Psalm 56–59

Prayer for Deliverance and Confidence in God

56For the music director, according to The Silent Dove of Distant Lands.

Of David. A miktam.

When the Philistines seized him in Gath.^a

¹Be gracious to me, O God, because humankind has trampled me;

fighting all the day he oppresses me.

²My enemies^b trample all day,

because many are attacking me proudly.

³When^c I fear, I trust you.

⁴God, whose word I praise,

God I trust; I do not fear.

What can mere flesh do to me?

⁵All day they twist my words;

all their thoughts are against me for evil.

⁶They attack,^d they hide, they watch my steps,^e

as they lie in wait for my life.

⁷Because of iniquity will they escape?

In anger cast down the peoples, O God.

⁸You have kept count of my wanderings.

Put my tears in your bottle;

are they not in your book?

⁹Then my enemies will turn back when^f I call.^g

This I know because^h God is for me.

¹⁰God, whose word I praise,

Yahweh, whose word I praise,

¹¹God I trust; I do not fear.

What can mere humankind do to me?

¹²My vows to you, O God, are binding upon me.

I will pay thank offerings to you,

¹³because you have delivered my soul from death.

Have you not kept my feet from stumbling,

that I may walk before God

in the light of the living?

Prayer for Rescue from Enemies

57For the music director, according to Do Not Destroy.

Of David. A miktam.

When he fled from Saul into the cave.^a

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

because in you my soul takes refuge.

In the shadow of your wings I will take refuge

until destruction passes by.

²I will call to God Most High,

to God who accomplishes things concerning me.

³He will send from heaven and save me;

he will reproach the one who tramples me. Selah

God will send his loyal love and his faithfulness.

⁴My soul is among lions.

I lie down among those who devour—

the children^b of humankind whose teeth are spears and arrows

and whose tongues are sharp swords.

⁵Be exalted above the heavens, O God.

Let your glory be above all the earth.

⁶They have set a net for my steps;

my soul is bowed down.

They have dug a pit before me;

they have fallen into the midst of it. Selah

⁷My heart is steadfast, O God;

My heart is steadfast.

I will sing and give praise.

⁸Awake, my glory;^c

Awake, harp and lyre.

I will awake the dawn.^d

⁹I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord;

I will give you praise among the nations.

¹⁰Because your loyal love is high to the heavens,

and your faithfulness to the clouds.

¹¹Be exalted above the heavens, O God.

Let your glory be above all the earth.

Judgment on the Wicked

58For the music director, according to Do not Destroy.

Of David. A miktam.^a

¹Do you really speak what is right when silent?^b

Do you judge fairly the children of humankind?^c

²No, in your heart you plan injustices;

in the land^d you weigh out the violence of your hands.

³The wicked are estranged from the womb.

They go astray from the belly, speaking lies.

⁴Their venom is like snake venom;

They are like a deaf viper that closes its ear

⁵so that it does not hear the voice of charmers

or the skilled caster of spells.

⁶O God, break their teeth in their mouth.

Break off the fangs of the young lions, O Yahweh.

⁷Let them run away like water that runs off.

When he bends the bow, let his arrows be as though they were cut off.^e

⁸Let them be like a snail that melts away as it goes;

like the stillborn of woman that do not see the sun.

⁹Before your pots can feel the heat of a thornbush,

whether green or dry,^f he will sweep it away.^g

¹⁰The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance;

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

¹¹And people^h will say, “Surely there is a rewardⁱ for the righteous.

Surely there is a God who judges in the land.”^j

A Prayer for Protection

59For the music director, according to Do Not Destroy.

Of David. A miktam.

When Saul dispatched men and they watched the house to kill him.^a

¹Deliver me from my enemies, O my God.

Protect^b me from those who rise up against me.

²Deliver me from workers of iniquity,

and from men of bloodshed save me.

³For look, they lie in wait for my life.^c

The mighty attack^d against me,

not because of my transgression or my sin, O Yahweh.

⁴Without guilt on my part they run and ready themselves.

Awake to meet me and see.

⁵And you, Yahweh, God of hosts, are the God of Israel.

Rouse yourself to punish all the nations.

Do not be gracious to any who treacherously plot evil. Selah

⁶They return at evening; they howl like dogs^e

while they prowl the city.

⁷Look, they pour out talk with their mouth.

Swords are on their lips,

for they say, “Who hears?”

⁸But you, O Yahweh, will laugh at them;

you will mock all the nations.

⁹O my strength,^f I will watch for you,

because you, O God, are my high stronghold.

¹⁰My^g God of loyal love will meet me;

God will cause me to look in triumph on my enemies.

¹¹Do not kill them, lest my people forget.

Make them to wander by your power,

and bring them down, O Lord, our shield.

¹²By the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips,

even in their pride, let them be trapped,

and for the curses^h and liesⁱ they proclaim.

¹³Destroy in anger; destroy so they are no more,

so that they may know that God is ruling in Jacob

to the ends of the earth. Selah

¹⁴They return at evening; they howl like dogs^j

while they prowl the city.

¹⁵As for them, they wander for food.

If they are not satisfied, then they continue all night.^k

¹⁶But as for me, I will sing of your strength,

and I will hail your loyal love in the morning,

because you have been my high stronghold

and a refuge in my time^l of trouble.

¹⁷O my strength, to you I will give praise,

because God is my high stronghold,

my God of loyal love.