God, brilliant Lord, yours is a household name.

God, brilliant Lord, your name echoes around the world.

The victim’s faint pulse picks up; the hearts of the hopeless pump red blood as you put your ear to their lips. Orphans get parents, the homeless get homes. The reign of terror is over, the rule of the gang lords is ended.

Keep me safe, O God, I’ve run for dear life to you. I say to God, “Be my Lord!” Without you, nothing makes sense.

Please get up—wake up! Tend to my case. My God, my Lord—my life is on the line. Do what you think is right, God, my God, but don’t make me pay for their good time. Don’t let them say to themselves, “Ha-ha, we got what we wanted.” Don’t let them say, “We’ve chewed him up and spit him out.” Let those who are being hilarious at my expense Be made to look ridiculous. Make them wear donkey’s ears; Pin them with the donkey’s tail, who made themselves so high and mighty!

Lord, my longings are sitting in plain sight, my groans an old story to you. My heart’s about to break; I’m a burned-out case. Cataracts blind me to God and good; old friends avoid me like the plague. My cousins never visit, my neighbors stab me in the back. My competitors blacken my name, devoutly they pray for my ruin. But I’m deaf and mute to it all, ears shut, mouth shut. I don’t hear a word they say, don’t speak a word in response. What I do, God, is wait for you, wait for my Lord, my God—you will answer! I wait and pray so they won’t laugh me off, won’t smugly strut off when I stumble.

“What am I doing in the meantime, Lord? Hoping, that’s what I’m doing—hoping You’ll save me from a rebel life, save me from the contempt of idiots. I’ll say no more, I’ll shut my mouth, since you, Lord, are behind all this. But I can’t take it much longer. When you put us through the fire to purge us from our sin, our dearest idols go up in smoke. Are we also nothing but smoke?

“Now listen, daughter, don’t miss a word: forget your country, put your home behind you. Be here—the king is wild for you. Since he’s your lord, adore him. Wedding gifts pour in from Tyre; rich guests shower you with presents.”

Applause, everyone. Bravo, bravissimo! Shout God-songs at the top of your lungs! God Most High is stunning, astride land and ocean. He crushes hostile people, puts nations at our feet. He set us at the head of the line, prize-winning Jacob, his favorite. Loud cheers as God climbs the mountain, a ram’s horn blast at the summit. Sing songs to God, sing out! Sing to our King, sing praise! He’s Lord over earth, so sing your best songs to God. God is Lord of godless nations— sovereign, he’s King of the mountain. Princes from all over are gathered, people of Abraham’s God. The powers of earth are God’s— he soars over all.

Come down hard, Lord—slit their tongues. I’m appalled how they’ve split the city Into rival gangs prowling the alleys Day and night spoiling for a fight, trash piled in the streets, Even shopkeepers gouging and cheating in broad daylight.

Love to you, Lord God! You pay a fair wage for a good day’s work!

All believers, come here and listen, let me tell you what God did for me. I called out to him with my mouth, my tongue shaped the sounds of music. If I had been cozy with evil, the Lord would never have listened. But he most surely did listen, he came on the double when he heard my prayer. Blessed be God: he didn’t turn a deaf ear, he stayed with me, loyal in his love.

The Lord gave the word; thousands called out the good news: “Kings of the armies are on the run, on the run!” While housewives, safe and sound back home, divide up the plunder, the plunder of Canaanite silver and gold. On that day that Shaddai scattered the kings, snow fell on Black Mountain.

The chariots of God, twice ten thousand, and thousands more besides, The Lord in the lead, riding down Sinai— straight to the Holy Place! You climbed to the High Place, captives in tow, your arms full of plunder from rebels, And now you sit there in state, God, sovereign God!

Blessed be the Lord— day after day he carries us along. He’s our Savior, our God, oh yes! He’s God-for-us, he’s God-who-saves-us. Lord God knows all death’s ins and outs. What’s more, he made heads roll, split the skulls of the enemy As he marched out of heaven, saying, “I tied up the Dragon in knots, put a muzzle on the Deep Blue Sea.” You can wade through your enemies’ blood, and your dogs taste of your enemies from your boots.

