Psalm 56–58

Trusting God for Help

For the director of music. To the tune of “The Dove in the Distant Oak.” A miktam of David when the Philistines captured him in Gath.

56God, be merciful to me because people are chasing me;

the battle has pressed me all day long.

²My enemies have chased me all day;

there are many proud people fighting me.

³When I am afraid,

I will trust you.

⁴I praise God for his word.

I trust God, so I am not afraid.

What can human beings do to me?

⁵All day long they twist my words;

all their evil plans are against me.

⁶They wait. They hide.

They watch my steps,

hoping to kill me.

⁷God, do not let them escape;

punish the foreign nations in your anger.

⁸You have recorded my troubles.

You have kept a list of my tears.

Aren’t they in your records?

⁹On the day I call for help, my enemies will be defeated.

I know that God is on my side.

¹⁰I praise God for his word to me;

I praise the Lord for his word.

¹¹I trust in God. I will not be afraid.

What can people do to me?

¹²God, I must keep my promises to you.

I will give you my offerings to thank you,

¹³because you have saved me from death.

You have kept me from being defeated.

So I will walk with God

in light among the living.

A Prayer in Troubled Times

For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A miktam of David when he escaped from Saul in the cave.

57Be merciful to me, God; be merciful to me

because I come to you for protection.

Let me hide under the shadow of your wings

until the trouble has passed.

²I cry out to God Most High,

to the God who does everything for me.

³He sends help from heaven and saves me.

He punishes those who chase me.

Selah

God sends me his love and truth.

⁴Enemies, like lions, are all around me;

I must lie down among them.

Their teeth are like spears and arrows,

their tongues as sharp as swords.

⁵God is supreme over the skies;

his majesty covers the earth.

⁶They set a trap for me.

I am very worried.

They dug a pit in my path,

but they fell into it themselves.

Selah

⁷My heart is steady, God; my heart is steady.

I will sing and praise you.

⁸Wake up, my soul.

Wake up, harp and lyre!

I will wake up the dawn.

⁹Lord, I will praise you among the nations;

I will sing songs of praise about you to all the nations.

¹⁰Your great love reaches to the skies,

your truth to the clouds.

¹¹God, you are supreme above the skies.

Let your glory be over all the earth.

Unfair Judges

For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A miktam of David.

58Do you rulers really say what is right?

Do you judge people fairly?

²No, in your heart you plan evil;

you think up violent crimes in the land.

³From birth, evil people turn away from God;

they wander off and tell lies as soon as they are born.

⁴They are like poisonous snakes,

like deaf cobras that stop up their ears

⁵so they cannot hear the music of the snake charmer

no matter how well he plays.

⁶God, break the teeth in their mouths!

Tear out the fangs of those lions, Lord!

⁷Let them disappear like water that flows away.

Let them be cut short like a broken arrow.

⁸Let them be like snails that melt as they move.

Let them be like a child born dead who never saw the sun.

⁹His anger will blow them away alive

faster than burning thorns can heat a pot.

¹⁰Good people will be glad when they see him get even.

They will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked.

¹¹Then people will say,

“There really are rewards for doing what is right.

There really is a God who judges the world.”