Psalms 107; Psalms 108; Psalms 109; 1 Corinthians 4

Psalms 107

1 "Give thanks to the LORD because he is good, because his faithful love lasts forever!"

2 That's what those who are redeemed by the LORD say, the ones God redeemed from the power of their enemies,

3 the ones God gathered from various countries, from east and west, north and south.

4 Some of the redeemed had wandered into the desert, into the wasteland. They couldn't find their way to a city or town.

5 They were hungry and thirsty; their lives were slipping away.

6 So they cried out to the LORD in their distress, and God delivered them from their desperate circumstances.

7 God led them straight to human habitation.

8 Let them thank the LORD for his faithful love and his wondrous works for all people,

9 because God satisfied the one who was parched with thirst, and he filled up the hungry with good things!

10 Some of the redeemed had been sitting in darkness and deep gloom; they were prisoners suffering in chains

11 because they had disobeyed God's instructions and rejected the Most High's plans.

12 So God humbled them with hard work. They stumbled, and there was no one to help them.

13 So they cried out to the LORD in their distress, and God saved them from their desperate circumstances.

14 God brought them out from the darkness and deep gloom; he shattered their chains.

15 Let them thank the LORD for his faithful love and his wondrous works for all people,

16 because God has shattered bronze doors and split iron bars in two!

17 Some of the redeemed were fools because of their sinful ways. They suffered because of their wickedness.

18 They had absolutely no appetite for food; they had arrived at death's gates.

19 So they cried out to the LORD in their distress, and God saved them from their desperate circumstances.

20 God gave the order and healed them; he rescued them from their pit.

21 Let them thank the LORD for his faithful love and his wondrous works for all people.

22 Let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices and declare what God has donein songs of joy!

23 Some of the redeemed had gone out on the ocean in ships, making their living on the high seas.

24 They saw what the LORD had made; they saw his wondrous works in the depths of the sea.

25 God spoke and stirred up a storm that brought the waves up high.

26 The waves went as high as the sky; they crashed down to the depths. The sailors' courage melted at this terrible situation.

27 They staggered and stumbled around like they were drunk. None of their skill was of any help.

28 So they cried out to the LORD in their distress, and God brought them out safe from their desperate circumstances.

29 God quieted the storm to a whisper; the sea's waves were hushed.

30 So they rejoiced because the waves had calmed down; then God led them to the harbor they were hoping for.

31 Let them thank the LORD for his faithful love and his wondrous works for all people.

32 Let them exalt God in the congregation of the people and praise God in the assembly of the elders.

33 God turns rivers into desert, watery springs into thirsty ground,

34 fruitful land into unproductive dirt, when its inhabitants are wicked.

35 But God can also turn the desert into watery pools, thirsty ground into watery springs,

36 where he settles the hungry. They even build a city and live there!

37 They plant fields and vineyards and obtain a fruitful harvest.

38 God blesses them, and they become many. God won't even let their cattle diminish.

39 But when they do diminish— when they're brought down by oppression, trouble, and grief—

40 God pours contempt on their leaders, making them wander aimlessly in the wastelands.

41 But God raises the needy from their suffering; he makes their families as numerous as sheep!

42 Those who do right see it and celebrate, but every wicked person shuts their mouth.

43 Whoever is wise will pay attention to these things, carefully considering the LORD's faithful love.

Psalms 108

1 My heart is unwavering, God. I will sing and make music— yes, with my whole being!

2 Wake up, harp and lyre! I will wake the dawn itself!

3 I will give thanks to you, LORD, among all the peoples; I will make music to you among the nations,

4 because your faithful love is higher than heaven; your faithfulness reaches the clouds.

5 Exalt yourself, God, higher than heaven! Let your glory be over all the earth!

6 Save me by your power and answer me so that the people you love might be rescued.

7 God has spoken in his sanctuary: "I will celebrate as I divide up Shechem and portion out the Succoth Valley.

8 Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet, Judah is my scepter.

9 But Moab is my washbowl; I'll throw my shoe at Edom. I shout in triumph over Philistia!

10 I wish someone would bring me to a fortified city! I wish someone would lead me to Edom!"

11 But you have rejected us, God, haven't you? You, God, no longer accompany our armies.

12 Give us help against the enemy— human help is worthless.

13 With God we will triumph: God is the one who will trample our adversaries.

Psalms 109

1 God of my praise, don't keep quiet,

2 because the mouths of wicked liars have opened up against me, talking about me with lying tongues.

