Psalm 10

A Song of Confidence in God’s Triumph Over Evil

1 Why do You stand afar off, O Lord? Why do You hide in times of trouble?

2 The wicked in his pride persecutes the poor;
Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.

3 For the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire;
He blesses the greedy and renounces the Lord.

4 The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God;
God is in none of his thoughts.

5 His ways are always prospering;
Your judgments are far above, out of his sight;
As for all his enemies, he sneers at them.

6 He has said in his heart, “I shall not be moved;
I shall never be in adversity.”

7 His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppression;
Under his tongue is trouble and iniquity.

8 He sits in the lurking places of the villages;
In the secret places he murders the innocent;
His eyes are secretly fixed on the helpless.

9 He lies in wait secretly, as a lion in his den;
He lies in wait to catch the poor;
He catches the poor when he draws him into his net.

10 So he crouches, he lies low,
That the helpless may fall by his strength.

11 He has said in his heart,
“God has forgotten;
He hides His face;
He will never see.”

12 Arise, O Lord!
O God, lift up Your hand!
Do not forget the humble.

13 Why do the wicked renounce God?
He has said in his heart,
“You will not require an account. ”

14 But You have seen, for You observe trouble and grief,
To repay it by Your hand.
The helpless commits himself to You;
You are the helper of the fatherless.

15 Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man;
Seek out his wickedness until You find none.

16 The Lord is King forever and ever;
The nations have perished out of His land.

17 Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble;
You will prepare their heart;
You will cause Your ear to hear,

18 To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
That the man of the earth may oppress no more.

Psalm 11

1 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. In the Lord I put my trust; How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain”?

2 For look! The wicked bend their bow,
They make ready their arrow on the string,
That they may shoot secretly 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,
But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates.

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

7 For the Lord is righteous,
He loves righteousness;
His countenance beholds the upright.

Psalm 12

Man’s Treachery and God’s Constancy

1 To the Chief Musician. On An Eight-Stringed Harp. A Psalm of David. Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases! For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.

2 They speak idly everyone with his neighbor;
With flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
And the tongue that speaks proud things,

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

5 “For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy,
Now I will arise,” says the Lord;
“I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.”

6 The words of the Lord are pure words,
Like silver tried in a furnace of earth,
Purified seven times.

7 You shall keep them, O Lord,
You shall preserve them from this generation forever.

8 The wicked prowl on every side,
When vileness is exalted among the sons of men.