Thanksgiving for God's Justice

91 I will give thanks unto Jehovah with my whole heart; I will show forth all thy marvellous works. 2 I will be glad and exult in thee; I will sing praise to thy name, O thou Most High. 3 When mine enemies turn back, They stumble and perish at thy presence. 4 For thou hast maintained my right and my cause; Thou sittest in the throne judging righteously. 5 Thou hast rebuked the nations, thou hast destroyed the wicked; Thou hast blotted out their name for ever and ever. 6 The enemy are come to an end, they are desolate for ever; And the cities which thou hast overthrown, The very remembrance of them is perished. 7 But Jehovah sitteth [as king] for ever: He hath prepared his throne for judgment; 8 And he will judge the world in righteousness, He will minister judgment to the peoples in uprightness. 9 Jehovah also will be a high tower for the oppressed, A high tower in times of trouble; 10 And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee; For thou, Jehovah, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.

11 Sing praises to Jehovah, who dwelleth in Zion: Declare among the people his doings. 12 For he that maketh inquisition for blood remembereth them; He forgetteth not the cry of the poor. 13 Have mercy upon me, O Jehovah; Behold my affliction [which I suffer] of them that hate me, Thou that liftest me up from the gates of death; 14 That I may show forth all thy praise. In the gates of the daughter of Zion I will rejoice in thy salvation. 15 The nations are sunk down in the pit that they made: In the net which they hid is their own foot taken. 16 Jehovah hath made himself known, he hath executed judgment: The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. [Higgaion. Selah 17 The wicked shall be turned back unto Sheol, Even all the nations that forget God. 18 For the needy shall not alway be forgotten, Nor the expectation of the poor perish for ever. 19 Arise, O Jehovah; Let not man prevail: Let the nations be judged in thy sight. 20 Put them in fear, O Jehovah: Let the nations know themselves to be but men. [Selah]

A Prayer for the Overthrow of the Wicked

101 Why standest thou afar off, O Jehovah? Why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble? 2 In the pride of the wicked the poor is hotly pursued; Let them be taken in the devices that they have conceived. 3 For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, And the covetous renounceth, [yea], contemneth Jehovah. 4 The wicked, in the pride of his countenance, [saith], He will not require [it]. All his thoughts are, There is no God. 5 His ways are firm at all times; Thy judgments are far above out of his sight: As for all his adversaries, he puffeth at them. 6 He saith in his heart, I shall not be moved; To all generations I shall not be in adversity. 7 His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppression: Under his tongue is mischief and iniquity. 8 He sitteth in the lurking-places of the villages; In the secret places doth he murder the innocent; His eyes are privily set against the helpless. 9 He lurketh in secret as a lion in his covert; He lieth in wait to catch the poor: He doth catch the poor, when he draweth him in his net. 10 He croucheth, he boweth down, And the helpless fall by his strong ones. 11 He saith in his heart, God hath forgotten; He hideth his face; he will never see it.

12 Arise, O Jehovah; O God, lift up thy hand: Forget not the poor. 13 Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God, And say in his heart, Thou wilt not require [it]? 14 Thou hast seen [it]; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: The helpless committeth [himself] unto thee; Thou hast been the helper of the fatherless. 15 Break thou the arm of the wicked; And as for the evil man, seek out his wickedness till thou find none. 16 Jehovah is King for ever and ever: The nations are perished out of his land. 17 Jehovah, thou hast heard the desire of the meek: Thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear; 18 To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, That man who is of the earth may be terrible no more.

The Refuge of the Upright

111 In Jehovah do I take refuge: How say ye to my soul, Flee [as] a bird to your mountain; 2 For, lo, the wicked bend the bow, They make ready their arrow upon the string, That they may shoot in darkness at the upright in heart; 3 If the foundations be destroyed, What can the righteous do?

4 Jehovah is in his holy temple; Jehovah, his throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men. 5 Jehovah trieth the righteous; But the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth. 6 Upon the wicked he will rain snares; Fire and brimstone and burning wind shall be the portion of their cup. 7 For Jehovah is righteous; He loveth righteousness: The upright shall behold his face.

A Prayer for Help against the Wicked

121 Help, Jehovah; For the godly man ceaseth; For the faithful fail from among the children of men. 2 They speak falsehood every one with his neighbor: With flattering lip, and with a double heart, do they speak. 3 Jehovah will cut off all flattering lips, The tongue that speaketh great things; 4 Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; Our lips are our own: Who is lord over us? 5 Because of the oppression of the poor, because of the sighing of the needy, Now will I arise, saith Jehovah; I will set him in the safety he panteth for. 6 The words of Jehovah are pure words; As silver tried in a furnace on the earth, Purified seven times. 7 Thou wilt keep them, O Jehovah, Thou wilt preserve them from this generation for ever. 8 The wicked walk on every side, When vileness is exalted among the sons of men.

A Prayer for Help in Trouble

131 How long, O Jehovah? wilt thou forget me for ever? How long wilt thou hide thy face from me? 2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul, Having sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall mine enemy be exalted over me? 3 Consider [and] answer me, O Jehovah my God: Lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the [sleep of] death; 4 Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; [Lest] mine adversaries rejoice when I am moved. 5 But I have trusted in thy lovingkindness; My heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. 6 I will sing unto Jehovah, Because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

The Folly and Wickedness of Men

141 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works; There is none that doeth good. 2 Jehovah looked down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there were any that did understand, That did seek after God. 3 They are all gone aside; They are together become filthy; There is none that doeth good, no, not one.

4 Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, Who eat up my people [as] they eat bread, And call not upon Jehovah? 5 There were they in great fear; For God is in the generation of the righteous. 6 Ye put to shame the counsel of the poor, Because Jehovah is his refuge. 7 Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When Jehovah bringeth back the captivity of his people, Then shall Jacob rejoice, [and] Israel shall be glad.

The Inhabitants of God's Holy Hill

151 Jehovah, who shall sojourn in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill? 2 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, And speaketh truth in his heart; 3 He that slandereth not with his tongue, Nor doeth evil to his friend, Nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor; 4 In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, But who honoreth them that fear Jehovah; He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not; 5 He that putteth not out his money to interest, Nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.

A Goodly Heritage

161 Preserve me, O God; For in thee do I take refuge. 2 [O my soul], thou hast said unto Jehovah, Thou art my Lord: I have no good beyond thee. 3 As for the saints that are in the earth, They are the excellent in whom is all my delight. 4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied that give gifts for another [god]: Their drink-offerings of blood will I not offer, Nor take their names upon my lips. 5 Jehovah is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: Thou maintainest my lot. 6 The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; Yea, I have a goodly heritage. 7 I will bless Jehovah, who hath given me counsel; Yea, my heart instructeth me in the night seasons.

8 I have set Jehovah always before me: Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth; My flesh also shall dwell in safety. 10 For thou wilt not leave my soul to Sheol; Neither wilt thou suffer thy holy one to see corruption. 11 Thou wilt show me the path of life: In thy presence is fulness of joy; In thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.