Psalms 108:1--110:7

Psalm 108

A song, a psalm of David.

108:1 I am determined, O God!

I will sing and praise you with my whole heart.

108:2 Awake, O stringed instrument and harp!

I will wake up at dawn!

108:3 I will give you thanks before the nations, O Lord!

I will sing praises to you before foreigners!

108:4 For your loyal love extends beyond the sky,

and your faithfulness reaches the clouds.

108:5 Rise up above the sky, O God!

May your splendor cover the whole earth!

108:6 Deliver by your power and answer me,

so that the ones you love may be safe.

108:7 God has spoken in his sanctuary:

“I will triumph! I will parcel out Shechem,

the valley of Succoth I will measure off.

108:8 Gilead belongs to me,

as does Manasseh!

Ephraim is my helmet,

Judah my royal scepter.

108:9 Moab is my wash basin.

I will make Edom serve me.

I will shout in triumph over Philistia.”

108:10 Who will lead me into the fortified city?

Who will bring me to Edom?

108:11 Have you not rejected us, O God?

O God, you do not go into battle with our armies.

108:12 Give us help against the enemy,

for any help men might offer is futile.

108:13 By God’s power we will conquer;

he will trample down our enemies.

Psalm 109

For the music director, a psalm of David.

109:1 O God whom I praise, do not ignore me!

109:2 For they say cruel and deceptive things to me;

they lie to me.

109:3 They surround me and say hateful things;

they attack me for no reason.

109:4 They repay my love with accusations,

but I continue to pray.

109:5 They repay me evil for good,

and hate for love.

109:6 Appoint an evil man to testify against him!

May an accuser stand at his right side!

109:7 When he is judged, he will be found guilty!

Then his prayer will be regarded as sinful.

109:8 May his days be few!

May another take his job!

109:9 May his children be fatherless,

and his wife a widow!

109:10 May his children roam around begging,

asking for handouts as they leave their ruined home!

109:11 May the creditor seize all he owns!

May strangers loot his property!

109:12 May no one show him kindness!

May no one have compassion on his fatherless children!

109:13 May his descendants be cut off!

May the memory of them be wiped out by the time the next generation arrives!

109:14 May his ancestors’ sins be remembered by the Lord!

May his mother’s sin not be forgotten!

109:15 May the Lord be constantly aware of them,

and cut off the memory of his children from the earth!

109:16 For he never bothered to show kindness;

he harassed the oppressed and needy,

and killed the disheartened.

109:17 He loved to curse others, so those curses have come upon him.

He had no desire to bless anyone, so he has experienced no blessings.

109:18 He made cursing a way of life,

so curses poured into his stomach like water

and seeped into his bones like oil.

109:19 May a curse attach itself to him, like a garment one puts on,

or a belt one wears continually!

109:20 May the Lord repay my accusers in this way,

those who say evil things about me!

109:21 O sovereign Lord,

intervene on my behalf for the sake of your reputation!

Because your loyal love is good, deliver me!

109:22 For I am oppressed and needy,

and my heart beats violently within me.

109:23 I am fading away like a shadow at the end of the day;

I am shaken off like a locust.

109:24 I am so starved my knees shake;

I have turned into skin and bones.

109:25 I am disdained by them.

When they see me, they shake their heads.

109:26 Help me, O Lord my God!

Because you are faithful to me, deliver me!

109:27 Then they will realize this is your work,

and that you, Lord, have accomplished it.

109:28 They curse, but you will bless.

When they attack, they will be humiliated,

but your servant will rejoice.

109:29 My accusers will be covered with shame,

and draped in humiliation as if it were a robe.

109:30 I will thank the Lord profusely,

in the middle of a crowd I will praise him,

109:31 because he stands at the right hand of the needy,

to deliver him from those who threaten his life.

Psalm 110

A psalm of David.

110:1 Here is the Lord’s proclamation to my lord:

“Sit down at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool!”

110:2 The Lord extends your dominion from Zion.

Rule in the midst of your enemies!

110:3 Your people willingly follow you when you go into battle.

On the holy hills at sunrise the dew of your youth belongs to you.

110:4 The Lord makes this promise on oath and will not revoke it:

“You are an eternal priest after the pattern of Melchizedek.”

110:5 O sovereign Lord, at your right hand

he strikes down kings in the day he unleashes his anger.

110:6 He executes judgment against the nations;

he fills the valleys with corpses;

he shatters their heads over the vast battlefield.

110:7 From the stream along the road he drinks;

then he lifts up his head.