Psalm 57; Psalm 58; Psalm 59; Romans 4 (New American Standard)

Prayer for Rescue from Persecutors.

1 Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me, For my soul takes refuge in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge Until destruction passes by. 2 I will cry to God Most High, To God who accomplishes all things for me. 3 He will send from heaven and save me; He reproaches him who tramples upon me. Selah. God will send forth His lovingkindness and His truth. 4 My soul is among lions ; I must lie among those who breathe forth fire, Even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows And their tongue a sharp sword. 5 Be exalted above the heavens, O God ; Let Your glory be above all the earth. 6 They have prepared a net for my steps ; My soul is bowed down ; They dug a pit before me; They themselves have fallen into the midst of it. Selah. 7 My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast ; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises ! 8 Awake, my glory ! Awake, harp and lyre ! I will awaken the dawn. 9 I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples ; I will sing praises to You among the nations. 10 For Your lovingkindness is great to the heavens And Your truth to the clouds. 11 Be exalted above the heavens, O God ; Let Your glory be above all the earth.

Prayer for the Punishment of the Wicked.

1 Do you indeed speak righteousness, O gods ? Do you judge uprightly, O sons of men ? 2 No, in heart you work unrighteousness ; On earth you weigh out the violence of your hands. 3 The wicked are estranged from the womb ; These who speak lies go astray from birth. 4 They have venom like the venom of a serpent ; Like a deaf cobra that stops up its ear, 5 So that it does not hear the voice of charmers, Or a skillful caster of spells. 6 O God, shatter their teeth in their mouth ; Break out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD. 7 Let them flow away like water that runs off ; When he aims his arrows, let them be as headless shafts. 8 Let them be as a snail which melts away as it goes along, Like the miscarriages of a woman which never see the sun. 9 Before your pots can feel the fire of thorns He will sweep them away with a whirlwind, the green and the burning alike. 10 The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance ; He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. 11 And men will say, "Surely there is a reward for the righteous ; Surely there is a God who judges on earth !"

Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies.

1 Deliver me from my enemies, O my God ; Set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me. 2 Deliver me from those who do iniquity And save me from men of bloodshed. 3 For behold, they have set an ambush for my life ; Fierce men launch an attack against me, Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O LORD, 4 For no guilt of mine, they run and set themselves against me. Arouse Yourself to help me, and see ! 5 You, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, Awake to punish all the nations ; Do not be gracious to any who are treacherous in iniquity. Selah. 6 They return at evening, they howl like a dog, And go around the city. 7 Behold, they belch forth with their mouth ; Swords are in their lips, For, they say, "Who hears ?" 8 But You, O LORD, laugh at them; You scoff at all the nations. 9 Because of his strength I will watch for You, For God is my stronghold. 10 My God in His lovingkindness will meet me; God will let me look triumphantly upon my foes. 11 Do not slay them, or my people will forget ; Scatter them by Your power, and bring them down, O Lord, our shield. 12 On account of the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips, Let them even be caught in their pride, And on account of curses and lies which they utter. 13 Destroy them in wrath, destroy them that they may be no more ; That men may know that God rules in Jacob To the ends of the earth. Selah. 14 They return at evening, they howl like a dog, And go around the city. 15 They wander about for food And growl if they are not satisfied. 16 But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength ; Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning, For You have been my stronghold And a refuge in the day of my distress. 17 O my strength, I will sing praises to You; For God is my stronghold, the God who shows me lovingkindness.

Justification by Faith Evidenced in Old Testament

1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found ? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say ? "ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS." 4 Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. 5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works : 7 "BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED. 8 "BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORD WILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT." 9 Is this blessing then on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also ? For we say, "FAITH WAS CREDITED TO ABRAHAM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS." 10 How then was it credited ? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised ? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised ; 11 and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them, 12 and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised. 13 For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified ; 15 for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no violation. 16 For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, 17 (as it is written, "A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS HAVE I MADE YOU") in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist. 18 In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, "SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE." 19 Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb ; 20 yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. 22 Therefore IT WAS ALSO CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. 23 Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, 24 but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.