Psalms 63; Psalms 64; Psalms 65; Romans 6

1 God, you are my God. I greatly long for you. With all my heart I thirst for you in this dry desert where there isn't any water.

2 I have seen you in the sacred tent. There I have seen your power and your glory.

3 Your love is better than life. I will bring glory to you with my lips.

4 I will praise you as long as I live. I will lift up my hands when I pray to you.

5 I will be as satisfied as if I had eaten the best food there is. I will sing praise to you with my mouth.

6 As I lie on my bed I remember you. I think of you all night long.

7 Because you have helped me, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

8 I hold on to you. Your powerful right hand takes good care of me.

9 Those who are trying to kill me will be destroyed. They will go down into the grave.

10 They will be killed with swords. They will become food for wild dogs.

11 But the king will be filled with joy because of what God has done. All those who take an oath in God's name will praise him. But the mouths of liars will be shut.

1 God, hear me as I tell you my problem. Don't let my enemies kill me.

2 Hide me from those who make evil plans against me. Hide me from that crowd of people who are doing evil.

3 They make their tongues like sharp swords. They aim their words like deadly arrows.

4 They shoot from their hiding places at people who aren't guilty of doing anything wrong. They shoot quickly. They aren't afraid of being caught.

5 They help each other make evil plans. They talk about hiding their traps. They say, "Who can see what we are doing?"

6 They make plans to do what is evil. They say, "We have thought up a perfect plan!" The hearts and minds of people are so clever!

7 But God will shoot my enemies with his arrows. He will suddenly strike them down.

8 He will turn their own words against them. He will destroy them. All those who see them will shake their heads and look down on them.

9 Everyone will respect God. They will tell about his works. They will think about what he has done.

10 Let godly people be full of joy because of what the LORD has done. Let them go to him for safety. Let all those whose hearts are honest praise him.

1 God, we look forward to praising you in Zion. We will keep our promises to you.

2 All people will come to you, because you hear and answer prayer.

3 When our sins became too much for us, you forgave our lawless acts.

4 Blessed are those you choose and bring near to worship you. You bring us into the courtyards of your holy temple. There in your house we are filled with all kinds of good things.

5 God our Savior, you answer us by doing wonderful things. You save us by your power. People all over the world and beyond the farthest oceans put their hope in you.

6 You formed the mountains by your power. You showed how strong you are.

7 You calmed the oceans and their roaring waves. You calmed the angry words and actions of the nations.

8 Those who live far away are amazed at the miracles you have done. What you do makes people from one end of the earth to the other sing for joy.

9 You take care of the land and water it. You make it very rich. You fill your streams with water. You provide the people with grain. That's how you prepare the land.

10 You water its rows. You smooth out its bumps. You soften it with showers. And you bless its crops.

11 You bring the year to a close with huge crops. You provide more than enough food.

12 The grass grows thick even in the desert. The hills are dressed with gladness.

13 The meadows are covered with flocks and herds. The valleys are dressed with grain. They sing and shout with joy.

1 What should we say then? Should we keep on sinning so that God's grace can increase?

2 Not at all! As far as sin is concerned, we are dead. So how can we keep on sinning?

3 All of us were baptized into Christ Jesus. Don't you know that we were baptized into his death?

4 By being baptized, we were buried with Christ into his death. Christ has been raised from the dead by the Father's glory. And like Christ we also can live a new life.

5 By being baptized, we have been joined with him in his death. We will certainly also be joined with him in his resurrection.

6 We know that what we used to be was nailed to the cross with him. That happened so our sinful bodies would lose their power. We are no longer slaves of sin.

7 Those who have died have been set free from sin.

8 We died with Christ. So we believe that we will also live with him.

9 We know that Christ was raised from the dead and will never die again. Death doesn't control him anymore.

10 When he died, he died once and for all time as far as sin is concerned. Now that he lives, he lives as far as God is concerned.

11 In the same way, consider yourselves to be dead as far as sin is concerned. Now that you believe in Christ Jesus, consider yourselves to be alive as far as God is concerned.

12 So don't let sin rule your body, which is going to die. Don't obey its evil longings.

13 Don't give the parts of your body to serve sin. Don't let them be used to do evil. Instead, give yourselves to God. You have been brought from death to life. Give the parts of your body to him to do what is right.

14 Sin will not be your master. Law does not rule you. God's grace has set you free.

15 What should we say then? Should we sin because we are not ruled by law but by God's grace? Not at all!

16 Don't you know that when you give yourselves to obey someone you become that person's slave? You can be slaves of sin. Then you will die. Or you can be slaves who obey God. Then you will live a godly life.

17 You used to be slaves of sin. But thank God that with your whole heart you obeyed the teachings you were given!

18 You have been set free from sin. You have become slaves to right living.

19 Because you are human, you find this hard to understand. So I have said it in a way that will help you understand it. You used to give the parts of your body to be slaves to unclean living. You were becoming more and more evil. Now give your bodies to be slaves to right living. Then you will become holy.

20 Once you were slaves of sin. At that time right living did not control you.

21 What benefit did you gain from doing the things you are now ashamed of? Those things lead to death!

22 You have been set free from sin. God has made you his slaves. The benefit you gain leads to holy living. And the end result is eternal life.

23 When you sin, the pay you get is death. But God gives you the gift of eternal life because of what Christ Jesus our Lord has done.