God the Refuge of the Righteous

94 O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongs—O God, to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth!² Rise up, O Judge of the earth;Render punishment to the proud.³ Lord, how long will the wicked,How long will the wicked triumph?

⁴ They utter speech, and speak insolent things;All the workers of iniquity boast in themselves.⁵ They break in pieces Your people, O Lord,And afflict Your heritage.⁶ They slay the widow and the stranger,And murder the fatherless.⁷ Yet they say, “The Lord does not see,Nor does the God of Jacob understand.”

⁸ Understand, you senseless among the people;And you fools, when will you be wise?⁹ He who planted the ear, shall He not hear?He who formed the eye, shall He not see?¹⁰ He who instructs the nations, shall He not correct,He who teaches man knowledge?¹¹ The Lord knows the thoughts of man,That they are futile.

¹² Blessed is the man whom You instruct, O Lord,And teach out of Your law,¹³ That You may give him rest from the days of adversity,Until the pit is dug for the wicked.¹⁴ For the Lord will not cast off His people,Nor will He forsake His inheritance.¹⁵ But judgment will return to righteousness,And all the upright in heart will follow it.

¹⁶ Who will rise up for me against the evildoers?Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?¹⁷ Unless the Lord had been my help,My soul would soon have settled in silence.¹⁸ If I say, “My foot slips,”Your mercy, O Lord, will hold me up.¹⁹ In the multitude of my anxieties within me,Your comforts delight my soul.

²⁰ Shall the throne of iniquity, which devises evil by law,Have fellowship with You?²¹ They gather together against the life of the righteous,And condemn innocent blood.²² But the Lord has been my defense,And my God the rock of my refuge.²³ He has brought on them their own iniquity,And shall cut them off in their own wickedness;The Lord our God shall cut them off.