3 O Jehovah, my God! If I have done this; If there be iniquity upon my hands, 4 If I have rendered evil to my friend, Or have despoiled him, that without cause is mine en emy; 5 Let my adversary pursue, and take me; 6 Let him trample me to the ground, And lay me prostrate in the dust! Arise, O Lord, in thine anger; Lift thyself up against the rage of mine enemies; 7 Let the assembly of the nations compass thee about, And on their account ascend thy throne ! 8 The Lord judgeth the nations; Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness, 9 O let the wickedness of the wicked be at an end; 10 For thou, O God of justice, triest the heart and the reins! My shield is with God, Who saveth the upright in heart. 11 God is a righteous judge; And God is ever angry with the wicked. 12 If he do not desist, he sharpeneth his sword; He bendeth his bow, and maketh it ready; 13 He prepareth for him the instruments of death; He shooteth his burning arrows. 14 Behold, he travailed with iniquity, And conceived mischief, But hath brought forth disappointment. 15 He made a pit and digged it, And is fallen into the ditch, which he made. 16 His mischief returneth upon his own head, And his violence descendeth upon his own pate. 17 I will praise the Lord according to his righteousness; I will sing praise to the name of the Lord most high. V 3. If I have done this, i. e. that with which my enemies charge me.V. 12. If he do not desist, i. e. If the wicked do not desist from his purpose. He sharpeneth, i. e. God sharpeneth, &c. PSALM VIII. The greatness of the Creator, and his goodness to man. For the leader of the music; to be accompanied with the gittith.* A psalm of David. How excellent is thy name in all the earth! Thou hast set thy glory above the heavens! 2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained praise; 3 To put thine adversaries to shame, And to silence the enemy and avenger. When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, The moon and the stars which thou hast ordained; 4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him, And the son of man, that thou carest for him! 5 Yet thou hast made him little lower than the angels ; Thou hast crowned him with glory and honor. 6 Thou hast given him dominion over the works of thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet; 7 All sheep and oxen, Yea, and the beasts of the forest; 8 The fowls of the air, and the fishes of the sea, And whatever passeth through the paths of the deep. 9 O Jehovah, our Lord, How excellent is thy name in all the earth! A musical instrument. V. 5. The angels: or, than God. PSALM IX. A thanksgiving ode for victory and deliverance from enemies; with prayers for future help. Supposed to have been composed after the wars mentioned in 2 Samuel, ch. viii. To be sung in the manner, or For the leader of the music. with the voice of virgins. To the Benites. A psalm of David. 1 I WILL praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will show forth all thy marvellous works. 2 I will be glad and rejoice in thee; I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High! 3 All my enemies are turned back ; They fall and perish at thy presence. 4 For thou dost defend my right, and my cause; Thou sittest upon the throne, a righteous judge. 5 Thou rebukest the nations; Thou destroyest the wicked; Thou blottest out their name for evermore ! 7 Jehovah reigneth for ever; He hath prepared his throne for judgment. 8 He judgeth the world in righteousness; He administereth judgment to the nations with uprightness. 9 Jehovah is also the refuge of the oppressed; A refuge in times of trouble. 10 They, who know thy name, put their trust in thee; For thou, O Lord, forsakest not them that seek thee! 11 Sing praises to Jehovah, who reigneth in Zion; Declare his doings among the people. 12 As the avenger of blood, he remembereth the distressed; 13 He forgetteth not their complaint. "Have pity upon me, [said I,] O Lord! "Look upon my affliction from them that hate me ; "Lift me up from the gates of death! 14 "That I may show forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion; 15 "That I may rejoice in salvation by thee." The nations have sunk into the pit which they made; In the net, which they hid, is their own foot taken. 16 Thus it is known that Jehovah executeth judgment; The wicked are ensnared in the work of their own hands. 17 The wicked shall be driven into Hades; Yea, all the nations that forget God. 18 For the poor shall not always be forgotten; The hopes of the afflicted shall not perish for ever. 19 Arise, O Lord! Let not man prevail; 20 Strike terror into them, O Lord! Let the nations know, that they are but men. V. 17. Driven into Hades, i. e. pursued by victorious enemies until they are destroyed. 1 PSALM X. A prayer against impious, deceitful, and blood-thirsty foreign enemies. WHY standest thou afar off, O Lord? Why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble? 2 Through the haughtiness of the wicked the poor are in distress; They are caught in the wiles, which are contrived for them. 3 The wicked boasteth of his heart's desire; The rapacious renounceth, and contemneth Jehovah. 4 The wicked [saith] in his haughtiness, "He careth All his thoughts are, that God is nothing. 5 His course is always prosperous; Thy judgments are far from him; As for all his enemies, he puffeth at them. 6 He saith in his heart, "I shall never fall; "I shall never be in adversity." 7 His mouth is full of perjury, deceit, and oppression ; Mischief and injustice are upon his tongue. 8 He sitteth in the lurking-places of the villages; In secret places doth he murder the innocent; His eyes are secretly fixed upon the poor. |