Psalm 31; Romans 13

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Psalm 31

Into Your Hand I Commit My Spirit

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

oIn you, O Lord, do I ptake refuge;

qlet me never be put to shame;

in your rrighteousness deliver me!

Incline your ear to me;

rescue me speedily!

Be sa rock of trefuge for me,

a strong fortress to save me!

For you are my rock and my fortress;

and for your uname’s sake you lead me and guide me;

you vtake me out of wthe net they have hidden for me,

for you are my xrefuge.

yInto your hand I commit my spirit;

you have redeemed me, O Lord, zfaithful God.

I ahate1 those who pay bregard to worthless cidols,

but I trust in the Lord.

I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love,

because you have seen my affliction;

you have dknown the distress of my soul,

and you have not edelivered me into the hand of the enemy;

you have set my feet in fa broad place.

Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am gin distress;

hmy eye is wasted from grief;

my soul and my body also.

10  For my life is spent with sorrow,

and my years with sighing;

my strength fails because of my iniquity,

and imy bones waste away.

11  Because of all my adversaries I have become ja reproach,

especially to my kneighbors,

and an object of dread to my acquaintances;

those who see me in the street lflee from me.

12  I have been mforgotten like one who is dead;

I have become like na broken vessel.

13  For I ohear the whispering of many

terror on every side!

pas they scheme together against me,

as they plot to take my life.

14  But I qtrust in you, O Lord;

I say, You are my God.

15  My rtimes are in your hand;

srescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors!

16  tMake your face shine on your servant;

save me in your steadfast love!

17  O Lord, ulet me not be put to shame,

for I call upon you;

let the wicked be put to shame;

let them go vsilently to Sheol.

18  Let the lying lips be mute,

which wspeak xinsolently against the righteous

in pride and contempt.

19  Oh, how abundant is your goodness,

which you have stored up for those who fear you

and worked for those who take refuge in you,

yin the sight of the children of mankind!

20  In zthe cover of your presence you hide them

from the plots of men;

you astore them in your shelter

from the strife of tongues.

21  Blessed be the Lord,

for he has wondrously bshown his steadfast love to me

when I was in ca besieged city.

22  I had said in my dalarm,2

I am ecut off from fyour sight.

But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy

when I cried to you for help.

23  Love the Lord, all you his gsaints!

The Lord preserves the faithful

but abundantly hrepays the one who acts in pride.

24  iBe strong, and let your heart take courage,

all you who wait for the Lord!


Romans 13

Submission to the Authorities

Let every person pbe subject to the governing authorities. For qthere is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you rwill receive his approval, for she is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, tan avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also ufor the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. vPay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Fulfilling the Law Through Love

wOwe no one anything, except to love each other, for xthe one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, yYou shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet, and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: zYou shall love your neighbor as yourself. 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore alove is the fulfilling of the law.

11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you bto wake from sleep. cFor salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 dThe night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us ecast off fthe works of darkness and gput on the armor of light. 13 hLet us walk properly as in the daytime, inot in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, jnot in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But kput on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, lto gratify its desires.