Psalm 57-59

Contemporary English Version

(For the music leader. To the tune “Don't Destroy.”^[a] A special psalm by David when he was in the cave while running from Saul.)

Praise and Trust in Times of Trouble

¹^(A) God Most High, have pity on me!
Have mercy. I run to you
    for safety.
In the shadow of your wings,
I seek protection
    till danger dies down.
²I pray to you, my protector.
³You will send help from heaven
    and save me,
but you will bring trouble
    on my attackers.
You are faithful,
    and you can be trusted.

⁴My enemies are fierce,
    much worse than lions!
They have spears and arrows
    instead of teeth,
and they have sharp swords
    instead of tongues.

⁵May you, my God, be honored
above the heavens;
may your glory be seen
everywhere on earth.

⁶^(B) Enemies set traps for my feet
    and struck me down.
They dug a pit in my path,
    but fell in it themselves.
⁷I am faithful to you,
    and you can trust me.
I will sing and play music
    for you, my God.
⁸I feel wide awake!
I will wake up my harp
    and wake up the sun.
⁹I will praise you, Lord,
    for everyone to hear,
and I will sing hymns to you
    in every nation.
¹⁰Your love reaches higher
    than the heavens;
your loyalty extends
    beyond the clouds.

¹¹May you, my God, be honored
above the heavens;
may your glory be seen
everywhere on earth.

(A special psalm by David for the music leader. To the tune “Don't Destroy.”^[b])

A Prayer When All Goes Wrong

¹Do you mighty people^[c] talk
only to oppose justice?^[d]
    Don't you ever judge fairly?
²You are always planning evil,
    and you are brutal.
³You have done wrong and lied
    from the day you were born.
⁴Your words spread poison
    like the bite of a cobra
⁵that refuses to listen
    to the snake charmer.

⁶My enemies are fierce
    as lions, Lord God!
Shatter their teeth.
    Snatch out their fangs.
⁷Make them disappear
like leaking water,
    and make their arrows miss.
⁸Let them dry up like snails
or be like a child that dies
    before seeing the sun.
⁹Wipe them out quicker
than a pot can be heated
    by setting thorns on fire.^[e]

¹⁰Good people will be glad
when they see the wicked
    getting what they deserve,
and they will wash their feet
    in their enemies' blood.
¹¹Everyone will say, “It's true!
    Good people are rewarded.
God does indeed rule the earth
    with justice.”

(For the music leader. To the tune “Don't Destroy.”^[f] A special psalm by David when Saul had David's house watched so that he could kill him.)

A Prayer for Protection

¹^(C) Save me, God! Protect me
from enemy attacks!
²Keep me safe from brutal people
who want to kill me.

³Merciless enemies, Lord,
are hiding and plotting,
    hoping to kill me.
I have not hurt them
    in any way at all.
⁴But they are ready to attack.
Do something! Help me!
    Look at what's happening.
⁵Lord God All-Powerful,
    you are the God of Israel.
Punish the other nations
and don't pity those terrible
    and rebellious people.

⁶My enemies return at evening,
growling like dogs
    roaming the city.
⁷They curse, and their words
    cut like swords,
as they say to themselves,
    “No one can hear us!”

⁸You, Lord, laugh at them
    and sneer at the nations.
⁹You are my mighty fortress,
    and I depend on you.
¹⁰You love me and will let me
    see my enemies defeated.
¹¹Don't kill them,
    or everyone may forget!
Just use your mighty power
to make them tremble
    and fall.

You are a shield
    for your people.
¹²My enemies are liars!
So let them be trapped
    by their boastful lies.
¹³Get angry and destroy them.
    Leave them in ruin.
Then all the nations will know
    that you rule in Israel.

¹⁴Those liars return at evening,
growling like dogs
roaming the city.
¹⁵They search for scraps of food,
and they snarl
until they are stuffed.

¹⁶But I will sing about
    your strength, my God,
and I will celebrate
    because of your love.
You are my fortress,
my place of protection
    in times of trouble.
¹⁷I will sing your praises!
You are my mighty fortress,
    and you love me.

Footnotes

Psalm 57 Don't Destroy: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
Psalm 58 Don't Destroy: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
58.1 mighty people: Or “mighty rulers” or “mighty gods.”
58.1 Do … justice: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
58.9 Wipe … fire: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
Psalm 59 Don't Destroy: See the note at Psalm 57.

Romans 4

Contemporary English Version

The Example of Abraham

4 Well then, what can we say about our ancestor Abraham? ²If he became acceptable to God because of what he did, then he would have something to brag about. But he would never be able to brag about it to God. ³^(A) The Scriptures say, “God accepted Abraham because Abraham had faith in him.”

⁴Money paid to workers isn't a gift. It is something they earn by working. ⁵But you cannot make God accept you because of something you do. God accepts sinners only because they have faith in him. ⁶In the Scriptures David talks about the blessings that come to people who are acceptable to God, even though they don't do anything to deserve these blessings. David says,

^7-8^(B) “What a blessing
when God forgives our sins
and our evil deeds.
What a blessing
when the Lord erases our sins
from his book.”

⁹Are these blessings meant for circumcised people or for those who are not circumcised? Well, the Scriptures say that God accepted Abraham because Abraham had faith in him. ¹⁰But when did this happen? Was it before or after Abraham was circumcised? Of course, it was before.

¹¹^(C) Abraham let himself be circumcised to show he had been accepted because of his faith even before he was circumcised. This makes Abraham the father of all who are acceptable to God because of their faith, even though they are not circumcised. ¹²This also makes Abraham the father of everyone who is circumcised and has faith in God, as Abraham did before he was circumcised.

The Promise Is for All Who Have Faith

¹³^(D) God promised Abraham and his descendants that he would give them the world. This promise wasn't made because Abraham had obeyed a law, but because his faith in God made him acceptable. ¹⁴^(E) If Abraham and his descendants were given this promise because they had obeyed a law, then faith would mean nothing, and the promise would be worthless.

¹⁵God becomes angry when his Law is broken. But where there isn't a law, it cannot be broken. ¹⁶^(F) Everything depends on having faith in God, so that God's promise is assured by his gift of undeserved grace. This promise isn't only for Abraham's descendants who have the Law. It is for all who are Abraham's descendants because they have faith, just as he did. Abraham is the ancestor of us all. ¹⁷^(G) The Scriptures say that Abraham would become the ancestor of many nations. This promise was made to Abraham because he had faith in God, who raises the dead to life and creates new things.

¹⁸^(H) God promised Abraham a lot of descendants. And when it all seemed hopeless, Abraham still had faith in God and became the ancestor of many nations. ¹⁹^(I) Abraham's faith never became weak, not even when he was nearly 100 years old. He knew he was almost dead and that his wife Sarah could not have children. ²⁰But Abraham never doubted or questioned God's promise. His faith made him strong, and he gave all the credit to God.

²¹Abraham was certain that God could do what he had promised. ²²So God accepted him, ²³just as we read in the Scriptures. But these words were not written only for Abraham. ²⁴They were written for us, since we will also be accepted because of our faith in God, who raised our Lord Jesus to life. ²⁵^(J) God gave Jesus to die for our sins, and he raised him to life, so that we would be made acceptable to God.