Psalms 107

BOOK FIVE (Psalms 107–150)
 ¹  Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.  ²  Has the LORD redeemed you? Then speak out!
  Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies.
 ³  For he has gathered the exiles from many lands,
  from east and west,
  from north and south.

 ⁴  Some wandered in the wilderness,
  lost and homeless.
 ⁵  Hungry and thirsty,
  they nearly died.
 ⁶  "LORD, help!" they cried in their trouble,
  and he rescued them from their distress.
 ⁷  He led them straight to safety,
  to a city where they could live.
 ⁸  Let them praise the LORD for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.  ⁹  For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.  ¹⁰  Some sat in darkness and deepest gloom,
  imprisoned in iron chains of misery.
 ¹¹  They rebelled against the words of God,
  scorning the counsel of the Most High.
 ¹²  That is why he broke them with hard labor;
  they fell, and no one was there to help them.
 ¹³  "LORD, help!" they cried in their trouble,
  and he saved them from their distress.
 ¹⁴  He led them from the darkness and deepest gloom;
  he snapped their chains.
 ¹⁵  Let them praise the LORD for his great love
  and for the wonderful things he has done for them.
 ¹⁶  For he broke down their prison gates of bronze;
  he cut apart their bars of iron.

 ¹⁷  Some were fools; they rebelled
  and suffered for their sins.
 ¹⁸  They couldn't stand the thought of food,
  and they were knocking on death's door.
 ¹⁹  "LORD, help!" they cried in their trouble,
  and he saved them from their distress.
 ²⁰  He sent out his word and healed them,
  snatching them from the door of death.
 ²¹  Let them praise the LORD for his great love
  and for the wonderful things he has done for them.
 ²²  Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving
  and sing joyfully about his glorious acts.

 ²³  Some went off to sea in ships,
  plying the trade routes of the world.
 ²⁴  They, too, observed the LORD's power in action,
  his impressive works on the deepest seas.
 ²⁵  He spoke, and the winds rose,
  stirring up the waves.
 ²⁶  Their ships were tossed to the heavens
  and plunged again to the depths;
  the sailors cringed in terror.
 ²⁷  They reeled and staggered like drunkards
  and were at their wits' end.
 ²⁸  "LORD, help!" they cried in their trouble,
  and he saved them from their distress.
 ²⁹  He calmed the storm to a whisper
  and stilled the waves.
 ³⁰  What a blessing was that stillness
  as he brought them safely into harbor!
 ³¹  Let them praise the LORD for his great love
  and for the wonderful things he has done for them.
 ³²  Let them exalt him publicly before the congregation and before the leaders of the nation.  ³³  He changes rivers into deserts,
  and springs of water into dry, thirsty land.
 ³⁴  He turns the fruitful land into salty wastelands,
  because of the wickedness of those who live there.
 ³⁵  But he also turns deserts into pools of water,
  the dry land into springs of water.
 ³⁶  He brings the hungry to settle there
  and to build their cities.
 ³⁷  They sow their fields, plant their vineyards,
  and harvest their bumper crops.
 ³⁸  How he blesses them!
  They raise large families there,
  and their herds of livestock increase.

 ³⁹  When they decrease in number and become impoverished
  through oppression, trouble, and sorrow,
 ⁴⁰  the LORD pours contempt on their princes,
  causing them to wander in trackless wastelands.
 ⁴¹  But he rescues the poor from trouble
  and increases their families like flocks of sheep.
 ⁴²  The godly will see these things and be glad,
  while the wicked are struck silent.
 ⁴³  Those who are wise will take all this to heart; they will see in our history the faithful love of the LORD.

Psalms 108

A song. A psalm of David.
 ¹  My heart is confident in you, O God;
  no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart!
 ²  Wake up, lyre and harp!
  I will wake the dawn with my song.
 ³  I will thank you, LORD, among all the people.
  I will sing your praises among the nations.
 ⁴  For your unfailing love is higher than the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.  ⁵  Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens.
  May your glory shine over all the earth.

 ⁶  Now rescue your beloved people.
  Answer and save us by your power.
 ⁷  God has promised this by his holiness [7] :
"I will divide up Shechem with joy.
  I will measure out the valley of Succoth.
 ⁸  Gilead is mine,
  and Manasseh, too.
Ephraim, my helmet, will produce my warriors,
  and Judah, my scepter, will produce my kings.
 ⁹  But Moab, my washbasin, will become my servant,
  and I will wipe my feet on Edom
  and shout in triumph over Philistia."

 ¹⁰  Who will bring me into the fortified city?
  Who will bring me victory over Edom?
 ¹¹  Have you rejected us, O God?
  Will you no longer march with our armies?
 ¹²  Oh, please help us against our enemies,
  for all human help is useless.
 ¹³  With God's help we will do mighty things, for he will trample down our foes.

Psalms 109

For the choir director: A psalm of David.
 ¹  O God, whom I praise,
  don't stand silent and aloof
 ²  while the wicked slander me
  and tell lies about me.
 ³  They surround me with hateful words
  and fight against me for no reason.
 ⁴  I love them, but they try to destroy me with accusations
  even as I am praying for them!
 ⁵  They repay evil for good,
  and hatred for my love.

