1 Protect me, God, for I take refuge in You.
2 I said to Yahweh, “You are my Lord; I have nothing good besides You.”
3 As for the holy people who are in the land, they are the noble ones. All my delight is in them.
4 The sorrows of those who take another god for themselves will multiply; I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood, and I will not speak their names with my lips.
5 Lord, You are my portion and my cup of blessing; You hold my future.
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful
inheritance.
7 I will praise the Lord who counsels me — even at night my conscience instructs me.
8 I keep the Lord in mind always. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my spirit rejoices; my body also rests securely.
10 For You will not abandon me to Sheol; You will not allow Your Faithful One to see decay.
11 You reveal the path of life to me; in Your presence is abundant joy; in Your right hand are
eternal pleasures.
Psalm 16:1-11 (HCSB)
6 I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech.
7 Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them.
8 Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,
9 From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about.
10 They are inclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly.
Psalms 17:6-10 (KJV)
1 My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you,
2 listening closely to wisdom and directing your heart to understanding;
3 furthermore, if you call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding,
4 if you seek it like silver and search for it like hidden treasure,
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7 He stores up success for the upright; He is a shield for those who live with integrity
8 so that He may guard the paths of justice and protect the way of His loyal followers.
Proverbs 2:1-8 (HCSB)
9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.
safety from evil company
10 When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;
11 Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:
12 To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;
13 Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;
14 Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;
15 Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:
16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;
17 Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.
Proverbs 2:9-17 (KJV)
18 for her house sinks down to death and her ways to the land of the departed spirits.
19 None return who go to her; none reach the paths of life.
20 So follow the way of good people, and keep to the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright will inhabit the land, and those of integrity will remain in it;
22 but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous uprooted from it.
Proverbs 2:18-22 (HCSB)
1 Christ has liberated us to be free. Stand firm then and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery.
2 Take note! I, Paul, tell you that if you get yourselves circumcised, Christ will not benefit you at all.
3 Again I testify to every man who gets himself circumcised that he is obligated to keep the entire law.
4 You who are trying to be justified by the law are alienated from Christ; you have fallen from grace.
5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.
6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision accomplishes anything; what matters is faith working through love.
7 You were running well. Who prevented you from obeying the truth?
8 This persuasion did not come from the One who called you.
9 A little yeast leavens the whole lump of dough.
10 I have confidence in the Lord you will not accept any other view. But whoever it is that is confusing you will pay the penalty.
11 Now brothers, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished.
12 I wish those who are disturbing you might also get themselves castrated!
13 For you were called to be free, brothers; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love.
14 For the entire law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself.
15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another.
Galatians 5:1-15 (HCSB)
6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,
8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.
1 Peter 2:6-8 (KJV)