Psalms 34:2-119:176

ISV(i) 2 My soul will glorify the LORD; the humble will hear about it and rejoice. 3 Magnify the LORD with me! Let us lift up his name together! 4 I sought the LORD and he answered me; he delivered me from all of my fears. 5 Look to him and be radiant; and you will not be ashamed. 6 This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard and delivered him from all of his distress. 7 The angel of the LORD surrounds those who fear him, and he delivers them. 8 Taste and see that the LORD is good! How blessed is the person who trusts in him! 9 Fear the LORD, you holy ones of his; for those who fear him lack nothing. 10 Young lions lack and go hungry, but those who seek the LORD will never lack any good thing. 11 Come, children, listen to me, and I will teach you the fear of the LORD. 12 Who among you desires life, and wants long life in order to see good? 13 Then keep your tongue from doing evil and your lips from spreading lies. 14 Avoid evil and do good! Seek peace and pursue it! 15 The LORD looks on the righteous, and he listens to their cries. 16 The face of the LORD is set against those who do evil, and he will remove people’s recollection of them from the earth. 17 The LORD hears those who cry out, and he delivers them from all their distress. 18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted, and he delivers those whose spirit has been crushed. 19 A righteous person will have many troubles, but the LORD will deliver him from them all. 20 God protects all his bones; not one of them will be broken. 21 Evil will kill the wicked; those who hate the righteous will be held guilty. 22 The LORD redeems the lives of his servants; and none of those who trust in him will be held guilty.
35 1 Davidic
A Prayer for Deliverance Argue my case, LORD, against those who argue against me. Fight against those who fight against me. 2 Take up the buckler and the shield, and rise up to help me. 3 Take out the spear and the ax to confront the one who pursues me; say to me, “I am your deliverer!” 4 Let those who seek my life be ashamed and disgraced; let those who plot evil against me be driven back and confounded. 5 Make them like the chaff before the wind, as the messenger of the LORD pushes them aside. 6 May their path be dark and slippery, as the messenger of the LORD tracks them down. 7 Without justification they laid a snare for me; without justification they dug a pit to trap me. 8 Let destruction come upon them unawares, and let the net that he hid catch him; let him fall into destruction. 9 My soul will rejoice in the LORD and be glad in his deliverance. 10 All my bones will say, “LORD, who is like you? Who delivers the weak from the one who is stronger than he, and the weak and the needy from the one who wants to rob him?” 11 False witnesses stepped forward and questioned me concerning things about which I knew nothing. 12 They paid me back evil for good; my soul mourns. 13 But when they were sick, I wore sackcloth, humbled myself with fasting, and prayed from my heart repeatedly for them. 14 I paced about as for my friend or my brother, and fell down mourning as one weeps for one’s mother. 15 But when I stumbled, they rejoiced and gathered together. They gathered together against me— attackers whom I did not know. They tore me apart and would not stop. 16 Malicious mockers— they gnashed their teeth against me. 17 Lord, how long will you just watch? Rescue me from their destruction, my precious life from these young lions. 18 Then I will give you thanks in front of the great congregation; in the midst of the mighty throng I will praise you. 19 Do not let my deceitful enemies gloat over me, nor let those who hate me without justification mock me with their eyes. 20 For they do not speak peace; they devise clever lies against the peaceful people of the land. 21 They open their mouth wide against me, claiming, “Yes! Yes! We saw him do it with our own eyes!” 22 You see this, LORD, so do not be silent. Lord, do not be far from me! 23 Wake up! Arouse yourself to vindicate me and argue my case, my God and my Lord. 24 Judge me according to your righteousness, LORD my God! But do not let them gloat over me. 25 Don’t let them say in their hearts, “Yes! We got what we wanted.” Don’t let them say, “We have swallowed him up.” 26 Instead, let those who gloat over the evil directed against me be ashamed and confounded together; Let those who exalt themselves over me be clothed with shame and dishonor. 27 Let those who delight in my vindication shout for joy and rejoice! Let them continuously say, “Magnify the LORD, who delights in giving peace to his servant.” 28 My tongue will declare your righteousness and praise you all day long.
36 1 To the Director: By the servant of the LORD, David.
An Oracle from the LORD An oracle that came to me about the transgressions of the wicked: There is no fear of God before his eyes. 2 He flatters himself too much to discover his transgression and hate it. 3 The words from his mouth are vain and deceptive. He has abandoned behaving wisely and doing good. 4 He devises iniquity on his bed and is determined to follow a path that is not good. He does not resist evil.
5 Praise to the LORDYour gracious love, LORD, reaches to the heavens; your truth extends to the skies. 6 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; your justice is like the great depths of the sea. You deliver both people and animals, LORD. 7 How precious is your gracious love, God! The children of men take refuge in the shadow of your wings. 8 They are refreshed from the abundance of your house; You cause them to drink from the river of your pleasures. 9 For with you is a fountain of life, and in your light we will see light. 10 Send forth your gracious love to those who know you, and your righteousness to those who are upright in heart. 11 Do not let the foot of the proud crush me; and do not let the hand of the wicked dissuade me. 12 There, those who do evil have fallen; They have been thrown down, and they cannot get up.
37 1 Davidic
Patiently Trust in God Don’t be angry because of those who do evil, do not be jealous because of those who commit iniquity. 2 Indeed, they soon will wither like grass, and like green herbs they will fade away. 3 Trust in the LORD and do good. Dwell in the land and feed on faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the LORD; Trust him, and he will act. 6 He will bring forth your righteousness as a light, and your justice as the noonday sun. 7 Be silent in the LORD’s presence and wait patiently for him. Don’t be angry because of the one whose way prospers or the one who implements evil schemes. 8 Calm your anger and abandon wrath. Don’t be angry— it only leads to evil. 9 Those who do evil will perish. But those who wait on the LORD will inherit the land. 10 Yet a little while longer, and the wicked will be no more. You will search for his place, but he will not be there. 11 The humble will inherit the land; they will take in abundant peace. 12 The wicked person plots against the righteous, and grinds his teeth at him. 13 But the Lord laughs at him because he sees that his day is coming! 14 The wicked take out a sword and bend the bow, to bring down the humble and the poor to slay those who are righteous in conduct. 15 But their sword will pierce their own heart, and their bows will be broken! 16 Better is the little that the righteous have than the abundance of many wicked people. 17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous. 18 The LORD knows the day of the blameless, and their inheritance will last forever. 19 They will not experience shame in times of trouble; in times of famine they will have plenty. 20 Indeed, the wicked will perish. The LORD’s enemies will be consumed like flowers in the fields. They will vanish like smoke. 21 The wicked borrow but never pay back; but the righteous are generous and give. 22 For those blessed by God will inherit the land, but those cursed by him will be cut off. 23 A man’s steps are established by the LORD, and the LORD delights in his way. 24 Though he stumbles, he will not fall down flat, for the LORD will hold up his hand. 25 I once was young and now I am old, but I have not seen a righteous person forsaken or his descendants begging for bread. 26 Every day he is generous, lending freely, and his descendants are blessed. 27 Depart from evil, and do good, and you will live in the land forever. 28 Indeed, the LORD loves justice, and he will not abandon his godly ones. They are kept safe forever, but the lawless will be chased away, and the descendants of the wicked will be cut off. 29 The righteous will inherit the land, and they will dwell in it forever. 30 The mouth of the righteous one produces wisdom; his tongue speaks justice. 31 The instruction of his God is in his heart; his steps will not slip. 32 The wicked stalks the righteous person, seeking to kill him, 33 but the LORD will not let him fall into his hands. He will not be condemned when he is put on trial. 34 Wait on the LORD, Keep faithful to his way, and he will exalt you to possess the land. You will see the wicked cut off. 35 I once observed a wicked and oppressive person, flourishing like a green tree in native soil. 36 But then he passed away; in fact, he simply was not there. When I looked for him, he could not be found. 37 Observe the blameless! Take note of the upright! Indeed, the future of that man is peace. 38 Sinners will be destroyed together; the future of the wicked will be cut off. 39 But deliverance for the righteous one comes from the LORD; he is their strength in times of distress. 40 The LORD helps and delivers them; he will deliver them from the wicked, and he will save them because they have sought refuge in him.
38 1 A Davidic Psalm: As a Reminder.
The Outcast Cries Out LORD! Do not rebuke me in your anger; do not correct me in your wrath, 2 because your arrows have sunk deep into me, and your hand has come down hard on me. 3 My body is unhealthy due to your anger, and my bones have no rest due to my sin. 4 My iniquities loom over my head; like a cumbersome burden, they are too heavy for me. 5 My wounds have putrefied and festered because of my foolishness. 6 I am bent over and walk about greatly bowed down; all day long I go around mourning. 7 My insides are burning and my body is unhealthy. 8 I am weak and utterly crushed; I cry out in distress because of my heart’s anguish. 9 Lord, all my longings are before you, and my groaning is not hidden from you. 10 My heart pounds, my strength fails me, even the gleam in my eye is gone. 11 As for my friends and my neighbors, they stand aloof from my distress; even my close relatives stand at a distance. 12 Those who seek my life lay snares for me; those who seek to do me harm brag all day long about their wicked planning. 13 I am like the deaf, who cannot hear, and like the mute, who cannot open his mouth. 14 Indeed, I have become like a man who hears nothing, and in whose mouth there is no rebuke. 15 Because I have placed my hope in you, LORD, you will answer, Lord, my God. 16 For I said, “Do not let them gloat over me, as they congratulate themselves when my foot slips.” 17 Indeed, I am being set up for a fall, and I am continuously reminded of my pain. 18 I confess my iniquity, and my sin troubles me. 19 But my enemies are alive and well; those who hate me for no reason are numerous. 20 They reward my good with evil, opposing me because I seek to do good. 21 Don’t forsake me, LORD. My God, do not be so distant from me. 22 Come quickly and help me, Lord, my deliverer.
39 1 To the Director: To Jeduthun. A Davidic Psalm.
A Prayer about Life’s Priorities I told myself, “I will keep watch over my tongue to keep from sinning. I will muzzle my mouth when the wicked are around.” 2 I was as silent as a mute person; I said nothing, not even something good, and my distress deepened. 3 My heart within me became incensed; as I thought about it, the fire burned. Then I spoke out: 4 “LORD, let me know how my life ends, and the standard by which you will measure my days, whatever it is! Then I will know how transient my life is. 5 Look, you have made my life span fit in your hand; It is nothing compared to yours. Surely every person at their best is a puff of wind. Interlude 6 In fact, people walk around as shadows. Surely, they busy themselves for nothing, heaping up possessions but not knowing who will get them. 7 How long, LORD, will I wait expectantly? I have placed my hope in you. 8 Deliver me from all my transgressions, and do not let fools scorn me.” 9 I remain silent; I do not open my mouth, for you are the one who acted. 10 Stop scourging me, since I have been crushed by your heavy hand. 11 You rebuke by chastening a man with the consequence of iniquities; you destroy what is attractive to him, as one would treat a moth. Indeed, every person is a puff of wind. Interlude 12 Hear my prayer, LORD, pay attention to my cry, and do not ignore my tears. I am an alien in your presence, a stranger just like my ancestors were. 13 Stop looking at me with chastisement, so I can smile again, before I depart and am no more.
40 1 To the Director: A Davidic Psalm.
Prayer for Help and Praise to God I waited expectantly for the LORD, and he took notice of me and heard my cry. 2 He plucked me out of a pit of confusion, even out of the quicksand; he placed my feet on a rock and established my steps. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, praise to our God! Many will watch and be in awe, and they will place their trust in the LORD. 4 How blessed is that strong person who places his trust in the LORD, and who has not acknowledged the proud nor resorted to lies. 5 LORD, my God, You have done great things: marvelous works and your thoughts toward us. There is no one who compares to you! I will try to recite your actions, even though there are too many to number. 6 You take no delight in sacrifices and offerings— you have prepared my ears to listen— you require no burnt offerings or sacrifices for sin. 7 Then I said, “Here I am! I have come! In the scroll of the book it is written about me. 8 I delight to do your will, my God. Your Law is part of my inner being.” 9 In the great congregation I have proclaimed the righteous good news. Behold, I did not seal my lips, LORD, as you know. 10 I have not ignored your righteousness in my heart; instead, I have proclaimed your faithfulness and deliverance. I have not concealed your gracious love and truthfulness from the great congregation. 11 LORD, do not withhold your mercy from me, for your gracious love and truthfulness will keep me safe continuously. 12 Innumerable evils have surrounded me; my iniquities have overtaken me so that I cannot see. They are more in number than the hair on my head, and my courage has forsaken me. 13 Be pleased, LORD, to deliver me; LORD, hurry up and help me! 14 May those who seek to destroy my life be ashamed and confounded; let them be driven backwards and humiliated, particularly those who wish me evil. 15 Let shame be the reward for those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!” 16 Let all who seek you shout for joy and be glad in you. May those who love your deliverance say, “The LORD be magnified!” continuously. 17 But I am poor and needy; may the Lord think about me. You are my help and deliverer. My God, do not tarry too long!
41 1 To the Director: A Davidic Psalm.
When Things Go Wrong Blessed is the one who is considerate of the destitute; the LORD will deliver him when the times are evil. 2 The LORD will protect him and keep him alive; he will be blessed in the land; and he will not be handed over to the desires of his enemies. 3 The LORD will uphold him even on his sickbed; you will transform his bed of illness into health. 4 As for me, I said, “LORD, be gracious to me! Heal me, for I have sinned against you!” 5 As for my enemies, with malice they said, “When will he die and memory of his name perish?” 6 The one who comes to visit me speaks lies; in his heart he thinks slanderous things about me and goes around spreading them. 7 As for all who hate me, they whisper together against me; they desire to do me harm. 8 They say, “Wickedness is entrenched in him. Once he is brought low, he will not rise again.” 9 As for my best friend, the one in whom I trusted, the one who ate my bread, even he has insulted me! 10 But you, LORD, be gracious to me and raise me up so that I may pay them back! 11 In this way I will know that you are pleased with me, and that my enemies will not shout in triumph over me. 12 As for me, you will maintain my just cause, and you will cause me to stand in your presence forever. 13 Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, from eternity to eternity. Amen and amen!
42 1 To the Director: An instruction of the Sons of Korah.
Hope in God When Times of Trouble Come As an antelope pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When may I come and appear in God’s presence? 3 My tears have been my food day and night, while people keep asking me all day long, “Where is your God?” 4 These things I will recall as I pour out my troubles within me: I used to go with the crowd in a procession to the house of God, accompanied with shouts of joy and thanksgiving. 5 Why are you in despair, my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, for once again I will praise him, since his presence saves me. 6 My God, my soul feels depressed within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of Jordan, from the heights of Hermon, even from the foothills. 7 Deep waters call out to what is deeper still; at the roar of your waterfalls all your breakers and your waves swirled over me. 8 By day the LORD will command his gracious love, and by night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life. 9 I will ask God, my Rock, “Why have you forsaken me? Why do I go around mourning under the enemy’s oppression?” 10 Like the shattering of my bones are the taunts of my oppressors, saying to me all day long, “Where is your God?” 11 Why are you in despair, my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, for once again I will praise him, since his presence saves me and he is my God.
43 1 God is my Hope during Times of Trouble You be my judge, God, and plead my case against an unholy nation; rescue me from the deceitful and unjust man. 2 Since you are the God who strengthens me, why have you forsaken me? Why do I go around mourning under the enemy’s oppression?” 3 Send forth your light and your truth so they may guide me. Let them bring me to your holy mountain and to your dwelling places. 4 Then I will approach the altar of God, even to God in whom my joy finds its source. Then I will praise you with the lyre, God, my God, 5 Why are you in despair, my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, because I will praise him once again, since his presence saves me and he is my God.
44 1 To the Director: An instruction of the Sons of Korah.
