Psalms

Contend, Lord, With Those Who Contend With Me

O Lord, attack those who attack me; fight against those who fight against me.

Come to my aid, with armor and shield;

stand with your spear and lance, halt my pursuers. Say to my soul, “I am your deliverer.”

Let them be shamed and dishonored, those who seek my life. Let them be routed and destroyed, those who plot my ruin.

Let them be like chaff before the wind, when the Lord’s angel drives them away.

Let their escape path be dark and precipitous, with the Lord’s angel always at their heels.

They set their net against me for no cause; they dug a pit for me without reason.

Let ruin come upon them unexpectedly; let them be entangled in their own snare; let them fall into the trap of their own making.

Then will my soul rejoice in the Lord, and exult in his salvation.

My whole being will exclaim, “O Lord, who is like you? You deliver the oppressed from those too strong for them; you rescue the poor and the needy from their oppressors.”

False witnesses take the stand, accusing me of crimes of which I am innocent.

For my kindness, they return evil, bringing my life to despair.

When they were sick, I wore sackcloth and fasted; I prayed hard, with head bowed,

as if I were bereft of a friend or brother; I shed tears in grief, as one mourning the death of his mother.

But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee and began to strike me; like strangers, they disowned me and accused me falsely.

Like an ungodly circle of mockers, they gnashed their teeth and made me the butt of all their ridicule.

How long, O Lord, will you look on? Deliver my life, my only one, from these lions.

Then I will thank you in the great assembly; I will praise you in the mighty throng.

Do not let them gloat over me —those who, unprovoked, have become my foes. Do not let them wink maliciously —those who hate me without cause.

Sowing discontent with their tongue and mind, they devise false accusations against the peace-loving people of the land.

They open wide their mouths against me: “Aha, aha!” they say, “We have seen it with our own eyes!”

But you, O Lord, who have seen, do not keep silent. Do not stand far from me.

Stir yourself up; stand up for my rights and my cause, my God and my Lord!

Declare me innocent, O Lord, my God, according to your justice. Let them not gloat over me.

Never give them reason to say, “We have trampled him down!”

Let them be utterly disgraced and confounded, who exult over my calamity. Let them be ashamed and dishonored, who rejoice at my distress.

But let them be glad and rejoice, who are in sympathy with my cause. And may they ever say, “Great is the Lord, who has justified his servant.”

Then will my tongue proclaim your righteousness, and sing your praises all day long.