Psalms 143; Psalms 144; Psalms 145; 1 Corinthians 14:21-40

Psalms 143

1 Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my supplications in your faithfulness; answer me in your righteousness.

2 Do not enter into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you.

3 For the enemy has pursued me, crushing my life to the ground, making me sit in darkness like those long dead.

4 Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled.

5 I remember the days of old, I think about all your deeds, I meditate on the works of your hands.

6 I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. (Selah)

7 Answer me quickly, O Lord; my spirit fails. Do not hide your face from me, or I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.

8 Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning, for in you I put my trust. Teach me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.

9 Save me, O Lord, from my enemies; I have fled to you for refuge.

10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. Let your good spirit lead me on a level path.

11 For your name's sake, O Lord, preserve my life. In your righteousness bring me out of trouble.

12 In your steadfast love cut off my enemies, and destroy all my adversaries, for I am your servant.

Psalms 144

1 Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle;

2 my rock and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues the peoples under me.

3 O Lord, what are human beings that you regard them, or mortals that you think of them?

4 They are like a breath; their days are like a passing shadow.

5 Bow your heavens, O Lord, and come down; touch the mountains so that they smoke.

6 Make the lightning flash and scatter them; send out your arrows and rout them.

7 Stretch out your hand from on high; set me free and rescue me from the mighty waters, from the hand of aliens,

8 whose mouths speak lies, and whose right hands are false.

9 I will sing a new song to you, O God; upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,

10 the one who gives victory to kings, who rescues his servant David.

11 Rescue me from the cruel sword, and deliver me from the hand of aliens, whose mouths speak lies, and whose right hands are false.

12 May our sons in their youth be like plants full grown, our daughters like corner pillars, cut for the building of a palace.

13 May our barns be filled, with produce of every kind; may our sheep increase by thousands, by tens of thousands in our fields,

14 and may our cattle be heavy with young. May there be no breach in the walls, no exile, and no cry of distress in our streets.

15 Happy are the people to whom such blessings fall; happy are the people whose God is the Lord.

Psalms 145

1 I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever.

2 Every day I will bless you, and praise your name forever and ever.

3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; his greatness is unsearchable.

4 One generation shall laud your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.

5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.

6 The might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed, and I will declare your greatness.

7 They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness, and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

8 The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

9 The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.

10 All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your faithful shall bless you.

11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom, and tell of your power,

12 to make known to all people your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. The Lord is faithful in all his words, and gracious in all his deeds.

14 The Lord upholds all who are falling, and raises up all who are bowed down.

15 The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.

16 You open your hand, satisfying the desire of every living thing.

17 The Lord is just in all his ways, and kind in all his doings.

18 The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.

19 He fulfills the desire of all who fear him; he also hears their cry, and saves them.

20 The Lord watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.

21 My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.

1 Corinthians 14:21-40

21 In the law it is written, "By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners I will speak to this people; yet even then they will not listen to me," says the Lord.

22 Tongues, then, are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is not for unbelievers but for believers.

23 If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your mind?

24 But if all prophesy, an unbeliever or outsider who enters is reproved by all and called to account by all.

25 After the secrets of the unbeliever's heart are disclosed, that person will bow down before God and worship him, declaring, "God is really among you."

26 What should be done then, my friends? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.

27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn; and let one interpret.

28 But if there is no one to interpret, let them be silent in church and speak to themselves and to God.

29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said.

30 If a revelation is made to someone else sitting nearby, let the first person be silent.

31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged.

32 And the spirits of prophets are subject to the prophets,

33 for God is a God not of disorder but of peace. (As in all the churches of the saints,

34 women should be silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate, as the law also says.

35 If there is anything they desire to know, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.

36 Or did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only ones it has reached?)

37 Anyone who claims to be a prophet, or to have spiritual powers, must acknowledge that what I am writing to you is a command of the Lord.

38 Anyone who does not recognize this is not to be recognized.

39 So, my friends, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues;

40 but all things should be done decently and in order.