Psalms: The Miserere, and the Fugitive's Songbook (Psalms 51–60)
Scripture: Berean Standard Bible
Psalm 51
For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. When Nathan the prophet came to him after his adultery with Bathsheba.
Have mercy on me, O God,according to your loving devotion;according to your great compassion,blot out my transgressions.Wash me clean of my iniquityand cleanse me from my sin.For I know my transgressions,and my sin is always before me.Against you, you only, have I sinnedand done what is evil in your sight,so that you may be proved right when you speakand blameless when you judge.Surely I was brought forth in iniquity;I was sinful when my mother conceived me.
Surely you desire truth in the inmost being;you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean;wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.Let me hear joy and gladness;let the bones you have crushed rejoice.Hide your face from my sinsand blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,and renew a right spirit within me.Cast me not away from your presence;take not your Holy Spirit from me.Restore to me the joy of your salvation,and sustain me with a willing spirit.Then I will teach transgressors your ways,and sinners will return to you.
Deliver me from bloodguilt, O God,the God of my salvation,and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.O Lord, open my lips,and my mouth will declare your praise.For you do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;you take no pleasure in burnt offerings.The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;a broken and a contrite heart,O God, you will not despise.
In your good pleasure, cause Zion to prosper;build up the walls of Jerusalem.Then you will delight in righteous sacrifices,in whole burnt offerings;then bulls will be offered on your altar.
Psalm 52
For the choirmaster. A Maskil of David. After Doeg the Edomite went to Saul and told him, “David has gone to the house of Ahimelech.”
Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man?The loving devotion of God endures all day long.Your tongue devises destructionlike a sharpened razor,O worker of deceit.You love evil more than good,falsehood more than speaking truth.Selahyou love every word that devours,O deceitful tongue.Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin;he will snatch you up and tear you away from your tent;he will uproot you from the land of the living.SelahThe righteous will see and fear;they will mock the evildoer, saying,“Look at the manwho did not make God his refuge,but trusted in the abundance of his wealthand strengthened himself by destruction.”
But I am like an olive treeflourishing in the house of God;I trust in the loving devotion of Godforever and ever.I will praise you forever,because you have done it.I will wait on your name—for it is good—in the presence of your saints.
Psalm 53
For the choirmaster. According to Mahalath. A Maskil of David.
The fool says in his heart,“There is no God.”
They are corrupt; their ways are vile.There is no one who does good.
God looks down from heavenupon the sons of mento see if any understand,if any seek God.All have turned away,they have together become corrupt;there is no one who does good,not even one.
Will the workers of iniquity never learn?
They devour my people like bread;they refuse to call upon God.There they are, overwhelmed with dread,where there was nothing to fear.For God has scattered the bonesof those who besieged you.You put them to shame,for God has despised them.
Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come from Zion!
When God restores his captive people,let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad!
Psalm 54
For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. A Maskil of David. When the Ziphites went to Saul and said, “Is David not hiding among us?”
Save me, O God, by your name,and vindicate me by your might!Hear my prayer, O God;listen to the words of my mouth.For strangers rise up against me,and ruthless men seek my life—men with no regard for God.SelahSurely God is my helper;the Lord is the sustainer of my soul.He will reward my enemies with evil.In your faithfulness, destroy them.Freely I will sacrifice to you;I will praise your name, O LORD, for it is good.For he has delivered me from every trouble,and my eyes have stared down my foes.
Psalm 55
For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. A Maskil of David.
Listen to my prayer, O God,and do not ignore my plea.Attend to me and answer me.I am restless in my complaint,and distraught at the voice of the enemy,at the pressure of the wicked.For they release disaster upon meand revile me in their anger.
My heart murmurs within me,and the terrors of death assail me.Fear and trembling grip me,and horror has overwhelmed me.I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!I would fly away and find rest.How far away I would flee!In the wilderness I would remain.SelahI would hurry to my shelter,far from this raging tempest.”
O Lord, confuse and confound their speech,for I see violence and strife in the city.Day and night they encircle the walls,while malice and trouble lie within.Destruction is within;oppression and deceit never leave the streets.
For it is not an enemy who insults me;that I could endure.It is not a foe who rises against me;from him I could hide.But it is you, a man like myself,my companion and close friend.We shared sweet fellowship together;we walked with the crowd into the house of God.
Let death seize them by surprise;let them go down to Sheol alive,for evil is with them in their homes.But I call to God,and the LORD saves me.Morning, noon, and night, I cry out in distress,and he hears my voice.He redeems my soul in peacefrom the battle waged against me,even though many oppose me.God will hear and humiliate them—the One enthroned for the ages—Selahbecause they do not changeand they have no fear of God.
My companion attacks his friends;he violates his covenant.His speech is smooth as butter,but war is in his heart.His words are softer than oil,yet they are swords unsheathed.
Cast your burden upon the LORDand he will sustain you;he will never let the righteous be shaken.But you, O God, will bring them downto the Pit of destruction;men of bloodshed and deceitwill not live out half their days.
But I will trust in you.
Psalm 56
For the choirmaster. To the tune of “A Dove on Distant Oaks.” A Miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath.
