Psalms 84–86; 1 Peter 2

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Psalms 84–86

My Soul Longs for the Courts of the Lord

To the choirmaster: according to pThe Gittith.1 A Psalm of qthe Sons of Korah.

How rlovely is your sdwelling place,

O Lord of hosts!

My soul tlongs, yes, ufaints

for the courts of the Lord;

my heart and flesh sing for joy

to vthe living God.

Even the sparrow finds a home,

and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may lay her young,

at your altars, O Lord of hosts,

wmy King and my God.

xBlessed are those who dwell in your house,

ever ysinging your praise! Selah

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

zin whose heart are the highways to Zion.2

As they go through the Valley of Baca

they make it a place of springs;

athe early rain also covers it with bpools.

They go cfrom strength to strength;

each one dappears before God in Zion.

O eLord God of hosts, hear my prayer;

give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah

fBehold our gshield, O God;

look on the face of your anointed!

10  For a day hin your courts is better

than a thousand elsewhere.

I would rather be ia doorkeeper in the house of my God

than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

11  For the Lord God is ja sun and gshield;

the Lord bestows favor and honor.

kNo good thing does he withhold

from those who lwalk uprightly.

12  O Lord of hosts,

mblessed is the one who trusts in you!

Revive Us Again

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of nthe Sons of Korah.

Lord, you were ofavorable to your land;

you prestored the fortunes of Jacob.

You qforgave the iniquity of your people;

you qcovered all their sin. Selah

You withdrew all your wrath;

you rturned from your hot anger.

sRestore us again, O God of our salvation,

and put away your indignation toward us!

tWill you be angry with us forever?

Will you prolong your anger to all generations?

Will you not urevive us again,

that your people may vrejoice in you?

Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,

and grant us your salvation.

wLet me hear what God the Lord will speak,

for he will xspeak peace to his people, to his ysaints;

but let them not zturn back to afolly.

Surely his bsalvation is near to those who fear him,

that cglory may dwell in our land.

10  dSteadfast love and faithfulness meet;

erighteousness and peace kiss each other.

11  Faithfulness springs up from the ground,

and righteousness looks down from the sky.

12  Yes, fthe Lord will give what is good,

and our land gwill yield its increase.

13  hRighteousness will go before him

and make his footsteps a way.

Great Is Your Steadfast Love

iA Prayer of David.

jIncline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,

for I am kpoor and needy.

Preserve my life, for I am lgodly;

save your servant, who mtrusts in youyou are my God.

nBe gracious to me, O Lord,

for to you do I cry all the day.

Gladden the soul of your servant,

for oto you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

For you, O Lord, are good and pforgiving,

qabounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.

rGive ear, O Lord, to my prayer;

listen to my plea for grace.

In sthe day of my trouble I call upon you,

tfor you answer me.

There is unone like you among the gods, O Lord,

vnor are there any works like yours.

wAll the nations you have made shall come

and worship before you, O Lord,

and shall glorify your name.

10  For xyou are great and ydo wondrous things;

zyou alone are God.

11  aTeach me your way, O Lord,

that I may bwalk in your truth;

cunite my heart to fear your name.

12  I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,

and I will glorify your name forever.

13  dFor great is your steadfast love toward me;

you have edelivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

14  O God, insolent men have frisen up against me;

a band of ruthless men seeks my life,

and they do not set you before them.

15  But you, O Lord, are a God gmerciful and gracious,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

16  hTurn to me and be gracious to me;

give your strength to iyour servant,

and save ithe son of your maidservant.

17  jShow me a sign of your kfavor,

that those who hate me may see and be put to shame

because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.


1 Peter 2

A Living Stone and a Holy People

jSo put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. kLike newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual lmilk, that by it you may grow up into salvation if indeed you have mtasted that the Lord is good.

As you come to him, a living stone nrejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, oyou yourselves like living stones are being built up as pa spiritual house, to be qa holy priesthood, rto offer spiritual sacrifices sacceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture:

tBehold, I am laying in Zion a stone,

a cornerstone chosen and precious,

uand whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.

So the honor is for you who vbelieve, but for those who vdo not believe,

wThe stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone,1

and

xA stone of stumbling,

and a rock of offense.

They stumble because they disobey the word, yas they were destined to do.

But you are za chosen race, aa royal bpriesthood, ca holy nation, da people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you eout of darkness into fhis marvelous light. 10 gOnce you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

11 Beloved, I urge you has sojourners and exiles ito abstain from the passions of the flesh, jwhich wage war against your soul. 12 kKeep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, lthey may see your good deeds and glorify God on mthe day of visitation.

Submission to Authority

13 nBe subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution,2 whether it be to the emperor3 as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him oto punish those who do evil and pto praise those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, qthat by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16 rLive as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but sliving as servants4 of God. 17 tHonor everyone. uLove the brotherhood. vFear God. Honor the emperor.

18 wServants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. 19 For this is a gracious thing, when, xmindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But yif when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. 21 For zto this you have been called, ybecause Christ also suffered for you, aleaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22 bHe committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 cWhen he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, dbut continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24 eHe himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we fmight die to sin and glive to righteousness. hBy his wounds you have been healed. 25 For iyou were straying like sheep, but have now returned to jthe Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.