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A meditation by David, which he sang to Yahweh, concerning the words of Cush, the Benjamite.

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Yahweh, my God, I take refuge in you. Save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me,

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lest they tear apart my soul like a lion, ripping it in pieces, while there is none to deliver.

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Yahweh, my God, if I have done this, if there is iniquity in my hands,

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if I have rewarded evil to him who was at peace with me (yes, if I have delivered him who without cause was my adversary),

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let the enemy pursue my soul, and overtake it; yes, let him tread my life down to the earth, and lay my glory in the dust. Selah.

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Arise, Yahweh, in your anger. Lift up yourself against the rage of my adversaries. Awake for me. You have commanded judgment.

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Let the congregation of the peoples surround you. Rule over them on high.

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Yahweh administers judgment to the peoples. Judge me, Yahweh, according to my righteousness, and to my integrity that is in me.

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Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous; their minds and hearts are searched by the righteous God.

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My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart.

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God is a righteous judge, yes, a God who has indignation every day.

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If a man doesn’t relent, he will sharpen his sword; he has bent and strung his bow.

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He has also prepared for himself the instruments of death. He makes ready his flaming arrows.

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Behold, he travails with iniquity. Yes, he has conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood.

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He has dug a hole, and has fallen into the pit which he made.

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The trouble he causes shall return to his own head. His violence shall come down on the crown of his own head.

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I will give thanks to Yahweh according to his righteousness, and will sing praise to the name of Yahweh Most High.

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For the Chief Musician; on an instrument of Gath. A Psalm by David.

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Yahweh, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth, who has set your glory above the heavens!

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From the lips of babes and infants you have established strength, because of your adversaries, that you might silence the enemy and the avenger.

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When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have ordained;

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what is man, that you think of him? What is the son of man, that you care for him?

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For you have made him a little lower than God, and crowned him with glory and honor.

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You make him ruler over the works of your hands. You have put all things under his feet:

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All sheep and cattle, yes, and the animals of the field,

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The birds of the sky, the fish of the sea, and whatever passes through the paths of the seas.

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Yahweh, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

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For the Chief Musician. Set to “The Death of the Son.” A Psalm by David.

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I will give thanks to Yahweh with my whole heart. I will tell of all your marvelous works.

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I will be glad and rejoice in you. I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

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When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish in your presence.

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For you have maintained my just cause. You sit on the throne judging righteously.

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You have rebuked the nations. You have destroyed the wicked. You have blotted out their name forever and ever.

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The enemy is overtaken by endless ruin. The very memory of the cities which you have overthrown has perished.

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But Yahweh reigns forever. He has prepared his throne for judgment.

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He will judge the world in righteousness. He will administer judgment to the peoples in uprightness.

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Yahweh will also be a high tower for the oppressed; a high tower in times of trouble.

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Those who know your name will put their trust in you, for you, Yahweh, have not forsaken those who seek you.

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Sing praises to Yahweh, who dwells in Zion, and declare among the people what he has done.

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For he who avenges blood remembers them. He doesn’t forget the cry of the afflicted.

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Have mercy on me, Yahweh. See my affliction by those who hate me, and lift me up from the gates of death;

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that I may show forth all your praise. In the gates of the daughter of Zion, I will rejoice in your salvation.

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The nations have sunk down in the pit that they made. In the net which they hid, their own foot is taken.

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Yahweh has made himself known. He has executed judgment. The wicked is snared by the work of his own hands. Meditation. Selah.

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The wicked shall be turned back to Sheol, even all the nations that forget God.

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For the needy shall not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the poor perish forever.

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Arise, Yahweh! Don’t let man prevail. Let the nations be judged in your sight.

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Put them in fear, Yahweh. Let the nations know that they are only men. Selah.

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Why do you stand far off, Yahweh? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

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In arrogance, the wicked hunt down the weak. They are caught in the schemes that they devise.

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For the wicked boasts of his heart’s cravings. He blesses the greedy, and condemns Yahweh.

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The wicked, in the pride of his face, has no room in his thoughts for God.

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His ways are prosperous at all times. He is haughty, and your laws are far from his sight. As for all his adversaries, he sneers at them.

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He says in his heart, “I shall not be shaken. For generations I shall have no trouble.”

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His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and oppression. Under his tongue is mischief and iniquity.

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He lies in wait near the villages. From ambushes, he murders the innocent. His eyes are secretly set against the helpless.

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He lurks in secret as a lion in his ambush. He lies in wait to catch the helpless. He catches the helpless, when he draws him in his net.

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The helpless are crushed. They collapse. They fall under his strength.

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He says in his heart, “God has forgotten. He hides his face. He will never see it.”

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Arise, Yahweh! God, lift up your hand! Don’t forget the helpless.

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Why does the wicked person condemn God, and say in his heart, “God won’t call me into account?”

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But you do see trouble and grief. You consider it to take it into your hand. You help the victim and the fatherless.

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Break the arm of the wicked. As for the evil man, seek out his wickedness until you find none.

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Yahweh is King forever and ever! The nations will perish out of his land.

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Yahweh, you have heard the desire of the humble. You will prepare their heart. You will cause your ear to hear,

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to judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that man who is of the earth may terrify no more.

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For the Chief Musician. By David.

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In Yahweh, I take refuge. How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain!”

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For, behold, the wicked bend their bows. They set their arrows on the strings, that they may shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.

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If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?

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Yahweh is in his holy temple. Yahweh is on his throne in heaven. His eyes observe. His eyes examine the children of men.

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Yahweh examines the righteous, but the wicked and him who loves violence his soul hates.

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On the wicked he will rain blazing coals; fire, sulfur, and scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.

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For Yahweh is righteous. He loves righteousness. The upright shall see his face.

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For the Chief Musician; upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David

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Help, Yahweh; for the godly man ceases. For the faithful fail from among the children of men.

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Everyone lies to his neighbor. They speak with flattering lips, and with a double heart.

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May Yahweh cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that boasts,

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who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail. Our lips are our own. Who is lord over us?”

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“Because of the oppression of the weak and because of the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says Yahweh; “I will set him in safety from those who malign him.”

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The words of Yahweh are flawless words, as silver refined in a clay furnace, purified seven times.

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You will keep them, Yahweh. You will preserve them from this generation forever.

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The wicked walk on every side, when what is vile is exalted among the sons of men.

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For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David.

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How long, Yahweh? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?

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How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart every day? How long shall my enemy triumph over me?

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Behold, and answer me, Yahweh, my God. Give light to my eyes, lest I sleep in death;

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Lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed against him;” Lest my adversaries rejoice when I fall.

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But I trust in your loving kindness. My heart rejoices in your salvation.

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I will sing to Yahweh, because he has been good to me.

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For the Chief Musician. By David.

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The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt. They have done abominable works. There is none who does good.

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Yahweh looked down from heaven on the children of men, to see if there were any who did understand, who did seek after God.

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They have all gone aside. They have together become corrupt. There is none who does good, no, not one.

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Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and don’t call on Yahweh?

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There they were in great fear, for God is in the generation of the righteous.

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You frustrate the plan of the poor, because Yahweh is his refuge.

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Oh that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When Yahweh restores the fortunes of his people, then Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.

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A Psalm by David.