Old/New Testament
Prayer for Rescue from Persecutors.
For the music director; set to [a]Al-tashheth. A [b]Mikhtam of David, [c]when he fled from Saul in the cave.
57 Be gracious to me, God, be gracious to me,
For my soul (A)takes refuge in You;
And in the (B)shadow of Your wings I will take refuge
Until destruction (C)passes by.
2 I will cry to God Most High,
To God who (D)accomplishes all things for me.
3 He will (E)send from heaven and save me;
He rebukes the one who [d](F)tramples upon me. Selah
God will send His [e](G)favor and His truth.
4 My soul is among (H)lions;
I must lie among those who devour,
Among sons of mankind whose (I)teeth are spears and arrows,
And their (J)tongue is a sharp sword.
5 (K)Be exalted above the heavens, God;
May Your glory be above all the earth.
6 They have prepared a (L)net for my steps;
My soul is (M)bowed down;
They (N)dug a pit before me;
They themselves have (O)fallen into the midst of it. Selah
7 (P)My (Q)heart is steadfast, God, my heart is steadfast;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises!
8 Awake, (R)my glory!
Awake, (S)harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.
9 (T)I will praise You, Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to You among the [f]nations.
10 For Your (U)goodness is great to the heavens
And Your [g]truth to the clouds.
11 (V)Be exalted above the heavens, God;
May Your glory be above all the earth.
Prayer for the Punishment of the Wicked.
For the music director; set to [h]Al-tashheth. A [i]Mikhtam of David.
58 Do you indeed [j]speak righteousness, you [k]gods?
Do you (W)judge [l]fairly, you sons of mankind?
2 No, in heart you (X)practice injustice;
On earth you (Y)clear a way for the violence of your hands.
3 The wicked have turned away (Z)from the womb;
These who speak lies (AA)go astray from [m]birth.
4 They have venom like the (AB)venom of a serpent;
Like a deaf cobra that stops up its ear,
5 So that it (AC)does not hear the voice of [n](AD)charmers,
Or a skillful caster of spells.
6 God, (AE)shatter their teeth in their mouth;
Break out the fangs of the young lions, Lord.
7 May they (AF)flow away like water that runs off;
When he [o](AG)aims his arrows, may they be as [p]headless shafts.
8 May they be like a snail which goes along in slime,
Like the (AH)miscarriage of a woman that never sees the sun.
9 Before your (AI)pots can feel the fire of thorns
He will (AJ)sweep them away with a whirlwind, the [q]green and the burning alike.
10 The (AK)righteous will rejoice when he (AL)sees vengeance;
He will (AM)wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 And people will say, “There certainly is [r](AN)a reward for the righteous;
There certainly is a God who (AO)judges on the earth!”
Prayer for Rescue from Enemies.
For the music director; set to [s]Al-tashheth. A [t]Mikhtam of David, [u]when Saul sent men and they watched the house in order to kill him.
59 (AP)Rescue me from my enemies, my God;
[v](AQ)Set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me.
2 Rescue me from (AR)those who practice injustice,
And save me from (AS)men of bloodshed.
3 For behold, they (AT)have [w]set an ambush for my [x]life;
[y]Fierce men (AU)attack me,
(AV)Not for my wrongdoing nor for my sin, Lord,
4 [z](AW)For no guilt of mine, they run and take their stand against me.
(AX)Stir Yourself to [aa]help me, and see!
5 You, (AY)Lord God of armies, the God of Israel,
Awake to [ab](AZ)punish all the nations;
(BA)Do not be gracious to any who deal treacherously in wrongdoing. Selah
6 They (BB)return at evening, they howl like a (BC)dog,
And prowl around the city.
7 Behold, they (BD)gush forth with their mouths;
(BE)Swords are in their lips,
For, they say, “(BF)Who hears?”
8 But You, Lord, (BG)laugh at them;
You (BH)scoff at all the nations.
9 Because of [ac]his (BI)strength I will watch for You,
For God is my (BJ)refuge.
10 [ad]My God (BK)in His faithfulness will meet me;
God will let me (BL)look triumphantly upon my enemies.
11 Do not kill them, (BM)or my people will forget;
[ae](BN)Scatter them by Your power and bring them down,
Lord, (BO)our shield.
12 [af]On account of the (BP)sin of their mouths and the words of their lips,
May they even be (BQ)caught in their pride,
And on account of (BR)curses and lies which they tell.
13 [ag](BS)Destroy them in wrath, [ah]destroy them so that they will no longer exist;
So that people may (BT)know that God [ai]rules in Jacob,
To the ends of the earth. Selah
14 They (BU)return at evening, they howl like a dog,
And prowl around the city.
15 They (BV)wander about [aj]for food
And [ak]murmur if they are not satisfied.
16 But as for me, I will (BW)sing of Your strength;
Yes, I will (BX)joyfully sing of Your faithfulness in the (BY)morning,
For You have been my (BZ)refuge
And a (CA)place of refuge on the day of my distress.
17 (CB)My strength, I will sing praises to You;
For God is my (CC)refuge, the [al]God who shows me favor.
Abraham’s Justification by Faith
4 What then shall we say that Abraham, [a]our forefather (A)according to the flesh, has found? 2 For if Abraham was justified [b]by works, he has something to boast about; but (B)not [c]before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “(C)Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who (D)works, the wages are not credited as a favor, but as what is due. 5 But to the one who does not work, but (E)believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the person to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
7 “(F)Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven,
And whose sins have been covered.
8 (G)Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not (H)take into account.”
9 Is this blessing then on [d](I)the circumcised, or on [e]the uncircumcised also? For (J)we say, “(K)Faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.” 10 How then was it credited? While he was [f]circumcised, or [g]uncircumcised? Not while [h]circumcised, but while [i]uncircumcised; 11 and he (L)received the sign of circumcision, (M)a seal of the righteousness of the faith which [j]he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be (N)the father of (O)all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them, 12 and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which [k]he had while uncircumcised.
13 For (P)the promise to Abraham or to his [l]descendants (Q)that he would be heir of the world was not [m]through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For (R)if those who are [n]of the Law are heirs, then faith is made void and the promise is nullified; 15 for (S)the Law brings about wrath, but (T)where there is no law, there also is no violation.
16 For this reason it is [o]by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with (U)grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to (V)all the [p]descendants, not only to [q]those who are of the Law, but also to [r](W)those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is (X)the father of us all, 17 (as it is written: “I have made you (Y)a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed, that is, God, (Z)who gives life to the dead and (AA)calls into being (AB)things that do not exist. 18 In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become (AC)a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “(AD)So shall your [s]descendants be.” 19 Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now (AE)as good as dead since (AF)he was about a hundred years old, and (AG)the deadness of Sarah’s womb; 20 yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, (AH)giving glory to God, 21 and (AI)being fully assured that (AJ)what God had promised, He was able also to perform. 22 Therefore (AK)it was also credited to him as righteousness. 23 Now (AL)not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, 24 but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, to us (AM)who believe in Him who (AN)raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 He who was (AO)delivered over because of our wrongdoings, and was (AP)raised because of our justification.
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