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Psalm 60

1  O God, you have cast us off and broken us; ♦︎
   you have been angry; restore us to yourself again.
2  You have shaken the earth and torn it apart; ♦︎
   heal its wounds, for it trembles.
3  You have made your people drink bitter things; ♦︎
   we reel from the deadly wine you have given us.
4  You have made those who fear you to flee, ♦︎
   to escape from the range of the bow.
5  That your beloved may be delivered, ♦︎
   save us by your right hand and answer us.
6  God has spoken in his holiness: ♦︎
   ‘I will triumph and divide Shechem,
      and share out the valley of Succoth.
7  ‘Gilead is mine and Manasseh is mine; ♦︎
   Ephraim is my helmet and Judah my sceptre.
8  ‘Moab shall be my washpot;
      over Edom will I cast my sandal; ♦︎
   across Philistia will I shout in triumph.’
9  Who will lead me into the strong city? ♦︎
   Who will bring me into Edom?
10  Have you not cast us off, O God? ♦︎
   Will you no longer go forth with our troops?
11  Grant us your help against the enemy, ♦︎
   for earthly help is in vain.
12  Through God will we do great acts, ♦︎
   for it is he that shall tread down our enemies.

Psalm 61

1  Hear my crying, O God, ♦︎
   and listen to my prayer.
2  From the end of the earth I call to you with fainting heart; ♦︎
   O set me on the rock that is higher than I.
3  For you are my refuge, ♦︎
   a strong tower against the enemy.
4  Let me dwell in your tent for ever ♦︎
   and take refuge under the cover of your wings.
5  For you, O God, will hear my vows; ♦︎
   you will grant the request of those who fear your name.
6  You will add length of days to the life of the king, ♦︎
   that his years may endure throughout all generations.
7  May he sit enthroned before God for ever; ♦︎
   may steadfast love and truth watch over him.
8  So will I always sing praise to your name, ♦︎
   and day by day fulfil my vows.

32 I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord; ³³but the married man is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please his wife, ³⁴and his interests are divided. And the unmarried woman and the virgin are anxious about the affairs of the Lord, so that they may be holy in body and spirit; but the married woman is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please her husband. ³⁵I say this for your own benefit, not to put any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and unhindered devotion to the Lord.

36 If anyone thinks that he is not behaving properly towards his fiancée,^* if his passions are strong, and so it has to be, let him marry as he wishes; it is no sin. Let them marry. ³⁷But if someone stands firm in his resolve, being under no necessity but having his own desire under control, and has determined in his own mind to keep her as his fiancée,^* he will do well. ³⁸So then, he who marries his fiancée^* does well; and he who refrains from marriage will do better.

39 A wife is bound as long as her husband lives. But if the husband dies,^* she is free to marry anyone she wishes, only in the Lord. ⁴⁰But in my judgement she is more blessed if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have the Spirit of God.