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VERSES FOR OFFERINGS
Think about giving – it's truly beautiful in God's eyes. When you're preparing your offering, remember it should be your best, given with a sincere heart. It should be a joyful act, knowing how much God has already blessed us with, even when we don't deserve it. He's been incredibly generous, hasn't He?
If you only give what's leftover, well, life might just mirror that back to you. Think about it – give as if you're giving to yourself. Don't do it out of obligation or because you expect something in return. True giving comes from the heart.
Don't make a big show of it either. It's not about getting praised or patted on the back. Let your giving be a quiet act between you and God. He sees what's in your heart, and He loves a cheerful giver. Remember what it says in 2 Corinthians 9:7: "Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."
Giving is an act of worship, a way to give back a portion of what God has already given us. And when God gives, He gives abundantly. When you offer from the heart, you're opening the door for even more blessings. The more you give, the more you receive. It's a beautiful cycle.
I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds,I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.
On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,
I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.And I will give to you, and to your offspring after you, the land where you are now an alien, all the land of Canaan, for a perpetual holding; and I will be their God.”
Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine,but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites.”
Then he took the book of the covenant, and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.”Moses took the blood and dashed it on the people, and said, “See the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who maintains covenant loyalty with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,
It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you are going in to occupy their land; but because of the wickedness of these nations the Lord your God is dispossessing them before you, in order to fulfill the promise that the Lord made on oath to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
Therefore diligently observe the words of this covenant, in order that you may succeed in everything that you do.
See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity.If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess.
For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
For I the Lord love justice, I hate robbery and wrongdoing; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord.But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.
I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild animals from the land, so that they may live in the wild and sleep in the woods securely.
A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances.
My covenant with him was a covenant of life and well-being, which I gave him; this called for reverence, and he revered me and stood in awe of my name.
for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
But Jesus has now obtained a more excellent ministry, and to that degree he is the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted through better promises.For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need to look for a second one.
For this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, because a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenant.
“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds,”he also adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to reside there as an alien, for the famine was severe in the land.When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know well that you are a woman beautiful in appearance;and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’; then they will kill me, but they will let you live.Say you are my sister, so that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared on your account.”When Abram entered Egypt the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.When the officials of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house.And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female slaves, female donkeys, and camels.But the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife.So Pharaoh called Abram, and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife?Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife, take her, and be gone.”I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.And Pharaoh gave his men orders concerning him; and they set him on the way, with his wife and all that he had.I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless.This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.Throughout your generations every male among you shall be circumcised when he is eight days old, including the slave born in your house and the one bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring.Both the slave born in your house and the one bought with your money must be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant.Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.”Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said to himself, “Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Can Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”And Abraham said to God, “O that Ishmael might live in your sight!”God said, “No, but your wife Sarah shall bear you a son, and you shall name him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous.”
and said, “By myself I have sworn, says the Lord: Because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son,I will indeed bless you, and I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of their enemies,and by your offspring shall all the nations of the earth gain blessing for themselves, because you have obeyed my voice.”
The Lord said to Moses: Write these words; in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.He was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.
The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb.Neither shall you bear false witness against your neighbor.Neither shall you covet your neighbor's wife. Neither shall you desire your neighbor's house, or field, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.These words the Lord spoke with a loud voice to your whole assembly at the mountain, out of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, and he added no more. He wrote them on two stone tablets, and gave them to me.When you heard the voice out of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, you approached me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders;and you said, “Look, the Lord our God has shown us his glory and greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the fire. Today we have seen that God may speak to someone and the person may still live.So now why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any longer, we shall die.For who is there of all flesh that has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of fire, as we have, and remained alive?Go near, you yourself, and hear all that the Lord our God will say. Then tell us everything that the Lord our God tells you, and we will listen and do it.”The Lord heard your words when you spoke to me, and the Lord said to me: “I have heard the words of this people, which they have spoken to you; they are right in all that they have spoken.If only they had such a mind as this, to fear me and to keep all my commandments always, so that it might go well with them and with their children forever!Not with our ancestors did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today.
O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you, I will praise your name; for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.
I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will bless them and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary among them forevermore.
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.
For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith.
Brothers and sisters, I give an example from daily life: once a person's will has been ratified, no one adds to it or annuls it.Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring; it does not say, “And to offsprings,” as of many; but it says, “And to your offspring,” that is, to one person, who is Christ.
And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise.
But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children,
For thus says the Lord: To the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant,I will give, in my house and within my walls, a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.
This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance.
He said: I hereby make a covenant. Before all your people I will perform marvels, such as have not been performed in all the earth or in any nation; and all the people among whom you live shall see the work of the Lord; for it is an awesome thing that I will do with you.
So be careful not to forget the covenant that the Lord your God made with you, and not to make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything that the Lord your God has forbidden you.For the Lord your God is a devouring fire, a jealous God.
If you heed these ordinances, by diligently observing them, the Lord your God will maintain with you the covenant loyalty that he swore to your ancestors;he will love you, bless you, and multiply you; he will bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the issue of your flock, in the land that he swore to your ancestors to give you.
All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
Thus says the Lord: In a time of favor I have answered you, on a day of salvation I have helped you; I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people, to establish the land, to apportion the desolate heritages;
But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish with you an everlasting covenant.
I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin.let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and keep their backs forever bent.”So I ask, have they stumbled so as to fall? By no means! But through their stumbling salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous.Now if their stumbling means riches for the world, and if their defeat means riches for Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean! Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I glorify my ministryin order to make my own people jealous, and thus save some of them.For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead!If the part of the dough offered as first fruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; and if the root is holy, then the branches also are holy.But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in their place to share the rich root of the olive tree,do not boast over the branches. If you do boast, remember that it is not you that support the root, but the root that supports you.You will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.”God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel?
