Old/New Testament
A Prayer in Troubled Times
For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A miktam of David when he escaped from Saul in a cave.
57 Be merciful to me, God. Be merciful to me
because I come to you for protection.
I will come to you as a bird comes for protection under its mother’s wings
until the trouble has passed.
2 I cry out to God Most High,
to the God who does everything for me.
3 He sends help from heaven and saves me.
He punishes those who attack me. Selah
God sends me his love and truth.
4 Enemies are like lions all around me.
I must lie down among them.
Their teeth are like spears and arrows.
Their tongues are as sharp as swords.
5 God is supreme over the skies.
His greatness covers the earth.
6 They set a trap for me.
I am very worried.
They dug a pit in my path.
But they fell into it themselves. Selah
7 My heart is right, God. My heart is right.
I will sing and praise you.
8 Wake up, my soul.
Wake up, harp and lyre!
I will wake up the dawn.
9 Lord, I will praise you among the nations.
I will sing songs of praise about you to all the nations.
10 Your love is so great it reaches to the skies.
Your truth reaches to the clouds.
11 God, you are supreme over the skies.
Let your glory be over all the earth.
Unfair Judges
For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A miktam of David.
58 Do you rulers really say what is right?
Do you judge people fairly?
2 No, in your heart you plan evil.
You think up violent crimes in the land.
3 From birth evil men start doing bad things.
They tell lies and do wrong as soon as they are born.
4 They are like poisonous snakes,
like deaf cobras that can’t hear.
5 They cannot hear the music of the snake charmer
no matter how well he plays for them.
6 God, break the teeth out of their mouths!
Tear out the fangs of those lions, Lord!
7 Let them disappear like water that flows away.
Let them be cut short like a broken arrow.
8 Let them be like snails that melt as they move.
Let them be like a child born dead who never saw the sun.
9 His anger will blow them away alive.
It will happen faster than burning thorns can heat a pot.
10 Good people will be glad when they see him get even.
They will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 Then people will say,
“There really are rewards for doing what is right.
There really is a God who judges the world.”
A Prayer for Protection
For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A miktam of David when Saul sent men to watch David’s house to kill him.
59 God, save me from my enemies.
Protect me from those who come against me.
2 Save me from those who do evil.
Save me from murderers.
3 Look, men are waiting to attack me.
Cruel men attack me.
But I have not sinned or done wrong, Lord.
4 I have done nothing wrong, but they are ready to attack me.
Wake up to help me and look.
5 You are the Lord God of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel.
Come and punish those people.
Do not give those traitors any mercy. Selah
6 They come back at night.
Like dogs they growl and roam around the city.
7 Notice what comes from their mouths.
Insults come from their lips.
They say, “Who’s listening?”
8 But, Lord, you laugh at them.
You make fun of all of them.
9 God, my strength, I wait for you.
God, you are my protection.
10 My God loves me, and he will be with me.
He will help me defeat my enemies.
11 Lord, our protector, do not kill them.
If you do, my people will forget.
With your power scatter them
and defeat them.
12 They sin by what they say.
They sin with their words.
They curse and tell lies.
So let their pride trap them.
13 Destroy them in your anger.
Destroy them completely!
Then they will know
that God rules over Israel
and to the ends of the earth. Selah
14 They come back at night.
Like dogs they growl
and roam around the city.
15 They wander about looking for food.
And they howl if they do not find enough.
16 But I will sing about your strength.
In the morning I will sing about your love.
You are my protection,
my place of safety in times of trouble.
17 God, my strength, I will sing praises to you.
God, my protection, you are the God who loves me.
The Example of Abraham
4 So what can we say about Abraham,[a] the father of our people? What did he learn about faith? 2 If Abraham was made right by the things he did, then he had a reason to brag. But he could not brag before God. 3 The Scripture says, “Abraham believed God. And that faith made him right with God.”[b]
4 When a person works, his pay is not given to him as a gift. He earns the pay he gets. 5 But a person cannot do any work that will make him right with God. So he must trust in God. Then God accepts his faith, and that makes him right with God. God is the One who can make even those who are evil right in his sight. 6 David said the same thing. He said that a person is truly blessed when God does not look at what he has done but accepts him as good:
7 “Happy are they
whose sins are forgiven,
whose wrongs are pardoned.
8 Happy is the person
whom the Lord does not consider guilty.” Psalm 32:1-2
9 Is this blessing only for those who are circumcised? Or is it also for those who are not circumcised? We have already said that God accepted Abraham’s faith, and that faith made him right with God. 10 So how did this happen? Did God accept Abraham before or after he was circumcised? God accepted him before his circumcision. 11 Abraham was circumcised later to show that God accepted him. His circumcision was proof that he was right with God through faith before he was circumcised. So Abraham is the father of all those who believe but are not circumcised. He is the father of all believers who are accepted as being right with God. 12 And Abraham is also the father of those who have been circumcised. But it is not their circumcision that makes him their father. He is their father only if they live following the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
God Keeps His Promise
13 Abraham[c] and his descendants received the promise that they would get the whole world. But Abraham did not receive that promise through the law. He received it because he was right with God through his faith. 14 If people could receive what God promised by following the law, then faith is worthless. And God’s promise to Abraham is worthless, 15 because the law can only bring God’s anger. But if there is no law, then there is nothing to disobey.
16 So people receive God’s promise by having faith. This happens so that the promise can be a free gift. And if the promise is a free gift, then all of Abraham’s children can have that promise. The promise is not only for those people that live under the law of Moses. It is for anyone who lives with faith like Abraham. He is the father of us all. 17 As it is written in the Scriptures: “I am making you a father of many nations.”[d] This is true before God. Abraham believed in God—the God who gives life to the dead and decides that things will happen that have not yet happened.
18 There was no hope that Abraham would have children. But Abraham believed God and continued hoping. And that is why he became the father of many nations. As God told him, “Your descendants will also be too many to count.”[e] 19 Abraham was almost 100 years old, much past the age for having children. Also, Sarah could not have children. Abraham thought about all this. But his faith in God did not become weak. 20 He never doubted that God would keep his promise. Abraham never stopped believing. He grew stronger in his faith and gave praise to God. 21 Abraham felt sure that God was able to do the thing that God promised. 22 So, “God accepted Abraham’s faith, and that made him right with God.”[f] 23 Those words (“God accepted Abraham’s faith”) were written not only for Abraham. 24 They were written also for us. God will accept us also because we believe. We believe in the One who raised Jesus our Lord from death. 25 Jesus was given to die for our sins. And he was raised from death to make us right with God.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.