Psalm 7-8

The Voice

³ O Eternal my God, if I have done anything wrong to deserve this,
    if there is blood on my hands,
⁴ If I have mistreated a friend,
    or if I have stolen from an adversary without just cause,
⁵ Then let my enemy come after me and catch me,
    stomping me into the ground, ending my life,
    and grinding my honor into the dirt.

[pause]^[b]

⁶ Arise, O Eternal One, inflamed by Your anger.
    Come and counter the rage of my adversaries;
    open Your eyes, my God; hear my plea for justice once and for all.

⁷ Let the people gather around You.
    Return to Your rightful place above them in the high court.
⁸ The Eternal will judge the nations.
    Judge me now, Eternal One, according to my virtue and integrity.

⁹ Please, bring the evil actions of these wicked, wicked people to an end!
    But secure the righteous,
For You, righteous God,
    examine our hearts and minds.
¹⁰ God is my defender;
    He rescues those who have a pure heart.
¹¹ God is a just judge;
    He passes judgment daily against the person who does evil.

¹² If the wicked do not turn from their evil deeds, God will sharpen His sword;
    He will bend His bow, stringing it in readiness.
¹³ Yes, He has prepared His deadly weapons
    with His arrows flaming hot.
¹⁴ See, my enemies are fertile with evil.
    They conceive trouble
    and give birth to deception.
¹⁵ They prepare a trap, digging a deep pit,
    and fall into the snare they have made.
¹⁶ The trouble they plan will return to punish them,
    and their violent acts will come back to haunt them.

¹⁷ As a result, I will thank the Eternal for His justice
    and sing praises in honor of the Eternal, Most High.

¹ O Eternal, our Lord,
    Your majestic name is heard throughout the earth;
Your magnificent glory shines far above the skies.
² From the mouths and souls of infants and toddlers, the most innocent,
    You have decreed power to stop Your adversaries
    and quash those who seek revenge.

³ When I gaze to the skies and meditate on Your creation—
    on the moon, stars, and all You have made,
⁴ I can’t help but wonder why You care about mortals—
    sons and daughters of men—
    specks of dust floating about the cosmos.

⁵ But You placed the son of man just beneath God
    and honored him like royalty, crowning him with glory and honor.
⁶ You ordained him to govern the works of Your hands,
    to nurture the offspring of Your divine imagination;
    You placed everything on earth beneath his feet:
⁷ All kinds of domesticated animals,
    even the wild animals in the fields and forests,
⁸ The birds of the sky and the fish of the sea,
    all the multitudes of living things that travel the currents of the oceans.

⁹ O Eternal, our Lord,
    Your majestic name is heard throughout the earth.