Psalm 52–54

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