The Message (MSG)

A David Psalm

1-2 God! God! I am running to you for dear life;

the chase is wild.

If they catch me, I’m finished:

ripped to shreds by foes fierce as lions,

dragged into the forest and left

unlooked for, unremembered.

3-5 God, if I’ve done what they say—

betrayed my friends,

ripped off my enemies—

If my hands are really that dirty,

let them get me, walk all over me,

leave me flat on my face in the dirt.

6-8 Stand up,God; pit your holy fury

against my furious enemies.

Wake up, God. My accusers have packed

the courtroom; it’s judgment time.

Take your place on the bench, reach for your gavel,

throw out the false charges against me.

I’m ready, confident in your verdict:

“Innocent.”

9-11 Close the book on Evil,God,

but publish your mandate for us.

You get us ready for life:

you probe for our soft spots,

you knock off our rough edges.

And I’m feeling so fit, so safe:

made right, kept right.

God in solemn honor does things right,

but his nerves are sandpapered raw.

11-13 Nobody gets by with anything.

God is already in action—

Sword honed on his whetstone,

bow strung, arrow on the string,

Lethal weapons in hand,

each arrow a flaming missile.

14 Look at that guy!

He had sex with sin,

he’s pregnant with evil.

Oh, look! He’s having

the baby—a Lie-Baby!

15-16 See that man shoveling day after day,

digging, then concealing, his man-trap

down that lonely stretch of road?

Go back and look again—you’ll see him in it headfirst,

legs waving in the breeze.

That’s what happens:

mischief backfires;

violence boomerangs.

17 I’m thanking God, who makes things right.

I’m singing the fame of heaven-highGod.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/PSA/7-418b218982c8292405b40310c244fc4a.mp3?version_id=97—

A David Psalm

1 God, brilliant Lord,

yours is a household name.

2 Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you;

toddlers shout the songs

That drown out enemy talk,

and silence atheist babble.

3-4 I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous,

your handmade sky-jewelry,

Moon and stars mounted in their settings.

Then I look at my micro-self and wonder,

Why do you bother with us?

Why take a second look our way?

5-8 Yet we’ve so narrowly missed being gods,

bright with Eden’s dawn light.

You put us in charge of your handcrafted world,

repeated to us your Genesis-charge,

Made us lords of sheep and cattle,

even animals out in the wild,

Birds flying and fish swimming,

whales singing in the ocean deeps.

9 God,brilliant Lord,

your name echoes around the world.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/PSA/8-7e262876eee372bf771581b72700951b.mp3?version_id=97—

A David Psalm

1-2 I’m thanking you,God, from a full heart,

I’m writing the book on your wonders.

I’m whistling, laughing, and jumping for joy;

I’m singing your song, High God.

3-4 The day my enemies turned tail and ran,

they stumbled on you and fell on their faces.

You took over and set everything right;

when I needed you, you were there, taking charge.

5-6 You blow the whistle on godless nations;

you throw dirty players out of the game,

wipe their names right off the roster.

Enemies disappear from the sidelines,

their reputation trashed,

their names erased from the halls of fame.

7-8 Godholds the high center,

he sees and sets the world’s mess right.

He decides what is right for us earthlings,

gives people their just deserts.

9-10 God’s a safe-house for the battered,

a sanctuary during bad times.

The moment you arrive, you relax;

you’re never sorry you knocked.

11-12 Sing your songs to Zion-dwellingGod,

tell his stories to everyone you meet:

How he tracks down killers

yet keeps his eye on us,

registers every whimper and moan.

13-14 Be kind to me,God;

I’ve been kicked around long enough.

Once you’ve pulled me back

from the gates of death,

I’ll write the book on Hallelujahs;

on the corner of Main and First

I’ll hold a street meeting;

I’ll be the song leader; we’ll fill the air

with salvation songs.

15-16 They’re trapped, those godless countries,

in the very snares they set,

Their feet all tangled

in the net they spread.

They have no excuse;

the way God works is well-known.

The cunning machinery made by the wicked

has maimed their own hands.

17-20 The wicked bought a one-way

ticket to hell.

No longer will the poor be nameless—

no more humiliation for the humble.

Up,God! Aren’t you fed up with their empty strutting?

Expose these grand pretensions!

Shake them up,God!

Show them how silly they look.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/PSA/9-0fc60e85b169af37aa3cb196f27d69dd.mp3?version_id=97—

1-2 God, are you avoiding me?

Where are you when I need you?

Full of hot air, the wicked

are hot on the trail of the poor.

Trip them up, tangle them up

in their fine-tuned plots.

3-4 The wicked are windbags,

the swindlers have foul breath.

The wicked snubGod,

their noses stuck high in the air.

Their graffiti are scrawled on the walls:

“Catch us if you can!” “God is dead.”

5-6 They care nothing for what you think;

if you get in their way, they blow you off.

They live (they think) a charmed life:

“We can’t go wrong. This is our lucky year!”

7-8 They carry a mouthful of hexes,

their tongues spit venom like adders.

They hide behind ordinary people,

then pounce on their victims.

9 They mark the luckless,

then wait like a hunter in a blind;

When the poor wretch wanders too close,

they stab him in the back.

10-11 The hapless fool is kicked to the ground,

the unlucky victim is brutally axed.

He thinks God has dumped him,

he’s sure that God is indifferent to his plight.

12-13 Time to get up,God—get moving.

The luckless think they’re Godforsaken.

They wonder why the wicked scorn God

and get away with it,

Why the wicked are so cocksure

they’ll never come up for audit.

14 But you know all about it—

the contempt, the abuse.

I dare to believe that the luckless

will get lucky someday in you.

