Psalms 70; Psalms 71; Romans 8:22-39

1 Save me, O God! Lord, help me now!

2 May those who try to kill me be defeated and confused. May those who are happy because of my troubles be turned back and disgraced.

3 May those who make fun of me be dismayed by their defeat.

4 May all who come to you be glad and joyful. May all who are thankful for your salvation always say, "How great is God!"

5 I am weak and poor; come to me quickly, O God. You are my savior and my Lord - hurry to my aid!

1 Lord, I have come to you for protection; never let me be defeated!

2 Because you are righteous, help me and rescue me. Listen to me and save me!

3 Be my secure shelter and a strong fortress to protect me; you are my refuge and defense.

4 My God, rescue me from wicked people, from the power of cruel and evil people.

5 Sovereign Lord, I put my hope in you; I have trusted in you since I was young.

6 I have relied on you all my life; you have protected me since the day I was born. I will always praise you.

7 My life has been an example to many, because you have been my strong defender.

8 All day long I praise you and proclaim your glory.

9 Do not reject me now that I am old; do not abandon me now that I am feeble.

10 My enemies want to kill me; they talk and plot against me.

11 They say, "God has abandoned him; let's go after him and catch him; there is no one to rescue him."

12 Don't stay so far away, O God; my God, hurry to my aid!

13 May those who attack me be defeated and destroyed. May those who try to hurt me be shamed and disgraced.

14 I will always put my hope in you; I will praise you more and more.

15 I will tell of your goodness; all day long I will speak of your salvation, though it is more than I can understand.

16 I will go in the strength of the Lord God; I will proclaim your goodness, yours alone.

17 You have taught me ever since I was young, and I still tell of your wonderful acts.

18 Now that I am old and my hair is gray, do not abandon me, O God! Be with me while I proclaim your power and might to all generations to come.

19 Your righteousness, God, reaches the skies. You have done great things; there is no one like you.

20 You have sent troubles and suffering on me, but you will restore my strength; you will keep me from the grave.

21 You will make me greater than ever; you will comfort me again.

22 I will indeed praise you with the harp; I will praise your faithfulness, my God. On my harp I will play hymns to you, the Holy One of Israel.

23 I will shout for joy as I play for you; with my whole being I will sing because you have saved me.

24 I will speak of your righteousness all day long, because those who tried to harm me have been defeated and disgraced.

22 For we know that up to the present time all of creation groans with pain, like the pain of childbirth.

23 But it is not just creation alone which groans; we who have the Spirit as the first of God's gifts also groan within ourselves as we wait for God to make us his children and set our whole being free.

24 For it was by hope that we were saved; but if we see what we hope for, then it is not really hope. For who of us hopes for something we see?

25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

26 In the same way the Spirit also comes to help us, weak as we are. For we do not know how we ought to pray; the Spirit himself pleads with God for us in groans that words cannot express.

27 And God, who sees into our hearts, knows what the thought of the Spirit is; because the Spirit pleads with God on behalf of his people and in accordance with his will.

28 We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose.

29 Those whom God had already chosen he also set apart to become like his Son, so that the Son would be the first among many believers.

30 And so those whom God set apart, he called; and those he called, he put right with himself, and he shared his glory with them.

31 In view of all this, what can we say? If God is for us, who can be against us?

32 Certainly not God, who did not even keep back his own Son, but offered him for us all! He gave us his Son - will he not also freely give us all things?

33 Who will accuse God's chosen people? God himself declares them not guilty!

34 Who, then, will condemn them? Not Christ Jesus, who died, or rather, who was raised to life and is at the right side of God, pleading with him for us!

35 Who, then, can separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble do it, or hardship or persecution or hunger or poverty or danger or death?

36 As the scripture says, "For your sake we are in danger of death at all times; we are treated like sheep that are going to be slaughtered."

37 No, in all these things we have complete victory through him who loved us!

38 For I am certain that nothing can separate us from his love: neither death nor life, neither angels nor other heavenly rulers or powers, neither the present nor the future,

39 neither the world above nor the world below - there is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord.