Psalm 11

The LORD a Refuge and Defense.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

1 In the LORD I take refuge;
How can you say to my soul, "Flee as a bird to your mountain;

2 For, behold, the wicked bend the bow,
They make ready their arrow upon the string
To shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.

3 If the foundations are destroyed,
What can the righteous do?"

4 The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD'S throne is in heaven;
His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.

5 The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked,
And the one who loves violence His soul hates.

6 Upon the wicked He will rain tsnares;
Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup.

7 For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness;
The upright will behold His face.

Psalm 12

God, a Helper against the Treacherous.

For the choir director; upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David.

1 Help, LORD, for the godly man ceases to be,
For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.

2 They speak falsehood to one another;
With flattering lips and with a double heart they speak.

3 May the LORD cut off all flattering lips,
The tongue that speaks great things;

4 Who have said, "With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are our own; who is lord over us?"

5 "Because of the devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy,
Now I will arise," says the LORD; "I will set him in the safety for which he longs."

6 The words of the LORD are pure words;
As silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times.

7 You, O LORD, will keep them;
You will preserve him from this generation forever.

8 The wicked strut about on every side
When tvileness is exalted among the sons of men.

Psalm 13

Prayer for Help in Trouble.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

1 How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?

2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

3 Consider and answer me, O LORD my God;
Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,

4 And my enemy will say, "I have overcome him,"
And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.

5 But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness;
My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.

6 I will sing to the LORD,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me.