Psalm 17/Text/CBC

A prayer. By David.

YHWH, hear a righteous case!

Pay attention to my cry!

Listen to my prayer

which is made without deceitful lips!

May my judgment come from you.

May your eyes see uprightness.

You have examined my heart; you have inspected [my heart] at night;

you have tested me; yet, you find nothing.

What I say is not different from what I think.

As for what people do, by the word of your lips

I have restrained violent behavior,

my steps persisting in your ways.

My feet have not slipped.

I have called out to you, God, for you answer me.

Incline your ear to me! Hear what I am saying!

Carry out your covenant acts wondrously, deliverer of those

who take refuge at your right hand from their adversaries.

Guard me like the apple of your eye!

You must hide me in the shade of your wings

from wicked people who have been violent toward me,

from my ravenous enemies who gather around against me!

They have enclosed their [heart with] fat;

they have spoken arrogantly with their mouths.

They have tracked me down; now they surround me.

They fix their eyes to scan over the land.

He is like a lion eager to maul;

And like a young lion lurking in hiding places.

Arise, YHWH! Confront his face! Cause him to bow down!

Deliver my life from wicked people by your sword,

from mortal men, by your hand, YHWH, from worldly people

whose portion is in this life. May you fill their belly with what you have stored up for them!

May the children eat their fill and have some left over for their little ones!

After being vindicated, may I see your face.

May I be satisfied with [seeing] your likeness when I awake.