1 O Lord my God, in you I take refuge; ♦
save me from all who pursue me, and deliver me,
2 Lest they rend me like a lion and tear me in pieces ♦
while there is no one to help me.
3 O Lord my God, if I have done these things: ♦
if there is any wickedness in my hands,
4 If I have repaid my friend with evil, ♦
or plundered my enemy without a cause,
5 Then let my enemy pursue me and overtake me, ♦
trample my life to the ground,
and lay my honour in the dust.
6 Rise up, O Lord, in your wrath;
lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies. ♦
Awaken, my God, the judgement that you have commanded.
7 Let the assembly of the peoples gather round you; ♦
be seated high above them: O Lord, judge the nations.
8 Give judgement for me
according to my righteousness, O Lord, ♦
and according to the innocence that is in me.
9 Let the malice of the wicked come to an end,
but establish the righteous; ♦
for you test the mind and heart, O righteous God.
10 God is my shield that is over me; ♦
he saves the true of heart.
11 God is a righteous judge; ♦
he is provoked all day long.
12 If they will not repent, God will whet his sword; ♦
he has bent his bow and made it ready.
13 He has prepared the weapons of death; ♦
he makes his arrows shafts of fire.
14 Behold those who are in labour with wickedness, ♦
who conceive evil and give birth to lies.
15 They dig a pit and make it deep ♦
and fall into the hole that they have made for others.
16 Their mischief rebounds on their own head; ♦
their violence falls on their own scalp.
17 I will give thanks to the Lord for his righteousness, ♦
and I will make music to the name of the Lord Most High.
Common Worship: Services and Prayers for the Church of England, material from which is included here,
is copyright © The Archbishops' Council 2000 and published by Church House Publishing.
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