Psalm 59

For the choir director: A psalm of David, regarding the time Saul sent soldiers to watch David’s house in order to kill him. To be sung to the tune “Do Not Destroy!”

 ¹ Rescue me from my enemies, O God.
      Protect me from those who have come to destroy me.
 ² Rescue me from these criminals;
      save me from these murderers.
 ³ They have set an ambush for me.
      Fierce enemies are out there waiting, Lord,
      though I have not sinned or offended them.
 ⁴ I have done nothing wrong,
      yet they prepare to attack me.
      Wake up! See what is happening and help me!
 ⁵ O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel,
      wake up and punish those hostile nations.
      Show no mercy to wicked traitors.
                         Interlude
 ⁶ They come out at night,
      snarling like vicious dogs
      as they prowl the streets.
 ⁷ Listen to the filth that comes from their mouths;
      their words cut like swords.
      “After all, who can hear us?” they sneer.
 ⁸ But Lord, you laugh at them.
      You scoff at all the hostile nations.
 ⁹ You are my strength; I wait for you to rescue me,
      for you, O God, are my fortress.
 ¹⁰ In his unfailing love, my God will stand with me.
      He will let me look down in triumph on all my enemies.
 ¹¹ Don’t kill them, for my people soon forget such lessons;
      stagger them with your power, and bring them to their knees,
      O Lord our shield.
 ¹² Because of the sinful things they say,
      because of the evil that is on their lips,
   let them be captured by their pride,
      their curses, and their lies.
 ¹³ Destroy them in your anger!
      Wipe them out completely!
   Then the whole world will know
      that God reigns in Israel.^[a]
                         Interlude
 ¹⁴ My enemies come out at night,
      snarling like vicious dogs
      as they prowl the streets.
 ¹⁵ They scavenge for food
      but go to sleep unsatisfied.^[b]
 16 But as for me, I will sing about your power.
      Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love.
   For you have been my refuge,
      a place of safety when I am in distress.
 ¹⁷ O my Strength, to you I sing praises,
      for you, O God, are my refuge,
      the God who shows me unfailing love.

Break the Teeth.

In the case of Psalm 58, the curses are directed at wicked leaders who judge their people unfairly and “spread violence throughout the land” (58:1-2).

Often, we don’t know how to respond to psalms like this one. Is this psalm endorsing violence against our enemies? Should we literally break the teeth of those who perpetrate injustice?

No, we should not. For one thing, we must pay attention to the rhetoric of Psalm 58. The breaking of fangs fits the simile of evil rulers being like “deadly snakes” (58:4). To break the fangs, therefore, is a way of taking away their power to harm. This psalm does not give victims of injustice permission to get revenge. Rather, it entrusts vengeance to the Lord, asking him to break fangs and smash jaws. By asking God to do these things, we relinquish our right to do them ourselves.

The vivid rhetoric of Psalm 58 reminds us just how much God cares about justice. Thus, though the language is quite different, the basic theme of Psalm 58 is consistent with yesterday’s reflection on doing justice for the powerless. We who belong to the Lord should share his passion for justice, especially for those who are victims of powerful, evil people.

But, we who read the Psalms through the lens of Christian faith must not forget what Jesus said about turning the other cheek and walking the second mile. We are to be people who love our enemies as ourselves. There may be times when our love for our neighbors and our commitment to justice calls for vigorous action, but we must not fill our hearts with hatred and vengeance.

Psalm 58

For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam.
1 Do you rulers indeed speak justly?
Do you judge people with equity?
2 No, in your heart you devise injustice,
and your hands mete out violence on the earth.
3 Even from birth the wicked go astray;
from the womb they are wayward, spreading lies.
4 Their venom is like the venom of a snake,
like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears,
5 that will not heed the tune of the charmer,
however skillful the enchanter may be.
6 Break the teeth in their mouths, O God;
LORD, tear out the fangs of those lions!
7 Let them vanish like water that flows away;
when they draw the bow, let their arrows fall short.
8 May they be like a slug that melts away as it moves along,
like a stillborn child that never sees the sun.
9 Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns—
whether they be green or dry—the wicked will be swept away.[c]
10 The righteous will be glad when they are avenged,
when they dip their feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 Then people will say,
“Surely the righteous still are rewarded;
surely there is a God who judges the earth.”

Psalm 57

For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. Amiktam. When he had fled from Saul into the cave.

 ¹ Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me,
   for in you I take refuge.
I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings
   until the disaster has passed.

 ² I cry out to God Most High,
   to God, who vindicates me.
³ He sends from heaven and saves me,
   rebuking those who hotly pursue me—
   God sends forth his love and his faithfulness.

