An Urgent Plea for Help in Trouble
To the Chief Musician. Set to “The Lilies.”
A
Psalm
of David.
1 Save me, O God!
# Forthe waters have come up tomyneck.
2 I sink in deep mire,
Wherethereisno standing;
I have come into deep waters,
Where the floods overflow me.
3 I am weary with my crying;
My throat is dry;
# My eyes fail while I wait for my God.
4 Those whohate me without a cause
Are more than the hairs of my head;
They are mighty who would destroy me,
Beingmy enemies wrongfully;
Though I have stolen nothing,
Istillmust restoreit.
5 O God, You know my foolishness;
And my sins are not hidden from You.
6 Let not those who wait for You, O Lord Godof hosts, be ashamed because of me;
Let not those who seek You be confounded because of me, O God of Israel.
7 Because for Your sake I have borne reproach;
Shame has covered my face.
8 I have become a stranger to my brothers,
And an alien to my mother’s children;
9 Because zeal for Your house has eaten me up,
# And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.
10 When I weptandchastenedmy soul with fasting,
That became my reproach.
11 I also made sackcloth my garment;
I became a byword to them.
12 Those who sit in the gate speak against me,
# And Iamthe song of thedrunkards.
13 But as for me, my prayeristo You,
OLord,inthe acceptable time;
O God, in the multitude of Your mercy,
Hear me in the truth of Your salvation.
14 Deliver me out of the mire,
And let me not sink;
Let me be delivered from those who hate me,
And out of the deep waters.
15 Let not the floodwater overflow me,
Nor let the deep swallow me up;
And let not the pit shut its mouth on me.
16 Hear me, OLord, for Your lovingkindnessisgood;
Turn to me according to the multitude of Your tender mercies.
17 And do not hide Your face from Your servant,
For I am in trouble;
Hear me speedily.
18 Draw near to my soul,andredeem it;
Deliver me because of my enemies.
19 You knowmy reproach, my shame, and my dishonor;
My adversariesareall before You.
20 Reproach has broken my heart,
And I am full of heaviness;
# I lookedforsomeoneto take pity, buttherewasnone;
# And forcomforters, but I found none.
21 They also gave me gall for my food,
# And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
22 Let their table become a snare before them,
And their well-being a trap.
23 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see;
And make their loins shake continually.
24 Pour out Your indignation upon them,
And let Your wrathful anger take hold of them.
25 Let their dwelling place be desolate;
Let no one live in their tents.
26 For they persecute theonesYou have struck,
And talk of the grief of those You have wounded.
27 Add iniquity to their iniquity,
# And let them not come into Your righteousness.
28 Let thembe blotted out of the book of the living,
# And not be written with the righteous.
29 But Iampoor and sorrowful;
Let Your salvation, O God, set me up on high.
30 I will praise the name of God with a song,
And will magnify Him with thanksgiving.
31 Thisalso shall please theLordbetter than an oxorbull,
Which has horns and hooves.
32 The humble shall seethisandbe glad;
# And you who seek God,your hearts shall live.
33 For theLordhears the poor,
# And does not despiseHis prisoners.
34 Let heaven and earth praise Him,
# The seasand everything that moves in them.
35 For God will save Zion
And build the cities of Judah,
That they may dwell there and possess it.
36 Also,the descendants of His servants shall inherit it,
And those who love His name shall dwell in it.