Old/New Testament
60 Written by David at the time he was at war with Syria, with the outcome still uncertain; this was when Joab, captain of his forces, slaughtered twelve thousand men of Edom in Salt Valley.
O God, you have rejected us and broken our defenses; you have become angry and deserted us. Lord, restore us again to your favor. 2 You have caused this nation to tremble in fear; you have torn it apart. Lord, heal it now, for it is shaken to its depths. 3 You have been very hard on us and made us reel beneath your blows.
4-5 But you have given us a banner to rally to; all who love truth will rally to it;[a] then you can deliver your beloved people. Use your strong right arm to rescue us. 6-7 God has promised to help us. He has vowed it by his holiness! No wonder I exult! “Shechem, Succoth, Gilead, Manasseh—still are mine!” he says. “Judah shall continue to produce kings, and Ephraim great warriors. 8 Moab shall become my lowly servant, and Edom my slave. And I will shout in triumph over the Philistines.”
9-10 Who will bring me in triumph into Edom’s strong cities? God will! He who cast us off! He who abandoned us to our foes! 11 Yes, Lord, help us against our enemies, for man’s help is useless.
12 With God’s help we shall do mighty things, for he will trample down our foes.
61 O God, listen to me! Hear my prayer! 2 For wherever I am, though far away at the ends of the earth, I will cry to you for help. When my heart is faint and overwhelmed, lead me to the mighty, towering Rock of safety. 3 For you are my refuge, a high tower where my enemies can never reach me. 4 I shall live forever in your tabernacle; oh, to be safe beneath the shelter of your wings! 5 For you have heard my vows, O God, to praise[b] you every day, and you have given me the blessings you reserve for those who reverence your name.
6 You will give me[c] added years of life, as rich and full as those of many generations, all packed into one. 7 And I shall live before the Lord forever. Oh, send your loving-kindness and truth to guard and watch over me, 8 and I will praise your name continually, fulfilling my vow of praising you each day.
62 I stand silently before the Lord, waiting for him to rescue me. For salvation comes from him alone. 2 Yes, he alone is my Rock, my rescuer, defense and fortress. Why then should I be tense with fear when troubles come?
3-4 But what is this? They pick on me at a time when my throne[d] is tottering; they plot my death and use lies and deceit to try to force me from the throne. They are so friendly to my face while cursing in their hearts!
5 But I stand silently before the Lord, waiting for him to rescue me. For salvation comes from him alone. 6 Yes, he alone is my Rock, my rescuer, defense, and fortress—why then should I be tense with fear when troubles come?
7 My protection and success[e] come from God alone. He is my refuge, a Rock where no enemy can reach me. 8 O my people, trust him all the time. Pour out your longings before him, for he can help! 9 The greatest of men or the lowest—both alike are nothing in his sight. They weigh less than air on scales.
10 Don’t become rich by extortion and robbery; if your riches increase, don’t be proud. 11-12 God has said it many times, that power belongs to him (and also, O Lord, steadfast love belongs to you). He rewards each one of us according to what our works deserve.
5 So now, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith in his promises, we can have real peace with him because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 For because of our faith, he has brought us into this place of highest privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to actually becoming all that God has had in mind for us to be.
3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us—they help us learn to be patient. 4 And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady. 5 Then, when that happens, we are able to hold our heads high no matter what happens and know that all is well, for we know how dearly God loves us, and we feel this warm love everywhere within us because God has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
6 When we were utterly helpless, with no way of escape, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners who had no use for him. 7 Even if we were good, we really wouldn’t expect anyone to die for us, though, of course, that might be barely possible. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 9 And since by his blood he did all this for us as sinners, how much more will he do for us now that he has declared us not guilty? Now he will save us from all of God’s wrath to come. 10 And since, when we were his enemies, we were brought back to God by the death of his Son, what blessings he must have for us now that we are his friends and he is living within us!
11 Now we rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God—all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done in dying for our sins—making us friends of God.
12 When Adam sinned, sin entered the entire human race. His sin spread death throughout all the world, so everything began to grow old and die,[a] for all sinned. 13 We know that it was Adam’s sin that caused this[b] because although, of course, people were sinning from the time of Adam until Moses, God did not in those days judge them guilty of death for breaking his laws—because he had not yet given his laws to them nor told them what he wanted them to do. 14 So when their bodies died it was not for their own sins[c] since they themselves had never disobeyed God’s special law against eating the forbidden fruit, as Adam had.
What a contrast between Adam and Christ who was yet to come! 15 And what a difference between man’s sin and God’s forgiveness!
For this one man, Adam, brought death to many through his sin. But this one man, Jesus Christ, brought forgiveness to many through God’s mercy. 16 Adam’s one sin brought the penalty of death to many, while Christ freely takes away many sins and gives glorious life instead. 17 The sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to be king over all, but all who will take God’s gift of forgiveness and acquittal are kings of life[d] because of this one man, Jesus Christ. 18 Yes, Adam’s sin brought punishment to all, but Christ’s righteousness makes men right with God, so that they can live. 19 Adam caused many to be sinners because he disobeyed God, and Christ caused many to be made acceptable to God because he obeyed.
20 The Ten Commandments were given so that all could see the extent of their failure to obey God’s laws. But the more we see our sinfulness, the more we see God’s abounding grace forgiving us. 21 Before, sin ruled over all men and brought them to death, but now God’s kindness rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.