Trust the Lord

1 You rulers of this earth

should love justice;

you should do what is right

and keep the Lord in mind.

2The Lord will answer your prayers,

if you trust and don't doubt.

3Our deceitful thoughts

separate us from God,

and by putting God to the test,

we make fools of ourselves,

4because Wisdom won't live

with deceitful slaves of sin.

5A pure mind and self-control

won't let you be deceitful;

you will reject foolish thoughts

and hate injustice.

Our Words and Thoughts Are Known to God

6Although Wisdom is friendly,

she will still hold you guilty

if you speak evil of God.

Even words spoken in secret

and our most private thoughts

are known to God,

7because the Spirit of the Lord

is everywhere in this world.

His Spirit holds it all together

and hears every word.

8And so liars will be judged

and then punished--

9their evil plans and deeds

will be discovered,

then reported to the Lord,

and they will be sentenced.

10Nothing can escape being heard,

not even a faint grumble.

11So stop all useless complaining

and fault-finding.

Even a faint whisper

can cause a problem,

and lies are deadly.

God Created Us To Live

12Don't invite death

and destruction

by living like a fool.

13 God did not create us for death,

and when we die,

it doesn't make him glad.

14God created all creatures

with life that continues.

All living beings

should keep on living

untouched by deadly poison,

because the Kingdom of Death

doesn't rule this world,

15and justice lives forever.

Evil Thoughts of Evil People

16 The words and deeds

of evil people

are an invitation to death.

They think of death

as friendly and desirable--

they are partners with death,

just as they deserve.