Psalm 9:18–22:31
18 For the aneedy will not always be forgotten,
Nor the bhope of the afflicted perish forever.
19 aArise, O Lord, do not let man prevail;
Let the nations be bjudged before You.
20 Put them ain fear, O Lord;
Let the nations know that they are bbut men.
Selah.
A Prayer for the Overthrow of the Wicked.
1 Why ado You stand afar off, O Lord?
Why bdo You hide 1Yourself in times of trouble?
2 In apride the wicked 1hotly pursue the afflicted;
2Let them be bcaught in the plots which they have devised.
3 For the wicked aboasts of his bheart’s desire,
And 1the greedy man curses and cspurns the Lord.
4 The wicked, in the haughtiness of his countenance, adoes not seek Him.
All his 1thoughts are, “bThere is no God.”
5 His ways 1aprosper at all times;
Your judgments are on high, bout of his sight;
As for all his adversaries, he snorts at them.
6 He says to himself, “aI will not be moved;
1Throughout all generations bI will not be in adversity.”
7 His amouth is full of curses and deceit and boppression;
cUnder his tongue is mischief and wickedness.
8 He sits in the alurking places of the villages;
In the hiding places he bkills the innocent;
His eyes 1stealthily watch for the 2cunfortunate.
9 He lurks in a hiding place as aa lion in his 1lair;
He blurks to catch cthe afflicted;
He catches the afflicted when he draws him into his dnet.
10 He 1crouches, he 2bows down,
And the 3unfortunate fall 4by his mighty ones.
11 He asays to himself, “God has forgotten;
He has hidden His face; He will never see it.”
12 Arise, O Lord; O God, alift up Your hand.
bDo not forget the afflicted.
13 Why has the wicked aspurned God?
He has said to himself, “You will not require it.”
14 You have seen it, for You have beheld amischief and vexation to 1take it into Your hand.
The 2bunfortunate commits himself to You;
You have been the chelper of the orphan.
15 aBreak the arm of the wicked and the evildoer,
1bSeek out his wickedness until You find none.
16 The Lord is aKing forever and ever;
bNations have perished from His land.
17 O Lord, You have heard the adesire of the 1humble;
You will bstrengthen their heart, cYou will incline Your ear
18 To 1vindicate the aorphan and the boppressed,
So that man who is of the earth will no longer cause cterror.
The Lord a Refuge and Defense.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
1 In the Lord I atake refuge;
How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your bmountain;
2 For, behold, the wicked abend the bow,
They 1bmake ready their arrow upon the string
To cshoot in darkness at the upright in heart.
3 If the afoundations are destroyed,
What can the righteous do?”
4 The Lord is in His aholy temple; the 1Lord’s bthrone is in heaven;
His ceyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.
5 The Lord atests the righteous and bthe wicked,
And the one who loves violence His soul hates.
6 Upon the wicked He will arain 1snares;
bFire and brimstone and cburning wind will be the portion of dtheir cup.
7 For the Lord is arighteous, bHe loves 1righteousness;
The upright will cbehold His face.
God, a Helper against the Treacherous.
For the choir director; †upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David.
1 Help, Lord, for athe godly man ceases to be,
For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.
2 They aspeak 1falsehood to one another;
With bflattering 2lips and with a double heart they speak.
3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
The tongue that aspeaks great things;
4 Who ahave said, “With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are 1our own; who is lord over us?”
5 “Because of the adevastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy,
Now bI will arise,” says the Lord; “I will cset him in the safety for which he longs.”
6 The awords of the Lord are pure words;
As silver btried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times.
7 You, O Lord, will keep them;
You will apreserve him from this generation forever.
8 The awicked strut about on every side
When 1bvileness is exalted among the sons of men.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
1 How long, O Lord? Will You aforget me forever?
How long bwill You hide Your face from me?
2 How long shall I atake counsel in my soul,
Having bsorrow in my heart all the day?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?
3 aConsider and answer me, O Lord my God;
bEnlighten my eyes, or I will csleep the sleep of death,
4 And my enemy will asay, “I have overcome him,”
And bmy adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.
5 But I have atrusted in Your lovingkindness;
My heart shall brejoice in Your salvation.
6 I will asing to the Lord,
Because He has bdealt bountifully with me.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
1 The fool has asaid in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they have committed abominable 1deeds;
There is bno one who does good.
2 The Lord has alooked down from heaven upon the sons of men
To see if there are any who 1bunderstand,
Who cseek after God.
3 They have all aturned aside, together they have become corrupt;
There is bno one who does good, not even one.
4 Do all the workers of wickedness anot know,
Who beat up my people as they eat bread,
And cdo not call upon the Lord?
