Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man.
The prayer asks God to take up judgment on the speaker's behalf, to argue his case against a godless and oppressing people, and to rescue him from the scheming and unrighteous man. It is the cry of one who is weak against enemies who are mighty, who cannot overcome by his own strength and must rely wholly on divine aid to stand and prevail. The psalm opens in grief and lament over this oppression yet closes in confidence and hope, and so it serves as comfort and uplift for those who are cast down. The rescue it seeks does not end in mere escape, but issues in joyful praise for God's gracious favor made known through the Crucified One.
The prayer asks God to take up judgment on the speaker's behalf, to argue his case against a godless and oppressing people, and to rescue him from the scheming and unrighteous man. It is the cry of one who is weak against enemies who are mighty, who cannot overcome by his own strength and must rely wholly on divine aid to stand and prevail. The psalm opens in grief and lament over this oppression yet closes in confidence and hope, and so it serves as comfort and uplift for those who are cast down. The rescue it seeks does not end in mere escape, but issues in joyful praise for God's gracious favor made known through the Crucified One.