PSALM 7

I take refuge in you,
O Lord my God,
save me from all those
who persecute me,
liberate me,
lest they seize me
as would a lion,
tearing me apart,
with no one
to rescue me.

O Lord my God,
if I did this,
if there is injustice
on my hands,
if I repaid my friend
with evil, then may I
be ineffective against
my foes, and may they
overtake me, trample
my life to the ground,
and lay my honor
in the dust.

Rise up in your wrath,
O Lord, stand against
the fury of my oppressors.
Stand up for me in the
judgment you've decreed,
let the assembly of nations
surround you, and you sit
on high above them.
The Lord is the judge
of the peoples.
Judge me, O Lord,
according to my justice,
according to the innocence
that is in me.

Let the evil of sinners end,
and confirm the righteous,
you who inspect
hearts and minds,
O righteous God.

My shield is God
who saves the upright
in heart.
God is a just judge
who rages every day.
If one does not turn back,
he will sharpen his sword,
bend his bow,
and aim it.
He will prepare
missiles of death,
his arrows fiery shafts.

Behold, the wicked one
conceives injustice,
is pregnant with evil,
and brings forth deceit.
He has dug a pit, but
he has fallen into it.
His malice falls back
on his own head,
his violence returns
there too.

But I will praise the Lord
on account of his justice,
and will make music
to the name
of the most high Lord.

Translation © 2015 by Donald C. Traxler