Psalms 72; Psalms 73; Romans 9:1-15

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Psalms 72

1 God, give your judgments to the king. Give your righteousness to the king's son.
2 Let him judge your people with righteousness and your poor ones with justice.
3 Let the mountains bring peace to the people; let the hills bring righteousness.
4 Let the king bring justice to people who are poor; let him save the children of those who are needy, but let him crush oppressors!
5 Let the king live as long as the sun, as long as the moon, generation to generation.
6 Let him fall like rain upon fresh-cut grass, like showers that water the earth.
7 Let the righteous flourish throughout their lives, and let peace prosper until the moon is no more.
8 Let the king rule from sea to sea, from the river to the ends of the earth.
9 Let the desert dwellers bow low before him; let his enemies lick the dust.
10 Let the kings of Tarshish and the islands bring tribute; let the kings of Sheba and Seba present gifts.
11 Let all the kings bow down before him; let all the nations serve him.
12 Let it be so, because he delivers the needy who cry out, the poor, and those who have no helper.
13 He has compassion on the weak and the needy; he saves the lives of those who are in need.
14 He redeems their lives from oppression and violence; their blood is precious in his eyes.
15 Let the king live long! Let Sheba's gold be given to him! Let him be prayed for always! Let him be blessed all day long!
16 Let there be abundant grain in the land. Let it wave on the mountaintops. Let its fruit flourish like Lebanon. Let it thrive like grass on the land.
17 Let the king's name last forever. Let his name endure as long as the sun. Let all the nations be blessed through him and call him happy.
18 Bless the LORD God, the God of Israel— the only one who does wondrous things!
19 Bless God's glorious name forever; let his glory fill all the earth! Amen and Amen!
20 The prayers of David, Jesse's son, are ended.
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible

Psalms 73

1 Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are have a pure heart.
2 But me? My feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped
3 because I envied the arrogant; I observed how the wicked are well off:
4 They suffer no pain; their bodies are fit and strong.
5 They are never in trouble; they aren't weighed down like other people.
6 That's why they wear arrogance like a necklace, why violence covers them like clothes.
7 Their eyes bulge out from eating so well; their hearts overflow with delusions.
8 They scoff and talk so cruel; from their privileged positions they plan oppression.
9 Their mouths dare to speak against heaven! Their tongues roam the earth!
10 That's why people keep going back to them, keep approving what they say.
11 And what they say is this: "How could God possibly know! Does the Most High know anything at all!"
12 Look at these wicked ones, always relaxed, piling up the wealth!
13 Meanwhile, I've kept my heart pure for no good reason; I've washed my hands to stay innocent for nothing.
14 I'm weighed down all day long. I'm punished every morning.
15 If I said, "I will talk about all this," I would have been unfaithful to your children.
16 But when I tried to understand these things, it just seemed like hard work
17 until I entered God's sanctuary and understood what would happen to the wicked.
18 You will definitely put them on a slippery path; you will make them fall into ruin!
19 How quickly they are devastated, utterly destroyed by terrors!
20 As quickly as a dream departs from someone waking up, my Lord, when you are stirred up, you make them disappear.
21 When my heart was bitter, when I was all cut up inside,
22 I was stupid and ignorant. I acted like nothing but an animal toward you.
23 But I was still always with you! You held my strong hand!
24 You have guided me with your advice; later you will receive me with glory.
25 Do I have anyone else in heaven? There's nothing on earth I desire except you.
26 My body and my heart fail, but God is my heart's rock and my share forever.
27 Look! Those far from you die; you annihilate all those who are unfaithful to you.
28 But me? It's good for me to be near God. I have taken my refuge in you, my LORD God, so I can talk all about your works!
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible

Romans 9:1-15

1 I'm speaking the truth in Christ—I'm not lying, as my conscience assures me with the Holy Spirit:
2 I have great sadness and constant pain in my heart.
3 I wish I could be cursed, cut off from Christ if it helped my brothers and sisters, who are my flesh-and-blood relatives.
4 They are Israelites. The adoption as God's children, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the Law, the worship, and the promises belong to them.
5 The Jewish ancestors are theirs, and the Christ descended from those ancestors. He is the one who rules over all things, who is God, and who is blessed forever. Amen.
6 But it's not as though God's word has failed. Not all who are descended from Israel are part of Israel.
7 Not all of Abraham's children are called Abraham's descendants, but instead your descendants will be named through Isaac.
8 That means it isn't the natural children who are God's children, but it is the children from the promise who are counted as descendants.
9 The words in the promise were: A year from now I will return, and Sarah will have a son.
10 Not only that, but also Rebecca conceived children with one man, our ancestor Isaac.
11 When they hadn't been born yet and when they hadn't yet done anything good or bad, it was shown that God's purpose would continue because it was based on his choice.
12 It wasn't because of what was done but because of God's call. This was said to her: The older child will be a slave to the younger one.
13 As it is written, I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau.
14 So what are we going to say? Isn't this unfair on God's part? Absolutely not!
15 He says to Moses, I'll have mercy on whomever I choose to have mercy, and I'll show compassion to whomever I choose to show compassion.
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible