Psalm 28 & 55

Psalm 28

1To you, Lord, I call;

you are my Rock,

do not turn a deaf ear to me.

For if you remain silent,

I will be like those who go down to the pit.

2Hear my cry for mercy

as I call to you for help,

as I lift up my hands

toward your Most Holy Place.

3Do not drag me away with the wicked,

with those who do evil,

who speak cordially with their neighbors

but harbor malice in their hearts.

4Repay them for their deeds

and for their evil work;

repay them for what their hands have done

and bring back on them what they deserve.

5Because they have no regard for the deeds of the Lord

and what his hands have done,

he will tear them down

and never build them up again.

6Praise be to the Lord,

for he has heard my cry for mercy.

7The Lord is my strength and my shield;

my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.

My heart leaps for joy,

and with my song I praise him.

8The Lord is the strength of his people,

a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.

9Save your people and bless your inheritance;

be their shepherd and carry them forever.

Psalm 55

1Listen to my prayer, O God,

do not ignore my plea;

2hear me and answer me.

My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught

3because of what my enemy is saying,

because of the threats of the wicked;

for they bring down suffering on me

and assail me in their anger.

4My heart is in anguish within me;

the terrors of death have fallen on me.

5Fear and trembling have beset me;

horror has overwhelmed me.

6I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!

I would fly away and be at rest.

7I would flee far away

and stay in the desert;

8I would hurry to my place of shelter,

far from the tempest and storm.”

9Lord, confuse the wicked, confound their words,

for I see violence and strife in the city.

10Day and night they prowl about on its walls;

malice and abuse are within it.

11Destructive forces are at work in the city;

threats and lies never leave its streets.

12If an enemy were insulting me,

I could endure it;

if a foe were rising against me,

I could hide.

13But it is you, a man like myself,

my companion, my close friend,

14with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship

at the house of God,

as we walked about

among the worshipers.

15Let death take my enemies by surprise;

let them go down alive to the realm of the dead,

for evil finds lodging among them.

16As for me, I call to God,

and the Lord saves me.

17Evening, morning and noon

I cry out in distress,

and he hears my voice.

18He rescues me unharmed

from the battle waged against me,

even though many oppose me.

19God, who is enthroned from of old,

who does not change—

he will hear them and humble them,

because they have no fear of God.

20My companion attacks his friends;

he violates his covenant.

21His talk is smooth as butter,

yet war is in his heart;

his words are more soothing than oil,

yet they are drawn swords.

22Cast your cares on the Lord

and he will sustain you;

he will never let

the righteous be shaken.

23But you, God, will bring down the wicked

into the pit of decay;

the bloodthirsty and deceitful

will not live out half their days.

But as for me, I trust in you.