Ask the Lord to take away your problems
Tell the leader of the choir to play this song with musical_instruments that have strings. This is a Psalm of David.
1O God, please listen
to my prayer. Don't look away
when I am begging You for help.
2Please listen to me and answer me.
I am worried and afraid
because of all my troubles.
3I have heard what my enemies say
and I see how sinful people
are looking at me.
They want to oppress me
and make me suffer.
They accuse me falsely and they
are angry with me and hate me.
4My heart beats very fast,
and I am afraid that I will die.
5I am so afraid that my body trembles.
6I wish that I had wings like a dove,
and then I would fly away
to a safe place to rest.
7Yes, I would fly away
to the desert and stay there. Selah
8I would hurry to go and
find a place to hide
from the wind and the storm.
9Lord, please confuse my enemies
so that they don't understand
what the others say,
because I see cruel people
who want to fight in the city.
10Day and night they walk
on the walls around the city.
They sin and bring trouble to
the people and make them suffer.
11Everything in the city is bad.
These sinners oppress people
and lie to them.
They are always in the streets
and at the market places.
12But it was not my enemies
who falsely accused me.
If it were my enemies,
I would understand it.
It was not the people who always
hated me and who think they are
more important than I am.
If it were they,
I would have hid from them.
13But it was you who accused me,
someone like myself,
you who were my friend
and always came to visit me.
14We were friends who always
talked to each other among
God's people at the temple.
15I pray that my enemies will suddenly die.
They must still be alive
when they go down to their graves,
because there are only bad things
in their homes and in their hearts.
16But I will call God
and ask Him to help me.
I know that He will save me.
17I cry in the morning,
at noon and at night.
I pray to God and He listens to me.
18There are many enemies against me,
but God will save my life
when they fight against me.
19God is King from the beginning,
He will listen to my prayers
and He will humiliate them. Selah
He will do it because my enemies
don't want to turn to God,
and they don't want to serve Him.
20The person who was my friend
has turned_against me
and betrayed me.
He did not keep his promise to me.
He broke it.
21He said beautiful things,
and his words were as smooth as butter,
but there was war in his heart.
He wanted to do something bad to me.
His words were softer than olive oil
but they hurt me like sharp swords.
22Ask the Lord to
take away your problems.
He will help you and take care of you.
He will never let someone
who lives in the right way
fall down and be defeated.
23O God, You will take down
the sinful people and throw them
into the deepest place in hell.
Murderers and liars will not live for a long time.
They will die before half
of their lives has gone past.
But I will trust in You, my God.