An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham. and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah,and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel, and Salathiel the father of Zerubbabel,and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor,and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud,and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob,and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah. So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.
Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant,the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us
You are the descendants of the prophets and of the covenant that God gave to your ancestors, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your descendants all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’
They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises;to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Messiah, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.
For in him every one of God's promises is a “Yes.” For this reason it is through him that we say the “Amen,” to the glory of God.
For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the things written in the book of the law.”Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law; for “The one who is righteous will live by faith.”But the law does not rest on faith; on the contrary, “Whoever does the works of the law will live by them.”Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”—in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the sanctuary has not yet been disclosed as long as the first tent is still standing.This is a symbol of the present time, during which gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper,
Today the Lord has obtained your agreement: to be his treasured people, as he promised you, and to keep his commandments;
He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and ordinances to Israel.The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel.He has not dealt thus with any other nation; they do not know his ordinances. Praise the Lord!
And the Lord stood beside him and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring;and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring.Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
God said, “No, but your wife Sarah shall bear you a son, and you shall name him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live,and return to the Lord your God, and you and your children obey him with all your heart and with all your soul, just as I am commanding you today,loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loves.He built his sanctuary like the high heavens, like the earth, which he has founded forever.
And as for me, this is my covenant with them, says the Lord: my spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouths of your children, or out of the mouths of your children's children, says the Lord, from now on and forever.
And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.
I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.”
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David,
For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.”
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him.For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
“As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations.No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations.
Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Thus says the Lord: If any of you could break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night would not come at their appointed time,only then could my covenant with my servant David be broken, so that he would not have a son to reign on his throne, and my covenant with my ministers the Levites.
I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them; I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh,
For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us,
Brothers and sisters, I give an example from daily life: once a person's will has been ratified, no one adds to it or annuls it.
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children.
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds,”
The Lord said to Moses: Write these words; in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.
And because he loved your ancestors, he chose their descendants after them. He brought you out of Egypt with his own presence, by his great power,driving out before you nations greater and mightier than yourselves, to bring you in, giving you their land for a possession, as it is still today.
If his children forsake my law and do not walk according to my ordinances,if they violate my statutes and do not keep my commandments,then I will punish their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with scourges;
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!
And so all Israel will be saved; as it is written, “Out of Zion will come the Deliverer; he will banish ungodliness from Jacob.”“And this is my covenant with them, when I take away their sins.”
But the other woman corresponds to the Jerusalem above; she is free, and she is our mother.
who struck Egypt through their firstborn, for his steadfast love endures forever;and brought Israel out from among them, for his steadfast love endures forever;with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, for his steadfast love endures forever;
“Here is my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved, with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold,but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish.
He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant forever. Holy and awesome is his name.
Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain. When you make his life an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days; through him the will of the Lord shall prosper.Out of his anguish he shall see light; he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge. The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.
Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”
All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; and all the families of the nations shall worship before him.
Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life.But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned—sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law.Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come.But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man's trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many.And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification.If, because of the one man's trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.Therefore just as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man's act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all.For just as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God.
He is mindful of his covenant forever, of the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
Do not let loyalty and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.Do not quarrel with anyone without cause, when no harm has been done to you.Do not envy the violent and do not choose any of their ways;for the perverse are an abomination to the Lord, but the upright are in his confidence.The Lord's curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the abode of the righteous.Toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he shows favor.The wise will inherit honor, but stubborn fools, disgrace.So you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and of people.
Thus says the Lord: In a time of favor I have answered you, on a day of salvation I have helped you; I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people, to establish the land, to apportion the desolate heritages;saying to the prisoners, “Come out,” to those who are in darkness, “Show yourselves.” They shall feed along the ways, on all the bare heights shall be their pasture;
Then you shall live in the land that I gave to your ancestors; and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.
So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up.
For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my spirit upon your descendants, and my blessing on your offspring.
For his anger is but for a moment; his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.
“Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, “The one who is righteous will live by faith.”
Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth, and it stands fast.
For thus says the high and lofty one who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with those who are contrite and humble in spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.
But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Now may the God of peace, who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant,make you complete in everything good so that you may do his will, working among us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
I find my delight in your commandments, because I love them.I revere your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on your statutes.
I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness; for you have exalted your name and your word above everything.
do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.
I will not violate my covenant, or alter the word that went forth from my lips.Once and for all I have sworn by my holiness; I will not lie to David.
It is not as though the word of God had failed. For not all Israelites truly belong to Israel,
You are my witnesses, says the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me.
For their sake he remembered his covenant, and showed compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God,
The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.
Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, you are very great. You are clothed with honor and majesty,You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills,giving drink to every wild animal; the wild asses quench their thirst.By the streams the birds of the air have their habitation; they sing among the branches.From your lofty abode you water the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.You cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for people to use, to bring forth food from the earth,and wine to gladden the human heart, oil to make the face shine, and bread to strengthen the human heart.The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.In them the birds build their nests; the stork has its home in the fir trees.The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the coneys.You have made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting.wrapped in light as with a garment. You stretch out the heavens like a tent,You make darkness, and it is night, when all the animals of the forest come creeping out.The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God.When the sun rises, they withdraw and lie down in their dens.People go out to their work and to their labor until the evening.O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.Yonder is the sea, great and wide, creeping things innumerable are there, living things both small and great.There go the ships, and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.These all look to you to give them their food in due season;when you give to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.you set the beams of your chambers on the waters, you make the clouds your chariot, you ride on the wings of the wind,When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground.May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works—who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke.I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord.Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord!you make the winds your messengers, fire and flame your ministers. You set the earth on its foundations, so that it shall never be shaken.
By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.