Psalm 7–12

A Prayer for Fairness

A shiggaion of David which he sang to the Lord about Cush, from the tribe of Benjamin.

7Lord my God, I trust in you for protection.

Save me and rescue me

from those who are chasing me.

²Otherwise, like a lion they will tear me apart.

They will rip me to pieces, and no one can save me.

³Lord my God, what have I done?

Have my hands done something wrong?

⁴Have I done wrong to my friend

or stolen without reason from my enemy?

⁵If I have, let my enemy chase me and capture me.

Let him trample me into the dust

and bury me in the ground.

Selah

⁶Lord, rise up in your anger;

stand up against my enemies’ anger.

Get up and demand fairness.

⁷Gather the nations around you

and rule them from above.

⁸Lord, judge the people.

Lord, defend me because I am right,

because I have done no wrong, God Most High.

⁹God, you do what is right.

You know our thoughts and feelings.

Stop those wicked actions done by evil people,

and help those who do what is right.

¹⁰God protects me like a shield;

he saves those whose hearts are right.

¹¹God judges by what is right,

and God is always ready to punish the wicked.

¹²If they do not change their lives,

God will sharpen his sword;

he will string his bow and take aim.

¹³He has prepared his deadly weapons;

he has made his flaming arrows.

¹⁴There are people who think up evil

and plan trouble and tell lies.

¹⁵They dig a hole to trap others,

but they will fall into it themselves.

¹⁶They will get themselves into trouble;

the violence they cause will hurt only themselves.

¹⁷I praise the Lord because he does what is right.

I sing praises to the Lord Most High.

The Lord’s Greatness

For the director of music. On the gittith. A psalm of David.

8Lord our Lord,

your name is the most wonderful name in all the earth!

It brings you praise in heaven above.

²You have taught children and babies

to sing praises to you

because of your enemies.

And so you silence your enemies

and destroy those who try to get even.

³I look at your heavens,

which you made with your fingers.

I see the moon and stars,

which you created.

⁴But why are people even important to you?

Why do you take care of human beings?

⁵You made them a little lower than the angels

and crowned them with glory and honor.

⁶You put them in charge of everything you made.

You put all things under their control:

⁷all the sheep, the cattle,

and the wild animals,

⁸the birds in the sky,

the fish in the sea,

and everything that lives under water.

⁹Lord our Lord,

your name is the most wonderful name in all the earth!

Thanksgiving for Victory

For the director of music. To the tune of “The Death of the Son.” A psalm of David.

9I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart.

I will tell all the miracles you have done.

²I will be happy because of you;

God Most High, I will sing praises to your name.

³My enemies turn back;

they are overwhelmed and die because of you.

⁴You have heard my complaint;

you sat on your throne and judged by what was right.

⁵You spoke strongly against the foreign nations and destroyed the wicked;

you wiped out their names forever and ever.

⁶The enemy is gone forever.

You destroyed their cities;

no one even remembers them.

⁷But the Lord rules forever.

He sits on his throne to judge,

⁸and he will judge the world in fairness;

he will decide what is fair for the nations.

⁹The Lord defends those who suffer;

he defends them in times of trouble.

¹⁰Those who know the Lord trust him,

because he will not leave those who come to him.

¹¹Sing praises to the Lord who is king on Mount Zion.

Tell the nations what he has done.

¹²He remembers who the murderers are;

he will not forget the cries of those who suffer.

¹³Lord, have mercy on me.

See how my enemies hurt me.

Do not let me go through the gates of death.

¹⁴Then, at the gates of Jerusalem, I will praise you;

I will rejoice because you saved me.

¹⁵The nations have fallen into the pit they dug.

Their feet are caught in the nets they laid.

¹⁶The Lord has made himself known by his fair decisions;

the wicked get trapped by what they do.

Higgaion. Selah

¹⁷Wicked people will go to the grave,

and so will all those who forget God.

¹⁸But those who have troubles will not be forgotten.

The hopes of the poor will never die.

¹⁹Lord, rise up and judge the nations.

Don’t let people think they are strong.

²⁰Teach them to fear you, Lord.

The nations must learn that they are only human.

Selah

A Complaint About Evil People

10Lord, why are you so far away?

Why do you hide when there is trouble?

²Proudly the wicked chase down those who suffer.

Let them be caught in their own traps.

³They brag about the things they want.

They bless the greedy but hate the Lord.

⁴The wicked people are too proud.

They do not look for God;

there is no room for God in their thoughts.

⁵They always succeed.

They are far from keeping your laws;

they make fun of their enemies.

⁶They say to themselves, “Nothing bad will ever happen to me;

I will never be ruined.”

⁷Their mouths are full of curses, lies, and threats;

they use their tongues for sin and evil.

⁸They hide near the villages.

They look for innocent people to kill;

they watch in secret for the helpless.

⁹They wait in hiding like a lion.

They wait to catch poor people;

they catch the poor in nets.

¹⁰The poor are thrown down and crushed;

they are defeated because the others are stronger.

¹¹The wicked think, “God has forgotten us.

He doesn’t see what is happening.”

¹²Lord, rise up and punish the wicked.

Don’t forget those who need help.

¹³Why do wicked people hate God?

They say to themselves, “God won’t punish us.”

¹⁴Lord, surely you see these cruel and evil things;

look at them and do something.

People in trouble look to you for help.

You are the one who helps the orphans.

¹⁵Break the power of wicked people.

Punish them for the evil they have done.

¹⁶The Lord is King forever and ever.

Destroy from your land those nations that do not worship you.

¹⁷Lord, you have heard what the poor people want.

Do what they ask, and listen to them.

¹⁸Protect the orphans and put an end to suffering

so they will no longer be afraid of evil people.

Trust in the Lord

For the director of music. Of David.

11I trust in the Lord for protection.

So why do you say to me,

“Fly like a bird to your mountain.

²Like hunters, the wicked string their bows;

they set their arrows on the bowstrings.

They shoot from dark places

at those who are honest.

³When the foundations for good collapse,

what can good people do?”

⁴The Lord is in his holy temple;

the Lord sits on his throne in heaven.

He sees what people do;

he keeps his eye on them.

⁵The Lord tests those who do right,

but he hates the wicked and those who love to hurt others.

⁶He will send hot coals and burning sulfur on the wicked.

A whirlwind is what they will get.

⁷The Lord does what is right, and he loves justice,

so honest people will see his face.

A Prayer Against Liars

For the director of music. Upon the sheminith. A psalm of David.

12Save me, Lord, because the good people are all gone;

no true believers are left on earth.

²Everyone lies to his neighbors;

they say one thing and mean another.

³The Lord will stop those flattering lips

and cut off those bragging tongues.

⁴They say, “Our tongues will help us win.

We can say what we wish; no one is our master.”

⁵But the Lord says,

“I will now rise up,

because the poor are being hurt.

Because of the moans of the helpless,

I will give them the help they want.”

⁶The Lord’s words are pure,

like silver purified by fire,

like silver purified seven times over.

⁷Lord, you will keep us safe;

you will always protect us from such people.

⁸But the wicked are all around us;

everyone loves what is wrong.