Be subject to every human institution for the Lord’s sake, whether it be to the king or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the approval of those who do good.  For it is the will of God that by doing good you may silence the ignorance of foolish people.  Be free, yet without using freedom as a pretext for evil, but as slaves of God.  Give honor to all, love the community, fear God, honor the king.

Indeed the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.  No creature is concealed from him, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render and account.

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says that he has faith but does not have works?  Can that faith save him?  If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it?  So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.  Indeed someone might say, “You have faith and I have works.”  Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.  For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

Lord, do not withhold your compassion from me; may your enduring kindness ever preserve me. For all about me are evils beyond count; my sins so overcome me I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head; my courage fails me. Lord, graciously rescue me! Come quickly to help me, Lord! May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. May those who long for your help always say, “The Lord be glorified.” Though I am afflicted and poor, the Lord keeps me in mind. You are my help and deliver; my God, do not delay!

Let mutual love continue.  Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels.  Be mindful of prisoners as if sharing their imprisonment, and of the ill-treated as of yourselves, for you also are in the body.  Let marriage be honored among all and the marriage bed be kept undefiled, for God will judge the immoral and adulterers. Let your life be free from love of money but be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never forsake you or abandon you.”  Thus we may say with confidence: “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.  What can anyone do to me?”

Rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, insincerity, envy, and all slander; like newborn infants, long for pure spiritual milk so that through it you may grow into salvation, for you have tasted that the Lord is good. Come to him, a living stone, rejected by human beings but chosen and precious in the sight of God, and, like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day.  The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard “delay,” but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar and the elements will be dissolved by fire, and the earth and everything done on it will be found out.

Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in God and receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do whatever pleases him.  And his commandment is this: we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us.  Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them, and the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit that he gave us.

God, you have taught me from my youth; to this day I proclaim your wondrous deeds. Now that I am old and gray, do not forsake me, God, that I may proclaim your might to all generations yet to come, your power and justice, God, to the highest heaven. You have done great things; O God, who is your equal? You have sent me many bitter afflictions, but once more revive me. From the watery depths of the earth once more raise me up. Restore my honor; turn and comfort me, that I may praise you with the lyre for your faithfulness, my God, and sing to you with the harp, O Holy One of Israel. My lips will shout for joy as I sing your praise; my soul, too, which you have redeemed. Yes, my tongue shall recount your justice day by day. For those who sought my ruin will have been shamed and disgraced.

Happy those whose way is blameless, who walk by the teaching of the Lord. Happy those who observe God’s decrees, who seek the Lord with all their heart. They do no wrong; they walk in God’s ways. You have given them the command to keep your precepts with care. May my ways be firm in the observance of your laws! Then I will not be ashamed to ponder all your commands. I will praise you with sincere heart as I study your just edicts. I will keep your laws; do not leave me all alone.