For the music director; according to the sheminith style; a psalm of David.
1Deliver, Lord!
For the godly have disappeared;
people of integrity have vanished.
2
People lie to one another;
they flatter and deceive.
3
May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
and the tongue that boasts!
4
They say, “We speak persuasively;
we know how to flatter and boast.
Who is our master?”
5
“Because of the violence done to the oppressed,
because of the painful cries of the needy,
I will spring into action,” says the Lord.
“I will provide the safety they so desperately desire.”
6
The Lord’s words are absolutely reliable.
They are as untainted as silver purified in a furnace on the ground,
where it is thoroughly refined.
7
You, Lord, will protect them;
you will continually shelter each one from these evil people,
8
for the wicked seem to be everywhere,
when people promote evil.