Psalm 7–8

PSALM 7

The Lord Implored to Defend the Psalmist against the Wicked.

A ^†Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord ^•concerning Cush, a Benjamite.

¹O Lord my God, ^ain You I have taken refuge;

Save me from all those who pursue me, and ^bdeliver me,

²Or he will tear ¹my soul ^alike a lion,

²Dragging me away, while there is none to deliver.

³O Lord my God, if I have done this,

If there is ^ainjustice in my hands,

⁴If I have ^arewarded evil to ¹my friend,

Or have ^bplundered ²him who without cause was my adversary,

⁵Let the enemy pursue ¹my soul and overtake ²it;

And let him trample my life down to the ground

And lay my glory in the dust.

³Selah.

^6aArise, O Lord, in Your anger;

^bLift up Yourself against ^cthe rage of my adversaries,

And ^darouse Yourself ¹for me; You have appointed judgment.

⁷Let the assembly of the ^apeoples encompass You,

And over ¹them return on high.

⁸The Lord ^ajudges the peoples;

^1bVindicate me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.

⁹O let ^athe evil of the wicked come to an end, but ^bestablish the righteous;

For the righteous God ^ctries the hearts and ¹minds.

¹⁰My ^ashield is ¹with God,

Who ^bsaves the upright in heart.

¹¹God is a ^arighteous judge,

And a God who has ^bindignation every day.

¹²If ¹a man ^adoes not repent, He will ^bsharpen His sword;

He has ^cbent His bow and ²made it ready.

¹³He has also prepared ¹for Himself deadly weapons;

He makes His ^aarrows fiery shafts.

¹⁴Behold, he travails with wickedness,

And he ^aconceives mischief and brings forth falsehood.

¹⁵He has dug a pit and hollowed it out,

And has ^afallen into the hole which he made.

¹⁶His ^amischief will return upon his own head,

And his ^bviolence will descend upon ¹his own pate.

¹⁷I will give thanks to the Lord ^aaccording to His righteousness

And will ^bsing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.

PSALM 8

The Lord’s Glory and Man’s Dignity.

For the choir director; on the Gittith. A Psalm of David.

¹O Lord, our Lord,

How majestic is Your name in all the earth,

Who have ^1adisplayed Your splendor above the heavens!

^2aFrom the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established ^1bstrength

Because of Your adversaries,

To make ^cthe enemy and the revengeful cease.

³When I ^1aconsider ^bYour heavens, the work of Your fingers,

The ^cmoon and the stars, which You have ²ordained;

^4aWhat is man that You ¹take thought of him,

And the son of man that You care for him?

⁵Yet You have made him a ^alittle lower than ¹God,

And ^bYou crown him with ^cglory and majesty!

⁶You make him to ^arule over the works of Your hands;

You have ^bput all things under his feet,

⁷All sheep and oxen,

And also the ¹beasts of the field,

⁸The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,

Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.

^9aO Lord, our Lord,

How majestic is Your name in all the earth!