The Living Bible (183 page)

Psalm
55

Listen to my prayer, O God; don’t hide yourself when I cry to you.
²
 Hear me, Lord! Listen to me! For I groan and weep beneath my burden of woe.

    
³
 My enemies shout against me and threaten me with death. They surround me with terror and plot to kill me. Their fury and hatred rise to engulf me.
⁴
 My heart is in anguish within me. Stark fear overpowers me.
⁵
 Trembling and horror overwhelm me.
⁶
 Oh, for wings like a dove, to fly away and rest!
⁷
 I would fly to the far-off deserts and stay there.
⁸
 I would flee to some refuge from all this storm.

    
⁹
 O Lord, make these enemies begin to quarrel among themselves—destroy them with their own violence and strife.
*
¹⁰
 Though they patrol their walls night and day against invaders, their real problem is internal—wickedness and dishonesty are entrenched in the heart of the city.
¹¹
 There is murder and robbery there, and cheating in the markets and wherever you look.

    
¹²
 It was not an enemy who taunted me—then I could have borne it; I could have hidden and escaped.
¹³
 But it was you, a man like myself, my companion and my friend.
¹⁴
 What fellowship we had, what wonderful discussions as we walked together to the Temple of the Lord on holy days.

    
¹⁵
 Let death seize them and cut them down in their prime, for there is sin in their homes, and they are polluted to the depths of their souls.

    
¹⁶
 But I will call upon the Lord to save me—and he will.
¹⁷
 I will pray morning, noon, and night, pleading aloud with God; and he will hear and answer.
¹⁸
 Though the tide of battle runs strongly against me, for so many are fighting me, yet he will rescue me.
¹⁹
 God himself—God from everlasting ages past—will answer them! For they refuse to fear him or even honor his commands.

    
²⁰
 This friend of mine betrayed me—I who was at peace with him. He broke his promises.
²¹
 His words were oily smooth, but in his heart was war. His words were sweet, but underneath were daggers.

    
²²
 Give your burdens to the Lord. He will carry them. He will not permit the godly to slip or fall.
²³
 He will send my enemies to the pit of destruction. Murderers and liars will not live out half their days. But I am trusting you to save me.

Psalm
56

Lord, have mercy on me; all day long the enemy troops press in. So many are proud to fight against me; how they long to conquer me.

    
^3-4
 But when I am afraid, I will put my confidence in you. Yes, I will trust the promises of God. And since I am trusting him, what can mere man do to me?
⁵
 They are always twisting what I say. All their thoughts are how to harm me.
⁶
 They meet together to perfect their plans; they hide beside the trail, listening for my steps, waiting to kill me.
⁷
 They expect to get away with it. Don’t let them, Lord. In anger cast them to the ground.

    
⁸
 You have seen me tossing and turning through the night. You have collected all my tears and preserved them in your bottle! You have recorded every one in your book.

    
⁹
 The very day I call for help, the tide of battle turns. My enemies flee! This one thing I
know: God is for me!
^10-11
 I am trusting God—oh, praise his promises! I am not afraid of anything mere man can do to me! Yes, praise his promises.
¹²
 I will surely do what I have promised, Lord, and thank you for your help.
¹³
 For you have saved me from death and my feet from slipping, so that I can walk before the Lord in the land of the living.

Psalm
57

O God, have pity, for I am trusting you! I will hide beneath the shadow of your wings until this storm is past.
²
 I will cry to the God of heaven who does such wonders for me.
³
 He will send down help from heaven to save me because of his love and his faithfulness. He will rescue me from these liars who are so intent upon destroying me.
⁴
 I am surrounded by fierce lions—hotheads whose teeth are sharp as spears and arrows. Their tongues are like swords.
⁵
 Lord, be exalted above the highest heavens! Show your glory high above the earth.
⁶
 My enemies have set a trap for me. Frantic fear grips me. They have dug a pitfall in my path. But look! They themselves have fallen into it!

    
⁷
 O God, my heart is quiet and confident. No wonder I can sing your praises!
⁸
 Rouse yourself, my soul! Arise, O harp and lyre! Let us greet the dawn with song!
⁹
 I will thank you publicly throughout the land. I will sing your praises among the nations.
¹⁰
 Your kindness and love are as vast as the heavens. Your faithfulness is higher than the skies.

    
¹¹
 Yes, be exalted, O God, above the heavens. May your glory shine throughout the earth.

Psalm
58

Justice? You high and mighty politicians don’t even know the meaning of the word! Fairness? Which of you has any left? Not one! All your dealings are crooked: you give “justice” in exchange for bribes.
*
³
 These men are born sinners, lying from their earliest words!
^4-5
 They are poisonous as deadly snakes, cobras that close their ears to the most expert of charmers.

    
⁶
 O God, break off their fangs. Tear out the teeth of these young lions, Lord.
⁷
 Let them disappear like water into thirsty ground. Make their weapons useless in their hands.
*
⁸
 Let them be as snails that dissolve into slime and as those who die at birth, who never see the sun.
⁹
 God will sweep away both old and young. He will destroy them more quickly than a cooking pot can feel the blazing fire of thorns beneath it.

    
¹⁰
 The godly shall rejoice in the triumph of right;
*
they shall walk the bloodstained fields of slaughtered, wicked men.
¹¹
 Then at last everyone will know that good is rewarded, and that there is a God who judges justly here on earth.

Psalm
59

Written by David at the time King Saul set guards at his home to capture and kill him. (1 Samuel 19:11)

O my God, save me from my enemies. Protect me from these who have come to destroy me.
²
 Preserve me from these criminals, these murderers.
³
 They lurk in ambush for my life. Strong men are out there waiting. And not, O Lord, because I’ve done them wrong.
⁴
 Yet they prepare to kill me. Lord, waken! See what is happening! Help me!
⁵
 (And O Jehovah, God of heaven’s armies, God of Israel, arise and punish the heathen nations surrounding us.) Do not spare these evil, treacherous men.
⁶
 At evening they come to spy, slinking around like dogs that prowl the city.
⁷
 I hear them shouting insults and cursing God, for “No one will hear us,” they think.
⁸
 Lord, laugh at them! (And scoff at these surrounding nations too.)

    
⁹
 O God my Strength! I will sing your praises, for you are my place of safety.
¹⁰
 My God is changeless in his love for me, and he will come and help me. He will let me see my wish come true upon my enemies.
¹¹
 Don’t kill them—for my people soon forget such lessons—but stagger them with your power and bring them to their knees. Bring them to the dust, O Lord our shield.
^12-13
 They are proud, cursing liars. Angrily destroy them. Wipe them out. (And let the nations find out, too, that God rules in Israel and will reign throughout the world.)
^14-15
 Let these evil men slink back at evening and prowl the city all night before they are satisfied, howling like dogs and searching for food.

    
¹⁶
 But as for me, I will sing each morning about your power and mercy. For you have been my high tower of refuge, a place of safety in the day of my distress.
¹⁷
 O my Strength, to you I sing my praises; for you are my high tower of safety, my God of mercy.