A Prayer in Times of Defeat God, we heard it with our ears; our ancestors told us about what you did in their day— a long time ago. 2 With your hand you expelled the nations and established our ancestors. You afflicted nations and cast them out. 3 It was not with their sword that they inherited the land, nor did their own arm deliver them. But it was by your power, your strength, and by the light of your face; because you were pleased with them. 4 You are my king, God, command victories for Jacob. 5 Through you we will knock down our oppressors; through your name we will tread down those who rise up against us. 6 For I place no confidence in my bow, nor will my sword deliver me. 7 For you delivered us from our oppressors and put to shame those who hate us. 8 We will praise God all day long; and to your name we will give thanks forever. Interlude 9 However, you cast us off and made us ashamed! You did not even march with our armies! 10 You made us retreat from our oppressors. Our enemies ransacked us. 11 You handed us over to be slaughtered like sheep and you scattered us among the nations. 12 You sold out your people for nothing, and made no profit at that price. 13 You made us a laughing stock to our neighbors, a source of mockery and derision to those around us. 14 You made us an object lesson among the nations; people shake their heads at us. 15 My dishonor tortures me continuously; the shame on my face overwhelms me 16 because of the voice of the one who mocks and reviles, because of the enemy and the avenger. 17 All this came upon us, yet we did not forsake you, and we have not dealt falsely with your covenant; 18 Our hearts have not turned away; our steps have not swerved from your path. 19 Nevertheless, you crushed us in the lair of jackals, and covered us in deep darkness. 20 If we had forgotten the name of our God or lifted our hands to a foreign god, 21 wouldn’t God find out since he knows the secrets of the heart? 22 For your sake we are being killed all day long. We are thought of as sheep to be slaughtered. 23 Wake up! Why are you asleep, Lord? Get up! Don’t cast us off forever! 24 Why are you hiding your face? Why are you ignoring our affliction and oppression? 25 For we have collapsed in the dust; our bodies cling to the ground. 26 Arise! Deliver us! Redeem us according to your gracious love!
45 1 To the Director: An instruction by the Sons of Korah. A love song to the tune of “Lilies”.
A Royal Wedding Song My heart is overflowing with good news; I speak what I have composed to the king; my tongue is like the pen of an articulate scribe. 2 You are the most handsome of Adam’s descendants; grace has anointed your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever. 3 Strap your sword to your side, mighty warrior, along with your honor and majesty. 4 In your majesty ride forth for the cause of truth, humility, and righteousness; and your strong right hand will teach you awesome things. 5 Your arrows are sharpened to penetrate the hearts of the king’s enemies. People will fall under you. 6 Your throne, God, exists forever and ever, and the scepter of your kingdom is a righteous scepter. 7 You love justice and hate wickedness. That is why God, even your God, has anointed you rather than your companions with the oil of gladness. 8 All your clothes are scented with myrrh, aloes, and cassia. From ivory palaces stringed instruments have made you glad. 9 The king’s daughters are among your honorable women; the queen, dressed in gold from Ophir, has taken her place at your right hand.” 10 Listen, daughter! Consider and pay attention. Forget your people and your father’s house, 11 and the king will greatly desire your beauty. Because he is your lord, you should bow in respect before him. 12 The daughter of Tyre will come with a wedding gift; wealthy people will entreat your favor. 13 In her chamber, the king’s daughter is glorious; her clothing is embroidered with gold thread. 14 In embroidered garments she is presented to the king. Her virgin companions who follow her train will be presented to you. 15 Filled with joy and gladness, they are presented when they enter the king’s palace. 16 Your sons will take the place of your ancestors, and you will set them up as princes in all the earth. 17 From generation to generation, I will cause your name to be remembered. Therefore people will thank you forever and ever.
46 1 To the Director: A song by the Sons of Korah, to the tune of “The Maidens”.
God is the Refuge of His People God is our refuge and strength, a great help in times of distress. 2 Therefore we will not be frightened when the earth roars, when the mountains shake in the depths of the seas, 3 when its waters roar and rage, when the mountains tremble despite their pride. Interlude 4 Look! There is a river whose streams make the city of God rejoice, even the Holy Place of the Most High. 5 Since God is in her midst, she will not be shaken. God will help her at the break of dawn. 6 The nations roared; the kingdoms were shaken. His voice boomed; the earth melts. 7 The LORD of the heavenly armies is with us; our refuge is the God of Jacob. Interlude 8 Come, observe the mighty works of the LORD, who causes desolation in the earth. 9 He causes wars to cease all over the earth, he causes the bow to break, the spear to snap, the chariots to ignite and burn. 10 Be in awe and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted throughout the earth. 11 The LORD of the heavenly armies is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Interlude
47 1 To the Director: A song by the Sons of Korah.
The Ruler over the Nations Clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with a loud cry of joy! 2 For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth. 3 He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet. 4 He chose our inheritance for us, even the pride of Jacob whom he loved. Interlude 5 God has ascended on high with a shout, the LORD has ascended with the blast of a trumpet. 6 Sing songs to God! Sing songs! Sing songs to our King! Sing songs! 7 Indeed, God is king over all the earth; sing a song of praise. 8 God is king over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne. 9 The nobles among the nations have joined the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; he is greatly exalted.
48 1 A song: Lyrics by the Sons of Korah.
Zion, City of God Great is the LORD! For he is to be praised greatly, even in the city of our God, his holy mountain. 2 Beautifully situated, the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion towards the north, the city of the great King. 3 Within her citadels God is known as a place of refuge. 4 Behold, when the kings assembled together, when they traveled together, 5 they looked and were awestruck; they became afraid and ran away. 6 Trembling seized them there, pains like those of a woman in labor, 7 as when an east wind destroyed the ships of Tarshish. 8 Just as we have heard, so have we seen; in the city of the LORD of the heavenly armies— even in the city of our God— God will establish her forever. Interlude 9 God, we have meditated on your gracious love in the midst of your Temple. 10 God, according to your name, so is your praise to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is filled with righteousness. 11 Mount Zion will be glad; the towns of Judah will rejoice because of your judgments. 12 March around Zion; encircle her; count her towers. 13 Take note of her ramparts; investigate her citadels; that you may speak about them to the next generation. 14 For this God is our God forever and ever. He will guide us until death.
49 1 To the Director: A song by the Sons of Korah.
The Destiny of the Wicked and the Upright Listen to this, all you people! Pay attention, all you who live in the world, 2 both average people and those of means, the rich and the poor together. 3 My mouth will speak wisely, and I will understand what I think about. 4 I will focus my attention on a proverb; I will use the harp to expound my riddle. 5 Why should I be afraid when evil days come my way, when the wickedness of those who deceive me surrounds me— 6 those who put confidence in their wealth and boast about their great riches? 7 No man can redeem the life of another, nor can he give to God a sufficient payment for him— 8 for it would cost too much to redeem his life, and the payments would go on forever— 9 that he should go on living and not see corruption. 10 Indeed, he will see wise people die; the stupid and the senseless will meet their doom and leave their wealth to others. 11 Their inner thoughts are on their homes forever; their dwellings from generation to generation. They even name their lands after themselves. 12 But humanity cannot last, despite its conceit; it will pass away just like the animals. 13 This is the fate of those who are foolish and of those who correct their words after they speak. Interlude 14 Like sheep, they are destined for the realm of the dead, with death as their shepherd. The upright will have dominion over them in the morning; their strength will be consumed in the afterlife, so that they have no home. 15 God will truly redeem me from the power of Sheol. He will surely receive me! Interlude 16 Don’t be afraid when someone gets rich, when the glory of his household increases. 17 When he dies, he will not be able to take it all with him— his possessions will not follow him to the grave, 18 although he considers himself blessed while he’s alive. Though people praise you for doing well, 19 you will end up like your ancestors’ generation, never again to see the light of day! 20 Humanity, despite its conceit, does not understand that it will perish, just like the animals.
50 1 A song of Asaph.
The Acceptable Sacrifice God, the LORD, has spoken. He has summoned the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting place. 2 From Zion, the perfection of beauty, God has shined forth. 3 Our God has appeared and he has not been silent; a devouring fire blazed before him, and a mighty storm swirled around him. 4 He summoned the heavens above and the earth below, to sit in judgment on his people. 5 “Assemble before me, my saints, who have entered into my covenant by sacrifice.” 6 The heavens revealed his justice, for God is himself the judge. Interlude 7 “Listen, my people, for I am making a pronouncement: Israel, I, God, your God, am testifying against you. 8 I do not rebuke you because of your sacrifices; indeed, your burnt offerings are continuously before me. 9 I will no longer accept a sacrificial bull from your household; nor goats from your pens. 10 Indeed, every animal of the forest is mine, even the cattle on a thousand hills. 11 I know all the birds in the mountains; indeed, everything that moves in the field is mine. 12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you; for the world is mine along with everything in it. 13 Why should I eat the flesh of oxen or drink the blood of goats? 14 Offer to God a thanksgiving praise; pay your vows to the Most High. 15 Call on me in the day of distress; I will deliver you, and you will glorify me.” 16 As for the wicked, God says, “How dare you recite my statutes or speak about my covenant with your lips! 17 You hate instruction and toss my words behind you. 18 When you see a thief, you befriend him, and you keep company with adulterers. 19 You give your mouth free reign for evil, and your tongue devises deceit. 20 You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother’s son. 21 These things you did, and I kept silent, because you assumed that I was like you. But now I am going to rebuke you, and I will set forth my case before your very own eyes.” 22 Consider this, you who have forgotten God— Otherwise, I will tear you in pieces and there will be no deliverer: 23 Whoever offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifies me, and I will reveal the salvation of God to whomever continues in my way.”
51 1 To the Director: A Davidic Psalm. When the prophet Nathan came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
A Prayer for Cleansing and Pardon Have mercy, God, according to your gracious love, according to your unlimited compassion, erase my transgressions. 2 Wash me from my iniquity, cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I acknowledge my transgression; my sin remains continuously before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned, and done what was evil in your sight. As a result, you are just in your pronouncement and clear in your judgment. 5 Indeed, in iniquity I was brought forth; in sin my mother conceived me. 6 Indeed, you are pleased with truth in the inner person, and you will teach me wisdom in my innermost parts. 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I will be clean. Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Let me know joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. 9 Hide your countenance from my sins and erase the record of my iniquities. 10 God, create a pure heart in me, and renew a right attitude within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence; do not take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and let a willing attitude control me. 13 Then I will teach transgressors about your ways, and sinners will turn to you. 14 Deliver me from the guilt of shedding blood, God, God of my salvation. Then my tongue will sing about your righteousness. 15 Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 Indeed, you do not delight in sacrifices, or I would give them, nor do you desire burnt offerings. 17 True sacrifice to God is a broken spirit. A broken and chastened heart, God, you will not despise. 18 Show favor to Zion in your good pleasure; and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. 19 Then you will be pleased with right sacrifices, with burnt offerings, and with whole burnt offerings. Then they will offer bulls on your altar.
52 1 To the Director: A Davidic instruction about Doeg, the Edomite, when he went to Saul and told him, “David went to the house of Abimelech.”
A Rebuke to the Deceitful Why do you make evil the foundation of your boasting, mighty one? God’s gracious love never ceases. 2 Your tongue, like a sharp razor, devises wicked things and crafts treachery. 3 You love evil rather than good, falsehood rather than speaking uprightly. Interlude 4 You love all words that destroy, you deceitful tongue! 5 But God will tear you down forever; he will take you away, even snatching you out of your tent! He will uproot you from the land of the living. Interlude 6 The righteous will fear when they see this, but then they will laugh at him, saying, 7 “Look, here is a young man who refused to make God his strength; instead, he trusted in his great wealth and made his wickedness his strength. 8 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the gracious love of God forever and ever. 9 Therefore I will praise you forever because of what you did; I will proclaim that your name is good in the midst of your faithful ones.
53 1 To the Director: Upon machalath. A Davidic instruction.
The Fool and God’s Response Fools say to themselves “There is no God.” They are corrupt and commit iniquity; not one of them practices what is good. 2 God looks down from the heavens upon humanity to see if anyone shows discernment as he searches for God. 3 All of them have fallen away; together they have become corrupt; no one does what is good, not even one. 4 Will those who do evil ever learn? They devour my people like they devour bread, and never call on God. 5 There the Israelis were seized with terror, when there was nothing to fear. For God scattered the bones of those who laid siege against you— you put them to shame, for God rejected them. 6 Would that Israel’s deliverance come out of Zion! When God restores the fortunes of his people, Jacob will rejoice and Israel will be glad.
54 1 To the Director: With stringed instruments. A Davidic instruction, when the Ziphites came and told Saul, “David is hiding among us, is he not?”
A Prayer in Times of Trouble God, by your name deliver me, and by your power vindicate me. 2 God, listen to my prayer, and pay attention to the words of my mouth. 3 For the arrogant have arisen against me; oppressors have sought to take my life. They do not keep God in mind! Interlude 4 Look, God is my helper; the Lord is with those who are guarding my life. 5 He will turn the evil upon those who lie in wait for me. Cut them off with your truth. 6 With a free will offering I will sacrifice to you; I will give thanks to your name, LORD, because it is good, 7 for he has delivered me from every trouble, and my eyes have seen the end of my enemies.
55 1 To the Director: With stringed instruments. A Davidic instruction.
Betrayal by a Friend Pay attention to my prayer, God, and do not hide yourself from my appeal. 2 Pay attention to me and answer me. I moan and groan in my thoughts, 3 because of the voice of the enemy, and because of the oppression of the wicked. They bring down evil upon me, and in anger they hate me. 4 My heart is trembling within me, and the terrors of death have assaulted me. 5 Fear and trembling have overwhelmed me, and horror has covered me. 6 I said, “O, who will give me the wings of a dove, so that I could fly away and live somewhere else? 7 Look, I want to flee far away; I want to settle down in the wilderness. Interlude 8 I want to deliver myself quickly from this windstorm and tempest.” 9 Confound them, Lord, and confuse their speech, because I have seen violence and strife in the city. 10 Day and night they prowl around its walls; evil and iniquity are within it. 11 Wickedness is at the center of it; fraud and lies never leave its streets. 12 For it is not an enemy who insults me— I could have handled that— nor is it someone who hates me and who now arises against me— I could have hidden myself from him— 13 but it is you— a man whom I treated as my equal— my personal confidant, my close friend! 14 We had good fellowship together; and we even walked together in the house of God! 15 Let death seize them! May they be plunged alive into the afterlife, for wicked things are in their homes and among them. 16 I call upon God, and the LORD will deliver me. 17 Morning, noon, and night, I mulled over these things and cried out in my distress, and he heard my voice. 18 He calmly ransomed my soul from the war waged against me, for there was a vast crowd who stood against me. 19 God, who is enthroned from long ago, will hear me and humble them. Interlude Because they do not repent, they do not fear God. 20 Each of my friends raises his hand against his allies; each of my friends breaks his word. 21 His mouth is as smooth as butter, while war is in his heart. His words were as smooth as olive oil, while his sword is drawn. 22 Cast on the LORD whatever he sends your way, and he will sustain you. He will never allow the righteous to be shaken. 23 But you, God, bring them down to the Pit of corruption; bloodthirsty and deceitful people will not live out half their days. But I put my full confidence in you.
56 1 To the Director: A special Davidic psalm to the tune of “A Silent Dove Far Away,” when the Philistines seized him in Gath.
A Prayer about Trust in God Have mercy on me, God, because men have harassed me. Those who oppress me have fought against me all day long. 2 Those who watch me all day have harassed me, for there are many who fight against me out of conceit. 3 On days when I am afraid, I put my trust in you. 4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I put my trust. I will not fear what mortal man can do to me. 5 All day long people distort what I say; all their schemes against me are for evil purposes. 6 They gather together and hide in ambush. They watch my every step as they lie in wait for my life. 7 Cast them away because of their wickedness. In wrath, God, cast down these people! 8 You have kept count of my wanderings. Put my tears in your bottle— have not you recorded them in your book? 9 My enemies will retreat when I call on you. This has been my experience, because God is with me. 10 In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise, 11 in God I will put my trust. I will not fear what mortal man can do to me. 12 God, I have taken vows before you; therefore I will offer thanksgiving sacrifices to you. 13 For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, so that I may walk before God in the light of the living!
57 1 To the Director: A special Davidic psalm to the tune of “Do Not Destroy,” when he fled from Saul into a cave.
A Prayer for Deliverance Have mercy on me, God, have mercy, for in you I have placed my trust. Even in the shadow of your wings will I find my refuge until this calamity passes. 2 I call upon the God Most High; to the God who completes what he began in me. 3 He will send help from heaven to deliver me from those who harass and despise me. Interlude God will send his gracious love and truth. 4 I am surrounded by lions. I lie down with those who burn with fire— that is, with people whose teeth are like spears and arrows— whose tongues are like sharp swords. 5 Be exalted above the heavens, God! May your glory cover the earth! 6 They have set a snare for my feet, which makes me depressed. They dug a pit in front of me, but they are the ones who fell into it! Interlude 7 My heart is committed, God, my heart is committed, so I will sing and play music. 8 Wake up, my soul, wake up, lyre and harp! I will awaken at dawn. 9 I will exalt you among the peoples, Lord. I will play music among the nations. 10 For your gracious love is great, extending even to the heavens, and your truth even to the skies. 11 Be exalted above the heavens, God! May your glory cover the earth!
