Psalm 65

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For the director of music. A psalm of David. A song.

 

1 Praise awaits[1 & 2] you, our God, in Zion;
   to you our vows will be fulfilled.
2 You who answer prayer,
   to you all people will come.
3 When we were overwhelmed by sins,
   you forgave[3] our transgressions.
4 Blessed are those you choose
   and bring near to live in your courts!
We are filled with the good things of your house,
   of your holy temple.

5 You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds,
   God our Savior,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
   and of the farthest seas,
6 who formed the mountains by your power,
   having armed yourself with strength,
7 who stilled the roaring of the seas,
   the roaring of their waves,
   and the turmoil of the nations.
8 The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;
   where morning dawns, where evening fades,
   you call forth songs of joy.

9 You care for the land and water it;
   you enrich it abundantly.
The streams of God are filled with water
   to provide the people with grain,
   for so you have ordained it.[4]
10 You drench its furrows and level its ridges;
   you soften it with showers and bless its crops.
11 You crown the year with your bounty,
   and your carts overflow with abundance.
12 The grasslands of the wilderness overflow;
   the hills are clothed with gladness.
13 The meadows are covered with flocks
   and the valleys are mantled with grain;
   they shout for joy and sing.

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Footnotes

1. Psalm 65:1 In Hebrew texts 65:1-13 is numbered 65:2-14.

2. Psalm 65:1 Or befits; the meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.

3. Psalm 65:3 Or made atonement for

4. Psalm 65:9 Or for that is how you prepare the land

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Luke 18:9-14

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The Parable of the Pharisee

and the Tax Collector

 

9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

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