Old/New Testament
Psalm 68[a]
For the music director, by David, a psalm, a song.
68 God springs into action.[b]
His enemies scatter;
his adversaries[c] run from him.[d]
2 As smoke is driven away by the wind, so you drive them away.[e]
As wax melts before fire,
so the wicked are destroyed before God.
3 But the godly[f] are happy;
they rejoice before God
and are overcome with joy.[g]
4 Sing to God! Sing praises to his name.
Exalt the one who rides on the clouds.[h]
For the Lord is his name.[i]
Rejoice before him.
5 He is a father to the fatherless
and an advocate for widows.[j]
God rules from his holy dwelling place.[k]
6 God settles in their own homes those who have been deserted;[l]
he frees prisoners and grants them prosperity.[m]
But sinful rebels live in the desert.[n]
7 O God, when you lead your people into battle,[o]
when you march through the wastelands,[p] (Selah)
8 the earth shakes.
Yes, the heavens pour down rain
before God, the God of Sinai,[q]
before God, the God of Israel.[r]
9 O God, you cause abundant showers to fall[s] on your chosen people.[t]
When they[u] are tired, you sustain them,[v]
10 for you live among them.[w]
You sustain the oppressed with your good blessings, O God.
11 The Lord speaks;[x]
many, many women spread the good news.[y]
12 Kings leading armies run away—they run away![z]
The lovely lady[aa] of the house divides up the loot.
13 When[ab] you lie down among the sheepfolds,[ac]
the wings of the dove are covered with silver
and with glittering gold.[ad]
14 When the Sovereign One[ae] scatters kings,[af]
let it snow[ag] on Zalmon.
15 The mountain of Bashan[ah] is a towering mountain;[ai]
the mountain of Bashan is a mountain with many peaks.[aj]
16 Why do you look with envy,[ak] O mountains[al] with many peaks,
at the mountain where God has decided to live?[am]
Indeed[an] the Lord will live there[ao] permanently.
17 God has countless chariots;
they number in the thousands.[ap]
The Lord comes from Sinai in holy splendor.[aq]
18 You ascend on high;[ar]
you have taken many captives.[as]
You receive tribute[at] from[au] men,
including even sinful rebels.
Indeed, the Lord God lives there.[av]
19 The Lord deserves praise.[aw]
Day after day[ax] he carries our burden,
the God who delivers us. (Selah)
20 Our God is a God who delivers;
the Lord, the Sovereign Lord, can rescue from death.[ay]
21 Indeed, God strikes the heads of his enemies,
the hairy foreheads of those who persist in rebellion.[az]
22 The Lord says,
“I will retrieve them[ba] from Bashan.
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
23 so that your feet may stomp[bb] in their blood,
and your dogs may eat their portion of the enemies’ corpses.”[bc]
24 They[bd] see your processions, O God—
the processions of my God, my king, who marches along in holy splendor.[be]
25 Singers walk in front;
musicians follow playing their stringed instruments,[bf]
in the midst of young women playing tambourines.[bg]
26 In your large assemblies praise God,
the Lord, in the assemblies of Israel.[bh]
27 There is little Benjamin, their ruler,[bi]
and the princes of Judah in their robes,[bj]
along with the princes of Zebulun and the princes of Naphtali.
28 God has decreed that you will be powerful.[bk]
O God, you who have acted on our behalf, demonstrate your power.
29 Because of your temple in Jerusalem,[bl]
kings bring tribute to you.
30 Sound your battle cry against[bm] the wild beast of the reeds,[bn]
and the nations that assemble like a herd of calves led by bulls.[bo]
They humble themselves[bp] and offer gold and silver as tribute.[bq]
God[br] scatters[bs] the nations that like to do battle.
31 They come with red cloth[bt] from Egypt.
Ethiopia[bu] voluntarily offers tribute[bv] to God.
32 O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God.
Sing praises to the Lord, (Selah)
33 to the one who rides through the sky from ancient times.[bw]
Look! He thunders loudly.[bx]
34 Acknowledge God’s power,[by]
his sovereignty over Israel,
and the power he reveals in the skies.[bz]
35 You are awe-inspiring, O God, as you emerge from your holy temple.[ca]
It is the God of Israel[cb] who gives the people power and strength.
God deserves praise![cc]
Psalm 69[cd]
For the music director, according to the tune of “Lilies”;[ce] by David.
69 Deliver me, O God,
for the water has reached my neck.[cf]
2 I sink into the deep mire
where there is no solid ground;[cg]
I am in[ch] deep water,
and the current overpowers me.
3 I am exhausted from shouting for help.
My throat is sore;[ci]
my eyes grow tired from looking for my God.[cj]
4 Those who hate me without cause
are more numerous than the hairs of my head.