58 1 To the Director: A special Davidic psalm to the tune of “Do Not Destroy”.
A Prayer for Justice How is it that by remaining silent you can speak righteously? How can you judge people fairly? 2 As a matter of fact, in your heart you plan iniquities! In the land your hands are violent! 3 The wicked go astray from the womb; they go astray, telling lies even from birth. 4 Their venom is like a poisonous snake; even like a deaf serpent that shuts its ears, 5 refusing to hear the voice of the snake charmer, the cunning enchanter. 6 God, shatter their teeth in their mouths; LORD, break the fangs of the young lions! 7 May they flow away like rain water that runs off, may they become like someone who shoots broken arrows. 8 May they be like a snail that dries up as it crawls; like a woman’s stillborn baby, who never saw the sun. 9 Before your clay pots are placed on a fire of burning thorns— whether green or ablaze— wrath will sweep them away like a storm. 10 The righteous person will rejoice when he sees your vengeance; when he washes his feet in the blood of the wicked. 11 A person will say, “Certainly, the righteous are rewarded; certainly there is a God who judges the earth.”
59 1 To the Director: A special Davidic psalm to the tune of “Do Not Destroy,” when Saul sent men to watch the house in order to kill him.
A Prayer for Deliverance and Justice Save me from my enemies, my God! Keep me safe from those who rise up against me. 2 Save me from those who practice evil; deliver me from bloodthirsty men. 3 Look, they lie in ambush for my life; these violent men gather together against me, but not because of any transgression or sin of mine, LORD. 4 Without any fault on my part, they rush together and prepare themselves. Get up! Come help me! Pay attention! 5 You, LORD God of the Heavenly Armies, God of Israel, stir yourself up to punish all the nations. Show no mercy to those wicked transgressors. Interlude 6 At night they return like howling dogs; they prowl around the city. 7 Look what pours out of their mouths! They use their lips like swords, saying “Who will hear us?” 8 But you, LORD, will laugh at them; you will mock all the nations. 9 My Strength, I will watch for you, for God is my fortress. 10 My God of Gracious Love will meet me; God will enable me to see what happens to my enemies. 11 Don’t kill them! Otherwise, my people may forget. By your power make them stumble around; bring them down low, Lord, our Shield. 12 The sin of their mouth is the word on their lips. They will be caught in their own conceit; for they speak curses and lies. 13 Go ahead and destroy them in anger! Wipe them out, and they will know to the ends of the earth that God rules over Jacob. Interlude 14 At night they return like howling dogs; they prowl around the city. 15 They scavenge for food. If they find nothing, they become hungry and growl. 16 But I will sing of your power and in the morning I will shout for joy about your gracious love. For you have been a fortress for me; and a refuge when I am distressed. 17 My Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, God of Gracious Love, are my fortress.
60 1 To the Director: A special Davidic psalm to the tune of “Lily of The Covenant,” for teaching about his battle with Aram-naharaim and Aram-zobah, when Joab returned and attacked 12,000 Edomites in the Salt Valley.
A Prayer for God’s Help against Adversaries God, you have cast us off; you have breached our defenses and you have become enraged. Return to us! 2 You made the earth quake; you broke it open. Repair its fractures, because it has shifted. 3 You made your people go through hard times; you had us drink wine that makes us stagger. 4 But you have given a banner to those who fear you, so they may display it in honor of truth. Interlude 5 So your loved ones may be delivered, save us by your power and answer us quickly! 6 Then God spoke in his holiness, “I will rejoice— I will divide Shechem; I will portion out the Succoth Valley. 7 Gilead belongs to me, and Manasseh is mine. Ephraim is my helmet, and Judah my scepter. 8 Moab is my wash basin; over Edom I will throw my shoes; over Philistia I will celebrate my triumph.” 9 Who will lead me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom? 10 Aren’t you the one, God, who has cast us off? Didn’t you refuse, God, to accompany our armies? 11 Help us in our distress, for human help is worthless. 12 Through God we will fight valiantly; and it is he who will crush our enemies.
61 1 To the Director: A composition by David for stringed instruments.
A Prayer for God’s Protection God, hear my cry; pay attention to my prayer. 2 From the end of the earth I will cry to you whenever my heart is overwhelmed. Place me on the rock that’s too high for me. 3 For you have been a refuge for me, a tower of strength before the enemy. 4 Let me make my home in your tent forever; let me hide under the shelter of your wings. Interlude 5 For you, God, have heard my promises; you have assigned to me the heritage of those who fear your name. 6 Add day after day to the king’s life; may his years continue for many generations. 7 May he be enthroned before God forever; Appoint your gracious love and truth to guard him. 8 So I will sing songs to your name forever; I will fulfill my promises day by day.
62 1 To the Director: According to Jeduthun’s style. A Davidic Psalm.
A Psalm of Trust in God My soul rests quietly only when it looks to God; from him comes my deliverance. 2 He alone is my rock, my deliverance, and my high tower; nothing will shake me. 3 How long will you rage against someone? Would you attack him as if he were a leaning wall or a tottering fence? 4 They plan to cast him down from his exalted position. They delight in lies; their mouth utters blessings, while their heart is cursing. Interlude 5 My soul, be quiet before God, for from him comes my hope. 6 He alone is my rock, my deliverance, and my high tower; nothing will shake me. 7 I rely on God who is my deliverance and my glory; he is my strong rock, and my refuge is in God. 8 People, in every situation put your trust in God; pour out your heart before him; for God is a refuge for us. Interlude 9 Human beings are a mere vapor, while people in high positions are not what they appear. When they are placed on the scales, they weigh nothing; even when weighed together, they are less than nothing. 10 Don’t trust in oppression or put false hope in stealing; if you become wealthy, do not set your heart on it. 11 God spoke once, but I heard it twice, “Power belongs to God.” 12 Also to you, Lord, belongs gracious love, because you reward each person according to what he does.
63 1 A Davidic Psalm, while he was in the Judean wilderness.
Joyful Trust in God God, you are my God! I will fervently seek you. My soul thirsts for you; my flesh longs for you in a dry, weary, and parched land. 2 So I have looked for you in the sanctuary, to behold your power and glory. 3 Because your gracious love is better than life itself, my lips will praise you. 4 So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in your name. 5 Just as I am satisfied with the choicest of foods, so my lips will praise you joyfully. 6 When I think of you in bed, I will meditate on you in the night watches. 7 For you have been my strength, and in the shadow of your wings I will shout for joy. 8 My soul clings to you, even as your right hand supports me. 9 But as for those who seek to destroy me, they will go down to the depths of the earth; 10 May they be given over to the power of the sword; may they become carrion for jackals. 11 But as for the king, he will rejoice in God. Indeed, everyone who swears by God will exult, because the mouths of liars will be silenced.
64 1 To the Director: A Davidic Psalm.
A Prayer for Protection Hear, God, as I express my concern; protect me from fear of the enemy. 2 Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the mob of those who practice evil, 3 who sharpen their tongues like swords, and aim their bitter words like arrows, 4 shooting at the innocent from concealment. Suddenly they shoot, fearing nothing. 5 They concoct an evil scheme for themselves; they enumerate their hidden snares; they say, “Who will see them?” 6 They devise wicked schemes, saying, “We have completed our plans, hiding them deep in our hearts.” 7 But God shot an arrow at them, and they were wounded immediately. 8 They tripped over their own tongues, and everyone who was watching ran away. 9 Everyone was gripped with fear and acknowledged God’s deeds, understanding what he had done. 10 The righteous rejoiced in the LORD, because they had fled to him for refuge. Let all the upright in heart exult.
65 1 To the Director: A song. Lyrics by David.
A Song of Praise to God In Zion, God, praise silently awaits you, and vows will be paid to you. 2 Since you hear prayer, everybody will come to you. 3 My acts of iniquity—they overwhelm me! Our transgressions—you blot them out! 4 How blessed is the one you choose, the one you cause to live in your courts. We will be satisfied with the goodness of your house, yes, even with the holiness of your Temple. 5 With awesome deeds of justice you will answer us, God our Deliverer; you are the confidence for everyone at the ends of the earth, even for those far away overseas. 6 The One who established the mountains by his strength is clothed with omnipotence. 7 He calmed the roar of seas, the roaring of the waves, and the turmoil of the peoples. 8 Those living at the furthest ends of the earth are seized by fear because of your miraculous deeds. You make the going forth of the morning and the evening shout for joy. 9 You take care of the earth, you water it, and you enrich it greatly with the river of God that overflows with water. You provide grain for them, for you have ordained it this way. 10 You fill the furrows of the field with water so that their ridges overflow. You soften them with rain showers; their sprouts you have blessed. 11 You crown the year with your goodness; your footsteps drop prosperity behind them. 12 The wilderness pastures drip with dew, and the hills wrap themselves with joy. 13 The meadows are clothed with flocks of sheep, and the valleys are covered with grain. They shout for joy; yes, they burst out in song!
66 1 To the Director: A song. A Psalm.
A Song of Praise Shout praise to God all the earth! 2 Sing praise about the glory of his name. Make his praise glorious. 3 Say to God: “How awesome are your works! Because of your great strength your enemies cringe before you.” 4 The whole earth worships you. They sing praise to you. They sing praise to your name. Interlude 5 Come and see the awesome works of God on behalf of human beings: 6 He turned the sea into dry land. Israel crossed the river on foot; let us rejoice in him. 7 He rules by his power forever, his eyes watching over the nations. Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves. Interlude 8 Bless our God, people, and let the sound of his praise be heard. 9 He gives us life and does not permit our feet to slip. 10 For you, God, tested us, to purify us like fine silver. 11 You have led us into a trap and set burdens on our backs. 12 You caused men to ride over us. You brought us through fire and water, but you led us to abundance. 13 I will come to your house with burnt offerings. I will fulfill my vows to you 14 that my lips uttered and that my mouth spoke when I was in trouble. 15 I will offer to you burnt offerings of fat, along with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams. I will offer bulls along with goats. Interlude 16 Come and listen, all of you who fear God, and I will tell you what he did for me. 17 I called aloud to him and praised him with my tongue. 18 Were I to cherish iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not listen to me. 19 Surely God has heard, and he paid attention to my prayers. 20 Blessed be God, who did not turn away my prayers nor his gracious love from me.
67 1 To the Director of music: Accompanied by stringed instruments. A Psalm. A song.
A Call to Thanksgiving May God show us favor and bless us; may he truly show us his favor. Interlude 2 Let your ways be known by all the nations of the earth, along with your deliverance. 3 Let the people thank you, God. Let all the people thank you. 4 Let the nations rejoice and sing for joy, because you judge people with fairness and you govern the people of the earth. Interlude 5 Let the people thank you, God; let all the people thank you. 6 May the earth yield its produce. May God, our God, bless us. 7 May God truly bless us so that all the peoples of the earth will fear him.
68 1 To the Director of music: A Psalm. A song.
A Song of Praise to God God arises, and his enemies are scattered. Those who hate him flee from his presence. 2 As smoke is driven away, so you drive them away. As wax melts in the presence of fire, so the wicked die in the presence of God. 3 But the righteous rejoice and exult before God; they are overwhelmed with joy. 4 Sing to God! Sing praise to his name! Exalt the one who rides on the clouds. The LORD is his name. Be jubilant in his presence. 5 A father to orphans and an advocate for widows is God in his holy dwelling place. 6 God causes the lonely to dwell in families. He leads prisoners into prosperity, but rebels live on parched land. 7 God, when you led out your people, when you marched through the desert, Interlude 8 the land quaked. Indeed, the heavens poured down rain from the presence of God, this God of Sinai, from the presence of God, the God of Israel. 9 God, you poured out abundant rain on your inheritance. When Israel was weary, you sustained her. 10 Your people live there; you sustain the needy with your goodness, God. 11 The Lord issues a command. Numerous are the women who announce the news: 12 “Kings of armies retreat and flee, while the lady of the house divides the spoil. 13 When you men lie down among the sheepfolds, you are like the wings of the dove covered with silver, with its feathers in glittering gold.” 14 When the Almighty scattered the kings there, there was snow on Mt. Zalmon. 15 The mountain of God is as the mountain of Bashan; a mountain of many peaks is Mount Bashan. 16 You mountains of many peaks, why do you watch with envy the mountain in which God has chosen to dwell? Indeed, the LORD will live there forever. 17 God’s chariots were many thousands. The Lord was there with them at Sinai in holiness. 18 You ascended to the heights, you took captives. You received gifts among mankind, even the rebellious, so the LORD God may live there. 19 Blessed be the Lord who daily carries us. God is our deliverer. 20 God is for us the God of our deliverance. The Lord GOD rescues us from death. 21 God surely strikes the heads of his enemies, even the hairy heads of those who continue in their guilt. 22 The Lord says, “From Bashan I will bring them, I will bring them from the depths of the sea, 23 that your feet may wade through blood. The tongues of your dogs will have their portions from your enemies.” 24 They have observed your processions, God, the processions of my God, my king, in the sanctuary. 25 The singers are in front, the musicians follow, strumming their stringed instruments among the maidens who are playing their tambourines. 26 Bless God in the great congregation, the LORD who is the fountain of Israel. 27 Little Benjamin is there, leading them, and the princes of Judah all together with the princes of Zebulun and the princes of Naphtali. 28 Summon the power of your God, the power, God, that you have shown us. 29 Because of your Temple in Jerusalem, kings bring tribute to you. 30 Rebuke the wildlife that lives among the reeds, the nations that congregate like bulls and cows, humbling themselves with pieces of silver, for God scatters the nations that delight in battle. 31 Envoys will come from Egypt. Let the Ethiopians stretch out their hands to God. 32 You kingdoms of the earth, sing to God! Sing praises to the Lord, Interlude 33 to the one who rides the heavens, the ancient heavens. Behold! He thunders with a mighty voice. 34 Ascribe power to God, whose glory is over Israel, whose power is in the skies. 35 You are awesome, God, from your sanctuaries. The God of Israel is the one who gives strength and power to the people. Blessed be God!
69 1 To the Director: To the tune of “The Lilies”. Davidic.
When God Seems Distant Deliver me, God, because the waters are up to my neck. 2 I am sinking in deep mire, and there is no solid ground. I have come into deep water, and the flood overwhelms me. 3 I am exhausted from calling for help. My throat is parched. My eyes are strained from looking for God. 4 Those who hate me without cause are more than the hairs of my head. My persecutors are mighty, and they want to destroy me. Must I be forced to return what I did not steal? 5 God, you know my sins, and my guilt is not hidden from you. 6 Do not let those who look up to you be ashamed because of me, Lord God of the Heavenly Armies. Let not those who seek you be humiliated because of me, God of Israel. 7 I am being mocked because of you. Dishonor overwhelms me. 8 I am a stranger to my brothers, a foreigner to my mother’s sons. 9 Zeal for your house consumes me, and the mockeries of those who insult you fall on me. 10 I weep and fast, and I am mocked for it. 11 When I dressed in sackcloth, I became an object of gossip among them. 12 The prominent people mock me, composing drinking songs.
