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Psalm 116

Thanksgiving for Recovery from Illness

I love the Lord because he has heard
    my voice and my supplications.(A)
Because he inclined his ear to me,
    therefore I will call on him as long as I live.(B)
The snares of death encompassed me;
    the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
    I suffered distress and anguish.(C)
Then I called on the name of the Lord,
    “O Lord, I pray, save my life!”

Gracious is the Lord and righteous;
    our God is merciful.(D)
The Lord protects the simple;
    when I was brought low, he saved me.
Return, O my soul, to your rest,
    for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.(E)

For you have delivered my soul from death,
    my eyes from tears,
    my feet from stumbling.(F)
I walk before the Lord
    in the land of the living.
10 [a]I kept my faith, even when I said,
    “I am greatly afflicted”;
11 I said in my consternation,
    “Everyone is a liar.”(G)

12 What shall I return to the Lord
    for all his bounty to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation
    and call on the name of the Lord;
14 I will pay my vows to the Lord
    in the presence of all his people.(H)
15 Precious in the sight of the Lord
    is the death of his faithful ones.(I)
16 O Lord, I am your servant;
    I am your servant, the child of your serving girl.
    You have loosed my bonds.(J)
17 I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice
    and call on the name of the Lord.(K)
18 I will pay my vows to the Lord
    in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the house of the Lord,
    in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!(L)

Psalm 117

Universal Call to Worship

Praise the Lord, all you nations!
    Extol him, all you peoples!(M)
For great is his steadfast love toward us,
    and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord!(N)

Psalm 118

A Song of Victory

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    his steadfast love endures forever!(O)

Let Israel say,
    “His steadfast love endures forever.”(P)
Let the house of Aaron say,
    “His steadfast love endures forever.”
Let those who fear the Lord say,
    “His steadfast love endures forever.”

Out of my distress I called on the Lord;
    the Lord answered me and set me in a broad place.(Q)
With the Lord on my side I do not fear.
    What can mortals do to me?(R)
The Lord is on my side to help me;
    I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.(S)
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
    than to put confidence in mortals.(T)
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
    than to put confidence in princes.(U)

10 All nations surrounded me;
    in the name of the Lord I cut them off!(V)
11 They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;
    in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
12 They surrounded me like bees;
    they blazed[b] like a fire of thorns;
    in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
13 I was pushed hard,[c] so that I was falling,
    but the Lord helped me.(W)
14 The Lord is my strength and my might;
    he has become my salvation.(X)

15 There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the Lord does valiantly;(Y)
16     the right hand of the Lord is exalted;
    the right hand of the Lord does valiantly.”(Z)
17 I shall not die, but I shall live
    and recount the deeds of the Lord.(AA)
18 The Lord has punished me severely,
    but he did not give me over to death.(AB)

19 Open to me the gates of righteousness,
    that I may enter through them
    and give thanks to the Lord.(AC)

20 This is the gate of the Lord;
    the righteous shall enter through it.(AD)

21 I thank you that you have answered me
    and have become my salvation.(AE)
22 The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the chief cornerstone.(AF)
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.[d]
25 Save us, we beseech you, O Lord!
    O Lord, we beseech you, give us success!

26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.[e]
    We bless you from the house of the Lord.(AG)
27 The Lord is God,
    and he has given us light.
Bind the festal procession with branches,
    up to the horns of the altar.[f](AH)

28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
    you are my God; I will extol you.(AI)

29 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.(AJ)

Footnotes

  1. 116.10 Some early witnesses begin a new psalm here
  2. 118.12 Gk: Heb were extinguished
  3. 118.13 Gk Syr Jerome: Heb You pushed me hard
  4. 118.24 Or in him
  5. 118.26 Or Blessed in the name of the Lord is the one who comes
  6. 118.27 Meaning of Heb uncertain

Directions concerning Marriage

Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to touch a woman.” But because of cases of sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. The husband should give to his wife what is due her and likewise the wife to her husband.(A) 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. Do not deprive one another except perhaps by agreement for a set time, to devote yourselves to prayer,[a] and then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.(B) This I say by way of concession, not of command.(C) I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has a particular gift from God, one having one kind and another a different kind.(D)

To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain unmarried as I am.(E) But if they are not practicing self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to be aflame with passion.(F)

10 To the married I give this command—not I but the Lord—that the wife should not separate from her husband(G) 11 (but if she does separate, let her remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband) and that the husband should not divorce his wife.

12 To the rest I say—I and 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.(H) 13 And if any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce the husband. 14 For the unbelieving husband is made holy through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy through the brother.[b] Otherwise, your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.(I) 15 But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so; in such a case the brother or sister is not bound. It is to peace that God has called us.[c](J) 16 Wife, for all you know, you might save your husband. Husband, for all you know, you might save your wife.(K)

The Life that the Lord Has Assigned

17 However that may be, let each of you lead the life that the Lord has assigned, to which God called you. This is my rule in all the churches.(L) 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? Let him not seek circumcision.(M) 19 Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but obeying the commandments of God is everything.(N)

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Footnotes

  1. 7.5 Other ancient authorities read fasting and prayer
  2. 7.14 Other ancient authorities read husband
  3. 7.15 Other ancient authorities read you