PSALM 53
Folly and Wickedness of Men.
For the choir director; according to Mahalath. A Maskil of David.
1The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God,”
They are corrupt, and have committed abominable injustice;
There is no one who does good.
2God has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men
To see if there is anyone who understands,
Who seeks after God.
3Every one of them has turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
There is no one who does good, not even one.
4Have the workers of wickedness no knowledge,
Who eat up My people as though they ate bread
And have not called upon God?
5There they were in great fear where no fear had been;
For God scattered the bones of him who encamped against you;
You put them to shame, because God had rejected them.
6Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!
When God restores His captive people,
Let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.
PSALM 54
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?”
1Save me, O God, by Your name,
And vindicate me by Your power.
2Hear my prayer, O God;
Give ear to the words of my mouth.
3For strangers have risen against me
And violent men have sought my life;
They have not set God before them. Selah.
4Behold, God is my helper;
The Lord is the sustainer of my soul.
5He will recompense the evil to my foes;
Destroy them in Your faithfulness.
6Willingly I will sacrifice to You;
I will give thanks to Your name, O Lord, for it is good.
7For He has delivered me from all trouble,
And my eye has looked with satisfaction upon my enemies.
PSALM 55
Prayer for the Destruction of the Treacherous.
For the choir director; on stringed instruments. A Maskil of David.
1Give ear to my prayer, O God;
And do not hide Yourself from my supplication.
2Give heed to me and answer me;
I am restless in my complaint and am surely distracted,
3Because of the voice of the enemy,
Because of the pressure of the wicked;
For they bring down trouble upon me
And in anger they bear a grudge against me.
4My heart is in anguish within me,
And the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
5Fear and trembling come upon me,
And horror has overwhelmed me.
6I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest.
7Behold, I would wander far away,
I would lodge in the wilderness. Selah.
8I would hasten to my place of refuge
From the stormy wind and tempest.”
9Confuse, O Lord, divide their tongues,
For I have seen violence and strife in the city.
10Day and night they go around her upon her walls,
And iniquity and mischief are in her midst.
11Destruction is in her midst;
Oppression and deceit do not depart from her streets.
12For it is not an enemy who reproaches me,
Then I could bear it;
Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me,
Then I could hide myself from him.
13But it is you, a man my equal,
My companion and my familiar friend;
14We who had sweet fellowship together
Walked in the house of God in the throng.
15Let death come deceitfully upon them;
Let them go down alive to Sheol,
For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst.
16As for me, I shall call upon God,
And the Lord will save me.
17Evening and morning and at noon, I will complain and murmur,
And He will hear my voice.
18He will redeem my soul in peace from the battle which is against me,
For they are many who strive with me.
19God will hear and answer them—
Even the one who sits enthroned from of old— Selah.
With whom there is no change,
And who do not fear God.
20He has put forth his hands against those who were at peace with him;
He has violated his covenant.
21His speech was smoother than butter,
But his heart was war;
His words were softer than oil,
Yet they were drawn swords.
22Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you;
He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.
23But You, O God, will bring them down to the pit of destruction;
Men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days.
But I will trust in You.
PSALM 56
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.
1Be gracious to me, O God, for man has trampled upon me;
Fighting all day long he oppresses me.
2My foes have trampled upon me all day long,
For they are many who fight proudly against me.
3When I am afraid,
I will put my trust in You.
4In God, whose word I praise,
In God I have put my trust;
I shall not be afraid.
What can mere man do to me?
5All day long they distort my words;
All their thoughts are against me for evil.
6They attack, they lurk,
They watch my steps,
As they have waited to take my life.
7Because of wickedness, cast them forth,
In anger put down the peoples, O God!
8You have taken account of my wanderings;
Put my tears in Your bottle.
Are they not in Your book?
9Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call;
This I know, that God is for me.
10In God, whose word I praise,
In the Lord, whose word I praise,
11In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
12Your vows are binding upon me, O God;
I will render thank offerings to You.
13For You have delivered my soul from death,
Indeed my feet from stumbling,
So that I may walk before God
In the light of the living.
PSALM 57
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.
1Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me,
For my soul takes refuge in You;
And in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge
Until destruction passes by.
2I will cry to God Most High,
To God who accomplishes all things for me.
3He will send from heaven and save me;
He reproaches him who tramples upon me. Selah.
God will send forth His lovingkindness and His truth.
4My soul is among lions;
I must lie among those who breathe forth fire,
Even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows
And their tongue a sharp sword.
5Be exalted above the heavens, O God;
Let Your glory be above all the earth.
6They have prepared a net for my steps;
My soul is bowed down;
They dug a pit before me;
They themselves have fallen into the midst of it. Selah.
7My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises!
8Awake, my glory!
Awake, harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.
9I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to You among the nations.
10For Your lovingkindness is great to the heavens
And Your truth to the clouds.
11Be exalted above the heavens, O God;
Let Your glory be above all the earth.
PSALM 58
Prayer for the Punishment of the Wicked.
For the choir director; set to Al-tashheth. A Mikhtam of David.
1Do you indeed speak righteousness, O gods?
Do you judge uprightly, O sons of men?
2No, in heart you work unrighteousness;
On earth you weigh out the violence of your hands.
3The wicked are estranged from the womb;
These who speak lies go astray from birth.
4They have venom like the venom of a serpent;
Like a deaf cobra that stops up its ear,
5So that it does not hear the voice of charmers,
Or a skillful caster of spells.
6O God, shatter their teeth in their mouth;
Break out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord.
7Let them flow away like water that runs off;
When he aims his arrows, let them be as headless shafts.
8Let them be as a snail which melts away as it goes along,
Like the miscarriages of a woman which never see the sun.
9Before your pots can feel the fire of thorns
He will sweep them away with a whirlwind, the green and the burning alike.
10The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance;
He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11And men will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
Surely there is a God who judges on earth!”