Bible (Berean Standard)/Psalms

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BOOK I

Psalms 1–41

The Two Paths
(Matthew 5:3–12; Luke 6:20–23)

1 Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
or set foot on the path of sinners,
or sit in the seat of mockers.
2 But his delight is in the Law of the LORD,
and on His law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
yielding its fruit in season,
whose leaf does not wither,
and who prospers in all he does.
4 Not so the wicked!
For they are like chaff driven off by the wind.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the LORD guards the path of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

The Triumphant Messiah
(Acts 4:23–31)

2 Why do the nations rage [1]
and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers gather together,
against the LORD
and against His Anointed One:[2]
3 “Let us break Their chains
and cast away Their cords.”
4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
the Lord taunts them.
5 Then He rebukes them in His anger,
and terrifies them in His fury:
6 “I have installed My King on Zion,
upon My holy mountain.”
7 I will proclaim the decree
spoken to Me by the LORD:
“You are My Son;
today I have become Your Father.[3]
8 Ask Me, and I will make the nations Your inheritance,
the ends of the earth Your possession.
9 You will break them [4] with an iron scepter;
You will shatter them like pottery.[5]”
10 Therefore be wise, O kings;
be admonished, O judges of the earth.
11 Serve the LORD with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry
and you perish in your rebellion,
when His wrath ignites in an instant.
Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.

Deliver Me, O LORD!
(2 Samuel 15:13–29)

A Psalm of David, when he fled from his son Absalom.

3 O LORD, how my foes have increased!
How many rise up against me!
2 Many say of me,
“God will not deliver him.”

Selah [6]

3 But You, O LORD, are a shield around me,
my glory, and the One who lifts my head.
4 To the LORD I cry aloud,
and He answers me from His holy mountain.

Selah

5 I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, for the LORD sustains me.
6 I will not fear the myriads
set against me on every side.
7 Arise, O LORD!
Save me, O my God!
Strike all my enemies on the jaw;
break the teeth of the wicked.
8 Salvation belongs to the LORD;
may Your blessing be on Your people.

Selah

Answer Me When I Call!

For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.

4 Answer me when I call,
O God of my righteousness!
You have relieved my distress;
show me grace and hear my prayer.
2 How long, O men, will my honor be maligned?
How long will you love vanity and seek after lies [7]?

Selah

3 Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for Himself;
the LORD hears when I call to Him.
4 Be angry, yet do not sin;[8]
on your bed, search your heart and be still.

Selah

5 Offer the sacrifices of the righteous
and trust in the LORD.
6 Many ask, “Who can show us the good?”
Shine the light of Your face upon us, O LORD.
7 You have filled my heart with more joy
than when grain and new wine abound.
8 I will lie down and sleep in peace,
for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

Give Ear to My Words

For the choirmaster, to be accompanied by flutes. A Psalm of David.

5 Give ear to my words, O LORD;
consider my groaning.
2 Attend to the sound of my cry,
my King and my God,
for to You I pray.
3 In the morning, O LORD, You hear my voice;
at daybreak I lay my plea before You
and wait in expectation.
4 For You are not a God who delights in wickedness;
no evil can dwell with You.
5 The boastful cannot stand in Your presence;
You hate all workers of iniquity.
6 You destroy those who tell lies;
the LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.
7 But I will enter Your house
by the abundance of Your loving devotion;[9]
in reverence I will bow down
toward Your holy temple.
8 Lead me, O LORD, in Your righteousness
because of my enemies;
make straight Your way before me.
9 For not a word they speak can be trusted;
destruction lies within them.
Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit.[10]
10 Declare them guilty, O God;
let them fall by their own devices.
Drive them out for their many transgressions,
for they have rebelled against You.
11 But let all who take refuge in You rejoice;
let them ever shout for joy.
May You shelter them,
that those who love Your name may rejoice in You.
12 For surely You, O LORD, bless the righteous;
You surround them with the shield of Your favor.

Do Not Rebuke Me in Your Anger
(Psalm 38:1–22)

For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments, according to Sheminith.[11] A Psalm of David.

6 O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger
or discipline me in Your wrath.
2 Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am frail;
heal me, O LORD, for my bones are in agony.
3 My soul is deeply distressed.
How long, O LORD, how long?
4 Turn, O LORD, and deliver my soul;
save me because of Your loving devotion.
5 For there is no mention of You in death;
who can praise You from Sheol?
6 I am weary from groaning;
all night I flood my bed with weeping
and drench my couch with tears.
7 My eyes fail from grief;
they grow dim because of all my foes.
8 Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity,
for the LORD has heard my weeping.
9 The LORD has heard my cry for mercy;
the LORD accepts my prayer.
10 All my enemies will be ashamed and dismayed;
they will turn back in sudden disgrace.

I Take Refuge in You

A Shiggaion [12] of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning the words of Cush, a Benjamite.

7 O LORD my God, I take refuge in You;
save me and deliver me from all my pursuers,
2 or they will shred my soul like a lion
and tear me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
3 O LORD my God, if I have done this,
if injustice is on my hands,
4 if I have rewarded my ally [13] with evil,
if I have plundered my foe without cause,
5 then may my enemy pursue me and overtake me;
may he trample me to the ground
and leave my honor in the dust.

