The Lord Is My Light and My Salvation
Of David.
1 The Lord is my hlight and my isalvation;
jwhom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold1 of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evildoers assail me
to keat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
it is they who stumble and fall.
3 lThough an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet2 I will be confident.
4 mOne thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
that I may ndwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon othe beauty of the Lord
and to inquire3 in his temple.
5 For he will phide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will qlift me high upon a rock.
6 And now my rhead shall be lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of sjoy;
tI will sing and make melody to the Lord.
7 uHear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
be gracious to me and answer me!
8 You have said, v“Seek4 my face.”
My heart says to you,
“Your face, Lord, do I seek.”5
9 wHide not your face from me.
Turn not your servant away in anger,
O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not,
xO God of my salvation!
10 For ymy father and my mother have forsaken me,
but the Lord will ztake me in.
11 aTeach me your way, O Lord,
and lead me on ba level path
because of my enemies.
12 cGive me not up to the will of my adversaries;
for dfalse witnesses have risen against me,
and they ebreathe out violence.
13 I believe that I shall look6 upon fthe goodness of the Lord
in gthe land of the living!
14 hWait for the Lord;
ibe strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord!
Be Ready for Every Good Work
1 Remind them xto be submissive to rulers and authorities, yto be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 2 zto speak evil of no one, ato avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and bto show perfect courtesy toward all people. 3 For cwe ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4 But when dthe goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, enot because of works done by us in righteousness, but faccording to his own mercy, by gthe washing of regeneration and hrenewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he ipoured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that jbeing justified by his grace we might become kheirs laccording to the hope of eternal life. 8 The saying is mtrustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful nto devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. 9 But oavoid foolish pcontroversies, qgenealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for rthey are unprofitable and worthless. 10 As for a person who stirs up division, safter warning him once and then twice, thave nothing more to do with him, 11 knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.
Final Instructions and Greetings
12 When I send Artemas or uTychicus to you, do your best to come to me vat Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. 13 Do your best to speed Zenas the lawyer and wApollos on their way; see that they lack nothing. 14 And let our people learn xto devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not ybe unfruitful.
15 All who are with me send greetings to you. Greet those who love us in the faith.
zGrace be with you all.