 ⁶  They say, [6]  "Get an evil person to turn against him.
  Send an accuser to bring him to trial.
 ⁷  When his case comes up for judgment,
  let him be pronounced guilty.
  Count his prayers as sins.
 ⁸  Let his years be few;
  let someone else take his position.
 ⁹  May his children become fatherless,
  and his wife a widow.
 ¹⁰  May his children wander as beggars
  and be driven from their ruined homes.
 ¹¹  May creditors seize his entire estate,
  and strangers take all he has earned.
 ¹²  Let no one be kind to him;
  let no one pity his fatherless children.
 ¹³  May all his offspring die.
  May his family name be blotted out in a single generation.
 ¹⁴  May the LORD never forget the sins of his fathers;
  may his mother's sins never be erased from the record.
 ¹⁵  May the LORD always remember these sins,
  and may his name disappear from human memory.
 ¹⁶  For he refused all kindness to others;
  he persecuted the poor and needy,
  and he hounded the brokenhearted to death.
 ¹⁷  He loved to curse others;
  now you curse him.
He never blessed others;
  now don't you bless him.
 ¹⁸  Cursing is as natural to him as his clothing,
  or the water he drinks,
  or the rich food he eats.
 ¹⁹  Now may his curses return and cling to him like clothing;
  may they be tied around him like a belt."

 ²⁰  May those curses become the LORD's punishment
  for my accusers who speak evil of me.
 ²¹  But deal well with me, O Sovereign LORD,
  for the sake of your own reputation!
Rescue me
  because you are so faithful and good.
 ²²  For I am poor and needy,
  and my heart is full of pain.
 ²³  I am fading like a shadow at dusk;
  I am brushed off like a locust.
 ²⁴  My knees are weak from fasting,
  and I am skin and bones.
 ²⁵  I am a joke to people everywhere;
  when they see me, they shake their heads in scorn.

 ²⁶  Help me, O LORD my God!
  Save me because of your unfailing love.
 ²⁷  Let them see that this is your doing,
  that you yourself have done it, LORD.
 ²⁸  Then let them curse me if they like,
  but you will bless me!
When they attack me, they will be disgraced!
  But I, your servant, will go right on rejoicing!
 ²⁹  May my accusers be clothed with disgrace;
  may their humiliation cover them like a cloak.
 ³⁰  But I will give repeated thanks to the LORD,
  praising him to everyone.
 ³¹  For he stands beside the needy,
  ready to save them from those who condemn them.

<<  108:7 Or in his sanctuary.
<<  109:6 Hebrew lacks They say.

1 Corinthians 4

Paul's Relationship with the Corinthians
 ¹  So look at Apollos and me as mere servants of Christ who have been put in charge of explaining God's mysteries.  ²  Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful.  ³  As for me, it matters very little how I might be evaluated by you or by any human authority. I don't even trust my own judgment on this point.  ⁴  "My conscience is clear, but that doesn't prove I'm right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide."    ⁵  So don't make judgments about anyone ahead of time - before the Lord returns. For he will bring our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. Then God will give to each one whatever praise is due.    ⁶  Dear brothers and sisters, [6]  I have used Apollos and myself to illustrate what I've been saying. If you pay attention to what I have quoted from the Scriptures, [6]  you won't be proud of one of your leaders at the expense of another.  ⁷  For what gives you the right to make such a judgment? What do you have that God hasn't given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?
   ⁸  You think you already have everything you need. You think you are already rich. You have begun to reign in God's kingdom without us! I wish you really were reigning already, for then we would be reigning with you.  ⁹  Instead, I sometimes think God has put us apostles on display, like prisoners of war at the end of a victor's parade, condemned to die. We have become a spectacle to the entire world—to people and angels alike.
   ¹⁰  Our dedication to Christ makes us look like fools, but you claim to be so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are so powerful! You are honored, but we are ridiculed.  ¹¹  Even now we go hungry and thirsty, and we don't have enough clothes to keep warm. We are often beaten and have no home.  ¹²  We work wearily with our own hands to earn our living. We bless those who curse us. We are patient with those who abuse us.  ¹³  We appeal gently when evil things are said about us. Yet we are treated like the world's garbage, like everybody's trash—right up to the present moment.
   ¹⁴  I am not writing these things to shame you, but to warn you as my beloved children.  ¹⁵  For even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father. For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you.  ¹⁶  So I urge you to imitate me.
   ¹⁷  That's why I have sent Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of how I follow Christ Jesus, just as I teach in all the churches wherever I go.
   ¹⁸  Some of you have become arrogant, thinking I will not visit you again.  ¹⁹  But I will come—and soon—if the Lord lets me, and then I'll find out whether these arrogant people just give pretentious speeches or whether they really have God's power.  ²⁰  For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God's power.  ²¹  Which do you choose? Should I come with a rod to punish you, or should I come with love and a gentle spirit?

<<  4:6a Greek Brothers. 4:6b Or If you learn not to go beyond "what is written."