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A Prayer for Help

Why are you far away, Lord?
Why do you hide yourself
    when I am in trouble?
Proud and brutal people
    hunt down the poor.
But let them get caught
    by their own evil plans!

The wicked brag about
    their deepest desires.
Those greedy people hate
    and curse you, Lord.
The wicked are too proud
to turn to you
    or even think about you.
They are always successful,
though they can't understand
    your teachings,
and they keep sneering
    at their enemies.

In their hearts they say,
    “Nothing can hurt us!
We'll always be happy
    and free from trouble.”
(A) They curse and tell lies,
and all they talk about
    is how to be cruel
    or how to do wrong.

They hide outside villages,
waiting to strike and murder
    some innocent victim.
They are hungry lions
    hiding in the bushes,
hoping to catch
    some helpless passerby.
They trap the poor in nets
    and drag them away.
10 They crouch down and wait
    to grab a victim.
11 They say, “God can't see!
    He's got on a blindfold.”

12 Do something, Lord God,
and use your powerful arm
    to help those in need.
13 The wicked don't respect you.
In their hearts they say,
    “God won't punish us!”

14 But you see the trouble
and the distress,
    and you will do something.
The poor can count on you,
    and so can orphans.
15 Now break the power
    of all merciless people.
Punish them for doing wrong
    and make them stop.

16 Our Lord, you will always rule,
but every godless nation
    will vanish from the earth.
17 You listen to the longings
    of those who suffer.
You offer them hope,
and you pay attention
    to their cries for help.
18 You defend orphans
    and everyone else in need,
so that no one on earth
    can terrify others again.

(A psalm by David for the music leader.)

Trusting the Lord

The Lord is my fortress!
    Don't say to me,
“Escape like a bird
    to the mountains!”
You tell me, “Watch out!
Those evil people have put
    their arrows on their bows,
and they are standing
in the shadows,
    aiming at good people.
What can an honest person do
    when everything crumbles?”

The Lord is sitting
in his sacred temple
    on his throne in heaven.
He knows everything we do
    because he sees us all.
The Lord tests honest people,
but despises those
    who are cruel
    and love violence.
He will send fiery coals[a]
and flaming sulfur
    down on the wicked,
and they will drink nothing
    but a scorching wind.

The Lord always does right
    and wants justice done.
Everyone who does right
    will see his face.

(A psalm by David for the music leader.[b])

A Prayer for Help

Please help me, Lord!
    All who were faithful
and all who were loyal
    have disappeared.
Everyone tells lies,
    and no one is sincere.
Won't you chop off
all flattering tongues
    that brag so loudly?
They say to themselves,
“We are great speakers.
    No one else has a chance.”

But you, Lord, tell them,
    “I will do something!
The poor are mistreated
and helpless people moan.
    I'll rescue all who suffer.”

Our Lord, you are true
    to your promises,
and your word is like silver
heated seven times
    in a fiery furnace.[c]
You will protect us
and always keep us safe
    from those people.
But all who are wicked
    will keep on strutting,
while everyone praises
    their shameless deeds.[d]

Footnotes

  1. 11.6 fiery coals: Or “trouble, fire.”
  2. Psalm 12 leader: The Hebrew text adds “according to the sheminith,” which may be a musical instrument with eight strings.
  3. 12.6 in a fiery furnace: The Hebrew text has “in a furnace to the ground,” which may describe part of a process for refining silver in Old Testament times.
  4. 12.8 while … deeds: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

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