13 Seeking God for DeliveranceAs for me, LORD, may my prayer to you come at a favorable time. God, in the abundance of your gracious love, answer me with your sure deliverance. 14 Rescue me from the mud and do not let me sink. Rescue me from those who hate me, and from the deep waters. 15 Let neither the floodwaters overwhelm me nor let the deep swallow me up, nor the mouth of the well close over me. 16 Answer me, LORD, for your gracious love is good; Turn to me in keeping with your great compassion, 17 and do not ignore your servant, because I am in distress. Hurry to answer me! 18 Draw near and redeem me; ransom me because of my enemies. 19 Truly you know my reproach, shame, and disgrace. All my enemies are known to you. 20 Insults broke my heart. I despaired and looked for sympathy; but there was none, for comforters, but I found none. 21 They put poison in my food, in my thirst they forced me to drink vinegar. 22 May their dining tables entrap them, and become a snare for their allies. 23 May their eyes be blinded and may their bodies tremble continuously. 24 May you pour out your fury on them. May your burning anger overtake them. 25 May their camp become desolate and their tents remain unoccupied. 26 For they persecute those whom you have struck, and they brag about the pain of those you have wounded. 27 May you punish them for their crimes; may they receive no verdict of innocence from you. 28 May they be erased from the Book of Life, and their names not be written with the righteous. 29 As for me, I am afflicted and hurting; may your deliverance, God, establish me on high. 30 Let me praise the name of God with a song that I may magnify him with thanksgiving. 31 That will please the LORD more than oxen and bulls with horns and hooves. 32 The afflicted will watch and rejoice. May you who seek God take courage. 33 For the LORD listens to the needy and doesn’t despise those in bondage. 34 Let the heavens and earth praise him, along with the sea and its swarming creatures. 35 For God will deliver Zion and will rebuild the cities of Judah so they may live there and possess them. 36 The descendants of his servants will inherit it, and those who cherish his name will live there.
70 1 To the Music director. Davidic. As a memorial.
A Call for Help God, come to my rescue. LORD, hurry to help me. 2 May those who seek to kill me be publicly humiliated. May those who take pleasure in my harm be turned back in humiliation. 3 May those who say “Aha! Aha!” be turned back because of their shameful deeds. 4 Let those who seek you greatly rejoice in you. Let those who love your deliverance say, “May God be continuously exalted.” 5 As for me, I am poor and needy. God, come quickly to me. You are my helper and my deliverer. LORD, please do not delay.
71 1 A Prayer for Deliverance In you, LORD, I take refuge; let me never be humiliated. 2 Rescue and deliver me, because you are righteous. Turn your ear to me and save me. 3 Be my sheltering refuge where I may go continuously; command my deliverance for you are my rock and fortress. 4 My God, deliver me from the power of the wicked and the grasp of ruthless practicers of evil. 5 For you are my hope, Lord GOD, my security since I was young. 6 I depended on you since birth, when you brought me from my mother’s womb; I praise you continuously. 7 I have become an example to many that you are my strong refuge. 8 My mouth is filled with your praise and your splendor daily. 9 Don’t throw me away when I am old; do not abandon me when my strength fails. 10 For my enemies talk against me; those who seek to kill me plot together 11 and say, “God has abandoned him. Run after him and seize him, because there’s no deliverer.” 12 God, do not be distant from me. My God, come quickly to help me. 13 Let my adversaries be ashamed and consumed; let those who seek my destruction be covered with scorn and disgrace. 14 As for me, I will hope continuously and will praise you more and more. 15 I will declare your righteousness and your salvation every day, though I do not fully understand what the outcome will be. 16 Lord GOD, I will come in the power of your mighty acts, remembering your righteousness—yours alone. 17 God, you taught me from my youth, so I am still declaring your awesome deeds. 18 Also, when I reach old age and have gray hair, God, do not forsake me, until I have declared your power to this generation and your might to the next one. 19 Your many righteous deeds, God, are great, 20 God, who can compare to you, who caused me to experience troubles that were numerous and disastrous? You will return to revive me and lift me up from the depths of the earth. 21 You will increase my honor and comfort me once again. 22 I also will praise you with the harp; because of your faithfulness, my God, I will praise you with the lyre— Holy One of Israel. 23 My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you, whose life you have redeemed. 24 Moreover, my tongue will speak all day about your justice; for those who seek my destruction will be utterly humiliated.
72 1 Solomonic
A Prayer for the King God, endow the king with ability to render your justice, and the king’s son to render your right decisions. 2 May he rule your people with right decisions and your oppressed ones with justice. 3 May the mountains bring prosperity to the people and the hills bring righteousness. 4 May he defend the afflicted of the people and deliver the children of the poor, but crush the oppressor. 5 May they fear you as long as the sun and moon shine— from generation to generation. 6 May he be like the rain that descends on mown grass, like showers sprinkling on the ground. 7 The righteous will flourish at the proper time and peace will prevail until the moon is no more. 8 May he rule from sea to sea, from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth. 9 May the nomads bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust. 10 May the kings of Tarshish and of distant shores bring gifts, and may the kings of Sheba and Seba offer tribute. 11 May all kings bow down to him, and all nations serve him. 12 For he will deliver the needy when they cry out for help, and the poor when there is no deliverer. 13 He will have compassion on the poor and the needy, and he will save the lives of the needy. 14 He will redeem them from oppression and violence, since their lives are precious in his sight.
15 Prayer for the KingMay he live long and be given gold from Sheba, and may prayer be offered for him continuously, and may he be blessed every day. 16 May grain be abundant in the land all the way to the mountain tops; may its fruits flourish like the forests of Lebanon, and may the cities sprout like the grass of the earth.
17 Praising the God of IsraelMay his fame be eternal— as long as the sun— may his name endure, and may they be blessed through him, and may all nations call him blessed. 18 Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does awesome deeds. 19 And blessed be his glorious name forever, and may the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and amen! 20 This ends the prayers of Jesse’s son David.
73 1 A song of Asaph.
A Plea for Deliverance God is indeed good to Israel, to those pure in heart. 2 Now as for me, my feet nearly stumbled, as I almost lost my step. 3 For I was envious of the proud when I observed the prosperity of the wicked. 4 For there is no struggle at their deaths, and their bodies are healthy. 5 They do not experience problems common to ordinary people; they aren’t afflicted as others are. 6 Therefore pride is their necklace and violence covers them like a garment. 7 Their eyes bulge from obesity and the imaginations of their mind cross the border into sin. 8 In their mockery they speak evil; from their arrogant position they speak oppression. 9 They choose to speak against heaven; while they talk about things on earth. 10 Therefore God’s people return there and drink it all in like water until they’re satiated. 11 Then they say, “How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge?” 12 Just look at these wicked people! They’re perpetually carefree as they increase their wealth. 13 I kept my heart pure for nothing and kept my hands clean from guilt. 14 For I suffer all day long and I am punished every morning. 15 If I say, “I will talk like this,” I would betray a generation of your children. 16 When I tried to understand this, it was too difficult for me 17 until I entered the sanctuaries of God. Then I understood their destiny. 18 You have certainly set them in slippery places; you will make them fall to their ruin. 19 How desolate they quickly become, completely destroyed by calamities. 20 Like a dream when one awakens, Lord, you will despise their image when you arise. 21 When I chose to be bitter I was emotionally pained. 22 Then, I was too stupid and didn’t realize I was acting like a wild animal with you. 23 But now I am always with you, for you keep holding my right hand. 24 You will guide me with your wise advice, and later you will receive me with honor. 25 Whom do I have in heaven but you? I desire nothing on this earth. 26 My body and mind may fail, but God is my strength and my portion forever. 27 Those far from you will perish; you will destroy those who are unfaithful to you. 28 As for me, how good for me it is that God is near! I have made the Lord GOD my refuge so I can tell about all your deeds.
74 1 An instruction of Asaph
A Plea for Deliverance Why, God? Have you rejected us forever? Your anger is burning against the sheep of your pasture. 2 Remember your community, whom you purchased long ago, the tribe whom you redeemed for your possession. Remember Mount Zion, where you live. 3 Hurry! Look at the permanent ruins— every calamity the enemy brought upon the Holy Place. 4 Those who are opposing you roar where we were meeting with you; they unfurl their war banners as signs. 5 As one blazes a trail through a forest with an ax, 6 now they’re tearing down all its carved work with hatchets and hammers. 7 They burned your sanctuary to the ground, desecrating your dwelling place. 8 They say to themselves, “We’ll crush them completely;” They burned down all the meeting places of God in the land. 9 We see no signs for us; there is no longer a prophet, and no one among us knows the future. 10 God, how long will the adversary scorn while the enemy despises your name endlessly? 11 Why do you not withdraw your hand— your right hand—from your bosom and destroy them? 12 But God is my king from ancient times, who brings acts of deliverance throughout the earth. 13 You split the sea by your own power. You shattered the heads of sea monsters in the water. 14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan. You set it as food for desert creatures. 15 You opened both the spring and the river; you dried up flowing rivers. 16 Yours is the day, and yours is the night; you established the moon and the sun. 17 You set all the boundaries of the earth; you made summer and winter. 18 Remember this: The enemy scorns the LORD and a foolish people despises your name. 19 Don’t hand over the life of your dove to beasts; do not continuously forget your afflicted ones. 20 Pay attention to your covenant, for the dark regions of the earth are full of violence. 21 Don’t let the oppressed return in humiliation. The poor and needy will praise your name. 22 Get up, God, and prosecute your case— remember that you’re being scorned by fools all day long. 23 Don’t ignore the shout of those opposing you, The uproar of those who rebel against you continuously.
75 1 To the Director: To the tune of “Do not Destroy!”
A psalm of Asaph. A song.
Praise to God for Justice We praise you, God! We praise you—your presence draws near— as we declare your wonderful deeds. 2 “At the time that I choose I will judge the righteous. 3 While the earth and all its inhabitants melt away, it is I who keep its pillars firm.” Interlude 4 I will say to the proud, “Don’t brag,” and to the wicked, “Don’t vaunt your strength. 5 Don’t use your strength to fight heaven or speak from stubborn arrogance.” 6 For exaltation comes not from the east, the west, or the wilderness, 7 since God is the judge. This one he will debase or that one he will exalt. 8 For there is a cup in the hand of the LORD, foaming with well-mixed wine that he will pour out, leaving only the dregs, from which all the wicked of the earth will drink. 9 But as for me, I will declare forever, singing praise to the God of Jacob. 10 I will cut down the strength of the wicked, but the strength of the righteous will be lifted up.
76 1 To the Director: With stringed instruments. A psalm of Asaph. A song.
The Awesome God God is known in Judah; in Israel his reputation is great. 2 His abode is in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion. 3 There he shattered sharp arrows, shields, swords, and weapons of war. Interlude 4 You are enveloped by light; more majestic than mountains filled with game. 5 Brave men were plundered while they slumbered in their sleep. All the men of the army were immobilized. 6 At the sound of your battle cry, God of Jacob, both horse and chariot rider fell into deep sleep. 7 You are awesome! who can stand in your presence when you’re angry? 8 From heaven you declared judgment. The earth stands in awe and is quiet 9 when God arose to execute justice and to deliver all the afflicted of the earth. Interlude 10 Even human anger praises you; you will wear the survivors of your wrath as an ornament. 11 Let everyone who surrounds the LORD your God make a vow and fulfill it to the Awesome One. 12 He will humble the arrogant commanders-in-chief, instilling fear among the kings of the earth.
77 1 To the director: To Jeduthun. A psalm of Asaph.
Remembering God in Times of Trouble I cry out to God! I cry out to God and he hears me. 2 When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; my hands were raised at night and they did not grow weary. I refused to be comforted. 3 I remember God, and I groan; I meditate, while my spirit grows faint. Interlude 4 You kept my eyes open; I was troubled and couldn’t speak. 5 I thought of ancient times, considering years long past. 6 During the night I remembered my song. I meditate in my heart, and my spirit ponders. 7 Will the Lord reject me forever and not show favor again? 8 Has his gracious love ceased forever? Will his promise be unfulfilled in future generations? 9 Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger withheld his compassion? Interlude 10 So I say: “It causes me pain that the right hand of the Most High has changed.” 11 I will remember the LORD’S deeds; indeed, I will remember your awesome deeds from long ago. 12 As I meditate on all your works, I will consider your awesome deeds. 13 God, your way is holy. What god is like our great God? 14 God, you are the one performing awesome deeds. You reveal your might among the nations. 15 You delivered your people— the descendants of Jacob and Joseph— with your power. Interlude 16 The waters saw you, God; the waters saw you and writhed. Indeed, the depths of the sea quaked. 17 The clouds poured rain; the skies rumbled. Indeed, your lightning bolts flashed. 18 Your thunderous sound was in a whirlwind; your lightning lights up the world; the earth becomes agitated and quakes. 19 Your way was through the sea, and your path through mighty waters, but your footprints cannot be traced. 20 You have led your people like a flock by the hands of Moses and Aaron.
78 1 An instruction of Asaph
Remembering God in Times of Trouble Listen, my people, to my instruction. Hear the words of my mouth. 2 I will tell a parable, speaking riddles from long ago— 3 things that we have heard and known and that our ancestors related to us. 4 We will not withhold them from their descendants; we’ll declare to the next generation the praises of the LORD— his might and awesome deeds that he has performed. 5 He established a decree in Jacob, and established the Law in Israel, that he commanded our ancestors to reveal to their children 6 in order that the next generation— children yet to be born— will know them and in turn teach them to their children. 7 Then they will put their trust in God and they will not forget his awesome deeds. Instead, they will keep his commandments. 8 They will not be like the rebellious generation of their ancestors, a rebellious generation, whose heart was not steadfast, and whose spirits were unfaithful to God. 9 The descendants of Ephraim were sharp shooters with the bow, but they retreated in the day of battle. 10 They did not keep God’s covenant, and refused to live by his Law. 11 They have forgotten what he has done, his awesome deeds that they witnessed. 12 He performed marvelous things in the presence of their ancestors in the land of Egypt— in the fields of Zoan. 13 He divided the sea so that they were able to cross; he caused the water to stand in a single location. 14 He led them with a cloud during the day, and during the night with light from the fire. 15 He caused the rocks to split in the wilderness, and gave them water as from an abundant sea. 16 He brought streams from rock, causing water to flow like a river. 17 But time and again, they sinned against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert. 18 To test God was in their minds, when they demanded food to satisfy their cravings. 19 They spoke against God by asking, “Is God able to prepare a feast in the desert? 20 It’s true that Moses struck the rock so that water flowed forth and torrents of water gushed out, but is he also able to give bread or to supply meat for his people?” 21 Therefore, when the LORD heard this, he was angry, and fire broke out against Jacob. Moreover, his anger flared against Israel, 22 because they didn’t believe in God and didn’t trust in his deliverance. 23 Yet he commanded the skies above and the doors of the heavens to open, 24 so that manna rained down on them for food and he sent them the grain of heaven. 25 Mortal men ate the food of angels; he sent provision to them in abundance. 26 He stirred up the east wind in the heavens and drove the south wind by his might. 27 He caused meat to rain on them like dust and winged birds as the sand of the sea. 28 He caused these to fall in the middle of the camp and all around their tents. 29 So they ate and were very satisfied, because he granted their desire. 30 However, before they had fulfilled their desire, while their food was still in their mouths, 31 the anger of God flared against them, and he killed the strongest men and humbled Israel’s young men. 32 In spite of all of this, they kept on sinning and didn’t believe in his marvelous deeds. 33 So he made their days end in futility, and their years with sudden terror. 34 When he struck them, they sought him; they repented, and eagerly sought God. 35 Then they remembered that God was their rock, and the Most High God was their deliverer. 36 But they deceived him with their mouths; they lied to him with their tongues. 37 For their hearts weren’t committed to him, and they weren’t faithful to his covenant. 38 But he, being merciful, forgave their iniquity and didn’t destroy them; He restrained his anger and didn’t vent all his wrath. 39 For he remembered that they were only flesh, a passing wind that doesn’t return. 40 How they rebelled against him in the desert, grieving him in the wilderness! 41 They tested God again and again, provoking the Holy One of Israel. 42 They did not remember his power— the day he delivered them from their adversary, 43 when he set his signs in Egypt and his wonders in the plain of Zoan. 44 He turned their rivers into blood and made their streams undrinkable. 45 He sent swarms of insects to bite them and frogs to destroy them. 46 He gave their crops to caterpillars and what they worked for to locusts. 47 He destroyed their vines with hail and their sycamore trees with frost. 48 He delivered their beasts to hail and their livestock to lightning bolts. 49 He inflicted his burning anger, wrath, indignation, and distress, sending destroying angels among them. 50 He blazed a path for his anger; he did not stop short from killing them, but handed them over to pestilence. 51 He struck every firstborn in Egypt, the first fruits of their manhood in the tents of Ham. 52 Yet he led out his people like sheep, guiding them like a flock in the desert. 53 He led them to safety so they would not fear. As for their enemies, the sea covered them. 54 He brought the people to the border of his holy mountain, which he acquired by his might. 55 He drove out nations before them and allotted their tribal inheritance, settling the tribes of Israel in their tents. 56 But they tested the Most High God by rebelling against him, and they did not obey his statutes. 57 They fell away and were as disloyal as their ancestors. They became unreliable, like a defective bow; 58 they angered him with their high places and with their carved images they made him jealous. 59 God heard and became furious, and he completely rejected Israel. 60 He abandoned the tent at Shiloh, the tent that he established among mankind. 61 Then he sent his might into captivity and his glory into the control of the adversary. 62 He delivered his people over to the sword and was angry with his possession. 63 The young men were consumed by fire, and the virgins had no marriage celebrations. 64 The priests fell by the sword, yet their widows couldn’t weep. 65 The LORD awoke as though from sleep, like a mighty warrior stimulated by wine. 66 He beat back his adversaries, permanently disgracing them. 67 He rejected the clan of Joseph; and the tribe of Ephraim he did not choose. 68 But he chose the tribe of Judah, the mountain of Zion, which he loves. 69 He built his sanctuary, high as the heavens, like the earth that he established forever. 70 Then he chose his servant David, whom he took from the sheepfold. 71 He brought him from birthing sheep to care for Jacob, his people, Israel, his possession. 72 David shepherded them with a devoted heart, and led them with skillful hands.
