Psalm 7–12

Psalm 7

Prayer for Justice

A Shiggaion ^tof David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush, ^ua Benjaminite.

¹Yahweh my God, I seek refuge in You; ^v

save me from all my pursuers and rescue me ^w

²or they ^xwill tear me like a lion,

ripping me apart with no one to rescue me. ^yz

³Yahweh my God, if I have done this,

if there is injustice on my hands, ^a

⁴if I have done harm to one at peace with me ^b

or have plundered ^cmy adversary without cause, ^d

⁵may an enemy pursue and overtake me;

may he trample me to the ground ^e

and leave my honor in the dust. ^fSelah

⁶Rise up, Lord, in Your anger;

lift Yourself up against the fury of my adversaries; ^g

awake for me; ^hi

You have ordained ^ja judgment. ^k

⁷Let the assembly of peoples gather around You; ^l

take Your seat ^mon high over it. ⁿ

⁸The Lord judges the peoples; ^o

vindicate me, Lord,

according to my righteousness and my integrity. ^pq

⁹Let the evil of the wicked come to an end, ^r

but establish the righteous. ^s

The One who examines the thoughts and emotions ^t

is a righteous God. ^u

¹⁰My shield is with ^vGod, ^w

who saves the upright in heart. ^x

¹¹God is a righteous judge

and a God who shows His wrath every day. ^y

¹²If anyone does not repent,

God ^zwill sharpen His sword; ^a

He has strung ^bHis bow and made it ready. ^c

¹³He has prepared His deadly weapons;

He tips His arrows with fire. ^d

¹⁴See, the wicked one is pregnant with evil,

conceives trouble, and gives birth to deceit. ^e

¹⁵He dug a pit and hollowed it out

but fell into the hole he had made. ^f

¹⁶His trouble comes back on his own head,

and his violence falls on the top of his head. ^g

¹⁷I will thank the Lord for His righteousness;

I will sing about the name of Yahweh the Most High. ^h

Psalm 8

God’s Glory, Man’s Dignity

For the choir director: on the Gittith. ⁱA Davidic psalm.

¹Yahweh, our Lord,

how magnificent is Your name throughout the earth! ^j

You have covered the heavens with Your majesty. ^kl

²Because of Your adversaries,

You have established a stronghold ^m

from the mouths of children and nursing infants ⁿ

to silence the enemy and the avenger.

³When I observe Your heavens,

the work of Your fingers,

the moon and the stars,

which You set in place, ^o

⁴what is man that You remember him,

the son of man that You look after him? ^p

⁵You made him little less than God ^qr

and crowned him with glory and honor.

⁶You made him lord over the works of Your hands;

You put everything under his feet: ^st

⁷all the sheep and oxen,

as well as the animals in the wild,

⁸the birds of the sky,

and the fish of the sea

that pass through the currents of the seas. ^u

⁹Yahweh, our Lord,

how magnificent is Your name throughout the earth!

Psalm 9

Celebration of God’s Justice

For the choir director: according to Muth-labben. ^vA Davidic psalm.

¹I will thank Yahweh with all my heart;

I will declare all Your wonderful works. ^w

²I will rejoice and boast about You; ^x

I will sing about Your name, Most High. ^y

³When my enemies retreat,

they stumble and perish before You. ^z

⁴For You have upheld my just cause; ^ab

You are seated on Your throne as a righteous judge. ^c

⁵You have rebuked the nations: ^d

You have destroyed the wicked; ^e

You have erased their name forever and ever. ^f

⁶The enemy has come to eternal ruin;

You have uprooted the cities,

and the very memory of them has perished. ^g

⁷But the Lord sits enthroned forever; ^h

He has established His throne for judgment. ⁱ

⁸He judges the world with righteousness;

He executes judgment on the nations with fairness. ^j

⁹The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,

a refuge in times of trouble. ^k

¹⁰Those who know Your name trust in You

because You have not abandoned

those who seek You, Yahweh. ^l

¹¹Sing to the Lord, who dwells in Zion; ^m

proclaim His deeds among the nations. ⁿ

¹²For the One who seeks an accounting

for bloodshed remembers them; ^o

He does not forget the cry of the afflicted. ^p

¹³Be gracious to me, Lord;

consider my affliction at the hands of those who hate me. ^q

Lift me up from the gates of death, ^r

¹⁴so that I may declare all Your praises.

I will rejoice in Your salvation ^s

within the gates of Daughter Zion.

