Refuge When Falsely Accused

Verses 1–9 · hunted and falsely accused

1. ^{verse 1}O LORD my God, I take refuge in You; save me and deliver me from all my pursuers,
2. ^{verse 2}or they will shred my soul like a lion and tear me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
3. ^{verse 3}O LORD my God, if I have done this, if injustice is on my hands,
4. ^{verse 4}if I have rewarded my ally with evil, if I have plundered my foe without cause,
5. ^{verse 5}then may my enemy pursue me and overtake me; may he trample me to the ground and leave my honor in the dust. Selah
6. ^{verse 6}Arise, O LORD, in Your anger; rise up against the fury of my enemies. Awake, my God, and ordain judgment.
7. ^{verse 7}Let the assembled peoples gather around You; take Your seat over them on high.
8. ^{verse 8}The LORD judges the peoples; vindicate me, O LORD, according to my righteousness and integrity.
9. ^{verse 9}Put an end to the evil of the wicked, but establish the righteous, O righteous God who searches hearts and minds.

Verses 10–17 · thanks to the righteous judge

1. ^{verse 10}My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart.
2. ^{verse 11}God is a righteous judge and a God who feels indignation each day.
3. ^{verse 12}If one does not repent, God will sharpen His sword; He has bent and strung His bow.
4. ^{verse 13}He has prepared His deadly weapons; He ordains His arrows with fire.
5. ^{verse 14}Behold, the wicked man travails with evil; he conceives trouble and births falsehood.
6. ^{verse 15}He has dug a hole and hollowed it out; he has fallen into a pit of his own making.
7. ^{verse 16}His trouble recoils on himself, and his violence falls on his own head.
8. ^{verse 17}I will thank the LORD for His righteousness and sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.