Psalm 56:title–60:12
Prayer for Relief from Tormentors
To the Chief Musician. Set to 1“The Silent Dove in Distant Lands.” A Michtam of David When the aPhilistines Captured Him in Gath.
1 Be bmerciful to me, O God, for man would swallow me up;
Fighting all day he oppresses me.
2 My enemies would chound me all day,
For there are many who fight against me, O Most High.
I will trust in You.
4 In God (I will praise His word),
In God I have put my trust;
dI will not fear.
What can flesh do to me?
5 All day they twist my words;
All their thoughts are against me for evil.
They hide, they mark my steps,
When they lie in wait for my life.
7 Shall they escape by iniquity?
In anger cast down the peoples, O God!
Put my tears into Your bottle;
eAre they not in Your book?
Then my enemies will turn back;
This I know, because fGod is for me.
10 In God (I will praise His word),
In the Lord (I will praise His word),
11 In God I have put my trust;
I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
12 Vows made to You are binding upon me, O God;
I will render praises to You,
13 gFor You have delivered my soul from death.
Have You not kept my feet from falling,
That I may walk before God
In the hlight of the living?
Prayer for Safety from Enemies
To the Chief Musician. Set to 1“Do Not Destroy.” A Michtam of David aWhen He Fled from Saul into the Cave.
1 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me!
For my soul trusts in You;
bAnd in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge,
cUntil these calamities have passed by.
2 I will cry out to God Most High,
To God dwho performs all things for me.
3 eHe shall send from heaven and save me;
He reproaches the one who 2would swallow me up.
Selah
God fshall send forth His mercy and His truth.
I lie among the sons of men
Who are set on fire,
gWhose teeth are spears and arrows,
And their tongue a sharp sword.
5 hBe exalted, O God, above the heavens;
Let Your glory be above all the earth.
6 iThey have prepared a net for my steps;
My soul is bowed down;
They have dug a pit before me;
Into the midst of it they themselves have fallen.
Selah
7 jMy heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and give praise.
8 Awake, kmy glory!
Awake, lute and harp!
I will awaken the dawn.
9 lI will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing to You among the 3nations.
10 mFor Your mercy reaches unto the heavens,
And Your truth unto the clouds.
11 nBe exalted, O God, above the heavens;
Let Your glory be above all the earth.
The Just Judgment of the Wicked
To the Chief Musician. Set to 1“Do Not Destroy.” A Michtam of David.
1 Do you indeed speak righteousness, you silent ones?
Do you judge uprightly, you sons of men?
2 No, in heart you work wickedness;
You weigh out the violence of your hands in the earth.
3 aThe wicked are estranged from the womb;
They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.
4 bTheir poison is like the poison of a serpent;
They are like the deaf cobra that stops its ear,
5 Which will not cheed the voice of charmers,
Charming ever so skillfully.
6 dBreak 2their teeth in their mouth, O God!
Break out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!
7 eLet them flow away as waters which run continually;
When he bends his bow,
Let his arrows be as if cut in pieces.
8 Let them be like a snail which melts away as it goes,
fLike a stillborn child of a woman, that they may not see the sun.
9 Before your gpots can feel the burning thorns,
He shall take them away has with a whirlwind,
As in His living and burning wrath.
10 The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the ivengeance;
jHe shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked,
11 kSo that men will say,
“Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
Surely He is God who ljudges in the earth.”
The Assured Judgment of the Wicked
To the Chief Musician. Set to 1“Do Not Destroy.” A Michtam of David aWhen Saul Sent Men, and They Watched the House in Order to Kill Him.
1 Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
2Defend me from those who rise up against me.
2 Deliver me from the workers of iniquity,
And save me from bloodthirsty men.
3 For look, they lie in wait for my life;
bThe mighty gather against me,
Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O Lord.
4 They run and prepare themselves through no fault of mine.
cAwake to help me, and behold!
5 You therefore, O Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel,
Awake to punish all the 3nations;
Do not be merciful to any wicked transgressors.
Selah
6 dAt evening they return,
They growl like a dog,
And go all around the city.
7 Indeed, they belch with their mouth;
eSwords are in their lips;
For they say, f“Who hears?”
8 But gYou, O Lord, shall laugh at them;
You shall have all the 4nations in derision.
9 I will wait for You, O You 5his Strength;
10 7My God of mercy shall icome to meet me;
God shall let jme see my desire on my enemies.
11 Do not slay them, lest my people forget;
Scatter them by Your power,
And bring them down,
O Lord our shield.
12 kFor the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips,
Let them even be taken in their pride,
And for the cursing and lying which they speak.
13 lConsume them in wrath, consume them,
That they may not be;
And mlet them know that God rules in Jacob
To the ends of the earth.
Selah
14 And nat evening they return,
They growl like a dog,
And go all around the city.
15 They owander up and down for food,
And 8howl if they are not satisfied.
16 But I will sing of Your power;
Yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning;
For You have been my defense
And refuge in the day of my trouble.
17 To You, pO my Strength, I will sing praises;
For God is my defense,
My God of mercy.
Urgent Prayer for the Restored Favor of God
To the Chief Musician. aSet to 1“Lily of the Testimony.” A Michtam of David. For Teaching. bWhen He Fought Against Mesopotamia and Syria of Zobah, and Joab Returned and Killed Twelve Thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.
1 O God, cYou have cast us off;
You have broken us down;
You have been displeased;
Oh, restore us again!
2 You have made the earth tremble;
You have broken it;
dHeal its breaches, for it is shaking.
3 eYou have shown Your people hard things;
fYou have made us drink the wine of 2confusion.
4 gYou have given a banner to those who fear You,
That it may be displayed because of the truth.
Selah
5 hThat Your beloved may be delivered,
Save with Your right hand, and hear me.
6 God has ispoken in His holiness:
“I will rejoice;
And measure out lthe Valley of Succoth.
7 Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine;
mEphraim also is the 3helmet for My head;
nJudah is My lawgiver.
8 oMoab is My washpot;
pOver Edom I will cast My shoe;
qPhilistia, shout in triumph because of Me.”
9 Who will bring me to the strong city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
10 Is it not You, O God, rwho cast us off?
And You, O God, who did snot go out with our armies?
tFor the help of man is useless.
12 Through God uwe will do valiantly,
For it is He who shall tread down our enemies.