171 A Prayer of David. Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry! Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit! 2 From thee let my vindication come! Let thy eyes see the right! 3 If thou triest my heart, if thou visitest me by night, if thou testest me, thou wilt find no wickedness in me; my mouth does not transgress. 4 With regard to the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have avoided the ways of the violent. 5 My steps have held fast to thy paths, my feet have not slipped. 6 I call upon thee, for thou wilt answer me, O God; incline thy ear to me, hear my words. 7 Wondrously show thy steadfast love, O savior of those who seek refuge from their adversaries at thy right hand.
8 Keep me as the apple of the eye; hide me in the shadow of thy wings, 9 from the wicked who despoil me, my deadly enemies who surround me. 10 They close their hearts to pity; with their mouths they speak arrogantly. 11 They track me down; now they surround me; they set their eyes to cast me to the ground. 12 They are like a lion eager to tear, as a young lion lurking in ambush. 13 Arise, O Lord! confront them, overthrow them! Deliver my life from the wicked by thy sword, 14 from men by thy hand, O Lord, from men whose portion in life is of the world. May their belly be filled with what thou hast stored up for them; may their children have more than enough; may they leave something over to their babes. 15 As for me, I shall behold thy face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with beholding thy form.
351 A Psalm of David. Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me! 2 Take hold of shield and buckler, and rise for my help! 3 Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers! Say to my soul, "I am your deliverance!" 4 Let them be put to shame and dishonor who seek after my life! Let them be turned back and confounded who devise evil against me! 5 Let them be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the Lord driving them on! 6 Let their way be dark and slippery, with the angel of the Lord pursuing them! 7 For without cause they hid their net for me; without cause they dug a pit for my life. 8 Let ruin come upon them unawares! And let the net which they hid ensnare them; let them fall therein to ruin! 9 Then my soul shall rejoice in the Lord, exulting in his deliverance. 10 All my bones shall say, "O Lord, who is like thee, thou who deliverest the weak from him who is too strong for him, the weak and needy from him who despoils him?"
11 Malicious witnesses rise up; they ask me of things that I know not. 12 They requite me evil for good; my soul is forlorn. 13 But I, when they were sick--I wore sackcloth, I afflicted myself with fasting. I prayed with head bowed on my bosom, 14 as though I grieved for my friend or my brother; I went about as one who laments his mother, bowed down and in mourning. 15 But at my stumbling they gathered in glee, they gathered together against me; cripples whom I knew not slandered me without ceasing; 16 they impiously mocked more and more, gnashing at me with their teeth.
17 How long, O Lord, wilt thou look on? Rescue me from their ravages, my life from the lions! 18 Then I will thank thee in the great congregation; in the mighty throng I will praise thee. 19 Let not those rejoice over me who are wrongfully my foes, and let not those wink the eye who hate me without cause. 20 For they do not speak peace, but against those who are quiet in the land they conceive words of deceit. 21 They open wide their mouths against me; they say, "Aha, Aha! our eyes have seen it!" 22 Thou hast seen, O Lord; be not silent! O Lord, be not far from me! 23 Bestir thyself, and awake for my right, for my cause, my God and my Lord! 24 Vindicate me, O Lord, my God, according to thy righteousness; and let them not rejoice over me! 25 Let them not say to themselves, "Aha, we have our heart's desire!" Let them not say, "We have swallowed him up." 26 Let them be put to shame and confusion altogether who rejoice at my calamity! Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves against me! 27 Let those who desire my vindication shout for joy and be glad, and say evermore, "Great is the Lord, who delights in the welfare of his servant!" 28 Then my tongue shall tell of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long.
541 To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Maskil of David, when the Ziphites went and told Saul, "David is in hiding among us." Save me, O God, by thy name, and vindicate me by thy might. 2 Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth. 3 For insolent men have risen against me, ruthless men seek my life; they do not set God before them. [Selah]
4 Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life. 5 He will requite my enemies with evil; in thy faithfulness put an end to them. 6 With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to thee; I will give thanks to thy name, O Lord, for it is good. 7 For thou hast delivered me from every trouble, and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies.
631 A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah. O God, thou art my God, I seek thee, my soul thirsts for thee; my flesh faints for thee, as in a dry and weary land where no water is. 2 So I have looked upon thee in the sanctuary, beholding thy power and glory.
3 Because thy steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise thee. 4 So I will bless thee as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on thy name. 5 My soul is feasted as with marrow and fat, and my mouth praises thee with joyful lips, 6 when I think of thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the watches of the night;
7 for thou hast been my help, and in the shadow of thy wings I sing for joy. 8 My soul clings to thee; thy right hand upholds me. 9 But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth; 10 they shall be given over to the power of the sword, they shall be prey for jackals. 11 But the king shall rejoice in God; all who swear by him shall glory; for the mouths of liars will be stopped.
