Heed the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God,
For to You I pray.

For He who avenges blood [unjustly shed] remembers them (His people);
He does not forget the cry of the afflicted and abused.

For the poor will not always be forgotten,
Nor the hope of the burdened perish forever.

In pride and arrogance the wicked hotly pursue and persecute the afflicted;
Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.

He lurks in ambush in the villages;
In hiding places he kills the innocent;
He lies in wait for the unfortunate [the unhappy, the poor, the helpless].

He lurks in a hiding place like a lion in his lair;
He lies in wait to catch the afflicted;
He catches the afflicted when he draws him into his net.

He crushes [his prey] and crouches;
And the unfortunate fall by his mighty claws.

“Because of the devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy,
Now I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”

The words and promises of the Lord are pure words,
Like silver refined in an earthen furnace, purified seven times.

You [evildoers] shamefully plan against the poor,
But the Lord is his safe refuge.

He is like a lion eager to tear [his prey],
And like a young lion lurking in hiding places.

From men with Your hand, O Lord,
From men of the world [these moths of the night] whose portion [of enjoyment] is in this life—idle and vain,
And whose belly You fill with Your treasure;
They are satisfied with children,
And they leave what they have left [of wealth] to their children.

Then the stream beds of the waters appeared,
And the foundations of the world were laid bare
At Your rebuke, O Lord,
At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

With the pure You show Yourself pure,
And with the crooked You show Yourself astute.

The precepts of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.

For You meet him with blessings of good things;
You set a crown of pure gold on his head.

Be exalted, Lord, in Your strength;
We will sing and praise Your power.

Rescue my life from the sword,
My only life from the paw of the dog (the executioner).

The afflicted will eat and be satisfied;
Those who [diligently] seek Him and require Him [as their greatest need] will praise the Lord.
May your hearts live forever!

He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to what is false,
Nor has sworn [oaths] deceitfully.

The voice of the Lord makes the doe labor and give birth
And strips the forests bare;
And in His temple all are saying, “Glory!”

Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You [for forgiveness] in a time when You [are near and] may be found;
Surely when the great waters [of trial and distressing times] overflow they will not reach [the spirit in] him.

The king is not saved by the great size of his army;
A warrior is not rescued by his great strength.

A horse is a false hope for victory;
Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength.

This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
And saved him from all his troubles.

All my bones will say, “Lord, who is like You,
Who rescues the afflicted from him who is too strong for him [to resist alone],
And the afflicted and the needy from him who robs him?”

The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bow
To cast down the afflicted and the needy,
To slaughter those who are upright in conduct [those with personal integrity and godly character].

The wicked borrows and does not pay back,
But the righteous is gracious and kind and gives.

I have seen a wicked, violent man [with great power]
Spreading and flaunting himself like a cedar in its native soil,

For I pray, “May they not rejoice over me,
Who, when my foot slips, would boast against me.”

Even though I am afflicted and needy,
Still the Lord takes thought and is mindful of me.
You are my help and my rescuer.
O my God, do not delay.

Blessed [by God’s grace and compassion] is he who considers the helpless;
The Lord will save him in the day of trouble.

These things I [vividly] remember as I pour out my soul;
How I used to go along before the great crowd of people and lead them in procession to the house of God [like a choirmaster before his singers, timing the steps to the music and the chant of the song],
With the voice of joy and thanksgiving, a great crowd keeping a festival.

O my God, my soul is in despair within me [the burden more than I can bear];
Therefore I will [fervently] remember You from the land of the Jordan
And the peaks of [Mount] Hermon, from Mount Mizar.

You drove out the [pagan] nations with Your own hand;
Then you planted and established them (Israel);
[It was by Your power that] You uprooted the [pagan] peoples,
Then You spread them abroad.

Both low and high,
Rich and poor together:

But God will redeem my life from the power of Sheol,
For He will receive me. Selah.

Wash me thoroughly from my wickedness and guilt
And cleanse me from my sin.

Save me, O God, by Your name;
And vindicate me by Your [wondrous] power.

For it is not an enemy who taunts me—
Then I could bear it;
Nor is it one who has hated me who insolently exalts himself against me—
Then I could hide from him.

Do not kill them, or my people will forget;
Scatter them and make them wander [endlessly] back and forth by Your power, and bring them down,
O Lord our shield!

But as for me, I will sing of Your mighty strength and power;
Yes, I will sing joyfully of Your lovingkindness in the morning;
For You have been my stronghold
And a refuge in the day of my distress.

Trust [confidently] in Him at all times, O people;
Pour out your heart before Him.
God is a refuge for us. Selah.

God has spoken once,
Twice I have heard this:
That power belongs to God.

So I have gazed upon You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.

They will be given over to the power of the sword;
They will be a prey for foxes.

Who creates the mountains by His strength,
Being clothed with power,

Say to God, “How awesome and fearfully glorious are Your works!
Because of the greatness of Your power Your enemies will pretend to be obedient to You.

