Psalm 17 reimagined

A prayer of David’s

1. I petition you for a fair judgment Lord.  Listen to my appeal for your support and review my heart-felt request.
2. Please declare me to be innocent for you are the best judge of who does right.

3. You have cross-examined my heart and questioned my thoughts as I sleep.  You have probed my motives and found them to be sound.  You know that I am resolved to speak only the truth.
4. I have kept your laws and have avoided those who are cruel and oppressive.
5. My mind has been fixed on you as my role model and I have not vacillated from this.

6. I am crying to you, my God, because I know that you will respond to me.  Come close and listen to my pleas.
7. Reveal your inexhaustible love for me in extraordinary ways for I know that you save those who want respite from the torment of their demons.
8. Protect me as you would your very self.  Cocoon me in your care.
9. I feel under attack from my tormentors and from those who want my very soul – guard and envelope me.
10. They are tireless in their assaults and in their taunts.
11. I feel hunted and can sense them outmanoeuvring me, waiting for their chance.
12. Like hungry and persistent predators, I cannot see them but I know that they are there.

13. Stand tall, Lord – braced and ready for action.  Bring them to their knees in submission.  Save me from my tormentors.
14. Neutralise those who value nothing but immediate gain.  But support and care for your family, giving them what they need to prosper for many generations.
15. You will show yourself to me because I follow your guidelines and live the right way.  When I wake up, I will be content to be free to look you in the eye.

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