Folly and Wickedness of Men.
For the choir director; according to Mahalath. A Maskil of David.
aThe fool has said in his heart, “There is no God,”
They are corrupt, and have committed abominable injustice;
bThere is no one who does good.
2 God has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men
To see if there is aanyone who understands,
Who bseeks after God.
3 aEvery one of them has turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
There is no one who does good, not even one.
4 Have the workers of wickedness ano knowledge,
Who eat up My people as though they ate bread
And have not called upon God?
5 There they were in great fear awhere no fear had been;
For God bscattered the bones of him who encamped against you;
You cput them to shame, because dGod had rejected them.
6 Oh, that athe salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!
When God restores His captive people,
Let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.
Prayer for Defense against Enemies.
For the choir director; on stringed instruments. A Maskil of David, when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, “Is not David hiding himself among us?”
Save me, O God, by aYour name,
And vindicate me by bYour power.
2 aHear my prayer, O God;
bGive ear to the words of my mouth.
3 For strangers have arisen against me
And bviolent men have csought my life;
They have dnot set God before them. Selah.
4 Behold, aGod is my helper;
The Lord is the bsustainer of my soul.
5 He will arecompense the evil to my foes;
bDestroy them cin Your faithfulness.
6 aWillingly I will sacrifice to You;
I will give bthanks to Your name, O Lord, for it is good.
7 For He has adelivered me from all trouble,
And my eye has blooked with satisfaction upon my enemies.
Prayer for the Destruction of the Treacherous.
For the choir director; on stringed instruments. A Maskil of David.
aGive ear to my prayer, O God;
And bdo not hide Yourself from my supplication.
2 Give aheed to me and answer me;
I am restless in my bcomplaint and cam surely distracted,
3 Because of the voice of the enemy,
Because of the apressure of the wicked;
For they bbring down trouble upon me
And in anger they cbear a grudge against me.
4 My aheart is in anguish within me,
And the terrors of bdeath have fallen upon me.
5 Fear and atrembling come upon me,
And bhorror has overwhelmed me.
6 I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and abe at rest.
7 “Behold, I would wander far away,
I would alodge in the wilderness. Selah.
8 “I would hasten to my place of refuge
From the astormy wind and tempest.”
9 Confuse, O Lord, adivide their tongues,
For I have seen bviolence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they go around her upon her walls,
And iniquity and mischief are in her midst.
11 aDestruction is in her midst;
bOppression and deceit do not depart from her streets.
12 For it is anot an enemy who reproaches me,
Then I could bear it;
Nor is it one who hates me who bhas exalted himself against me,
Then I could hide myself from him.
13 But it is you, a man my equal,
My acompanion and my bfamiliar friend;
14 We who had sweet fellowship together
aWalked in the house of God in the throng.
15 Let death come adeceitfully upon them;
Let them bgo down alive to Sheol,
For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst.
16 As for me, I shall acall upon God,
And the Lord will save me.
17 aEvening and bmorning and at cnoon, I will complain and murmur,
And He will hear my voice.
18 He will aredeem my soul in peace from the battle which is against me,
For they are bmany who strive with me.
19 God will ahear and answer them—
Even the one bwho sits enthroned from of old— Selah.
With whom there is no change,
And who cdo not fear God.
20 He has put forth his hands against athose who were at peace with him;
He has bviolated his covenant.
21 His speech was asmoother than butter,
But his heart was war;
His words were asofter than oil,
Yet they were drawn bswords.
22 aCast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you;
bHe will never allow the righteous to cbe shaken.
23 But You, O God, will bring them down to the apit of destruction;
bMen of bloodshed and deceit will cnot live out half their days.
But I will dtrust in You.
Supplication for Deliverance and Grateful Trust in God.
For the choir director; according to Jonath elem rehokim. A Mikhtam of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath.
Be gracious to me, O God, for man has atrampled upon me;
Fighting all day long he boppresses me.
2 My foes have atrampled upon me all day long,
For they are many who bfight proudly against me.
3 When I am aafraid,
I will bput my trust in You.
4 aIn God, whose word I praise,
In God I have put my trust;
I shall not be afraid.
bWhat can mere man do to me?
5 All day long they adistort my words;
All their bthoughts are against me for evil.
6 They aattack, they lurk,
They bwatch my steps,
As they have cwaited to take my life.
7 Because of wickedness, acast them forth,
In anger bput down the peoples, O God!
8 You ahave taken account of my wanderings;
Put my btears in Your bottle.
Are they not in cYour book?
9 Then my enemies will aturn back bin the day when I call;
This I know, that cGod is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise,
In the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
12 Your avows are binding upon me, O God;
I will render thank offerings to You.
13 For You have adelivered my soul from death,
Indeed bmy feet from stumbling,
So that I may cwalk before God
In the dlight of the living.
Prayer for Rescue from Persecutors.
For the choir director; set to Al-tashheth. A Mikhtam of David, when he fled from Saul in the cave.
Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me,
For my soul atakes refuge in You;
And in the bshadow of Your wings I will take refuge
Until destruction cpasses by.
2 I will cry to God Most High,
To God who aaccomplishes all things for me.
3 He will asend from heaven and save me;
He reproaches him who btramples upon me. Selah.
God will send forth His clovingkindness and His truth.
4 My soul is among alions;
I must lie among those who breathe forth fire,
Even the sons of men, whose bteeth are spears and arrows
And their ctongue a sharp sword.
5 aBe exalted above the heavens, O God;
Let Your glory be above all the earth.
6 They have prepared a anet for my steps;
My soul is bbowed down;
They cdug a pit before me;
They themselves have dfallen into the midst of it. Selah.
7 aMy bheart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises!
8 Awake, amy glory!
Awake, bharp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.
9 aI will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to You among the nations.
10 For Your alovingkindness is great to the heavens
And Your truth to the clouds.
11 aBe exalted above the heavens, O God;
Let Your glory be above all the earth.
Prayer for the Punishment of the Wicked.
For the choir director; set to Al-tashheth. A Mikhtam of David.
Do you indeed speak righteousness, O gods?
Do you ajudge uprightly, O sons of men?
2 No, in heart you awork unrighteousness;
On earth you bweigh out the violence of your hands.
3 The wicked are estranged afrom the womb;
These who speak lies bgo astray from birth.
4 They have venom like the avenom of a serpent;
Like a deaf cobra that stops up its ear,
5 So that it adoes not hear the voice of bcharmers,
Or a skillful caster of spells.
6 O God, ashatter their teeth in their mouth;
Break out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord.
7 Let them aflow away like water that runs off;
When he baims his arrows, let them be as headless shafts.
8 Let them be as a snail which melts away as it goes along,
Like the amiscarriages of a woman which never see the sun.
9 Before your apots can feel the fire of thorns
He will bsweep them away with a whirlwind, the green and the burning alike.
10 The arighteous will rejoice when he bsees the vengeance;
He will cwash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 And men will say, “Surely there is a areward for the righteous;
Surely there is a God who bjudges on earth!”