Let Your Glory Be over All the Earth
To the choirmaster: according to iDo Not Destroy. A jMiktam1 of David, when he fled from Saul, in kthe cave.
1 lBe merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
for in you my soul mtakes refuge;
in nthe shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
otill the storms of destruction pass by.
2 I cry out to God Most High,
to God who pfulfills his purpose for me.
3 qHe will send from heaven and save me;
he will put to shame rhim who tramples on me. Selah
sGod will send out this steadfast love and his faithfulness!
4 My soul is in the midst of ulions;
I lie down amid fiery beasts—
the children of man, whose vteeth are spears and arrows,
whose wtongues are sharp swords.
5 xBe exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth!
6 They set ya net for my steps;
my soul was zbowed down.
They adug a pit in my way,
but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah
7 bMy heart is csteadfast, O God,
my heart is steadfast!
I will sing and make melody!
Awake, fO harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn!
9 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.
10 For your gsteadfast love is great to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
11 xBe exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth!
Greeting
1 aJames, a servant1 of God and bof the Lord Jesus Christ,
To cthe twelve tribes in dthe Dispersion:
Greetings.
Testing of Your Faith
2 eCount it all joy, my brothers,2 when you meet trials fof various kinds, 3 for you know that gthe testing of your faith hproduces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be iperfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
5 jIf any of you lacks wisdom, klet him ask God, lwho gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But mlet him ask in faith, nwith no doubting, for the one who doubts is like oa wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 phe is a double-minded man, qunstable in all his ways.
9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, 10 and rthe rich in his humiliation, because slike a flower of the grass3 he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and twithers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
12 uBlessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive vthe crown of life, wwhich God has promised to those who love him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire xwhen it has conceived gives birth to sin, and ysin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 zEvery good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from athe Father of lights, bwith whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.4 18 cOf his own will he dbrought us forth by the word of truth, ethat we should be a kind of ffirstfruits of his creatures.
Hearing and Doing the Word
19 gKnow this, my beloved brothers: let every person hbe quick to hear, islow to speak, jslow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore kput away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with lmeekness the implanted word, mwhich is able to save your souls.
22 But be ndoers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, othe law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, phe will be blessed in his doing.
26 If anyone thinks he is religious qand does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s rreligion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: sto visit torphans and widows in their affliction, and uto keep oneself vunstained from the world.