79 1 A Psalm of Asaph
A Prayer for Jerusalem God, nations have invaded your land to desecrate your holy Temple, to destroy Jerusalem, 2 to give the corpses of your servants as food for the birds of the skies and the flesh of your godly ones to the beasts of the earth; 3 to make their blood flow like water around Jerusalem, with no one being buried. 4 We have become a reproach to our neighbors, a mockery and a derision to those around us. 5 How long, LORD, will you be angry? Forever? Will your jealousy burn like fire? 6 Pour out your wrath upon the nations that do not acknowledge you, and over the kingdoms that do not call on your name. 7 For they consumed Jacob, making his dwelling place desolate. 8 Don’t charge us for previous iniquity, but let your compassion come quickly to us, for we have been brought very low. 9 Help us, God, our deliverer, on account of your glorious name, deliver us and forgive our sins on account of your name. 10 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Let vengeance for the blood of your servants be meted out before our eyes and among the nations. 11 Let the cries of the prisoners reach you. With the strength of your power, release those condemned to death. 12 Pay back our neighbors seven times the reproach with which they reproached you, LORD. 13 Then we, your people, the sheep of your pasture, will praise you always, from generation to generation. We will declare your praise.
80 1 For the Director of Music: According to “The Lilies”. A testimony of Asaph. A psalm.
A Prayer for Jerusalem Shepherd of Israel, listen! The one who leads Joseph like a flock, the one enthroned on the cherubim, display your glory. 2 Reveal your power before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, then come to our rescue. 3 God, restore us, show your favor and deliver us. 4 LORD God of the Heavenly Armies, when will your smoldering anger toward your people’s prayers cease? 5 You fed them tears as their food, and caused them to drink a full measure of tears. 6 You have set us at strife against our neighbors and our enemies deride us. 7 God of the Heavenly Armies, restore us and show your favor, so we may be delivered. 8 You uprooted a vine from Egypt, and drove out nations to transplant it. 9 You cleared the ground so that its roots grew and filled the land. 10 Mountains were covered by its shadows, and the mighty cedars by its branches. 11 Its branches spread out to the Mediterranean Sea and its shoots to the Euphrates River. 12 Why did you break down its walls so that those who pass by pluck its fruits? 13 Wild boars of the forest gnaw at it, and creatures of the field feed on it. 14 God of the Heavenly Armies, return! Look down from heaven and see. Show care toward this vine. 15 The root that your right hand planted, the shoot that you tended for yourself, 16 was burned with fire, cut off, and destroyed on account of your rebuke. 17 May you support the man at your right hand; the son of man whom you have raised for yourself. 18 Then we will not turn away from you. Restore us, so we can call upon your name. 19 God of hosts, restore to us the light of your favor. Then we’ll be delivered.
81 1 For the Director: On the Gittith. By Asaph.
Celebrating and Remembering God Sing joyfully to God, our strength. Raise a shout to the God of Jacob. 2 Sing a song and play the tambourine, the pleasant-sounding lyre along with the harp. 3 Blow the ram’s horn when there is a New Moon, when there is a full moon, on our festival day, 4 because it is a statute in Israel, an ordinance by the God of Jacob, 5 a decree that he prescribed for Joseph when he went throughout the land of Egypt, speaking a language I did not recognize. 6 I removed the burden from your shoulder; your hands were freed of the burdensome basket. 7 In a time of need you called out and I delivered you; I answered you from the dark thundercloud; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Interlude 8 Listen, My people and I will warn you. Israel, if only you would obey me! 9 You must neither have a foreign god over you or worship a strange god. 10 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, open your mouth that I may fill it. 11 Yet my people didn’t obey my voice; Israel didn’t submit to me. 12 So I allowed them to continue in their stubbornness, living by their own advice. 13 If only my people would obey me, if only Israel would walk in my ways! 14 Then I would quickly subdue their enemies. I would turn against their foes. 15 Those who hate the LORD will cringe before him; their punishment will be permanent. 16 But I will feed Israel with the finest wheat, satisfying you with honey from the rock.
82 1 A Psalm of Asaph
Asking God for Justice God takes his stand in the divine assembly; among the divine beings he renders judgment: 2 “How long will you judge partially by showing favor on the wicked? Interlude 3 “Defend the poor and the fatherless. Vindicate the afflicted and the poor. 4 Rescue the poor and the needy, delivering them from the power of the wicked. 5 They neither know nor understand; they walk about in the dark while all the foundations of the earth are shaken. 6 “Indeed I said, ‘You are gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High. 7 However, as all human beings do, you will die, and like other rulers, you will fall.’ 8 Arise, God, to judge the earth, for all nations belong to you.
83 1 A song. A Psalm of Asaph
A Plea for Judgment God, do not rest! Don’t be silent! Don’t stay inactive, God! 2 See! Your enemies rage; those who hate you issue threats. 3 They plot against your people and conspire against your cherished ones. 4 They say, “Let us go and erase them as a nation so the name of Israel will not be remembered anymore.” 5 Indeed, they shrewdly planned together, forming an alliance against you— 6 the tents of Edom, the Ishmaelites, Moab, the Hagrites, 7 Gebal, Ammon, Amalek, Philistia, and the inhabitants of Tyre. 8 Even Assyria joined them to strengthen the descendants of Lot. Interlude 9 Deal with them as you did to Midian, Sisera, and Jabin at the Kishon Brook. 10 They were destroyed at En-dor and became as dung on the ground. 11 Punish their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, and all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna, 12 who said, “Let us possess the pastures of God.” 13 God, set them up like dried thistles, like straw before the wind. 14 Like a fire burning a forest, and a flame setting mountains ablaze. 15 Pursue them with your storm and terrify them with your whirlwind. 16 Fill their faces with shame until they seek your name, God. 17 Let them be humiliated and terrified permanently until they die in shame. 18 Then they will know that you alone— whose name is LORD— are the Most High over all the earth.
84 1 To the Director: On the Gittith.
A Psalm by the descendants of Korah.
Longing for God How lovely are your dwelling places, LORD of the Heavenly Armies. 2 I desire and long for the Temple courts of the LORD. My heart and body sing for joy to the living God. 3 Even the sparrow found a house for herself and the swallow a nest to lay her young at your altar, LORD of the Heavenly Armies, my king and God. 4 How happy are those who live in your Temple, for they can praise you continuously. Interlude 5 How happy are those whose strength is in you, whose heart is on your path. 6 They will pass through the Baca Valley where he will prepare a spring for them; even the early rain will cover it with blessings. 7 They will walk from strength to strength; each will appear before God in Zion. 8 LORD God of the Heavenly Armies, hear my prayer! Listen, God of Jacob! Interlude 9 God, look at our shield, and show favor to your anointed, 10 for a day in your Temple courts is better than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather stand at the entrance of God’s house than live in the tent of wickedness. 11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD grants grace and favor; the LORD will not withhold any good thing from those who walk blamelessly. 12 LORD of Heavenly Armies, how happy are those who trust in you.
85 1 To the Director: A Psalm by the descendants of Korah.
Restore Us, God LORD you have favored your land and restored the fortunes of Jacob. 2 You took away the iniquity of your people, forgiving all their sins Interlude 3 You withdrew all your wrath and turned away from your burning anger. 4 Restore us, God of our salvation, and stop being angry with us. 5 Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger from generation to generation? 6 Will you restore our lives again so that your people may rejoice in you? 7 LORD, show your gracious love and deliver us. 8 Let me listen to what God, the LORD, says; for the LORD will promise peace to his people, to his holy ones; may they not return to foolishness. 9 Surely, he will soon deliver those who fear him, for his glory will live in our land. 10 Gracious love and truth meet; righteousness and peace kiss. 11 Truth sprouts up from the ground, while righteousness looks down from the sky. 12 The LORD will also provide what is good, and our land will yield its produce. 13 Righteousness will go before him to prepare a path for his steps.
86 1 A Davidic prayer
Help Us, God LORD, listen and answer me, for I am afflicted and needy. 2 Protect me, for I am faithful; My God, deliver your servant who trusts in you. 3 Have mercy on me Lord, for I call on you all day long. 4 Your servant rejoices, because, Lord, I set my hope on you. 5 Indeed you, Lord, are kind and forgiving, overflowing with gracious love to everyone who calls on you. 6 Hear my prayer, LORD; attend to my prayer of supplication. 7 In my troubled times I will call on you, for you will answer me. 8 No one can compare with you among the gods, Lord; No one can accomplish your work. 9 All the nations that you have established will come and worship you, my Lord. They will honor your name. 10 For you are great, and you are doing awesome things; you alone are God. 11 Teach me your ways, LORD, that I may walk in your truth; let me wholeheartedly revere your name. 12 I will praise you, Lord my God, with my whole being; and I will honor your name continuously. 13 For great is your gracious love to me; you’ve delivered me from the depths of Sheol. 14 God, arrogant men rise up against me, while a company of ruthless individuals want to kill me. They do not have regard for you. 15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate God, merciful and patient, with unending gracious love and faithfulness. 16 Return to me and have mercy on me; clothe your servant with your strength and deliver the son of your maid servant. 17 Show me a sign of your goodness, so that those who hate me will see it and be ashamed. For you, LORD, will help and comfort me.
87 1 A psalm by the descendants of Korah. A song.
The Holy City for All People God’s foundation is in the holy mountains. 2 The LORD loves the gates of Zion more than the dwellings of Jacob. 3 Glorious things are spoken about you, city of God. Interlude 4 I will mention Rahab and Babylon among those who acknowledge me— including Philistia, Tyre, and Ethiopia— “This one was born there,” they say. 5 Indeed, about Zion it will be said: “More than one person was born in it,” and “The Most High himself did it.” 6 The LORD will record, as he registers the peoples, “This one was born there.” Interlude 7 Then singers, as they play their instruments, will declare, “All my roots are in you.”
88 1 A song. A psalm by the descendants of Korah. According to Machalath Leannoth. An instruction by Heman the Ezrahite.
A Cry for Help LORD, God of my salvation, by day and by night I cry out before you. 2 Let my prayer come before you; listen to my cry. 3 For my life is filled with troubles as I approach Sheol. 4 I am considered as one of those descending into the Pit, like a mighty man without strength, 5 released to remain with the dead, lying in a grave like a corpse, remembered no longer, and cut off from your power. 6 You have assigned me to the lowest part of the Pit, to the darkest depths. 7 Your anger lies heavily upon me; you pound me with all your waves. Interlude 8 You caused my acquaintances to shun me; you make me extremely abhorrent to them. Restrained, I am unable to go out. 9 My eyes languish on account of my affliction; all day long I call out to you, LORD, I spread out my hands to you. 10 Can you perform wonders for the dead? Can departed spirits stand up to praise you? Interlude 11 Can your gracious love be declared in the grave or your faithfulness in Abaddon? 12 Can your awesome deeds be known in darkness or your righteousness in the land of oblivion? 13 As for me, I cry out to you LORD, and in the morning my prayer greets you. 14 Why, LORD, have you rejected me? Why have you hidden your face from me? 15 Since my youth I have been oppressed and in danger of death. I bear your dread and am overwhelmed. 16 Your burning anger overwhelms me; your terrors destroy me. 17 Like waters, they engulf me all day long; they surround me on all sides. 18 You caused my friend and neighbor to shun me; and my acquaintances are confused.
89 1 An instruction. By Ethan, the Ezrahite
God’s Covenant with David I will sing forever about the gracious love of the LORD; from generation to generation I will declare your faithfulness with my mouth. 2 I will declare that your gracious love was established forever; in the heavens itself, you have established your faithfulness. 3 I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have made a promise to David, my servant. 4 “I will establish your dynasty forever, and I will lift up one who will build your throne from generation to generation.” Interlude 5 Even the heavens praise your awesome deeds, LORD, your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones. 6 For who in the skies compares to the LORD? Who is like the LORD among the divine beings? 7 God is feared in the council of the holy ones, revered by all those around him. 8 LORD God of the Heavenly Armies, who is as mighty as you, LORD? Your faithfulness surrounds you. 9 You rule over the majestic sea; when its waves surge, you calm them. 10 You crushed the proud one to death; with your powerful arm you scattered your enemies. 11 Heaven and the earth belong to you, the world and everything it contains— you established them. 12 The north and south—you created them; Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name. 13 Your arm is strong; your hand is mighty; indeed, your right hand is victorious. 14 Righteousness and justice make up the foundation of your throne; gracious love and truth meet before you. 15 How happy are the people who can worship joyfully! LORD, they walk in the light of your presence. 16 In your name they rejoice all day long; they exult in your justice. 17 For you are their strength’s grandeur; by your favor you exalted our power. 18 Indeed, our shield belongs to the LORD, and our king to the Holy One of Israel.
19 God’s Describes His AnointedYou spoke to your faithful ones through a vision: “I will set a helper over a warrior. I will raise up a chosen one from the people. 20 I have found my servant David; I have anointed him with my sacred oil, 21 with whom my power will be firmly established; for my arm will strengthen him. 22 No enemy will deceive him; no wicked person will afflict him. 23 I will crush his enemies before him and strike those who hate him. 24 My faithfulness and gracious love will be with him, and in my name his power will be exalted. 25 I will place his hand over the sea, and his right hand over the rivers. 26 He will announce to me ‘You are my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation.’ 27 “Indeed, I myself made him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. 28 I will show my gracious love toward him forever, since my covenant is securely established with him. 29 I will establish his dynasty forever, and his throne as long as heaven endures. 30 “But if his sons abandon my laws and do not follow my ordinances, 31 if they profane my statutes; and do not keep my commands, 32 then I will punish their disobedience with a rod and their iniquity with lashes. 33 But I will not cut off my gracious love from him, and I will not stop being faithful. 34 I will not dishonor my covenant, because I will not change what I have spoken. 35 I have sworn by my holiness once for all: I will not lie to David. 36 His dynasty will last forever and his throne will be like the sun before me. 37 It will be established forever like the moon, a faithful witness in the sky.” Interlude
38 A Commitment to PersevereBut you have spurned, rejected, and became angry with your anointed one. 39 You have dishonored the covenant with your servant; you have defiled his crown on the ground. 40 You have broken through all his walls; you have laid his fortresses in ruin. 41 All who pass by on their way plunder him; he has become a reproach to his neighbors. 42 You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries; you have caused all of his enemies to rejoice. 43 Moreover, you have turned back the edge of his sword and did not support him in battle. 44 You have caused his splendor to cease and cast down his throne to the ground. 45 You have caused the days of his youth to be cut short; you have covered him with shame. Interlude 46 How long, LORD, will you hide yourself? Forever? Will your anger continuously burn like fire? 47 Remember how short my lifetime is! How powerless have you created all human beings! 48 What valiant man can live and not see death? Who can deliver himself from the power of Sheol. Interlude 49 Where is your gracious love of old, Lord, that in your faithfulness you promised to David? 50 Remember, Lord, the reproach of your servant! I carry inside me all the insults of many people, 51 when your enemies reproached you, LORD, when they reproached the footsteps of your anointed. 52 Blessed is the LORD forever! Amen and amen!
