Psalm 51–55

Psalm 51

A Prayer for Restoration

For the choir director. A Davidic psalm, when Nathan the prophet came to him after he had gone to Bathsheba. ^l

¹Be gracious to me, God,

according to Your faithful love;

according to Your abundant compassion,

blot out my rebellion. ^m

²Wash away my guilt

and cleanse me from my sin. ⁿ

³For I am conscious of my rebellion,

and my sin is always before me. ^o

⁴Against You—You alone—I have sinned

and done this evil in Your sight. ^p

So You are right when You pass sentence;

You are blameless when You judge. ^q

⁵Indeed, I was guilty when I was born;

I was sinful when my mother conceived me. ^r

⁶Surely You desire integrity in the inner self,

and You teach me wisdom deep within. ^s

⁷Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean;

wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. ^t

⁸Let me hear joy and gladness;

let the bones You have crushed rejoice. ^u

⁹Turn Your face away ^vfrom my sins

and blot out all my guilt. ^w

¹⁰God, create a clean heart for me

and renew a steadfast ^xspirit within me. ^y

¹¹Do not banish me from Your presence

or take Your Holy Spirit from me. ^z

¹²Restore the joy of Your salvation to me,

and give me a willing spirit. ^ab

¹³Then I will teach the rebellious Your ways,

and sinners will return to You. ^c

¹⁴Save me from the guilt of bloodshed, God, ^d

the God of my salvation,

and my tongue will sing of Your righteousness. ^e

¹⁵Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will declare Your praise. ^f

¹⁶You do not want a sacrifice, or I would give it;

You are not pleased with a burnt offering. ^g

¹⁷The sacrifice pleasing to God is ^ha broken spirit.

God, You will not despise a broken and humbled heart. ⁱ

¹⁸In Your good pleasure, cause Zion to prosper;

build ^jthe walls of Jerusalem. ^k

¹⁹Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices,

whole burnt offerings;

then bulls will be offered on Your altar. ^l

Psalm 52

God Judges the Proud

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

¹Why brag about evil, you hero! ⁿ

God’s faithful love is constant. ^o

²Like a sharpened razor,

your tongue devises destruction,

working treachery. ^p

³You love evil instead of good,

lying instead of speaking truthfully. ^qSelah

⁴You love any words that destroy,

you treacherous tongue! ^r

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. ^sSelah

⁶The righteous will look on with awe

and will ridicule him: ^t

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.” ^uv

⁸But I am like a flourishing olive tree

in the house of God; ^w

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

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. ^y

Psalm 53

A Portrait of Sinners

For the choir director: on Mahalath. ^zaA Davidic Maskil.

¹The fool says in his heart, “God does not exist.”

They are corrupt, and they do vile deeds.

There is no one who does good. ^b

²God looks down from heaven on the human race

to see if there is one who is wise,

one who seeks God. ^c

³All have turned away;

all alike have become corrupt.

There is no one who does good,

not even one. ^d

⁴Will evildoers never understand?

They consume My people as they consume bread; ^e

they do not call on God. ^f

⁵Then they will be filled with terror—

terror like no other ^g—

because God will scatter

the bones of those who besiege you. ^h

You will put them to shame,

for God has rejected them. ⁱ

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

When God restores the fortunes of His people, ^j

Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad. ^k

Psalm 54

Prayer for Deliverance

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

¹God, save me by Your name,

and vindicate me by Your might! ^m

²God, hear my prayer;

listen to the words of my mouth. ⁿ

³For strangers rise up against me,

and violent men seek my life.

They have no regard for God. ^opSelah

⁴God is my helper;

the Lord is the sustainer of my life. ^qr

⁵He will repay my adversaries for their evil.

Because of Your faithfulness, annihilate them. ^s

⁶I will sacrifice a freewill offering to You. ^t

I will praise Your name, Yahweh,

because it is good. ^u

⁷For He has delivered me from every trouble,

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

Psalm 55

Betrayal by a Friend

For the choir director: with stringed instruments. A Davidic Maskil.

¹God, listen to my prayer

and do not ignore ^wmy plea for help. ^x

²Pay attention to me and answer me. ^y

I am restless and in turmoil with my complaint, ^z

³because of the enemy’s voice,

because of the pressure ^aof the wicked.

For they bring down disaster on me ^b

and harass me in anger. ^c

⁴My heart shudders within me; ^d

terrors of death sweep over me.

⁵Fear and trembling grip me;

horror has overwhelmed me. ^e

⁶I said, “If only I had ^fwings like a dove!

I would fly away and find rest. ^g

⁷How far away I would flee;

I would stay in the wilderness. ^hSelah

⁸I would hurry to my shelter

from the raging wind and the storm.” ⁱ

⁹Lord, confuse ^jand confound their speech, ^kl

for I see violence and strife in the city;

¹⁰day and night they make the rounds on its walls.

Crime and trouble are within it; ^m

¹¹destruction is inside it;

oppression and deceit never leave its marketplace. ⁿ

¹²Now it is not an enemy who insults me—

otherwise I could bear it;

it is not a foe who rises up against me—

otherwise I could hide from him.

¹³But it is you, a man who is my peer,

my companion and good friend! ^o

¹⁴We used to have close fellowship;

we walked with the crowd into the house of God. ^p

¹⁵Let death take them by surprise; ^q

let them go down to Sheol alive,

because evil is in their homes and within them. ^r

¹⁶But I call to God,

and the Lord will save me. ^s

¹⁷I complain and groan morning, noon, and night, ^t

and He hears my voice. ^u

¹⁸Though many are against me,

He will redeem me from my battle unharmed. ^v

¹⁹God, the One enthroned from long ago, ^w

will hear and will humiliate them Selah

because they do not change

and do not fear God. ^x

²⁰My friend ^yacts violently

against those at peace with him; ^z

he violates his covenant. ^a

²¹His buttery words are smooth, ^b

but war is in his heart.

His words are softer than oil,

but they are drawn swords. ^c

²²Cast your burden on the Lord,

and He will sustain you; ^d

He will never allow the righteous to be shaken. ^e

²³God, You will bring them down

to the Pit of destruction; ^f

men of bloodshed and treachery

will not live out half their days. ^g

But I will trust in You. ^h