Psalm 5-7

New King James Version

A Prayer for Guidance

To the Chief Musician. With ^[a]flutes. A Psalm of David.

5 Give ^(A)ear to my words, O Lord,
Consider my ^[b]meditation.
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;
^(B)In 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 ^[c]dwell with You.
⁵The ^(C)boastful shall not ^(D)stand in Your sight;
You hate all workers of iniquity.
⁶You shall destroy those who speak falsehood;
The Lord abhors the ^(E)bloodthirsty 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 ^[d]Your holy temple.
⁸^(F)Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies;
Make Your way straight before my face.

⁹For there is no ^[e]faithfulness in their mouth;
Their inward part is destruction;
^(G)Their 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 ^[f]defend 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.

A Prayer of Faith in Time of Distress

To the Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. ^(H)On ^[g]an eight-stringed harp. A Psalm of David.

6 O Lord, ^(I)do 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, ^(J)heal me, for my bones are troubled.
³My soul also is greatly ^(K)troubled;
But You, O Lord—how long?

⁴Return, O Lord, deliver me!
Oh, save me for Your mercies’ sake!
⁵^(L)For in death there is no remembrance of You;
In the grave who will give You thanks?

⁶I am weary with my groaning;
^[h]All night I make my bed swim;
I drench my couch with my tears.
⁷^(M)My eye wastes away because of grief;
It grows old because of all my enemies.

⁸^(N)Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity;
For the Lord has ^(O)heard 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.

Prayer and Praise for Deliverance from Enemies

A ^(P)Meditation^[i] of David, which he sang to the Lord ^(Q)concerning the words of Cush, a Benjamite.

7 O Lord my God, in You I put my trust;
^(R)Save me from all those who persecute me;
And deliver me,
²^(S)Lest they tear me like a lion,
^(T)Rending me in pieces, while there is none to deliver.

³O Lord my God, ^(U)if I have done this:
If there is ^(V)iniquity in my hands,
⁴If I have repaid evil to him who was at peace with me,
Or ^(W)have 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;
^(X)Lift Yourself up because of the rage of my enemies;
^(Y)Rise up ^[j]for 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;
^(Z)Judge me, O Lord, ^(AA)according 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;
^(AB)For the righteous God tests the hearts and ^[k]minds.
¹⁰^[l]My defense is of God,
Who saves the ^(AC)upright in heart.

¹¹God is a just judge,
And God is angry with the wicked every day.
¹²If he does not turn back,
He will ^(AD)sharpen 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.

¹⁴^(AE)Behold, the wicked brings forth iniquity;
Yes, he conceives trouble and brings forth falsehood.
¹⁵He made a pit and dug it out,
^(AF)And has fallen into the ditch which he made.
¹⁶^(AG)His trouble shall return upon his own head,
And his violent dealing shall come down on ^[m]his own crown.