Selah

6 Arise, O LORD, in Your anger;
rise up against the fury of my enemies.
Awake, my God, and ordain judgment.
7 Let the assembled peoples gather around You;
take Your seat over them on high.
8 The LORD judges the peoples;
vindicate me, O LORD,
according to my righteousness and integrity.
9 Put an end to the evil of the wicked,
but establish the righteous,
O righteous God who searches hearts and minds.[14]
10 My shield is with God,
who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge
and a God who feels indignation each day.
12 If one does not repent,
God will sharpen His sword;
He has bent and strung His bow.
13 He has prepared His deadly weapons;
He ordains His arrows with fire.
14 Behold, the wicked man travails with evil;
he conceives trouble and births falsehood.
15 He has dug a hole and hollowed it out;
he has fallen into a pit of his own making.
16 His trouble recoils on himself,
and his violence falls on his own head.
17 I will thank the LORD for His righteousness
and sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.

How Majestic Is Your Name!

For the choirmaster. According to Gittith.[15] A Psalm of David.

8 O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is Your name in all the earth!
You have set Your glory
above the heavens.
2 From the mouths of children and infants
You have ordained praise [16]
on account of Your adversaries,
to silence the enemy and avenger.
3 When I behold Your heavens,
the work of Your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which You have set in place—
4 what is man that You are mindful of him,
or the son of man that You care for him?
5 You made him a little lower than the angels;[17]
You crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You made him ruler of the works of Your hands;
You have placed everything under his feet:[18]
7 all sheep and oxen,
and even the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the air and the fish of the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.
9 O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is Your name in all the earth!

I Will Give Thanks to the LORD

For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Death of the Son.” A Psalm of David.[19]

9 I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart;
I will recount all Your wonders.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in You;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.
3 When my enemies retreat,
they stumble and perish before You.
4 For You have upheld my just cause;
You sit on Your throne judging righteously.
5 You have rebuked the nations;
You have destroyed the wicked;
You have erased their name forever and ever.
6 The enemy has come to eternal ruin,
and You have uprooted their cities;
the very memory of them has vanished.
7 But the LORD abides forever;
He has established His throne for judgment.
8 He judges the world with justice;
He governs the people with equity.
9 The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
10 Those who know Your name trust in You,
for You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.
11 Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion;
proclaim His deeds among the nations.
12 For the Avenger of bloodshed remembers;
He does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.
13 Be merciful to me, O LORD;
see how my enemies afflict me!
Lift me up from the gates of death,
14 that I may declare all Your praises—
that within the gates of Daughter Zion
I may rejoice in Your salvation.
15 The nations have fallen into a pit of their making;
their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.
16 The LORD is known by the justice He brings;
the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.

Higgaion Selah [20]

17 The wicked will return to Sheol—
all the nations who forget God.
18 For the needy will not always be forgotten;
nor the hope of the oppressed forever dashed.
19 Rise up, O LORD, do not let man prevail;
let the nations be judged in Your presence.
20 Lay terror upon them, O LORD;
let the nations know they are but men.

Selah

The Perils of the Pilgrim

10 Why, O LORD, do You stand far off?
Why do You hide in times of trouble?
2 In pride the wicked pursue the needy;
let them be caught in the schemes they devise.
3 For the wicked man boasts in the cravings of his heart;
he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.
4 In his pride the wicked man does not seek Him;
in all his schemes there is no God.
5 He is secure in his ways at all times;
Your lofty judgments are far from him;
he sneers at all his foes.
6 He says to himself, “I will not be moved;
from age to age I am free of distress.”
7 His mouth is full of cursing, deceit,[21] and violence;
trouble and malice are under his tongue.
8 He lies in wait near the villages;
in ambush he slays the innocent;
his eyes watch in stealth for the helpless.
9 He lies in wait like a lion in a thicket;
he lurks to seize the oppressed;
he catches the lowly in his net.
10 They are crushed and beaten down;[22]
the hapless fall prey to his strength.
11 He says to himself, “God has forgotten;
He hides His face and never sees.”
12 Arise, O LORD! Lift up Your hand, O God!
Do not forget the helpless.
13 Why has the wicked man renounced God?
He says to himself, “You will never call me to account.”
14 But You have regarded trouble and grief;
You see to repay it by Your hand.
The victim entrusts himself to You;
You are the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer;
call him to account for his wickedness
until none is left to be found.
16 The LORD is King forever and ever;
the nations perish from His land.
17 You have heard, O LORD, the desire of the humble;
You will strengthen their hearts.
You will incline Your ear,
18 to vindicate the fatherless and oppressed,
that the men of the earth
may strike terror no more.

In the LORD I Take Refuge
(Habakkuk 1:12–17)

For the choirmaster. Of David.

11 In the LORD I take refuge.
How then can you say to me:
“Flee like a bird to your mountain!
2 For behold, the wicked bend their bows.
They set their arrow on the string
to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart.
3 If the foundations are destroyed,
what can the righteous do?”
4 The LORD is in His holy temple;
the LORD is on His heavenly throne.
His eyes are watching closely;
they examine the sons of men.
5 The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked;
His soul hates the lover of violence.
6 On the wicked He will rain down fiery coals and sulfur;
a scorching wind will be their portion.
7 For the LORD is righteous; He loves justice.
The upright will see His face.

