1 But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, Whose fathers I disdained to set with the dogs of my flock.
2 Yea, the strength of their hands, whereto should it profit me? Men in whom ripe age is perished.
3 They are gaunt with want and famine; They gnaw the dry ground, in the gloom of wasteness and desolation.
4 They pluck salt-wort by the bushes; And the roots of the broom are their food.
5 They are driven forth from the midst of men; They cry after them as after a thief;
6 So that they dwell in frightful valleys, In holes of the earth and of the rocks.
7 Among the bushes they bray; Under the nettles they are gathered together.
8 They are children of fools, yea, children of base men; They were scourged out of the land.
9 And now I am become their song, Yea, I am a byword unto them.
10 They abhor me, they stand aloof from me, And spare not to spit in my face.
11 For he hath loosed his cord, and afflicted me; And they have cast off the bridle before me.
12 Upon my right hand rise the rabble; They thrust aside my feet, And they cast up against me their ways of destruction.
13 They mar my path, They set forward my calamity, Even men that have no helper.
14 As through a wide breach they come: In the midst of the ruin they roll themselves upon me.
15 Terrors are turned upon me; They chase mine honor as the wind; And my welfare is passed away as a cloud.
16 And now my soul is poured out within me; Days of affliction have taken hold upon me.
17 In the night season my bones are pierced in me, And the pains that gnaw me take no rest.
18 By God's great force is my garment disfigured; It bindeth me about as the collar of my coat.
19 He hath cast me into the mire, And I am become like dust and ashes.
20 I cry unto thee, and thou dost not answer me: I stand up, and thou gazest at me.
21 Thou art turned to be cruel to me; With the might of thy hand thou persecutest me.
22 Thou liftest me up to the wind, thou causest me to ride upon it; And thou dissolvest me in the storm.
23 For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, And to the house appointed for all living.
24 Howbeit doth not one stretch out the hand in his fall? Or in his calamity therefore cry for help?
25 Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? Was not my soul grieved for the needy?
26 When I looked for good, then evil came; And when I waited for light, there came darkness.
27 My heart is troubled, and resteth not; Days of affliction are come upon me.
28 I go mourning without the sun: I stand up in the assembly, and cry for help.
29 I am a brother to jackals, And a companion to ostriches.
30 My skin is black, and falleth from me, And my bones are burned with heat.
31 Therefore is my harp turned to mourning, And my pipe into the voice of them that weep.
You Must Hear the Gospel
Romans 10:17
You must hear the gospel and then understand and recognize that you are lost without Jesus Christ no matter who you are and no matter what your background is. The Bible tells us that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Before you can be saved, you must understand that you are lost and that the only way to be saved is by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:8) Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6) “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17)
You Must Believe
Hebrews 11:6
You must believe and have faith in God because “without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6) But neither belief alone nor faith alone is sufficient to save. (James 2:19; James 2:24; Matthew 7:21)
You Must Repent
Acts 3:19
You must repent of your sins. (Acts 3:19) But repentance alone is not enough. The so-called “Sinner’s Prayer” that you hear so much about today from denominational preachers does not appear anywhere in the Bible. Indeed, nowhere in the Bible was anyone ever told to pray the “Sinner’s Prayer” to be saved. By contrast, there are numerous examples showing that prayer alone does not save. Saul, for example, prayed following his meeting with Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:11), but Saul was still in his sins when Ananias met him three days later (Acts 22:16). Cornelius prayed to God always, and yet there was something else he needed to do to be saved (Acts 10:2, 6, 33, 48). If prayer alone did not save Saul or Cornelius, prayer alone will not save you. You must obey the gospel. (2 Thess. 1:8)
You Must Confess
Romans 10:9
You must confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. (Romans 10:9-10) Note that you do NOT need to make Jesus “Lord of your life.” Why? Because Jesus is already Lord of your life whether or not you have obeyed his gospel. Indeed, we obey him, not to make him Lord, but because he already is Lord. (Acts 2:36) Also, no one in the Bible was ever told to just “accept Jesus as your personal savior.” We must confess that Jesus is the Son of God, but, as with faith and repentance, confession alone does not save. (Matthew 7:21)
You Must Be Baptized
Acts 2:38
Having believed, repented, and confessed that Jesus is the Son of God, you must be baptized for the remission of your sins. (Acts 2:38) It is at this point (and not before) that your sins are forgiven. (Acts 22:16) It is impossible to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ without teaching the absolute necessity of baptism for salvation. (Acts 8:35-36; Romans 6:3-4; 1 Peter 3:21) Anyone who responds to the question in Acts 2:37 with an answer that contradicts Acts 2:38 is NOT proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ!
You Must Be Faithful Unto Death
Revelation 2:10
Once you are saved, God adds you to his church and writes your name in the Book of Life. (Acts 2:47; Philippians 4:3) To continue in God’s grace, you must continue to serve God faithfully until death. Unless they remain faithful, those who are in God’s grace will fall from grace, and those whose names are in the Book of Life will have their names blotted out of that book. (Revelation 2:10; Revelation 3:5; Galatians 5:4)