Thanksgiving for God's Justice

91 I will give you praise, O Lord, with all my heart; I will make clear all the wonder of your works. 2 I will be glad and have delight in you: I will make a song of praise to your name, O Most High. 3 When my haters are turned back, they will be broken and overcome before you. 4 For you gave approval to my right and my cause; you were seated in your high place judging in righteousness. 5 You have said sharp words to the nations, you have sent destruction on the sinners, you have put an end to their name for ever and ever. 6 You have given their towns to destruction; the memory of them has gone; they have become waste for ever. 7 But the Lord is King for ever: he has made ready his high seat for judging. 8 And he will be the judge of the world in righteousness, giving true decisions for the peoples. 9 The Lord will be a high tower for those who are crushed down, a high tower in times of trouble; 10 And those who have knowledge of your name will put their faith in you; because you, Lord, have ever given your help to those who were waiting for you.

11 Make songs of praise to the Lord, whose house is in Zion: make his doings clear to the people. 12 When he makes search for blood, he has them in his memory: he is not without thought for the cry of the poor. 13 Have mercy on me, O Lord, and see how I am troubled by my haters; let me be lifted up from the doors of death; 14 So that I may make clear all your praise in the house of the daughter of Zion: I will be glad because of your salvation. 15 The nations have gone down into the hole which they made: in their secret net is their foot taken. 16 The Lord has given knowledge of himself through his judging: the evil-doer is taken in the net which his hands had made. (Higgaion. Selah.) 17 The sinners and all the nations who have no memory of God will be turned into the underworld. 18 For the poor will not be without help; the hopes of those in need will not be crushed for ever. 19 Up! O Lord; let not man overcome you: let the nations be judged before you. 20 Put them in fear, O Lord, so that the nations may see that they are only men. (Selah.)

A Prayer for the Overthrow of the Wicked

101 Why do you keep far away, O Lord? why are you not to be seen in times of trouble? 2 The evil-doer in his pride is cruel to the poor; let him be taken by the tricks of his invention. 3 For the evil-doer is lifted up because of the purpose of his heart, and he whose mind is fixed on wealth is turned away from the Lord, saying evil against him. 4 The evil-doer in his pride says, God will not make a search. All his thoughts are, There is no God. 5 His ways are ever fixed; your decisions are higher than he may see: as for his haters, they are as nothing to him. 6 He has said in his heart, I will not be moved: through all generations I will never be in trouble. 7 His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and false words: under his tongue are evil purposes and dark thoughts. 8 He is waiting in the dark places of the towns: in the secret places he puts to death those who have done no wrong: his eyes are secretly turned against the poor. 9 He keeps himself in a secret place like a lion in his hole, waiting to put his hands on the poor man, and pulling him into his net. 10 The upright are crushed and made low, and the feeble are overcome by his strong ones. 11 He says in his heart, God has no memory of me: his face is turned away; he will never see it.

12 Up! O Lord; let your hand be lifted: give thought to the poor. 13 Why has the evil-doer a low opinion of God, saying in his heart, You will not make search for it? 14 You have seen it; for your eyes are on sorrow and grief, to take it into your hand: the poor man puts his faith in you; you have been the helper of the child who has no father. 15 Let the arm of the sinner and the evil-doer be broken; go on searching for his sin till there is no more. 16 The Lord is King for ever and ever; the nations are gone from his land. 17 Lord, you have given ear to the prayer of the poor: you will make strong their hearts, you will give them a hearing: 18 To give decision for the child without a father and for the broken-hearted, so that the man of the earth may no longer be feared.

The Refuge of the Upright

111 In the Lord put I my faith; how will you say to my soul, Go in flight like a bird to the mountain? 2 See, the bows of the evil-doers are bent, they make ready their arrows on the cord, so that they may send them secretly against the upright in heart. 3 If the bases are broken down, what is the upright man to do?

4 The Lord is in his holy Temple, the Lord's seat is in heaven; his eyes are watching and testing the children of men. 5 The Lord puts the upright and the sinner to the test, but he has hate in his soul for the lover of violent acts. 6 On the evil-doer he will send down fire and flames, and a burning wind; with these will their cup be full. 7 For the Lord is upright; he is a lover of righteousness: the upright will see his face.

A Prayer for Help against the Wicked

121 Send help, Lord, for mercy has come to an end; there is no more faith among the children of men. 2 Everyone says false words to his neighbour: their tongues are smooth in their talk, and their hearts are full of deceit. 3 The smooth lips and the tongue of pride will be cut off by the Lord. 4 They have said, With our tongues will we overcome; our lips are ours: who is lord over us? 5 Because of the crushing of the poor and the weeping of those in need, now will I come to his help, says the Lord; I will give him the salvation which he is desiring. 6 The words of the Lord are true words: like silver tested by fire and burned clean seven times. 7 You will keep them, O Lord, you will keep them safe from this generation for ever. 8 The sinners are walking on every side, and evil is honoured among the children of men.

A Prayer for Help in Trouble

131 Will you for ever put me out of your memory, O Lord? will your face for ever be turned away from me? 2 How long is my soul to be in doubt, with sorrow in my heart all the day? how long will he who is against me be given power over me? 3 Let my voice come before you, and give me an answer, O Lord my God; let your light be shining on me, so that the sleep of death may not overtake me; 4 And he who is against me may not say, I have overcome him; and those who are troubling me may not be glad when I am moved. 5 But I have had faith in your mercy; my heart will be glad in your salvation. 6 I will make a song to the Lord, because he has given me my reward.

The Folly and Wickedness of Men

141 The foolish man has said in his heart, God will not do anything. They are unclean, they have done evil works; there is not one who does good. 2 The Lord was looking down from heaven on the children of men, to see if there were any who had wisdom, searching after God. 3 They have all gone out of the way together; they are unclean, there is not one who does good, no, not one.

4 Have all the workers of evil no knowledge? they take my people for food as they would take bread; they make no prayer to the Lord. 5 Then were they in great fear: for God is in the generation of the upright. 6 You have put to shame the thoughts of the poor, but the Lord is his support. 7 May the salvation of Israel come out of Zion! when the fate of his people is changed by the Lord, Jacob will have joy and Israel will be glad.

The Inhabitants of God's Holy Hill

151 Lord, who may have a resting-place in your tent, a living-place on your holy hill? 2 He who goes on his way uprightly, doing righteousness, and saying what is true in his heart; 3 Whose tongue is not false, who does no evil to his friend, and does not take away the good name of his neighbour; 4 Who gives honour to those who have the fear of the Lord, turning away from him who has not the Lord's approval. He who takes an oath against himself, and makes no change. 5 He who does not put out his money at interest, or for payment give false decisions against men who have done no wrong. He who does these things will never be moved.

A Goodly Heritage

161 Keep me safe, O God: for in you I have put my faith. 2 O my soul, you have said to the Lord, You are my Lord: I have no good but you. 3 As for the saints who are in the earth, they are the noble in whom is all my delight. 4 Their sorrows will be increased who go after another god: I will not take drink offerings from their hands, or take their names on my lips. 5 The Lord is my heritage and the wine of my cup; you are the supporter of my right. 6 Fair are the places marked out for me; I have a noble heritage. 7 I will give praise to the Lord who has been my guide; knowledge comes to me from my thoughts in the night.

8 I have put the Lord before me at all times; because he is at my right hand, I will not be moved. 9 Because of this my heart is glad, and my glory is full of joy: while my flesh takes its rest in hope. 10 For you will not let my soul be prisoned in the underworld; you will not let your loved one see the place of death. 11 You will make clear to me the way of life; where you are joy is complete; in your right hand there are pleasures for ever and ever.