Psalm 54-56

New King James Version

Answered Prayer for Deliverance from Adversaries

To the Chief Musician. With ^[a]stringed instruments. A ^[b]Contemplation of David ^(A)when the Ziphites went and said to Saul, “Is David not hiding with us?”

54 Save me, O God, by Your name,
And vindicate me by Your strength.
²Hear my prayer, O God;
Give ear to the words of my mouth.
³For strangers have risen up against me,
And oppressors have sought after my life;
They have not set God before them. Selah

⁴Behold, God is my helper;
The Lord is with those who ^[c]uphold my life.
⁵He will repay my enemies for their evil.
^[d]Cut them off in Your ^[e]truth.

⁶I will freely sacrifice to You;
I will praise Your name, O Lord, for it is good.
⁷For He has delivered me out of all trouble;
^(B)And my eye has seen its desire upon my enemies.

Trust in God Concerning the Treachery of Friends

To the Chief Musician. With ^[f]stringed instruments. A ^[g]Contemplation of David.

55 Give ear to my prayer, O God,
And do not hide Yourself from my supplication.
²Attend to me, and hear me;
I ^(C)am^[h] restless in my complaint, and moan noisily,
³Because of the voice of the enemy,
Because of the oppression of the wicked;
^(D)For they bring down trouble upon me,
And in wrath they hate me.

⁴^(E)My heart is severely pained within me,
And the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
⁵Fearfulness and trembling have come upon me,
And horror has overwhelmed me.
⁶So I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest.
⁷Indeed, I would wander far off,
And remain in the wilderness. Selah
⁸I would hasten my escape
From the windy storm and tempest.”

⁹Destroy, O Lord, and divide their ^[i]tongues,
For I have seen ^(F)violence and strife in the city.
¹⁰Day and night they go around it on its walls;
^(G)Iniquity and trouble are also in the midst of it.
¹¹Destruction is in its midst;
^(H)Oppression and deceit do not depart from its streets.

¹²^(I)For it is not an enemy who reproaches me;
Then I could bear it.
Nor is it one who hates me who has ^(J)exalted himself against me;
Then I could hide from him.
¹³But it was you, a man my equal,
^(K)My companion and my acquaintance.
¹⁴We took sweet counsel together,
And ^(L)walked to the house of God in the throng.

¹⁵Let death seize them;
Let them ^(M)go down alive into ^[j]hell,
For wickedness is in their dwellings and among them.

¹⁶As for me, I will call upon God,
And the Lord shall save me.
¹⁷^(N)Evening and morning and at noon
I will pray, and cry aloud,
And He shall hear my voice.
¹⁸He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me,
For ^(O)there were many against me.
¹⁹God will hear, and afflict them,
^(P)Even He who abides from of old. Selah
Because they do not change,
Therefore they do not fear God.

²⁰He has ^(Q)put forth his hands against those who ^(R)were at peace with him;
He has broken his ^[k]covenant.
²¹^(S)The words of his mouth were smoother than butter,
But war was in his heart;
His words were softer than oil,
Yet they were drawn swords.

²²^(T)Cast your burden on the Lord,
And ^(U)He shall sustain you;
He shall never permit the righteous to be ^[l]moved.

²³But You, O God, shall bring them down to the pit of destruction;
^(V)Bloodthirsty and deceitful men ^(W)shall not live out half their days;
But I will trust in You.

Prayer for Relief from Tormentors

To the Chief Musician. Set to ^[m]“The Silent Dove in Distant Lands.” A Michtam of David when the ^(X)Philistines captured him in Gath.

56 Be ^(Y)merciful to me, O God, for man would swallow me up;
Fighting all day he oppresses me.
²My enemies would ^(Z)hound me all day,
For there are many who fight against me, O Most High.

³Whenever I am afraid,
I will trust in You.
⁴In God (I will praise His word),
In God I have put my trust;
^(AA)I will not fear.
What can flesh do to me?

⁵All day they twist my words;
All their thoughts are against me for evil.
⁶They gather together,
They hide, they mark my steps,
When they lie in wait for my life.
⁷Shall they escape by iniquity?
In anger cast down the peoples, O God!

⁸You number my wanderings;
Put my tears into Your bottle;
^(AB)Are they not in Your book?
⁹When I cry out to You,
Then my enemies will turn back;
This I know, because ^(AC)God is for me.
¹⁰In God (I will praise His word),
In the Lord (I will praise His word),
¹¹In God I have put my trust;
I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?

¹²Vows made to You are binding upon me, O God;
I will render praises to You,
¹³^(AD)For You have delivered my soul from death.
Have You not kept my feet from falling,
That I may walk before God
In the ^(AE)light of the living?