You won’t let them down:

orphans won’t be orphans forever.

15-16 Break the wicked right arms,

break all the evil left arms.

Search and destroy

every sign of crime.

God’s grace and order wins;

godlessness loses.

17-18 The victim’s faint pulse picks up;

the hearts of the hopeless pump red blood

as you put your ear to their lips.

Orphans get parents,

the homeless get homes.

The reign of terror is over,

the rule of the gang lords is ended.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/PSA/10-b28d0476486e662ebef41a35bad9ebf7.mp3?version_id=97—

A David Psalm

1-3 I’ve already run for dear life

straight to the arms ofGod.

So why would I run away now

when you say,

“Run to the mountains; the evil

bows are bent, the wicked arrows

Aimed to shoot under cover of darkness

at every heart open to God.

The bottom’s dropped out of the country;

good people don’t have a chance”?

4-6 ButGodhasn’t moved to the mountains;

his holy address hasn’t changed.

He’s in charge, as always, his eyes

taking everything in, his eyelids

Unblinking, examining Adam’s unruly brood

inside and out, not missing a thing.

He tests the good and the bad alike;

if anyone cheats, God’s outraged.

Fail the test and you’re out,

out in a hail of firestones,

Drinking from a canteen

filled with hot desert wind.

7 God’s business is putting things right;

he loves getting the lines straight,

Setting us straight. Once we’re standing tall,

we can look him straight in the eye.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/PSA/11-4d72b7240280f287507f5db84b6ee1a8.mp3?version_id=97—

A David Psalm

1-2 Quick,God, I need your helping hand!

The last decent person just went down,

All the friends I depended on gone.

Everyone talks in lie language;

Lies slide off their oily lips.

They doubletalk with forked tongues.

3-4 Slice their lips off their faces! Pull

The braggart tongues from their mouths!

I’m tired of hearing, “We can talk anyone into anything!

Our lips manage the world.”

5 Into the hovels of the poor,

Into the dark streets where the homeless groan, God speaks:

“I’ve had enough; I’m on my way

To heal the ache in the heart of the wretched.”

6-8 God’s words are pure words,

Pure silver words refined seven times

In the fires of his word-kiln,

Pure on earth as well as in heaven.

God, keep us safe from their lies,

From the wicked who stalk us with lies,

From the wicked who collect honors

For their wonderful lies.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/PSA/12-88631696a3801792fc7fbe8ae9658152.mp3?version_id=97—

A David Psalm

1-2 Long enough,God—

you’ve ignored me long enough.

I’ve looked at the back of your head

long enough. Long enough

I’ve carried this ton of trouble,

lived with a stomach full of pain.

Long enough my arrogant enemies

have looked down their noses at me.

3-4 Take a good look at me,God, my God;

I want to look life in the eye,

So no enemy can get the best of me

or laugh when I fall on my face.

5-6 I’ve thrown myself headlong into your arms—

I’m celebrating your rescue.

I’m singing at the top of my lungs,

I’m so full of answered prayers.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/PSA/13-f9c6d6925204f5107d9eafd9c6024d3a.mp3?version_id=97—

A David Psalm

1 Bilious and bloated, they gas,

“God is gone.”

Their words are poison gas,

fouling the air; they poison

Rivers and skies;

thistles are their cash crop.

2 Godsticks his head out of heaven.

He looks around.

He’s looking for someone not stupid—

one man, even, God-expectant,

just one God-ready woman.

3 He comes up empty. A string

of zeros. Useless, unshepherded

Sheep, taking turns pretending

to be Shepherd.

The ninety and nine

follow their fellow.

4 Don’t they know anything,

all these impostors?

Don’t they know

they can’t get away with this—

Treating people like a fast-food meal

over which they’re too busy to pray?

5-6 Night is coming for them, and nightmares,

for God takes the side of victims.

Do you think you can mess

with the dreams of the poor?

You can’t, for God

makes their dreams come true.

7 Is there anyone around to save Israel?

Yes. God is around;Godturns life around.

Turned-around Jacob skips rope,

turned-around Israel sings laughter.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/PSA/14-a64fa8d17698f6e59bbaf1190c897ab9.mp3?version_id=97—

A David Psalm

1 God, who gets invited

to dinner at your place?

How do we get on your guest list?

2 “Walk straight,

act right,

tell the truth.

3-4 “Don’t hurt your friend,

don’t blame your neighbor;

despise the despicable.

5 “Keep your word even when it costs you,

make an honest living,

never take a bribe.

“You’ll never get

blacklisted

if you live like this.”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/PSA/15-1ce7f3e3e4e381123dbef9c719731eea.mp3?version_id=97—

A David Song

1-2 Keep me safe, O God,

I’ve run for dear life to you.

I say toGod, “Be my Lord!”

Without you, nothing makes sense.

3 And these God-chosen lives all around—

what splendid friends they make!

4 Don’t just go shopping for a god.

Gods are not for sale.

I swear I’ll never treat god-names

like brand-names.

5-6 My choice is you,God, first and only.

And now I find I’myourchoice!

You set me up with a house and yard.

And then you made me your heir!

7-8 The wise counselGodgives when I’m awake

is confirmed by my sleeping heart.

Day and night I’ll stick withGod;

I’ve got a good thing going and I’m not letting go.

9-10 I’m happy from the inside out,

and from the outside in, I’m firmly formed.

You canceled my ticket to hell—

that’s not my destination!

11 Now you’ve got my feet on the life path,

all radiant from the shining of your face.

Ever since you took my hand,

I’m on the right way.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/PSA/16-e2eda27a9601807b4813d89ebdb86a3c.mp3?version_id=97—