3 You love evil rather than good, falsehood rather than speaking the truth. Selah
4 You love every harmful word, O you deceitful tongue!
5 Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin: He will snatch you up and tear you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah
6 The righteous will see and fear; they will laugh at him, saying,
7 'Here now is the man who did not make God his stronghold but trusted in his great wealth and grew strong by destroying others!'
8 But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God's unfailing love for ever and ever.
9 I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints.
PSALM 53
1 The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good.
2 God looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.
3 Everyone has turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.
4 Will the evildoers never learn- those who devour my people as men eat bread and who do not call on God?
5 There they were, overwhelmed with dread, where there was nothing to dread. God scattered the bones of those who attacked you; you put them to shame, for God despised them.
6 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When God restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!
PSALM 54
1 Save me, O God, by your name; vindicate me by your might.
2 Hear my prayer, O God; listen to the words of my mouth.
3 Strangers are attacking me; ruthless men seek my life- men without regard for God. Selah
4 Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.
5 Let evil recoil on those who slander me; in your faithfulness destroy them.
6 I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you; I will praise your name, O Lord , for it is good.
7 For he has delivered me from all my troubles, and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes.
PSALM 55
1 Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea;
2 hear me and answer me. My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught
3 at the voice of the enemy, at the stares of the wicked; for they bring down suffering upon me and revile me in their anger.
4 My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death assail me.
5 Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me.
6 I said, 'Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest-
7 I would flee far away and stay in the desert; Selah
8 I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm.'
9 Confuse the wicked, O Lord, confound their speech, for I see violence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they prowl about on its walls; malice and abuse are within it.
11 Destructive forces are at work in the city; threats and lies never leave its streets.
12 If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him.
13 But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend,
14 with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship as we walked with the throng at the house of God.
15 Let death take my enemies by surprise; let them go down alive to the grave, for evil finds lodging among them.
16 But I call to God, and the Lord saves me.
17 Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice.