3 Hateful words surround me; they attack me for no reason.

4 Instead of returning my love, they accuse me— but I am at prayer.

5 They repay me evil for good, hatred in return for my love.

6 "Appoint a wicked person to be against this person," they say, "an accuser to stand right next to him.

7 When the sentence is passed, let him be found guilty— let his prayer be found sinful!

8 Let his days be few; let someone else assume his position.

9 Let his children become orphans; let his wife turn into a widow.

10 Let his children wander aimlessly, begging, driven out of their ruined homes.

11 Let a creditor seize everything he owns; let strangers plunder his wealth.

12 Let no one extend faithful love to him; let no one have mercy on his orphans.

13 Let his descendants be eliminated; let their names be wiped out in just one generation!

14 Let his father's wrongdoing be remembered before the LORD; let his mother's sin never be wiped out.

15 Let them be before the LORD always, and let God eliminate the very memory of them from the land.

16 All because this person didn't remember to demonstrate faithful love, but chased after the poor and needy— even the brokenhearted—with deadly intent!

17 Since he loved to curse, let it come back on him! Since he didn't care much for blessing, let it be far away from him!

18 Since he wore curses like a coat, let them seep inside him like water, seep into his bones like oil!

19 Let them be like the clothes he wears, like a belt that is always around him."

20 But let all that be the reward my accusers get from the LORD, the reward for those who speak evil against me!

21 But you, LORD, my Lord!— act on my behalf for the sake of your name; deliver me because your faithful love is so good;

22 because I am poor and needy, and my heart is broken.

23 Like a lengthening shadow, I'm passing away; I'm shaken off, like some locust.

24 My legs are weak from fasting; my body is skin and bones.

25 I've become a joke to my accusers; when they see me, they just shake their heads.

26 Help me, LORD my God! Save me according to your faithful love!

27 And let them know that this is by your hand— that you have done it, LORD!

28 Let them curse—but you, bless me! If they rise up, let them be disgraced, but let your servant celebrate!

29 Let my accusers be dressed in shame; let them wear their disgrace like a coat.

30 But I will give great thanks to the LORD with my mouth; among a great crowd I will praise God!

31 Because God stands right next to the needy, to save them from any who would condemn them.

1 Corinthians 4

1 So a person should think about us this way—as servants of Christ and managers of God's secrets.

2 In this kind of situation, what is expected of a manager is that they prove to be faithful.

3 I couldn't care less if I'm judged by you or by any human court; I don't even judge myself.

4 I'm not aware of anything against me, but that doesn't make me innocent, because the Lord is the one who judges me.

5 So don't judge anything before the right time—wait until the Lord comes. He will bring things that are hidden in the dark to light, and he will make people's motivations public. Then there will be recognition for each person from God.

6 Brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit. I've done this so that you can learn what it means not to go beyond what has been written and so none of you will become arrogant by supporting one of us against the other.

7 Who says that you are better than anyone else? What do you have that you didn't receive? And if you received it, then why are you bragging as if you didn't receive it?

8 You've been filled already! You've become rich already! You rule like kings without us! I wish you did rule so that we could be kings with you!

9 I suppose that God has shown that we apostles are at the end of the line. We are like prisoners sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle in the world, both to angels and to humans.

10 We are fools for Christ, but you are wise through Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, but we are dishonored!

11 Up to this very moment we are hungry, thirsty, wearing rags, abused, and homeless.

12 We work hard with our own hands. When we are insulted, we respond with a blessing; when we are harassed, we put up with it;

13 when our reputation is attacked, we are encouraging. We have become the scum of the earth, the waste that runs off everything, up to the present time.

14 I'm not writing these things to make you ashamed but to warn you, since you are my loved children.

15 You may have ten thousand mentors in Christ, but you don't have many fathers. I gave birth to you in Christ Jesus through the gospel,

16 so I encourage you to follow my example.

17 This is why I've sent Timothy to you; he's my loved and trusted child in the Lord; he'll remind you about my way of life in Christ Jesus. He'll teach the same way as I teach everywhere in every church.

18 Some have become arrogant as if I'm not coming to see you.

19 But, if the Lord is willing, I'll come to you soon. Then I won't focus on what these arrogant people say, but I'll find out what power they possess.

20 God's kingdom isn't about words but about power.

21 Which do you want? Should I come to you with a big stick to punish you, or with love and a gentle spirit?