Psalm 55; Psalm 58; Psalms 61–62; Psalms 64–65

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Psalm 55

Cast Your Burden on the Lord

To the choirmaster: with fstringed instruments. A Maskil1 of David.

gGive ear to my prayer, O God,

and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!

Attend to me, and answer me;

I am restless hin my complaint and I imoan,

because of the noise of the enemy,

because of the oppression of the wicked.

For they jdrop trouble upon me,

and in anger they bear a grudge against me.

My heart is in anguish within me;

kthe terrors of death have fallen upon me.

Fear and trembling come upon me,

and lhorror moverwhelms me.

And I say, Oh, that I had wings like a dove!

I would fly away and be at rest;

nyes, I would wander far away;

I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah

I would hurry to find a shelter

from othe raging wind and tempest.

Destroy, O Lord, pdivide their tongues;

for I see qviolence and strife in the city.

10  Day and night they go around it

on its walls,

and riniquity and trouble are within it;

11  ruin is in its midst;

soppression and fraud

do not depart from its marketplace.

12  For it is not an enemy who taunts me

then I could bear it;

it is not an adversary who tdeals insolently with me

then I could hide from him.

13  uBut it is you, a man, my equal,

my companion, my familiar friend.

14  We used to take sweet counsel together;

within God’s house we walked in vthe throng.

15  Let death steal over them;

let them go down to Sheol walive;

for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.

16  But I call to God,

and the Lord will save me.

17  xEvening and ymorning and at znoon

I autter my complaint and moan,

and he hears my voice.

18  He redeems my soul in safety

from the battle that I wage,

for bmany are arrayed against me.

19  God will give ear and humble them,

he who is centhroned from of old, Selah

because they do not dchange

and do not fear God.

20  My companion2 estretched out his hand against his friends;

he violated his covenant.

21  His fspeech was gsmooth as butter,

yet war was in his heart;

his words were softer than oil,

yet they were hdrawn swords.

22  iCast your burden on the Lord,

and he will sustain you;

jhe will never permit

the righteous to be moved.

23  But you, O God, kwill cast them down

into lthe pit of destruction;

men of mblood and treachery

shall not nlive out half their days.

But I will otrust in you.


Psalm 58

God Who Judges the Earth

To the choirmaster: according to hDo Not Destroy. A iMiktam1 of David.

Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?2

Do you judge the children of man uprightly?

No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;

your hands jdeal out violence on earth.

The wicked are kestranged from the womb;

they go astray from birth, speaking lies.

lThey have venom like the venom of a serpent,

like the deaf adder that stops its ear,

so that it mdoes not hear the voice of charmers

or of the cunning enchanter.

O God, nbreak the teeth in their mouths;

tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!

Let them ovanish like water that runs away;

when he paims his arrows, let them be blunted.

Let them be like the snail othat dissolves into slime,

like qthe stillborn child who never sees the sun.

Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of rthorns,

whether green or ablaze, may he ssweep them away!3

10  tThe righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance;

he will ubathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.

11  Mankind will say, Surely there is va reward for the righteous;

surely there is a God who wjudges on earth.


Psalms 61–62

Lead Me to the Rock

To the choirmaster: with lstringed instruments. Of David.

Hear my cry, O God,

mlisten to my prayer;

from the end of the earth I call to you

when my heart is nfaint.

Lead me to othe rock

that is higher than I,

for you have been pmy refuge,

a strong qtower against the enemy.

Let me rdwell in your tent forever!

Let me take refuge under sthe shelter of your wings! Selah

For you, O God, have heard my vows;

you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.

tProlong uthe life of the king;

may his years endure to all generations!

May he be enthroned forever before God;

appoint vsteadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!

So will I ever sing praises to your name,

as I wperform my vows day after day.

My Soul Waits for God Alone

To the choirmaster: according to xJeduthun. A Psalm of David.

For God alone ymy soul zwaits in silence;

from him comes my salvation.

aHe alone is my rock and my salvation,

my bfortress; cI shall not be greatly shaken.

How long will all of you attack a man

to batter him,

like da leaning wall, a tottering fence?

They only plan to thrust him down from his ehigh position.

They take pleasure in falsehood.

fThey bless with their mouths,

but inwardly they curse. Selah

For God alone, O ymy soul, wait in silence,

for my hope is from him.

aHe only is my rock and my salvation,

my fortress; I shall not be shaken.

On God rests my gsalvation and my glory;

my mighty rock, hmy refuge is God.

iTrust in him at all times, O people;

jpour out your heart before him;

God is ha refuge for us. Selah

kThose of low estate are but a breath;

those of high estate lare a delusion;

in the balances they go up;

kthey are together lighter than a breath.

10  Put no trust in extortion;

mset no vain hopes on robbery;

nif riches increase, set not your heart on them.

11  oOnce God has spoken;

otwice have I heard this:

that ppower belongs to God,

12  and that to you, O Lord, qbelongs steadfast love.

For you will rrender to a man

according to his work.


Psalms 64–65

Hide Me from the Wicked

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

Hear my voice, O God, in my mcomplaint;

preserve my life from dread of the enemy.

Hide me from nthe secret plots of the wicked,

from the throng of evildoers,

who owhet their tongues like swords,

who paim bitter words like arrows,

shooting from qambush at the blameless,

shooting at him suddenly and rwithout fear.

They shold fast to their evil purpose;

they talk of tlaying snares secretly,

thinking, uWho can see them?

They search out injustice,

saying, We have accomplished a diligent search.

For vthe inward mind and heart of a man are deep.

wBut God shoots his arrow at them;

they are wounded suddenly.

They are brought to ruin, with their own xtongues turned against them;

all who ysee them will zwag their heads.

Then all mankind yfears;

they atell what God has brought about

and ponder what he has done.

10  Let bthe righteous one rejoice in the Lord

and ctake refuge in him!

Let all dthe upright in heart exult!

O God of Our Salvation

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.

Praise eis due to you,1 O God, in Zion,

and to you shall fvows be performed.

O you who ghear prayer,

to you hshall all flesh come.

When iiniquities prevail against me,

you jatone for our transgressions.

kBlessed is the one you choose and bring near,

to ldwell in your courts!

We shall be msatisfied with the goodness of your house,

the holiness of your temple!

By nawesome deeds you answer us with righteousness,

O God of our salvation,

the hope of all othe ends of the earth

and of the farthest seas;

the one who by his strength established the mountains,

being pgirded with might;

who qstills the roaring of the seas,

the roaring of their waves,

rthe tumult of the peoples,

so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs.

You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.

You visit the earth and swater it;2

you greatly enrich it;

tthe river of God is full of water;

uyou provide their grain,

for so you have prepared it.

10  You water its furrows abundantly,

settling its ridges,

softening it with vshowers,

and blessing its growth.

11  You crown the year with your bounty;

your wagon tracks woverflow with abundance.

12  xThe pastures of the wilderness overflow,

the hills ygird themselves with joy,

13  zthe meadows clothe themselves with flocks,

the valleys deck themselves with grain,

they ashout and sing together for joy.