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

1 Please, God, rescue me! Come quickly, LORD, and help me.

2 May those who try to kill me be humiliated and put to shame. May those who take delight in my trouble be turned back in disgrace.

3 Let them be horrified by their shame, for they said, “Aha! We’ve got him now!”

4 But may all who search for you be filled with joy and gladness in you. May those who love your salvation repeatedly shout, “God is great!”

5 But as for me, I am poor and needy; please hurry to my aid, O God. You are my helper and my savior; O LORD, do not delay.

1 O LORD, I have come to you for protection; don’t let me be disgraced.

2 Save me and rescue me, for you do what is right. Turn your ear to listen to me, and set me free.

3 Be my rock of safety where I can always hide. Give the order to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.

4 My God, rescue me from the power of the wicked, from the clutches of cruel oppressors.

5 O Lord, you alone are my hope. I’ve trusted you, O LORD, from childhood.

6 Yes, you have been with me from birth; from my mother’s womb you have cared for me. No wonder I am always praising you!

7 My life is an example to many, because you have been my strength and protection.

8 That is why I can never stop praising you; I declare your glory all day long.

9 And now, in my old age, don’t set me aside. Don’t abandon me when my strength is failing.

10 For my enemies are whispering against me. They are plotting together to kill me.

11 They say, “God has abandoned him. Let’s go and get him, for no one will help him now.”

12 O God, don’t stay away. My God, please hurry to help me.

13 Bring disgrace and destruction on my accusers. Humiliate and shame those who want to harm me.

14 But I will keep on hoping for your help; I will praise you more and more.

15 I will tell everyone about your righteousness. All day long I will proclaim your saving power, though I am not skilled with words.

16 I will praise your mighty deeds, O Sovereign LORD . I will tell everyone that you alone are just.

17 O God, you have taught me from my earliest childhood, and I constantly tell others about the wonderful things you do.

18 Now that I am old and gray, do not abandon me, O God. Let me proclaim your power to this new generation, your mighty miracles to all who come after me.

19 Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the highest heavens. You have done such wonderful things. Who can compare with you, O God?

20 You have allowed me to suffer much hardship, but you will restore me to life again and lift me up from the depths of the earth.

21 You will restore me to even greater honor and comfort me once again.

22 Then I will praise you with music on the harp, because you are faithful to your promises, O my God. I will sing praises to you with a lyre, O Holy One of Israel.

23 I will shout for joy and sing your praises, for you have ransomed me.

24 I will tell about your righteous deeds all day long, for everyone who tried to hurt me has been shamed and humiliated.

22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

23 And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.

24 We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it.

25 But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)

26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.

27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.

28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

30 And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.

31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?

32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?

33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself.

34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?

36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.” )

37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.

39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.