A Cry to God
Study note
David cries to God and asks not to be treated like the wicked who speak peace to their neighbors but have evil in their hearts.
1 Lord, I am calling out to you. You are my rock — please don't ignore me. If you stay silent, I will be like someone who has already been thrown into the grave. Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.
2 Hear my desperate cry for mercy as I reach out to you with my hands lifted toward your most sanctuary. Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle.
3 Don't drag me off with people who do evil. They talk nicely to their neighbors but carry evil plans in their hearts. Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischief is in their hearts.
4 Give them exactly what they deserve for the things they have done. Pay them back for their evil actions. Hand them the consequences their hands have earned. Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavours: give them after the work of their hands; render to them their desert.
5 These people pay no attention to what the Lord does or to what his hands have made. So he will tear them down and never build them up again. Because they regard not the works of the LORD, nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them, and not build them up.
Praise for Answered Prayer
Study note
God has heard David's prayer. David's heart trusts and leaps for joy. He asks God to save his people and be their shepherd forever.
6 Thank the Lord! He has heard my desperate plea for mercy. Blessed be the LORD, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications.
7 The Lord gives me strength and shields me. My heart relies on him completely, and he comes through for me every time. Joy explodes in my heart, and I pour out praise to him through my song. The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.
8 The Lord is the strength his people lean on — a safe stronghold of rescue for his chosen king. The LORD is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed.
9 Rescue your people and pour out blessings on those who belong to you. Take care of them like a shepherd and carry them in your arms forever. Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up for ever.