Faith in the Lord’s Righteousness

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

11 In (A)the Lord I put my trust;
How can you say to my soul,
“Flee as a bird to your mountain”?
For look! (B)The wicked bend their bow,
They make ready their arrow on the string,
That they may shoot [a]secretly at the upright in heart.
(C)If the foundations are destroyed,
What can the righteous do?

The Lord is in His holy temple,
The Lord’s (D)throne is in heaven;
(E)His eyes behold,
His eyelids test the sons of men.
The Lord (F)tests the righteous,
But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates.
Upon the wicked He will rain coals;
Fire and brimstone and a burning wind
(G)Shall be [b]the portion of their cup.

For the Lord is righteous,
He (H)loves righteousness;
[c]His countenance beholds the upright.

Man’s Treachery and God’s Constancy

To the Chief Musician. (I)On [d]an eight-stringed harp. A Psalm of David.

12 Help,[e] Lord, for the godly man (J)ceases!
For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.
(K)They speak idly everyone with his neighbor;
With flattering lips and [f]a double heart they speak.

May the Lord [g]cut off all flattering lips,
And the tongue that speaks [h]proud things,
Who have said,
“With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are our own;
Who is lord over us?”

“For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy,
Now I will arise,” says the Lord;
“I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.”

The words of the Lord are (L)pure words,
Like silver tried in a furnace of earth,
Purified seven times.
You shall keep them, O Lord,
You shall preserve them from this generation forever.

The wicked prowl on every side,
When vileness is exalted among the sons of men.

Trust in the Salvation of the Lord

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

13 How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?
(M)How long will You hide Your face from me?
How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart daily?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

Consider and hear me, O Lord my God;
(N)Enlighten my eyes,
(O)Lest I sleep the sleep of death;
Lest my enemy say,
“I have prevailed against him”;
Lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved.

But I have trusted in Your mercy;
My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me.

Folly of the Godless, and God’s Final Triumph(P)

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

14 The (Q)fool has said in his heart,
There is no God.”
They are corrupt,
They have done abominable works,
There is none who does good.

(R)The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men,
To see if there are any who understand, who seek God.
(S)They have all turned aside,
They have together become corrupt;
There is none who does good,
No, not one.

Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge,
Who eat up my people as they eat bread,
And (T)do not call on the Lord?
There they are in great fear,
For God is with the generation of the righteous.
You shame the counsel of the poor,
But the Lord is his (U)refuge.

(V)Oh,[i] that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!
(W)When the Lord brings back [j]the captivity of His people,
Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.

The Character of Those Who May Dwell with the Lord

A Psalm of David.

15 Lord, (X)who may [k]abide in Your tabernacle?
Who may dwell in Your holy hill?

He who walks uprightly,
And works righteousness,
And speaks the (Y)truth in his heart;
He who (Z)does not backbite with his tongue,
Nor does evil to his neighbor,
(AA)Nor does he [l]take up a reproach against his friend;
(AB)In whose eyes a vile person is despised,
But he honors those who fear the Lord;
He who (AC)swears to his own hurt and does not change;
He who does not put out his money at usury,
Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.

He who does these things (AD)shall never be moved.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 11:2 Lit. in darkness
  2. Psalm 11:6 Their allotted portion or serving
  3. Psalm 11:7 Or The upright beholds His countenance
  4. Psalm 12:1 Heb. sheminith
  5. Psalm 12:1 Save
  6. Psalm 12:2 An inconsistent mind
  7. Psalm 12:3 destroy
  8. Psalm 12:3 great
  9. Psalm 14:7 Lit. Who will give out of Zion the salvation of Israel?
  10. Psalm 14:7 Or His captive people
  11. Psalm 15:1 sojourn
  12. Psalm 15:3 receive

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