Psalm 10

From The Message   1 I'm thanking you, God, from a full heart, I'm writing the book on your wonders.  2 I'm whistling, laughing, and jumping for joy; I'm singing your song, High God.  3 The day my enemies turned tail and ran, they stumbled on you and fell on their faces.  4 You took over and set everything right; when I needed you, you were there, taking charge.  5 You blow the whistle on godless nations; you throw dirty players out of the game, wipe their names right off the roster.  6 Enemies disappear from the sidelines, their reputation trashed, their names erased from the halls of fame.  7 God holds the high center, he sees and sets the world's mess right.  8 He decides what is right for us earthlings, gives people their just deserts.  9 God's a safe-house for the battered, a sanctuary during bad times.  10 The moment you arrive, you relax; you're never sorry you knocked.  11 Sing your songs to Zion-dwelling God, tell his stories to everyone you meet:  12 How he tracks down killers yet keeps his eye on us, registers every whimper and moan.  13 Be kind to me, God; I've been kicked around long enough. Once you've pulled me back from the gates of death,  14 I'll write the book on Hallelujahs; on the corner of Main and First I'll hold a street meeting; I'll be the song leader; we'll fill the air with salvation songs.  15 They're trapped, those godless countries, in the very snares they set, Their feet all tangled in the net they spread.  16 They have no excuse; the way God works is well-known. The cunning machinery made by the wicked has maimed their own hands.  17 The wicked bought a one-way ticket to hell.  18 No longer will the poor be nameless - no more humiliation for the humble.  19 Up, God! Aren't you fed up with their empty strutting? Expose these grand pretensions!  20 Shake them up, God! Show them how silly they look.

Psalm 9

from the NLT


I will praise you, LORD, with all my heart;
I will tell of all the marvelous things you 
have done.
I will be filled with joy because of you.
I will sing praises to your name,
O Most High.


My enemies retreated;
they staggered and died when you appeared.
For you have judged in my favor;
from your throne you have judged with
fairness.
You have rebuked the nations and destroyed
the wicked;
you have erased their names forever.
The enemy is finished, in endless ruins;
the cities you uprooted are now forgotten.




But the LORD reigns forever,
executing judgment from his throne.
He will judge the world with justice
and rule the nations with fairness.
The LORD is a shelter for the oppressed,
a refuge in times of trouble.
Those who know your name trust in you,
for you, O LORD, do not abandon those who
search for You.


Sing praises to the LORD who reigns in
Jerusalem.
Tell the world about his unforgettable
deeds.
For he who avenges murder cares for the
helpless.
He does not ignore the cries of those
who suffer.




LORD, have mercy on me.
See how my enemies torment me.

Snatch me back from the jaws of death.
Save me so I can praise you publicly at
Jerusalem's gates,
so I can rejoice that you have rescued me.






The nations have fallen into the pit they dug
for others.
Their own feet have been caught in the trap
they set.
The LORD is known for his justice.
The wicked are trapped by their own deeds.





The wicked will go down to the grave.
This is the fate of all the nations who ignore

God.
But the needy will not be ignored forever;
the hopes of the poor will not always be
crushed.



Arise, O LORD!
Do not let mere mortals defy you!
Judge the nations!
Make them tremble in fear, O LORD.
Let the nations know they are merely
humans.

Psalm 8 The Message

1 God, brilliant Lord, yours is a household name.  2 Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you; toddlers shout the songs That drown out enemy talk, and silence atheist babble.  3 I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous, your handmade sky-jewelry, Moon and stars mounted in their settings.  4 Then I look at my micro-self and wonder, Why do you bother with us? Why take a second look our way?  5 Yet we've so narrowly missed being gods, bright with Eden's dawn light.  6 You put us in charge of your handcrafted world, repeated to us your Genesis-charge,  7 Made us lords of sheep and cattle, even animals out in the wild,  8 Birds flying and fish swimming, whales singing in the ocean deeps.  9 God, brilliant Lord, your name echoes around the world.

Psalm 7 NLT

I come to you for protection, O LORD my God.

Save me from my persecutors---rescue me!

If you don't they will maul me like a lion,

tearing me to pieces with no one to rescue me.

O LORD my God, if I have done wrong

or am gulty of injustice,

If I have betrayed a friend

or plundered my enemy without cause,

then let my enemies capture me.

Let them trample me into the ground

and drag my honor in the dust.

Arise, O LORD, in anger!

Stand up against the fury of my enemies!

Wake up, my God, and bring justice!

Gather the nations before you.

Rule over them from on high.

The LORD judges the nations.

Declare me righteous, O Lord,

for I am innocent, O Most High!

End the evil of those who are wicked,

and defend the righteous.

For you look deep within the mind and heart,

O righteous God.

God is my shield,

saving those whose hearts are true and right.

God is an honest judge.

He is angry with the wicked every day.

If a person does not repent,

God will sharpen his sword;

he will bend and string his bow.

He will prepare his deadly weapons

and shoot his flaming arrows.

The wicked conceive evil;

they are pregnant with trouble

and give birth to lies.

They dig a deep pit to trap others,

then fall into it themselves.

The trouble they make for others backfires

on them.

The violence they plan falls on their

own heads.

I will thank the LORD because he is just;

I will sing praise to the name of the LORD

Most High.

Psalm 6 NIV

1. O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.
 
2. Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am faint; O LORD, heal me, for my bones are in agony.
 
3. My soul is in anguish. How long, O LORD, how long?
 
4. Turn, O LORD, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love.
 
5. No one remembers you when he is dead. Who praises you from the grave ?
 
6. I am worn out from groaning; all night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.
 
7. My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes.
 
8. Away from me, all you who do evil, for the LORD has heard my weeping.
 
9. The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer.
 
10. All my enemies will be ashamed and dismayed; they will turn back in sudden disgrace.