Psalms 57

Ps 108:1-5

For the Music Director. To the melody of "Do Not Destroy."

A Miktam of David when he fled from Saul in the cave.

1 Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious tome!

For my soul seeks refuge in You;

in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge,

until the ruinous storm passes by.

2 (Ps 63:1; 84:2) I will cry to God Most High,

to God who vindicates me.

3 (Ps 79:10; 80:5 ) He will send from heaven and save me

from the taunt of the one who crushes me. Selah

God will send forth His mercy and His truth.

4 (Isa 30:29; Ps 62:8) My soul is among lions,

and I lie among the sons of men who blaze like fire,

whose teeth are spears and arrows,

and their tongue a sharp sword.

5 (Ps 42:11; 43:5) Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;

may Your glory be above all the earth.

6 (2Sa 17:22; Dt 3:8-9) They have prepared a net for my steps;

my soul is bowed down;

they have dug a pit before me,

but they have fallen into it. Selah

7 (Ps 88:7; Jnh 2:3) My heart is fixed, O God,

my heart is fixed;

I will sing and give praise.

8 (Job 35:10; Ps 63:6) Awake, my glory!

Awake, psaltery and harp!

I will awake the dawn.

9 (Ps 38:6; 18:2) I will thank You, O Lord, among the peoples;

I will sing to You among the nations.

10 (Ps 42:3; Joel 2:17) For Your mercy is great up to the heavens,

and Your truth extends to the clouds.

11 (Ps 42:5; 43:5 ) Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;

may Your glory be above all the earth.



Psalm 57

[1] Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in

thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these

calamities be overpast.

[2] I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for

me.

[3] He shall send from heaven, and save from the reproach of him that would

swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth.

[4] My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire,

even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a

sharp sword.

[5] Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all

the earth.

[6] They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down: they have

digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves.

Selah.

[7] My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give

praise.

[8] Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.

[9] I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee

among the nations.

[10] For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.

[11] Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all

the earth.



PSALMS 142



A Contemplative Maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A Prayer.



1 I cried unto the Lord with my voice;

with my voice I made my supplication unto the Lord.

2 (Ps 63:1; 84:2) I poured out my complaint before Him;

I declared to Him my trouble.

3 (Ps 79:10; 80:5) When my spirit was overwhelmed within me,

then You knew my path.

In the way where I walk,

they have laid a snare for me.

4 (Isa 30:29; Ps 62:8) I looked on my right and noticed,

but there was no one who would care for me;

there is no refuge for me;

no one cares for my soul.

5 (Ps 42:11; 43:5) I cried unto You, O Lord;

I said, "You are my refuge

and my portion in the land of the living."

6 (2Sa 17:22; Dt 3:89) Attend to my cry,

for I am brought very low;

deliver me from my persecutors,

for they are stronger than me.

7 (Ps 88:7; Jnh 2:3) Bring my soul out of prison,

that I may praise Your name;

the righteous shall surround me,

for You shall deal bountifully with me.



Psalm 142

[1] I cried unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice unto the LORD did I

make my supplication.

[2] I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble.

[3] When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In

the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me.

[4] I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would

know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.

[5] I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in

the land of the living.

[6] Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my

persecutors; for they are stronger than I.

[7] Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous

shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me.



1 Chronicles 12:8-18



8 (2Sa 2:18; 17:10) From the Gadites mighty men of valor, men of the war

battalion, who could handle shield and sword, whose faces were like the

faces of lions, and who were as swift as the gazelles on the mountains,

separated themselves for David in the stronghold in the wilderness:

9 Ezer the captain,

Obadiah the second, Eliab the third,

10 Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah the fifth,

11 Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh,

12 Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth,

13 Jeremiah the tenth, Makbannai the eleventh.

14 (Lev 26:8; Dt 32:30) These were from Gad, captains of the battalions.

One of the least of them was as a hundred and the greatest as a thousand.

15 (Jos 3:15; 4:18) These were the ones who crossed over the Jordan

during the first month when it had overflowed its banks and caused the valley

dwellers to flee to the east and to the west.

16 Some of the sons of Benjamin and Judah came to the stronghold of David.

17 So David went out before them and said to them, "If you have come in peace

to help me, then I will have a heart united with yours, but if to betray me

to my adversaries, when there is no violence in my hand, may the God of our

fathers see, and may He decide between us."

18 (Jdg 6:34; 2Sa 17:25)Then the Spirit came upon Amasai the captain

of the officers, and he said,

"We are for you, David,

and with you, son of Jesse.

