Psalms 56-63

Psalm 56

¹To the chief Musician. On Jonathelem-rechokim. Of David. Michtam; when the Philistines took him in Gath. Be gracious unto me, O God; for man would swallow me up: all the day long fighting he oppresseth me.

²Mine enemies would swallow me up all the day long; for they are many that fight against me haughtily.

³In the day that I am afraid, I will confide in thee.

⁴In God will I praise his word, in God I put my confidence: I will not fear; what can flesh do unto me?

⁵All the day long they wrest my words; all their thoughts are against me for evil.

⁶They gather themselves together, they hide themselves; they mark my steps, because they wait for my soul.

⁷Shall they escape by iniquity? In anger cast down the peoples, O God.

⁸*Thou* countest my wanderings; put my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?

⁹Then shall mine enemies return backward in the day when I call: this I know, for God is for me.

¹⁰In God will I praise his word; in Jehovah will I praise his word.

¹¹In God have I put my confidence: I will not fear; what can man do unto me?

¹²Thy vows are upon me, O God: I will render thanks unto thee.

¹³For thou hast delivered my soul from death; wilt thou not keep my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?

Psalm 57

¹To the chief Musician. 'Destroy not.' Of David. Michtam; when he fled from Saul in the cave. Be gracious unto me, O God, be gracious unto me; for my soul taketh refuge in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings do I take refuge, until the calamities be overpast.

²I will call unto God, the Most High; unto God that performeth all for me.

³He will send from the heavens and save me; he hath covered with reproach him that would swallow me up. Selah. God hath sent forth his loving-kindness and his truth.

⁴My soul is in the midst of lions; I lie down among them that breathe out flames, the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.

⁵Be exalted above the heavens, O God; let thy glory be above all the earth!

⁶They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul was bowed down: they have digged a pit before me; they are fallen into the midst thereof. Selah.

⁷My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing, yea, I will sing psalms.

⁸Awake, my glory; awake, lute and harp: I will wake the dawn.

⁹I will give thee thanks among the peoples, O Lord; of thee will I sing psalms among the nations:

¹⁰For thy loving-kindness is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.

¹¹Be exalted above the heavens, O God; let thy glory be above all the earth!

Psalm 58

¹To the chief Musician. 'Destroy not.' Of David. Michtam. Is righteousness indeed silent? Do ye speak it? Do ye judge with equity, ye sons of men?

²Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh out the violence of your hands in the earth.

³The wicked go astray from the womb; they err as soon as they are born, speaking lies.

⁴Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder which stoppeth her ear;

⁵Which doth not hearken to the voice of enchanters, of one charming ever so wisely.

⁶O God, break their teeth in their mouth; break out the great teeth of the young lions, O Jehovah.

⁷Let them melt away as waters that flow off; when he aimeth his arrows, let them be as blunted:

⁸Let them be as a snail that melteth as it passeth away; like the untimely birth of a woman, let them not see the sun.

⁹Before your pots feel the thorns, green or burning, -- they shall be whirled away.

¹⁰The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance; he shall wash his footsteps in the blood of the wicked:

¹¹And men shall say, Verily there is fruit for the righteous; verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth.

Psalm 59

¹To the chief Musician. 'Destroy not.' Of David. Michtam; when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him. Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God; secure me on high from them that rise up against me.

²Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me from men of blood.

³For behold, they lie in wait for my soul; strong ones are gathered against me: not for my transgression, nor for my sin, O Jehovah.

⁴They run and prepare themselves without my fault: awake to meet me, and behold.

⁵Yea, do thou, Jehovah, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, arise to visit all the nations: be not gracious to any plotters of iniquity. Selah.

⁶They return in the evening; they howl like a dog, and go round about the city:

⁷Behold, they belch out with their mouth; swords are in their lips: for who say they doth hear?

⁸But thou, Jehovah, wilt laugh at them; thou wilt have all the nations in derision.

⁹Their strength! ... I will take heed to thee; for God is my high fortress.

¹⁰God, whose loving-kindness will come to meet me, -- God shall let me see my desire upon mine enemies.

¹¹Slay them not, lest my people forget; by thy power make them wander, and bring them down, O Lord, our shield.