Sing, O kings of the earth! Sing praises to the Lord! There he is: Sky-Rider, striding the ancient skies. Listen—he’s calling in thunder, rumbling, rolling thunder. Call out “Bravo!” to God, the High God of Israel. His splendor and strength rise huge as thunderheads.

Don’t let those who look to you in hope Be discouraged by what happens to me, Dear Lord! God of the armies! Don’t let those out looking for you Come to a dead end by following me— Please, dear God of Israel!

God, don’t just watch from the sidelines. Come on! Run to my side! My accusers—make them lose face. Those out to get me—make them look Like idiots, while I stretch out, reaching for you, and daily add praise to praise. I’ll write the book on your righteousness, talk up your salvation all the day long, never run out of good things to write or say. I come in the power of the Lord God, I post signs marking his right-of-way.

You’re all I want in heaven! You’re all I want on earth! When my skin sags and my bones get brittle, God is rock-firm and faithful. Look! Those who left you are falling apart! Deserters, they’ll never be heard from again. But I’m in the very presence of God— oh, how refreshing it is! I’ve made Lord God my home. God, I’m telling the world what you do!

I found myself in trouble and went looking for my Lord; my life was an open wound that wouldn’t heal. When friends said, “Everything will turn out all right,” I didn’t believe a word they said. I remember God—and shake my head. I bow my head—then wring my hands. I’m awake all night—not a wink of sleep; I can’t even say what’s bothering me. I go over the days one by one, I ponder the years gone by. I strum my lute all through the night, wondering how to get my life together.

Will the Lord walk off and leave us for good? Will he never smile again? Is his love worn threadbare? Has his salvation promise burned out? Has God forgotten his manners? Has he angrily stomped off and left us? “Just my luck,” I said. “The High God retires just the moment I need him.”

Suddenly the Lord was up on his feet like someone roused from deep sleep, shouting like a drunken warrior. He hit his enemies hard, sent them running, yelping, not daring to look back. He disqualified Joseph as leader, told Ephraim he didn’t have what it takes, And chose the Tribe of Judah instead, Mount Zion, which he loves so much. He built his sanctuary there, resplendent, solid and lasting as the earth itself. Then he chose David, his servant, handpicked him from his work in the sheep pens. One day he was caring for the ewes and their lambs, the next day God had him shepherding Jacob, his people Israel, his prize possession. His good heart made him a good shepherd; he guided the people wisely and well.

There’s no one quite like you among the gods, O Lord, and nothing to compare with your works. All the nations you made are on their way, ready to give honor to you, O Lord, Ready to put your beauty on display, parading your greatness, And the great things you do— God, you’re the one, there’s no one but you!

Train me, God, to walk straight; then I’ll follow your true path. Put me together, one heart and mind; then, undivided, I’ll worship in joyful fear. From the bottom of my heart I thank you, dear Lord; I’ve never kept secret what you’re up to. You’ve always been great toward me—what love! You snatched me from the brink of disaster! God, these bullies have reared their heads! A gang of thugs is after me— and they don’t care a thing about you. But you, O God, are both tender and kind, not easily angered, immense in love, and you never, never quit. So look me in the eye and show kindness, give your servant the strength to go on, save your dear, dear child! Make a show of how much you love me so the bullies who hate me will stand there slack-jawed, As you, God, gently and powerfully put me back on my feet.

But God, you did walk off and leave us, you lost your temper with the one you anointed. You tore up the promise you made to your servant, you stomped his crown in the mud. You blasted his home to kingdom come, reduced his city to a pile of rubble Picked clean by wayfaring strangers, a joke to all the neighbors. You declared a holiday for all his enemies, and they’re celebrating for all they’re worth. Angry, you opposed him in battle, refused to fight on his side; You robbed him of his splendor, humiliated this warrior, ground his kingly honor in the dirt. You took the best years of his life and left him an impotent, ruined husk. How long do we put up with this, God? Are you gone for good? Will you hold this grudge forever? Remember my sorrow and how short life is. Did you create men and women for nothing but this? We’ll see death soon enough. Everyone does. And there’s no back door out of hell. So where is the love you’re so famous for, Lord? What happened to your promise to David? Take a good look at your servant, dear Lord; I’m the butt of the jokes of all nations, The taunting jokes of your enemies, God, as they dog the steps of your dear anointed. Blessed be God forever and always! Yes. Oh, yes.