Psalms 63; Psalms 64; Psalms 65; Romans 6

Psalms 63

1 O God, you are my God, and I long for you. My whole being desires you; like a dry, worn-out, and waterless land, my soul is thirsty for you.

2 Let me see you in the sanctuary; let me see how mighty and glorious you are.

3 Your constant love is better than life itself, and so I will praise you.

4 I will give you thanks as long as I live; I will raise my hands to you in prayer.

5 My soul will feast and be satisfied, and I will sing glad songs of praise to you.

6 As I lie in bed, I remember you; all night long I think of you,

7 because you have always been my help. In the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.

8 I cling to you, and your hand keeps me safe.

9 Those who are trying to kill me will go down into the world of the dead.

10 They will be killed in battle, and their bodies eaten by wolves.

11 Because God gives him victory, the king will rejoice. Those who make promises in God's name will praise him, but the mouths of liars will be shut.

Psalms 64

1 I am in trouble, God - listen to my prayer! I am afraid of my enemies - save my life!

2 Protect me from the plots of the wicked, from mobs of evil people.

3 They sharpen their tongues like swords and aim cruel words like arrows.

4 They are quick to spread their shameless lies; they destroy good people with cowardly slander.

5 They encourage each other in their evil plots; they talk about where they will place their traps. "No one can see them," they say.

6 They make evil plans and say, "We have planned a perfect crime." The human heart and mind are a mystery.

7 But God shoots his arrows at them, and suddenly they are wounded.

8 He will destroy them because of those words; all who see them will shake their heads.

9 They will all be afraid; they will think about what God has done and tell about his deeds.

10 All righteous people will rejoice because of what the Lord has done. They will find safety in him; all good people will praise him.

Psalms 65

1 O God, it is right for us to praise you in Zion and keep our promises to you,

2 because you answer prayers. People everywhere will come to you

3 on account of their sins. Our faults defeat us, but you forgive them.

4 Happy are those whom you choose, whom you bring to live in your sanctuary. We shall be satisfied with the good things of your house, the blessings of your sacred Temple.

5 You answer us by giving us victory, and you do wonderful things to save us. People all over the world and across the distant seas trust in you.

6 You set the mountains in place by your strength, showing your mighty power.

7 You calm the roar of the seas and the noise of the waves; you calm the uproar of the peoples.

8 The whole world stands in awe of the great things that you have done. Your deeds bring shouts of joy from one end of the earth to the other.

9 You show your care for the land by sending rain; you make it rich and fertile. You fill the streams with water; you provide the earth with crops. This is how you do it:

10 you send abundant rain on the plowed fields and soak them with water; you soften the soil with showers and cause the young plants to grow.

11 What a rich harvest your goodness provides! Wherever you go there is plenty.

12 The pastures are filled with flocks; the hillsides are full of joy.

13 The fields are covered with sheep; the valleys are full of wheat. Everything shouts and sings for joy.

Romans 6

1 What shall we say, then? Should we continue to live in sin so that God's grace will increase?

2 Certainly not! We have died to sin - how then can we go on living in it?

3 For surely you know that when we were baptized into union with Christ Jesus, we were baptized into union with his death.

4 By our baptism, then, we were buried with him and shared his death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from death by the glorious power of the Father, so also we might live a new life.

5 For since we have become one with him in dying as he did, in the same way we shall be one with him by being raised to life as he was.

6 And we know that our old being has been put to death with Christ on his cross, in order that the power of the sinful self might be destroyed, so that we should no longer be the slaves of sin.

7 For when we die, we are set free from the power of sin.

8 Since we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

9 For we know that Christ has been raised from death and will never die again - death will no longer rule over him.

10 And so, because he died, sin has no power over him; and now he lives his life in fellowship with God.

11 In the same way you are to think of yourselves as dead, so far as sin is concerned, but living in fellowship with God through Christ Jesus.

12 Sin must no longer rule in your mortal bodies, so that you obey the desires of your natural self.

13 Nor must you surrender any part of yourselves to sin to be used for wicked purposes. Instead, give yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life, and surrender your whole being to him to be used for righteous purposes.

14 Sin must not be your master; for you do not live under law but under God's grace.

15 What, then? Shall we sin, because we are not under law but under God's grace? By no means!

16 Surely you know that when you surrender yourselves as slaves to obey someone, you are in fact the slaves of the master you obey - either of sin, which results in death, or of obedience, which results in being put right with God.

17 But thanks be to God! For though at one time you were slaves to sin, you have obeyed with all your heart the truths found in the teaching you received.

18 You were set free from sin and became the slaves of righteousness.

19 (I use everyday language because of the weakness of your natural selves.) At one time you surrendered yourselves entirely as slaves to impurity and wickedness for wicked purposes. In the same way you must now surrender yourselves entirely as slaves of righteousness for holy purposes.

20 When you were the slaves of sin, you were free from righteousness.

21 What did you gain from doing the things that you are now ashamed of? The result of those things is death!

22 But now you have been set free from sin and are the slaves of God. Your gain is a life fully dedicated to him, and the result is eternal life.

23 For sin pays its wage - death; but God's free gift is eternal life in union with Christ Jesus our Lord.