Study Desk

A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son. O Lord , how many are my foes! Many are rising against me;

I cried aloud to the Lord , and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah

If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow;

he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts.

His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own skull his violence descends.

I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord , the Most High.

You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet,

But the Lord sits enthroned forever; he has established his throne for justice,

Sing praises to the Lord , who sits enthroned in Zion! Tell among the peoples his deeds!

For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord .

In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, "There is no God."

His ways prosper at all times; your judgments are on high, out of his sight; as for all his foes, he puffs at them.

He says in his heart, "I shall not be moved; throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity."

His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.

He sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places he murders the innocent. His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;

he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket; he lurks that he may seize the poor; he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.

The helpless are crushed, sink down, and fall by his might.

He says in his heart, "God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it."

Why does the wicked renounce God and say in his heart, "You will not call to account"?

Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call his wickedness to account till you find none.