Psalm 137

By the rivers of Babylon,
There we sat down and wept,
When we remembered Zion.
Upon the willows in the midst of it
We hung our harps.
For there our captors demanded of us songs,
And our tormentors mirth, saying,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”

How can we sing the LORD's song
In a foreign land?

If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
May my right hand forget her skill.
May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
If I do not remember you,
If I do not exalt Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.

Remember, O LORD, against the sons of Edom
The day of Jerusalem,
Who said, “Raze it, raze it
To its very foundation.”
O daughter of Babylon, you devastated one,
How blessed will be the one who repays you
With the recompense with which you have repaid us.
How blessed will be the one who seizes and dashes your little ones
Against the rock.

~Psalm 137 (NASB 1977)

Psalm 74

O God, why hast Thou rejected us forever?
Why does Thine anger smoke against the sheep of Thy pasture?
Remember Thy congregation, which Thou hast purchased of old,
Which Thou hast redeemed to be the tribe of Thine inheritance;
And this Mount Zion, where Thou hast dwelt.
Turn Thy footsteps toward the perpetual ruins;
The enemy has damaged everything within the sanctuary.

Thine adversaries have roared in the midst of Thy meeting place;
They have set up their own standards for signs.
It seems as if one had lifted up
His axe in a forest of trees.
And now all its carved work
They smash with hatchet and hammers.
They have burned Thy sanctuary to the ground;
They have defiled the dwelling place of Thy name.
They said in their heart, "Let us completely subdue them."
They have burned all the meeting places of God in the land.
We do not see our signs;
There is no longer any prophet,
Nor is there any among us who knows how long.
How long, O God, will the adversary revile,
And the enemy spurn Thy name forever?
Why dost Thou withdraw Thy hand, even Thy right hand?
From within Thy bosom, destroy them!

Yet God is my king from of old,
Who works deeds of deliverance in the midst of the earth.
Thou didst divide the sea by Thy strength;
Thou broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters.
Thou didst crush the heads of Leviathan;
Thou didst him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
Thou didst break open springs and torrents;
Thou didst dry up ever-flowing streams.
Thine is the day, Thine also is the night;
Thou hast prepared the light and the sun.
Thou hast established all the boundaries of the earth;
Thou hast made summer and winter.

Remember this, O LORD, that the enemy has reviled,
And a foolish people has spurned Thy name.
Do not deliver the soul of Thy turtledove to the wild beast;
Do not forget the life of Thine afflicted forever.
Consider the covenant;
For the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.
Let not the oppressed return dishonored;
Let the afflicted and needy praise Thy name.

Do arise, O God, and plead Thine own cause;
Remember how the foolish man reproaches Thee all day long.
Do not forget the voice of Thine adversaries,
The uproar of those who rise against Thee which ascends continually.

~Psalm 74 (NASB 1977)

Psalm 13

How long, O Lord? Wilt Thou forget me forever?
How long wilt Thou hide Thy face from me?
How long shall I take counsel in my soul?
Having sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

Consider and answer me, O Lord, my God;
Enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
Lest my enemy say, "I have overcome him,"
Lest my adversaries rejoice when I am shaken.

But I have trusted in Thy lovingness;
My heart shall rejoice in Thy salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me.

~Psalm 13 (NASB 1977)

Psalm 10

Why dost Thou stand afar off, O Lord?
Why dost Thou hide Thyself in times of trouble?
In pride the wicked hotly pursue the afflicted;
Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.

For the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire,
And the greedy man curses and spurns the Lord.
The wicked, in the haughtiness of his countenance, does not seek Him.
All his thoughts are, “There is no God.”

His ways prosper at all times;

Thy judgments are on high, out of his sight;
As for all his adversaries, he snorts at them.
He says to him, “I shall not be moved;
Throughout all generations I shall not be in adversity.”
His mouth is full of curses and deceit and oppression;
Under his tongue is mischief and wickedness.
He sits in the lurking places of the villages;
In the hiding places he kills the innocents;
His eyes stealthily watch for the unfortunate.
He lurks in a hiding place as a lion in his lair;
He lurks to catch the afflicted;
He catches the afflicted when he draws him into his net.
He crouches, he bows down,
And the unfortunate fall by his mighty ones.
He says to himself, “God has forgotten;
He has hidden His face; He will never see it.”

Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up Thy hand.
Do not forget the afflicted.
Why has the wicked spurned God?
He has said to himself, “Thou will not require it.”
Thou has seen it, for Thou has beheld mischief and vexation to take it into Thy hand.
The unfortunate commits himself to Thee;
Thou hast been the helper of the orphan.
Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer,
Seek out his wickedness until Thou dost find none.

The Lord is King forever and ever;
Nations have perished from His land.
O Lord, Thou hast heard the desire of the humble;
Thou wilt strengthen their heart, Thou wilt incline Thine ear
To vindicate the orphan and the oppressed,
That man who is of the earth may cause terror no more.

~Psalm 10 (NASB 1977)