 ⁴ I am in the midst of lions;
   I am forced to dwell among ravenous beasts—
men whose teeth are spears and arrows,
   whose tongues are sharp swords.

 ⁵ Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
   let your glory be over all the earth.

 ⁶ They spread a net for my feet—
   I was bowed down in distress.
They dug a pit in my path—
   but they have fallen into it themselves.

 ⁷ My heart, O God, is steadfast,
   my heart is steadfast;
   I will sing and make music.
⁸ Awake, my soul!
   Awake, harp and lyre!
   I will awaken the dawn.

 ⁹ I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
   I will sing of you among the peoples.
¹⁰ For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;
   your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

 ¹¹ Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
   let your glory be over all the earth.

Psalm 56

For the director of music. To the tune of “A Dove on Distant Oaks.” Of David. A miktam. When the Philistines had seized him in Gath.

1 Be merciful to me, my God,
for my enemies are in hot pursuit;
all day long they press their attack.
2 My adversaries pursue me all day long;
in their pride many are attacking me.

3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise—
in God I trust and am not afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?

5 All day long they twist my words;
all their schemes are for my ruin.
6 They conspire, they lurk,
they watch my steps,
hoping to take my life.
7 Because of their wickedness do not let them escape;
in your anger, God, bring the nations down.

8 Record my misery;
list my tears on your scroll—
are they not in your record?
9 Then my enemies will turn back
when I call for help.
By this I will know that God is for me.

10 In God, whose word I praise,
in the LORD, whose word I praise—
11 in God I trust and am not afraid.
What can man do to me?

12 I am under vows to you, my God;
I will present my thank offerings to you.
13 For you have delivered me from death
and my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before God
in the light of life.

My Heart is in Anguish

Psalm 55

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil of David.
 ¹ Listen to my prayer, O God,
   do not ignore my plea;
 ² hear me and answer me.
My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught
 ³ because of what my enemy is saying,
   because of the threats of the wicked;
for they bring down suffering on me
   and assail me in their anger.
 ⁴ My heart is in anguish within me;
   the terrors of death have fallen on me.
⁵ Fear and trembling have beset me;
   horror has overwhelmed me.
⁶ I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!
   I would fly away and be at rest.
⁷ I would flee far away
   and stay in the desert;
⁸ I would hurry to my place of shelter,
   far from the tempest and storm.”
 ⁹ Lord, confuse the wicked, confound their words,
   for I see violence and strife in the city.
¹⁰ Day and night they prowl about on its walls;
   malice and abuse are within it.
¹¹ Destructive forces are at work in the city;
   threats and lies never leave its streets.
 ¹² If an enemy were insulting me,
   I could endure it;
if a foe were rising against me,
   I could hide.
¹³ But it is you, a man like myself,
   my companion, my close friend,
¹⁴ with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship
   at the house of God,
as we walked about
   among the worshipers.
 ¹⁵ Let death take my enemies by surprise;
   let them go down alive to the realm of the dead,
   for evil finds lodging among them.
 ¹⁶ As for me, I call to God,
   and the LORD saves me.
¹⁷ Evening, morning and noon
   I cry out in distress,
   and he hears my voice.
¹⁸ He rescues me unharmed
   from the battle waged against me,
   even though many oppose me.
¹⁹ God, who is enthroned from of old,
   who does not change—
he will hear them and humble them,
   because they have no fear of God.
 ²⁰ My companion attacks his friends;
   he violates his covenant.
²¹ His talk is smooth as butter,
   yet war is in his heart;
his words are more soothing than oil,
   yet they are drawn swords.
 ²² Cast your cares on the LORD
   and he will sustain you;
he will never let
   the righteous be shaken.
²³ But you, God, will bring down the wicked
   into the pit of decay;
the bloodthirsty and deceitful
   will not live out half their days.
   But as for me, I trust in you.

Psalm 54

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil of David. When the Ziphites had gone to Saul and said, “Is not David hiding among us?”
 ¹ Save me, O God, by your name;
   vindicate me by your might. 
 ² Hear my prayer, O God;
   listen to the words of my mouth.
 ³ Arrogant foes are attacking me;
   ruthless people are trying to kill me—
   people without regard for God.
 ⁴ Surely God is my help;
   the Lord is the one who sustains me.
 ⁵ Let evil recoil on those who slander me;
   in your faithfulness destroy them.
 ⁶ I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you;
   I will praise your name, LORD, for it is good. 
 ⁷ You have delivered me from all my troubles,
   and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes.

