Psalm 62

TRUST IN GOD ALONE
For the choir director: according to Jeduthun. A psalm of David.

Iam at rest in God alone;
my salvation comes from him.
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my stronghold; I will never be shaken.
3 How long will you threaten a man?
Will all of you attack
as if he were a leaning wall
or a tottering fence?
4 They only plan to bring him down
from his high position.
They take pleasure in lying;
they bless with their mouths,
but they curse inwardly. Selah
5 Rest in God alone, my soul,
for my hope comes from him.
6 He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my stronghold; I will not be shaken.
7 My salvation and glory depend on God, my strong rock.
My refuge is in God.
8 Trust in him at all times, you people;
pour out your hearts before him.
God is our refuge. Selah
9 Common people are only a vapor;
important people, an illusion.
Together on a scale,
they weigh less than a vapor.
10 Place no trust in oppression
or false hope in robbery.
If wealth increases,
don’t set your heart on it.
11 God has spoken once;
I have heard this twice:
strength belongs to God,
12 and faithful love belongs to you, Lord.
For you repay each according to his works.

Psalm 63

PRAISE GOD WHO SATISFIES
A psalm of David. When he was in the Wilderness of Judah.

God, you are my God; I eagerly seek you.
I thirst for you;
my body faints for you
in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water.
2 So I gaze on you in the sanctuary
to see your strength and your glory.
3 My lips will glorify you
because your faithful love is better than life.
4 So I will bless you as long as I live;
at your name, I will lift up my hands.
5 You satisfy me as with rich food;
my mouth will praise you with joyful lips.
6 When I think of you as I lie on my bed,
I meditate on you during the night watches
7 because you are my helper;
I will rejoice in the shadow of your wings.
8 I follow close to you;
your right hand holds on to me.
9 But those who intend to destroy my life
will go into the depths of the earth.
10 They will be given over to the power of the sword;
they will become a meal for jackals.
11 But the king will rejoice in God;
all who swear by him will boast,
for the mouths of liars will be shut.

Psalm 64

PROTECTION FROM EVILDOERS
For the choir director. A psalm of David.

God, hear my voice when I am in anguish.
Protect my life from the terror of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the scheming of wicked people,
from the mob of evildoers,
3 who sharpen their tongues like swords
and aim bitter words like arrows,
4 shooting from concealed places at the blameless.
They shoot at him suddenly and are not afraid.
5 They adopt an evil plan;
they talk about hiding traps and say,
“Who will see them? ”
6 They devise crimes and say,
“We have perfected a secret plan.”
The inner man and the heart are mysterious.
7 But God will shoot them with arrows;
suddenly, they will be wounded.
8 They will be made to stumble;
their own tongues work against them.
All who see them will shake their heads.
9 Then everyone will fear
and will tell about God’s work,
for they will understand what he has done.
10 The righteous one rejoices in the Lord
and takes refuge in him;
all those who are upright in heart
will offer praise.

Romans 1

THE GOSPEL OF GOD FOR ROME
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God ​— ​
2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures ​— ​3 concerning his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who was a descendant of David according to the flesh 4 and was appointed to be the powerful Son of God according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection of the dead. 5 Through him we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the Gentiles, 6 including you who are also called by Jesus Christ.

7 To all who are in Rome, loved by God, called as saints.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

PAUL’S DESIRE TO VISIT ROME
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you because the news of your faith is being reported in all the world. 9 God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in telling the good news about his Son ​— ​that I constantly mention you, 10 always asking in my prayers that if it is somehow in God’s will, I may now at last succeed in coming to you. 11 For I want very much to see you, so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you, 12 that is, to be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.

13 Now I don’t want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that I often planned to come to you (but was prevented until now ) in order that I might have a fruitful ministry among you, just as I have had among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 I am obligated both to Greeks and barbarians, both to the wise and the foolish. 15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

THE RIGHTEOUS WILL LIVE BY FAITH
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.

THE GUILT OF THE GENTILE WORLD
18 For God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth, 19 since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made. As a result, people are without excuse. 21 For though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became worthless, and their senseless hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles.

24 Therefore God delivered them over in the desires of their hearts to sexual impurity, so that their bodies were degraded among themselves. 25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served what has been created instead of the Creator, who is praised forever. Amen.

FROM IDOLATRY TO DEPRAVITY
26 For this reason God delivered them over to disgraceful passions. Their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 The men in the same way also left natural relations with women and were inflamed in their lust for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in their own persons the appropriate penalty of their error.

28 And because they did not think it worthwhile to acknowledge God, God delivered them over to a corrupt mind so that they do what is not right. 29 They are filled with all unrighteousness, evil, greed, and wickedness. They are full of envy, murder, quarrels, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, arrogant, proud, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 senseless, untrustworthy, unloving, and unmerciful. 32 Although they know God’s just sentence ​— ​that those who practice such things deserve to die ​— ​they not only do them, but even applaud others who practice them.

— Romans 1:1-32 (CSB)