Psalms 54; Psalms 55; Psalms 56; Romans 3

1 God! Save me by your name; defend me by your might!

2 God! Hear my prayer; listen to the words of my mouth!

3 The proud have come up against me; violent people want me dead. They pay no attention to God. Selah

4 But look here: God is my helper; my Lord sustains my life.

5 He will bring disaster on my opponents. By your faithfulness, God, destroy them!

6 I will sacrifice to you freely; I will give thanks to your name, LORD, because it's so good,

7 and because God has delivered me from every distress. My eyes have seen my enemies' defeat.

1 God, listen to my prayer; don't avoid my request!

2 Pay attention! Answer me! I can't sit still while complaining. I'm beside myself

3 over the enemy's noise, at the wicked person's racket, because they bring disaster on me and harass me furiously.

4 My heart pounds in my chest because death's terrors have reached me.

5 Fear and trembling have come upon me; I'm shaking all over.

6 I say to myself, I wish I had wings like a dove! I'd fly away and rest.

7 I'd run so far away! I'd live in the desert. Selah far from the rushing wind and storm.

8 I'd hurry to my hideout,

9 Baffle them, my Lord! Confuse their language because I see violence and conflict in the city.

10 Day and night they make their rounds on its walls, and evil and misery live inside it.

11 Disaster lives inside it; oppression and fraud never leave the town square.

12 It's not an enemy that is insulting me— I could handle that. It's not someone who hates me who is exalted over me— I could hide from them.

13 No. It's you, my equal, my close companion, my good friend!

14 It was so pleasant when together we entered God's house with the crowd.

15 Let death devastate my enemies; let them go to the grave alive because evil lives with them— even inside them!

16 But I call out to God, and the LORD will rescue me.

17 At evening, morning, and midday I complain and moan so that God will hear my voice.

18 He saves me, unharmed, from my struggle, though there are many who are out to get me.

19 God, who is enthroned from ancient days, will hear and humble them Selah because they don't change and they don't worship God.

20 My friend attacked his allies, breaking his covenant.

21 Though his talk is smoother than butter, war is in his heart; though his words are more silky than oil, they are really drawn swords:

22 "Cast your burden on the LORD— he will support you! God will never let the righteous be shaken!"

23 But you, God, bring the wicked down to the deepest pit. Let bloodthirsty and treacherous people not live out even half their days. But me? I trust in you!

1 God, have mercy on me because I'm being trampled. All day long the enemy oppresses me.

2 My attackers trample me all day long because I have so many enemies. Exalted one,

3 whenever I'm afraid, I put my trust in you—

4 in God, whose word I praise. I trust in God; I won't be afraid. What can mere flesh do to me?

5 All day long they frustrate my pursuits; all their thoughts are evil against me.

6 They get together and set an ambush— they are watching my steps, hoping for my death.

7 Don't rescue them for any reason! In wrath bring down the people, God!

8 You yourself have kept track of my misery. Put my tears into your bottle— aren't they on your scroll already?

9 Then my enemies will retreat when I cry out. I know this because God is mine.

10 God: whose word I praise. The LORD: whose word I praise.

11 I trust in God; I won't be afraid. What can anyone do to me?

12 I will fulfill my promises to you, God. I will present thanksgiving offerings to you

13 because you have saved my life from death, saved my feet from stumbling so that I can walk before God in the light of life.

1 So what's the advantage of being a Jew? Or what's the benefit of circumcision?

2 Plenty in every way. First of all, the Jews were trusted with God's revelations.

3 What does it matter, then, if some weren't faithful? Their lack of faith won't cancel God's faithfulness, will it?

4 Absolutely not! God must be true, even if every human being is a liar, as it is written: So that it can show that you are right in your words; and you will triumph when you are judged.

5 But if our lack of righteousness confirms God's justice, what will we say? That God, who brings wrath upon us, isn't just (I'm speaking rhetorically)?

6 Absolutely not! If God weren't just, how could he judge the world?

7 But if God's truth is demonstrated by my lie and it increases his glory, why am I still judged as a sinner?

8 Why not say, "Let's do evil things so that good things will come out of it"? (Some people who slander us accuse us of saying that, but these people deserve criticism.)

9 So what are we saying? Are we better off? Not at all. We have already stated the charge: both Jews and Greeks are all under the power of sin.

10 As it is written, There is no righteous person, not even one.

11 There is no one who understands. There is no one who looks for God.

12 They all turned away. They have become worthless together. There is no one who shows kindness. There is not even one.

13 Their throat is a grave that has been opened. They are deceitful with their tongues, and the poison of vipers is under their lips.

14 Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.

15 Their feet are quick to shed blood;

16 destruction and misery are in their ways;

17 and they don't know the way of peace.

18 There is no fear of God in their view of the world.

19 Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, in order to shut every mouth and make it so the whole world has to answer to God.

20 It follows that no human being will be treated as righteous in his presence by doing what the Law says, because the knowledge of sin comes through the Law.

21 But now God's righteousness has been revealed apart from the Law, which is confirmed by the Law and the Prophets.

22 God's righteousness comes through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who have faith in him. There's no distinction.

23 All have sinned and fall short of God's glory,

24 but all are treated as righteous freely by his grace because of a ransom that was paid by Christ Jesus.

25 Through his faithfulness, God displayed Jesus as the place of sacrifice where mercy is found by means of his blood. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness in passing over sins that happened before,

26 during the time of God's patient tolerance. He also did this to demonstrate that he is righteous in the present time, and to treat the one who has faith in Jesus as righteous.

27 What happens to our bragging? It's thrown out. With which law? With what we have accomplished under the Law?

28 No, not at all, but through the law of faith. We consider that a person is treated as righteous by faith, apart from what is accomplished under the Law.

29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Isn't God the God of Gentiles also? Yes, God is also the God of Gentiles.

30 Since God is one, then the one who makes the circumcised righteous by faith will also make the one who isn't circumcised righteous through faith.

31 Do we then cancel the Law through this faith? Absolutely not! Instead, we confirm the Law.