90 1 A prayer by Moses, the godly man
Life is Short Lord, you’ve been our refuge from generation to generation. 2 Before the mountains were formed or the earth and the world were brought forth, you are God from eternity to eternity. 3 You return people to dust merely by saying, “Return, you mortals!” 4 One thousand years in your sight are but a single day that passes by, just like a night watch. 5 You will sweep them away while they are asleep— by morning they are like growing grass. 6 In the morning it blossoms and is renewed, but toward evening, it fades and withers. 7 Indeed, we are consumed by your anger and terrified by your wrath. 8 You have set our iniquities before you, what we have concealed in the light of your presence. 9 All our days pass away in your wrath; our years fade away and end like a sigh. 10 We live for 70 years, or 80 years if we’re healthy, yet even in the prime years there are troubles and sorrow. They pass by quickly and we fly away. 11 Who can know the intensity of your anger? Because our fear of you matches your wrath, 12 teach us to keep account of our days so we may develop inner wisdom. 13 Please return, LORD! When will it be? Comfort your servants. 14 Satisfy us in the morning with your gracious love so we may sing for joy and rejoice every day. 15 Cause us to rejoice throughout the time when you have afflicted us, the years when we have known trouble. 16 May your awesome deeds be revealed to your servants, as well as your splendor to their children. 17 May your favor be on us, Lord our God; make our endeavors successful; yes, make our endeavors secure!
91 1 A Davidic Psalm
God is My Refuge The one who lives in the shelter of the Most High, who rests in the shadow of the Almighty, 2 will say to the LORD, “You are my refuge, my fortress, and my God in whom I trust!” 3 He will surely deliver you from the hunter’s snare and from the destructive plague. 4 With his feathers he will cover you, under his wings you will find safety. His truth is your shield and armor. 5 You need not fear terror that stalks in the night, the arrow that flies in the day, 6 plague that strikes in the darkness, or calamity that destroys at noon. 7 If a thousand fall at your side or ten thousand at your right hand, it will not overcome you. 8 Only observe it with your eyes, and you will see how the wicked are paid back. 9 “LORD, you are my refuge!” Because you chose the Most High as your dwelling place, 10 no evil will fall upon you, and no affliction will approach your tent, 11 for he will command his angels to protect you in all your ways. 12 With their hands they will lift you up so you will not trip over a stone. 13 You will stomp on lions and snakes; you will trample young lions and serpents.
14 The LORD SpeaksBecause he has focused his love on me, I will deliver him. I will protect him because he knows my name. 15 When he calls out to me, I will answer him. I will be with him in his distress. I will deliver him, and I will honor him. 16 I will satisfy him with long life; I will show him my deliverance.
92 1 A Psalm. A song for the Sabbath Day
Praise and Thanksgiving to God It is good to give thanks to the LORD and to sing praise to your name, Most High; 2 to proclaim your gracious love in the morning and your faithfulness at night, 3 accompanied by a ten-stringed instrument and a lyre, and the contemplative sound of a harp. 4 Because you made me glad with your awesome deeds, LORD, I will sing for joy at the works of your hands. 5 How great are your works, LORD! Your thoughts are unfathomable. 6 A stupid man doesn’t know, and a fool can’t comprehend this: 7 Though the wicked sprout like grass; and all who practice iniquity flourish, it is they who will be eternally destroyed. 8 But you are exalted forever, LORD. 9 Look at your enemies, LORD! Look at your enemies, for they are destroyed; everyone who practices iniquity will be scattered. 10 You’ve grown my strength like the horn of a wild ox; I was anointed with fresh oil. 11 My eyes gloated over those who lie in wait for me; when those of evil intent attack me, my ears will hear. 12 The righteous will flourish like palm trees; they will grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 13 Planted in the LORD’s Temple, they will flourish in the courtyard of our God. 14 They will still bear fruit even in old age; they will be luxuriant and green. 15 They will proclaim: “The LORD is upright; my rock, in whom there is no injustice.”
93 1 God Reigns The LORD reigns! He is clothed in majesty; the LORD is clothed, and he is girded with strength. Indeed, the world is well established, and cannot be shaken. 2 Your throne has been established since time immemorial; you are king from eternity. 3 The rivers have flooded, LORD; the rivers have spoken aloud, the rivers have lifted up their crushing waves. 4 More than the sound of surging waters— the majestic waves of the sea— the LORD on high is majestic. 5 Your decrees are very trustworthy, and holiness always befits your house, LORD.
94 1 God Avenges His Own God of vengeance, LORD God of vengeance, display your splendor! 2 Stand up, judge of the earth, and repay the proud. 3 How long will the wicked, LORD, how long will the wicked continue to triumph? 4 When they speak, they spew arrogance. Everyone who practices iniquity brags about it. 5 LORD, they have crushed your people, afflicting your heritage. 6 The wicked kill widows and foreigners; they murder orphans. 7 They say, “The LORD cannot see, and the God of Jacob will not notice.” 8 Pay attention, you dull ones among the crowds! You fools! Will you ever become wise? 9 The one who formed the ear can hear, can he not? The one who made the eyes can see, can he not? 10 The one who disciplines nations can rebuke them, can he not? The one who teaches mankind can discern, can he not? 11 The LORD knows the thoughts of human beings— that they are futile. 12 How blessed is the man whom you instruct, LORD, whom you teach from your Law, 13 keeping him calm when times are troubled until a pit has been dug for the wicked. 14 For the LORD will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage. 15 Righteousness will be restored with justice, and all the pure of heart will follow it. 16 Who will rise up for me against the wicked? Who will stand for me against those who practice iniquity? 17 If the LORD had not been my helper, I would have quickly become silent. 18 When I say that my foot is shaking, your gracious love, LORD, will sustain me. 19 When my anxious inner thoughts become overwhelming, your comfort encourages me. 20 Will destructive national leaders, who plan wicked things through misuse of the Law, be allied with you? 21 They gather together against the righteous, condemning the innocent to death. 22 But the LORD is my stronghold, and my God, the rock, is my refuge. 23 He will repay them for their sin; he will annihilate them because of their evil. The LORD our God will annihilate them.
95 1 Worship and Obedience Come! Let us sing joyfully to the LORD! Let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us shout with songs of praise to him. 3 For the LORD is an awesome God; a great king above all divine beings. 4 He holds in his hand the lowest parts of the earth and the mountain peaks belong to him. 5 The sea that he made belongs to him, along with the dry land that his hands formed. 6 Come! Let us worship and bow down; let us kneel in the presence of the LORD, who made us. 7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the flock in his care. If only you would listen to his voice today, 8 do not be stubborn like your ancestors were at Meribah, as on that day at Massah, in the wilderness, 9 where your ancestors tested me. They tested me, even though they had seen my awesome deeds. 10 For forty years I loathed that generation, so I said, “They are a people whose hearts continuously err, and they have not understood my ways.” 11 So in my anger I declared an oath: “They are not to enter my place of rest.”
96 1 Give Glory to the LORD Sing a new song to the LORD! Sing to the LORD, all the earth! 2 Sing to the LORD! Bless his name! Proclaim his deliverance every day! 3 Declare his glory among the nations and his awesome deeds among all the peoples! 4 For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised; he is awesome above all gods. 5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens. 6 Splendor and majesty are before him; might and beauty are in his sanctuary. 7 Ascribe to the LORD, you families of peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength! 8 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name, bring an offering and enter his courts! 9 Worship the LORD in holy splendor; tremble before him, all the earth. 10 Declare among the nations, “The LORD reigns!” Indeed, he established the world so that it will not falter. He will judge people fairly. 11 The heavens will be glad and the earth will rejoice; even the sea and everything that fills it will roar. 12 The field and all that is in it will rejoice; then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy 13 in the LORD’s presence, because he is coming; indeed, he will come to judge the earth. He will judge the world fairly and its people reliably.
97 1 The LORD is King The LORD reigns! Let the earth rejoice! May many islands be glad! 2 Thick clouds are all around him; righteousness and justice are his throne’s foundation. 3 Fire goes out from his presence to consume his enemies on every side. 4 His lightning bolts light the world; the earth sees and shakes. 5 Mountains melt like wax in the LORD’s presence— In the presence of the LORD of all the earth. 6 The heavens declare his righteousness so that all the nations see his glory. 7 All who serve carved images— and those who praise idols—will be humiliated. Worship him, all you “gods”! 8 Zion hears and rejoices; the towns of Judah rejoice on account of your justice, LORD. 9 For you, LORD, are the Most High above all the earth; you are exalted high above all divine beings. 10 Hate evil, you who love the LORD! He guards the lives of those who love him, delivering them from domination by the wicked. 11 Light shines on the righteous; gladness on the morally upright. 12 Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous ones! Give thanks at the mention of his holiness!
98 1 A psalm
Sing Praise to the King Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done awesome deeds! His right hand and powerful arm have brought him victory. 2 The LORD has made his deliverance known; he has disclosed his justice before the nations. 3 He has remembered his gracious love; his faithfulness toward the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth saw our God’s deliverance. 4 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Break forth into joyful songs of praise! 5 Sing praises to the LORD with a lyre— with a lyre and a melodious song! 6 With trumpets and the sound of a ram’s horn shout in the presence of the LORD, the king! 7 Let the sea and everything in it shout, along with the world and its inhabitants; 8 let the rivers clap their hands in unison; and let the mountains sing for joy 9 in the LORD’s presence, who comes to judge the earth; He’ll judge the world righteously; and its people fairly.
99 1 The LORD is Holy The LORD reigns— let people tremble; he is seated above the cherubim— let the earth quake. 2 The LORD is great in Zion and is exalted above all peoples. 3 Let them praise your great and awesome name. He is holy! 4 A mighty king who loves justice, you have established fairness. You have exercised justice and righteousness over Jacob. 5 Exalt the LORD our God; worship and bow down at his footstool; He is holy! 6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests; Samuel also was among those who invoked his name. When they called on the LORD, he answered them. 7 In a pillar of cloud he spoke to them; they obeyed his decrees and the Law that he gave them. 8 LORD our God, you answered them; you were their God who forgave them, but also avenged their evil deeds. 9 Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his holy mountain, for the LORD our God is holy!
100 1 A psalm of thanksgiving
Give Thanks to the LORD Shout to the LORD all the earth! 2 Serve the LORD with joy. Come before him with a joyful shout! 3 Acknowledge that the LORD is God. He made us and we belong to him; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. Thank him and bless his name, 5 for the LORD is good and his gracious love stands forever. His faithfulness remains from generation to generation.
101 1 A Davidic Psalm
Remembering God’s Love I will sing about gracious love and justice; LORD, I will sing praise to you. 2 I will pay attention to living a life of integrity— when will I attain it? I will live with integrity of heart in my house. 3 I will not even think about doing anything lawless; I hate to do evil deeds; I will have none of it. 4 I will not allow anyone with a perverted mind in my presence; I will not be involved with anything evil. 5 I will destroy the one who secretly slanders a friend. I will not allow the proud and haughty to prevail. 6 My eyes are looking at the faithful of the land, so they may live with me; The one who lives a life of integrity will serve me. 7 A deceitful person will not sit in my house; A liar will not remain in my presence. 8 Every morning I will destroy all the wicked of the land, eliminating everyone who practices iniquity from the LORD’s city.
102 1 A prayer by the afflicted man who is overwhelmed and talks about his troubles with the LORD.
A Prayer for Help LORD, hear my prayer! May my cry for help come to you. 2 Do not hide your face from me when I am in trouble. Listen to me. When I call to out you, hurry to answer me! 3 For my days are vanishing like smoke; my bones are charred as in a fireplace. 4 Withered like grass, my heart is overwhelmed, and I have even forgotten to eat my food. 5 Because of the sound of my sighing, my bones cling to my skin. 6 I resemble a pelican in the wilderness or an owl in a desolate land. 7 I lie awake, yet I am like a bird isolated on a rooftop. 8 My enemies revile me all day long; those who ridicule me use my name to curse. 9 I have eaten ashes as food and mixed my drink with tears 10 because of your indignation and wrath, when you lifted and threw me away. 11 My life is like a declining shadow, and I am withering like a plant. 12 But you, LORD, are enthroned forever; You are remembered throughout all generations. 13 You will arise to extend compassion on Zion, for it is time to show her favor— the appointed time has come. 14 Your servants take pleasure in its stones and delight in its debris. 15 Nations will fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth, your splendor. 16 When the LORD rebuilds Zion, he will appear in his glory. 17 He will turn to the prayer of the destitute, not despising their prayer. 18 Write this for the next generation, that a people yet to be created will praise the LORD. 19 For when he looked down from his holy heights— the LORD looked over the earth from heaven— 20 to listen to the groans of prisoners, to set free those condemned to death, 21 so they would declare the name of the LORD in Zion and his praise in Jerusalem, 22 when people and kingdoms gather together to serve the LORD. 23 He has weakened my strength along the way. He has cut short my days. 24 I say, “My God, whose years continue through all generations, do not take me in the middle of my life. 25 You established the earth long ago; the heavens are the work of your hands. 26 They will perish, but you will remain; and they all will become worn out, like a garment. You will change them like clothing, and they will pass away. 27 But you remain the same; your years never end. 28 May the descendants of your servants live securely, and may their children be established in your presence.”
103 1 Davidic
Praise God, who Forgives Bless the LORD, my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. 2 Bless the LORD, my soul, and never forget any of his benefits: 3 He continues to forgive all your sins, he continues to heal all your diseases, 4 he continues to redeem your life from the Pit, and he continuously surrounds you with gracious love and compassion. 5 He keeps satisfying you with good things, and he keeps renewing your youth like the eagle’s. 6 The LORD continuously does what is right, executing justice for all who are being oppressed. 7 He revealed his plans to Moses and his deeds to the people of Israel. 8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious, patient, and abundantly rich in gracious love. 9 He does not maintain a dispute continuously or remain angry for all time. 10 He neither deals with us according to our sins, nor repays us equivalent to our iniquity. 11 As high as heaven rises above earth, so his gracious love strengthens those who fear him. 12 As distant as the east is from the west, that is how far he has removed our sins from us. 13 As a father has compassion for his children, so the LORD has compassion for those who fear him. 14 For he knows how we were formed, aware that we were made from dust. 15 A person’s life is like grass— it blossoms like wild flowers, 16 but when the wind blows through it, it withers away and no one remembers where it was. 17 Yet the LORD’s gracious love remains throughout eternity for those who fear him and his righteous acts extend to their children’s children, 18 to those who keep his covenant and to those who remember to observe his precepts. 19 The LORD has established his throne in heaven and his kingdom rules over all. 20 Bless the LORD, you angels who belong to him, you mighty warriors who carry out his commands, who are obedient to the sound of his words. 21 Bless the LORD, all his heavenly armies, his ministers who do his will. 22 Bless the LORD, all his creation, in all the places of his dominion. Bless the LORD, my soul.
104 1 Davidic
Praise God, who Creates Bless the LORD, my soul; LORD, my God, you are very great. You are clothed in splendor and majesty; 2 you are wrapped in light like a garment, stretching out the sky like a curtain. 3 He lays the beams of his roof loft on the water above, making clouds his chariot, walking on the wings of the wind. 4 He makes the winds his messengers, blazing fires his servants. 5 He established the earth on its foundations, so that it never falters. 6 You covered the primeval ocean like a garment; the water stood above the mountains. 7 They flee at your rebuke; they rush away at the sound of your thunders. 8 Mountains rise up and valleys sink to the place you have ordained for them. 9 You have set a boundary they cannot cross; they will never again cover the earth. 10 He causes springs to gush forth into rivers that flow between the mountains. 11 They give water for animals of the field to drink; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. 12 Birds of the sky live beside them and chirp a song among the foliage. 13 He waters the mountains from his heavenly rooms; the earth is satisfied from the fruit of your work. 14 He causes grass to sprout for the cattle and plants for people to cultivate, to produce food from the land, 15 like wine that makes the heart of people happy, oil that makes the face glow, and food that sustains people. 16 The loftiest trees are satisfied, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted, 17 the birds build their nests there, and the heron builds its nest among the evergreen. 18 The high mountains are for wild goats; the cliffs are a refuge for the rock badger. 19 He made the moon to mark time; the sun knows its setting time. 20 You bring darkness and it becomes night; when every beast of the forest prowls. 21 Young lions roar for prey, seeking their food from God. 22 When the sun rises, they gather and lie down in their dens. 23 People go out to their work and labor until evening. 24 How numerous are your works, LORD! You have made them all wisely; the earth is filled with your creations. 25 There is the deep and wide sea, teeming with numberless creatures, living things small and great. 26 There, the ships pass through; Leviathan, which you created, frolics in it. 27 All of them look to you to provide them their food at the proper time. 28 They receive what you give them; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. 29 When you withdraw your favor, they are disappointed; Take away their breath, and they die and return to dust. 30 When you send your spirit, they are created, and you replenish the surface of the earth. 31 May the glory of the LORD last forever; may the LORD rejoice in his works! 32 He looks at the earth and it shakes; he touches the mountains and they smoke. 33 I will sing to the LORD with my whole being; I will sing to my God continually! 34 May my thoughts be pleasing to him; indeed, I will rejoice in the LORD! 35 May sinners disappear from the land and the wicked live no longer. Bless the LORD, my soul! Hallelujah!
