New International Version
14 The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.
15 He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy, with great bolts of lightning he routed them.
16 The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast of breath from his nostrils.
17 "He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters."
18 He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me.
19 They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support.
20 He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.
21 "The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me."
22 For I have kept the ways of the LORD; I am not guilty of turning from my God.
23 All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from his decrees.
24 I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin.
25 The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his sight.
26 "To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless,"
27 To the pure you show yourself pure, but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.
28 You save the humble, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them low.
Amplified Bible
14 The Lord thundered from heaven, and the Most High uttered His voice.
15 He sent out arrows and scattered them; lightning confused and troubled them.
16 The channels of the sea were visible, the foundations of the world were uncovered at the rebuke of the Lord, at the blast of the breath of His nostrils.
17 He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of great waters.
18 He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.
19 They came upon me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my stay.
20 He brought me forth into a large place; He delivered me because He delighted in me.
21 The Lord rewarded me according to my uprightness with Him; He compensated and benefited me according to the cleanness of my hands.
22 For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
23 For all His ordinances were before me; and from His statutes I did not turn aside.
24 I was also blameless before Him and kept myself from guilt and iniquity.
25 Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in His [holy] sight.
26 Toward the loving and loyal You will show Yourself loving and loyal, and with the upright and blameless You will show Yourself upright and blameless.
27 To the pure You will show Yourself pure, and to the willful You will show Yourself willful.
28 And the afflicted people You will deliver, but Your eyes are upon the haughty, whom You will bring down.
King James Version
14 The LORD thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice.
15 And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and discomfited them.
16 And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were discovered, at the rebuking of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.
17 He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters;
18 He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them that hated me: for they were too strong for me.
19 They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay.
20 He brought me forth also into a large place: he delivered me, because he delighted in me.
21 The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness: according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.
22 For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
23 For all his judgments were before me: and as for his statutes, I did not depart from them.
24 I was also upright before him, and have kept myself from mine iniquity.
25 Therefore the LORD hath recompensed me according to my righteousness; according to my cleanness in his eye sight.
26 With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful, and with the upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright.
27 With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself unsavoury.
28 And the afflicted people thou wilt save: but thine eyes are upon the haughty, that thou mayest bring them down.
Becoming a Christian
Would you like to experience forgiveness and new life from the God of the Bible, who calls every person to believe that he sent his son Jesus Christ to make this possible?
The Bible explains why everyone needs to receive forgiveness and is called to serve Jesus Christ. The consistency of the Bible story, which was authored by people living thousands of years apart from diverse cultures and even different languages, is often cited as evidence of divine inspiration. Wikipedia has a list of many Biblical prophesies which have come true.
The story of God's plan to restore his relationship with us can be summarised in eight famous Bible verses below.
- In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:1
- All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 3:23
- God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
- Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
John 14:6
- If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10:9
- For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.
Ephesians 2:8
- But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Acts 1:8
- Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 28:19
The truth in these verses is simple, yet to embrace it means letting go of all our personal hopes and dreams and embracing God's greater purpose for our lives instead, a purpose far above anything we could dream or imagine.
This is the most important decision you will ever make, because it affects not just the rest of your life here on earth, but what comes after as well. Don't put it off until too late. If you died tonight make the decision to spend eternity with your loving Father in Heaven.
If you're wondering what to do next as a new Christian, check out these helpful suggestions from Mary Fairchild on About.com: