Psalms 97–103; 1 Corinthians 8

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Psalms 97–103

The Lord Reigns

xThe Lord reigns, ylet the earth rejoice;

let the many zcoastlands be glad!

aClouds and thick darkness are all around him;

brighteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

cFire goes before him

and burns up his adversaries all around.

His dlightnings light up the world;

the earth sees and etrembles.

The mountains fmelt like gwax before the Lord,

before hthe Lord of all the earth.

iThe heavens proclaim his righteousness,

and all jthe peoples see his glory.

All worshipers of images are kput to shame,

who make their boast in lworthless idols;

mworship him, all you gods!

Zion hears and nis glad,

and the daughters of Judah rejoice,

because of your judgments, O Lord.

For you, O Lord, are omost high over all the earth;

you are exalted far above pall gods.

10  O you who love the Lord, qhate evil!

He rpreserves the lives of his ssaints;

he tdelivers them from the hand of the wicked.

11  uLight vis sown1 for the righteous,

and joy for the upright in heart.

12  wRejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,

and xgive thanks to his holy name!

Make a Joyful Noise to the Lord

A Psalm.

Oh sing to the Lord ya new song,

for he has done zmarvelous things!

His aright hand and his holy arm

have worked salvation for him.

The Lord has bmade known his salvation;

he has crevealed his righteousness in dthe sight of the nations.

He has eremembered his fsteadfast love and faithfulness

to the house of Israel.

All gthe ends of the earth have seen

hthe salvation of our God.

iMake a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;

jbreak forth into joyous song and sing praises!

Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,

with the lyre and the ksound of melody!

With ltrumpets and the sound of mthe horn

imake a joyful noise before the King, the Lord!

nLet the sea roar, and oall that fills it;

othe world and those who dwell in it!

Let the rivers pclap their hands;

let qthe hills sing for joy together

before the Lord, for he comes

to rjudge the earth.

He will judge the world with righteousness,

and the peoples with equity.

The Lord Our God Is Holy

sThe Lord reigns; tlet the peoples tremble!

He usits enthroned upon the cherubim; vlet the earth quake!

The Lord is wgreat in Zion;

he is xexalted over all the peoples.

Let them praise your ygreat and awesome name!

zHoly is he!

aThe King in his might bloves justice.2

You have established equity;

you have executed justice

and righteousness in Jacob.

cExalt the Lord our God;

dworship at his efootstool!

zHoly is he!

fMoses and Aaron were among his gpriests,

Samuel also was among those who hcalled upon his name.

They icalled to the Lord, and he answered them.

In jthe pillar of the cloud he spoke to them;

they kkept his testimonies

and the statute that he gave them.

O Lord our God, you answered them;

you were la forgiving God to them,

but man avenger of their wrongdoings.

Exalt the Lord our God,

and worship at his nholy mountain;

for the Lord our God is holy!

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

A Psalm for ogiving thanks.

pMake a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!

qServe the Lord with gladness!

rCome into his presence with singing!

Know that sthe Lord, he is God!

It is he who tmade us, and uwe are his;3

we are his vpeople, and wthe sheep of his pasture.

xEnter his gates with thanksgiving,

and his ycourts with praise!

Give thanks to him; zbless his name!

aFor the Lord is good;

his steadfast love endures forever,

and his bfaithfulness to all generations.

I Will Walk with Integrity

A Psalm of David.

I will sing of csteadfast love and justice;

to you, O Lord, I will make music.

I will dponder the way ethat is blameless.

Oh when will you fcome to me?

I will gwalk with hintegrity of heart

within my house;

I will not set before my eyes

anything ithat is worthless.

I hate the work of those who jfall away;

it shall not cling to me.

kA perverse heart shall be far from me;

I will lknow nothing of evil.

Whoever slanders his neighbor msecretly

I will ndestroy.

Whoever has a ohaughty look and an parrogant heart

I will not endure.

I will look with favor on the faithful in the land,

that they may dwell with me;

he who walks in qthe way that is blameless

shall minister to me.

No one who rpractices deceit

shall dwell in my house;

no one who utters lies

shall scontinue before my eyes.

tMorning by morning I will destroy

all the wicked in the land,

ucutting off all vthe evildoers

from wthe city of the Lord.

Do Not Hide Your Face from Me

A Prayer of one afflicted, when he is xfaint and ypours out his complaint before the Lord.

zHear my prayer, O Lord;

let my cry acome to you!

bDo not hide your face from me

in cthe day of my distress!

dIncline your ear to me;

eanswer me speedily fin the day when I call!