105 1 Thanksgiving for God’s Deliverance Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name, and make his deeds known among the people. 2 Sing to him! Praise him! Declare all his awesome deeds! 3 Exult in his holy name; let all those who seek the LORD rejoice! 4 Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his face continually. 5 Remember his awesome deeds that he has done, his wonders and the judgments he declared. 6 You descendants of Abraham, his servant, You children of Jacob, his chosen ones. 7 He is the LORD our God; his judgments extend to the entire earth. 8 He remembers his eternal covenant— every promise he made for a thousand generations, 9 like the covenant he made with Abraham, and his promise to Isaac. 10 He presented it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant. 11 He said: “I will give Canaan to you as the allotted portion that is your inheritance.” 12 When the Hebrews were few in number—so very few— and were sojourners in it, 13 they wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another. 14 He did not allow anyone to oppress them, or any kings to reprove them. 15 “Don’t touch my anointed or hurt my prophets!” 16 He declared a famine on the land; destroying the entire food supply. 17 He sent a man before them— Joseph, who had been sold as a slave. 18 They bound his feet with fetters and placed an iron collar on his neck, 19 until the time his prediction came true, as the word of the LORD refined him. 20 He sent a king who released him, a ruler of people who set him free. 21 He made him the master over his household, the manager of all his possessions— 22 to discipline his rulers at will and make his elders wise. 23 Then Israel came to Egypt; indeed, Jacob lived in the land of Ham. 24 He caused his people to multiply greatly; and be more numerous than their enemies. 25 He caused them to hate his people and to deceive his servants. 26 He sent his servant Moses, along with Aaron, whom he had chosen. 27 They performed his signs among them, his wonders in the land of Ham. 28 He sent darkness, and it became dark. Did they not rebel against his words? 29 He turned their water into blood, so that the fish died. 30 Their land swarmed with frogs even to the chambers of their kings. 31 He spoke, and a swarm of insects invaded their land. 32 He sent hail instead of rain, and lightning throughout their land. 33 It destroyed their vines and their figs, breaking trees throughout their country. 34 Then he commanded the locust to come— grasshoppers without number. 35 They consumed every green plant in their land, and devoured the fruit of their soil. 36 He struck down every firstborn in their land, the first fruits of all their progeny. 37 Then he brought Israel out with silver and gold, and no one among his tribes stumbled. 38 The Egyptians rejoiced when they left, because fear of Israel descended on them. 39 He spread out a cloud for a cover, and fire for light at night. 40 Israel asked, and quail came; food from heaven satisfied them. 41 He opened a rock, and water gushed out flowing like a river in the desert. 42 Indeed, he remembered his sacred promise to his servant Abraham. 43 He led his people out with gladness, his chosen ones with shouts of joy. 44 He gave to them the land of nations; they inherited the labor of other people 45 so they might keep his statutes and observe his laws. Hallelujah!
106 1 The Unfaithfulness of God’s People Hallelujah! Give thanks to the LORD, since he is good, for his gracious love exists forever. 2 Who can fully describe the mighty acts of the LORD or proclaim all his praises? 3 How happy are those who enforce justice, who live righteously all the time. 4 Remember me, LORD, when you show favor to your people. Visit us with your deliverance, 5 to witness the prosperity of your chosen ones, to rejoice in your nation’s joy, to glory in your inheritance. 6 We have sinned, along with our ancestors; we have committed iniquity and wickedness. 7 In Egypt, our ancestors neither comprehended your awesome deeds nor remembered your abundant gracious love. Instead, they rebelled beside the sea, the Reed Sea. 8 He delivered for the sake of his name, to make his power known. 9 He shouted at the Reed Sea and it dried up; and led them through the sea as though through a desert. 10 He delivered them from the power of their foe; redeeming them from the power of their enemy. 11 The water overwhelmed their enemies, so that not one of them survived. 12 Then they believed his word and sung his praise. 13 But they quickly forgot his deeds and did not wait for his counsel. 14 They were overwhelmed with craving in the wilderness, so God tested them in the wasteland. 15 God granted them their request, but sent leanness into their lives. 16 They were envious of Moses in the camp, and of Aaron, the holy one of the LORD. 17 The earth opened and swallowed Dathan, closing over Abiram’s clan. 18 Then a fire burned among their company, a flame that set the wicked ablaze. 19 They fashioned a calf at Horeb and worshipped a carved image. 20 They exchanged their glory with the image of a grass-eating bull. 21 They forgot God their Savior, who performed great things in Egypt— 22 awesome deeds in the land of Ham, astonishing deeds at the Reed Sea. 23 He would have destroyed them but for Moses, his chosen one, who stood in the breach before him to avert his destructive wrath. 24 They rejected the desirable land, and they didn’t trust his promise. 25 They murmured in their tents, and didn’t listen to the voice of the LORD. 26 So he swore an oath concerning them— that he would cause them to die in the wilderness, 27 to cause their children to perish among the nations and be scattered among many lands. 28 For they adopted the worship of Baal Peor and ate sacrifices offered to the dead. 29 They had provoked anger by their deeds, so that a plague broke out against them. 30 But Phinehas intervened and prayed so that the plague was restrained. 31 And it was credited to him as a righteous act, from generation to generation—to eternity. 32 They provoked wrath at the waters of Meribah, and Moses suffered on account of them. 33 For they rebelled against him, so that he spoke thoughtlessly with his lips. 34 They never destroyed the people, as the LORD had commanded them. 35 Instead, they mingled among the nations and learned their ways. 36 They worshipped their idols, and this became a trap for them. 37 They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons. 38 They shed innocent blood— the blood of their sons and daughters— whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, thereby polluting the land with blood. 39 Therefore, they became unclean because of what they did; they have acted like whores by their evil deeds. 40 The LORD’s anger burned against his people, so that he despised his own inheritance. 41 He turned them over to domination by nations where those who hated them ruled over them. 42 Their enemies oppressed them, so that they were humiliated by their power. 43 He delivered them many times, but they demonstrated rebellion by their evil plans; therefore they sunk deep in their sins. 44 Yet when he saw their distress and heard their cries for help, 45 he remembered his covenant with them, and so relented according to the greatness of his gracious love. 46 He caused all their captors to show compassion toward them. 47 Deliver us, LORD our God, gather us from among the nations so we may praise your holy name and rejoice in praising you. 48 Blessed are you, LORD God of Israel, from eternity to eternity; Let all the people say, “Amen!” Hallelujah!
107 1 Gratitude for God’s Deliverance Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His gracious love exists forever. 2 Let those who have been redeemed by the LORD declare it— those whom he redeemed from the power of the enemy, 3 those whom he gathered from other lands— from the east, west, north, and south. 4 They wandered in desolate wilderness; they found no road to a city where they could live. 5 Hungry and thirsty, their spirits failed. 6 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. 7 He led them in a straight way to find a city where they could live. 8 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his gracious love and his awesome deeds for mankind. 9 He has satisfied the one who thirsts, filling the hungry with what is good. 10 Some sat in deepest darkness, shackled with cruel iron, 11 because they had rebelled against the command of God, despising the advice of the Most High. 12 He humbled them through suffering, as they stumbled without a helper. 13 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble; he delivered them from their distress. 14 And he brought them out from darkness and the shadow of death, shattering their chains. 15 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his gracious love, and for his awesome deeds to mankind. 16 For he shattered bronze gates and cut through iron bars. 17 Because of their rebellious ways, fools suffered for their iniquities. 18 They loathed all food, and even reached the gates of death. 19 Yet when they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, he delivered them from certain destruction. 20 He issued his command and healed them; he delivered them from their destruction. 21 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his gracious love, and for his awesome deeds for mankind. 22 Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and talk about his works with shouts of joy. 23 Those who go down to the sea in ships, who work in the great waters, 24 witnessed the works of the LORD— his awesome deeds in the ocean’s depth. 25 He spoke and stirred up a windstorm that made its waves surge. 26 The people ascended skyward and descended to the depths, their courage melting away in their peril. 27 They reeled and staggered like a drunkard, as all their wisdom became useless. 28 Yet when they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, the LORD brought them out of their distress. 29 He calmed the storm and its waves quieted down. 30 So they rejoiced that the waves became quiet, and he led them to their desired haven. 31 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his gracious love and for his awesome deeds on behalf of mankind. 32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people and praise him in the counsel of the elders. 33 He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into dry ground, 34 and a fruitful land into a salty waste, due to the wickedness of its inhabitants. 35 He turns a desert into a pool of water, dry land into springs of water. 36 There he settled the hungry, where they built a city to live in. 37 They sowed fields and planted vineyards that yielded a productive harvest. 38 Then he blessed them, and they became numerous; he multiplied their cattle. 39 But they became few in number, and humiliated by continued oppression, agony, and sorrow. 40 Having poured contempt on their nobles, causing them to err aimlessly in the way. 41 Yet he lifted the needy from affliction and made them families like a flock. 42 The upright see it and rejoice, but the mouth of an evil person is shut. 43 Let whoever is wise observe these things, that they may comprehend the gracious love of the LORD.
108 1 A song. A Davidic psalm.
A Plea for Victory My heart is firm, God; I will sing and praise you with my whole being. 2 Awake, harp and lyre! I will wake up at dawn. 3 I will give thanks to you among the peoples, LORD! I will sing praise to you among the nations. 4 For your gracious love extends to the sky, and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. 5 May you be exalted above the heavens, God, and your glory be over all the earth. 6 In order that those you love may be rescued, deliver with your power and answer me! 7 God had promised in his sanctuary: “I will triumph and divide Shechem, then I will measure the valley of Succoth! 8 Gilead and Manasseh belong to me, while Ephraim is my chief stronghold and Judah is my scepter. 9 Moab is my washbasin; I will fling my shoe on Edom and shout over Philistia.” 10 Who will lead me to the fortified city? Who will lead me as far as Edom? 11 God, you have rejected us, have you not, since you did not march out with our army, God? 12 Give us help against the enemy, because human help is useless. 13 I will find strength in God, for he will trample on our foes.
109 1 To the Director. A Davidic psalm.
A Prayer against the Evil One God, whom I praise, do not be silent, 2 for the mouths of wicked and deceitful people are opened against me; they speak against me with lying tongues. 3 They surround me with hate-filled words, attacking me for no reason. 4 Instead of receiving my love, they accuse me, though I continue in prayer. 5 They devise evil against me instead of good, and hatred in place of my love. 6 Appoint an evil person over him; may an accuser stand at his right side. 7 When he is judged, may he be found guilty; may his prayer be regarded as sin. 8 May his days be few; may another take over his position. 9 May his children become fatherless, and his wife a widow. 10 May his children roam around begging, seeking food while driven far from their ruined homes. 11 May creditors seize all his possessions, and may foreigners loot the property he has acquired. 12 May no one extend gracious love to him, or show favor to his fatherless children. 13 May his descendants be eliminated, and their memory be erased from the next generation. 14 May his ancestors’ guilt be remembered in the LORD’s presence, and may his mother’s guilt not be erased. 15 May what they have done be continually in the LORD’s presence; and may their memory be excised from the earth. 16 For he didn’t think to extend gracious love; he harassed to death the poor, the needy, and the broken hearted. 17 He loved to curse—may his curses return upon him! He took no delight in blessing others— so may blessings be far from him. 18 He wore curses like a garment— may they enter his inner being like water and his bones like oil. 19 May those curses wrap around him like a garment, or like a belt that one always wears. 20 May this be the way the LORD repays my accuser, those who speak evil against me. 21 Now you, LORD my God, defend me for your name’s sake; because your gracious love is good, deliver me! 22 Indeed, I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me. 23 I am fading away like a shadow late in the day; I am shaken off like a locust. 24 My knees give way from fasting, and my skin is lean, deprived of oil. 25 I have become an object of derision to them— they shake their heads whenever they see me. 26 Help me, LORD my God! Deliver me in accord with your gracious love! 27 Then they will realize that your hand is in this— that you, LORD, have accomplished it. 28 They will curse, but you will bless. When they attack, they will be humiliated, while your servant rejoices. 29 May my accusers be clothed with shame and wrapped in their humiliation as with a robe. 30 I will give many thanks to the LORD with my mouth, praising him publicly, 31 for he stands at the right hand of the needy one, to deliver him from his accusers.
110 1 A Davidic psalm
A Priestly Ruler A declaration from the LORD to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.” 2 When the LORD extends your mighty scepter from Zion, rule in the midst of your enemies. 3 Your soldiers are willing volunteers on your day of battle; in majestic holiness, from the womb, from the dawn, the dew of your youth belongs to you. 4 The LORD took an oath and will never recant: “You are a priest forever, after the manner of Melchizedek.” 5 The Lord is at your right hand; he will utterly destroy kings in the time of his wrath. 6 He will execute judgment against the nations, filling graves with corpses. He will utterly destroy leaders far and wide. 7 He will drink from a stream on the way, then hold his head high.
111 1 Praise for God’s Amazing Deeds Hallelujah! I will give thanks to the LORD with all of my heart in the assembled congregation of the upright. 2 Great are the acts of the LORD; they are within reach of all who desire them. 3 Splendid and glorious are his awesome deeds, and his righteousness endures forever. 4 He is remembered for his awesome deeds; the LORD is gracious and compassionate. 5 He prepares food for those who fear him; he is ever mindful of his covenant. 6 He revealed his mighty deeds to his people by giving them a country of their own. 7 Whatever he does is reliable and just, and all his precepts are trustworthy, 8 sustained through all eternity, and fashioned in both truth and righteousness. 9 He sent deliverance to his people; he ordained his covenant to last forever; his name is holy and awesome. 10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; sound understanding belongs to those who practice it. Praise of God endures forever.
112 1 The Gracious Person Hallelujah! How happy is the person who fears the LORD, who truly delights in his commandments. 2 His descendants will be powerful in the land, a generation of the upright who will be blessed. 3 Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. 4 A light shines in the darkness for the upright, for the one who is gracious, compassionate, and just. 5 It is good for the person who lends generously, conducting his affairs with fairness. 6 He will never be shaken; the one who is just will always be remembered. 7 He need not fear a bad report, for his heart is unshaken, since he trusts in the LORD. 8 His heart is steadfast, he will not fear. In the end he will look in triumph over his enemy. 9 He gives generously to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn is exalted in honor. 10 The wicked person sees this and flies into a rage; his teeth gnash and wear away. The desire of the wicked will amount to nothing.
113 1 Praise to the Loving God Hallelujah! Give praise, you servants of the LORD. Praise the name of the LORD! 2 May the name of the LORD be blessed from now to eternity. 3 From rising to setting sun, may the name of the LORD be praised. 4 The LORD is exalted high above all the nations; his glory beyond the heavens. 5 Who is like the LORD our God, enthroned on high, 6 yet stooping low to observe the sky and the earth? 7 He lifts the poor person from the dust, raising the needy from the trash pile 8 and giving him a seat among nobles— with the nobles of his people. 9 He makes the barren woman among her household a happy mother of joyful children. Hallelujah!
114 1 Deliverance of Israel from Egypt When Israel came out of Egypt— the household of Jacob from a people of foreign speech— 2 Judah became his sanctuary and Israel his place of dominion. 3 The sea saw this and fled, the Jordan River ran backwards, 4 the mountains skipped like rams, and the hills like lambs. 5 What happened to you, sea, that you fled? Jordan, that you ran backwards? 6 Mountains, that you skipped like rams? and you hills, that you skipped like lambs? 7 Tremble then, earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, 8 who turned the rock into a pool of water, the flinty rock into flowing springs.
