1 Corinthians 4; Psalms 113; Psalms 114; Psalms 115; Psalms 116

1 Corinthians 4

1 This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed.

2 Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.

3 I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself.

4 My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.

5 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.

6 Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other.

7 For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?

8 Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have begun to reign—and that without us! How I wish that you really had begun to reign so that we also might reign with you!

9 For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings.

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

11 To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless.

12 We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it;

13 when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment.

14 I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children.

15 Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.

16 Therefore I urge you to imitate me.

17 For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.

18 Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you.

19 But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have.

20 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.

21 What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod of discipline, or shall I come in love and with a gentle spirit?

Psalms 113

1 Praise the LORD.Praise the LORD, you his servants; praise the name of the LORD.

2 Let the name of the LORD be praised, both now and forevermore.

3 From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised.

4 The LORD is exalted over all the nations, his glory above the heavens.

5 Who is like the LORD our God, the One who sits enthroned on high,

6 who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth?

7 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap;

8 he seats them with princes, with the princes of his people.

9 He settles the childless woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the LORD.

Psalms 114

1 When Israel came out of Egypt, Jacob from a people of foreign tongue,

2 Judah became God’s sanctuary, Israel his dominion.

3 The sea looked and fled, the Jordan turned back;

4 the mountains leaped like rams, the hills like lambs.

5 Why was it, sea, that you fled? Why, Jordan, did you turn back?

6 Why, mountains, did you leap like rams, you hills, like lambs?

7 Tremble, earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob,

8 who turned the rock into a pool, the hard rock into springs of water.

Psalms 115

1 Not to us, LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.

2 Why do the nations say, “Where is their God?”

3 Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.

4 But their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands.

5 They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see.

6 They have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell.

7 They have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but cannot walk, nor can they utter a sound with their throats.

8 Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.

9 All you Israelites, trust in the LORD— he is their help and shield.

10 House of Aaron, trust in the LORD— he is their help and shield.

11 You who fear him, trust in the LORD— he is their help and shield.

12 The LORD remembers us and will bless us: He will bless his people Israel, he will bless the house of Aaron,

13 he will bless those who fear the LORD— small and great alike.

14 May the LORD cause you to flourish, both you and your children.

15 May you be blessed by the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

16 The highest heavens belong to the LORD, but the earth he has given to mankind.

17 It is not the dead who praise the LORD, those who go down to the place of silence;

18 it is we who extol the LORD, both now and forevermore. Praise the LORD.

Psalms 116

1 I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy.

2 Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.

3 The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came over me; I was overcome by distress and sorrow.

4 Then I called on the name of the LORD: “LORD, save me!”

5 The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.

6 The LORD protects the unwary; when I was brought low, he saved me.

7 Return to your rest, my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.

8 For you, LORD, have delivered me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling,

9 that I may walk before the LORDin the land of the living.

10 I trusted in the LORD when I said, “I am greatly afflicted”;

11 in my alarm I said, “Everyone is a liar.”

12 What shall I return to the LORDfor all his goodness to me?

13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD.

14 I will fulfill my vows to the LORDin the presence of all his people.

15 Precious in the sight of the LORDis the death of his faithful servants.

16 Truly I am your servant, LORD; I serve you just as my mother did; you have freed me from my chains.

17 I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the LORD.

18 I will fulfill my vows to the LORDin the presence of all his people,

19 in the courts of the house of the LORD— in your midst, Jerusalem. Praise the LORD.