psalm

A Prayer of Trust in God[a]

56 
Be merciful to me, O God,

because I am under attack;

my enemies persecute me all the time.

All day long my opponents attack me.

There are so many who fight against me.

When I am afraid, O Lord Almighty,

I put my trust in you.

I trust in God and am not afraid;

I praise him for what he has promised.

What can a mere human being do to me?

My enemies make trouble for me all day long;

they are always thinking up some way to hurt me!

They gather in hiding places

and watch everything I do,

hoping to kill me.

Punish[b] them, O God, for their evil;

defeat those people in your anger!

You know how troubled I am;

you have kept a record of my tears.

Aren’t they listed in your book?

The day I call to you,

my enemies will be turned back.

I know this: God[c] is on my side—

10 the Lord, whose promises I praise.

11 In him I trust, and I will not be afraid.

What can a mere human being do to me?

12 O God, I will offer you what I have promised;

I will give you my offering of thanksgiving,

13 because you have rescued me from death

and kept me from defeat.

And so I walk in the presence of God,

in the light that shines on the living.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 56:1 HEBREW TITLE: A psalm by David, after the Philistines captured him in Gath.
  2. Psalm 56:7 Probable text Punish; Hebrew Save.
  3. Psalm 56:9 I know this: God; or Because I know that God.