To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul.
O my God, in you I trust;
do not let me be put to shame;
do not let my enemies exult over me.
Do not let those who wait for you be put to
shame;
let them be ashamed who are wantonly
treacherous.
Make me to know your ways, O LORD;
teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth, and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all day long.
Be mindful of your mercy, O LORD, and of your
steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.
Do not remember the sins of my youth or my
transgressions;
according to your steadfast love remember
me,
for your goodness' sake, O LORD!
Good and upright is the LORD;
therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
He leads the humble in what is right,
and teaches the humble his way.
All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love
and faithfulness,
for those who keep his covenant and his
decrees.
For your name's sake, O LORD,
pardon my guilt, for it is great.
Who are they that fear the LORD?
He will teach them the way that they should
choose.
They will abide in prosperity,
and their children shall possess the land.
The friendship of the LORD is for those who
fear him,
and he makes his covenant known to them.
My eyes are ever toward the LORD,
for he will pluck my feet out of the net.
Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
Relieve the troubles of my heart,
and bring me* out of my distress.
Consider my affliction and my trouble,
and forgive all my sins.
Consider how many are my foes,
and with what violent hatred they hate me.
O guard my life, and deliver me;
do not let me be put to shame, for I take
refuge in you.
May integrity and uprightness preserve me,
for I wait for you.
Redeem Israel, O God,
out of all its troubles.
Psalm 25
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about
your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your
body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body
more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow
nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds
them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by
worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry
about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they
neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory
was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of
the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven,
will he not much more clothe you — you of little faith?
Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we
drink?' or 'What will we wear?' For it is the Gentiles who strive for
all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need
all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his
righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
"So do not worry about tomorrow, for
tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today.
Matthew 6:25-34
"So have no fear of them; for nothing is
covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will
not become known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light;
and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. Do not fear
those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who
can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for
a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your
Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be
afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows. "Everyone
therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge
before my Father in heaven ...
Matthew 10:26-31
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living
hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into
an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in
heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through
faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this
you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer
various trials ...
1 Peter 1:3-5
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty
hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your
anxiety on him, because he cares for you.
1 Peter 5:6-7
I keep the LORD always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be
moved.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul
rejoices;
my body also rests secure.
For you do not give me up to Sheol,
or let your faithful one see the Pit.
You show me the path of life.
In your presence there is fullness of joy;
in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Psalm 16:8-11
Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause
against an ungodly people;
from those who are deceitful and unjust
deliver me!
For you are the God in whom I take refuge;
why have you cast me off?
Why must I walk about mournfully
because of the oppression of the enemy?
O send out your light and your truth;
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill
and to your dwelling.
Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God my exceeding joy;
and I will praise you with the harp,
O God, my God.
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my help and my God.
Psalm 43
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD.
LORD, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my supplications!
If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities,
LORD, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with you,
so that you may be revered.
I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the LORD
more than those who watch for the morning,
more than those who watch for the morning.
O Israel, hope in the LORD!
For with the LORD there is steadfast love,
and with him is great power to redeem.
It is he who will redeem Israel
from all its iniquities.
Psalm 130
The spirit of the LORD GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the
oppressed,
to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and release to the prisoners;
to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
to provide for those who mourn in Zion
—
to give them a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the LORD, to display his
glory.
They shall build up the ancient ruins,
they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
the devastations of many generations.
Isaiah 61:1-4
Therefore thus says the LORD:
If you turn back, I will take you back,
and you shall stand before me.
If you utter what is precious, and not what is
worthless,
you shall serve as my mouth.
It is they who will turn to you,
not you who will turn to them.
And I will make you to this people
a fortified wall of bronze;
they will fight against you,
but they shall not prevail over you,
for I am with you
to save you and deliver you,
says the LORD.
I will deliver you out of the hand of the
wicked,
and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.
Jeremiah 15:10-21
I called on your name, O LORD,
from the depths of the pit;
you heard my plea, "Do not close your
ear
to my cry for help, but give me relief!"
You came near when I called on you;
you said, "Do not fear!"
You have taken up my cause, O LORD,
you have redeemed my life.
Lamentations 3:55-58
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever
believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world
that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may
not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the
Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world
might be saved through him.
John 3:14-17
For this reason I bow my knees before the
Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name.
I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that
you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his
Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as
you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have
the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and
length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that
surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness
of God. Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to
accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him
be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations,
forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:14-21
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