A plaintive song of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush, the Benjaminite.

Lord my God, in you I take refuge; rescue me; save me from all who pursue me, lest they maul me like lions, tear me to pieces with none to save.

Lord my God, if I am at fault in this, if there is guilt on my hands, if I have repaid my friend with evil, I spared even those who hated me without cause.

Then let my enemy pursue and overtake me, trample my life to the ground, and leave me dishonored in the dust.

Rise up, Lord, in your anger; rise against the fury of my foes. Wake to judge as you have decreed.

Have the assembly of the peoples gather about you; sit on your throne high above them.

O Lord, judge of the nations. Grant me justice, Lord, for I am blameless, free of any guilt.

Bring the malice of the wicked to an end; uphold the innocent, O God of justice, who tries hearts and minds.

A shield before me is God who saves the honest heart.

God is a just judge, who rebukes in anger every day.

If sinners do not repent, God sharpens his sword, strings and readies the bow, prepares his deadly shafts, makes arrows blazing thunderbolts.

Sinners conceive iniquity; pregnant with mischief, they give birth to failure.

They open a hole and dig it deep, but fall into the pit they have dug.

Their mischief comes back upon themselves; their violence falls on their own heads.

I praise the justice of the Lord; I celebrate the name of the Lord Most High.

RETURN TO HOME PAGE