Jun 21 - Psalms 55-59
Psalms
1Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!2Attend to me, and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and I moan,3because of the noise of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked. For they drop trouble upon me, and in anger they bear a grudge against me.4My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen upon me.5Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me.6And I say, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest;7yes, I would wander far away; I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah8I would hurry to find a shelter from the raging wind and tempest."9Destroy, O Lord, divide their tongues; for I see violence and strife in the city.10Day and night they go around it on its walls, and iniquity and trouble are within it;11ruin is in its midst; oppression and fraud do not depart from its marketplace.12For it is not an enemy who taunts me--then I could bear it; it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me--then I could hide from him.13But it is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend.14We used to take sweet counsel together; within God's house we walked in the throng.15Let death steal over them; let them go down to Sheol alive; for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.16But I call to God, and the LORD will save me.17Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice.18He redeems my soul in safety from the battle that I wage, for many are arrayed against me.19God will give ear and humble them, he who is enthroned from of old, Selah because they do not change and do not fear God.20My companion stretched out his hand against his friends; he violated his covenant.21His speech was smooth as butter, yet war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords.22Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.23But you, O God, will cast them down into the pit of destruction; men of blood and treachery shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in you.
1Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me; all day long an attacker oppresses me;2my enemies trample on me all day long, for many attack me proudly.3When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.4In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?5All day long they injure my cause; all their thoughts are against me for evil.6They stir up strife, they lurk; they watch my steps, as they have waited for my life.7For their crime will they escape? In wrath cast down the peoples, O God!8You have kept count of my tossings; 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 trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?12I must perform my vows to you, O God; I will render thank offerings to you.13For you have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.
1Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.2I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.3He will send from heaven and save me; he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!4My soul is in the midst of lions; I lie down amid fiery beasts--the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.5Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!6They set a net for my steps; my soul was bowed down. They dug a pit in my way, but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah7My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast! I will sing and make melody!8Awake, my glory! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn!9I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.10For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.11Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!
1Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods? Do you judge the children of man uprightly?2No, in your hearts you devise wrongs; your hands deal out violence on earth.3The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies.4They have venom like the venom of a serpent, like the deaf adder that stops its ear,5so that it does not hear the voice of charmers or of the cunning enchanter.6O God, break the teeth in their mouths; tear out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD!7Let them vanish like water that runs away; when he aims his arrows, let them be blunted.8Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime, like the stillborn child who never sees the sun.9Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns, whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!10The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.11Mankind will say, "Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth."
1Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; protect me from those who rise up against me;2deliver me from those who work evil, and save me from bloodthirsty men.3For behold, they lie in wait for my life; fierce men stir up strife against me. For no transgression or sin of mine, O LORD,4for no fault of mine, they run and make ready. Awake, come to meet me, and see!5You, LORD God of hosts, are God of Israel. Rouse yourself to punish all the nations; spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah6Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city.7There they are, bellowing with their mouths with swords in their lips--for "Who," they think, "will hear us?"8But you, O LORD, laugh at them; you hold all the nations in derision.9O my Strength, I will watch for you, for you, O God, are my fortress.10My God in his steadfast love will meet me; God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.11Kill them not, lest my people forget; make them totter by your power and bring them down, O Lord, our shield!12For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips, let them be trapped in their pride. For the cursing and lies that they utter,13consume them in wrath; consume them till they are no more, that they may know that God rules over Jacob to the ends of the earth. Selah14Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city.15They wander about for food and growl if they do not get their fill.16But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress.17O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.