Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
This song is for the music leader.
The Lord's servant, David, wrote it.
David sang these words to the Lord when the Lord saved him from the power of his enemies. This was at the time when Saul was king.
Thank you, Lord![a]
18 I love you, Lord.
You make me strong.
2 The Lord keeps me safe.
He is my great rock and my strong place.
God is my high rock.[b]
I run to him to hide and be safe.
He keeps me safe like a soldier's shield.
He is the strong place where I can hide safely.
3 I praise the Lord because he deserves it!
When I called to him for help,
he saved me from my enemies.
20 The Lord was kind to me
because I do things that please him.
He blesses me
because I am not guilty of bad things.
21 I have obeyed the Lord's commands.
I have not turned against my God.
22 I understand all his rules,
and I do not refuse to obey them.
23 He knows that I have done nothing that is wrong.
I kept away from any sin.
24 The Lord has been kind to me,
because I did good things.
He sees that I am not guilty.
25 Lord, if people are faithful to you,
then you are faithful to them.
If people do nothing that is bad,
they can trust you to do nothing bad to them.
26 If people always do what is right,
they can trust you to be kind to them.
But if people are wicked,
you turn against them.
27 You save people who are humble.
But if people are proud, you bring them down very low.
28 Lord, you make my lamp burn brightly.
My God is my light in the dark.
29 You make me strong,
so that I can attack a whole army!
With the help of my God,
I can climb over any high wall.[a]
30 God's way is perfect.
Yes, the Lord's promises are always true.
He keeps safe everyone who goes to him for help,
like a shield that keeps a soldier safe.
31 We know that the Lord is God,
and no one else.
Only our God can keep us safe,
like a strong rock!
32 It is God who makes me strong.
He shows me the safe way through my life.
18 You forgot about your strong Rock,
the God who gave you life.
19 When the Lord saw this, he turned away from them.
His sons and daughters had made him angry.
20 He said, ‘I will not continue to help them.
I will see what happens to them when I leave them alone.
They are children who do not obey me.
They have not served me faithfully.
28 Israel is a nation without wisdom.
They do not understand what will happen to them.
29 If they were wise, they would understand.
They would know what would happen to them in the end.
30 One man can chase away 1,000 of my people!
Two men can chase away 10,000 of them!
How can that happen? God, their strong Rock, has left them.
The Lord has given their enemies power over them.
31 The gods of our enemies are not strong like our Rock.
Even our enemies know that their own gods are weak.
32 Our enemies are like grapes full of poison.
They are like grapes that have grown in the fields of Sodom and Gomorrah.[a]
33 The wine from their grapes kills people,
like dangerous poison from snakes.
34 The Lord says, ‘I will not forget to punish Israel's enemies.
I have already decided what I will do, and I will do it!
35 When the right time comes,
I will punish them as they deserve.
They will suddenly fall
and great trouble will quickly destroy them.’
36 At that time, the Lord will bring justice for his people.
He will forgive his servants.
He will rescue them when he sees that they are weak,
and very few of them remain, as slaves or free people.
37 Then the Lord will ask his people,
‘Why could your gods not help you?
Those were the gods that you thought would keep you safe.
38 You fed them with the best part of your sacrifices.
You let them drink the wine from your offerings.
So they should be there to help you!
They should keep you safe!
39 Realize the truth! I alone am God.
There is no other god as well as me.
I can kill and I can give life.
I can hurt people and I can make them well again.
Nobody can stop me doing what I choose to do.
33 Yes! God is very great! He has everything! He knows and he understands all things! Nobody can completely understand the things that he decides. Nobody can explain the ways in which he works. 34 The Bible says this:
‘Nobody knows the thoughts of the Lord God.
Nobody is able to tell him what he should do.’[a]
35 ‘Nobody has ever given anything to God,
so that God had a debt to pay back to them.’[b]
36 It is God who made all things. He also causes all things to continue. And all things are there to show how great he is.
We praise him! He is great for ever! Amen. This is true!
EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.