The Godly Are No More

For the choirmaster. According to Sheminith.[23] A Psalm of David.

12 Help, O LORD, for the godly are no more;
the faithful have vanished from among men.
2 They lie to one another;
they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.
3 May the LORD cut off all flattering lips
and every boastful tongue.
4 They say, “With our tongues we will prevail.
We own our lips—who can be our master?”
5 “For the cause of the oppressed
and for the groaning of the needy,
I will now arise,” says the LORD.
“I will bring safety to him who yearns.”
6 The words of the LORD are flawless,
like silver refined in a furnace,
like gold purified sevenfold.[24]
7 You, O LORD, will keep us;
You will forever guard us from this generation.
8 The wicked wander freely,
and vileness is exalted among men.

How Long, O LORD?

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

13 How long, O LORD?
Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
2 How long must I wrestle in my soul,
with sorrow in my heart each day?
How long will my enemy dominate me?
3 Consider me and respond, O LORD my God.
Give light to my eyes, lest I sleep in death,
4 lest my enemy say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes rejoice when I fall.
5 But I have trusted in Your loving devotion;
my heart will rejoice in Your salvation.
6 I will sing to the LORD,
for He has been good to me.

The Fool Says There Is No God
(Psalm 53:1–6; Isaiah 59:1–17; Romans 3:9–20)

For the choirmaster. Of David.

14 The fool [25] says in his heart,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt; their acts are vile.
There is no one who does good.
2 The LORD looks down from heaven
upon the sons of men
to see if any understand,
if any seek God.
3 All have turned away,
they have together become corrupt;[26]
there is no one who does good,
not even one.[27]
4 Will the workers of iniquity never learn?
They devour my people like bread;
they refuse to call upon the LORD.
5 There they are, overwhelmed with dread,
for God is in the company of the righteous.
6 You sinners frustrate the plans of the oppressed,
yet the LORD is their shelter.
7 Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come from Zion!
When the LORD restores His captive people,
let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad!

Who May Dwell on Your Holy Mountain?

A Psalm of David.

15 O LORD, who may abide in Your tent?
Who may dwell on Your holy mountain?
2 He who walks with integrity
and practices righteousness,
who speaks the truth from his heart,
3 who has no slander on his tongue,
who does no harm to his neighbor,
who casts no scorn on his friend,
4 who despises the vile
but honors those who fear the LORD,
who does not revise a costly oath,
5 who lends his money without interest
and refuses a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things
will never be shaken.

The Presence of the LORD
(Acts 2:14–36)

A Miktam [28] of David.

16 Preserve me, O God,
for in You I take refuge.
2 I said to the LORD, “You are my Lord;
apart from You I have no good thing.”
3 As for the saints in the land,
they are the excellence
in whom all my delight resides.
4 Sorrows will multiply
to those who chase other gods.
I will not pour out their libations of blood,
or speak their names with my lips.
5 The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup;
You have made my lot secure.
6 The lines of my boundary have fallen in pleasant places;
surely my inheritance is delightful.
7 I will bless the LORD who counsels me;
even at night my conscience instructs me.[29]
8 I have set [30] the LORD always before me.
Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will dwell securely.[31]
10 For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
nor will You let Your Holy One see decay.[32]
11 You have made known to me the path of life;
You will fill me with joy in Your presence,[33]
with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.

Hear My Righteous Plea

A prayer of David.

17 Hear, O LORD, my righteous plea;
listen to my cry.
Give ear to my prayer—
it comes from lips free of deceit.
2 May my vindication come from Your presence;
may Your eyes see what is right.
3 You have tried my heart;
You have visited me in the night.
You have tested me and found no evil;
I have resolved not to sin with my mouth.
4 As for the deeds of men—
by the word of Your lips
I have avoided the ways of the violent.
5 My steps have held to Your paths;
my feet have not slipped.
6 I call on You, O God,
for You will answer me.
Incline Your ear to me;
hear my words.
7 Show the wonders of Your loving devotion,
You who save by Your right hand
those who seek refuge from their foes.
8 Keep me as the apple of [34] Your eye;
hide me in the shadow of Your wings
9 from the wicked who assail me,
from my mortal enemies who surround me.
10 They have closed their callous hearts;
their mouths speak with arrogance.
11 They have tracked us down, and now surround us;
their eyes are set to cast us to the ground,
12 like a lion greedy for prey,
like a young lion lurking in ambush.
13 Arise, O LORD, confront them!
Bring them to their knees;
deliver me from the wicked by Your sword,
14 from such men, O LORD, by Your hand—
from men of the world
whose portion is in this life.
May You fill the bellies of Your treasured ones [35] and satisfy their sons,
so they leave their abundance to their children.
15 As for me, I will behold Your face in righteousness;
when I awake, I will be satisfied in Your presence.

