Psalm 52–54

Psalm 52

GOD JUDGES THE PROUD

For the choir director. A Maskil of David. When Doeg the Edomite went and reported to Saul, telling him, “David went to Ahimelech’s house.”^l

¹Why boast about evil, you hero!^m

God’s faithful love is constant.ⁿ

²Like a sharpened razor,

your tongue devises destruction,

working treachery.^o

³You love evil instead of good,

lying instead of speaking truthfully.^p

Selah

⁴You love any words that destroy,

you treacherous tongue!^q

⁵This is why God will bring you down forever.

He will take you, ripping you out of your tent;

he will uproot you from the land of the living.^r

Selah

⁶The righteous will see and fear,

and they will derisively say about that hero,^As

⁷“Here is the man

who would not make God his refuge,

but trusted in the abundance of his riches,

taking refuge in his destructive behavior.”^t

⁸But I am like a flourishing olive tree

in the house of God;^u

I trust in God’s faithful love forever and ever.^v

⁹I will praise you forever for what you have done.

In the presence of your faithful people,

I will put my hope in your name, for it is good.^w

Psalm 53

A PORTRAIT OF SINNERS

For the choir director: on Mahalath.^x A Maskil of David.

¹The fool says in his heart, “There’s no God.”

They are corrupt, and they do vile deeds.

There is no one who does good.^y

²God looks down from heaven on the human race^B

to see if there is one who is wise,

one who seeks God.^z

³All have turned away;

all alike have become corrupt.

There is no one who does good,

not even one.^aa

⁴Will evildoers never understand?

They consume my people as they consume bread;^ab

they do not call on God.^ac

⁵Then they will be filled with dread—

dread like no other^ad—

because God will scatter

the bones of those who besiege you.^ae

You will put them to shame,

for God has rejected them.^a

⁶Oh, that Israel’s deliverance would come from Zion!

When God restores the fortunes of his people,^C

let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.^b

Psalm 54

PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE

For the choir director: with stringed instruments. A Maskil of David. When the Ziphites went and said to Saul, “Is David not hiding among us?”^c

¹God, save me by your name,

and vindicate me by your might!^d

²God, hear my prayer;

listen to the words from my mouth.^e

³For strangers rise up against me,

and violent men intend to kill me.

They do not let God guide them.^Af

Selah

⁴God is my helper;

the Lord is the sustainer of my life.^Bg

⁵He will repay my adversaries for their evil.

Because of your faithfulness, annihilate them.^h

⁶I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you.ⁱ

I will praise your name, Lord,

because it is good.^j

⁷For he has rescued me from every trouble,

and my eye has looked down on my enemies.^k