Psalm 4–10

Psalm 4

To the Chief Musician. With Stringed Instruments. A Psalm of David.

¹Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness!

You have relieved me in my distress;

²Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.

²How long, O you sons of men,

Will you turn my glory to shame?

How long will you love worthlessness

And seek falsehood?

Selah

³But know that ^athe Lord has ³set apart for Himself him who is godly;

The Lord will hear when I call to Him.

^4bBe ⁴angry, and do not sin.

^cMeditate within your heart on your bed, and be still.

Selah

⁵Offer ^dthe sacrifices of righteousness,

And ^eput your trust in the Lord.

⁶There are many who say,

“Who will show us any good?”

^fLord, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us.

⁷You have put ^ggladness in my heart,

More than in the season that their grain and wine increased.

^8hI will both lie down in peace, and sleep;

ⁱFor You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

Psalm 5

To the Chief Musician. With Flutes. A Psalm of David.

¹Give ^aear to my words, O Lord,

Consider my ²meditation.

²Give heed to the voice of my cry,

My King and my God,

For to You I will pray.

³My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord;

^bIn the morning I will direct it to You,

And I will look up.

⁴For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness,

Nor shall evil ³dwell with You.

⁵The ^cboastful shall not ^dstand in Your sight;

You hate all workers of iniquity.

⁶You shall destroy those who speak falsehood;

The Lord abhors the ^ebloodthirsty and deceitful man.

⁷But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy;

In fear of You I will worship toward ⁴Your holy temple.

^8fLead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies;

Make Your way straight before my face.

⁹For there is no ⁵faithfulness in their mouth;

Their inward part is destruction;

^gTheir throat is an open tomb;

They flatter with their tongue.

¹⁰Pronounce them guilty, O God!

Let them fall by their own counsels;

Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions,

For they have rebelled against You.

¹¹But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You;

Let them ever shout for joy, because You ⁶defend them;

Let those also who love Your name

Be joyful in You.

¹²For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous;

With favor You will surround him as with a shield.

Psalm 6

To the Chief Musician. With Stringed Instruments. On An Eight-Stringed Harp. A Psalm of David.

¹O Lord, ^bdo not rebuke me in Your anger,

Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure.

²Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak;

O Lord, ^cheal me, for my bones are troubled.

³My soul also is greatly ^dtroubled;

But You, O Lord—how long?

⁴Return, O Lord, deliver me!

Oh, save me for Your mercies’ sake!

^5eFor in death there is no remembrance of You;

In the grave who will give You thanks?

⁶I am weary with my groaning;

²All night I make my bed swim;

I drench my couch with my tears.

^7fMy eye wastes away because of grief;

It grows old because of all my enemies.

^8gDepart from me, all you workers of iniquity;

For the Lord has ^hheard the voice of my weeping.

⁹The Lord has heard my supplication;

The Lord will receive my prayer.

¹⁰Let all my enemies be ashamed and greatly troubled;

Let them turn back and be ashamed suddenly.

Psalm 7

A Meditation Concerning the Words of Cush, a Benjamite.

¹O Lord my God, in You I put my trust; ^cSave me from all those who persecute me;

And deliver me,

^2dLest they tear me like a lion,

^eRending me in pieces, while there is none to deliver.

³O Lord my God, ^fif I have done this:

If there is ^giniquity in my hands,

⁴If I have repaid evil to him who was at peace with me,

Or ^hhave plundered my enemy without cause,

⁵Let the enemy pursue me and overtake me;

Yes, let him trample my life to the earth,

And lay my honor in the dust.

Selah

⁶Arise, O Lord, in Your anger;

ⁱLift Yourself up because of the rage of my enemies;

^jRise up ²for me to the judgment You have commanded!

⁷So the congregation of the peoples shall surround You;

For their sakes, therefore, return on high.

⁸The Lord shall judge the peoples;

^kJudge me, O Lord, ^laccording to my righteousness,

And according to my integrity within me.

⁹Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end,

But establish the just;

^mFor the righteous God tests the hearts and ³minds.

¹⁰⁴My defense is of God,

Who saves the ⁿupright in heart.

¹¹God is a just judge,

And God is angry with the wicked every day.

¹²If he does not turn back,

He will ^osharpen His sword;

He bends His bow and makes it ready.

¹³He also prepares for Himself instruments of death;

He makes His arrows into fiery shafts.

^14pBehold, the wicked brings forth iniquity;

Yes, he conceives trouble and brings forth falsehood.

¹⁵He made a pit and dug it out,

^qAnd has fallen into the ditch which he made.

^16rHis trouble shall return upon his own head,

And his violent dealing shall come down on ⁵his own crown.

