Psalm 59-61

New King James Version

The Assured Judgment of the Wicked

To the Chief Musician. Set to ^[a]“Do Not Destroy.” A Michtam of David ^(A)when Saul sent men, and they watched the house in order to kill him.

59 Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
^[b]Defend me from those who rise up against me.
²Deliver me from the workers of iniquity,
And save me from bloodthirsty men.

³For look, they lie in wait for my life;
^(B)The mighty gather against me,
Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O Lord.
⁴They run and prepare themselves through no fault of mine.

^(C)Awake to help me, and behold!
⁵You therefore, O Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel,
Awake to punish all the ^[c]nations;
Do not be merciful to any wicked transgressors. Selah

⁶^(D)At evening they return,
They growl like a dog,
And go all around the city.
⁷Indeed, they belch with their mouth;
^(E)Swords are in their lips;
For they say, ^(F)“Who hears?”

⁸But ^(G)You, O Lord, shall laugh at them;
You shall have all the ^[d]nations in derision.
⁹I will wait for You, O You ^[e]his Strength;
^(H)For God is my ^[f]defense.
¹⁰^[g]My God of mercy shall ^(I)come to meet me;
God shall let ^(J)me see my desire on my enemies.

¹¹Do not slay them, lest my people forget;
Scatter them by Your power,
And bring them down,
O Lord our shield.
¹²^(K)For 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^(L)Consume them in wrath, consume them,
That they may not be;
And ^(M)let them know that God rules in Jacob
To the ends of the earth. Selah

¹⁴And ^(N)at evening they return,
They growl like a dog,
And go all around the city.
¹⁵They ^(O)wander up and down for food,
And ^[h]howl if they are not satisfied.

¹⁶But 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.
¹⁷To You, ^(P)O my Strength, I will sing praises;
For God is my defense,
My God of mercy.

Urgent Prayer for the Restored Favor of God^(Q)

To the Chief Musician. ^(R)Set to ^[i]“Lily of the Testimony.” A Michtam of David. For teaching. ^(S)When he fought against Mesopotamia and Syria of Zobah, and Joab returned and killed twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.

60 O God, ^(T)You have cast us off;
You have broken us down;
You have been displeased;
Oh, restore us again!
²You have made the earth tremble;
You have broken it;
^(U)Heal its breaches, for it is shaking.
³^(V)You have shown Your people hard things;
^(W)You have made us drink the wine of ^[j]confusion.

⁴^(X)You have given a banner to those who fear You,
That it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah
⁵^(Y)That Your beloved may be delivered,
Save with Your right hand, and hear me.

⁶God has ^(Z)spoken in His holiness:
“I will rejoice;
I will ^(AA)divide ^(AB)Shechem
And measure out ^(AC)the Valley of Succoth.
⁷Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine;
^(AD)Ephraim also is the ^[k]helmet for My head;
^(AE)Judah is My lawgiver.
⁸^(AF)Moab is My washpot;
^(AG)Over Edom I will cast My shoe;
^(AH)Philistia, shout in triumph because of Me.”

⁹Who will bring me to the strong city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
¹⁰Is it not You, O God, ^(AI)who cast us off?
And You, O God, who did ^(AJ)not go out with our armies?
¹¹Give us help from trouble,
^(AK)For the help of man is useless.
¹²Through God ^(AL)we will do valiantly,
For it is He who shall tread down our enemies.

Assurance of God’s Eternal Protection

To the Chief Musician. On ^[l]a stringed instrument. A Psalm of David.

61 Hear my cry, O God;
Attend to my prayer.
²From the end of the earth I will cry to You,
When my heart is overwhelmed;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

³For You have been a shelter for me,
^(AM)A strong tower from the enemy.
⁴I will abide in Your ^[m]tabernacle forever;
^(AN)I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah

⁵For You, O God, have heard my vows;
You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name.
⁶You will prolong the king’s life,
His years as many generations.
⁷He shall abide before God forever.
Oh, prepare mercy ^(AO)and truth, which may ^[n]preserve him!

⁸So I will sing praise to Your name forever,
That I may daily perform my vows.

Footnotes

Psalm 59:1 Heb. Al Tashcheth
Psalm 59:1 Lit. Set me on high
Psalm 59:5 Gentiles
Psalm 59:8 Gentiles
Psalm 59:9 So with MT, Syr.; some Heb. mss., LXX, Tg., Vg. my Strength
Psalm 59:9 Lit. fortress
Psalm 59:10 So with Qr.; some Heb. mss., LXX, Vg. My God, His mercy; Kt., some Heb. mss., Tg. O God, my mercy; Syr. O God, Your mercy
Psalm 59:15 So with LXX, Vg.; MT, Syr., Tg. spend the night
Psalm 60:1 Heb. Shushan Eduth
Psalm 60:3 staggering
Psalm 60:7 Lit. protection
Psalm 61:1 Heb. neginah
Psalm 61:4 tent
Psalm 61:7 Lit. guard or keep