PSALM 7

The Lord Implored to Defend the Psalmist against the Wicked.

A †Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord •concerning Cush, a Benjamite.

1 O Lord my God, ain You I have taken refuge;

Save me from all those who pursue me, and bdeliver me,

2 Or he will tear 1my soul alike a lion,

2Dragging me away, while there is none to deliver.

3 O Lord my God, if I have done this,

If there is ainjustice in my hands,

4 If I have arewarded evil to 1my friend,

Or have bplundered 2him who without cause was my adversary,

5 Let the enemy pursue 1my soul and overtake 2it;

And let him trample my life down to the ground

And lay my glory in the dust.

3Selah.

6 aArise, O Lord, in Your anger;

bLift up Yourself against cthe rage of my adversaries,

And darouse Yourself 1for me; You have appointed judgment.

7 Let the assembly of the apeoples encompass You,

And over 1them return on high.

8 The Lord ajudges the peoples;

1bVindicate me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.

9 O let athe evil of the wicked come to an end, but bestablish the righteous;

For the righteous God ctries the hearts and 1minds.

10 My ashield is 1with God,

Who bsaves the upright in heart.

11 God is a arighteous judge,

And a God who has bindignation every day.

12 If 1a man adoes not repent, He will bsharpen His sword;

He has cbent His bow and 2made it ready.

13 He has also prepared 1for Himself deadly weapons;

He makes His aarrows fiery shafts.

14 Behold, he travails with wickedness,

And he aconceives mischief and brings forth falsehood.

15 He has dug a pit and hollowed it out,

And has afallen into the hole which he made.

16 His amischief will return upon his own head,

And his bviolence will descend upon 1his own pate.

17 I will give thanks to the Lord aaccording to His righteousness

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

PSALM 8

The Lord’s Glory and Man’s Dignity.

For the choir director; on the Gittith. A Psalm of David.

1 O Lord, our Lord,

How majestic is Your name in all the earth,

Who have 1adisplayed Your splendor above the heavens!

2 aFrom the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established 1bstrength

Because of Your adversaries,

To make cthe enemy and the revengeful cease.

3 When I 1aconsider bYour heavens, the work of Your fingers,

The cmoon and the stars, which You have 2ordained;

4 aWhat is man that You 1take thought of him,

And the son of man that You care for him?

5 Yet You have made him a alittle lower than 1God,

And bYou crown him with cglory and majesty!

6 You make him to arule over the works of Your hands;

You have bput all things under his feet,

7 All sheep and oxen,

And also the 1beasts of the field,

8 The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,

Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.

9 aO Lord, our Lord,

How majestic is Your name in all the earth!

PSALM 9

A Psalm of Thanksgiving for God’s Justice.

For the choir director; on †Muth-labben. A Psalm of David.

1 I will give thanks to the Lord with all amy heart;

I will btell of all Your 1wonders.

2 I will be glad and aexult in You;

I will bsing praise to Your name, O cMost High.

3 When my enemies turn back,

They stumble and aperish before You.

4 For You have amaintained 1my just cause;

You have sat on the throne 2bjudging righteously.

5 You have arebuked the nations, You have destroyed the wicked;

You have bblotted out their name forever and ever.

6 1The enemy has come to an end in perpetual ruins,

And You have uprooted the cities;

The very amemory of them has perished.

7 But the aLord 1abides forever;

He has established His bthrone for judgment,

8 And He will ajudge the world in righteousness;

He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity.

9 1The Lord also will be a astronghold for the oppressed,

A stronghold in times of trouble;

10 And 1those who aknow Your name will put their trust in You,

For You, O Lord, have not bforsaken those who seek You.

11 Sing praises to the Lord, who adwells in Zion;

bDeclare among the peoples His deeds.

12 For aHe who 1requires blood remembers them;

He does not forget bthe cry of the afflicted.

13 Be gracious to me, O Lord;

See my affliction from those awho hate me,

You who blift me up from the gates of death,

14 That I may tell of aall Your praises,

That in the gates of the daughter of Zion

I may brejoice in Your 1salvation.

15 The nations have sunk down ain the pit which they have made;

In the bnet which they hid, their own foot has been caught.

16 The Lord has amade Himself known;

He has bexecuted judgment.

In the work of his own hands the wicked is snared.

1Higgaion 2Selah.

17 The wicked will 1areturn to 2Sheol,

Even all the nations who bforget God.

18 For the aneedy will not always be forgotten,

Nor the bhope of the afflicted perish forever.

19 aArise, O Lord, do not let man prevail;

Let the nations be bjudged before You.

20 Put them ain fear, O Lord;

Let the nations know that they are bbut men.

Selah.