Beginning
Judgment on the Wicked
For the music director, according to Do not Destroy.
Of David. A miktam.[a]
58 Do you really speak what is right when silent?[b]
Do you judge fairly the children of humankind?[c]
2 No, in your heart you plan injustices;
in the land[d] you weigh out the violence of your hands.
3 The wicked are estranged from the womb.
They go astray from the belly, speaking lies.
4 Their venom is like snake venom;
They are like a deaf viper that closes its ear
5 so that it does not hear the voice of charmers
or the skilled caster of spells.
6 O God, break their teeth in their mouth.
Break off the fangs of the young lions, O Yahweh.
7 Let them run away like water that runs off.
When he bends the bow, let his arrows be as though they were cut off.[e]
8 Let them be like a snail that melts away as it goes;
like the stillborn of woman that do not see the sun.
9 Before your pots can feel the heat of a thornbush,
whether green or dry,[f] he will sweep it away.[g]
10 The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance;
he will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 And people[h] will say, “Surely there is a reward[i] for the righteous.
Surely there is a God who judges in the land.”[j]
A Prayer for Protection
For the music director, according to Do Not Destroy.
Of David. A miktam.
When Saul dispatched men and they watched the house to kill him.[k]
59 Deliver me from my enemies, O my God.
Protect[l] me from those who rise up against me.
2 Deliver me from workers of iniquity,
and from men of bloodshed save me.
3 For look, they lie in wait for my life.[m]
The mighty attack[n] against me,
not because of my transgression or my sin, O Yahweh.
4 Without guilt on my part they run and ready themselves.
Awake to meet me and see.
5 And you, Yahweh, God of hosts, are the God of Israel.
Rouse yourself to punish all the nations.
Do not be gracious to any who treacherously plot evil. Selah
6 They return at evening; they howl like dogs[o]
while they prowl the city.
7 Look, they pour out talk with their mouth.
Swords are on their lips,
for they say, “Who hears?”
8 But you, O Yahweh, will laugh at them;
you will mock all the nations.
9 O my strength,[p] I will watch for you,
because you, O God, are my (high) stronghold.
10 My[q] God of loyal love will meet me;
God will cause me to look in triumph on my enemies.
11 Do not kill them, lest my people forget.
Make them to wander by your power,
and bring them down, O Lord, our shield.
12 By the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips,
even in their pride, let them be trapped,
and for the curses[r] and lies[s] they proclaim.
13 Destroy in anger; destroy so they are no more,
so that they may know that God is ruling in Jacob
to the ends of the earth. Selah
14 They return at evening; they howl like dogs[t]
while they prowl the city.
15 As for them, they wander for food.
If they are not satisfied, then they continue all night.[u]
16 But as for me, I will sing of your strength,
and I will hail your loyal love in the morning,
because you have been my high stronghold
and a refuge in my time[v] of trouble.
17 O my strength, to you I will give praise,
because God is my high stronghold,
my God of loyal love.
A Lament After a Defeat and a Prayer for Restoration
For the music director, according to Shushan Eduth.[w]
A miktam of David. To teach.
When he fought Mesopotamia and Aram Zobah, and Joab returned and struck Edom in the Valley of Salt, twelve thousand persons.[x]
60 O God, you have rejected us. You have broken us.
You have been angry. Restore us!
2 You have made the land quake. You have split it open.
Heal its fissures, because it totters.
3 You have shown your people hard things;
You have given us wine that staggers.
4 You have rallied those who fear you round a banner
out of bowshot,[y] Selah
5 so that your beloved ones may be rescued.
Save by your right hand and answer us.
6 God has spoken in his holiness,
“I will rejoice;
I will divide up Shechem,
and portion out the valley of Succoth.
7 Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine,
and Ephraim is the helmet for[z] my head;
Judah is my scepter.[aa]
8 Moab is my washing pot;
over Edom, I will cast my sandal.
On account of me, O Philistia, raise a shout.”
9 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
10 Have not you yourself rejected us, O God,
and not gone out with our armies, O God?
11 Give us help against the adversary,
for the help of humankind is futile.
12 Through God we will do valiantly,[ab]
and it is he who will tread down our enemies.
Confidence in God’s Protection
For the music director, upon stringed instruments.[ac] Of David.[ad]
61 Hear, O God, my cry;
attend to my prayer.
2 From the end of the earth[ae] I call to you
when my heart grows faint.
You will lead me to a rock that is higher than I.
3 For you have been my refuge,
a strong tower from the enemy.
4 Let me reside in your tent forever.
Let me take refuge under the covering of your wings. Selah
5 For you, O God, you have heard my vows.
You have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
6 You will add days to the days of the king,
his years like those of many generations.[af]
7 May he live[ag] forever in the presence of God.
Appoint loyal love and faithfulness to preserve him.