5 There they are in great dread,
For God is with the arighteous generation.
6 You would put to shame the counsel of the afflicted,
But the Lord is his arefuge.
7 Oh, that athe salvation of Israel 1would come out of Zion!
When the Lord 2brestores His captive people,
Jacob will rejoice, Israel will be glad.
Description of a Citizen of Zion.
A Psalm of David.
1 O Lord, who may 1abide ain Your tent?
Who may dwell on Your bholy hill?
2 He who awalks with integrity, and works righteousness,
And bspeaks truth in his heart.
3 He adoes not slander 1with his tongue,
Nor bdoes evil to his neighbor,
Nor ctakes up a reproach against his friend;
4 In 1whose eyes a reprobate is despised,
But 2who ahonors those who fear the Lord;
He bswears to his own hurt and does not change;
5 He adoes not put out his money 1at interest,
Nor bdoes he take a bribe against the innocent.
cHe who does these things will never be shaken.
The Lord the Psalmist’s Portion in Life and Deliverer in Death.
A †Mikhtam of David.
1 aPreserve me, O God, for bI take refuge in You.
2 1I said to the Lord, “You are 2my Lord;
I ahave no good besides You.”
3 As for the 1asaints who are in the earth,
2They are the majestic ones bin whom is all my delight.
4 The 1asorrows of those who have 2bartered for another god will be multiplied;
I shall not pour out their drink offerings of bblood,
Nor will I ctake their names upon my lips.
5 The Lord is the aportion of my inheritance and my bcup;
You support my clot.
6 The alines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Indeed, my heritage is bbeautiful to me.
7 I will bless the Lord who has acounseled me;
Indeed, my 1bmind instructs me in the night.
8 aI have bset the Lord continually before me;
Because He is cat my right hand, dI will not be shaken.
9 Therefore amy heart is glad and bmy glory rejoices;
My flesh also will cdwell securely.
10 For You awill not abandon my soul to 1Sheol;
Nor will You 2ballow Your 3Holy One to 4undergo decay.
11 You will make known to me athe path of life;
In bYour presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are cpleasures forever.
Prayer for Protection against Oppressors.
A Prayer of David.
1 Hear a ajust cause, O Lord, bgive heed to my cry;
cGive ear to my prayer, which is not from ddeceitful lips.
2 Let amy 1judgment come forth from Your presence;
Let Your eyes look with bequity.
3 You have atried my heart;
You have visited me by night;
You have btested me and cYou find 1nothing;
I have dpurposed that my mouth will not transgress.
4 As for the deeds of men, aby the word of Your lips
I have kept from the bpaths of the violent.
5 My asteps have held fast to Your 1paths.
My bfeet have not slipped.
6 I have acalled upon You, for You will answer me, O God;
bIncline Your ear to me, hear my speech.
7 aWondrously show Your lovingkindness,
O bSavior of those who take refuge 1at Your right hand
From those who rise up against them.
8 Keep me as 1the aapple of the eye;
Hide me bin the shadow of Your wings
9 From the awicked who despoil me,
My bdeadly enemies who surround me.
10 They have aclosed their 1unfeeling heart,
With their mouth they bspeak proudly.
11 They have now asurrounded us in our steps;
They set their eyes bto cast us down to the ground.
12 He is alike a lion that is eager to tear,
And as a young lion blurking in hiding places.
13 aArise, O Lord, confront him, bbring him low;
cDeliver my soul from the wicked with dYour sword,
14 From men with aYour hand, O Lord,
From men 1of the world, bwhose portion is in this life,
And whose belly You cfill with Your treasure;
They are satisfied with children,
And leave their abundance to their babes.
15 As for me, I shall abehold Your face in righteousness;
bI will be satisfied 1with Your clikeness when I awake.
The Lord Praised for Giving Deliverance.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord, †who spoke to the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said,
1 “I love You, O Lord, amy strength.”
2 The Lord is amy 1rock and bmy fortress and my cdeliverer,
My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
My dshield and the ehorn of my salvation, my fstronghold.
3 I call upon the Lord, who is aworthy to be praised,
And I am bsaved from my enemies.
4 The acords of death encompassed me,
And the btorrents of 1ungodliness 2terrified me.
5 The acords of 1Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
6 In my adistress I called upon the Lord,
And cried to my God for help;
He heard my voice bout of His temple,
And my ccry for help before Him came into His ears.
7 Then the aearth shook and quaked;
And the bfoundations of the mountains were trembling
And were shaken, because He was angry.
8 Smoke went up 1out of His nostrils,
And afire from His mouth devoured;
Coals …