¹⁷I will praise the Lord according to His righteousness,

And will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.

Psalm 8

To the Chief Musician. On the Instrument of Gath. A Psalm of David.

¹O Lord, our Lord,

How ^aexcellent is Your name in all the earth,

Who have ^bset Your glory above the heavens!

^2cOut of the mouth of babes and nursing infants

You have ²ordained strength,

Because of Your enemies,

That You may silence ^dthe enemy and the avenger.

³When I ^econsider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,

The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,

^4fWhat is man that You are mindful of him,

And the son of man that You ^gvisit ³him?

⁵For You have made him a little lower than ⁴the angels,

And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

^6hYou have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;

ⁱYou have put all things under his feet,

⁷All sheep and oxen—

Even the beasts of the field,

⁸The birds of the air,

And the fish of the sea

That pass through the paths of the seas.

^9jO Lord, our Lord,

How excellent is Your name in all the earth!

Psalm 9

To the Chief Musician. To The Tune of “Death of the Son.” A Psalm of David.

¹I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart;

I will tell of all Your marvelous works.

²I will be glad and ^arejoice in You;

I will sing praise to Your name, ^bO Most High.

³When my enemies turn back,

They shall fall and perish at Your presence.

⁴For You have maintained my right and my cause;

You sat on the throne judging in righteousness.

⁵You have rebuked the ²nations,

You have destroyed the wicked;

You have ^cblotted out their name forever and ever.

⁶O enemy, destructions are finished forever!

And you have destroyed cities;

Even their memory has ^dperished.

^7eBut the Lord shall endure forever;

He has prepared His throne for judgment.

^8fHe shall judge the world in righteousness,

And He shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness.

⁹The Lord also will be a ^grefuge ³for the oppressed,

A refuge in times of trouble.

¹⁰And those who ^hknow Your name will put their trust in You;

For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.

¹¹Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion!

ⁱDeclare His deeds among the people.

^12jWhen He avenges blood, He remembers them;

He does not forget the cry of the ⁴humble.

¹³Have mercy on me, O Lord!

Consider my trouble from those who hate me,

You who lift me up from the gates of death,

¹⁴That I may tell of all Your praise

In the gates of ⁵the daughter of Zion.

I will ^krejoice in Your salvation.

^15lThe ⁶nations have sunk down in the pit which they made;

In the net which they hid, their own foot is caught.

¹⁶The Lord is ^mknown by the judgment He executes;

The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands.

ⁿMeditation. ⁷

Selah

¹⁷The wicked shall be turned into hell,

And all the ⁸nations ^othat forget God.

^18pFor the needy shall not always be forgotten;

^qThe expectation of the poor shall not perish forever.

¹⁹Arise, O Lord,

Do not let man prevail;

Let the ⁹nations be judged in Your sight.

²⁰Put them in fear, O Lord,

That the ¹nations may know themselves to be but men.

Selah

Psalm 10

¹Why do You stand afar off, O Lord? Why do You hide in times of trouble?

²The wicked in his pride ¹persecutes the poor;

^aLet them be caught in the plots which they have devised.

³For the wicked ^bboasts of his heart’s desire;

²He ^cblesses the greedy and renounces the Lord.

⁴The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God;

³God is in none of his ^dthoughts.

⁵His ways ⁴are always prospering;

Your judgments are far above, out of his sight;

As for all his enemies, he sneers at them.

^6eHe has said in his heart, “I shall not be moved;

^fI shall never be in adversity.”

^7gHis mouth is full of cursing and ^hdeceit and oppression;

Under his tongue is trouble and iniquity.

⁸He sits in the lurking places of the villages;

In the secret places he murders the innocent;

His eyes are secretly fixed on the helpless.

⁹He lies in wait secretly, as a lion in his den;

He lies in wait to catch the poor;

He catches the poor when he draws him into his net.

¹⁰So ⁵he crouches, he lies low,

That the helpless may fall by his ⁶strength.

¹¹He has said in his heart,

“God has forgotten;

He hides His face;

He will never see.”

¹²Arise, O Lord!

O God, ⁱlift up Your hand!

Do not forget the ^jhumble.

¹³Why do the wicked renounce God?

He has said in his heart,

“You will not require an account.”

¹⁴But You have ^kseen, for You observe trouble and grief,

To repay it by Your hand.

The helpless ^lcommits ⁷himself to You;

^mYou are the helper of the fatherless.

¹⁵Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man;

Seek out his wickedness until You find none.

¹⁶ⁿThe Lord is King forever and ever;

The nations have perished out of His land.

¹⁷Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble;

You will prepare their heart;

You will cause Your ear to hear,

¹⁸To ⁸do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,

That the man of the earth may ⁹oppress no more.