Psalm 54–56

PSALM 54

God Is My Helper

For the choir director. With stringed instruments. A ^†Maskil of David. ^•When the Ziphites came and said to Saul, “Is not David hiding himself among us?”

¹O God, save me by ^aYour name,

And render justice to me by ^bYour might.

^2aO God, hear my prayer;

^bGive ear to the words of my mouth.

³For strangers have ^arisen against me

And ^bruthless men have ^csought my ¹life;

They have ^dnot set God before them. ²Selah.

⁴Behold, ^aGod is my helper;

The Lord is among those who ^bsustain my soul.

⁵He will ^areturn the evil to my foes;

^bDestroy them ^cin Your truth.

^6aWith a freewill offering I will sacrifice to You;

I will give ^bthanks to Your name, O Yahweh, for it is good.

⁷For ¹He has ^adelivered me from all ²distress,

And my eye has ^blooked in triumph upon my enemies.

PSALM 55

He Will Never Allow the Righteous to Be Shaken

For the choir director. With stringed instruments. A ^†Maskil of David.

^1aGive ear to my prayer, O God;

And ^bdo not hide Yourself from my supplication.

²Give ^aheed to me and answer me;

I am restless in my ^bcomplaint and ^1cam surely distracted,

³Because of the voice of the enemy,

Because of the ^apressure of the wicked;

For they ^bshake wickedness down upon me

And in anger they ^cbear a grudge against me.

⁴My ^aheart is in anguish within me,

And the terrors of ^bdeath have fallen upon me.

⁵Fear and ^atrembling come upon me,

And ^1bhorror has covered me.

⁶I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!

I would fly away and ^1abe at rest.

⁷“Behold, I would wander far away,

I would ^alodge in the wilderness. ¹Selah.

⁸“I would hasten to my place of refuge

From the ^astormy wind and tempest.”

⁹¹Confuse, O Lord, ^adivide their tongues,

For I have seen ^bviolence and strife in the city.

¹⁰Day and night they go around her upon her walls,

And wickedness and mischief are in her midst.

^11aDestruction is in her midst;

^bOppression and deceit do not depart from her ¹streets.

¹²For it is ^anot an enemy who reproaches me,

Then I could bear it;

Nor is it one who hates me who ^bhas magnified himself against me,

Then I could hide myself from him.

¹³But it is you, a man ¹my equal,

My ^aclose companion and my ^2bfamiliar friend;

¹⁴We who had sweet counsel together

^aWalked in the house of God in the throng.

¹⁵Let ¹death come ^adeceitfully upon them;

Let them ^bgo down alive to Sheol,

For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst.

¹⁶As for me, I shall ^acall upon God,

And Yahweh will save me.

^17aEvening and ^bmorning and at ^cnoon, I will bring my complaint and moan,

And He will hear my voice.

¹⁸He will ^aredeem my soul in peace ¹from the battle which is against me,

For they are ^bmany who strive with me.

¹⁹God will ^ahear and ¹answer them—

Even the one ^bwho ²sits enthroned from of old— Selah.

Because they ³do not change,

And ^cdo not fear God.

²⁰¹My companion has put forth his hands against ^athose who were at peace with him;

He has ^2bviolated his covenant.

²¹His ¹speech was ^asmoother than butter,

But his heart was war;

His words were ^bsofter than oil,

Yet they were drawn ^cswords.

^22aCast ¹your burden upon Yahweh and He will sustain you;

^bHe will never allow the righteous to ^2cbe shaken.

²³But You, O God, will bring them down to the ^1apit of corruption;

^bMen of bloodshed and deceit will ^cnot live out half their days.

But I will ^dtrust in You.

PSALM 56

In God I Trust, I Shall Not Be Afraid

For the choir director. According to ^†Jonath Elem Rehokim. A ^•Mikhtam of David. ^{^}When the Philistines seized him in Gath.

¹Be gracious to me, O God, for man has ^1atrampled upon me;

All day long, an attacker ^boppresses me.

²My foes have ^1atrampled upon me all day long,

For many ^battack me proudly.

³¹When I am ^aafraid,

²I will ^btrust in You.

^4aIn God, whose word I praise,

In God I trust;

I shall not be afraid.

^bWhat can mere ¹man do to me?

⁵All day long they ^1adistort my words;

All their ^2bthoughts are against me for evil.

⁶They ^1aattack, they lurk,

They ^bwatch my heels,

As they have ^choped to take my ²life.

⁷On account of their wickedness, ^awill they have an escape?

In anger, ^bbring down the peoples, O God!

⁸You ^ahave taken account of my wanderings;

Put my ^btears in Your bottle.

Are they not in ^cYour book?

⁹Then my enemies will ^aturn back ^bin the day when I call;

This I know, ¹that ^cGod is for me.

¹⁰In God, whose word I praise,

In Yahweh, whose word I praise,

¹¹In God I ¹trust, I shall not be afraid.

What can man do to me?

¹²Your ^avows are binding upon me, O God;

I will ¹fulfill thank offerings to You.

¹³¹For You have ^adelivered my soul from death,

Indeed ^bmy feet from stumbling,

So that I may ^cwalk before God

In the ^dlight of the ²living.