Psalm 53

For the director of music. According to mahalath. A maskil of David.
 ¹ The fool says in his heart,
   “There is no God.”
   They are corrupt, and their ways are vile;
   there is no one who does good.
 ² God looks down from heaven
   on all mankind
   to see if there are any who understand,
   any who seek God. 
³ Everyone has turned away, all have become corrupt;
   there is no one who does good,
   not even one.
 ⁴ Do all these evildoers know nothing?
   They devour my people as though eating bread;
   they never call on God. 
⁵ But there they are, overwhelmed with dread,
   where there was nothing to dread.
   God scattered the bones of those who attacked you;
   you put them to shame, for God despised them.
 ⁶ Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
   When God restores his people,
   let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

Psalm 52

For the director of music. A maskil of David. When Doeg the Edomite had gone to Saul and told him: “David has gone to the house of Ahimelek.”

¹ Why do you boast of evil, you mighty hero?
   Why do you boast all day long,
   you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God? 
² You who practice deceit,
   your tongue plots destruction;
   it is like a sharpened razor. 
³ You love evil rather than good,
   falsehood rather than speaking the truth.
⁴ You love every harmful word,
   you deceitful tongue!

 ⁵ Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin:
   He will snatch you up and pluck you from your tent;
   he will uproot you from the land of the living. 
⁶ The righteous will see and fear;
   they will laugh at you, saying, 
⁷ “Here now is the man
   who did not make God his stronghold
but trusted in his great wealth
   and grew strong by destroying others!”

 ⁸ But I am like an olive tree
   flourishing in the house of God;
I trust in God’s unfailing love
   for ever and ever. 
⁹ For what you have done I will always praise you
   in the presence of your faithful people.
And I will hope in your name,
   for your name is good.

White As Snow.

Make Me Whiter Than Snow.

Psalm 51

For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.
 ¹ Have mercy on me, O God,
   according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
   blot out my transgressions.
² Wash away all my iniquity
   and cleanse me from my sin.
 ³ For I know my transgressions,
   and my sin is always before me.
⁴ Against you, you only, have I sinned
   and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
   and justified when you judge.
⁵ Surely I was sinful at birth,
   sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
⁶ Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
   you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
 ⁷ Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
   wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness;
   let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
⁹ Hide your face from my sins
   and blot out all my iniquity.
 ¹⁰ Create in me a pure heart, O God,
   and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹ Do not cast me from your presence
   or take your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation
   and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
 ¹³ Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
   so that sinners will turn back to you.
¹⁴ Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
   you who are God my Savior,
   and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
¹⁵ Open my lips, Lord,
   and my mouth will declare your praise.
¹⁶ You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
   you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
¹⁷ My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
   a broken and contrite heart
   you, God, will not despise.
 ¹⁸ May it please you to prosper Zion,
   to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
¹⁹ Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,
   in burnt offerings offered whole;
   then bulls will be offered on your altar.

verse 21

It's strange when you think about it, how we confuse our own nature with God's.
We think subconsciously that because we don't love unconditionally, that God couldn't love us.
That because we get angry and give up on people, that God could give up on us.

"You thought I was altogether like you."

My study bible has the note that this could also be translated, "You thought the 'I AM' was altogether like you."

How ridiculous!
We are made in His image, but in our minds we try to make Him in ours.
In trying to figure out how He works, we apply principles to Him. Principles that apply to us.
But we are not Pure Holiness and Love like God is.
How could we possibly compare Him to ourselves?
We are like Him, he is not like us.

Pray to God for the proper perspective on who He is, knowing that you'll never comprehend the scope of who He is or the intricacies of His nature, but also that He'd love to teach you more.

Psalm 50

A psalm of Asaph.
 ¹ The Mighty One, God, the LORD,
   speaks and summons the earth
   from the rising of the sun to where it sets.
² From Zion, perfect in beauty,
   God shines forth.
³ Our God comes
   and will not be silent;
a fire devours before him,
   and around him a tempest rages.
⁴ He summons the heavens above,
   and the earth, that he may judge his people:
⁵ “Gather to me this consecrated people,
   who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
⁶ And the heavens proclaim his righteousness,
   for he is a God of justice.
 ⁷ “Listen, my people, and I will speak;
   I will testify against you, Israel:
   I am God, your God.
⁸ I bring no charges against you concerning your sacrifices
   or concerning your burnt offerings, which are ever before me.
⁹ I have no need of a bull from your stall
   or of goats from your pens,
¹⁰ for every animal of the forest is mine,
   and the cattle on a thousand hills.
¹¹ I know every bird in the mountains,
   and the insects in the fields are mine.
¹² If I were hungry I would not tell you,
   for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
¹³ Do I eat the flesh of bulls
   or drink the blood of goats?
 ¹⁴ “Sacrifice thank offerings to God,
   fulfill your vows to the Most High,
¹⁵ and call on me in the day of trouble;
   I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”
 ¹⁶ But to the wicked person, God says:
   “What right have you to recite my laws
   or take my covenant on your lips?
¹⁷ You hate my instruction
   and cast my words behind you.
¹⁸ When you see a thief, you join with him;
   you throw in your lot with adulterers.
¹⁹ You use your mouth for evil
   and harness your tongue to deceit.
²⁰ You sit and testify against your brother
   and slander your own mother’s son.
²¹ When you did these things and I kept silent,
   you thought I was exactly like you.
But I now arraign you
   and set my accusations before you.
 ²² “Consider this, you who forget God,
   or I will tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you:
²³ Those who sacrifice thank offerings honor me,
   and to the blameless I will show my salvation.”

