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.
By Faith, or by Works of the Law?
1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? zIt was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly aportrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: bDid you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by chearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? dHaving begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by1 the flesh? 4 eDid you suffer2 so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and fworks miracles among you do so gby works of the law, or by hearing with faith— 6 just as hAbraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?
7 Know then that it is ithose of faith who are jthe sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that kGod would justify3 the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, l“In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
The Righteous Shall Live by Faith
10 For all who rely on works of the law are munder a curse; for it is written, n“Cursed be everyone who does not oabide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” 11 Now it is evident that pno one is justified before God by the law, for q“The righteous shall live by faith.”4 12 But the law is not of faith, rather r“The one who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ sredeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, t“Cursed is everyone who is hanged uon a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might vcome to the Gentiles, so that wwe might receive xthe promised Spirit5 through faith.
The Law and the Promise
15 yTo give a human example, brothers:6 zeven with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. 16 Now athe promises were made bto Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, c“And to your offspring,” who is Christ. 17 This is what I mean: the law, which came d430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as eto make the promise void. 18 For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but fGod gave it to Abraham by a promise.
19 Why then the law? gIt was added because of transgressions, huntil the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was iput in place through angels jby an intermediary. 20 Now kan intermediary implies more than one, but lGod is one.
21 Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For mif a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. 22 But the Scripture nimprisoned everything under sin, so that othe promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given pto those who believe.
23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, qimprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, rthe law was our sguardian until Christ came, tin order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus uyou are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as vwere baptized winto Christ have xput on Christ. 28 yThere is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave7 nor free, zthere is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And aif you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, bheirs according to promise.
