⁸ Let everyone in all the world—men, women, and children—fear the Lord and stand in awe of him. ⁹ For when he but spoke, the world began! It appeared at his command! ¹⁰ And with a breath he can scatter the plans of all the nations who oppose him, ¹¹ but his own plan stands forever. His intentions are the same for every generation.

¹² Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, whose people he has chosen as his own. ^13-15 The Lord gazes down upon mankind from heaven where he lives. He has made their hearts and closely watches everything they do.

^16-17 The best-equipped army cannot save a king—for great strength is not enough to save anyone. A war horse is a poor risk for winning victories—it is strong, but it cannot save.

^18-19 But the eyes of the Lord are watching over those who fear him, who rely upon his steady love. He will keep them from death even in times of famine! ²⁰ We depend upon the Lord alone to save us. Only he can help us; he protects us like a shield. ²¹ No wonder we are happy in the Lord! For we are trusting him. We trust his holy name. ²² Yes, Lord, let your constant love surround us, for our hopes are in you alone.

⁹ But if we confess our sins to him,^[a] he can be depended on to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. And it is perfectly proper for God to do this for us because Christ died to wash away our sins. ¹⁰ If we claim we have not sinned, we are lying and calling God a liar, for he says we have sinned.