Psalm 48

¹Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God. His holy mountain,

²beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great King.

³Within its citadels God has shown himself a sure defense.

⁴Then the kings assembled, they came on together.

⁵As soon as they saw it, they were astounded; they were in panic, they took to flight;

⁶trembling took hold of them there, pains as of a woman in labor,

⁷as when an east wind shatters the ships of Tarshish.

⁸As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God, which God establishes forever. Selah

⁹We ponder your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple.

¹⁰Your name, O God, like your praise, reaches to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is filled with victory.

¹¹Let Mount Zion be glad, let the towns of Judah rejoice because of your judgments.

¹²Walk about Zion, go all around it, count its towers,

¹³consider well its ramparts; go through its citadels, that you may tell the next generation

¹⁴that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will be our guide forever.

Psalm 59

¹Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; protect me from those who rise up against me.

²Deliver me from those who work evil; from the bloodthirsty save me.

³Even now they lie in wait for my life; the mighty stir up strife against me. For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,

⁴for no fault of mine, they run and make ready. Rouse yourself, come to my help and see!

⁵You, Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel. Awake to punish all the nations; spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah

⁶Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city.

⁷There they are, bellowing with their mouths, with sharp words on their lips— for “Who,” they think, “will hear us?”

⁸But you laugh at them, O Lord; you hold all the nations in derision.

⁹O my strength, I will watch for you; for you, O God, are my fortress.

¹⁰My God in his steadfast love will meet me; my God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.

¹¹Do not kill them, or my people may forget; make them totter by your power, and bring them down, O Lord, our shield.

¹²For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips, let them be trapped in their pride. For the cursing and lies that they utter,

¹³consume them in wrath; consume them until they are no more. Then it will be known to the ends of the earth that God rules over Jacob. Selah

¹⁴Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city.

¹⁵They roam about for food, and growl if they do not get their fill.

¹⁶But I will sing of your might; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been a fortress for me and a refuge in the day of my distress.

¹⁷O my strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.