Those who want to destroy me,
my enemies for no reason,[ck]
outnumber me.[cl]
They make me repay what I did not steal.[cm]
5 O God, you are aware of my foolish sins;[cn]
my guilt is not hidden from you.[co]
6 Let none who rely on you be disgraced because of me,
O Sovereign Lord of Heaven’s Armies.[cp]
Let none who seek you be ashamed because of me,
O God of Israel.
7 For I suffer[cq] humiliation for your sake[cr]
and am thoroughly disgraced.[cs]
8 My own brothers treat me like a stranger;
they act as if I were a foreigner.[ct]
9 Certainly[cu] zeal for[cv] your house[cw] consumes me;
I endure the insults of those who insult you.[cx]
10 I weep and refrain from eating food,[cy]
which causes others to insult me.[cz]
11 I wear sackcloth
and they ridicule me.[da]
12 Those who sit at the city gate gossip about me;
drunkards mock me in their songs.[db]
13 O Lord, may you hear my prayer and be favorably disposed to me.[dc]
O God, because of your great loyal love,
answer me with your faithful deliverance.[dd]
14 Rescue me from the mud. Don’t let me sink.
Deliver me[de] from those who hate me,
from the deep water.
15 Don’t let the current overpower me.
Don’t let the deep swallow me up.
Don’t let the Pit[df] devour me.[dg]
16 Answer me, O Lord, for your loyal love is good.[dh]
Because of your great compassion, turn toward me.
17 Do not ignore[di] your servant,
for I am in trouble. Answer me right away.[dj]
18 Come near me and redeem me.[dk]
Because of my enemies, rescue me.
19 You know how I am insulted, humiliated, and disgraced;
you can see all my enemies.[dl]
20 Their insults are painful[dm] and make me lose heart;[dn]
I look[do] for sympathy, but receive none,[dp]
for comforters, but find none.
21 They put bitter poison[dq] into my food,
and to quench my thirst they give me vinegar to drink.[dr]
22 May their dining table become a trap before them.
May it be a snare for that group of friends.[ds]
23 May their eyes be blinded.[dt]
Make them shake violently.[du]
24 Pour out your judgment[dv] on them.
May your raging anger[dw] overtake them.
25 May their camp become desolate,
their tents uninhabited.[dx]
26 For they harass[dy] the one whom you discipline;[dz]
they spread the news about the suffering of those whom you punish.[ea]
27 Hold them accountable for all their sins.[eb]
Do not vindicate them.[ec]
28 May their names be deleted from the scroll of the living.[ed]
Do not let their names be listed with the godly.[ee]
29 I am oppressed and suffering.
O God, deliver and protect me.[ef]
30 I will sing praises to God’s name.[eg]
I will magnify him as I give him thanks.[eh]
31 That will please the Lord more than an ox or a bull
with horns and hooves.
32 The oppressed look on—let them rejoice.
You who seek God,[ei] may you be encouraged.[ej]
33 For the Lord listens to the needy;
he does not despise his captive people.[ek]
34 Let the heavens and the earth praise him,
along with the seas and everything that swims in them.
35 For God will deliver Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah,
and his people[el] will again live in them and possess Zion.[em]
36 The descendants of his servants will inherit it,
and those who are loyal to him[en] will live in it.[eo]
The Believer’s Relationship to the Holy Spirit
8 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.[a] 2 For the law of the life-giving Spirit[b] in Christ Jesus has set you[c] free from the law of sin and death. 3 For God achieved what the law could not do because[d] it was weakened through the flesh. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 so that the righteous requirement of the law may be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
5 For those who live according to the flesh have their outlook shaped by[e] the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their outlook shaped by the things of the Spirit. 6 For the outlook[f] of the flesh is death, but the outlook of the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the outlook of the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to the law of God, nor is it able to do so. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 You, however, are not in[g] the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, this person does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, but[h] the Spirit is your life[i] because of righteousness. 11 Moreover if the Spirit of the one[j] who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Christ[k] from the dead will also make your mortal bodies alive through his Spirit who lives in you.[l]
12 So then,[m] brothers and sisters,[n] we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh 13 (for if you live according to the flesh, you will[o] die),[p] but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are[q] the sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery leading again to fear,[r] but you received the Spirit of adoption,[s] by whom[t] we cry, “Abba,[u] Father.” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness to[v] our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 And if children, then heirs (namely, heirs of God and also fellow heirs with Christ)[w]—if indeed we suffer with him so we may also be glorified with him.
18 For I consider that our present sufferings cannot even be compared[x] to the coming glory that will be revealed to us. 19 For the creation eagerly waits for the revelation of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility—not willingly but because of God[y] who subjected it—in hope 21 that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage of decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children.
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