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Psalm 35

1  Contend, O Lord, with those that contend with me; ♦︎
   fight against those that fight against me.
2  Take up shield and buckler ♦︎
   and rise up to help me.
3  Draw the spear and bar the way
      against those who pursue me; ♦︎
   say to my soul, ‘I am your salvation.’
4  Let those who seek after my life be shamed and disgraced; ♦︎
   let those who plot my ruin fall back and be put to confusion.
5  Let them be as chaff before the wind, ♦︎
   with the angel of the Lord thrusting them down.
6  Let their way be dark and slippery, ♦︎
   with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.
7  For they have secretly spread a net for me without a cause; ♦︎
   without any cause they have dug a pit for my soul.
8  Let ruin come upon them unawares; ♦︎
   let them be caught in the net they laid;
      let them fall in it to their destruction.
9  Then will my soul be joyful in the Lord ♦︎
   and glory in his salvation.
10  My very bones will say, ‘Lord, who is like you? ♦︎
   You deliver the poor from those that are too strong for them,
      the poor and needy from those who would despoil them.’
11  False witnesses rose up against me; ♦︎
   they charged me with things I knew not.
12  They rewarded me evil for good, ♦︎
   to the desolation of my soul.
13  But as for me, when they were sick I put on sackcloth ♦︎
   and humbled myself with fasting;
14  When my prayer returned empty to my bosom, ♦︎
   it was as though I grieved for my friend or brother;
15  I behaved as one who mourns for his mother, ♦︎
   bowed down and brought very low.
16  But when I stumbled, they gathered in delight;
      they gathered together against me; ♦︎
   as if they were strangers I did not know
      they tore at me without ceasing.
17  When I fell they mocked me; ♦︎
   they gnashed at me with their teeth.
18  O Lord, how long will you look on? ♦︎
   Rescue my soul from their ravages,
      and my poor life from the young lions.
19  I will give you thanks in the great congregation; ♦︎
   I will praise you in the mighty throng.
20  Do not let my treacherous foes rejoice over me, ♦︎
   or those who hate me without a cause
      mock me with their glances.
21  For they do not speak of peace, ♦︎
   but invent deceitful schemes against those that are quiet in the land.
22  They opened wide their mouths and derided me, saying ♦︎
   ‘We have seen it with our very eyes.’
23  This you have seen, O Lord; do not keep silent; ♦︎
   go not far from me, O Lord.
24  Awake, arise, to my cause, ♦︎
   to my defence, my God and my Lord!
25  Give me justice, O Lord my God,
      according to your righteousness; ♦︎
   let them not triumph over me.
26  Let them not say to themselves,
      ‘Our heart’s desire!’ ♦︎
   Let them not say, ‘We have swallowed him up.’
27  Let all who rejoice at my trouble be put to shame and confusion; ♦︎
   let those who boast against me
      be clothed with shame and dishonour.
28  Let those who favour my cause rejoice and be glad; ♦︎
   let them say always,
      ‘Great is the Lord, who delights in his servant’s well-being.’
29  So shall my tongue be talking of your righteousness ♦︎
   and of your praise all the day long.

The New Life in Christ

12I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters,^* by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual^* worship. ²Do not be conformed to this world,^* but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.^*

3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. ⁴For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, ⁵so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. ⁶We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ⁷ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; ⁸the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.