Psalm 7

¹⁵My times are in Your hands; deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me.

¹This is a prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth:

¹⁹So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should entrust their souls to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

²The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

¹Of David. Contend with my opponents, O Lord; fight against those who fight against me.

²Take up Your shield and buckler; arise and come to my aid.

¹¹But the Lord is with me like a fearsome warrior. Therefore, my persecutors will stumble and will not prevail. Since they have not succeeded, they will be utterly put to shame, with an everlasting disgrace that will never be forgotten.

²²Now consider this, you who forget God, lest I tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you:

¹⁷But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message would be fully proclaimed, and all the Gentiles would hear it. So I was delivered from the mouth of the lion.

¹³I composed myself until the morning. Like a lion He breaks all my bones; from day until night You make an end of me.

⁸Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

²⁰Concerning Gad he said: “Blessed is he who enlarges the domain of Gad! He lies down like a lion and tears off an arm or a head.

¹⁵But when I stumbled, they assembled in glee; they gathered together against me. Assailants I did not know slandered me without ceasing.

¹¹See, my father, look at the corner of your robe in my hand. For I cut it off, but I did not kill you. Know and see that there is no evil or rebellion in my hands. I have not sinned against you, even though you are hunting me down to take my life.

¹⁸And he continued, “Why is my lord pursuing his servant? What have I done? What evil is in my hand?

¹⁹Now please, may my lord the king hear the words of his servant: If the Lord has stirred you up against me, then may He accept an offering. But if men have done it, may they be cursed in the presence of the Lord! For today they have driven me away from sharing in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’

³See how they lie in wait for me. Fierce men conspire against me for no transgression or sin of my own, O Lord.

¹⁴if you put away the iniquity in your hand, and allow no injustice to dwell in your tents,

²²“The Lord, the Mighty One, is God! The Lord, the Mighty One, is God! He knows, and may Israel also know. If this was in rebellion or breach of faith against the Lord, do not spare us today.

⁷And as he yelled curses, Shimei said, “Get out, get out, you worthless man of bloodshed!

⁸The Lord has paid you back for all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned, and the Lord has delivered the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. See, you have come to ruin because you are a man of bloodshed!”

¹⁷and said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have rewarded me with good, though I have rewarded you with evil.

¹⁸And you have declared this day how you have treated me well, for when the Lord delivered me into your hand, you did not kill me.

²⁰My companion attacks his friends; he violates his covenant.

²⁰Should good be repaid with evil? Yet they have dug a pit for me. Remember how I stood before You to speak good on their behalf, to turn Your wrath from them.

²¹Therefore, hand their children over to famine; pour out the power of the sword upon them. Let their wives become childless and widowed; let their husbands be slain by disease, their young men struck down by the sword in battle.

⁵They repay me evil for good, and hatred for my love.

⁷With these words David restrained his men, and he did not let them rise up against Saul. Then Saul left the cave and went on his way.

¹Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah. He came to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done? What is my iniquity? How have I sinned against your father, that he wants to take my life?”

³Then you will trample the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day I am preparing,” says the Lord of Hosts.

⁵Through You we repel our foes; through Your name we trample our enemies.

¹²But a man, despite his wealth, cannot endure; he is like the beasts that perish.

¹³O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who abandon You will be put to shame. All who turn away will be written in the dust, for they have abandoned the Lord, the fountain of living water.

²Many say of me, “God will not deliver him.” Selah

¹²Look on every proud man and humble him; trample the wicked where they stand.

¹³Bury them together in the dust; imprison them in the grave.

²³Awake and rise to my defense, to my cause, my God and my Lord!

²³Wake up, O Lord! Why are You sleeping? Arise! Do not reject us forever.

¹⁰“Now I will arise,” says the Lord. “Now I will lift Myself up. Now I will be exalted.

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

⁷If I walk in the midst of trouble, You preserve me from the anger of my foes; You extend Your hand, and Your right hand saves me.

⁹Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord. Wake up as in days past, as in generations of old. Was it not You who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced through the dragon?

²For His judgments are true and just. He has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality. He has avenged the blood of His servants that was poured out by her hand.”

²⁰Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced for you His judgment against her.

⁵And I heard the angel of the waters say: “Righteous are You, O Holy One, who is and was, because You have brought these judgments.

⁶For they have spilled the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink, as they deserve.”

⁶Though the Lord is on high, He attends to the lowly; but the proud He knows from afar.

⁵Who is like the Lord our God, the One enthroned on high?

⁶He humbles Himself to behold the heavens and the earth.

¹¹Mount Zion is glad, the daughters of Judah rejoice, on account of Your judgments.

¹³before the Lord, for He is coming—He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in His faithfulness.

¹⁰Why, then, do you judge your brother? Or why do you belittle your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.

¹¹It is written: “As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before Me; every tongue will confess to God.”

¹²For this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in relation to you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God—not in worldly wisdom, but in the grace of God.

