Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
1 O Lord, you have psearched me and known me!
2 You qknow when I sit down and when I rise up;
you rdiscern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, syou know it altogether.
5 You them me in, behind and before,
and ulay your hand upon me.
6 vSuch knowledge is wtoo wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
7 xWhere shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where yshall I flee from your presence?
8 zIf I ascend to heaven, you are there!
aIf I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall blead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, c“Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
12 deven the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
13 For you eformed my inward parts;
you fknitted me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.1
gWonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
15 hMy frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in ithe depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your jbook were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
17 How precious to me are your kthoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 lIf I would count them, they are more than mthe sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.
19 Oh that you would nslay the wicked, O God!
O omen of blood, pdepart from me!
20 They qspeak against you with malicious intent;
your enemies rtake your name in vain.2
21 sDo I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
And do I not tloathe those who urise up against you?
22 I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!
vTry me and know my thoughts!3
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,
Deliver Me, O Lord, from Evil Men
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
1 yDeliver me, O Lord, from evil men;
preserve me from zviolent men,
2 who plan evil things in their heart
and astir up wars continually.
4 Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
preserve me from zviolent men,
who have planned to trip up my feet.
5 The arrogant have fhidden a trap for me,
and with cords they have spread ga net;5
beside the way they have set hsnares for me. Selah
6 iI say to the Lord, You are my God;
give ear to jthe voice of my pleas for mercy, O Lord!
7 O Lord, my Lord, kthe strength of my salvation,
you have covered my head in the day of battle.
8 lGrant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;
do not further their6 evil plot, or mthey will be exalted! Selah
9 As for the head of those who surround me,
let nthe mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
10 Let oburning coals fall upon them!
Let them be cast into fire,
into miry pits, no more to rise!
11 Let not the slanderer be established in the land;
let evil hunt down the violent man speedily!
12 I know that the Lord will pmaintain the cause of the afflicted,
and qwill execute justice for the needy.
13 Surely rthe righteous shall give thanks to your name;
sthe upright shall dwell in your presence.
Give Ear to My Voice
A Psalm of David.
1 O Lord, I call upon you; thasten to me!
Give ear to my voice when I call to you!
2 Let umy prayer be counted as incense before you,
3 xSet a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;
ykeep watch over the door of my lips!
4 zDo not let my heart incline to any evil,
to busy myself with wicked deeds
in company with men who awork iniquity,
and blet me not eat of their delicacies!
5 cLet a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness;
let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head;
let my head not refuse it.
Yet dmy prayer is continually against their evil deeds.
6 When their judges are ethrown over the cliff,7
then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant.
7 As when one plows and breaks up the earth,
8 But gmy eyes are toward you, O God, my Lord;
hin you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless!9
9 Keep me from ithe trap that they have laid for me
and from the snares of evildoers!
10 Let the wicked jfall into their own nets,
while I pass by safely.
Walk in Love
1 jTherefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And kwalk in love, las Christ loved us and mgave himself up for us, a nfragrant ooffering and sacrifice to God.
3 But psexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness qmust not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be rno filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, swhich are out of place, but instead tlet there be thanksgiving. 5 For you may be sure of this, that ueveryone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (vthat is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 wLet no one xdeceive you with empty words, for because of these things ythe wrath of God comes upon zthe sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore ado not become partners with them; 8 for bat one time you were cdarkness, but now you are light in the Lord. dWalk as children of light 9 (for ethe fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and ftry to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 gTake no part in the hunfruitful iworks of darkness, but instead jexpose them. 12 For kit is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when lanything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,
m“Awake, O sleeper,
and narise from the dead,
and oChrist will shine on you.”
15 pLook carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 pmaking the best use of the time, because qthe days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what rthe will of the Lord is. 18 And sdo not get drunk with wine, for that is tdebauchery, but ube filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in vpsalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 wgiving thanks always and for everything to God the Father xin the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 ysubmitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Wives and Husbands
22 zWives, asubmit to your own husbands, bas to the Lord. 23 For cthe husband is the head of the wife even as dChrist is the head of the church, his body, and is ehimself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit fin everything to their husbands.
25 gHusbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and hgave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by ithe washing of water jwith the word, 27 so kthat he might present the church to himself in splendor, lwithout spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.1 28 In the same way mhusbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because nwe are members of his body. 31 o“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and pthe two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, qlet each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she rrespects her husband.