¹²Because of the sin of their mouth, the word of their lips, let them even be taken in their pride; and because of cursing and lying which they speak.

¹³Make an end in wrath, make an end, that they may be no more; that they may know that God ruleth in Jacob, unto the ends of the earth. Selah.

¹⁴And in the evening they shall return, they shall howl like a dog, and go round about the city.

¹⁵They shall wander about for meat, and stay all night if they be not satisfied.

¹⁶But as for me, I will sing of thy strength; yea, I will sing aloud of thy loving-kindness in the morning; for thou hast been to me a high fortress, and a refuge in the day of my trouble.

¹⁷Unto thee, my strength, will I sing psalms; for God is my high fortress, the God of my mercy.

Psalm 60

¹To the chief Musician. On Shushan. Testimony. Michtam of David; to teach: when he strove with the Syrians of Mesopotamia, and the Syrians of Zobah, and Joab returned, and smote the Edomites in the valley of salt, twelve thousand. O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased: restore us again.

²Thou hast made the earth to tremble, thou hast rent it: heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh.

³Thou hast shewn thy people hard things; thou hast made us to drink the wine of bewilderment.

⁴Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth, (Selah,)

⁵That thy beloved ones may be delivered. Save with thy right hand, and answer me.

⁶God hath spoken in his holiness: I will exult, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.

⁷Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine, and Ephraim is the strength of my head; Judah is my law-giver;

⁸Moab is my wash-pot; upon Edom will I cast my sandal; Philistia, shout aloud because of me.

⁹Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me unto Edom?

¹⁰Wilt not thou, O God, who didst cast us off? and didst not go forth, O God, with our armies?

¹¹Give us help from trouble; for vain is man's deliverance.

¹²Through God we shall do valiantly; and he it is that will tread down our adversaries.

Psalm 61

¹To the chief Musician. On a stringed instrument. A Psalm of David. Hear, O God, my cry; attend unto my prayer.

²From the end of the earth will I call unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: thou wilt lead me on to a rock which is too high for me.

³For thou hast been a refuge for me, a strong tower from before the enemy.

⁴I will sojourn in thy tent for ever; I will take refuge in the covert of thy wings. Selah.

⁵For thou, O God, hast heard my vows; thou hast given me the inheritance of those that fear thy name.

⁶Thou wilt add days to the days of the king: his years shall be as many generations.

⁷He shall abide before God for ever: bestow loving-kindness and truth, that they may preserve him.

⁸So will I sing forth thy name for ever, performing my vows from day to day.

Psalm 62

¹To the chief Musician. On Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. Upon God alone doth my soul rest peacefully; from him is my salvation.

²He only is my rock and my salvation; my high fortress: I shall not be greatly moved.

³How long will ye assail a man; will ye seek, all of you, to break him down as a bowing wall or a tottering fence?

⁴They only consult to thrust him down from his excellency; they delight in lies; they bless with their mouth, but in their inward part they curse. Selah.

⁵Upon God alone, O my soul, rest peacefully; for my expectation is from him.

⁶He only is my rock and my salvation; my high fortress: I shall not be moved.

⁷With God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.

⁸Confide in him at all times, ye people; pour out your heart before him: God is our refuge. Selah.

⁹Men of low degree are only vanity; men of high degree, a lie: laid in the balance, they go up together lighter than vanity.

¹⁰Put not confidence in oppression, and become not vain in robbery; if wealth increase, set not your heart upon it.

¹¹Once hath God spoken, twice have I heard this, that strength belongeth unto God.

¹²And unto thee, O Lord, belongeth loving-kindness; for *thou* renderest to every man according to his work.

Psalm 63

¹A Psalm of David; when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee. My soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh languisheth for thee, in a dry and weary land without water:

²To see thy power and thy glory, as I have beheld thee in the sanctuary;

³For thy loving-kindness is better than life: my lips shall praise thee.

⁴So will I bless thee while I live; I will lift up my hands in thy name.

⁵My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips.

⁶When I remember thee upon my bed, I meditate on thee in the night-watches:

⁷For thou hast been my help, and in the shadow of thy wings will I sing for joy.

⁸My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.

⁹But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth;

¹⁰They shall be given over to the power of the sword; they shall be the portion of foxes.

¹¹But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that sweareth by him shall glory: for the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.