The LORD Is My Rock
(2 Samuel 22:1–51)

For the choirmaster. Of David the servant of the LORD, who sang this song to the LORD on the day the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:

18 I love You, O LORD, my strength.
2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer.
My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation,
my stronghold.
3 I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;
so shall I be saved from my enemies.
4 The cords of death encompassed me;
the torrents of chaos overwhelmed me.
5 The cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
6 In my distress I called upon the LORD;
I cried to my God for help.
From His temple He heard my voice,
and my cry for His help reached His ears.
7 Then the earth shook and quaked,
and the foundations of the mountains trembled;
they were shaken because He burned with anger.
8 Smoke rose from His nostrils,
and consuming fire came from His mouth;
glowing coals blazed forth.
9 He parted the heavens and came down
with dark clouds beneath His feet.
10 He mounted a cherub and flew;
He soared on the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness His hiding place,
and storm clouds a canopy around Him.
12 From the brightness of His presence
His clouds advanced—
hailstones and coals of fire.[36]
13 The LORD thundered from heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded—
hailstones and coals of fire.[37]
14 He shot His arrows and scattered the foes;
He hurled lightning and routed them.
15 The channels of the sea appeared,
and the foundations of the world were exposed,
at Your rebuke, O LORD,
at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.
16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
He drew me out of deep waters.
17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from foes too mighty for me.
18 They confronted me in my day of calamity,
but the LORD was my support.
19 He brought me out into the open;
He rescued me because He delighted in me.
20 The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness;
He has repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands.
21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all His ordinances are before me;
I have not disregarded His statutes.
23 And I have been blameless before Him
and kept myself from iniquity.
24 So the LORD has repaid me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.
25 To the faithful You show Yourself faithful,
to the blameless You show Yourself blameless;
26 to the pure You show Yourself pure,
but to the crooked You show Yourself shrewd.
27 For You save an afflicted people,
but You humble those with haughty eyes.
28 For You, O LORD, light my lamp;
my God lights up my darkness.
29 For in You I can charge an army,
and with my God I can scale a wall.
30 As for God, His way is perfect;
the word of the LORD is flawless.
He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
31 For who is God besides the LORD?
And who is the Rock except our God?
32 It is God who arms me with strength
and makes my way clear.
33 He makes my feet like those of a deer
and stations me upon the heights.
34 He trains my hands for battle;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You have given me Your shield of salvation;
Your right hand upholds me,
and Your gentleness exalts me.[38]
36 You broaden the path beneath me
so that my ankles do not give way.
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them;
I did not turn back until they were consumed.
38 I crushed them so they could not rise;
they have fallen under my feet.
39 You have armed me with strength for battle;
You have subdued my foes beneath me.
40 You have made my enemies retreat before me;
I put an end to those who hated me.
41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—
to the LORD, but He did not answer.
42 I ground them as dust in the face of the wind;
I trampled them [39] like mud in the streets.
43 You have delivered me from the strife of the people;
You have made me the head of nations;
a people I had not known shall serve me.
44 When they hear me, they obey me;
foreigners cower before me.
45 Foreigners lose heart
and come trembling from their strongholds.
46 The LORD lives, and blessed be my Rock!
And may the God of my salvation be exalted—
47 the God who avenges me
and subdues nations beneath me,
48 who delivers me from my enemies.
You exalt me above my foes;
You rescue me from violent men.
49 Therefore I will praise You, O LORD, among the nations;
I will sing praises to Your name.[40]
50 Great salvation He brings to His king.
He shows loving devotion to His anointed,
to David and his descendants forever.

The Heavens Declare the Glory of God

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

19 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of His hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 Without speech or language,
without a sound to be heard,[41]
4 their voice [42] has gone out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.[43]
In the heavens He has pitched
a tent for the sun.
5 Like a bridegroom emerging from his chamber,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course,
6 it rises at one end of the heavens
and runs its circuit to the other;
nothing is deprived of its warmth.
7 The Law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the LORD are right,
bringing joy to the heart;
the commandments of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
the judgments of the LORD are true,
being altogether righteous.
10 They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the comb.
11 By them indeed Your servant is warned;
in keeping them is great reward.
12 Who can discern his own errors?
Cleanse me from my hidden faults.
13 Keep Your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless
and cleansed of great transgression.
14 May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in Your sight,
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

The Day of Trouble

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

20 May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble;
may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
2 May He send you help from the sanctuary
and sustain you from Zion.
3 May He remember all your gifts
and look favorably on your burnt offerings.

Selah

4 May He give you the desires of your heart
and make all your plans succeed.
5 May we shout for joy at your victory
and raise a banner in the name of our God.
May the LORD grant all your petitions.
6 Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed;
He answers him from His holy heaven
with the saving power of His right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots and others in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
8 They collapse and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm.
9 O LORD, save [44] the king.
Answer us on the day we call.

After the Battle
(Proverbs 21:1–31)

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

21 O LORD, the king rejoices in Your strength.
How greatly he exults in Your salvation!
2 You have granted his heart’s desire
and have not withheld the request of his lips.