¹⁵The nations have fallen into the pit they made;

their foot is caught in the net they have concealed. ^t

¹⁶The Lord has revealed Himself;

He has executed justice, ^u

striking down ^vthe wicked ^w

by the work of their hands. ^xHiggaion. Selah

¹⁷The wicked will return to Sheol ^y—

all the nations that forget God. ^z

¹⁸For the oppressed will not always be forgotten;

the hope of the afflicted ^awill not perish forever. ^b

¹⁹Rise up, Lord! Do not let man prevail;

let the nations be judged in Your presence. ^c

²⁰Put terror in them, Lord; ^d

let the nations know they are only men. ^eSelah

Psalm 10

¹Lord, ^fgwhy do You stand so far away? ^h

Why do You hide in times of trouble? ⁱ

²In arrogance the wicked relentlessly pursue the afflicted;

let them be caught in the schemes they have devised. ^j

³For the wicked one boasts about his own cravings; ^k

the one who is greedy curses ^land despises the Lord. ^m

⁴In all his scheming,

the wicked arrogantly thinks: ⁿ

“There is no accountability,

since God does not exist.” ^o

⁵His ways are always secure; ^p

Your lofty judgments are beyond his sight;

he scoffs at all his adversaries. ^q

⁶He says to himself, “I will never be moved—

from generation to generation without calamity.” ^r

⁷Cursing, deceit, and violence fill his mouth;

trouble and malice are under his tongue. ^s

⁸He waits in ambush near the villages; ^t

he kills the innocent in secret places.

His eyes are on the lookout for the helpless; ^u

⁹he lurks in secret like a lion in a thicket.

He lurks in order to seize the afflicted;

he seizes the afflicted and drags him in his net.

¹⁰So he is oppressed and beaten down;

the helpless fall because of his strength. ^v

¹¹He says to himself, “God has forgotten;

He hides His face and will never see.” ^w

¹²Rise up, Lord God! Lift up Your hand. ^x

Do not forget the afflicted. ^y

¹³Why has the wicked person despised God?

He says to himself, “You will not demand an account.” ^z

¹⁴But You Yourself have seen trouble and grief,

observing it in order to take the matter into Your hands. ^a

The helpless entrusts himself to You;

You are a helper of the fatherless. ^b

¹⁵Break the arm of the wicked and evil person; ^c

call his wickedness into account

until nothing remains of it. ^de

¹⁶The Lord is King forever and ever; ^f

the nations will perish from His land. ^g

¹⁷Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble; ^h

You will strengthen their hearts.

You will listen carefully, ⁱ

¹⁸doing justice for the fatherless and the oppressed

so that men of the earth may terrify them no more. ^j

Psalm 11

Refuge in the Lord

For the choir director. Davidic.

¹I have taken refuge in the Lord. ^k

How can you say to me,

“Escape to the mountain like a bird! ^lm

²For look, the wicked string the bow;

they put the ⁿarrow on the bowstring

to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart. ^o

³When the foundations are destroyed,

what can the righteous do?” ^p

⁴The Lord is in His holy temple; ^q

the Lord’s throne is in heaven. ^r

His eyes watch; He examines ^severyone.

⁵The Lord examines the righteous and the wicked.

He hates the lover of violence. ^t

⁶He will rain burning coals ^uand sulfur on the wicked;

a scorching wind will be their portion. ^vw

⁷For the Lord is righteous; He loves righteous deeds.

The upright will see His face. ^x

Psalm 12

Oppression by the Wicked

For the choir director: according to Sheminith. ^yA Davidic psalm.

¹Help, Lord, for no faithful one remains;

the loyal have disappeared from the human race. ^z

²They lie to one another;

they speak with flattering lips and deceptive hearts. ^a

³May the Lord cut off all flattering lips

and the tongue that speaks boastfully. ^b

⁴They say, “Through our tongues we have power; ^c

our lips are our own—who can be our master?” ^d

⁵“Because of the oppression of the afflicted

and the groaning of the poor,

I will now rise up,” says the Lord.

“I will put the one who longs for it in a safe place.” ^e

⁶The words of the Lord are pure words,

like silver refined in an earthen furnace,

purified seven times. ^f

⁷You, Lord, will guard us; ^g

You will protect us ^hfrom this generation forever. ⁱ

⁸The wicked wander ^jeverywhere,

and what is worthless is exalted by the human race. ^k