My Soul Thirsts for You
A Psalm of David.
1 yHear my prayer, O Lord;
give ear to my pleas for mercy!
In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!
2 zEnter not into judgment with your servant,
for ano one living is righteous before you.
3 For the enemy has pursued my soul;
he has crushed my life to the ground;
bhe has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.
4 Therefore cmy spirit faints within me;
my heart within me is appalled.
5 I remember the ddays of old;
I meditate on all that you have done;
I ponder the work of your hands.
6 I stretch out my hands to you;
emy soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah
7 Answer me fquickly, O Lord!
My spirit fails!
Hide not your face from me,
lest I be like those who go down to the pit.
8 Let me hear gin the morning of your steadfast love,
for in you I trust.
hMake me know the way I should go,
for ito you I lift up my soul.
9 jDeliver me from my enemies, O Lord!
I have fled to you for refuge.1
10 Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God!
Let kyour good Spirit llead me
on level ground!
11 mFor your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life!
nIn your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!
12 And in your steadfast love you will ocut off my enemies,
and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,
for I am your servant.
My Rock and My Fortress
Of David.
1 Blessed be the Lord, my rock,
who ptrains my hands for war,
and my fingers for battle;
2 he is my steadfast love and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield and he in whom I take refuge,
3 O Lord, rwhat is man that you regard him,
or the son of man that you think of him?
4 Man is like a sbreath;
his days are like a passing tshadow.
5 uBow your heavens, O Lord, and come down!
vTouch the mountains so that they smoke!
6 Flash forth the lightning and scatter them;
send out your warrows and rout them!
7 Stretch out your hand from on high;
rescue me and xdeliver me from the many waters,
from the hand of foreigners,
8 whose mouths speak lies
and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
9 I will sing a new song to you, O God;
upon a ten-stringed harp yI will play to you,
10 who gives zvictory to kings,
who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword.
11 Rescue me and deliver me
from the hand of foreigners,
whose mouths speak lies
and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
12 May aour sons in their youth
be like plants full grown,
our daughters like corner pillars
cut for the structure of a palace;
13 bmay our granaries be full,
providing all kinds of produce;
may our sheep bring forth thousands
and ten thousands in our fields;
14 may our cattle be heavy with young,
suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;3
may there be no cry of distress in our streets!
15 cBlessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!
dBlessed are the people whose God is the Lord!
Great Is the Lord
4 A Song of Praise. Of David.
1 eI will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless you
and praise your name forever and ever.
3 fGreat is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and his greatness is gunsearchable.
4 One generation shall commend your works to another,
and shall declare your mighty acts.
5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and hon your wondrous works, I will imeditate.
6 They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,
and I will declare your greatness.
7 They shall jpour forth the fame of your abundant goodness
and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
8 The Lord is kgracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 The Lord is good to all,
and his mercy is over all that he has made.
10 lAll your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
and all your saints shall bless you!
11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom
and tell of your power,
12 to mmake known to the children of man your5 mighty deeds,
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an neverlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures throughout all generations.
[The Lord is faithful in all his words
and kind in all his works.6]
14 The Lord upholds all who are falling
and oraises up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you,
and you pgive them their food in due season.
16 You qopen your hand;
you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and kind in all his works.
18 The Lord is rnear to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
he also hears their cry and saves them.
20 The Lord spreserves all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
21 My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
21 In the Law it is written, g“By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.” 22 Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign1 not for unbelievers but for believers. 23 If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, hwill they not say that you are out of your minds? 24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, 25 the secrets of his heart are idisclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and jdeclare that God is really among you.
Orderly Worship
26 What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. 27 If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. 28 But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God. 29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others kweigh what is said. 30 If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, 32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. 33 For God is not a God of lconfusion but of mpeace.
As in all the churches of the saints, 34 nthe women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. 35 If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.
36 Or was it from you that the word of God came? Or are you the only ones it has reached? 37 If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or ospiritual, he should acknowledge that pthe things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord. 38 If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized. 39 So, my brothers, qearnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 40 But rall things should be done decently and sin order.
