Psalms 57; Psalms 58; Psalms 59; Romans 4

Psalms 57

1 Be gracious to me, God, be gracious to me, for I take refuge in You. I will seek refuge in the shadow of Your wings until danger passes.

2 I call to God Most High, to God who fulfills [His purpose] for me.

3 He reaches down from heaven and saves me, challenging the one who tramples me. Selah God sends His faithful love and truth.

4 I am in the midst of lions; I lie down with those who devour men. Their teeth are spears and arrows; their tongues are sharp swords.

5 God, be exalted above the heavens; let Your glory be above the whole earth.

6 They prepared a net for my steps; I was downcast. They dug a pit ahead of me, but they fell into it! Selah

7 My heart is confident, God, my heart is confident. I will sing; I will sing praises.

8 Wake up, my soul! Wake up, harp and lyre! I will wake up the dawn.

9 I will praise You, Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to You among the nations.

10 For Your faithful love is as high as the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

11 God, be exalted above the heavens; let Your glory be over the whole earth.

Psalms 58

1 Do you really speak righteously, you mighty ones? Do you judge people fairly?

2 No, you practice injustice in your hearts; with your hands you weigh out violence in the land.

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

4 They have venom like the venom of a snake, like the deaf cobra that stops up its ears,

5 that does not listen to the sound of the charmers who skillfully weave spells.

6 God, knock the teeth out of their mouths; Lord, tear out the young lions' fangs.

7 They will vanish like water that flows by; they will aim their useless arrows.

8 Like a slug that moves along in slime, like a woman's miscarried [child], they will not see the sun.

9 Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns- whether green or burning- He will sweep them away.

10 The righteous will rejoice when he sees the retribution; he will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.

11 Then people will say, "Yes, there is a reward for the righteous! There is a God who judges on earth!"

Psalms 59

1 Deliver me from my enemies, my God; protect me from those who rise up against me.

2 Deliver me from those who practice sin, and save me from men of bloodshed.

3 Lord, look! They set an ambush for me. Powerful men attack me, but not because of any sin or rebellion of mine.

4 For no fault of mine, they run and take up a position. Awake to help me, and take notice.

5 You, Lord God of Hosts, God of Israel, rise up to punish all the nations; do not show grace to any wicked traitors. Selah

6 They return at evening, snarling like dogs and prowling around the city.

7 Look, they spew from their mouths- sharp words from their lips. "For who," [they say,] "will hear?"

8 But You laugh at them, Lord; You ridicule all the nations.

9 I will keep watch for You, my strength, because God is my stronghold.

10 My faithful God will come to meet me; God will let me look down on my adversaries.

11 Do not kill them; otherwise, my people will forget. By Your power, make them homeless wanderers and bring them down, Lord, our shield.

12 The sin of their mouths is the word of their lips, so let them be caught in their pride. They utter curses and lies.

13 Consume [them] in rage; consume [them] until they are gone. Then they will know to the ends of the earth that God rules over Jacob. Selah

14 And they return at evening, snarling like dogs and prowling around the city.

15 They scavenge for food; they growl if they are not satisfied.

16 But I will sing of Your strength and will joyfully proclaim Your faithful love in the morning. For You have been a stronghold for me, a refuge in my day of trouble.

17 To You, my strength, I sing praises, because God is my stronghold- my faithful God.

Romans 4

1 What then can we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found?

2 If Abraham was justified by works, then he has something to brag about-but not before God.

3 For what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness.

4 Now to the one who works, pay is not considered as a gift, but as something owed.

5 But to the one who does not work, but believes on Him who declares righteous the ungodly, his faith is credited for righteousness.

6 Likewise, David also speaks of the blessing of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

7 How happy those whose lawless acts are forgiven and whose sins are covered!

8 How happy the man whom the Lord will never charge with sin!

9 Is this blessing only for the circumcised, then? Or is it also for the uncircumcised? For we say, Faith was credited to Abraham for righteousness.

10 How then was it credited-while he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while he was circumcised, but uncircumcised.

11 And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while still uncircumcised. This was to make him the father of all who believe but are not circumcised, so that righteousness may be credited to them also.

12 And he became the father of the circumcised, not only to those who are circumcised, but also to those who follow in the footsteps of the faith our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised.

13 For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would inherit the world was not through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.

14 If those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made empty and the promise is canceled.

15 For the law produces wrath; but where there is no law, there is no transgression.

16 This is why the promise is by faith, so that it may be according to grace, to guarantee it to all the descendants-not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of Abraham's faith. He is the father of us all

17 in God's sight. As it is written: I have made you the father of many nations. He believed in God, who gives life to the dead and calls things into existence that do not exist.

18 Against hope, with hope he believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what had been spoken: So will your descendants be.

19 He considered his own body to be already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb, without weakening in the faith.

20 He did not waver in unbelief at God's promise, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God,

21 because he was fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.

22 Therefore, it was credited to him for righteousness.

23 Now it was credited to him was not written for Abraham alone,

24 but also for us. It will be credited to us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.

25 He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.