56

Prayer for Relief from Tormentors

To the Chief Musician. Set to “The Silent Dove in Distant Lands.” A Michtam of David when the Philistines captured him in Gath.
  1Be merciful to me, O God, for man would swallow me up;
   Fighting all day he oppresses me.
   2My enemies would hound me all day,
   For there are many who fight against me, O Most High.
  3Whenever I am afraid,
   I will trust in You.
   4In God (I will praise His word),
   In God I have put my trust;
   I will not fear.
   What can flesh do to me?
  5All day they twist my words;
   All their thoughts are against me for evil.
   6They gather together,
   They hide, they mark my steps,
   When they lie in wait for my life.
   7Shall they escape by iniquity?
   In anger cast down the peoples, O God!
  8You number my wanderings;
   Put my tears into Your bottle;
   Are they not in Your book?
   9When I cry out to You,
   Then my enemies will turn back;
   This I know, because God is for me.
   10In God (I will praise His word),
   In the Lord (I will praise His word),
   11In God I have put my trust;
   I will not be afraid.
   What can man do to me?
  12Vows made to You are binding upon me, O God;
   I will render praises to You,
   13For You have delivered my soul from death.
   Have You not kept my feet from falling,
   That I may walk before God
   In the light of the living?