Chronological

56 ^1-2 Lord, have mercy on me; all day long the enemy troops press in. So many are proud to fight against me; how they long to conquer me.

^3-4 But when I am afraid, I will put my confidence in you. Yes, I will trust the promises of God. And since I am trusting him, what can mere man do to me? ⁵ They are always twisting what I say. All their thoughts are how to harm me. ⁶ They meet together to perfect their plans; they hide beside the trail, listening for my steps, waiting to kill me. ⁷ They expect to get away with it. Don’t let them, Lord. In anger cast them to the ground.

⁸ You have seen me tossing and turning through the night. You have collected all my tears and preserved them in your bottle! You have recorded every one in your book.

⁹ The very day I call for help, the tide of battle turns. My enemies flee! This one thing I know: God is for me! ^10-11 I am trusting God—oh, praise his promises! I am not afraid of anything mere man can do to me! Yes, praise his promises. ¹² I will surely do what I have promised, Lord, and thank you for your help. ¹³ For you have saved me from death and my feet from slipping, so that I can walk before the Lord in the land of the living.

120 In my troubles I pled with God to help me and he did!

² Deliver me, O Lord, from liars. ³ O lying tongue, what shall be your fate? ⁴ You shall be pierced with sharp arrows and burned with glowing coals.^[a]

^5-6 My troubles pile high among these haters of the Lord, these men of Meshech and Kedar. I am tired of being here among these men who hate peace. ⁷ I am for peace, but they are for war, and my voice goes unheeded in their councils.

140 O Lord, deliver me from evil men. Preserve me from the violent, ² who plot and stir up trouble all day long. ³ Their words sting like poisonous snakes. ⁴ Keep me out of their power. Preserve me from their violence, for they are plotting against me. ⁵ These proud men have set a trap to catch me, a noose to yank me up and leave me dangling in the air; they wait in ambush with a net to throw over and hold me helpless in its meshes.

^6-8 O Jehovah, my Lord and Savior, my God and my shield—hear me as I pray! Don’t let these wicked men succeed; don’t let them prosper and be proud. ⁹ Let their plots boomerang! Let them be destroyed by the very evil they have planned for me. ¹⁰ Let burning coals fall down upon their heads, or throw them into the fire or into deep pits from which they can’t escape.

¹¹ Don’t let liars prosper here in our land; quickly punish them. ¹² But the Lord will surely help those they persecute; he will maintain the rights of the poor. ¹³ Surely the godly are thanking you, for they shall live in your presence.

141 Quick, Lord, answer me—for I have prayed. Listen when I cry to you for help! ² Regard my prayer as my evening sacrifice and as incense wafting up to you.

³ Help me, Lord, to keep my mouth shut and my lips sealed. ⁴ Take away my lust for evil things; don’t let me want to be with sinners, doing what they do, sharing their delicacies. ⁵ Let the godly smite me! It will be a kindness! If they reprove me, it is medicine! Don’t let me refuse it. But I am in constant prayer against the wicked and their deeds. ^6-7 When their leaders are condemned, and their bones are strewn across the ground,^[a] then these men will finally listen to me and know that I am trying to help them.

⁸ I look to you for help, O Lord God. You are my refuge. Don’t let them slay me. ⁹ Keep me out of their traps. ¹⁰ Let them fall into their own snares, while I escape.

142 ^1-2 How I plead with God, how I implore his mercy, pouring out my troubles before him. ³ For I am overwhelmed and desperate, and you alone know which way I ought to turn to miss the traps my enemies have set for me. ⁴ (There’s one—just over there to the right!) No one gives me a passing thought. No one will help me; no one cares a bit what happens to me. ⁵ Then I prayed to Jehovah. “Lord,” I pled, “you are my only place of refuge. Only you can keep me safe.

⁶ “Hear my cry, for I am very low. Rescue me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me. ⁷ Bring me out of prison so that I can thank you. The godly will rejoice with me for all your help.”