Psalms 3–4; Psalms 12–13; Psalm 28; Psalm 55

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Psalms 3–4

Save Me, O My God

A Psalm of David, twhen he fled from Absalom his son.

1  O Lord, how many are my foes!

Many are rising against me;

2  many are usaying of my soul,

“There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah1

3  But you, O Lord, are a vshield about me,

my glory, and the wlifter of my head.

4  xI cried yaloud to the Lord,

and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah

5  I zlay down and slept;

I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.

6  I will not be afraid aof many thousands of people

who have set themselves against me all around.

7  Arise, O Lord!

Save me, O my God!

For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;

you break the teeth of the wicked.

8  bSalvation belongs to the Lord;

your blessing be on your people! Selah

Answer Me When I Call

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.

1  cAnswer me when I call, O God of dmy righteousness!

You have given me relief when I was in distress.

Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!

2  O men,2 how long shall my honor be turned into shame?

How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah

3  But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself;

the Lord hears when I call to him.

4  eBe angry,3 and do not sin;

ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah

5  Offer right sacrifices,

and fput your trust in the Lord.

6  There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?

gLift up the hlight of your face upon us, O Lord!”

7  You have put more joy in my heart

than they have when their grain and wine abound.

8  In peace I will both ilie down and sleep;

for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.


Psalms 12–13

The Faithful Have Vanished

To the choirmaster: according to The Sheminith.1 A Psalm of David.

1  Save, O Lord, for rthe godly one is gone;

for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.

2  Everyone utters lies to his neighbor;

with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

3  May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,

sthe tongue that makes great boasts,

4  those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail,

our lips are with us; who is master over us?”

5  “Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan,

I will now arise,” says the Lord;

“I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”

6  tThe words of the Lord are pure words,

ulike silver refined in a furnace on the ground,

purified seven times.

7  You, O Lord, will keep them;

you will guard us2 from this generation forever.

8  On every side the wicked prowl,

as vileness is exalted among the children of man.

How Long, O Lord?

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1  vHow long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?

How long will you whide your face from me?

2  How long must I take counsel in my soul

and have sorrow in my heart all the day?

How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

3  Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;

xlight up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,

4  lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”

lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

5  But I have ytrusted in your steadfast love;

my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

6  I will sing to the Lord,

because he has dealt bountifully with me.


Psalm 28

The Lord Is My Strength and My Shield

Of David.

1  To you, O Lord, I call;

my rock, be not deaf to me,

lest, if you be qsilent to me,

I become like rthose who go down to the pit.

2  Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy,

when I cry to you for help,

when I lift up my hands

stoward your most holy sanctuary.1

3  tDo not drag me off with the wicked,

with the workers of evil,

who speak peace with their neighbors

uwhile evil is in their hearts.

4  Give to them vaccording to their work

and according to the evil of their deeds;

give to them according to the work of their hands;

render them their due reward.

5  Because they do not regard the works of the Lord

or the work of his hands,

he will tear them down and build them up no more.

6  Blessed be the Lord!

For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.

7  The Lord is my strength and my wshield;

in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;

xmy heart exults,

and with my song I give thanks to him.

8  The Lord is the strength of his people;2

he is the saving refuge of yhis anointed.

9  Oh, save your people and bless your heritage!

Be their zshepherd and carry them forever.


Psalm 55

Cast Your Burden on the Lord

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

1  Give ear to my prayer, O God,

and zhide not yourself from my plea for mercy!

2  Attend to me, and answer me;

I am restless in my complaint and I moan,

3  because 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.

4  My heart is in anguish within me;

the terrors of death have fallen upon me.

5  Fear and trembling come upon me,

and horror overwhelms me.

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

I would fly away and be at rest;

7  yes, I would wander far away;

I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah

8  I would hurry to find a shelter

from the raging wind and tempest.”

9  Destroy, O Lord, adivide their tongues;

for I see violence and strife in the city.

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.

12  For 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.

13  But it is you, a man, my equal,

my companion, my bfamiliar friend.

14  We used to take sweet counsel together;

within God’s house we walked cin the throng.

15  Let death steal over them;

let them go down to Sheol dalive;

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

16  But I call to God,

and the Lord will save me.

17  Evening and emorning and at noon

I utter my complaint and moan,

and he hears my voice.

18  He redeems my soul in safety

from the battle that I wage,

for many are arrayed against me.

19  God will give ear and humble them,

he who is enthroned from of old, Selah

because they do not change

and do not fear God.

20  My companion2 stretched out his hand against his friends;

he violated his covenant.

21  His speech was smooth as butter,

fyet war was in his heart;

ghis words were softer than oil,

yet they were drawn swords.

22  hCast your burden on the Lord,

and he will sustain you;

ihe will never permit

the righteous to be moved.

23  But 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.