A Prayer for the Punishment of the Wicked

581 To 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? 2 Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh out the violence of your hands in the earth. 3 The wicked go astray from the womb; they err as soon as they are born, speaking lies. 4 Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: [they are] like the deaf adder which stoppeth her ear; 5 Which doth not hearken to the voice of enchanters, of one charming ever so wisely.

6 O God, break their teeth in their mouth; break out the great teeth of the young lions, O Jehovah. 7 Let them melt away as waters that flow off; when he aimeth his arrows, let them be as blunted: 8 Let them be as a snail that melteth as it passeth away; [like] the untimely birth of a woman, let them not see the sun. 9 Before your pots feel the thorns, green or burning,—they shall be whirled away. 10 The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance; he shall wash his footsteps in the blood of the wicked: 11 And men shall say, Verily there is fruit for the righteous; verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth.

A Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies

591 To 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. 2 Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me from men of blood. 3 For behold, they lie in wait for my soul; strong ones are gathered against me: not for my transgression, nor for my sin, O Jehovah. 4 They run and prepare themselves without [my] fault: awake to meet me, and behold. 5 Yea, 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. 6 They return in the evening; they howl like a dog, and go round about the city: 7 Behold, they belch out with their mouth; swords are in their lips: for who [say they] doth hear?

8 But thou, Jehovah, wilt laugh at them; thou wilt have all the nations in derision. 9 Their strength! ... I will take heed to thee; for God is my high fortress. 10 God, whose loving-kindness will come to meet me,—God shall let me see [my desire] upon mine enemies. 11 Slay them not, lest my people forget; by thy power make them wander, and bring them down, O Lord, our shield. 12 [Because 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. 13 Make 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. 14 And in the evening they shall return, they shall howl like a dog, and go round about the city. 15 They shall wander about for meat, and stay all night if they be not satisfied. 16 But 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. 17 Unto thee, my strength, will I sing psalms; for God is my high fortress, the God of my mercy.

A Prayer for Help against the Foe

601 To 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. 2 Thou hast made the earth to tremble, thou hast rent it: heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh. 3 Thou hast shewn thy people hard things; thou hast made us to drink the wine of bewilderment. 4 Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth, (Selah,) 5 That thy beloved ones may be delivered. Save with thy right hand, and answer me.

6 God hath spoken in his holiness: I will exult, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth. 7 Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine, and Ephraim is the strength of my head; Judah is my law-giver; 8 Moab is my wash-pot; upon Edom will I cast my sandal; Philistia, shout aloud because of me. 9 Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me unto Edom? 10 [Wilt] not thou, O God, who didst cast us off? and didst not go forth, O God, with our armies? 11 Give us help from trouble; for vain is man's deliverance. 12 Through God we shall do valiantly; and he it is that will tread down our adversaries.

Confidence in God's Protection

611 To the chief Musician. On a stringed instrument. [A Psalm] of David. Hear, O God, my cry; attend unto my prayer. 2 From the end of the earth will I call unto thee, when my eart is overwhelmed: thou wilt lead me on to a rock which is too high for me. 3 For thou hast been a refuge for me, a strong tower from before the enemy. 4 I will sojourn in thy tent for ever; I will take refuge in the covert of thy wings. Selah.

5 For thou, O God, hast heard my vows; thou hast given [me] the inheritance of those that fear thy name. 6 Thou wilt add days to the days of the king: his years shall be as many generations. 7 He shall abide before God for ever: bestow loving-kindness and truth, that they may preserve him. 8 So will I sing forth thy name for ever, performing my vows from day to day.

God the Only Refuge

621 To the chief Musician. On Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. Upon God alone doth my soul rest peacefully; from him is my salvation. 2 He only is my rock and my salvation; my high fortress: I shall not be greatly moved. 3 How long will ye assail a man; will ye [seek], all of you, to break him down as a bowing wall or a tottering fence? 4 They 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. 5 Upon God alone, O my soul, rest peacefully; for my expectation is from him. 6 He only is my rock and my salvation; my high fortress: I shall not be moved. 7 With God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.

8 Confide in him at all times, ye people; pour out your heart before him: God is our refuge. Selah. 9 Men of low degree are only vanity; men of high degree, a lie: laid in the balance, they go up together [lighter] than vanity. 10 Put not confidence in oppression, and become not vain in robbery; if wealth increase, set not your heart upon it. 11 Once hath God spoken, twice have I heard this, that strength [belongeth] unto God. 12 And unto thee, O Lord, [belongeth] loving-kindness; for thou renderest to every man according to his work.

God Satisfies the Thirsting Soul

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

3 For thy loving-kindness is better than life: my lips shall praise thee. 4 So will I bless thee while I live; I will lift up my hands in thy name. 5 My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise [thee] with joyful lips. 6 When I remember thee upon my bed, I meditate on thee in the night-watches:

7 For thou hast been my help, and in the shadow of thy wings will I sing for joy. 8 My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me. 9 But those that seek my soul, to destroy [it], shall go into the lower parts of the earth; 10 They shall be given over to the power of the sword; they shall be the portion of foxes. 11 But 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.

A Prayer for Protection from Hidden Enemies

641 To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David. Hear, O God, my voice in my plaint; preserve my life from fear of the enemy: 2 Hide me from the secret counsel of evil-doers, from the tumultuous crowd of the workers of iniquity, 3 Who have sharpened their tongue like a sword, [and] have aimed their arrow, a bitter word; 4 That they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not. 5 They encourage themselves in an evil matter, they concert to hide snares; they say, Who will see them? 6 They devise iniquities: We have it ready, the plan is diligently sought out. And each one's inward [thought] and heart is deep.

7 But God will shoot an arrow at them: suddenly are they wounded; 8 By their own tongue they are made to fall over one another: all that see them shall flee away. 9 And all men shall fear, and shall declare God's doing; and they shall wisely consider his work. 10 The righteous shall rejoice in Jehovah, and trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory.

Praise for God's Bounty in Nature

651 To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David: a Song. Praise waiteth for thee in silence, O God, in Zion; and unto thee shall the vow be performed. 2 O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come. 3 Iniquities have prevailed against me: our transgressions, thou wilt forgive them. 4 Blessed is he whom thou choosest and causest to approach: he shall dwell in thy courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, of thy holy temple. 5 By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation, thou confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of the distant regions of the sea. ...

6 Who by his strength established the mountains, being girded with power; 7 Who stilleth the raging of the seas, the raging of their waves, and the tumult of the peoples. 8 And they that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at thy tokens; thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice. 9 Thou hast visited the earth, thou hast watered it; thou greatly enrichest it: the river of God is full of water; thou providest their corn, when thou hast so prepared it: 10 Thou dost satiate its furrows, thou smoothest its clods, thou makest it soft with showers; thou blessest the springing thereof. 11 Thou crownest the year with thy goodness, and thy paths drop fatness: 12 They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness, and the hills are girded with gladness. 13 The meadows are clothed with flocks, and the valleys are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, yea, they sing.