Psalm 62:1–12 (NIV84)

¹ My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. ² He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. ³ How long will you assault a man? Would all of you throw him down— this leaning wall, this tottering fence? ⁴ They fully intend to topple him from his lofty place; they take delight in lies. With their mouths they bless, but in their hearts they curse. Selah ⁵ Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. ⁶ He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. ⁷ My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. ⁸ Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Selah⁹ Lowborn men are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie; if weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are only a breath. ¹⁰ Do not trust in extortion or take pride in stolen goods; though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them. ¹¹ One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, ¹² and that you, O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done.

Psalm 28:1–9 (NIV84)

¹ To you I call, O Lord my Rock; do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you remain silent, I will be like those who have gone down to the pit. ² Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place. ³ Do not drag me away with the wicked, with those who do evil, who speak cordially with their neighbors but harbor malice in their hearts. ⁴ Repay them for their deeds and for their evil work; repay them for what their hands have done and bring back upon them what they deserve. ⁵ Since they show no regard for the works of the Lord and what his hands have done, he will tear them down and never build them up again. ⁶ Praise be to the Lord, for he has heard my cry for mercy. ⁷ The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song. ⁸ The Lord is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one. ⁹ Save your people and bless your inheritance; be their shepherd and carry them forever.

Psalm 128:1–6 (NIV84)

¹ Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in his ways. ² You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours. ³ Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your sons will be like olive shoots around your table. ⁴ Thus is the man blessed who fears the Lord. ⁵ May the Lord bless you from Zion all the days of your life; may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem, ⁶ and may you live to see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel.

Romans 2:1–16 (NIV84)

¹ You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. ² Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. ³ So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? ⁴ Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance? ⁵ But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. ⁶ God “will give to each person according to what he has done.” ⁷ To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. ⁸ But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. ⁹ There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; ¹⁰ but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. ¹¹ For God does not show favoritism. ¹² All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. ¹³ For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. ¹⁴ (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, ¹⁵ since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.) ¹⁶ This will take place on the day when God will judge men’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.