Selah

3 For You welcomed him with rich blessings;
You placed on his head a crown of pure gold.
4 He asked You for life, and You granted it—
length of days, forever and ever.
5 Great is his glory in Your salvation;
You bestow on him splendor and majesty.
6 For You grant him blessings forever;
You cheer him with joy in Your presence.
7 For the king trusts in the LORD;
through the loving devotion of the Most High,
he will not be shaken.
8 Your hand will apprehend all Your enemies;
Your right hand will seize those who hate You.
9 You will place them in a fiery furnace
at the time of Your appearing.
In His wrath the LORD will engulf them,
and the fire will consume them.
10 You will wipe their descendants from the earth,
and their offspring from the sons of men.
11 Though they intend You harm,
the schemes they devise will not prevail.
12 For You will put them to flight
when Your bow is trained upon them.
13 Be exalted, O LORD, in Your strength;
we will sing and praise Your power.

The Psalm of the Cross
(Matthew 27:32–56; Mark 15:21–41; Luke 23:26–43; John 19:16–30)

For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Doe of the Dawn.” A Psalm of David.

22 My God, my God,
why have You forsaken me?[45]
Why are You so far from saving me,
so far from my words of groaning?
2 I cry out by day, O my God,
but You do not answer,
and by night,
but I have no rest.
3 Yet You are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4 In You our fathers trusted;
they trusted and You delivered them.
5 They cried out to You and were set free;
they trusted in You and were not disappointed.
6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by men and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they sneer and shake their heads:
8 “He trusts in the LORD,
let the LORD deliver him;
let the LORD rescue him,
since He delights in him.”[46]
9 Yet You brought me forth from the womb;
You made me secure at my mother’s breast.
10 From birth I was cast upon You;
from my mother’s womb You have been my God.
11 Be not far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13 They open their jaws against me
like lions that roar and maul.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are disjointed.
My heart is like wax;
it melts away within me.
15 My strength [47] is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
You lay me in the dust of death.
16 For dogs surround me;
a band of evil men encircles me;
they have pierced my hands and feet.[48]
17 I can count all my bones;
they stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my garments among them
and cast lots for my clothing.[49]
19 But You, O LORD, be not far off;
O my Strength, come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver my soul from the sword,
my precious life from the power of wild dogs.
21 Save me from the mouth of the lion;
at the horns of the wild oxen You have answered me!
22 I will proclaim Your name to my brothers;
I will praise You in the assembly.[50]
23 You who fear the LORD, praise Him!
All descendants of Jacob, honor Him!
All offspring of Israel, revere Him!
24 For He has not despised or detested
the torment of the afflicted.
He has not hidden His face from him,
but has attended to his cry for help.
25 My praise for You resounds in the great assembly;
I will fulfill my vows before those who fear You.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the LORD will praise Him.
May your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the LORD.
All the families of the nations
will bow down before Him.
28 For dominion belongs to the LORD
and He rules over the nations.
29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before Him—
even those unable to preserve their lives.
30 Posterity will serve Him;
they will declare the Lord to a new generation.
31 They will come and proclaim His righteousness
to a people yet unborn—
all that He has done.

The LORD Is My Shepherd
(Ezekiel 34:11–24; John 10:1–21)

A Psalm of David.

23 The LORD is my shepherd;[51]
I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
for the sake of His name.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,[52]
I will fear no evil,
for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

The Earth Is the LORD’s

A Psalm of David.

24 The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof,[53]
the world and all who dwell therein.
2 For He has founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the waters.
3 Who may ascend the hill of the LORD?
Who may stand in His holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to an idol [54]
or swear deceitfully.
5 He will receive blessing from the LORD
and vindication from the God of his salvation.
6 Such is the generation of those who seek Him,
who seek Your face, O God of Jacob.[55]

Selah

7 Lift up your heads, O gates!
Be lifted up, O ancient doors,
that the King of Glory may enter!
8 Who is this King of Glory?
The LORD strong and mighty,
the LORD mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, O gates!
Be lifted up, O ancient doors,
that the King of Glory may enter!
10 Who is He, this King of Glory?
The LORD of Hosts—
He is the King of Glory.

Selah

To You I Lift Up My Soul

Of David.[56]

25 To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul;
2 in You, my God, I trust.
Do not let me be put to shame;
do not let my enemies exult over me.
3 Surely none who wait for You will be put to shame;
but those who are faithless without cause will be disgraced.
4 Show me Your ways, O LORD;
teach me Your paths.
5 Guide me in Your truth and teach me,
for You are the God of my salvation;
all day long I wait for You.
6 Remember, O LORD, Your compassion and loving devotion,
for they are from age to age.
7 Remember not the sins of my youth,
nor my rebellious acts;
remember me according to Your loving devotion,
because of Your goodness, O LORD.
8 Good and upright is the LORD;
therefore He shows sinners the way.
9 He guides the humble in what is right
and teaches them His way.
10 All the LORD’s ways are loving and faithful
to those who keep His covenant and His decrees.
11 For the sake of Your name, O LORD,
forgive my iniquity, for it is great.
12 Who is the man who fears the LORD?
He will instruct him in the path chosen for him.
13 His soul will dwell in prosperity,
and his descendants will inherit the land.
14 The LORD confides in those who fear Him,
and reveals His covenant to them.
15 My eyes are always on the LORD,
for He will free my feet from the mesh.
16 Turn to me and be gracious,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
17 The troubles of my heart increase;
free me from my distress.
18 Consider my affliction and trouble,
and take away all my sins.
19 Consider my enemies, for they are many,
and they hate me with vicious hatred.
20 Guard my soul and deliver me;
let me not be put to shame,
for I take refuge in You.
21 May integrity and uprightness preserve me,
because I wait for You.[57]
22 Redeem Israel, O God,
from all its distress.

