Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked (godless),From the grasp of the unrighteous and ruthless man.

I will set no worthless or wicked thing before my eyes.I hate the practice of those who fall away [from the right path];It will not grasp hold of me.

“I said, ‘I will climb the palm tree;I will grasp its branches.Let your breasts be like clusters of the grapevine,And the fragrance of your breath like apples,

This is the reason I speak to the crowds in parables: because while [having the power of] seeing they do not see, and while [having the power of] hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand and grasp [spiritual things].

In them the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,‘You will hear and keep on hearing, but never understand;And you will look and keep on looking, but never comprehend;

For this nation’s heart has grown hard,And with their ears they hardly hear,And they have [tightly] closed their eyes,Otherwise they would see with their eyes,And hear with their ears,And understand with their heart, and turn [to Me]And I would heal them [spiritually].’

When anyone hears the word of the kingdom [regarding salvation] and does not understand and grasp it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.

After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said, “Listen and understand this:

but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit and His power [by attributing the miracles done by Me to Satan] never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin [a sin which is unforgivable in this present age as well as in the age to come]”—

so that they will continually look but not see, and they will continually hear but not understand, otherwise they might turn [from their rejection of the truth] and be forgiven.”

However, they did not understand this statement. Its meaning was kept hidden from them so that they would not grasp it; and they were afraid to ask Him about it.

“I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear [to hear] them now.

Therefore, since we have been justified [that is, acquitted of sin, declared blameless before God] by faith, [let us grasp the fact that] we have peace with God [and the joy of reconciliation with Him] through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed).

be fully capable of comprehending with all the saints (God’s people) the width and length and height and depth of His love [fully experiencing that amazing, endless love];

Not that I have already obtained it [this goal of being Christlike] or have already been made perfect, but I actively press on so that I may take hold of that [perfection] for which Christ Jesus took hold of me and made me His own.

In this way storing up for themselves the enduring riches of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

Think over the things I am saying [grasp their application], for the Lord will grant you insight and understanding in everything.

so that by two unchangeable things [His promise and His oath] in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled [to Him] for refuge would have strong encouragement and indwelling strength to hold tightly to the hope set before us.