For my days gpass away like smoke,

and my hbones burn like a furnace.

My heart is istruck down like grass and jhas withered;

I kforget to eat my bread.

Because of my loud groaning

my lbones cling to my flesh.

I am like ma desert owl of the wilderness,

like an owl4 of the waste places;

I nlie awake;

I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop.

All the day my enemies taunt me;

those who oderide me puse my name for a curse.

For I eat ashes like bread

and qmingle tears with my drink,

10  because of your indignation and anger;

for you have rtaken me up and sthrown me down.

11  My days are like tan evening shadow;

I jwither away like grass.

12  But you, O Lord, are uenthroned forever;

you vare remembered throughout all generations.

13  You will warise and have xpity on Zion;

it is the time to favor her;

ythe appointed time has come.

14  For your servants hold her zstones dear

and have pity on her dust.

15  Nations will afear the name of the Lord,

and all bthe kings of the earth will fear your glory.

16  For the Lord cbuilds up Zion;

he dappears in his glory;

17  he eregards the prayer of the destitute

and does not despise their prayer.

18  Let this be frecorded for ga generation to come,

so that ha people yet to be created may praise the Lord:

19  that he ilooked down from his holy height;

from heaven the Lord looked at the earth,

20  to hear jthe groans of the prisoners,

to set free kthose who were doomed to die,

21  that they may ldeclare in Zion the name of the Lord,

and in Jerusalem his praise,

22  when mpeoples gather together,

and kingdoms, to worship the Lord.

23  He has broken my strength in midcourse;

he nhas shortened my days.

24  O my God, oI say, take me not away

in the midst of my days

pyou whose years endure

throughout all generations!

25  qOf old you laid the foundation of the earth,

and rthe heavens are the work of your hands.

26  sThey will perish, but tyou will remain;

they will all wear out like a garment.

You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,

27  but uyou are the same, and your years have no end.

28  vThe children of your servants wshall dwell secure;

xtheir offspring shall be established before you.

Bless the Lord, O My Soul

Of David.

yBless the Lord, O my soul,

and all that is within me,

bless his holy name!

yBless the Lord, O my soul,

and zforget not all his benefits,

who aforgives all your iniquity,

who bheals all your diseases,

who credeems your life from the pit,

who dcrowns you with steadfast love and mercy,

who esatisfies you with good

so that your youth is renewed like fthe eagle’s.

The Lord works grighteousness

and justice for all who are oppressed.

He made known his hways to Moses,

his iacts to the people of Israel.

The Lord is jmerciful and gracious,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

kHe will not always chide,

nor will he lkeep his anger forever.

10  He does not deal with us maccording to our sins,

nor repay us according to our iniquities.

11  For nas high as the heavens are above the earth,

so great is his osteadfast love toward pthose who fear him;

12  as far as the east is from the west,

so far does he qremove our transgressions from us.

13  As ra father shows compassion to his children,

so the Lord shows compassion pto those who fear him.

14  For he knows our frame;5

he sremembers that we are dust.

15  As for man, his days are like tgrass;

he flourishes like ua flower of the field;

16  for vthe wind passes over it, and wit is gone,

and xits place knows it no more.

17  But ythe steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on pthose who fear him,

and his righteousness to zchildren’s children,

18  to those who akeep his covenant

and bremember to do his commandments.

19  The Lord has cestablished his throne in the heavens,

and his dkingdom rules over all.

20  Bless the Lord, O you ehis angels,

you fmighty ones who gdo his word,

obeying the voice of his word!

21  Bless the Lord, all his hhosts,

his iministers, who do his will!

22  jBless the Lord, all his works,

in all places of his dominion.

kBless the Lord, O my soul!


1 Corinthians 8

Food Offered to Idols

Now concerning1 mfood offered to idols: we know that nall of us possess knowledge. This knowledge opuffs up, pbut love builds up. qIf anyone imagines that he knows something, rhe does not yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, she is known by God.2

Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that tan idol has no real existence, and that uthere is no God but one. For although there may be vso-called gods in heaven or on earthas indeed there are many gods and many lords yet wfor us there is one God, the Father, xfrom whom are all things and for whom we exist, and yone Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and zthrough whom we exist.

However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, athrough former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and btheir conscience, being weak, is defiled. cFood will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. But take care dthat this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block eto the weak. 10 For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating3 in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged,4 if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? 11 And so by your knowledge this weak person is fdestroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. 12 Thus, sinning against your brothers5 and gwounding their conscience when it is weak, hyou sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, iif food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.