The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears; He delivers them from all their troubles.
The LORD is near to the brokenhearted; He saves the contrite in spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him from them all.
He protects all his bones; not one of them will be broken.
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide an escape, so that you can stand up under it.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,’ and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.”
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the LORD, “You are my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
Surely He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the deadly plague.
He will cover you with His feathers; under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
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But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me.
A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.
He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for the sake of His name.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
. . .
Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment. Indeed, he has crossed over from death to life.
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin.
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; He inclined to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me up from the pit of despair, out of the miry clay; He set my feet upon a rock, and made my footsteps firm.
He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.
Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.
We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;
persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.
We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body.
. . .
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall.
But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.
to console the mourners in Zion—to give them a crown of beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise for a spirit of despair. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,
who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.
You will be secure, because there is hope, and you will look around and lie down in safety.
You will lie down without fear, and many will court your favor.
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand of righteousness.
A song of ascents. I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?
My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to slip; your Protector will not slumber.
Behold, the Protector of Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is the shade on your right hand.
. . .
For the choirmaster. Of David the servant of the LORD, who sang this song to the LORD on the day the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said: I love You, O LORD, my strength.
The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.
We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the hardships we encountered in the province of Asia. We were under a burden far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.
Indeed, we felt we were under the sentence of death, in order that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God, who raises the dead.
He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. In Him we have placed our hope that He will yet again deliver us,
as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the favor shown us in answer to their prayers.
No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns—and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
And why do you worry about clothes? Consider how the lilies of the field grow: They do not labor or spin.
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Of David, when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, so that the king drove him away. I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise will always be on my lips.
My soul boasts in the LORD; let the oppressed hear and rejoice.
Magnify the LORD with me; let us exalt His name together.
I sought the LORD, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to Him are radiant with joy; their faces shall never be ashamed.
. . .
Then the LORD answered me: “Write down this vision and clearly inscribe it on tablets, so that a herald may run with it.
For the vision awaits an appointed time; it testifies of the end and does not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it, since it will surely come and will not delay.
I declare the end from the beginning, and ancient times from what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’
Still I am certain to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
Wait patiently for the LORD; be strong and courageous. Wait patiently for the LORD!
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think on these things.
The steps of a man are ordered by the LORD who takes delight in his journey.
Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, for the LORD is holding his hand.
But Moses told the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the LORD’s salvation, which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again.
“You speak as a foolish woman speaks,” he told her. “Should we accept from God only good and not adversity?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds,
because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Even to your old age, I will be the same, and I will bear you up when you turn gray. I have made you, and I will carry you; I will sustain you and deliver you.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,
who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
Therefore, since God in His mercy has given us this ministry, we do not lose heart.
Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful ways. We do not practice deceit, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by open proclamation of the truth, we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
For we do not proclaim ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.
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Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial that has come upon you, as though something strange were happening to you.
But rejoice that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed at the revelation of His glory.
But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.
Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those in distress. In the past He humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future He will honor the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations:
Then tell the people of the land that this is what the Lord GOD says about those living in Jerusalem and in the land of Israel: ‘They will eat their bread with anxiety and drink their water in dread, for their land will be stripped of everything in it because of the violence of all who dwell in it.
Then He told me, “Son of man, I am going to cut off the supply of food in Jerusalem. They will anxiously eat bread rationed by weight, and in despair they will drink water by measure.
We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the hardships we encountered in the province of Asia. We were under a burden far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.
Indeed, we felt we were under the sentence of death, in order that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God, who raises the dead.
He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. In Him we have placed our hope that He will yet again deliver us,
Why do you now cry aloud? Is there no king among you? Has your counselor perished so that anguish grips you like a woman in labor?
Writhe in agony, O Daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor. For now you will leave the city and camp in the open fields. You will go to Babylon; there you will be rescued; there the LORD will redeem you from the hand of your enemies!
Consider me and respond, O LORD my God. Give light to my eyes, lest I sleep in death,
lest my enemy say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes rejoice when I fall.
But I have trusted in Your loving devotion; my heart will rejoice in Your salvation.
I will sing to the LORD, for He has been good to me.
After Jesus had finished instructing His twelve disciples, He went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.
Meanwhile John heard in prison about the works of Christ, and he sent his disciples
to ask Him, “Are You the One who was to come, or should we look for someone else?”
Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see:
The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.
. . .
We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the hardships we encountered in the province of Asia. We were under a burden far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.