Psalms 57; Psalms 58; Psalms 59; Romans 4

Psalms 57

1 Have mercy on me, God; have mercy on me because I have taken refuge in you. I take refuge in the shadow of your wings until destruction passes by.

2 I call out to God Most High— to God, who comes through for me.

3 He sends orders from heaven and saves me, rebukes the one who tramples me. Selah God sends his loyal love and faithfulness.

4 My life is in the middle of a pack of lions. I lie down among those who devour humans. Their teeth are spears and arrows; their tongues are sharpened swords.

5 Exalt yourself, God, higher than heaven! Let your glory be over all the earth!

6 They laid a net for my feet to bring me down; they dug a pit for me, but they fell into it instead! Selah

7 My heart is unwavering, God— my heart is unwavering. I will sing and make music.

8 Wake up, my glory! Wake up, harp and lyre! I will wake the dawn itself!

9 I will give thanks to you, my Lord, among all the peoples; I will make music to you among the nations

10 because your faithful love is as high as heaven; your faithfulness reaches the clouds.

11 Exalt yourself, God, higher than heaven! Let your glory be over all the earth!

Psalms 58

1 Do you really speak what is right, you gods? Do you really judge humans fairly?

2 No: in your hearts you plan injustice; your hands do violence on the earth.

3 The wicked backslide from the womb; liars go astray from birth.

4 Their venom is like a snake's venom— like a deaf cobra's—one that shuts its ears

5 so it can't hear the snake charmer's voice or the spells of a skillful enchanter.

6 God, break their teeth out of their mouths! Tear out the lions' jawbones, LORD!

7 Let them dissolve like water flowing away. When they bend the bow, let their arrows be like headless shafts.

8 Like the snail that dissolves into slime, like a woman's stillborn child, let them never see the sun.

9 Before your pots feel the thorns, whether green or burned up, God will sweep them away!

10 But the righteous will rejoice when they see vengeance done, when they wash their feet in the blood of the wicked.

11 Then it will be said: "Yes, there is a reward for the righteous! Yes, there is a God who judges people on the earth."

Psalms 59

1 Oh, my God, deliver me from my enemies; put me out of reach from those who rise up against me.

2 Deliver me from evildoers; save me from the bloodthirsty.

3 Look at how they lie in ambush for my life! Powerful people are attacking me, LORD— but not because of any error or sin of mine.

4 They run and take their stand— but not because of any fault of mine. Get up when I cry out to you! Look at what's happening!

5 You are the LORD God of heavenly forces, the God of Israel! Wake up and punish all the nations! Grant no mercy to any wicked traitor! Selah

6 They come back every evening, growling like dogs, prowling around the city.

7 See what they belch out with their mouths: swords are between their lips! Who can listen to them?

8 But you, LORD, laugh at them. You mock all the nations.

9 I keep looking for you, my strength, because God is my stronghold.

10 My loving God will come to meet me. God will allow me to look down on my enemies.

11 Don't kill them, or my people might forget; instead, by your power shake them up and bring them down, you who are our shield and my Lord.

12 For the sin of their mouths, the words that they speak, let them be captured in their pride. For the curses and lies they repeat,

13 finish them off in anger; finish them off until they are gone! Then let it be known to the ends of the earth that God rules over Jacob. Selah

14 They come back every evening, growling like dogs, prowling around the city.

15 They roam about for food, and if they don't get their fill, they stay all night.

16 But me? I will sing of your strength! In the morning I will shout out loud about your faithful love because you have been my stronghold, my shelter when I was distraught.

17 I will sing praises to you, my strength, because God is my stronghold, my loving God.

Romans 4

1 So what are we going to say? Are we going to find that Abraham is our ancestor on the basis of genealogy?

2 Because if Abraham was made righteous because of his actions, he would have had a reason to brag, but not in front of God.

3 What does the scripture say? Abraham had faith in God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.

4 Workers' salaries aren't credited to them on the basis of an employer's grace but rather on the basis of what they deserve.

5 But faith is credited as righteousness to those who don't work, because they have faith in God who makes the ungodly righteous.

6 In the same way, David also pronounces a blessing on the person to whom God credits righteousness apart from actions:

7 Happy are those whose actions outside the Law are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.

8 Happy are those whose sin isn't counted against them by the Lord.

9 Is this state of happiness only for the circumcised or is it also for those who aren't circumcised? We say, "Faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness."

10 So how was it credited? When he was circumcised, or when he wasn't circumcised? In fact, it was credited while he still wasn't circumcised, not after he was circumcised.

11 He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that comes from the faith he had while he still wasn't circumcised. It happened this way so that Abraham could be the ancestor of all those people who aren't circumcised, who have faith in God, and so are counted as righteous.

12 He could also be the ancestor of those circumcised people, who aren't only circumcised but who also walk in the path of faith, like our ancestor Abraham did while he wasn't circumcised.

13 The promise to Abraham and to his descendants, that he would inherit the world, didn't come through the Law but through the righteousness that comes from faith.

14 If they inherit because of the Law, then faith has no effect and the promise has been canceled.

15 The Law brings about wrath. But when there isn't any law, there isn't any violation of the law.

16 That's why the inheritance comes through faith, so that it will be on the basis of God's grace. In that way, the promise is secure for all of Abraham's descendants, not just for those who are related by Law but also for those who are related by the faith of Abraham, who is the father of all of us.

17 As it is written: I have appointed you to be the father of many nations. So Abraham is our father in the eyes of God in whom he had faith, the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that don't exist into existence.

18 When it was beyond hope, he had faith in the hope that he would become the father of many nations, in keeping with the promise God spoke to him: That's how many descendants you will have.

19 Without losing faith, Abraham, who was nearly 100 years old, took into account his own body, which was as good as dead, and Sarah's womb, which was dead.

20 He didn't hesitate with a lack of faith in God's promise, but he grew strong in faith and gave glory to God.

21 He was fully convinced that God was able to do what he promised.

22 Therefore, it was credited to him as righteousness.

23 But the scripture that says it was credited to him wasn't written only for Abraham's sake.

24 It was written also for our sake, because it is going to be credited to us too. It will be credited to those of us who have faith in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.

25 He was handed over because of our mistakes, and he was raised to meet the requirements of righteousness for us.