Psalm 49

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
 ¹ Hear this, all you peoples;
   listen, all who live in this world,
² both low and high,
   rich and poor alike:
³ My mouth will speak words of wisdom;
   the meditation of my heart will give you understanding.
⁴ I will turn my ear to a proverb;
   with the harp I will expound my riddle:
 ⁵ Why should I fear when evil days come,
   when wicked deceivers surround me—
⁶ those who trust in their wealth
   and boast of their great riches?
⁷ No one can redeem the life of another
   or give to God a ransom for them—
⁸ the ransom for a life is costly,
   no payment is ever enough—
⁹ so that they should live on forever
   and not see decay.
¹⁰ For all can see that the wise die,
   that the foolish and the senseless also perish,
   leaving their wealth to others.
¹¹ Their tombs will remain their houses forever,
   their dwellings for endless generations,
   though they had named lands after themselves.
 ¹² People, despite their wealth, do not endure;
   they are like the beasts that perish.
 ¹³ This is the fate of those who trust in themselves,
   and of their followers, who approve their sayings.^[d]
14 They are like sheep and are destined to die;
   death will be their shepherd
   (but the upright will prevail over them in the morning).
Their forms will decay in the grave,
   far from their princely mansions.
¹⁵ But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead;
   he will surely take me to himself.
¹⁶ Do not be overawed when others grow rich,
   when the splendor of their houses increases;
¹⁷ for they will take nothing with them when they die,
   their splendor will not descend with them.
¹⁸ Though while they live they count themselves blessed—
   and people praise you when you prosper—
¹⁹ they will join those who have gone before them,
   who will never again see the light of life.
 ²⁰ People who have wealth but lack understanding
   are like the beasts that perish.

...He will be our guide even to the end.

Psalm 48

A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah.
 ¹ Great is the LORD, and most worthy of praise,
   in the city of our God, his holy mountain.
 ² Beautiful in its loftiness,
   the joy of the whole earth,
like the heights of Zaphon is Mount Zion,
   the city of the Great King.
³ God is in her citadels;
   he has shown himself to be her fortress.
 ⁴ When the kings joined forces,
   when they advanced together,
⁵ they saw her and were astounded;
   they fled in terror.
⁶ Trembling seized them there,
   pain like that of a woman in labor.
⁷ You destroyed them like ships of Tarshish
   shattered by an east wind.
 ⁸ As we have heard,
   so we have seen
in the city of the LORD Almighty,
   in the city of our God:
God makes her secure
   forever.
 ⁹ Within your temple, O God,
   we meditate on your unfailing love.
¹⁰ Like your name, O God,
   your praise reaches to the ends of the earth;
   your right hand is filled with righteousness.
¹¹ Mount Zion rejoices,
   the villages of Judah are glad
   because of your judgments.
 ¹² Walk about Zion, go around her,
   count her towers,
¹³ consider well her ramparts,
   view her citadels,
that you may tell of them
   to the next generation.
 ¹⁴ For this God is our God for ever and ever;
   he will be our guide even to the end.

[Artist: Tasha Spencer]

Psalm 47

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
 ¹ Clap your hands, all you nations;
   shout to God with cries of joy.
 ² For the LORD Most High is awesome,
   the great King over all the earth.
³ He subdued nations under us,
   peoples under our feet.
⁴ He chose our inheritance for us,
   the pride of Jacob, whom he loved.
 ⁵ God has ascended amid shouts of joy,
   the LORD amid the sounding of trumpets.
⁶ Sing praises to God, sing praises;
   sing praises to our King, sing praises.
⁷ For God is the King of all the earth;
   sing to him a psalm of praise.
 ⁸ God reigns over the nations;
   God is seated on his holy throne.
⁹ The nobles of the nations assemble
   as the people of the God of Abraham,
for the kings of the earth belong to God;
   he is greatly exalted.