¹Vindicate me, O God, and plead my case against an ungodly nation; deliver me from deceitful and unjust men.

⁹before the Lord, for He comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity.

¹⁰You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous, and blameless our conduct was among you who believed.

¹⁰I, the Lord, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.

²⁰O Lord of Hosts, who judges righteously, who examines the heart and mind, let me see Your vengeance upon them, for to You I have committed my cause.

¹²O Lord of Hosts, who examines the righteous, who sees the heart and mind, let me see Your vengeance upon them, for to You I have committed my cause.

⁹As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve Him wholeheartedly and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands the intent of every thought. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.

⁷But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or height, for I have rejected him; the Lord does not see as man does. For man sees the outward appearance, but the Lord sees the heart.”

¹For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O Lord, You have searched me and known me.

⁴Do good, O Lord, to those who are good, and to the upright in heart.

¹¹For the Lord God is a sun and a shield; the Lord gives grace and glory; He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity.

¹After these events, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”

¹⁸He who walks with integrity will be kept safe, but whoever is perverse in his ways will suddenly fall.

²¹For the upright will inhabit the land, and the blameless will remain in it;

⁶if you are pure and upright, even now He will rouse Himself on your behalf and restore your righteous estate.

²The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord is avenging and full of wrath. The Lord takes vengeance on His foes and reserves wrath for His enemies.

⁶Who can withstand His indignation? Who can endure His burning anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; even rocks are shattered before Him.

⁸The Lord judges the peoples; vindicate me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and integrity.

¹⁵Surely judgment will again be righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.

¹²I know that the Lord upholds justice for the poor and defends the cause of the needy.

¹³Surely the righteous will praise Your name; the upright will dwell in Your presence.

⁶And the heavens proclaim His righteousness, for God Himself is Judge. Selah

¹⁹Repent, then, and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped away,

¹⁰The axe lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

⁶Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.

⁷Let the wicked man forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that He may have compassion, and to our God, for He will freely pardon.

⁴¹when I sharpen My flashing sword, and My hand grasps it in judgment, I will take vengeance on My adversaries and repay those who hate Me.

⁴Restore us, O God of our salvation, and put away Your displeasure toward us.

³⁰Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each according to his ways, declares the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, so that your iniquity will not become your downfall.

⁶After all, it is only right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you,

¹³You went forth for the salvation of Your people, to save Your anointed. You crushed the head of the house of the wicked and stripped him from head to toe. Selah

¹⁰And they cried out in a loud voice, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge those who dwell upon the earth and avenge our blood?”

⁶For they have spilled the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink, as they deserve.”

⁷But God will shoot them with arrows; suddenly they will be wounded.

¹⁴He shot His arrows and scattered the foes; He hurled lightning and routed them.

³⁵They conceive trouble and give birth to evil; their womb is pregnant with deceit.”

¹⁵Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

¹¹You conceive chaff; you give birth to stubble. Your breath is a fire that will consume you.

²⁰A wicked man writhes in pain all his days; only a few years are reserved for the ruthless.

⁴No one calls for justice; no one pleads his case honestly. They rely on empty pleas; they tell lies; they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.

⁵They hatch the eggs of vipers and weave a spider’s web. Whoever eats their eggs will die; crack one open, and a viper is hatched.

⁸As I have observed, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble reap the same.

¹⁰Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by in safety.

²⁷He who digs a pit will fall into it, and he who rolls a stone will have it roll back on him.

⁸He who digs a pit may fall into it, and he who breaches a wall may be bitten by a snake.

⁹The one who quarries stones may be injured by them, and he who splits logs endangers himself.

⁷For without cause they laid their net for me; without reason they dug a pit for my soul.

⁸May ruin befall them by surprise; may the net they hid ensnare them; may they fall into the hazard they created.

²In pride the wicked pursue the needy; let them be caught in the schemes they devise.

²⁵But when it came before the king, he commanded by letter that the wicked scheme which Haman had devised against the Jews should come back upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.

¹²The wicked scheme against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them,

¹³but the Lord laughs, seeing that their day is coming.

³²The Lord will bring his bloodshed back upon his own head, for without the knowledge of my father David he struck down two men more righteous and better than he when he put to the sword Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah’s army.

¹⁹Moreover, the Lord will deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. And the Lord will deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.”

¹²May the Lord judge between you and me, and may the Lord take vengeance on you, but my hand will never be against you.

¹³As the old proverb says, ‘Wickedness proceeds from the wicked.’ But my hand will never be against you.

¹²There the evildoers lie fallen, thrown down and unable to rise.

²I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

²The Lord has proclaimed His salvation and revealed His righteousness to the nations.

¹⁵My mouth will declare Your righteousness and Your salvation all day long, though I cannot know their full measure.

¹⁶I will come in the strength of the Lord God; I will proclaim Your righteousness—Yours alone.

³Splendid and majestic is His work; His righteousness endures forever.

⁸But You, O Lord, are exalted forever!

⁴⁸However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says: