Psalm 54–56

PSALM 54

Prayer for Defense against Enemies.

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

¹Save me, O God, by ^aYour name,

And ¹vindicate me by ^bYour power.

^2aHear my prayer, O God;

^bGive ear to the words of my mouth.

³For strangers have ^arisen against me

And ^bviolent men have ^csought my ¹life;

They have ^dnot set God before them.

²Selah.

⁴Behold, ^aGod is my helper;

The Lord is ¹the ^bsustainer of my soul.

⁵¹He will ^arecompense the evil to ²my foes;

^3bDestroy them ^cin Your ⁴faithfulness.

^61aWillingly I will sacrifice to You;

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

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

And my eye has ^blooked with satisfaction upon my enemies.

PSALM 55

Prayer for the Destruction of the Treacherous.

For the choir director; on 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 ^bbring down ¹trouble 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 overwhelmed 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 iniquity 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 exalted himself against me,

Then I could hide myself from him.

¹³But it is you, a man ¹my equal,

My ^acompanion and my ^2bfamiliar friend;

¹⁴We who had sweet ¹fellowship together

^aWalked in the house of God in the throng.

¹⁵Let ¹death come ^adeceitfully upon them;

Let them ^bgo down alive to ²Sheol,

For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst.

¹⁶As for me, I shall ^acall upon God,

And the Lord will save me.

^17aEvening and ^bmorning and at ^cnoon, I will complain and murmur,

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.

With whom there ³is no change,

And who ^cdo not fear God.

²⁰He has put forth his hands against ^athose who were at peace with him;

He has ^1bviolated his covenant.

²¹His ¹speech was ^asmoother than butter,

But his heart was war;

His words were softer than oil,

Yet they were drawn ^bswords.

^22aCast ¹your burden upon the Lord 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 destruction;

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

But I will ^dtrust in You.

PSALM 56

Supplication for Deliverance and Grateful Trust in God.

For the choir director; according to ^†•Mikhtam of David, ^{^}when the Philistines seized him in Gath.

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

²Fighting all day long he ^boppresses me.

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

For ²they are many who ^bfight proudly against me.

³¹When I am ^aafraid,

²I will ^bput my trust in You.

^4aIn God, whose word I praise,

In God I have put my 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 ²steps,

As they have ^cwaited to take my ³life.

⁷Because of wickedness, ^1acast them forth,

In anger ^bput 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 the Lord, whose word I praise,

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

What can man do to me?

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

I will render thank offerings to You.

¹³For You have ^adelivered my soul from death,

¹Indeed ^bmy feet from stumbling,

So that I may ^cwalk before God

In the ^dlight of the ²living.