Vindicate Me, O LORD

Of David.

26 Vindicate me, O LORD!
For I have walked with integrity;
I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.
2 Test me, O LORD, and try me;
examine my heart [58] and mind.
3 For Your loving devotion is before my eyes,
and I have walked in Your truth.
4 I do not sit with deceitful men,
nor keep company with hypocrites.
5 I hate the mob of evildoers,
and refuse to sit with the wicked.
6 I wash my hands in innocence
that I may go about Your altar, O LORD,
7 to raise my voice in thanksgiving
and declare all Your wonderful works.
8 O LORD, I love the house where You dwell,
the place where Your glory resides.
9 Do not take my soul away with sinners,
or my life with men of bloodshed,
10 in whose hands are wicked schemes,
whose right hands are full of bribes.
11 But I will walk with integrity;
redeem me and be merciful to me.
12 My feet stand on level ground;
in the congregations I will bless the LORD.

The LORD Is My Salvation

Of David.

27 The LORD is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
whom shall I dread?
2 When the wicked came upon me to devour my flesh,
my enemies and foes stumbled and fell.
3 Though an army encamps around me,
my heart will not fear;
though a war breaks out against me,
I will keep my trust.
4 One thing I have asked of the LORD;
this is what I desire:
to dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the LORD
and seek Him in His temple.
5 For in the day of trouble
He will hide me in His shelter;
He will conceal me under the cover of His tent;
He will set me high upon a rock.
6 Then my head will be held high
above my enemies around me.
At His tabernacle I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the LORD.
7 Hear, O LORD, my voice when I call;
be merciful and answer me.
8 My heart said, “Seek His face.”
Your face, O LORD, I will seek.
9 Hide not Your face from me,
nor turn away Your servant in anger.
You have been my helper;
do not leave me or forsake me,
O God of my salvation.
10 Though my father and mother forsake me,
the LORD will receive me.
11 Teach me Your way, O LORD,
and lead me on a level path,
because of my oppressors.
12 Do not hand me over to the will of my foes,
for false witnesses rise up against me,
breathing out violence.
13 Still I am certain to see
the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.
14 Wait patiently for the LORD;
be strong and courageous.
Wait patiently for the LORD!

The LORD Is My Strength

Of David.

28 To You, O LORD, I call;
be not deaf to me, O my Rock.
For if You remain silent,
I will be like those descending to the Pit.
2 Hear my cry for mercy
when I call to You for help,
when I lift up my hands
toward Your holy sanctuary.[59]
3 Do not drag me away with the wicked,
and with the workers of iniquity,
who speak peace to their neighbors
while malice is in their hearts.
4 Repay them according to their deeds
and for their works of evil.
Repay them for what their hands have done;
bring back on them what they deserve.
5 Since they show no regard for the works of the LORD
or what His hands have done,
He will tear them down
and never rebuild them.
6 Blessed be the LORD,
for He has heard my cry for mercy.
7 The LORD is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped.
Therefore my heart rejoices,
and I give thanks to Him with my song.
8 The LORD is the strength of His people,
a stronghold of salvation for His anointed.
9 Save Your people and bless Your inheritance;
shepherd them and carry them forever.

Ascribe Glory to the LORD

A Psalm of David.

29 Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings,[60]
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name;
worship the LORD in the splendor of His holiness.[61]
3 The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders;
the LORD is heard over many waters.
4 The voice of the LORD is powerful;
the voice of the LORD is majestic.
5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
the LORD shatters the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
and Sirion [62] like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the LORD
strikes with flames of fire.
8 The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;
the LORD shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the LORD twists the oaks [63]
and strips the forests bare.
And in His temple all cry, “Glory!”
10 The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
the LORD is enthroned as King forever.
11 The LORD gives His people strength;
the LORD blesses His people with peace.

You Turned My Mourning into Dancing

A Psalm. A song for the dedication of the temple. Of David.

30 I will exalt You, O LORD,
for You have lifted me up
and have not allowed my foes
to rejoice over me.
2 O LORD my God, I cried to You for help,
and You healed me.
3 O LORD, You pulled me up from Sheol;
You spared me from descending into the Pit.
4 Sing to the LORD, O you His saints,
and praise His holy name.[64]
5 For His anger is fleeting,
but His favor lasts a lifetime.
Weeping may stay the night,
but joy comes in the morning.
6 In prosperity I said,
“I will never be shaken.”
7 O LORD, You favored me;
You made my mountain stand strong.
When You hid Your face,
I was dismayed.
8 To You, O LORD, I called,
and I begged my Lord for mercy:
9 “What gain is there in my bloodshed,[65]
in my descent to the Pit?[66]
Will the dust praise You?
Will it proclaim Your faithfulness?
10 Hear me, O LORD, and have mercy;
O LORD, be my helper.”
11 You turned my mourning into dancing;
You peeled off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
12 that my heart may sing Your praises and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give thanks forever.

