June 8 Psalms 58-64

Psalm 58
Prayer for VengeanceTo the leader: Do Not Destroy. Of David. A Miktam.
1Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?*
Do you judge people fairly?
2No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;
your hands deal out violence on earth.


3The wicked go astray from the womb;
they err from their birth, speaking lies.
4They have venom like the venom of a serpent,
like the deaf adder that stops its ear,
5so that it does not hear the voice of charmers
or of the cunning enchanter.


6O God, break the teeth in their mouths;
tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!
7Let them vanish like water that runs away;
like grass let them be trodden down* and wither.
8Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime;
like the untimely birth that never sees the sun.
9Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns,
whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!


10The righteous will rejoice when they see vengeance done;
they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.
11People will say, ‘Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
surely there is a God who judges on earth.’
Psalm 59
Prayer for Deliverance from EnemiesTo the leader: Do Not Destroy. Of David. A Miktam, when Saul ordered his house to be watched in order to kill him.
1Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
protect me from those who rise up against me.
2Deliver me from those who work evil;
from the bloodthirsty save me.


3Even now they lie in wait for my life;
the mighty stir up strife against me.
For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,
4 for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.


Rouse yourself, come to my help and see!
5 You, Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel.
Awake to punish all the nations;
spare none of those who treacherously plot evil.
Selah


6Each evening they come back,
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.
7There they are, bellowing with their mouths,
with sharp words* on their lips—
for ‘Who’, they think,* ‘will hear us?’


8But you laugh at them, O Lord;
you hold all the nations in derision.
9O my strength, I will watch for you;
for you, O God, are my fortress.
10My God in his steadfast love will meet me;
my God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.


11Do not kill them, or my people may forget;
make them totter by your power, and bring them down,
O Lord, our shield.
12For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,
let them be trapped in their pride.
For the cursing and lies that they utter,
13 consume them in wrath;
consume them until they are no more.
Then it will be known to the ends of the earth
that God rules over Jacob.
Selah


14Each evening they come back,
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.
15They roam about for food,
and growl if they do not get their fill.


16But I will sing of your might;
I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.
For you have been a fortress for me
and a refuge on the day of my distress.
17O my strength, I will sing praises to you,
for you, O God, are my fortress,
the God who shows me steadfast love.
Psalm 60
Prayer for National Victory after DefeatTo the leader: according to The Lily of the Covenant. A Miktam of David; for instruction; when he struggled with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and when Joab on his return killed twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.
1O God, you have rejected us, broken our defences;
you have been angry; now restore us!
2You have caused the land to quake; you have torn it open;
repair the cracks in it, for it is tottering.
3You have made your people suffer hard things;
you have given us wine to drink that made us reel.


4You have set up a banner for those who fear you,
to rally to it out of bowshot.*
Selah
5Give victory with your right hand, and answer us,*
so that those whom you love may be rescued.


6God has promised in his sanctuary:*
‘With exultation I will divide up Shechem,
and portion out the Vale of Succoth.
7Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim is my helmet;
Judah is my sceptre.
8Moab is my wash-basin;
on Edom I hurl my shoe;
over Philistia I shout in triumph.’


9Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
10Have you not rejected us, O God?
You do not go out, O God, with our armies.
11O grant us help against the foe,
for human help is worthless.
12With God we shall do valiantly;
it is he who will tread down our foes.
Psalm 61
Assurance of God’s ProtectionTo the leader: with stringed instruments. Of David.
1Hear my cry, O God;
listen to my prayer.
2From the end of the earth I call to you,
when my heart is faint.


Lead me to the rock
that is higher than I;
3for you are my refuge,
a strong tower against the enemy.


4Let me abide in your tent for ever,
find refuge under the shelter of your wings.
Selah
5For you, O God, have heard my vows;
you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.


6Prolong the life of the king;
may his years endure to all generations!
7May he be enthroned for ever before God;
appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!


8So I will always sing praises to your name,
as I pay my vows day after day.
Psalm 62
Song of Trust in God AloneTo the leader: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
1For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.
2He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall never be shaken.


3How long will you assail a person,
will you batter your victim, all of you,
as you would a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
4Their only plan is to bring down a person of prominence.
They take pleasure in falsehood;
they bless with their mouths,
but inwardly they curse.
Selah


5For God alone my soul waits in silence,
for my hope is from him.
6He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7On God rests my deliverance and my honour;
my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.


8Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us.
Selah


9Those of low estate are but a breath,
those of high estate are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
they are together lighter than a breath.
10Put no confidence in extortion,
and set no vain hopes on robbery;
if riches increase, do not set your heart on them.


11Once God has spoken;
twice have I heard this:
that power belongs to God,
12 and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord.
For you repay to all
according to their work.
Psalm 63
Comfort and Assurance in God’s PresenceA Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah.
1O God, you are my God, I seek you,
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
3Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
4So I will bless you as long as I live;
I will lift up my hands and call on your name.


5My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,*
and my mouth praises you with joyful lips
6when I think of you on my bed,
and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
7for you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
8My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.


9But those who seek to destroy my life
shall go down into the depths of the earth;
10they shall be given over to the power of the sword,
they shall be prey for jackals.
11But the king shall rejoice in God;
all who swear by him shall exult,
for the mouths of liars will be stopped.
Psalm 64
Prayer for Protection from EnemiesTo the leader. A Psalm of David.
1Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;
preserve my life from the dread enemy.
2Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,
from the scheming of evildoers,
3who whet their tongues like swords,
who aim bitter words like arrows,
4shooting from ambush at the blameless;
they shoot suddenly and without fear.
5They hold fast to their evil purpose;
they talk of laying snares secretly,
thinking, ‘Who can see us?*
6 Who can search out our crimes?*
We have thought out a cunningly conceived plot.’
For the human heart and mind are deep.


7But God will shoot his arrow at them;
they will be wounded suddenly.
8Because of their tongue he will bring them to ruin;*
all who see them will shake with horror.
9Then everyone will fear;
they will tell what God has brought about,
and ponder what he has done.


10Let the righteous rejoice in the Lord
and take refuge in him.
Let all the upright in heart glory.