8 So I will sing the praise of your name forever,
that I may fulfill[ah] my vows daily.[ai]
Confidence in God’s Salvation
For the music director, on Jeduthun.[aj]
A psalm of David.[ak]
62 Only for God my soul waits in silence.
From him is my salvation.
2 Only he is my rock and my salvation,
my high stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken.
3 How long will you attack a man?
All of you will be shattered[al]
like a leaning wall, a tottering fence.
4 They only[am] plan to thrust him down from his high position;
they are pleased with deception.
With their mouths[an] they bless,
but inwardly[ao] they curse. Selah
5 Only for God wait in silence, O my soul,
because my hope is from him.
6 Only he is my rock and my salvation,
my high stronghold; I shall not be shaken.
7 On God rests my salvation and my glory;
God[ap] is my strong rock, my refuge.
8 Trust him at all times, O people;
pour out before him your heart.
God is a refuge for us. Selah
9 Only a vapor[aq] are men of low degree,
a deception are men of high degree.
Weighed[ar] in a balance,
together they are lighter than a vapor.
10 Do not trust in extortion,
and do not put vain confidence in robbery.
If wealth increases,
do not set your heart on it.
11 Once God has spoken;
twice I have heard this:
that strength belongs to God.
12 And to you belongs loyal love, O Lord,
because you will render to each according to his work.
Longing for God
A psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.[as]
63 O God, you are my God;
I will seek you diligently.
My soul thirsts for you; my flesh longs for you
as in a dry and weary land without water.
2 Thus I have seen you in the sanctuary,
beholding your strength and glory.
3 Because your loyal love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
4 So I will bless you while I live.
I will lift up my hands[at] in your name.
5 My soul will be satisfied as with the best and richest food,
and with joyful lips my mouth will praise.
6 When I remember you on my bed,
I meditate on you in the night watches.
7 Because you have been my help,
therefore[au] in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
8 My soul clings to[av] you;
your right hand upholds me.
9 But as for them who seek my life for ruin,
they will go into the depths of the earth.
10 They who would deliver him to the sword[aw]
will become a portion for jackals.
11 However, the king will rejoice in God.
Everyone who swears an oath by him will boast,
because the mouth of the liars will be stopped.
A Plea for Divine Retribution
For the music director. A psalm of David.[ax]
64 Hear my voice, O God, in my lamenting.
Preserve my life from the fear of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the secret plots[ay] of evildoers,
from the unrest of those who do iniquity,
3 who sharpen their tongue like a sword.
They bend their bow to shoot their arrows—bitter words,
4 to shoot from[az] their[ba] hiding places at the blameless.
Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear.
5 They encourage themselves in the evil matter.
They talk of secretly laying snares.
They say, “Who will see them?”
6 They carefully plot[bb] injustices saying,
“We have perfected the perfect plot!”[bc]
Both the inner thought[bd] and heart of a man are deep.
7 But God will shoot them;
with an arrow they will suddenly be wounded.
8 [be] And they who would cause him[bf] to stumble,
their own tongue will be against them.
All who gaze on them will shake.[bg]
9 And then[bh] all men[bi] will fear,
and will declare the working of God,
and will understand his doing.
10 The righteous will rejoice in Yahweh and take refuge in him,
and all the upright in heart will boast.
Thanksgiving for God’s Provision
For the music director. A psalm of David. A song.[bj]
65 Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion,
and to you the vow shall be fulfilled.
2 O you who hear prayer,
to you all flesh will come.
3 Iniquities[bk] prevail over me.
As for our transgressions, you will forgive[bl] them.
4 Blessed is one whom you choose and bring near,
that he may abide in your courts.
We will be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
your holy temple.
5 By awesome deeds in righteousness you will answer us,
O God of our salvation,
you who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth
and of the far-off seas,
6 who established the mountains by his strength,
the one who is girded with might,
7 who stills the roar of the seas,
the roar of their waves,
and the commotion of the peoples,
8 so that[bm] the inhabitants of the farthest reaches are in awe of your signs.
You make the dawn and sunset sing for joy.
9 You care for[bn] the land[bo] and water it;
you greatly enrich it.
The stream of God is filled with waters.
You provide their grain,
for so you have established it.
10 You drench its furrows,
penetrating its ridges.
With rains you soften it;
its growth you bless.
11 You crown the year with your bounty,[bp]
and your wagon paths drip with richness.[bq]
12 They drop on the pastures of the wilderness,
and the hills gird themselves with joy.
13 The pasturelands put on flocks,
and the valleys clothe themselves with grain.
They shout in triumph;
they even sing.
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