Into Your Hands I Commit My Spirit
(Luke 23:44–49)

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

31 In You, O LORD, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
save me by Your righteousness.
2 Incline Your ear to me;
come quickly to my rescue.
Be my rock of refuge,
the stronghold of my deliverance.
3 For You are my rock and my fortress;
lead me and guide me for the sake of Your name.
4 You free me from the net laid out for me,
for You are my refuge.
5 Into Your hands I commit my spirit;[67]
You have redeemed me, O LORD, God of truth.
6 I hate [68] those who cling to worthless idols,
but in the LORD I trust.
7 I will be glad and rejoice in Your loving devotion,
for You have seen my affliction;
You have known the anguish of my soul.
8 You have not delivered me to the enemy;
You have set my feet in the open.
9 Be merciful to me, O LORD,
for I am in distress;
my eyes fail from sorrow,
my soul and body as well.
10 For my life is consumed with grief
and my years with groaning;
my iniquity has drained my strength,
and my bones are wasting away.
11 Among all my enemies I am a disgrace,
and among my neighbors even more.
I am dreaded by my friends—
they flee when they see me on the street.
12 I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind.
I am like a broken vessel.
13 For I hear the slander of many;
there is terror on every side.
They conspire against me
and plot to take my life.
14 But I trust in You, O LORD;
I say, “You are my God.”
15 My times are in Your hands;
deliver me from my enemies
and from those who pursue me.
16 Make Your face shine on Your servant;
save me by Your loving devotion.
17 O LORD, let me not be ashamed,
for I have called on You.
Let the wicked be put to shame;
let them lie silent in Sheol.
18 May lying lips be silenced—
lips that speak with arrogance against the righteous,
full of pride and contempt.
19 How great is Your goodness
which You have laid up for those who fear You,
which You have bestowed before the sons of men
on those who take refuge in You!
20 You hide them in the secret place of Your presence
from the schemes of men.
You conceal them in Your shelter
from accusing tongues.
21 Blessed be the LORD,
for He has shown me His loving devotion
in a city under siege.
22 In my alarm I said,
“I am cut off from Your sight!”
But You heard my plea for mercy
when I called to You for help.
23 Love the LORD, all His saints.
The LORD preserves the faithful,
but fully repays the arrogant.
24 Be strong and courageous,
all you who hope in the LORD.

The Joy of Forgiveness
(Romans 4:1–12)

Of David. A Maskil.[69]

32 Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.[70]
2 Blessed is the man
whose iniquity the LORD does not count against him,[71]
in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3 When I kept silent, my bones became brittle
from my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night
Your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was drained [72]
as in the summer heat.

Selah

5 Then I acknowledged my sin to You
and did not hide my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,”
and You forgave the guilt of my sin.

Selah

6 Therefore let all the godly pray to You
while You may be found.
Surely when great waters rise,
they will not come near.
7 You are my hiding place.
You protect me from trouble;
You surround me with songs of deliverance.

Selah

8 I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;
I will give you counsel and watch over you.
9 Do not be like the horse or mule,
which have no understanding;
they must be controlled with bit and bridle
to make them come to you.
10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
but loving devotion surrounds him who trusts in the LORD.
11 Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, O righteous ones;
shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

Praise to the Creator
(Psalm 148:1–14)

33 Rejoice in the LORD, O righteous ones;
it is fitting for the upright to praise Him.
2 Praise the LORD with the harp;
make music to Him with ten strings.
3 Sing to Him a new song;
play skillfully with a shout of joy.
4 For the word of the LORD is upright,
and all His work is trustworthy.
5 The LORD loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of His loving devotion.
6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,
and all the stars by the breath of His mouth.
7 He piles up the waters of the sea;
He puts the depths into storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the LORD;
let all the people of the world revere Him.
9 For He spoke, and it came to be;
He commanded, and it stood firm.
10 The LORD frustrates the plans of the nations;
He thwarts the devices of the peoples.
11 The counsel of the LORD stands forever,
the purposes of His heart to all generations.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people He has chosen as His inheritance!
13 The LORD looks down from heaven;
He sees all the sons of men.
14 From His dwelling place He gazes
on all who inhabit the earth.
15 He shapes the hearts of each;
He considers all their works.
16 No king is saved by his vast army;
no warrior is delivered by his great strength.
17 A horse is a vain hope for salvation;
even its great strength cannot save.
18 Surely the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him,
on those whose hope is in His loving devotion
19 to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine.
20 Our soul waits for the LORD;
He is our help and our shield.
21 For our hearts rejoice in Him,
since we trust in His holy name.
22 May Your loving devotion rest on us, O LORD,
as we put our hope in You.

