From birth I was cast upon You; from my mother's womb You have been my God.

   Deliver my life from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs. Rescue me from the mouth of the lions; save me from the horns of the wild oxen. Yet, You are enthroned as the Holy One; You are the praise of Israel. The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all the inner depths of his heart.

   May those who hope in You not be disgraced because of me, O Lord, the Lord Almighty; May those who seek You not be put to shame because of me, O God of Israel. For I endure scorn for Your sake, and shame covers my face. Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.

   For who could really understand a man's inmost thoughts except the spirit of the man himself? How much less could anyone understand the thoughts of God except the very Spirit of God? We have now received not the spirit of the world but the Spirit of God Himself, so that we can understand something of God's generosity towards us.

   Jesus said: "Now is the time for the judgment of this world to begin, and now will the spirit that rules this world be driven out. As for Me, if I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to Myself."

   God is a just Judge, and God is angry with the wicked every day. If he does not turn back, He will sharpen His sword; He bends His bow and makes it ready. He also prepares for Himself instruments of death; He makes His arrows into fiery shafts.

   The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up. The Lord makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up.

   Those who are led by God's Spirit are God's sons. For the Spirit that God has given you does not make you a slave and cause you to be afraid; instead, the Spirit makes you God's sons, and by the Spirit's power we cry to God, "Father! my Father!" God's Spirit joins Himself to our spirits to declare that we are God's children.

Taken from Ps. 22, Pr. 20, 69, I Cor. 2, Col. 3, Jn. 12, Ps. 7, I Sam. 2, Rom. 8, The New King James, The Phillips Translation, The New International Version and Today's English Version. For free Lifescope book, write to Box 1575, Carlsbad, NM 88221. Please send $1.00 for postage and handling.