Forsake Me Not When My Strength Is Spent
1 iIn you, O Lord, do I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame!
2 In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;
incline your ear to me, and save me!
3 Be to me a rock of jrefuge,
to which I may continually come;
you have kgiven the command to save me,
for you are my lrock and my fortress.
4 mRescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.
5 For you, O Lord, are my nhope,
my trust, O Lord, from my youth.
6 Upon you I have leaned ofrom before my birth;
you are he who ptook me from my mother’s womb.
My praise is continually of you.
7 I have been as qa portent to many,
but you are my strong refuge.
8 My rmouth is filled with your praise,
and with your glory all the day.
9 sDo not cast me off in the time of old age;
forsake me not when my strength is spent.
10 For my enemies speak concerning me;
those who twatch for my life uconsult together
11 and say, “God has forsaken him;
pursue and seize him,
for there is none to deliver him.”
12 O God, be not vfar from me;
O my God, wmake haste to help me!
13 May my accusers be xput to shame and consumed;
ywith scorn and disgrace may they be covered
who zseek my hurt.
14 But I will ahope continually
and will bpraise you yet more and more.
15 My cmouth will tell of your righteous acts,
of your deeds of salvation all the day,
for dtheir number is past my knowledge.
16 With the mighty deeds of the Lord God I will come;
I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.
17 O God, from my youth you have taught me,
and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.
18 So even to eold age and gray hairs,
O God, fdo not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might to another generation,
your power to all those to come.
19 Your grighteousness, O God,
reaches the high heavens.
You who have done hgreat things,
O God, iwho is like you?
20 You who have jmade me see many troubles and calamities
will krevive me again;
from the depths of the earth
you will bring me up again.
21 You will increase my greatness
and comfort me again.
22 I will also praise you with lthe harp
for your faithfulness, O my God;
I will sing praises to you with the lyre,
O mHoly One of Israel.
23 My lips will shout for joy,
when I sing praises to you;
my soul also, which you have nredeemed.
24 And my otongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long,
for they have been pput to shame and disappointed
who sought to do me hurt.
Wives and Husbands
1 Likewise, wives, kbe subject to your own husbands, so that leven if some do not obey the word, mthey may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, 2 when they see your nrespectful and pure conduct. 3 oDo not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— 4 but let your adorning be pthe hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. 5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, qcalling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and rdo not fear anything that is frightening.
7 Likewise, shusbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker tvessel, since they are heirs with you1 of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
Suffering for Righteousness’ Sake
8 Finally, all of you, uhave unity of mind, sympathy, vbrotherly love, wa tender heart, and xa humble mind. 9 yDo not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, zbless, for ato this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. 10 For
b“Whoever desires to love life
and see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from speaking deceit;
11 let him turn away from evil and do good;
let him seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
13 Now cwho is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 dBut even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. eHave no fear of them, fnor be troubled, 15 but gin your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, halways being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and irespect, 16 jhaving a good conscience, so that, kwhen you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For lit is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.
18 For Christ also msuffered2 nonce for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, othat he might bring us to God, being put to death pin the flesh but made alive qin the spirit, 19 in which3 he went and qproclaimed4 to the spirits in prison, 20 because5 they formerly did not obey, rwhen God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, swhile the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, teight persons, were brought safely through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, unow saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but vas an appeal to God for a good conscience, wthrough the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and xis at the right hand of God, ywith angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.
