwell in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life,

to gaze upon othe beauty of the Lord

and to inquire19 in his temple.

For he will phide me in his shelter

in the day of trouble;

he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;

he will qlift me high upon a rock.

And now my rhead shall be lifted up

above my enemies all around me,

and I will offer in his tent

sacrifices with shouts of sjoy;

tI will sing and make melody to the Lord.

uHear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;

be gracious to me and answer me!

You have said, vSeek20 my face.

My heart says to you,

Your face, Lord, do I seek.21

wHide not your face from me.

Turn not your servant away in anger,

O you who have been my help.

Cast me not off; forsake me not,

xO God of my salvation!

10  For ymy father and my mother have forsaken me,

but the Lord will ztake me in.

11  aTeach me your way, O Lord,

and lead me on ba level path

because of my enemies.

12  cGive me not up to the will of my adversaries;

for dfalse witnesses have risen against me,

and they ebreathe out violence.

13  I believe that I shall look22 upon fthe goodness of the Lord

in gthe land of the living!

14  hWait for the Lord;

ibe strong, and let your heart take courage;

wait for the Lord!


Romans 11

The Remnant of Israel

I ask, then, hhas God rejected his people? By no means! For iI myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham,1 a member of the tribe of Benjamin. jGod has not rejected his people whom he kforeknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? lLord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life. But what is God’s reply to him? mI have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal. So too at the present time there is na remnant, chosen by grace. oBut if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

What then? pIsrael failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest qwere hardened, as it is written,

rGod gave them a spirit of stupor,

seyes that would not see

and ears that would not hear,

down to this very day.

And David says,

tLet their table become a snare and a trap,

a stumbling block and a retribution for them;

10  let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,

and bend their backs forever.

Gentiles Grafted In

11 So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass usalvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. 12 Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion2 mean!

13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as vI am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry 14 in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and wthus save some of them. 15 For if their rejection means xthe reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? 16 yIf the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

17 But if zsome of the branches were broken off, and you, aalthough a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root3 of the olive tree, 18 do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. 19 Then you will say, Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in. 20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you bstand fast through faith. So cdo not become proud, but dfear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. 22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, eprovided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise fyou too will be cut off. 23 And geven they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.

The Mystery of Israel’s Salvation

25 hLest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers:4 ia partial hardening has come upon Israel, juntil the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written,

kThe Deliverer will come lfrom Zion,

he will banish ungodliness from Jacob;

27  and this will be my mcovenant with them

nwhen I take away their sins.

28 As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are obeloved for the sake of their forefathers. 29 For the gifts and pthe calling of God are irrevocable. 30 For just as qyou were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now5 receive mercy. 32 For God rhas consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.

33 Oh, the depth of the riches and swisdom and knowledge of God! tHow unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

34  For uwho has known the mind of the Lord,

or vwho has been his counselor?

35  Or wwho has given a gift to him

that he might be repaid?

36 For xfrom him and through him and to him are all things. yTo him be glory forever. Amen.