Psalm 7–12

Psalm 7

A psalm* of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush of the tribe of Benjamin.

1 I come to you for protection, O Lord my God.

Save me from my persecutors—rescue me!

2 If you don’t, they will maul me like a lion,

tearing me to pieces with no one to rescue me.

3 O Lord my God, if I have done wrong

or am guilty of injustice,

4 if I have betrayed a friend

or plundered my enemy without cause,

5 then let my enemies capture me.

Let them trample me into the ground

and drag my honor in the dust.

Interlude

6 Arise, O Lord, in anger!

Stand up against the fury of my enemies!

Wake up, my God, and bring justice!

7 Gather the nations before you.

Rule over them from on high.

8 The Lord judges the nations.

Declare me righteous, O Lord,

for I am innocent, O Most High!

9 End the evil of those who are wicked,

and defend the righteous.

For you look deep within the mind and heart,

O righteous God.

10 God is my shield,

saving those whose hearts are true and right.

11 God is an honest judge.

He is angry with the wicked every day.

12 If a person does not repent,

God* will sharpen his sword;

he will bend and string his bow.

13 He will prepare his deadly weapons

and shoot his flaming arrows.

14 The wicked conceive evil;

they are pregnant with trouble

and give birth to lies.

15 They dig a deep pit to trap others,

then fall into it themselves.

16 The trouble they make for others backfires on them.

The violence they plan falls on their own heads.

17 I will thank the Lord because he is just;

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

Psalm 8

For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by a stringed instrument.*

1 O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!

Your glory is higher than the heavens.

2 You have taught children and infants

to tell of your strength,*

silencing your enemies

and all who oppose you.

3 When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—

the moon and the stars you set in place—

4 what are mere mortals that you should think about them,

human beings that you should care for them?*

5 Yet you made them only a little lower than God*

and crowned them* with glory and honor.

6 You gave them charge of everything you made,

putting all things under their authority—

7 the flocks and the herds

and all the wild animals,

8 the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea,

and everything that swims the ocean currents.

9 O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!

Psalm 9

For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be sung to the tune “Death of the Son.”

1 I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;

I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.

2 I will be filled with joy because of you.

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

3 My enemies retreated;

they staggered and died when you appeared.

4 For you have judged in my favor;

from your throne you have judged with fairness.

5 You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;

you have erased their names forever.

6 The enemy is finished, in endless ruins;

the cities you uprooted are now forgotten.

7 But the Lord reigns forever,

executing judgment from his throne.

8 He will judge the world with justice

and rule the nations with fairness.

9 The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed,

a refuge in times of trouble.

10 Those who know your name trust in you,

for you, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for you.

11 Sing praises to the Lord who reigns in Jerusalem.*

Tell the world about his unforgettable deeds.

12 For he who avenges murder cares for the helpless.

He does not ignore the cries of those who suffer.

13 Lord, have mercy on me.

See how my enemies torment me.

Snatch me back from the jaws of death.

14 Save me so I can praise you publicly at Jerusalem’s gates,

so I can rejoice that you have rescued me.

15 The nations have fallen into the pit they dug for others.

Their own feet have been caught in the trap they set.

16 The Lord is known for his justice.

The wicked are trapped by their own deeds.

Quiet Interlude*

17 The wicked will go down to the grave.*

This is the fate of all the nations who ignore God.

18 But the needy will not be ignored forever;

the hopes of the poor will not always be crushed.

19 Arise, O Lord!

Do not let mere mortals defy you!

Judge the nations!

20 Make them tremble in fear, O Lord.

Let the nations know they are merely human.

Interlude

Psalm 10

1 O Lord, why do you stand so far away?

Why do you hide when I am in trouble?

2 The wicked arrogantly hunt down the poor.

Let them be caught in the evil they plan for others.

3 For they brag about their evil desires;

they praise the greedy and curse the Lord.

4 The wicked are too proud to seek God.

They seem to think that God is dead.

5 Yet they succeed in everything they do.

They do not see your punishment awaiting them.

They sneer at all their enemies.

6 They think, “Nothing bad will ever happen to us!

We will be free of trouble forever!”

7 Their mouths are full of cursing, lies, and threats.*

Trouble and evil are on the tips of their tongues.

8 They lurk in ambush in the villages,

waiting to murder innocent people.

They are always searching for helpless victims.

9 Like lions crouched in hiding,

they wait to pounce on the helpless.

Like hunters they capture the helpless

and drag them away in nets.

10 Their helpless victims are crushed;

they fall beneath the strength of the wicked.

11 The wicked think, “God isn’t watching us!

He has closed his eyes and won’t even see what we do!”

12 Arise, O Lord!

Punish the wicked, O God!

Do not ignore the helpless!

13 Why do the wicked get away with despising God?

They think, “God will never call us to account.”

14 But you see the trouble and grief they cause.

You take note of it and punish them.

The helpless put their trust in you.

You defend the orphans.

15 Break the arms of these wicked, evil people!

Go after them until the last one is destroyed.

16 The Lord is king forever and ever!

The godless nations will vanish from the land.

17 Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless.

Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them.

18 You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed,

so mere people can no longer terrify them.

Psalm 11

For the choir director: A psalm of David.

1 I trust in the Lord for protection.

So why do you say to me,

“Fly like a bird to the mountains for safety!

2 The wicked are stringing their bows

and fitting their arrows on the bowstrings.

They shoot from the shadows

at those whose hearts are right.

3 The foundations of law and order have collapsed.

What can the righteous do?”

4 But the Lord is in his holy Temple;

the Lord still rules from heaven.

He watches everyone closely,

examining every person on earth.

5 The Lord examines both the righteous and the wicked.

He hates those who love violence.

6 He will rain down blazing coals and burning sulfur on the wicked,

punishing them with scorching winds.

7 For the righteous Lord loves justice.

The virtuous will see his face.

Psalm 12

For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by an eight-stringed instrument.*

1 Help, O Lord, for the godly are fast disappearing!

The faithful have vanished from the earth!

2 Neighbors lie to each other,

speaking with flattering lips and deceitful hearts.

3 May the Lord cut off their flattering lips

and silence their boastful tongues.

4 They say, “We will lie to our hearts’ content.

Our lips are our own—who can stop us?”

5 The Lord replies, “I have seen violence done to the helpless,

and I have heard the groans of the poor.

Now I will rise up to rescue them,

as they have longed for me to do.”

6 The Lord’s promises are pure,

like silver refined in a furnace,

purified seven times over.

7 Therefore, Lord, we know you will protect the oppressed,

preserving them forever from this lying generation,

8 even though the wicked strut about,

and evil is praised throughout the land.