Psalm 9

1  tI will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.

2 I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.

3 My enemies turn back;
they stumble and perish before you.

4 For you have upheld my right and my cause,
sitting enthroned as the righteous judge.

5 You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
you have blotted out their name for ever and ever.

6 Endless ruin has overtaken my enemies,
you have uprooted their cities;
even the memory of them has perished.

7 The Lord reigns forever;
he has established his throne for judgment.

8 He rules the world in righteousness
and judges the peoples with equity.

9 The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.

10 Those who know your name trust in you,
for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.

11 Sing the praises of the Lord, enthroned in Zion;
proclaim among the nations what he has done.

12 For he who avenges blood remembers;
he does not ignore the cries of the afflicted.

13 Lord, see how my enemies persecute me!
Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death,

14 that I may declare your praises
in the gates of Daughter Zion,
and there rejoice in your salvation.

15 The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug;
their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.

16 The Lord is known by his acts of justice;
the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.t

17 The wicked go down to the realm of the dead,
all the nations that forget God.

18 But God will never forget the needy;
the hope of the afflicted will never perish.

19 Arise, Lord, do not let mortals triumph;
let the nations be judged in your presence.

20 Strike them with terror, Lord;
let the nations know they are only mortal.

Psalm 10

1 Why, Lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

2 In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,
who are caught in the schemes he devises.

3 He boasts about the cravings of his heart;
he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.

4 In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;
in all his thoughts there is no room for God.

5 His ways are always prosperous;
your laws are rejected byt him;
he sneers at all his enemies.

6 He says to himself, "Nothing will ever shake me."
He swears, "No one will ever do me harm."

7 His mouth is full of lies and threats;
trouble and evil are under his tongue.

8 He lies in wait near the villages;
from ambush he murders the innocent.
His eyes watch in secret for his victims;

9 like a lion in cover he lies in wait.
He lies in wait to catch the helpless;
he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.

10 His victims are crushed, they collapse;
they fall under his strength.

11 He says to himself, "God will never notice;
he covers his face and never sees."

12 Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God.
Do not forget the helpless.

13 Why does the wicked man revile God?
Why does he say to himself,
"He won't call me to account"?

14 But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted;
you consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless.

15 Break the arm of the wicked man;
call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
that would not otherwise be found out.

16 The Lord is King for ever and ever;
the nations will perish from his land.

17 You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,

18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that mere earthly mortals
will never again strike terror.

Psalm 11

1 In the Lord I take refuge.
How then can you say to me:
"Flee like a bird to your mountain.

2 For look, the wicked bend their bows;
they set their arrows against the strings
to shoot from the shadows
at the upright in heart.

3 When the foundations are being destroyed,
what can the righteous do?"

4 The Lord is in his holy temple;
the Lord is on his heavenly throne.
He observes everyone on earth;
his eyes examine them.

5 The Lord examines the righteous,
but the wicked, those who love violence,
he hates with a passion.

6 On the wicked he will rain
fiery coals and burning sulfur;
a scorching wind will be their lot.

7 For the Lord is righteous,
he loves justice;
the upright will see his face.