Psalm 94-96
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 94
God the Avenger of the Righteous
1 O Lord, you God of vengeance,
you God of vengeance, shine forth!(A)
2 Rise up, O judge of the earth;
give to the proud what they deserve!(B)
3 O Lord, how long shall the wicked,
how long shall the wicked exult?(C)
4 They pour out their arrogant words;
all the evildoers boast.(D)
5 They crush your people, O Lord,
and afflict your heritage.
6 They kill the widow and the stranger;
they murder the orphan,
7 and they say, “The Lord does not see;
the God of Jacob does not perceive.”(E)
8 Understand, O dullest of the people;
fools, when will you be wise?(F)
9 He who planted the ear, does he not hear?
He who formed the eye, does he not see?(G)
10 He who disciplines the nations,
he who teaches knowledge to humankind,
does he not chastise?(H)
11 The Lord knows our thoughts,[a]
that they are but an empty breath.(I)
12 Happy are those whom you discipline, O Lord,
and whom you teach out of your law,(J)
13 giving them respite from days of trouble,
until a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For the Lord will not forsake his people;
he will not abandon his heritage;(K)
15 for justice will return to the righteous,
and all the upright in heart will follow it.
16 Who rises up for me against the wicked?
Who stands up for me against evildoers?(L)
17 If the Lord had not been my help,
my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.(M)
18 When I thought, “My foot is slipping,”
your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.(N)
19 When the cares of my heart are many,
your consolations cheer my soul.(O)
20 Can wicked rulers be allied with you,
those who contrive mischief by statute?(P)
21 They band together against the life of the righteous
and condemn the innocent to death.(Q)
22 But the Lord has become my stronghold
and my God the rock of my refuge.(R)
23 He will repay them for their iniquity
and wipe them out for their wickedness;
the Lord our God will wipe them out.(S)
Psalm 95
A Call to Worship and Obedience
1 O come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!(T)
2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!(U)
3 For the Lord is a great God
and a great King above all gods.(V)
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and the dry land, which his hands have formed.(W)
6 O come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!(X)
7 For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture
and the sheep of his hand.
O that today you would listen to his voice!(Y)
8 Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,(Z)
9 when your ancestors tested me
and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.(AA)
10 For forty years I loathed that generation
and said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray,
and they do not regard my ways.”(AB)
11 Therefore in my anger I swore,
“They shall not enter my rest.”(AC)
Psalm 96
Praise to God Who Comes in Judgment
1 O sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth.(AD)
2 Sing to the Lord; bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.(AE)
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples.(AF)
4 For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised;
he is to be revered above all gods.(AG)
5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.(AH)
6 Honor and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.(AI)
7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.(AJ)
8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering, and come into his courts.(AK)
9 Worship the Lord in holy splendor;
tremble before him, all the earth.(AL)
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord is king!
The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved.
He will judge the peoples with equity.”(AM)
11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea roar and all that fills it;(AN)
12 let the field exult and everything in it.
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
13 before the Lord, for he is coming,
for he is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness
and the peoples with his truth.(AO)
Footnotes
- 94.11 Heb the thoughts of humankind
Romans 15:14-33
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Paul’s Reason for Writing So Boldly
14 I myself feel confident about you, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another.(A) 15 Nevertheless, on some points I have written to you rather boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God(B) 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.(C) 17 In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to boast of my work for God. 18 For I will not be so bold as to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to win obedience from the gentiles, by word and deed, 19 by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit,[a] so that from Jerusalem and as far around as Illyricum I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.(D) 20 Thus I make it my ambition to proclaim the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, so that I do not build on someone else’s foundation,(E) 21 but as it is written,
“Those who have never been told of him shall see,
and those who have never heard of him shall understand.”(F)
Paul’s Plan to Visit Rome
22 This is the reason that I have so often been hindered from coming to you. 23 But now, with no further place for me in these regions, I desire, as I have for many years, to come to you(G) 24 when I go to Spain. For I do hope to see you on my journey and to be sent on by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a little while. 25 At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem in a ministry to the saints,(H) 26 for Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to share their resources with the poor among the saints at Jerusalem.(I) 27 They were pleased to do this, and indeed they owe it to them, for if the gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material things.(J) 28 So, when I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected,[b] I will set out by way of you to Spain, 29 and I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing[c] of Christ.
30 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in earnest prayer to God on my behalf,(K) 31 that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and that my ministry[d] to Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 32 so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company.(L) 33 The God of peace be with all of you.[e] Amen.(M)
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