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Need for God’s Justice

10 Lord,[a][b] why do you stand so far away?(A)
Why do you hide in times of trouble?(B)
In arrogance the wicked relentlessly pursue their victims;
let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.(C)

For the wicked one boasts about his own cravings;(D)
the one who is greedy curses[c] and despises the Lord.(E)
In all his scheming,
the wicked person arrogantly thinks,[d]
‘There’s no accountability,
since there’s no God.’(F)
His ways are always secure;[e]
your lofty judgements have no effect on him;[f]
he scoffs at all his adversaries.(G)
He says to himself, ‘I will never be moved –
from generation to generation I will be without calamity.’(H)
Cursing, deceit, and violence fill his mouth;
trouble and malice are under his tongue.(I)
He waits in ambush near settlements;(J)
he kills the innocent in secret places.
His eyes are on the lookout for the helpless;(K)
he lurks in secret like a lion in a thicket.
He lurks in order to seize a victim;
he seizes a victim and drags him in his net.
10 So he is oppressed and beaten down;
helpless people fall because of the wicked one’s strength.(L)
11 He says to himself, ‘God has forgotten;
he hides his face and will never see.’(M)

12 Rise up, Lord God! Lift up your hand.(N)
Do not forget the oppressed.(O)
13 Why has the wicked person despised God?
He says to himself, ‘You will not demand an account.’(P)
14 But you yourself have seen trouble and grief,
observing it in order to take the matter into your hands.(Q)
The helpless one entrusts himself to you;
you are a helper of the fatherless.(R)
15 Break the arm of the wicked, evil person,(S)
until you look for his wickedness,
but it can’t be found.(T)

16 The Lord is King for ever and ever;(U)
the nations will perish from his land.(V)
17 Lord, you have heard the desire of the humble;
you will strengthen their hearts.
You will listen carefully,(W)
18 doing justice for the fatherless and the oppressed
so that mere humans from the earth may terrify them no more.(X)

Refuge in the Lord

For the choir director. Of David.

11 I have taken refuge in the Lord.(Y)
How can you say to me,
‘Escape to the mountains[g] like a bird!(Z)
For look, the wicked string bows;
they put their arrows on bowstrings
to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart.(AA)
When the foundations are destroyed,
what can the righteous do? ’(AB)

The Lord is in his holy temple;(AC)
the Lord – his throne is in heaven.(AD)
His eyes watch;
his gaze[h] examines everyone.[i]
The Lord examines the righteous,
but he hates the wicked
and[j] those who love violence.(AE)
Let him rain burning coals[k] and sulphur on the wicked;
let a scorching wind be the portion in their cup.(AF)
For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds.
The upright will see his face.(AG)

Oppression by the Wicked

For the choir director: according to Sheminith.(AH) A psalm of David.

12 Help, Lord, for no faithful one remains;
the loyal have disappeared from the human race.[l](AI)
They lie to one another;
they speak with flattering lips and deceptive hearts.(AJ)
May the Lord cut off all flattering lips
and the tongue that speaks boastfully.(AK)
They say, ‘Through our tongues we have power;
our lips are our own – who can be our master? ’(AL)

‘Because of the devastation of the needy
and the groaning of the poor,
I will now rise up,’ says the Lord.
‘I will provide safety for the one who longs for it.’(AM)

The words of the Lord are pure words,
like silver refined in an earthen furnace,
purified seven times.(AN)

You, Lord, will guard us;[m]
you will protect us[n] from this generation for ever.(AO)
The wicked prowl[o] all around,
and what is worthless is exalted by the human race.(AP)

A Plea for Deliverance

For the choir director. A psalm of David.

13 How long, Lord? Will you forget me for ever?
How long will you hide your face from me?(AQ)
How long will I store up anxious concerns[p] within me,
agony in my mind every day?
How long will my enemy dominate me?(AR)

Consider me and answer, Lord my God.
Restore brightness to my eyes;(AS)
otherwise, I will sleep in death.
My enemy will say, ‘I have triumphed over him,’
and my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.(AT)

But I have trusted in your faithful love;(AU)
my heart will rejoice in your deliverance.(AV)
I will sing to the Lord
because he has treated me generously.(AW)

A Portrait of Sinners

For the choir director. Of David.

14 The fool says in his heart, ‘There’s no God.’(AX)
They are corrupt; they do vile deeds.
There is no one who does good.
The Lord looks down from heaven on the human race[q](AY)
to see if there is one who is wise,
one who seeks God.
All have turned away;
all alike have become corrupt.
There is no one who does good,
not even one.(AZ)

Will evildoers never understand?
They consume my people as they consume bread;(BA)
they do not call on the Lord.(BB)

Then[r] they will be filled with dread,
for God is with those who are[s] righteous.(BC)
You sinners frustrate the plans of the oppressed,(BD)
but the Lord is his refuge.(BE)

Oh, that Israel’s deliverance would come from Zion!
When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people,[t]
let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.(BF)

A Description of the Godly

A psalm of David.

15 Lord, who can dwell in your tent?(BG)
Who can live on your holy mountain?(BH)

The one who lives blamelessly, practises righteousness,
and acknowledges the truth in his heart(BI)
who does not slander with his tongue,(BJ)
who does not harm his friend
or discredit his neighbour,(BK)
who despises the one rejected by the Lord[u]
but honours those who fear the Lord,(BL)
who keeps his word whatever the cost,(BM)
who does not lend his silver at interest(BN)
or take a bribe against the innocent(BO)
the one who does these things will never be shaken.(BP)

Footnotes

  1. 10:1 Some Hb mss, LXX connect Pss 9–10.
  2. 10:1 Together Pss 9–10 form a partial acrostic.
  3. 10:3 Or he blesses the greedy
  4. 10:4 Lit wicked according to the height of his nose
  5. 10:5 Or prosperous
  6. 10:5 Lit judgements are away from in front of him
  7. 11:1 Lit your mountain
  8. 11:4 Lit eyelids
  9. 11:4 Or examines the descendants of Adam
  10. 11:5 Or righteous and the wicked, and he hates
  11. 11:6 Sym; MT reads rain snares, fire
  12. 12:1 Or the descendants of Adam, also in v. 8
  13. 12:7 Some Hb mss, LXX, Jer; other Hb mss read them
  14. 12:7 Some Hb mss, LXX; other Hb mss read him
  15. 12:8 Lit walk about
  16. 13:2 Or up counsels
  17. 14:2 Or the descendants of Adam
  18. 14:5 Or There
  19. 14:5 Lit with the generation of the
  20. 14:7 Or restores his captive people
  21. 15:4 Lit in his eyes the rejected is despised