Old/New Testament
Psalm 54[a]
Confident Prayer in Great Peril
1 For the leader. On stringed instruments. A maskil of David, 2 when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, “David is hiding among us.”(A)
I
3 O God, by your name[b] save me.
By your strength defend my cause.
4 O God, hear my prayer.
Listen to the words of my mouth.
5 Strangers have risen against me;
the ruthless seek my life;
they do not keep God before them.(B)
Selah
II
6 God is present as my helper;(C)
the Lord sustains my life.
7 Turn back the evil upon my foes;
in your faithfulness, destroy them.(D)
8 Then I will offer you generous sacrifice
and give thanks to your name, Lord, for it is good.
9 Because it has rescued me from every trouble,
and my eyes look down on my foes.(E)
Psalm 55[c]
A Lament over Betrayal
1 For the leader. On stringed instruments. A maskil of David.
I
2 Listen, God, to my prayer;(F)
do not hide from my pleading;
3 hear me and give answer.
I rock with grief; I groan
4 at the uproar of the enemy,
the clamor of the wicked.
They heap trouble upon me,
savagely accuse me.
5 My heart pounds within me;
death’s terrors fall upon me.
6 Fear and trembling overwhelm me;
shuddering sweeps over me.
7 I say, “If only I had wings like a dove
that I might fly away and find rest.(G)
8 Far away I would flee;
I would stay in the desert.(H)
Selah
9 “I would soon find a shelter
from the raging wind and storm.”
II
10 Lord, check and confuse their tongues.
For I see violence and strife in the city
11 making rounds on its walls day and night.
Within are mischief and trouble;
12 treachery is in its midst;
oppression and fraud never leave its streets.(I)
13 For it is not an enemy that reviled me—
that I could bear—
Not a foe who viewed me with contempt,
from that I could hide.
14 But it was you, my other self,
my comrade and friend,(J)
15 You, whose company I enjoyed,
at whose side I walked
in the house of God.
III
16 Let death take them;
let them go down alive to Sheol,(K)
for evil is in their homes and bellies.
17 But I will call upon God,
and the Lord will save me.
18 At dusk, dawn, and noon
I will grieve and complain,
and my prayer will be heard.(L)
19 He will redeem my soul in peace
from those who war against me,
though there are many who oppose me.
20 God, who sits enthroned forever,(M)
will hear me and afflict them.
Selah
For they will not mend their ways;
they have no fear of God.
21 He stretched out his hand at his friends
and broke his covenant.
22 Softer than butter is his speech,
but war is in his heart.
Smoother than oil are his words,
but they are unsheathed swords.(N)
23 Cast your care upon the Lord,
who will give you support.
He will never allow
the righteous to stumble.(O)
24 But you, God, will bring them down
to the pit of destruction.(P)
These bloodthirsty liars
will not live half their days,
but I put my trust in you.(Q)
Psalm 56[d]
Trust in God
1 For the director. According to Yonath elem rehoqim.[e] A miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him at Gath.(R)
I
2 Have mercy on me, God,
for I am treated harshly;
attackers press me all the day.
3 My foes treat me harshly all the day;
yes, many are my attackers.
O Most High, 4 when I am afraid,
in you I place my trust.
5 I praise the word of God;
I trust in God, I do not fear.(S)
What can mere flesh do to me?(T)
II
6 All the day they foil my plans;
their every thought is of evil against me.
7 They hide together in ambush;
they watch my every step;
they lie in wait for my life.(U)
8 They are evil; watch them, God!
Cast the nations down in your anger!
9 My wanderings you have noted;
are my tears not stored in your flask,[f]
recorded in your book?(V)
10 My foes turn back when I call on you.
This I know: God is on my side.
11 I praise the word of God,
I praise the word of the Lord.
12 In God I trust, I do not fear.
What can man do to me?
III
13 I have made vows to you, God;
with offerings I will fulfill them,(W)
14 For you have snatched me from death,
kept my feet from stumbling,
That I may walk before God
in the light of the living.
Chapter 3
Answers to Objections. 1 [a]What advantage is there then in being a Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 2 Much, in every respect. [For] in the first place, they were entrusted with the utterances of God.(A) 3 What if some were unfaithful? Will their infidelity nullify the fidelity of God?(B) 4 Of course not! God must be true, though every human being is a liar,[b] as it is written:
“That you may be justified in your words,
and conquer when you are judged.”(C)
5 But if our wickedness provides proof of God’s righteousness, what can we say? Is God unjust, humanly speaking, to inflict his wrath?(D) 6 Of course not! For how else is God to judge the world? 7 But if God’s truth redounds to his glory through my falsehood, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? 8 And why not say—as we are accused and as some claim we say—that we should do evil that good may come of it? Their penalty is what they deserve.(E)
Universal Bondage to Sin.[c] 9 Well, then, are we better off? Not entirely, for we have already brought the charge against Jews and Greeks alike that they are all under the domination of sin,(F) 10 as it is written:(G)
“There is no one just, not one,
11 there is no one who understands,
there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have gone astray; all alike are worthless;
there is not one who does good,
[there is not] even one.
13 Their throats are open graves;
they deceive with their tongues;
the venom of asps is on their lips;(H)
14 their mouths are full of bitter cursing.(I)
15 Their feet are quick to shed blood;(J)
16 ruin and misery are in their ways,
17 and the way of peace they know not.
18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.”(K)
19 Now we know that what the law[d] says is addressed to those under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world stand accountable to God,(L) 20 since no human being will be justified in his sight[e] by observing the law; for through the law comes consciousness of sin.(M)
III. Justification Through Faith in Christ
Justification Apart from the Law.[f] 21 But now[g] the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, though testified to by the law and the prophets,(N) 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction;(O) 23 all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God.(P) 24 They are justified freely by his grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus,(Q) 25 whom God set forth as an expiation,[h] through faith, by his blood, to prove his righteousness because of the forgiveness of sins previously committed,(R) 26 through the forbearance of God—to prove his righteousness in the present time, that he might be righteous and justify the one who has faith in Jesus.
27 (S)What occasion is there then for boasting?[i] It is ruled out. On what principle, that of works? No, rather on the principle of faith.[j] 28 For we consider that a person is justified by faith apart from works of the law.(T) 29 Does God belong to Jews alone? Does he not belong to Gentiles, too? Yes, also to Gentiles,(U) 30 for God is one and will justify the circumcised on the basis of faith and the uncircumcised through faith.(V) 31 Are we then annulling the law by this faith? Of course not!(W) On the contrary, we are supporting the law.[k]
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.