Psalm 56–60

Psalm 56

A Call for God’s Protection

For the choir director: according to “A Silent Dove Far Away.” ⁱA Davidic Miktam. When the Philistines seized him in Gath. ^j

¹Be gracious to me, God, for man tramples me;

he fights and oppresses me all day long.

²My adversaries trample me all day,

for many arrogantly fight against me. ^kl

³When I am afraid,

I will trust in You. ^m

⁴In God, whose word I praise,

in God I trust; I will not fear.

What can man do to me? ⁿ

⁵They twist my words all day long;

all their thoughts against me are evil. ^o

⁶They stir up strife, ^pthey lurk;

they watch my steps

while they wait to take my life. ^q

⁷Will they escape in spite of such sin?

God, bring down the nations in wrath. ^r

⁸You Yourself have recorded my wanderings. ^s

Put my tears in Your bottle.

Are they not in Your records? ^t

⁹Then my enemies will retreat on the day when I call. ^u

This I know: God is for me. ^v

¹⁰In God, whose word I praise,

in the Lord, whose word I praise,

¹¹in God I trust; I will not fear.

What can man do to me? ^w

¹²I am obligated by vows ^xto You, God;

I will make my thank offerings to You. ^y

¹³For You delivered me from death,

even my feet from stumbling,

to walk before God in the light of life. ^z

Psalm 57

Praise for God’s Protection

For the choir director: “Do Not Destroy.” ^aA Davidic Miktam. When he fled before Saul into the cave. ^b

¹Be gracious to me, God, be gracious to me,

for I take refuge in You.

I will seek refuge in the shadow of Your wings

until danger passes. ^c

²I call to God Most High,

to God who fulfills His purpose for me. ^de

³He reaches down from heaven and saves me,

challenging the one who tramples me. ^fSelah

God sends His faithful love and truth. ^g

⁴I am surrounded by lions;

I lie down with those who devour men.

Their teeth are spears and arrows;

their tongues are sharp swords. ^h

⁵God, be exalted above the heavens;

let Your glory be over the whole earth. ⁱ

⁶They prepared a net for my steps;

I was despondent.

They dug a pit ahead of me,

but they fell into it! ^jSelah

⁷My heart is confident, God, my heart is confident.

I will sing; I will sing praises. ^k

⁸Wake up, my soul! ^l

Wake up, harp and lyre!

I will wake up the dawn. ^m

⁹I will praise You, Lord, among the peoples;

I will sing praises to You among the nations. ⁿ

¹⁰For Your faithful love is as high as the heavens;

Your faithfulness reaches the clouds. ^o

¹¹God, be exalted above the heavens; ^p

let Your glory be over the whole earth. ^q

Psalm 58

A Cry against Injustice

For the choir director: “Do Not Destroy.” ^rA Davidic Miktam.

¹Do you really speak righteously, you mighty ones? ^s

Do you judge people fairly? ^t

²No, you practice injustice in your hearts;

with your hands you weigh out violence in the land. ^u

³The wicked go astray from the womb;

liars err from birth. ^v

⁴They have venom like the venom of a snake,

like the deaf cobra that stops up its ears, ^w

⁵that does not listen to the sound of the charmers

who skillfully weave spells. ^x

⁶God, knock the teeth out of their mouths;

Lord, tear out the young lions’ fangs. ^y

⁷They will vanish like water that flows by;

they will aim their useless arrows. ^zab

⁸Like a slug that moves along in slime,

like a woman’s miscarried child,

they will not see the sun. ^c

⁹Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns—

whether green or burning—

He will sweep them away. ^de

¹⁰The righteous one will rejoice

when he sees the retribution; ^f

he will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. ^g

¹¹Then people will say,

“Yes, there is a reward for the righteous!

There is a God who judges on earth!” ^h

Psalm 59

God Our Stronghold

For the choir director: “Do Not Destroy.” ⁱA Davidic Miktam. When Saul sent agents to watch the house and kill him. ^j

¹Deliver me from my enemies, my God; ^k

protect me from those who rise up against me. ^l

²Deliver me from those who practice sin,

and save me from men of bloodshed. ^m

³Lord, look! They set an ambush for me. ⁿ

Powerful men attack me,

but not because of any sin or rebellion of mine. ^o

⁴For no fault of mine,

they run and take up a position.

Awake to help me, and take notice. ^p

⁵Lord God of Hosts, You are the God of Israel,

rise up to punish all the nations;

do not show grace to any wicked traitors. ^qSelah

⁶They return at evening, snarling like dogs

and prowling around the city. ^r

⁷Look, they spew from their mouths—

sharp words from ^stheir lips. ^t

“For who,” they say, “will hear?” ^u

⁸But You laugh at them, Lord;

You ridicule all the nations. ^v

⁹I will keep watch for You, my ^wstrength,

because God is my stronghold. ^x

¹⁰My faithful God ^ywill come to meet me;

God will let me look down on my adversaries. ^z

¹¹Do not kill them; otherwise, my people will forget.

By Your power, make them homeless wanderers ^a

and bring them down,

Lord, our shield. ^b

¹²For the sin of their mouths and the words of their lips,

let them be caught in their pride.

They utter curses and lies. ^c

¹³Consume them in rage;

consume them until they are gone. ^d

Then people will know throughout ^ethe earth

that God rules over Jacob. ^fSelah

¹⁴And they return at evening, snarling like dogs

and prowling around the city. ^g

¹⁵They scavenge for food;

they growl if they are not satisfied. ^h

¹⁶But I will sing of Your strength

and will joyfully proclaim

Your faithful love in the morning. ⁱ

For You have been a stronghold for me,

a refuge in my day of trouble. ^j

¹⁷To You, my strength, I sing praises,

because God is my stronghold—

my faithful God. ^k

Psalm 60

Prayer in Difficult Times

For the choir director: according to “The Lily of Testimony.” ^lA Davidic Miktam for teaching. When he fought with Aram-naharaim and Aram-zobah, and Joab returned and struck Edom in the Valley of Salt, killing 12,000. ^m

¹God, You have rejected us;

You have broken out ⁿagainst us;

You have been angry. Restore us! ^op

²You have shaken the land and split it open.

Heal its fissures, for it shudders. ^q

³You have made Your people suffer hardship;

You have given us wine to drink

that made us stagger. ^r

⁴You have given a signal flag to those who fear You,

so that they can flee before the archers. ^stSelah

⁵Save with Your right hand, and answer me,

so that those You love may be rescued. ^u

⁶God has spoken in His sanctuary: ^v

“I will triumph! I will divide up Shechem. ^w

I will apportion the Valley of Succoth. ^x

⁷Gilead is Mine, Manasseh is Mine,

and Ephraim is My helmet; ^y

Judah is My scepter. ^z

⁸Moab is My washbasin. ^a

I throw My sandal on Edom; ^b

I shout in triumph over Philistia.” ^c

⁹Who will bring me to the fortified city?

Who will lead me to Edom? ^d

¹⁰God, haven’t You rejected us?

God, You do not march out with our armies. ^e

¹¹Give us aid against the foe,

for human help is worthless. ^f

¹²With God we will perform valiantly; ^g

He will trample our foes. ^h