For the music director; according to the al-tashcheth style; a prayer of David.
58:1 Do you rulers really pronounce just decisions?
Do you judge people fairly?
58:2 No! You plan how to do what is unjust;
you deal out violence in the earth.
58:3 The wicked turn aside from birth;
liars go astray as soon as they are born.
58:4 Their venom is like that of a snake,
like a deaf serpent that does not hear,
58:5 that does not respond to the magicians,
or to a skilled snake-charmer.
58:6 O God, break the teeth in their mouths!
Smash the jawbones of the lions, O Lord!
58:7 Let them disappear like water that flows away!
Let them wither like grass!
58:8 Let them be like a snail that melts away as it moves along!
Let them be like stillborn babies that never see the sun!
58:9 Before the kindling is even placed under your pots,
he will sweep it away along with both the raw and cooked meat.
58:10 The godly will rejoice when they see vengeance carried out;
they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.
58:11 Then observers will say,
“Yes indeed, the godly are rewarded!
Yes indeed, there is a God who judges in the earth!”
For the music director; according to the al-tashcheth style; a prayer of David, written when Saul sent men to surround his house and murder him.
59:1 Deliver me from my enemies, my God!
Protect me from those who attack me!
59:2 Deliver me from evildoers!
Rescue me from violent men!
59:3 For look, they wait to ambush me;
powerful men stalk me,
but not because I have rebelled or sinned, O Lord.
59:4 Though I have done nothing wrong, they are anxious to attack.
Spring into action and help me! Take notice of me!
59:5 You, O Lord God, the invincible warrior, the God of Israel,
rouse yourself and punish all the nations!
Have no mercy on any treacherous evildoers! (Selah)
59:6 They return in the evening;
they growl like a dog
and prowl around outside the city.
59:7 Look, they hurl insults at me
and openly threaten to kill me,
for they say,
“Who hears?”
59:8 But you, O Lord, laugh in disgust at them;
you taunt all the nations.
59:9 You are my source of strength! I will wait for you!
For God is my refuge.
59:10 The God who loves me will help me;
God will enable me to triumph over my enemies.
59:11 Do not strike them dead suddenly,
because then my people might forget the lesson.
Use your power to make them homeless vagabonds and then bring them down,
O Lord who shields us!
59:12 They speak sinful words.
So let them be trapped by their own pride
and by the curses and lies they speak!
59:13 Angrily wipe them out! Wipe them out so they vanish!
Let them know that God rules
in Jacob and to the ends of the earth! (Selah)
59:14 They return in the evening;
they growl like a dog
and prowl around outside the city.
59:15 They wander around looking for something to eat;
they refuse to sleep until they are full.
59:16 As for me, I will sing about your strength;
I will praise your loyal love in the morning.
For you are my refuge
and my place of shelter when I face trouble.
59:17 You are my source of strength! I will sing praises to you!
For God is my refuge, the God who loves me.
For the music director; according to the al-tashcheth style; a psalm of Asaph; a song.
75:1 We give thanks to you, O God! We give thanks!
You reveal your presence;
people tell about your amazing deeds.
75:2 God says,
“At the appointed times,
I judge fairly.
75:3 When the earth and all its inhabitants dissolve in fear,
I make its pillars secure.” (Selah)
75:4 I say to the proud, “Do not be proud,”
and to the wicked, “Do not be so confident of victory!
75:5 Do not be so certain you have won!
Do not speak with your head held so high!
75:6 For victory does not come from the east or west,
or from the wilderness.
75:7 For God is the judge!
He brings one down and exalts another.
75:8 For the Lord holds in his hand a cup full
of foaming wine mixed with spices,
and pours it out.
Surely all the wicked of the earth
will slurp it up and drink it to its very last drop.”
75:9 As for me, I will continually tell what you have done;
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob!
75:10 God says,
“I will bring down all the power of the wicked;
the godly will be victorious.”