Be merciful to me, O God,for men are hounding me;all day they press their attack.My enemies pursue me all day long,for many proudly assail me.
When I am afraid,I put my trust in you.In God, whose word I praise—in God I trust.I will not be afraid.What can man do to me?
All day long they twist my words;all their thoughts are on my demise.They conspire, they lurk,they watch my stepswhile they wait to take my life.In spite of such sin, will they escape?In your anger, O God, cast down the nations.
You have taken account of my wanderings.Put my tears in your bottle—are they not in your book?Then my enemies will retreaton the day I cry for help.By this I will know that God is on my side.
In God, whose word I praise,in the LORD, whose word I praise,in God I trust; I will not be afraid.What can man do to me?
Your vows are upon me, O God;I will render thank offerings to you.For you have delivered my soul from death,and my feet from stumbling,that I may walk before Godin the light of life.
Psalm 57
For the choirmaster. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David, when he fled from Saul into the cave.
Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy,for in you my soul takes refuge.In the shadow of your wings I will take shelteruntil the danger has passed.I cry out to God Most High,to God who fulfills his purpose for me.He reaches down from heaven and saves me;he rebukes those who trample me.SelahGod sends forthhis loving devotion and his truth.My soul is among the lions;I lie down with ravenous beasts—with men whose teeth are spears and arrows,whose tongues are sharp swords.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;may your glory cover all the earth.
They spread a net for my feet;my soul was despondent.They dug a pit before me,but they themselves have fallen into it!Selahmy heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast.I will sing and make music.Awake, my glory!Awake, O harp and lyre!I will awaken the dawn.
I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations;I will sing your praises among the peoples.For your loving devotion reaches to the heavens,and your faithfulness to the clouds.Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;may your glory cover all the earth.
Psalm 58
For the choirmaster. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David.
Do you indeed speak justly, O rulers?Do you judge uprightly, O sons of men?No, in your hearts you devise injustice;with your hands you mete out violence on the earth.
The wicked are estranged from the womb;the liars go astray from birth.Their venom is like the venom of a snake,like a cobra that shuts its ears,refusing to hear the tune of the charmerwho skillfully weaves his spell.
O God, shatter their teeth in their mouths;O LORD, tear out the fangs of the lions.May they vanishlike water that runs off;when they draw the bow,may their arrows be blunted.Like a slug that dissolves in its slime,like a woman’s stillborn child,may they never see the sun.
Before your pots can feel the burning thorns—whether green or dry—he will sweep them away.The righteous will rejoicewhen they see they are avenged;they will wash their feetin the blood of the wicked.Then men will say,“There is surely a reward for the righteous!There is surely a God who judges the earth!”
Psalm 59
For the choirmaster. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David, when Saul sent men to watch David’s house in order to kill him.
Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;protect me from those who rise against me.Deliver me from workers of iniquity,and save me from men of bloodshed.See how they lie in wait for me.Fierce men conspire against mefor no transgression or sin of my own, O LORD.For no fault of my own,they move swiftly to attack me.Arise to help me, and take notice.O LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel,rouse yourself to punish all the nations;show no mercy to the wicked traitors.SelahThey return in the evening, snarling like dogsand prowling around the city.See what they spew from their mouths—sharp words from their lips:“For who can hear us?”But you, O LORD, laugh at them;you scoff at all the nations.
I will keep watch for you, O my strength,because you, O God, are my fortress.My God of loving devotion will come to meet me;God will let me stare down my foes.
Do not kill them,or my people will forget.Scatter them by your power,and bring them down,O Lord, our shield.By the sins of their mouthsand the words of their lips,let them be trapped in their pride,in the curses and lies they utter.Consume them in wrath;consume them till they are no more,so it may be known to the ends of the earththat God rules over Jacob.SelahThey return in the evening,snarling like dogsand prowling around the city.They scavenge for food,and growl if they are not satisfied.
But I will sing of your strengthand proclaim your loving devotion in the morning.For you are my fortress,my refuge in times of trouble.To you, O my strength, I sing praises,for you, O God, are my fortress,my God of loving devotion.
Psalm 60
For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Lily of the Covenant.” A Miktam of David for instruction. When he fought Aram-naharaim and Aram-zobah, and Joab returned and struck down 12,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt.
You have rejected us, O God;you have broken us;you have been angry;restore us!You have shaken the landand torn it open.Heal its fractures,for it is quaking.You have shown your people hardship;we are staggered from the wine you made us drink.
You have raised a banner for those who fear you,that they may flee the bow.SelahRespond and save us with your right hand,that your beloved may be delivered.
God has spoken from his sanctuary:“I will triumph!I will parcel out Shechemand apportion the Valley of Succoth.Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine;Ephraim is my helmet, Judah is my scepter.Moab is my washbasin;upon Edom I toss my sandal;over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
Who will bring me to the fortified city?Who will lead me to Edom?Have you not rejected us, O God?Will you no longer march out, O God, with our armies?Give us aid against the enemy,for the help of man is worthless.With God we will perform with valor,and he will trample our enemies.