115 1 The Impotence of Idols Not to us, LORD, not to us, but to your name be given glory on account of your gracious love and faithfulness. 2 Why should the nations ask “Where now is their God?” 3 when our God is in the heavens and he does whatever he desires? 4 Their idols are silver and gold, crafted by human hands. 5 They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see. 6 They have ears, but cannot hear; they have noses, but cannot smell. 7 They have hands, but cannot touch; feet, but cannot walk; they cannot even groan with their throats. 8 Those who craft them will become like them, as will all those who trust in them. 9 Israel, trust in the LORD! He is their helper and shield. 10 House of Aaron, trust in the LORD! He is their helper and shield. 11 You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD! He is their helper and shield. 12 The LORD remembers and blesses us. He will indeed bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron. 13 He will bless those who fear the LORD, both the important and the insignificant together. 14 May the LORD add to your numbers— to you and to your descendants. 15 May you be blessed by the LORD, who made the heavens and the earth. 16 The highest heavens belong to the LORD, but he gave the earth to human beings. 17 Neither can the dead praise the LORD, nor those who go down into the silence of death. 18 But we will bless the LORD from now to eternity. Hallelujah!
116 1 God, My Deliverer I love the LORD because he has heard my prayer for mercy; 2 for he listens to me whenever I call. 3 The ropes of death were wound around me and the anguish of Sheol came upon me; I encountered distress and sorrow. 4 Then I called on the name of the LORD, “LORD, please deliver me!” 5 The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is compassionate; 6 the LORD watches over the innocent; I was brought low, and he delivered me. 7 Return to your resting place, my soul, for the LORD treated you generously. 8 Indeed, you delivered my soul from death, my eyes from crying, and my feet from stumbling. 9 I will walk in the LORD’s presence in the lands of the living. 10 I will continue to believe, even when I say, “I am greatly afflicted” 11 and speak hastily, “All people are liars!” 12 What will I return to the LORD for all his benefits to me? 13 I will raise my cup of deliverance and invoke the LORD’s name. 14 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people. 15 In the sight of the LORD, the death of his faithful ones is valued. 16 LORD, I am indeed your servant. I am your servant. I am the son of your handmaid. You have released my bonds. 17 I will bring you a thanksgiving offering and call on the name of the LORD! 18 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people, 19 in the courts of the LORD’s house, in your midst, Jerusalem. Hallelujah!
117 1 A Call to Praise the LORD Praise the LORD, all you nations! Exalt him, all you peoples! 2 For great is his gracious love toward us, and the LORD’s faithfulness is eternal. Hallelujah!
118 1 Thanksgiving to God Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his gracious love is eternal. 2 Let Israel now say, “His gracious love is eternal.” 3 Let the house of Aaron now say, “His gracious love is eternal.” 4 Let those who fear the LORD now say, “His gracious love is eternal.” 5 I called on the LORD in my distress; the LORD answered me openly. 6 The LORD is with me. I will not be afraid. What can people do to me? 7 With the LORD beside me as my helper, I will triumph over those who hate me. 8 It is better to take shelter in the LORD than to trust in people. 9 It is better to take shelter in the LORD than to trust in princes. 10 All the nations surrounded me; but in the name of the LORD I will defeat them. 11 They surrounded me, they are around me; but in the name of the LORD I will defeat them. 12 They surrounded me like bees; but they will be extinguished like burning thorns. In the name of the LORD I will defeat them. 13 Indeed, you oppressed me so much that I nearly fell, but the LORD helped me. 14 The LORD is my strength and protector, for he has become my deliverer. 15 There’s exultation for deliverance in the tents of the righteous: “The right hand of the LORD is victorious! 16 The right hand of the LORD is exalted! The right hand of the LORD is victorious!” 17 I will not die, but I will live to recount the deeds of the LORD. 18 The LORD will discipline me severely, but he won’t hand me over to die. 19 Open for me the righteous gates so I may enter through them to give thanks to the LORD. 20 This is the LORD’s gate— The righteous will enter through it. 21 I will praise you because you have answered me and have become my deliverer. 22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 23 This is from the LORD— it is awesome in our sight. 24 This is the day that the LORD has made; let’s rejoice and be glad in it. 25 Please LORD, deliver us! Please LORD, hurry and bring success now! 26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD! Let us bless you from the LORD’s house. 27 The LORD is God—he will be our light! Bind the festival sacrifice with ropes to the horn at the altar. 28 You are my God, and I will praise you; my God, and I will exalt you. 29 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good and his gracious love is eternal.
119 1 Alef
Living in the Law of God How blessed are those whose life is blameless, who walk in the Law of the LORD! 2 How blessed are those who observe his decrees, who seek him with all of their heart, 3 who practice no evil while they walk in his ways. 4 You have commanded concerning your precepts, that they be guarded with diligence. 5 Oh, that my ways were steadfast, so I may keep your statutes. 6 Then I will not be ashamed, since my eyes will be fixed on all of your commands. 7 I will praise you with an upright heart, as I learn your righteous decrees. 8 I will keep your statutes; do not ever abandon me.
9 Bet
The Benefits of the WordHow can a young man keep his behavior pure? By guarding it in accordance with your word. 10 I have sought you with all of my heart; do not let me drift away from your commands. 11 I have stored what you have said in my heart, so I won’t sin against you. 12 Blessed are you, LORD! Teach me your statutes. 13 I have spoken with my lips about all your decrees that you have announced. 14 I find joy in the path of your decrees, as if I owned all kinds of riches. 15 I will meditate on your precepts, and I will respect your ways. 16 I am delighted with your statutes; I will not forget your word.
17 Gimmel
Living and Keeping God’s WordDeal kindly with your servant so I may live and keep your word. 18 Open my eyes so that I will observe amazing things from your instruction. 19 Since I am a stranger on the earth, do not hide your commands from me. 20 My soul is consumed with longing for your decrees at all times. 21 You rebuke the accursed ones, who wander from your commands. 22 Remove scorn and disrespect from me, for I observe your decrees. 23 Though nobles take their seat and gossip about me, your servant will meditate on your statutes. 24 I take joy in your decrees, for they are my counselors.
25 Daleth
Strength Comes from the WordMy soul clings to the dust; revive me according to your word. 26 I have talked about my ways, and you have answered me; Teach me your statutes. 27 Help me understand how your precepts function, and I will meditate on your wondrous acts. 28 I weep because of sorrow; fortify me according to your word. 29 Remove false paths from me; and graciously give me your instruction. 30 I have chosen the faithful way; I have firmly placed your ordinances before me. 31 I cling to your decrees; LORD, do not put me to shame. 32 I eagerly race along the way of your commands, for you enable me to do so.
33 He
Instructed by the WordTeach me, LORD, about the way of your statutes, and I will observe them without fail. 34 Give me understanding and I will observe your instruction. I will keep it with all of my heart. 35 Help me live my life by your commands, because my joy is in them. 36 Turn my heart to your decrees and away from unjust gain. 37 Turn my eyes away from gazing at worthless things, and revive me by your ways. 38 Confirm your promise to your servant, which is for those who fear you. 39 Turn away the shame that I dread, because your ordinances are good. 40 Look, I long for your precepts; revive me through your righteousness.
41 Vav
A Song of PraiseMay your gracious love come to me, LORD, your salvation, just as you said. 42 Then I can answer the one who insults me, for I place my trust in your word. 43 Never take your truthful words from me, For I wait for your ordinances. 44 Then I will always keep your Law, forever and ever, 45 I will walk in liberty, for I seek your precepts. 46 Then I will speak of your decrees before kings and not be ashamed. 47 I will take delight in your commands, which I love. 48 I will lift up my hands to your commands, which I love, and I will meditate on your statutes.
49 Zayin
Remembering What God Has SaidRemember what you said to your servant, by which you caused me to hope. 50 This is what comforts me in my troubles: that what you say revives me. 51 Even though the arrogant utterly deride me, I do not turn away from your instruction. 52 I have remembered your ancient ordinances, LORD, and I take comfort in them. 53 I burn with indignation because of the wicked who forsake your instruction. 54 Your statutes are my songs, no matter where I make my home. 55 In the night I remember your name, LORD, and keep your instruction. 56 I have made it my personal responsibility to keep your precepts.
57 Cheth
Keeping God’s WordThe LORD is my inheritance; I have given my promise to keep your word. 58 I have sought your favor with all of my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise. 59 I examined my lifestyle and set my feet in the direction of your decrees. 60 I hurried and did not procrastinate to keep your commands. 61 Though the ropes of the wicked have ensnared me, I have not forgotten your instruction. 62 At midnight I will get up to thank you for your righteous ordinances. 63 I am united with all who fear you, and with everyone who keeps your precepts. 64 LORD, the earth overflows with your gracious love! Teach me your statutes.
65 Teth
Praise for God’s WordLORD, you have dealt well with your servant, according to your word. 66 Teach me both knowledge and appropriate discretion, because I believe in your commands. 67 Before I was humbled, I wandered away, but now I observe your words. 68 LORD, you are good, and do what is good; teach me your statutes. 69 The arrogant have accused me falsely; but I will observe your precepts wholeheartedly. 70 Their minds are clogged as with greasy fat, but I find joy in your instruction. 71 It was for my good that I was humbled; so that I would learn your statutes. 72 Instruction that comes from you is better for me than thousands of gold and silver coins.
73 Yod
Prayer for God’s GraceYour hands made and formed me; give me understanding, that I may learn your commands. 74 May those who fear you see me and be glad, for I have hoped in your word. 75 I know, LORD, that your decrees are just, and that you have rightfully humbled me. 76 May your gracious love comfort me in accordance with your promise to your servant. 77 May your mercies come to me that I may live, for your instruction is my delight. 78 May the arrogant become ashamed, because they have subverted me with deceit; as for me, I will meditate on your precepts. 79 May those who fear you turn to me, along with those who know your decrees. 80 May my heart be blameless with respect to your statutes so that I may not become ashamed.
81 Kaf
On Obeying God’s WordI long for your deliverance; I have looked to your word, placing my hope in it. 82 My eyes grow weary with respect to what you have promised— I keep asking, “When will you comfort me?” 83 Though I have become like a water skin dried by smoke, I have not forgotten your statutes. 84 How many days must your servant endure this? When will you judge those who persecute me? 85 The arrogant have dug pitfalls for me disobeying your instruction. 86 All of your commands are reliable. I am persecuted without cause—help me! 87 Though the arrogant nearly destroyed me on earth, I did not abandon your precepts. 88 Revive me according to your gracious love; and I will keep the decrees that you have proclaimed.
89 Lamed
Pay Attention to God’s WordYour word is forever, LORD; it is firmly established in heaven. 90 Your faithfulness continues from generation to generation. You established the earth, and it stands firm. 91 To this day they stand by means of your rulings, for all things serve you. 92 Had your instruction not been my pleasure, I would have died in my affliction. 93 I will never forget your precepts, for you have revived me with them. 94 I am yours, so save me, since I have sought your precepts. 95 The wicked lay in wait to destroy me, while I ponder your decrees. 96 I have observed that all things have their limit, but your commandment is very broad.
97 Mem
Loving God’s WordHow I love your instruction! Every day it is my meditation. 98 Your commands make me wiser than my adversaries, since they are always with me. 99 I am more insightful than my teachers, because your decrees are my meditations. 100 I have more common sense than the elders, for I observe your precepts. 101 I keep away from every evil choice so that I may keep your word. 102 I do not avoid your judgments, for you pointed them out to me. 103 How pleasing is what you have to say to me— tasting better than honey. 104 I obtain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every false way.
105 Nun
God’s Word a LightYour word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my pathway. 106 I have given my word and affirmed it, to keep your righteous judgments. 107 I am severely afflicted. Revive me, LORD, according to your word. 108 LORD, please accept my voluntary offerings of praise, and teach me your judgments. 109 Though I constantly take my life in my hands, I do not forget your instruction. 110 Though the wicked lay a trap for me, I haven’t wandered away from your precepts. 111 I have inherited your decrees forever, because they are the joy of my heart. 112 As a result, I am determined to carry out your statutes forever.
113 Samek
Loving God’s LawI despise the double-minded, but I love your instruction. 114 You are my fortress and shield; I hope in your word. 115 Leave me, you who practice evil, that I may observe the commands of my God. 116 Sustain me, God, as you have promised, and I will live. Do not let me be ashamed of my hope. 117 Support me, that I may be saved, and I will carry out your statutes consistently. 118 You reject all who wander from your statutes, since their deceitfulness is vain. 119 You remove all the wicked of the earth like dross; therefore I love your decrees. 120 My flesh trembles out of fear of you, and I am in awe of your judgments.
121 Ayin
Praying for God’s DeliveranceI have acted with justice and righteousness; do not abandon me to my oppressors. 122 Back up your servant in a positive way; do not let the arrogant oppress me. 123 My eyes fail as I look for your salvation and for your righteous promise. 124 Act toward your servant consistent with your gracious love, and teach me your statutes. 125 Since I am your servant, give me understanding, so I will know your decrees. 126 It is time for the LORD to act, since they have violated your instruction. 127 I truly love your commands more than gold, including fine gold. 128 I truly consider all of your precepts—all of them—to be just, while I despise every false way.
129 Peyh
Living in God’s WordYour decrees are wonderful— that’s why I observe them. 130 The disclosure of your words illuminates, providing understanding to the simple. 131 I open my mouth and pant as I long for your commands. 132 Turn in my direction and show mercy to me, as you have decreed regarding those who love your name. 133 Direct my footsteps by your promise, and do not let any kind of iniquity rule over me. 134 Deliver me from human oppression and I will keep your precepts. 135 Show favor to your servant, and teach me your statutes. 136 My eyes shed rivers of tears, when others do not obey your instruction.
137 Tsade
God’s Righteous DecreesLORD, you are righteous, and your judgments are right. 138 You have ordered your decrees to us rightly, and they are very faithful. 139 My zeal consumes me because my enemies forget your words. 140 Your word is very pure, and your servant loves it. 141 Though I may be small and despised, I do not neglect your precepts. 142 Your righteousness is an eternal righteousness, and your instruction is true. 143 Though trouble and anguish overwhelm me, your commands remain my delight. 144 Your righteous decrees are eternal; give me understanding, and I will live.
145 Qof
Waiting in HopeI have cried out with all of my heart. Answer me, LORD! I will observe your statutes. 146 I have called out to you, “Save me, so I may keep your decrees.” 147 I get up before dawn and cry for help; I place my hope in your word. 148 I look forward to the night watches, when I may meditate on what you have said. 149 Hear my voice according to your gracious love. LORD, revive me in keeping with your justice. 150 Those who pursue wickedness draw near; they remain far from your instruction. 151 You are near, LORD, and all of your commands are true. 152 I discovered long ago about your decrees that you have confirmed them forever.
153 Resh
God’s Word is TruthLook on my misery, and rescue me, for I do not ignore your instruction. 154 Defend my case and redeem me; revive me according to your promise. 155 Deliverance remains remote from the wicked, for they do not seek your statutes. 156 Your mercies are magnificent, LORD; revive me according to your judgments. 157 Though my persecutors and adversaries are numerous, I do not turn aside from your decrees. 158 I watch the treacherous, and despise them, because they do not do what you have said. 159 Look how I love your precepts, LORD; revive me according to your gracious love. 160 The sum of your word is truth, and each righteous ordinance of yours is everlasting.
161 Sin/Shin
Loving God’s InstructionThough nobles persecute me for no reason, my heart stands in awe of your words. 162 I find joy at what you have said like one who has discovered a great treasure. 163 I despise and hate falsehood, but I love your instruction. 164 I praise you seven times a day because of your righteous ordinances. 165 Great peace belongs to those who love your instruction, and nothing makes them stumble. 166 I am looking in hope for your deliverance, LORD, as I carry out your commands. 167 My soul treasures your decrees, and I love them deeply. 168 I keep your precepts and your decrees because all of my ways are before you.
169 Tav
The Joy of God’s WordMay my cry arise before you, LORD; give me understanding according to your word. 170 Let my request come before you; deliver me, as you have promised. 171 May my lips utter praise, for you teach me your statutes. 172 May my tongue sing about your promise, for all of your commands are right. 173 May your hand stand ready to assist me, for I have chosen your precepts. 174 I am longing for your deliverance, LORD, and your instruction is my joy. 175 Let me live, and I will praise you; let your ordinances help me. 176 I have wandered away like a lost sheep; come find your servant, for I do not forget your commands.