Psalm 60-62

Contemporary English Version

(For the music leader. To the tune “Lily of the Promise.” A special psalm by David for teaching. He wrote it during his wars with the Arameans of northern Syria,^[a] when Joab came back and killed twelve thousand Edomites^[b] in Salt Valley.)

You Can Depend on God

¹^(A) You, God, are angry with us!
We are rejected and crushed.
    Make us strong again!
²You made the earth shake
    and split wide open;
now heal its wounds
    and stop its trembling.
³You brought hard times
    on your people,
and you gave us wine
    that made us stagger.

⁴You gave a signal to those
    who worship you,
so they could escape
    from enemy arrows.^[c]
⁵Answer our prayers, God!
Use your powerful arm
    and give us victory.
Then the people you love
    will be safe.

⁶Our God, you solemnly promised,
“I would gladly divide up
    the city of Shechem
and give away Succoth Valley
    piece by piece.
⁷The lands of Gilead
    and Manasseh are mine.
Ephraim is my war helmet,
and Judah is the symbol
    of my royal power.
⁸Moab is merely my washbasin.
    Edom belongs to me,
and I shout in triumph
    over the Philistines.”

⁹Our God, who will bring me
to the fortress,
    or lead me to Edom?
¹⁰Have you rejected us
    and deserted our armies?
¹¹Help us defeat our enemies!
    No one else can rescue us.
¹²You will give us victory
    and crush our enemies.

(A psalm by David for the music leader. Use with stringed instruments.)

Under the Protection of God

¹Please listen, God,
and answer my prayer!
²I feel hopeless,
and I cry out to you
from a faraway land.

Lead me to the mighty rock^[d]
high above me.
³You are a strong tower,
where I am safe
from my enemies.

⁴Let me live with you forever
and find protection
    under your wings, my God.
⁵You heard my promises,
    and you have blessed me,
just as you bless everyone
    who worships you.

⁶Let the king have a long
    and healthy life.
⁷May he always rule
    with you, God, at his side;
may your love and loyalty
    watch over him.

⁸I will sing your praises
forever, God, and will always
keep my promises.

(A psalm by David for Jeduthun, the music leader.)

God Is Powerful and Kind

¹Only God can save me,
    and I calmly wait for^[e] him.
²God alone is the mighty rock^[f]
    that keeps me safe
and the fortress
    where I am secure.

³I feel like a shaky fence
    or a sagging wall.
How long will all of you
    attack and assault me?
⁴You want to bring me down
    from my place of honor.
You love to tell lies,
and when your words are kind,
    hatred hides in your heart.

⁵Only God gives inward peace,
    and I depend on him.
⁶God alone is the mighty rock
    that keeps me safe,
and he is the fortress
    where I feel secure.
⁷God saves me and honors me.
He is that mighty rock
    where I find safety.

⁸Trust God, my friends,
and always tell him
each of your concerns.
God is our place of safety.

⁹We humans are only a breath;
    none of us are truly great.
All of us together weigh less
    than a puff of air.
¹⁰Don't trust in violence
or depend on dishonesty
    or rely on great wealth.

¹¹I heard God say two things:
“I am powerful,
¹² ^(B) and I am very kind.”
The Lord rewards each of us
according to what we do.

Footnotes

Psalm 60 wars … Syria: See 2 Samuel 8.3-8; 10.16-18; 1 Chronicles 18.3-11; 19.6-19.
Psalm 60 killed … Edomites: See 2 Samuel 8.13; 1 Chronicles 18.12.
60.4 so … arrows: Some ancient translations and one possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
61.2 mighty rock: See the note at 18.2.
62.1 calmly wait for: Or “am at peace with.”
62.2 mighty rock: See the note at 18.2.