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God’s Love in Christ Jesus

31 What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? ³²He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? ³³Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us.^{* 35}Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶As it is written,
‘For your sake we are being killed all day long;
   we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.’
³⁷No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Psalm 136

God’s Work in Creation and in History

¹ O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever.
² O give thanks to the God of gods,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever.
³ O give thanks to the Lord of lords,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever;

⁴ who alone does great wonders,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever;
⁵ who by understanding made the heavens,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever;
⁶ who spread out the earth on the waters,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever;
⁷ who made the great lights,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever;
⁸ the sun to rule over the day,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever;
⁹ the moon and stars to rule over the night,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever;

¹⁰ who struck Egypt through their firstborn,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever;
¹¹ and brought Israel out from among them,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever;
¹² with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever;
¹³ who divided the Red Sea^* in two,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever;
¹⁴ and made Israel pass through the midst of it,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever;
¹⁵ but overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea,^*
   for his steadfast love endures for ever;
¹⁶ who led his people through the wilderness,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever;
¹⁷ who struck down great kings,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever;
¹⁸ and killed famous kings,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever;
¹⁹ Sihon, king of the Amorites,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever;
²⁰ and Og, king of Bashan,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever;
²¹ and gave their land as a heritage,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever;
²² a heritage to his servant Israel,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever.

²³ It is he who remembered us in our low estate,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever;
²⁴ and rescued us from our foes,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever;
²⁵ who gives food to all flesh,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever.

²⁶ O give thanks to the God of heaven,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever.

16 ‘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.

Results of Justification

5Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we^* have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom we have obtained access^* to this grace in which we stand; and we^* boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. ³And not only that, but we^* also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. ⁸But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.

12 As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. ¹³Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord^* has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. ¹⁴Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

Psalm 33

The Greatness and Goodness of God

¹ Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous.
   Praise befits the upright.
² Praise the Lord with the lyre;
   make melody to him with the harp of ten strings.
³ Sing to him a new song;
   play skilfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

⁴ For the word of the Lord is upright,
   and all his work is done in faithfulness.
⁵ He loves righteousness and justice;
   the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.

⁶ By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
   and all their host by the breath of his mouth.
⁷ He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle;
   he put the deeps in storehouses.

⁸ Let all the earth fear the Lord;
   let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
⁹ For he spoke, and it came to be;
   he commanded, and it stood firm.

¹⁰ The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
   he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
¹¹ The counsel of the Lord stands for ever,
   the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
¹² Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord,
   the people whom he has chosen as his heritage.

¹³ The Lord looks down from heaven;
   he sees all humankind.
¹⁴ From where he sits enthroned he watches
   all the inhabitants of the earth—
¹⁵ he who fashions the hearts of them all,
   and observes all their deeds.
¹⁶ A king is not saved by his great army;
   a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
¹⁷ The war horse is a vain hope for victory,
   and by its great might it cannot save.

¹⁸ Truly the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
   on those who hope in his steadfast love,
¹⁹ to deliver their soul from death,
   and to keep them alive in famine.

²⁰ Our soul waits for the Lord;
   he is our help and shield.
²¹ Our heart is glad in him,
   because we trust in his holy name.
²² Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
   even as we hope in you.