Psalms 94; Psalms 95; Psalms 96; Romans 15:14-33

Psalms 94

1 Lord, God of vengeance- God of vengeance, appear.

2 Rise up, Judge of the earth; repay the proud what they deserve.

3 Lord, how long will the wicked- how long will the wicked gloat?

4 They pour out arrogant words; all the evildoers boast.

5 Lord, they crush Your people; they afflict Your heritage.

6 They kill the widow and the foreigner and murder the fatherless.

7 They say, "The Lord doesn't see it. The God of Jacob doesn't pay attention."

8 Pay attention, you stupid people! Fools, when will you be wise?

9 Can the One who shaped the ear not hear, the One who formed the eye not see?

10 The One who instructs nations, the One who teaches man knowledge- does He not discipline?

11 The Lord knows man's thoughts; they are meaningless.

12 Lord, happy is the man You discipline and teach from Your law

13 to give him relief from troubled times until a pit is dug for the wicked.

14 The Lord will not forsake His people or abandon His heritage,

15 for justice will again be righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.

16 Who stands up for me against the wicked? Who takes a stand for me against evildoers?

17 If the Lord had not been my help, I would soon rest in the silence [of death].

18 If I say, "My foot is slipping," Your faithful love will support me, Lord.

19 When I am filled with cares, Your comfort brings me joy.

20 Can a corrupt throne- one that creates trouble by law- become Your ally?

21 They band together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.

22 But the Lord is my refuge; my God is the rock of my protection.

23 He will pay them back for their sins and destroy them for their evil. The Lord our God will destroy them.

Psalms 95

1 Come, let us shout joyfully to the Lord, shout triumphantly to the rock of our salvation!

2 Let us enter His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout triumphantly to Him in song.

3 For the Lord is a great God, a great King above all gods.

4 The depths of the earth are in His hand, and the mountain peaks are His.

5 The sea is His; He made it. His hands formed the dry land.

6 Come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

7 For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, the sheep under His care. Today, if you hear His voice:

8 "Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah, as on that day at Massah in the wilderness

9 where your fathers tested Me; they tried Me, though they had seen what I did.

10 For 40 years I was disgusted with that generation; I said, 'They are a people whose hearts go astray; they do not know My ways.'

11 So I swore in My anger, 'They will not enter My rest.' "

Psalms 96

1 Sing a new song to the Lord; sing to the Lord, all the earth.

2 Sing to the Lord, praise His name; proclaim His salvation from day to day.

3 Declare His glory among the nations, His wonderful works among all peoples.

4 For the Lord is great and is highly praised; He is feared above all gods.

5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.

6 Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.

7 Ascribe to the Lord, you families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory of His name; bring an offering and enter His courts.

9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of [His] holiness; tremble before Him, all the earth.

10 Say among the nations: "The Lord reigns. The world is firmly established; it cannot be shaken. He judges the peoples fairly."

11 Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice; let the sea and all that fills it resound.

12 Let the fields and everything in them exult. Then all the trees of the forest will shout 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 faithfulness.

Romans 15:14-33

14 Now, my brothers, I myself am convinced about you that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another.

15 Nevertheless, to remind you, I have written to you more boldly on some points because of the grace given me by God

16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, serving as a priest of God's good news. My purpose is that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

17 Therefore I have reason to boast in Christ Jesus regarding what pertains to God.

18 For I would not dare say anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to make the Gentiles obedient by word and deed,

19 by the power of miraculous signs and wonders, and by the power of God's Spirit. As a result, I have fully proclaimed the good news about the Messiah from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum.

20 So my aim is to evangelize where Christ has not been named, in order that I will not be building on someone else's foundation,

21 but, as it is written: Those who had no report of Him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.

22 That is why I have been prevented many times from coming to you.

23 But now I no longer have any work to do in these provinces, and I have strongly desired for many years to come to you

24 whenever I travel to Spain. For I do hope to see you when I pass through, and to be sent on my way there by you, once I have first enjoyed your company for a while.

25 Now, however, I am traveling to Jerusalem to serve the saints;

26 for Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution to the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.

27 Yes, they were pleased, and they are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual benefits, then they are obligated to minister to Jews in material needs.

28 So when I have finished this and safely delivered the funds to them, I will go by way of you to Spain.

29 But I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.

30 Now I implore you, brothers, through the Lord Jesus Christ and through the love of the Spirit, to agonize together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf:

31 that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea, that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints,

32 and that, by God's will, I may come to you with joy and be refreshed together with you.

33 The God of peace be with all of you. Amen.