Psalm 102

AFFLICTION IN LIGHT OF ETERNITY
A prayer of a suffering person who is weak and pours out his lament before the Lord.

Lord, hear my prayer;
let my cry for help come before you.
2 Do not hide your face from me in my day of trouble.
Listen closely to me;
answer me quickly when I call.
3 For my days vanish like smoke,
and my bones burn like a furnace.
4 My heart is suffering, withered like grass;
I even forget to eat my food.
5 Because of the sound of my groaning,
my flesh sticks to my bones.
6 I am like an eagle owl,
like a little owl among the ruins.
7 I stay awake;
I am like a solitary bird on a roof.
8 My enemies taunt me all day long;
they ridicule and use my name as a curse.
9 I eat ashes like bread
and mingle my drinks with tears
10 because of your indignation and wrath;
for you have picked me up and thrown me aside.
11 My days are like a lengthening shadow,
and I wither away like grass.
12 But you, Lord, are enthroned forever;
your fame endures to all generations.
13 You will rise up and have compassion on Zion,
for it is time to show favor to her —
the appointed time has come.
14 For your servants take delight in its stones
and favor its dust.
15 Then the nations will fear the name of the Lord,
and all the kings of the earth your glory,
16 for the Lord will rebuild Zion;
he will appear in his glory.
17 He will pay attention to the prayer of the destitute
and will not despise their prayer.
18 This will be written for a later generation,
and a people who have not yet been created will praise the Lord:
19 He looked down from his holy heights —
the Lord gazed out from heaven to earth —
20 to hear a prisoner’s groaning,
to set free those condemned to die,
21 so that they might declare
the name of the Lord in Zion
and his praise in Jerusalem
22 when peoples and kingdoms are assembled
to serve the Lord.
23 He has broken my strength in midcourse;
he has shortened my days.
24 I say, “My God, do not take me
in the middle of my life!
Your years continue through all generations.
25 Long ago you established the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26 They will perish, but you will endure;
all of them will wear out like clothing.
You will change them like a garment,
and they will pass away.
27 But you are the same,
and your years will never end.
28 Your servants’ children will dwell securely,
and their offspring will be established before you.”

Psalm 103

THE FORGIVING GOD
Of David.

My soul, bless the Lord,
and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
2 My soul, bless the Lord,
and do not forget all his benefits.
3 He forgives all your iniquity;
he heals all your diseases.
4 He redeems your life from the Pit;
he crowns you with faithful love and compassion.
5 He satisfies you with good things;
your youth is renewed like the eagle.
6 The Lord executes acts of righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.
7 He revealed his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in faithful love.
9 He will not always accuse us
or be angry forever.
10 He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve
or repaid us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his faithful love
toward those who fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed
our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.
14 For he knows what we are made of,
remembering that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like grass —
he blooms like a flower of the field;
16 when the wind passes over it, it vanishes,
and its place is no longer known.
17 But from eternity to eternity
the Lord’s faithful love is toward those who fear him,
and his righteousness toward the grandchildren
18 of those who keep his covenant,
who remember to observe his precepts.
19 The Lord has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.
20 Bless the Lord,
all his angels of great strength,
who do his word,
obedient to his command.
21 Bless the Lord, all his armies,
his servants who do his will.
22 Bless the Lord, all his works
in all the places where he rules.
My soul, bless the Lord!

Psalm 104

GOD THE CREATOR
My soul, bless the Lord!
Lord my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with majesty and splendor.
2 He wraps himself in light as if it were a robe,
spreading out the sky like a canopy,
3 laying the beams of his palace
on the waters above,
making the clouds his chariot,
walking on the wings of the wind,
4 and making the winds his messengers,
flames of fire his servants.
5 He established the earth on its foundations;
it will never be shaken.
6 You covered it with the deep
as if it were a garment;
the water stood above the mountains.
7 At your rebuke the water fled;
at the sound of your thunder they hurried away —
8 mountains rose and valleys sank —
to the place you established for them.
9 You set a boundary they cannot cross;
they will never cover the earth again.
10 He causes the springs to gush into the valleys;
they flow between the mountains.
11 They supply water for every wild beast;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 The birds of the sky live beside the springs;
they make their voices heard among the foliage.
13 He waters the mountains from his palace;
the earth is satisfied by the fruit of your labor.
14 He causes grass to grow for the livestock
and provides crops for man to cultivate,
producing food from the earth,
15 wine that makes human hearts glad —
making his face shine with oil —
and bread that sustains human hearts.
16 The trees of the Lord flourish,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
17 There the birds make their nests;
storks make their homes in the pine trees.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats;
the cliffs are a refuge for hyraxes.
19 He made the moon to mark the festivals;
the sun knows when to set.
20 You bring darkness, and it becomes night,
when all the forest animals stir.
21 The young lions roar for their prey
and seek their food from God.
22 The sun rises; they go back
and lie down in their dens.
23 Man goes out to his work
and to his labor until evening.
24 How countless are your works, Lord!
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
25 Here is the sea, vast and wide,
teeming with creatures beyond number —
living things both large and small.
26 There the ships move about,
and Leviathan, which you formed to play there.
27 All of them wait for you
to give them their food at the right time.
28 When you give it to them,
they gather it;
when you open your hand,
they are satisfied with good things.
29 When you hide your face,
they are terrified;
when you take away their breath,
they die and return to the dust.
30 When you send your breath,
they are created,
and you renew the surface of the ground.
31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works.
32 He looks at the earth, and it trembles;
he touches the mountains,
and they pour out smoke.
33 I will sing to the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God while I live.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him;
I will rejoice in the Lord.
35 May sinners vanish from the earth
and wicked people be no more.
My soul, bless the Lord!
Hallelujah!

Romans 14

THE LAW OF LIBERTY
Welcome anyone who is weak in faith, but don’t argue about disputed matters.
2 One person believes he may eat anything, while one who is weak eats only vegetables. 3 One who eats must not look down on one who does not eat, and one who does not eat must not judge one who does, because God has accepted him. 4 Who are you to judge another’s household servant? Before his own Lord he stands or falls. And he will stand, because the Lord is able to make him stand.

5 One person judges one day to be more important than another day. Someone else judges every day to be the same. Let each one be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 Whoever observes the day, observes it for the honor of the Lord. Whoever eats, eats for the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; and whoever does not eat, it is for the Lord that he does not eat it, and he gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives for himself, and no one dies for himself. 8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 Christ died and returned to life for this: that he might be Lord over both the dead and the living. 10 But you, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. 11 For it is written,

As I live, says the Lord,

every knee will bow to me,

and every tongue will give praise to God.

12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

THE LAW OF LOVE
13 Therefore, let us no longer judge one another. Instead decide never to put a stumbling block or pitfall in the way of your brother or sister. 14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself. Still, to someone who considers a thing to be unclean, to that one it is unclean. 15 For if your brother or sister is hurt by what you eat, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy, by what you eat, someone for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore, do not let your good be slandered, 17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever serves Christ in this way is acceptable to God and receives human approval.

19 So then, let us pursue what promotes peace and what builds up one another. 20 Do not tear down God’s work because of food. Everything is clean, but it is wrong to make someone fall by what he eats. 21 It is a good thing not to eat meat, or drink wine, or do anything that makes your brother or sister stumble. 22 Whatever you believe about these things, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23 But whoever doubts stands condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith, and everything that is not from faith is sin.

— Romans 14:1-23 (CSB)