Psalm 9

A David Psalm

1 I'm thanking you, God, from a full heart, I'm writing the book on your wonders.2 I'm whistling, laughing, and jumping for joy; I'm singing your song, High God.

3 The day my enemies turned tail and ran, they stumbled on you and fell on their faces.4 You took over and set everything right; when I needed you, you were there, taking charge.

5 You blow the whistle on godless nations; you throw dirty players out of the game, wipe their names right off the roster.6 Enemies disappear from the sidelines, their reputation trashed, their names erased from the halls of fame.

7 God holds the high center, he sees and sets the world's mess right.8 He decides what is right for us earthlings, gives people their just deserts.

9 God's a safe-house for the battered, a sanctuary during bad times.10 The moment you arrive, you relax; you're never sorry you knocked.

11 Sing your songs to Zion-dwelling God, tell his stories to everyone you meet:12 How he tracks down killers yet keeps his eye on us, registers every whimper and moan.

13 Be kind to me, God; I've been kicked around long enough. Once you've pulled me back from the gates of death,14 I'll write the book on Hallelujahs; on the corner of Main and First I'll hold a street meeting; I'll be the song leader; we'll fill the air with salvation songs.

15 They're trapped, those godless countries, in the very snares they set, Their feet all tangled in the net they spread.16 They have no excuse; the way God works is well-known. The cunning machinery made by the wicked has maimed their own hands.

17 The wicked bought a one-way ticket to hell.18 No longer will the poor be nameless-no more humiliation for the humble.19 Up, God! Aren't you fed up with their empty strutting? Expose these grand pretensions!20 Shake them up, God! Show them how silly they look.

Psalm 10

1 God, are you avoiding me? Where are you when I need you?2 Full of hot air, the wicked are hot on the trail of the poor. Trip them up, tangle them up in their fine-tuned plots.

3 The wicked are windbags, the swindlers have foul breath.4 The wicked snub God, their noses stuck high in the air. Their graffiti are scrawled on the walls: "Catch us if you can!" "God is dead."

5 They care nothing for what you think; if you get in their way, they blow you off.6 They live (they think) a charmed life: "We can't go wrong. This is our lucky year!"

7 They carry a mouthful of hexes, their tongues spit venom like adders.8 They hide behind ordinary people, then pounce on their victims.

9 They mark the luckless, then wait like a hunter in a blind; When the poor wretch wanders too close, they stab him in the back.

10 The hapless fool is kicked to the ground, the unlucky victim is brutally axed.11 He thinks God has dumped him, he's sure that God is indifferent to his plight.

12 Time to get up, God-get moving. The luckless think they're Godforsaken.13 They wonder why the wicked scorn God and get away with it, Why the wicked are so cocksure they'll never come up for audit.

14 But you know all about it-the contempt, the abuse. I dare to believe that the luckless will get lucky someday in you. You won't let them down: orphans won't be orphans forever.

15 Break the wicked right arms, break all the evil left arms. Search and destroy every sign of crime.16 God's grace and order wins; godlessness loses.

17 The victim's faint pulse picks up; the hearts of the hopeless pump red blood as you put your ear to their lips.18 Orphans get parents, the homeless get homes. The reign of terror is over, the rule of the gang lords is ended.

Psalm 11

A David Psalm

1 I've already run for dear life straight to the arms of God. So why would I run away now when you say,2 the evil bows are bent, the wicked arrows Aimed to shoot under cover of darkness at every heart open to God.3 The bottom's dropped out of the country; good people don't have a chance"?

4 But God hasn't moved to the mountains; his holy address hasn't changed. He's in charge, as always, his eyes taking everything in, his eyelids Unblinking, examining Adam's unruly brood inside and out, not missing a thing.5 He tests the good and the bad alike; if anyone cheats, God's outraged.6 Fail the test and you're out, out in a hail of firestones, Drinking from a canteen filled with hot desert wind.

7 God's business is putting things right; he loves getting the lines straight, Setting us straight. Once we're standing tall, we can look him straight in the eye.