Peace, peace to you,

and peace to the one helping you,

for your God helps you."



8 And of the Gadites there separated themselves unto David into the hold

to the wilderness men of might, and men of war fit for the battle,

that could handle shield and buckler, whose faces were like the

faces of lions, and were as swift as the roes upon the mountains;

9 Ezer the first, Obadiah the second, Eliab the third,

10 Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah the fifth,

11 Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh,

12 Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth,

13 Jeremiah the tenth, Machbanai the eleventh.

14 These were of the sons of Gad, captains of the host:

one of the least was over an hundred, and the greatest over a thousand.

15 These are they that went over Jordan in the first month, when it had

overflown all his banks; and they put to flight all them of the valleys,

both toward the east, and toward the west.

16 And there came of the children of Benjamin and Judah to the hold

unto David.

17 And David went out to meet them, and answered and said unto them,

If ye be come peaceably unto me to help me, mine heart shall be knit

unto you: but if ye be come to betray me to mine enemies, seeing there

is no wrong in mine hands, the God of our fathers look thereon, and rebuke it.

18 Then the spirit came upon Amasai, who was chief of the captains,

and he said, Thine are we, David, and on thy side, thou son of Jesse:

peace, peace be unto thee, and peace be to thine helpers; for thy God

helpeth thee. Then David received them, and made them captains of the band.



1 SAMUEL 22



3 Then David went from there to Mizpah of Moab.

And he said to the king of Moab, "Please let my father and my mother

come forth and be with you until I know what God will do for me."

4 He brought them before the king of Moab, and they lived with him

all the while that David was in the stronghold.

5 (2Sa 24:11; 1Ch 21:9) The prophet Gad said to David,

"Do not remain in the stronghold. Go to the land of Judah."

So David went and came to the forest of Hereth.



[3] And David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab: and he said unto the king of

Moab, Let my father and my mother, I pray thee, come forth, and be with you,

till I know what God will do for me.

[4] And he brought them before the king of Moab: and they dwelt with him all

the while that David was in the hold.

[5] And the prophet Gad said unto David, Abide not in the hold; depart, and

get thee into the land of Judah. Then David departed, and came into the

forest of Hareth.



Saul Kills the Priests of Nob



6 When Saul heard that David and the men who were with him

were discovered, Saul was sitting in Gibeah under the tamarisk tree

on the hill with his spear in his hand. And all his servants

were standing about him.

7 Saul said to his servants that stood about him, "Hear now, Benjamites!

Will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards?

Will he appoint you all as captains of thousands and captains of hundreds?

8 (1Sa 18:3; 23:21) You have all conspired against me, and no one revealed

to me that my son made a covenant with the son of Jesse. And not one of you

is grieved for me and revealed it to me that my son raised up my servant

against me to ambush me as at this day."

9 (Ps 52:1–9) Then Doeg the Edomite, who was chief over the servants of Saul,

answered and said, "I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelek the

son of Ahitub.

10 (Nu 27:21; 1Sa 23:2) And he inquired of the Lord for him and gave him

provisions. And he gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine."

11 So the king sent to summon Ahimelek the priest, the son of Ahitub,

and all his father's house, the priests that were in Nob.

And they all came to the king.

12 Saul said, "Hear now, son of Ahitub!"

And he answered, "Here I am, my lord."

13 (1Sa 22:8) Saul said to him, "Why have you conspired against me,

you and the son of Jesse, in that you gave him bread and a sword,

and have inquired of God for him, that he should rise against me

to ambush me, as at this day?"

14 (1Sa 19:4-5; 20:32) Then Ahimelek answered the king and said,

"And who is as faithful among all your servants as David,

who is the king's son-in-law, chief of your bodyguard,

and is honored in your house?

15 (1Sa 25:36) Did I just today begin to inquire of God for him?

Far be it from me! Let not the king assign any blame to his servant,

or to all the house of my father. For your servant has known nothing

of all this matter, whether small or great."

16The king said, "You will surely die, Ahimelek, you

and all your father's house."

17 (Ex 1:17) The king said to the guards standing near him,

"Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because their hand is with David.

And because they knew that he was fleeing and did not reveal it to me."

But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to attack

the priests of the Lord.

18 The king said to Doeg, "You turn and fall upon the priests."

And Doeg the Edomite turned and struck the priests

and killed on that day 85 men who wore a linen ephod.

19 (1Sa 15:3) And Nob, the city of the priests, he struck with the edge

of the sword. Both men and women, children and babies, oxen, donkeys,

and sheep, he struck with the edge of the sword.