Save me, O God,
For the waters have threatened my life [they have come up to my neck].
I have sunk in deep mire, where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters, where a flood overwhelms me.
I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched;
My eyes fail while I wait [with confident expectation] for my God.
Those who hate me without cause are more than the hairs of my head;
Those who would destroy me are powerful, being my enemies wrongfully;
I am forced to restore what I did not steal. [John 15:25]
¶O God, You know my folly;
My wrongs are not hidden from You.
Do not let those who wait [confidently] for You be ashamed through me, O Lord GOD of hosts;
Do not let those who seek You [as necessary for life itself] be dishonored through me, O God of Israel,
Because for Your sake I have borne reproach;
Confusion and dishonor have covered my face.
I have become estranged from my brothers
And an alien to my mother’s sons. [John 7:3-5]
For zeal for Your house has consumed me,
And the [mocking] insults of those who insult You have fallen on me. [John 2:17; Rom 15:3]
When I wept and humbled myself with fasting,
It became my reproach.
When I made sackcloth my clothing [as one in mourning],
I became a byword [a mere object of scorn] to them.
They who sit in the [city’s] gate talk about me and mock me,
And I am the song of the drunkards.
¶But as for me, my prayer is to You, O LORD, at an acceptable and opportune time;
O God, in the greatness of Your favor and in the abundance of Your lovingkindness,
Answer me with truth [that is, the faithfulness of Your salvation].
Rescue me from the mire and do not let me sink;
Let me be rescued from those who hate me and from the deep waters.
Do not let the floodwater overwhelm me,
Nor the deep waters swallow me up,
Nor the pit [of Sheol] shut its mouth over me.
¶Answer me, O LORD, for Your lovingkindness is sweet and good and comforting;
According to the greatness of Your compassion, turn to me.
Do not hide Your face from Your servant,
For I am in distress; answer me quickly.
Draw near to my soul and redeem it;
Ransom me because of my enemies [so that they do not delight in my distress].
You know my reproach and my shame and my dishonor [how I am insulted];
My adversaries are all before You [each one fully known].
¶Reproach and insults have broken my heart and I am so sick.
I looked for sympathy, but there was none,
And for comforters, but I found none.
They (self-righteous hypocrites) also gave me gall [poisonous and bitter] for my food,
And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. [Matt 27:34, 48]
¶May their table [with all its abundance and luxury] become a snare [to them];
And when they are in peace [secure at their sacrificial feasts], may it become a trap.
May their eyes be dimmed so that they cannot see,
And make their loins shake continually [in terror and weakness].
Pour out Your indignation on them,
And let [the fierceness of] Your burning anger overtake them.
May their encampment be desolate;
May no one dwell in their tents. [Matt 23:38; Acts 1:20]
For they have persecuted him whom You have struck,
And they tell of the pain of those whom You have pierced and wounded.
Add [unforgiven] iniquity to their iniquity [in Your book],
And may they not come into Your righteousness.
May they be blotted out of the book of life [and their lives come to an end]
And may they not be recorded with the righteous (those in right standing with God). [Rev 3:4, 5; 20:12, 15; 21:27]
¶But I am sorrowful and in pain;
May Your salvation, O God, set me [securely] on high.
I will praise the name of God with song
And magnify Him with thanksgiving.
And it will please the LORD better than an ox
Or a young bull with horns and hoofs.
The humble have seen it and are glad;
You who seek God [requiring Him as your greatest need], let your heart revive and live. [Ps 22:26; 42:1]
For the LORD hears the needy
And does not despise His who are prisoners.
¶Let heaven and earth praise Him,
The seas and everything that moves in them.
For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah,
That His servants may remain there and possess it.
The descendants of His servants will inherit it,
And those who love His name will dwell in it.
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