Old Testament (NKJV)

The Book of Psalms Chapter 44:1-26

To the Chief Musician. A Contemplation of the sons of Korah.

We have heard with our ears, O God,
Our fathers have told us,
The deeds You did in their days, In days of old:

You drove out the nations with Your hand,
But them You planted;
You afflicted the peoples, and cast them out.

For they did not gain possession of the land by their own sword,
Nor did their own arm save them;
But it was Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your countenance,
Because You favored them.

You are my King, O God;
Command victories for Jacob.

Through You we will push down our enemies;
Through Your name we will trample those who rise up against us.

For I will not trust in my bow,
Nor shall my sword save me.

But You have saved us from our enemies,
And have put to shame those who hated us.

In God we boast all day long,
And praise Your name forever. Selah

But You have cast us off and put us to shame,
And You do not go out with our armies.

You make us turn back from the enemy,
And those who hate us have taken spoil for themselves.

You have given us up like sheep intended for food,
And have scattered us among the nations.

You sell Your people for next to nothing,
And are not enriched by selling them.

You make us a reproach to our neighbors,
A scorn and a derision to those all around us.

You make us a byword among the nations,
A shaking of the head among the peoples.

My dishonor is continually before me,
And the shame of my face has covered me,

Because of the voice of him who reproaches and reviles,
Because of the enemy and the avenger.

All this has come upon us;
But we have not forgotten You,
Nor have we dealt falsely with Your covenant.

Our heart has not turned back,
Nor have our steps departed from Your way;

But You have severely broken us in the place of jackals,
And covered us with the shadow of death.

If we had forgotten the name of our God,
Or stretched out our hands to a foreign god,

Would not God search this out?
For He knows the secrets of the heart.

Yet for Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

Awake! Why do You sleep, O Lord?
Arise! Do not cast us off forever.

Why do You hide Your face,
And forget our affliction and our oppression?

For our soul is bowed down to the dust;
Our body clings to the ground.

Arise for our help,
And redeem us for Your mercies' sake.

New Testament

The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans Chapter 15:1-7-14-22-33

We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me." For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God. Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers, and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written:

"For this reason I will confess to You among the Gentiles,
And sing to Your name."

And again he says:
"Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people!"

And again:

"Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles!
Laud Him, all you peoples!"

And again, Isaiah says:

"There shall be a root of Jesse;
And He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles,
In Him the Gentiles shall hope."

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. Nevertheless, brethren, I have written more boldly to you on some points, as reminding you, because of the grace given to me by God, that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Therefore I have reason to glory in Christ Jesus in the things which pertain to God. For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me, in word and deed, to make the Gentiles obedient--in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. And so I have made it my aim to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another man's foundation, but as it is written:

"To whom He was not announced, they shall see;
And those who have not heard shall understand."

For this reason I also have been much hindered from coming to you. But now no longer having a place in these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come to you, whenever I journey to Spain, I shall come to you. For I hope to see you on my journey, and to be helped on my way there by you, if first I may enjoy your company for a while. But now I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the saints. For it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem. It pleased them indeed, and they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things. Therefore, when I have performed this and have sealed to them this fruit, I shall go by way of you to Spain. But I know that when I come to you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. Now I beg you, brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in prayers to God for me, that I may be delivered from those in Judea who do not believe, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, that I may come to you with joy by the will of God, and may be refreshed together with you. Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.