I Love the Lord
1 I ylove the Lord, because he has zheard
my voice and my pleas for mercy.
2 Because he ainclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
3 bThe snares of death encompassed me;
the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
I suffered distress and anguish.
4 Then cI called on the name of the Lord:
“O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!”
5 dGracious is the Lord, and erighteous;
our God is fmerciful.
6 The Lord preserves gthe simple;
when hI was brought low, he saved me.
7 Return, O my soul, to your irest;
for the Lord has jdealt bountifully with you.
8 For kyou have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling;
9 I will walk before the Lord
lin the land of the living.
10 mI believed, neven when1 I spoke:
“I am greatly afflicted”;
11 oI said in my alarm,
p“All mankind are liars.”
12 What shall I qrender to the Lord
for all his benefits to me?
13 I will lift up rthe cup of salvation
and scall on the name of the Lord,
14 I will tpay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people.
15 uPrecious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his vsaints.
16 O Lord, I am your wservant;
I am your servant, xthe son of your maidservant.
You have yloosed my bonds.
17 I will zoffer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving
and scall on the name of the Lord.
18 I will tpay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people,
19 in athe courts of the house of the Lord,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
bPraise the Lord!
The Lord’s Faithfulness Endures Forever
1 cPraise the Lord, all nations!
Extol him, all peoples!
2 For dgreat is his steadfast love toward us,
and ethe faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
bPraise the Lord!
His Steadfast Love Endures Forever
1 fOh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 gLet Israel say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”
3 gLet the house of Aaron say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”
4 gLet those who fear the Lord say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”
5 hOut of my distress I icalled on the Lord;
the Lord answered me and set me jfree.
6 kThe Lord is on my side; lI will not fear.
What can man do to me?
7 mThe Lord is on my side as my helper;
I shall nlook in triumph on those who hate me.
8 oIt is better to take refuge in the Lord
pthan to trust in man.
9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
pthan to trust in princes.
10 qAll 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 rThey surrounded me like bees;
they went out like sa fire among thorns;
in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
13 I was tpushed hard,2 so that I was falling,
but the Lord helped me.
14 The Lord is my strength and my song;
uhe has become my salvation.
15 Glad songs of salvation
are in the tents of the righteous:
v“The right hand of the Lord wdoes valiantly,
16 the right hand of the Lord exalts,
the right hand of the Lord wdoes valiantly!”
17 xI shall not die, but I shall live,
and yrecount the deeds of the Lord.
18 The Lord has zdisciplined me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.
19 aOpen to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord;
bthe righteous shall enter through it.
21 I thank you that cyou have answered me
uand have become my salvation.
22 dThe 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 Save us, we pray, O Lord!
O Lord, we pray, give us success!
26 eBlessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
We fbless you from the house of the Lord.
27 The Lord is God,
and he has made ghis light to shine upon us.
Bind the festal sacrifice with cords,
up to hthe horns of the altar!
28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
you are my God; I will iextol you.
29 jOh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!
Principles for Marriage
1 Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: t“It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” 2 But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. 3 uThe husband should give to his wife her conjugal 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 vDo not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, wso that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
6 Now as a concession, xnot a command, I say this.1 7 yI wish that all were zas I myself am. But aeach has his own gift from God, bone of one kind and one of another.
8 To the unmarried and the widows I say that cit is good for them to remain single, das I am. 9 But if they cannot exercise self-control, ethey should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
10 To the married fI give this charge (not I, but the Lord): gthe wife should not separate from her husband 11 (but if she does, hshe should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and gthe 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 made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. iOtherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they 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 jto peace. 16 For how do you know, wife, kwhether 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 lthat the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. mThis is my rule in nall the churches. 18 Was 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? oLet him not seek circumcision. 19 pFor neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but qkeeping the commandments of God.
