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New Believers Bible - Flipbook - Page 147

page
469
P S A L M 10
16
The Lord is known for his justice.
The wicked are trapped by their own
deeds.
Quiet Interlude*
17 The wicked will go down to the grave.*
This is the fate of all the nations who
ignore God.
18 But the needy will not be ignored forever;
the hopes of the poor will not always be
crushed.
19 Arise, O Lord!
Do not let mere mortals defy you!
Judge the nations!
20 Make them tremble in fear, O Lord.
Let the nations know they are merely
human.
Interlude
PSALM
1
10
O Lord, why do you stand so far away?
Why do you hide when I am in trouble?
2 The wicked arrogantly hunt down the poor.
Let them be caught in the evil they plan
for others.
3 For they brag about their evil desires;
they praise the greedy and curse the
Lord.
4 The wicked are too proud to seek God.
They seem to think that God is dead.
5 Yet they succeed in everything they do.
They do not see your punishment
awaiting them.
They sneer at all their enemies.
6 They think, “Nothing bad will ever happen
to us!
We will be free of trouble forever!”
7 Their mouths are full of cursing, lies, and
threats.*
Trouble and evil are on the tips of their
tongues.
8 They lurk in ambush in the villages,
waiting to murder innocent people.
They are always searching for helpless
victims.
9 Like lions crouched in hiding,
they wait to pounce on the helpless.
Like hunters they capture the helpless
and drag them away in nets.
10 Their helpless victims are crushed;
they fall beneath the strength of the
wicked.
11 The wicked think, “God isn’t watching us!
He has closed his eyes and won’t even
see what we do!”
12 Arise, O Lord!
Punish the wicked, O God!
Do not ignore the helpless!
10
first steps
STUDYING THE BIBLE
HELPS US APPLY ITS
TRUTH TO OUR LIVES
Read PSALM 1:1-3
Have you ever eaten your food so quickly that
you could not enjoy or savor its taste? Reading God’s Word quickly is like inhaling your
food. To truly understand the Bible, we need
to slow down, read the passage more than
once, and think about it. As you meditate on
God’s Word, you will know what is right and
true.
While it is excellent to read through the
Bible, to study it, and to memorize it, the
truth of God’s Word must also sink in. You
must apply what you learned to your life. It is
not how you mark your Bible, but how your
Bible marks you. What you meditate on must
affect the way you live.
When you meditate on God’s Word and
apply its truths to your life, you will experience the promise in verse 3. That does not
mean you will be the richest, most successful
person in the world. It means that your work,
life, and attitude will be blessed because you
are living by God’s principles and experiencing
the rewards of obedience to him.
To begin the next topic, turn to p. A38.
13
Why do the wicked get away with
despising God?
They think, “God will never call us to
account.”
14 But you see the trouble and grief they
cause.
You take note of it and punish them.
The helpless put their trust in you.
You defend the orphans.
15
Break the arms of these wicked, evil people!
Go after them until the last one is
destroyed.
16 The Lord is king forever and ever!
The godless nations will vanish from
the land.
17 Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless.
Surely you will hear their cries and
comfort them.
9:16 Hebrew Higgaion Selah. The meaning of this phrase is uncertain. 9:17 Hebrew to Sheol. 10:7 Greek version reads
cursing and bitterness. Compare Rom 3:14.