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Psalm 55

Complaint about a Friend’s Treachery

To the leader: with stringed instruments. A Maskil of David.

Give ear to my prayer, O God;
    do not hide yourself from my supplication.(A)
Attend to me and answer me;
    I am troubled in my complaint.
I am distraught(B) by the noise of the enemy,
    because of the clamor of the wicked.
For they bring[a] trouble upon me,
    and in anger they bear a grudge against me.(C)

My heart is in anguish within me;
    the terrors of death have fallen upon me.(D)
Fear and trembling come upon me,
    and horror overwhelms me.(E)
And I say, “O that I had wings like a dove!
    I would fly away and be at rest;(F)
truly, I would flee far away;
    I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah
I would hurry to find a shelter for myself
    from the raging wind and tempest.”(G)

Confuse, O Lord, confound their speech,
    for I see violence and strife in the city.(H)
10 Day and night they go around it
    on its walls,
and iniquity and trouble are within it;
11     ruin is in its midst;
oppression and fraud
    do not depart from its marketplace.(I)

12 It is not enemies who taunt me—
    I could bear that;
it is not adversaries who deal insolently with me—
    I could hide from them.(J)
13 But it is you, my equal,
    my companion, my familiar friend,(K)
14 with whom I kept pleasant company;
    we walked in the house of God with the throng.(L)
15 Let death come upon them;
    let them go down alive to Sheol,
    for evil is in their homes and in their hearts.(M)

16 But I call upon God,
    and the Lord will save me.(N)
17 Evening and morning and at noon
    I utter my complaint and moan,
    and he will hear my voice.(O)
18 He will redeem me unharmed
    from the battle that I wage,
    for many are arrayed against me.(P)
19 God, who is enthroned from of old, Selah
    will hear and will humble them,
because they do not change
    and do not fear God.(Q)

20 My companion laid hands on a friend
    and violated a covenant with me[b](R)
21 with speech smoother than butter
    but with a heart set on war,
with words that were softer than oil
    but in fact were drawn swords.(S)

22 Cast your burden[c] on the Lord,
    and he will sustain you;
he will never permit
    the righteous to be moved.(T)

23 But you, O God, will cast them down
    into the lowest pit;
the bloodthirsty and treacherous
    shall not live out half their days.
But I will trust in you.(U)

Psalm 56

Trust in God under Persecution

To the leader: according to The Dove on Far-off Terebinths. Of David. A Miktam, when the Philistines seized him in Gath.

Be gracious to me, O God, for people trample on me;
    all day long foes oppress me;
my enemies trample on me all day long,
    for many fight against me.
O Most High,(V) when I am afraid,
    I put my trust in you.(W)
In God, whose word I praise,
    in God I trust; I am not afraid;
    what can flesh do to me?(X)

All day long they seek to injure my cause;
    all their thoughts are against me for evil.(Y)
They stir up strife; they lurk;
    they watch my steps,
as they hoped to take my life.(Z)
    Do not deliver them for any reason;[d]
    in wrath cast down the peoples, O God!(AA)

You have kept count of my tossings;
    put my tears in your bottle.
    Are they not in your record?(AB)
Then my enemies will retreat
    in the day when I call.
    This I know, that[e] God is for me.(AC)
10 In God, whose word I praise,
    in the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 in God I trust; I am not afraid.
    What can a mere mortal do to me?

12 My vows to you I must perform, O God;
    I will render thank offerings to you.(AD)
13 For you have delivered my soul from death
    and my feet from falling,
so that I may walk before God
    in the light of life.(AE)

Psalm 57

Praise and Assurance under Persecution

To the leader: Do Not Destroy. Of David. A Miktam, when he fled from Saul, in the cave.

Be 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,
    until the destroying storms pass by.(AF)
I cry to God Most High,
    to God who fulfills his purpose for me.(AG)
He will send from heaven and save me;
    he will put to shame those who trample on me. Selah
God will send forth his steadfast love and his faithfulness.(AH)

I lie down among lions
    that greedily devour[f] human prey;
their teeth are spears and arrows,
    their tongues sharp swords.(AI)

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens.
    Let your glory be over all the earth.(AJ)

They set a net for my steps;
    my soul was bowed down.
They dug a pit in my path,
    but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah(AK)
My heart is steadfast, O God;
    my heart is steadfast.
I will sing and make melody.(AL)
    Awake, my soul!
Awake, O harp and lyre!
    I will awake the dawn.(AM)
I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
    I will sing praises to you among the nations.(AN)
10 For your steadfast love is as high as the heavens;
    your faithfulness extends to the clouds.(AO)

11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens.
    Let your glory be over all the earth.(AP)

Footnotes

  1. 55.3 Cn Compare Gk: Heb they cause to totter
  2. 55.20 Heb lacks with me
  3. 55.22 Or Cast what he has given you
  4. 56.7 Gk Compare Syr Jerome: Heb deliver them because of their iniquity
  5. 56.9 Or because
  6. 57.4 Cn: Heb are aflame for