psalm 71

5 For you, O Lord, are my hope,
my trust, O LORD, from my youth.
6 Upon you I have leaned from before my birth;
you are he who took me from my mother's womb.
My praise is continually of you.

psalm 6

1 O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger,
Nor chasten me in Your wrath.
2 Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am pining away;
Heal me, O LORD, for my bones are dismayed.
3 And my soul is greatly dismayed;
But You, O LORD--how long?
4 Return, O LORD, rescue my soul;
Save me because of Your lovingkindness.
5 For there is no mention of You in death;
In Sheol who will give You thanks?
6 I am weary with my sighing;
Every night I make my bed swim,
I dissolve my couch with my tears.
7 My eye has wasted away with grief;
It has become old because of all my adversaries.
8 Depart from me, all you who do iniquity,
For the LORD has heard the voice of my weeping.
9 The LORD has heard my supplication,
The LORD receives my prayer.
10 All my enemies will be ashamed and greatly dismayed;
They shall turn back, they will suddenly be ashamed.

psalm 37

1Fret not yourself because of evildoers;
be not envious of wrongdoers!
2For they will soon fade like the grass
and wither like the green herb.



3Trust in the LORD, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.[b]
4Delight yourself in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.



5Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him, and he will act.
6He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.



7Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!



8Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
9For the evildoers shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land.



10In just a little while, the wicked will be no more;
though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.
11But the meek shall inherit the land
and delight themselves in abundant peace.



12The wicked plots against the righteous
and gnashes his teeth at him,
13but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he sees that his day is coming.



14The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose way is upright;
15their sword shall enter their own heart,
and their bows shall be broken.



16Better is the little that the righteous has
than the abundance of many wicked.
17For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
but the LORD upholds the righteous.



18The LORD knows the days of the blameless,
and their heritage will remain forever;
19they are not put to shame in evil times;
in the days of famine they have abundance.



20But the wicked will perish;
the enemies of the LORD are like the glory of the pastures;
they vanish--like smoke they vanish away.



21The wicked borrows but does not pay back,
but the righteous is generous and gives;
22for those blessed by the LORD[c] shall inherit the land,
but those cursed by him shall be cut off.



23The steps of a man are established by the LORD,
when he delights in his way;
24though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
for the LORD upholds his hand.



25I have been young, and now am old,
yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
or his children begging for bread.
26He is ever lending generously,
and his children become a blessing.



27Turn away from evil and do good;
so shall you dwell forever.
28For the LORD loves justice;
he will not forsake his saints.
They are preserved forever,
but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
29The righteous shall inherit the land
and dwell upon it forever.



30The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks justice.
31The law of his God is in his heart;
his steps do not slip.



32The wicked watches for the righteous
and seeks to put him to death.
33The LORD will not abandon him to his power
or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial.



34Wait for the LORD and keep his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
you will look on when the wicked are cut off.



35I have seen a wicked, ruthless man,
spreading himself like a green laurel tree.[d]
36But he passed away,[e] and behold, he was no more;
though I sought him, he could not be found.



37Mark the blameless and behold the upright,
for there is a future for the man of peace.
38But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;
the future of the wicked shall be cut off.



39The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD;
he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.
40The LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.

6Therefore I will hedge up her[d] way with thorns,
and I will build a wall against her,
so that she cannot find her paths.
7She shall pursue her lovers
but not overtake them,
and she shall seek them
but shall not find them.

1To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul.
2O my God, in you I trust;
let me not be put to shame;
let not my enemies exult over me.
3Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame;
they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.



4Make me to know your ways, O LORD;
teach me your paths.
5Lead me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all the day long.



6Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.
7Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
according to your steadfast love remember me,
for the sake of your goodness, O LORD!



8Good and upright is the LORD;
therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
9He leads the humble in what is right,
and teaches the humble his way.
10All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness,
for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.



11For your name's sake, O LORD,
pardon my guilt, for it is great.
12Who is the man who fears the LORD?
Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose.
13His soul shall abide in well-being,
and his offspring shall inherit the land.
14The friendship[b] of the LORD is for those who fear him,
and he makes known to them his covenant.
15My eyes are ever toward the LORD,
for he will pluck my feet out of the net.



16Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
17The troubles of my heart are enlarged;
bring me out of my distresses.
18Consider my affliction and my trouble,
and forgive all my sins.



19Consider how many are my foes,
and with what violent hatred they hate me.
20Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me!
Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.
21May integrity and uprightness preserve me,
for I wait for you.



22Redeem Israel, O God,
out of all his troubles.

He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind;' and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.

Let Israel say:
"His love endures forever."

Let the house of Aaron say:
"His love endures forever."

Let those who fear the LORD say:
"His love endures forever."

In my anguish I cried to the LORD,
and he answered by setting me free.

The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?

The LORD is with me; he is my helper.
I will look in triumph on my enemies.

It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in man.

It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in princes.

All the nations surrounded me,
but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.

They surrounded me on every side,
but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.

They swarmed around me like bees,
but they died out as quickly as burning thorns;
in the name of the LORD I cut them off.

I was pushed back and about to fall,
but the LORD helped me.

The LORD is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.

Shouts of joy and victory
resound in the tents of the righteous:
"The LORD's right hand has done mighty things!

The LORD's right hand is lifted high;
the LORD's right hand has done mighty things!"

I will not die but live,
and will proclaim what the LORD has done.

The LORD has chastened me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.

Open for me the gates of righteousness;
I will enter and give thanks to the LORD.

This is the gate of the LORD
through which the righteous may enter.

I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
you have become my salvation.

The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone;

the LORD has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.

This is the day the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.

O LORD, save us;
O LORD, grant us success.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.
From the house of the LORD we bless you.

The LORD is God,
and he has made his light shine upon us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
up to the horns of the altar.

You are my God, and I will give you thanks;
you are my God, and I will exalt you.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.