Psalm 3-4/12-13/28/55

Psalm 3

A psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom.

1 Lord, how many are my foes!     How many rise up against me! ² Many are saying of me,     “God will not deliver him.”

³ But you, Lord, are a shield around me,     my glory, the One who lifts my head high. ⁴ I call out to the Lord,     and he answers me from his holy mountain.

⁵ I lie down and sleep;     I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. ⁶ I will not fear though tens of thousands     assail me on every side.

⁷ Arise, Lord!     Deliver me, my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw;     break the teeth of the wicked.

⁸ From the Lord comes deliverance.     May your blessing be on your people.

 

Psalm 4

Evening Prayer of Trust in God.

For the choir director; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.

4 Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; Be gracious to me and hear my prayer.

² O sons of men, how long will my honor become a reproach? How long will you love what is worthless and aim at deception? Selah. ³ But know that the Lord has set apart the godly man for Himself; The Lord hears when I call to Him.

⁴ Tremble, and do not sin; Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. ⁵ Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, And trust in the Lord.

⁶ Many are saying, “Who will show us any good?” Lift up the light of Your countenance upon us, O Lord! ⁷ You have put gladness in my heart, More than when their grain and new wine abound. ⁸ In peace I will both lie down and sleep, For You alone, O Lord, make me to dwell in safety.

 

Psalm 12

God, a Helper against the Treacherous.

For the choir director; upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David.

12 Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases to be, For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men. ² They speak falsehood to one another; With flattering lips and with a double heart they speak. ³ May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, The tongue that speaks great things; ⁴ Who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail; Our lips are our own; who is lord over us?” ⁵ “Because of the devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy, Now I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will set him in the safety for which he longs.”

⁶ The words of the Lord are pure words; As silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times. ⁷ You, O Lord, will keep them; You will preserve him from this generation forever. ⁸ The wicked strut about on every side When vileness is exalted among the sons of men.

 

Psalm 13

Prayer for Help in Trouble.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

13 How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? ² How long shall I take counsel in my soul, Having sorrow in my heart all the day? How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

³ Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death, ⁴ And my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.

⁵ But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. ⁶ I will sing to the Lord, Because He has dealt bountifully with me.

 

Psalm 28

A Prayer for Help, and Praise for Its Answer.

A Psalm of David.

28 To You, O Lord, I call; My rock, do not be deaf to me, For if You are silent to me, I will become like those who go down to the pit. ² Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to You for help, When I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary. ³ Do not drag me away with the wicked And with those who work iniquity, Who speak peace with their neighbors, While evil is in their hearts. ⁴ Requite them according to their work and according to the evil of their practices; Requite them according to the deeds of their hands; Repay them their recompense. ⁵ Because they do not regard the works of the Lord Nor the deeds of His hands, He will tear them down and not build them up.

⁶ Blessed be the Lord, Because He has heard the voice of my supplication. ⁷ The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him. ⁸ The Lord is their strength, And He is a saving defense to His anointed. ⁹ Save Your people and bless Your inheritance; Be their shepherd also, and carry them forever.

 

Psalm 55

Prayer for the Destruction of the Treacherous.

For the choir director; on stringed instruments. A Maskil of David.

55 Give ear to my prayer, O God; And do not hide Yourself from my supplication. ² Give heed to me and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and am surely distracted, ³ Because of the voice of the enemy, Because of the pressure of the wicked; For they bring down trouble upon me And in anger they bear a grudge against me.

⁴ My heart is in anguish within me, And the terrors of death have fallen upon me. ⁵ Fear and trembling come upon me, And horror has overwhelmed me. ⁶ I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. ⁷ “Behold, I would wander far away, I would lodge in the wilderness. Selah. ⁸ “I would hasten to my place of refuge From the stormy wind and tempest.”

⁹ Confuse, O Lord, divide their tongues, For I have seen violence and strife in the city. ¹⁰ Day and night they go around her upon her walls, And iniquity and mischief are in her midst. ¹¹ Destruction is in her midst; Oppression and deceit do not depart from her streets.

¹² For it is not an enemy who reproaches me, Then I could bear it; Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me, Then I could hide myself from him. ¹³ But it is you, a man my equal, My companion and my familiar friend; ¹⁴ We who had sweet fellowship together Walked in the house of God in the throng. ¹⁵ Let death come deceitfully upon them; Let them go down alive to Sheol, For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst.

¹⁶ As for me, I shall call upon God, And the Lord will save me. ¹⁷ Evening and morning and at noon, I will complain and murmur, And He will hear my voice. ¹⁸ He will redeem my soul in peace from the battle which is against me, For they are many who strive with me. ¹⁹ God will hear and answer them— Even the one who sits enthroned from of old— Selah. With whom there is no change, And who do not fear God. ²⁰ He has put forth his hands against those who were at peace with him; He has violated his covenant. ²¹ His speech was smoother than butter, But his heart was war; His words were softer than oil, Yet they were drawn swords.

²² Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken. ²³ But You, O God, will bring them down to the pit of destruction; Men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days. But I will trust in You.

 

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org)