That Your way may be known on earth,
Your salvation and deliverance among all nations.

Your flock found a dwelling place in it;
O God, in Your goodness You provided for the poor.

The Lord gives the command [to take Canaan];
The women who proclaim the good news are a great host (army);

Ascribe strength to God;
His majesty is over Israel
And His strength is in the skies.

Pour out Your indignation on them,
And let [the fierceness of] Your burning anger overtake them.

But I am sorrowful and in pain;
May Your salvation, O God, set me [securely] on high.

For the Lord hears the needy
And does not despise His who are prisoners.

But I am afflicted and needy;
Come quickly to me, O God!
You are my help and my rescuer;
O Lord, do not delay.

And even when I am old and gray-headed, O God, do not abandon me,
Until I declare Your [mighty] strength to this generation,
Your power to all who are to come.

May he judge Your people with righteousness,
And Your afflicted with justice.

May he bring justice to the poor among the people,
Save the children of the needy
And crush the oppressor,

For he will rescue the needy when he cries for help,
The afflicted and abused also, and him who has no helper.

He will have compassion on the poor and needy,
And he will save the lives of the needy.

Truly God is good to Israel,
To those who are pure in heart.

Oh, do not hand over the soul of your turtledove to the wild beast;
Do not forget the life of Your afflicted forever.

You are glorious and resplendent,
More majestic than the mountains of prey.

You are the [awesome] God who works [powerful] wonders;
You have demonstrated Your power among the people.

Because they did not believe in God [they did not rely on Him, they did not adhere to Him],
And they did not trust in His salvation (His power to save).

He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens
And by His [unlimited] power He guided the south wind.

And gave up His strength and power (the ark of the covenant) into captivity,
And His glory into the hand of the enemy (the Philistines).

Then the Lord awakened as from sleep,
Like a [mighty] warrior who awakens from the sleep of wine [fully conscious of his power].

Pour out Your wrath on the [Gentile] nations that do not know You,
And on the kingdoms that do not call on Your name.

Let the groaning and sighing of the prisoner come before You;
According to the greatness of Your power keep safe those who are doomed to die.

A boar from the woods eats it away,
And the insects of the field feed on it.

Vindicate the weak and fatherless;
Do justice and maintain the rights of the afflicted and destitute.

Rescue the weak and needy;
Rescue them from the hand of the wicked.

They go from strength to strength [increasing in victorious power];
Each of them appears before God in Zion.

Incline Your ear, O Lord, and answer me,
For I am distressed and needy [I long for Your help].

Once You spoke in a vision to Your godly ones,
And said, “I have given help to one who is mighty [giving him the power to be a champion for Israel];
I have exalted one chosen from the people.

“My faithfulness and My steadfast lovingkindness shall be with him,
And in My name shall his horn be exalted [great power and prosperity shall be conferred upon him].

Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Your servants [scorned, insulted, and disgraced];
How I bear in my heart the reproach of all the many peoples,

Who understands the power of Your anger? [Who connects this brevity of life among us with Your judgment of sin?]
And Your wrath, [who connects it] with the [reverent] fear that is due You?

Let Your work [the signs of Your power] be revealed to Your servants
And Your [glorious] majesty to their children.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will remain secure and rest in the shadow of the Almighty [whose power no enemy can withstand].

They will lift you up in their hands,
So that you do not [even] strike your foot against a stone.

The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty and splendor;
The Lord has clothed and encircled Himself with strength;
the world is firmly established, it cannot be moved.

They pour out words, speaking arrogant things;
All who do evil boast proudly.

That You may grant him [power to calm himself and find] peace in the days of adversity,
Until the pit is dug for the wicked and ungodly.

The young lions roar after their prey
And seek their food from God.

Nevertheless He saved them for His name’s sake,
That He might make His [supreme] power known.

They joined themselves also to [the idol] Baal of Peor,
And ate sacrifices offered to the dead.

Yet He sets the needy securely on high, away from affliction,
And makes their families like a flock.

Because the man did not remember to show kindness,
But persecuted the suffering and needy man,
And the brokenhearted, to put them to death.

For I am suffering and needy,
And my heart is wounded within me.

For He will stand at the right hand of the needy,
To save him from those who judge his soul.

Your people will offer themselves willingly [to participate in Your battle] in the day of Your power;
In the splendor of holiness, from the womb of the dawn,
Your young men are to You as the dew.

He has declared and made known to His people the power of His works,
In giving them the heritage of the nations.

He has given freely to the poor;
His righteousness endures forever;
His horn will be exalted in honor.

He raises the poor out of the dust
And lifts the needy from the ash heap,

O may Your lovingkindness and graciousness comfort me,
According to Your word (promise) to Your servant.

Your word is very pure (refined);
Therefore Your servant loves it.

Let my lips speak praise [with thanksgiving],
For You teach me Your statutes.