They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper.

The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;

for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Plea for Help against Persecutors.
A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush, a Benjaminite.

O Lord my God, in you I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers, and deliver me,

or like a lion they will tear me apart; they will drag me away, with no one to rescue.

O Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands,

if I have repaid my ally with harm or plundered my foe without cause,

then let the enemy pursue and overtake me, trample my life to the ground, and lay my soul in the dust. Selah

Rise up, O Lord , in your anger; lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies; awake, O my God; you have appointed a judgment.

Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered around you, and over it take your seat on high.

The Lord judges the peoples; judge me, O Lord , according to my righteousness and according to the integrity that is in me.

O let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous, you who test the minds and hearts, O righteous God.

God is my shield, who saves the upright in heart.

God is a righteous judge, and a God who has indignation every day.

If one does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and strung his bow;

he has prepared his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts.

See how they conceive evil, and are pregnant with mischief, and bring forth lies.

They make a pit, digging it out, and fall into the hole that they have made.

Their mischief returns upon their own heads, and on their own heads their violence descends.

I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and sing praise to the name of the Lord , the Most High.

^32:0The Joy of Forgiveness.
Of David. A Maskil.

^32:1Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

^32:2Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

^32:3While I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.

^32:4For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah

^32:5Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord ,” and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah

^32:6Therefore let all who are faithful offer prayer to you; at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters shall not reach them.

^32:7You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with glad cries of deliverance. Selah

^32:8I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

^32:9Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding, whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle, else it will not stay near you.

^32:10Many are the torments of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord .

^32:11Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

^64:0Prayer for Protection from Enemies.
To the leader. A Psalm of David.

^64:1Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint; preserve my life from the dread enemy.

^64:2Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the scheming of evildoers,

^64:3who whet their tongues like swords, who aim bitter words like arrows,

^64:4shooting from ambush at the blameless; they shoot suddenly and without fear.

^64:5They hold fast to their evil purpose; they talk of laying snares secretly, thinking, “Who can see us?

^64:6Who can search out our crimes? We have thought out a cunningly conceived plot.” For the human heart and mind are deep.

^64:7But God will shoot his arrow at them; they will be wounded suddenly.

^64:8Because of their tongue he will bring them to ruin; all who see them will shake with horror.

^64:9Then everyone will fear; they will tell what God has brought about, and ponder what he has done.

^64:10Let the righteous rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in him. Let all the upright in heart glory.

^97:0The Glory of God's Reign

^97:1The Lord is king! Let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad!

^97:2Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

^97:3Fire goes before him, and consumes his adversaries on every side.

^97:4His lightnings light up the world; the earth sees and trembles.

^97:5The mountains melt like wax before the Lord , before the Lord of all the earth.

^97:6The heavens proclaim his righteousness; and all the peoples behold his glory.

^97:7All worshipers of images are put to shame, those who make their boast in worthless idols; all gods bow down before him.

^97:8Zion hears and is glad, and the towns of Judah rejoice, because of your judgments, O God.

^97:9For you, O Lord , are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.

^97:10The Lord loves those who hate hate evil; he guards the lives of his faithful; he rescues them from the hand of the wicked.

^97:11Light dawns for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart.

^97:12Rejoice in the Lord , O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name!