I Love the Lord
1 I love the Lord, because he has heard
my voice and my pleas for mercy.
2 Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
3 The gsnares of death encompassed me;
the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
I suffered distress and anguish.
4 Then I hcalled on the name of the Lord:
“O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!”
5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
our God is merciful.
6 The Lord preserves the simple;
when I was brought low, he saved me.
7 Return, O my soul, to your irest;
for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
8 For you have jdelivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling;
9 I will kwalk before the Lord
in the land of the living.
10 lI believed, even when1 I spoke:
“I am greatly afflicted”;
11 mI said in my alarm,
“All mankind are liars.”
12 What shall I render to the Lord
for all his benefits to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the Lord,
14 I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people.
15 nPrecious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his saints.
16 O Lord, I am your servant;
I am oyour servant, the son of your maidservant.
You have loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer to you the psacrifice of thanksgiving
and call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the house of the Lord,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!
The Lord’s Faithfulness Endures Forever
1 qPraise the Lord, all nations!
Extol him, rall peoples!
2 For sgreat is his steadfast love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord!
His Steadfast Love Endures Forever
1 Oh tgive thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 uLet Israel say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”
3 Let the house of Aaron say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”
4 Let those who fear the Lord say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”
5 vOut of my distress I called on the Lord;
the Lord answered me and set me free.
6 wThe Lord is xon my side; yI will not fear.
What can man do to me?
7 The Lord is on my side as my helper;
I shall zlook in triumph on those who hate me.
8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in man.
9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
athan to trust in princes.
10 All nations surrounded me;
in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
11 They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;
in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
12 They surrounded me blike bees;
they went out like a fire among thorns;
in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
13 I was pushed hard,2 so that I was falling,
but the Lord helped me.
14 cThe Lord is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
15 Glad songs of salvation
are in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the Lord does valiantly,
16 the right hand of the Lord exalts,
the right hand of the Lord does valiantly!”
17 dI shall not die, but I shall live,
and erecount the deeds of the Lord.
18 The Lord has fdisciplined me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and ggive thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord;
the righteous shall enter through it.
21 hI thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
22 iThe stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.3
23 This is the Lord’s doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25 jSave us, we pray, O Lord!
O Lord, we pray, give us success!
26 kBlessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
We bless you from the house of the Lord.
27 The Lord is God,
and he has lmade his light to shine upon us.
Bind the festal sacrifice with cords,
up to the horns of the altar!
28 You are my God, and mI will give thanks to you;
nyou are my God; I will extol you.
29 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!
Principles for Marriage
1 hNow concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” 2 But because of the temptation to isexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. 3 The husband should give to his wife her jconjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 kDo not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
6 Now las a concession, not a command, I say this.1 7 mI wish that all were nas I myself am. But oeach has his own gift from God, pone of one kind and one of another.
8 To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single, as I am. 9 qBut if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
10 To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not rseparate from her husband 11 (but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and the husband should not divorce his wife.
12 To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. 13 If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband is smade holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, tthey are holy. 15 But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you2 to upeace. 16 For how do you know, wife, vwhether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?
Live as You Are Called
17 Only let each person lead the life3 that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule win all the churches. 18 xWas anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision. 19 For yneither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but zkeeping the commandments of God.
