Psalm 35–36

A Prayer for Help^f

35 Oppose those who oppose me, Lord,

and fight those who fight against me!

²Take your shield and armour

and come to my rescue.

³Lift up your spear and your axe

against those who pursue me.

Promise that you will save me.

⁴May those who try to kill me

be defeated and disgraced!

May those who plot against me

be turned back and confused!

⁵May they be like straw blown by the wind

as the angel of the Lord pursues them!

⁶May their path be dark and slippery

while the angel of the Lord strikes them down!

⁷Without any reason they laid a trap for me

and dug a deep hole to catch me.

⁸But destruction will catch them before they know it;

they will be caught in their own trap

and fall to their destruction!

⁹Then I will be glad because of the Lord;

I will be happy because he saved me.

¹⁰With all my heart I will say to the Lord,

“There is no one like you.

You protect the weak from the strong,

the poor from the oppressor.”

¹¹Evil people testify against me

and accuse me of crimes I know nothing about.

¹²They pay me back evil for good,

and I sink in despair.

¹³But when they were sick, I dressed in mourning;

I deprived myself of food;

I prayed with my head bowed low,

¹⁴as I would pray for a friend or a brother.

I went about bent over in mourning,

as one who mourns for his mother.

¹⁵But when I was in trouble, they were all glad

and gathered round to mock me;

strangers beat me

and kept striking me.

¹⁶Like those who would mock a cripple,^g

they glared at me with hate.

¹⁷How much longer, Lord, will you just look on?

Rescue me from their attacks;

save my life from these lions!

¹⁸Then I will thank you in the assembly of your people;

I will praise you before them all.

^19*Don’t let my enemies, those liars,

gloat over my defeat.

Don’t let those who hate me for no reason

smirk with delight over my sorrow.

²⁰They do not speak in a friendly way;

instead they invent all kinds of lies about peace-loving people.

²¹They accuse me, shouting,

“We saw what you did!”

²²But you, O Lord, have seen this.

So don’t be silent, Lord;

don’t keep yourself far away!

²³Rouse yourself, O Lord, and defend me;

rise up, my God, and plead my cause.

²⁴You are righteous, O Lord, so declare me innocent;

don’t let my enemies gloat over me.

²⁵Don’t let them say to themselves,

“We are rid of him!

That’s just what we wanted!”

²⁶May those who gloat over my suffering

be completely defeated and confused;

may those who claim to be better than I am

be covered with shame and disgrace.

²⁷May those who want to see me acquitted

shout for joy and say again and again,

“How great is the Lord!

He is pleased with the success of his servant.”

²⁸Then I will proclaim your righteousness,

and I will praise you all day long.

The Wickedness of Man^h

36^* Sin speaks to the wicked deep in their hearts;

they reject God and have no reverence for him.

²Because they think so highly of themselves,

they think that God will not discover their sin and condemn it.

³Their speech is wicked and full of lies;

they no longer do what is wise and good.

⁴They make evil plans as they lie in bed;

nothing they do is good,

and they never reject anything evil.

The Goodness of God

⁵Lord, your constant love reaches the heavens;

your faithfulness extends to the skies.

⁶Your righteousness is towering like the mountains;

your justice is like the depths of the sea.

People and animals are in your care.

⁷How precious, O God, is your constant love!

We findⁱ protection under the shadow of your wings.

⁸We feast on the abundant food you provide;

you let us drink from the river of your goodness.

⁹You are the source of all life,

and because of your light we see the light.

¹⁰Continue to love those who know you

and to do good to those who are righteous.

¹¹Do not let proud people attack me

or the wicked make me run away.

¹²See where evil people have fallen.

There they lie, unable to rise.