Psalms 56; Psalms 120; Psalms 140; Psalms 141; Psalms 142

1 Be merciful to me, O God, because I am under attack; my enemies persecute me all the time.

2 All day long my opponents attack me. There are so many who fight against me.

3 When I am afraid, O Lord Almighty, I put my trust in you.

4 I trust in God and am not afraid; I praise him for what he has promised. What can a mere human being do to me?

5 My enemies make trouble for me all day long; they are always thinking up some way to hurt me!

6 They gather in hiding places and watch everything I do, hoping to kill me.

7 Punish them, O God, for their evil; defeat those people in your anger!

8 You know how troubled I am; you have kept a record of my tears. Aren't they listed in your book?

9 The day I call to you, my enemies will be turned back. I know this: God is on my side -

10 the Lord, whose promises I praise.

11 In him I trust, and I will not be afraid. What can a mere human being do to me?

12 O God, I will offer you what I have promised; I will give you my offering of thanksgiving,

13 because you have rescued me from death and kept me from defeat. And so I walk in the presence of God, in the light that shines on the living.

1 When I was in trouble, I called to the Lord, and he answered me.

2 Save me, Lord, from liars and deceivers.

3 You liars, what will God do to you? How will he punish you?

4 With a soldier's sharp arrows, with red-hot coals!

5 Living among you is as bad as living in Meshech or among the people of Kedar.

6 I have lived too long with people who hate peace!

7 When I speak of peace, they are for war.

1 Save me, Lord, from evildoers; keep me safe from violent people.

2 They are always plotting evil, always stirring up quarrels.

3 Their tongues are like deadly snakes; their words are like a cobra's poison.

4 Protect me, Lord, from the power of the wicked; keep me safe from violent people who plot my downfall.

5 The proud have set a trap for me; they have laid their snares, and along the path they have set traps to catch me.

6 I say to the Lord, "You are my God." Hear my cry for help, Lord!

7 My Sovereign Lord, my strong defender, you have protected me in battle.

8 Lord, don't give the wicked what they want; don't let their plots succeed.

9 Don't let my enemies be victorious; make their threats against me fall back on them.

10 May red-hot coals fall on them; may they be thrown into a pit and never get out.

11 May those who accuse others falsely not succeed; may evil overtake violent people and destroy them.

12 Lord, I know that you defend the cause of the poor and the rights of the needy.

13 The righteous will praise you indeed; they will live in your presence.

1 I call to you, Lord; help me now! Listen to me when I call to you.

2 Receive my prayer as incense, my uplifted hands as an evening sacrifice.

3 Lord, place a guard at my mouth, a sentry at the door of my lips.

4 Keep me from wanting to do wrong and from joining evil people in their wickedness. May I never take part in their feasts.

5 Good people may punish me and rebuke me in kindness, but I will never accept honor from evil people, because I am always praying against their evil deeds.

6 When their rulers are thrown down from rocky cliffs, the people will admit that my words were true.

7 Like wood that is split and chopped into bits, so their bones are scattered at the edge of the grave.

8 But I keep trusting in you, my Sovereign Lord. I seek your protection; don't let me die!

9 Protect me from the traps they have set for me, from the snares of those evildoers.

10 May the wicked fall into their own traps while I go by unharmed.

1 I call to the Lord for help; I plead with him.

2 I bring him all my complaints; I tell him all my troubles.

3 When I am ready to give up, he knows what I should do. In the path where I walk, my enemies have hidden a trap for me.

4 When I look beside me, I see that there is no one to help me, no one to protect me. No one cares for me.

5 Lord, I cry to you for help; you, Lord, are my protector; you are all I want in this life.

6 Listen to my cry for help, for I am sunk in despair. Save me from my enemies; they are too strong for me.

7 Set me free from my distress; then in the assembly of your people I will praise you because of your goodness to me.