Taste and See That the LORD Is Good
(1 Samuel 21:8–15)

Of David, when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech,[73] so that the king drove him away.[74]

34 I will bless the LORD at all times;
His praise will always be on my lips.
2 My soul boasts in the LORD;
let the oppressed hear and rejoice.
3 Magnify the LORD with me;
let us exalt His name together.
4 I sought the LORD, and He answered me;
He delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to Him are radiant with joy;
their faces shall never be ashamed.
6 This poor man called out, and the LORD heard him;
He saved him from all his troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him,
and he delivers them.
8 Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
9 Fear the LORD, you His saints,
for those who fear Him lack nothing.
10 Young lions go lacking and hungry,
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
11 Come, children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12 Who is the man who delights in life,
who desires to see good days?
13 Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from deceitful speech.
14 Turn away from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,
and His ears are inclined to their cry.[75]
16 But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil,[76]
to wipe out all memory of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears;
He delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted;
He saves the contrite in spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the LORD delivers him from them all.
20 He protects all his bones;
not one of them will be broken.[77]
21 Evil will slay the wicked,
and the haters of the righteous will be condemned.
22 The LORD redeems His servants,
and none who take refuge in Him will be condemned.

Contend with My Opponents, O LORD

Of David.

35 Contend with my opponents, O LORD;
fight against those who fight against me.
2 Take up Your shield and buckler;
arise and come to my aid.
3 Draw the spear and javelin [78] against my pursuers;
say to my soul: “I am your salvation.”
4 May those who seek my life
be disgraced and put to shame;
may those who plan to harm me
be driven back and confounded.
5 May they be like chaff in the wind,
as the angel of the LORD drives them away.
6 May their path be dark and slick,
as the angel of the LORD pursues.
7 For without cause they laid their net for me;
without reason they dug a pit for my soul.
8 May ruin befall them by surprise;
may the net they hid ensnare them;
may they fall into the hazard they created.
9 Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD
and exult in His salvation.
10 All my bones will exclaim,
“Who is like You, O LORD,
who delivers the afflicted from the aggressor,
the poor and needy from the robber?”
11 Hostile witnesses come forward;
they make charges I know nothing about.
12 They repay me evil for good,
to the bereavement of my soul.
13 Yet when they were ill,
I put on sackcloth;
I humbled myself with fasting,
but my prayers returned unanswered.[79]
14 I paced about
as for my friend or brother;
I was bowed down with grief,
like one mourning for his mother.
15 But when I stumbled, they assembled in glee;
they gathered together against me.
Assailants I did not know
slandered me without ceasing.
16 Like godless jesters at a feast,[80]
they gnashed their teeth at me.
17 How long, O Lord, will You look on?
Rescue my soul from their ravages,
my precious life from these lions.
18 Then I will give You thanks in the great assembly;
I will praise You among many people.
19 Let not my enemies gloat over me without cause,
nor those who hate me without reason wink in malice.[81]
20 For they do not speak peace,
but they devise deceitful schemes
against those who live quietly in the land.
21 They gape at me and say,
“Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen!”
22 O LORD, You have seen it; be not silent.
O Lord, be not far from me.
23 Awake and rise to my defense,
to my cause, my God and my Lord!
24 Vindicate me by Your righteousness, O LORD my God,
and do not let them gloat over me.
25 Let them not say in their hearts,
“Aha, just what we wanted!”
Let them not say,
“We have swallowed him up!”
26 May those who gloat in my distress
be ashamed and confounded;
may those who exalt themselves over me
be clothed in shame and reproach.
27 May those who favor my vindication
shout for joy and gladness;
may they always say, “Exalted be the LORD
who delights in His servant’s well-being.”
28 Then my tongue will proclaim Your righteousness
and Your praises all day long.

The Transgression of the Wicked

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD.

36 An oracle is in my heart
regarding the transgression of the wicked man:
There is no fear of God
before his eyes.[82]
2 For his eyes are too full of conceit
to detect or hate his own sin.
3 The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful;
he has ceased to be wise and well-doing.
4 Even on his bed he plots wickedness;
he sets himself on a path that is not good;
he fails to reject evil.
5 Your loving devotion, O LORD, reaches to the heavens,
Your faithfulness to the clouds.
6 Your righteousness is like the highest mountains;
Your judgments are like the deepest sea.
O LORD, You preserve man and beast.
7 How precious is Your loving devotion, O God,
that the children of men take refuge
in the shadow of Your wings!
8 They feast on the abundance of Your house,
and You give them drink from Your river of delights.
9 For with You is the fountain of life;
in Your light we see light.
10 Extend Your loving devotion to those who know You,
and Your righteousness to the upright in heart.
11 Let not the foot of the proud come against me,
nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12 There the evildoers lie fallen,
thrown down and unable to rise.

Delight Yourself in the LORD
(1 Kings 2:1–9)

Of David.[83]

37 Do not fret over those who do evil;
do not envy those who do wrong.
2 For they wither quickly like grass
and wilt like tender plants.
3 Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and cultivate 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 in Him, and He will do it.
6 He will bring forth your righteousness like the dawn,
your justice like the noonday sun.
7 Be still before the LORD
and wait patiently for Him;
do not fret when men prosper in their ways,
when they carry out wicked schemes.
8 Refrain from anger and abandon wrath;
do not fret—it can only bring harm.
9 For the evildoers will be cut off,
but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
10 Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.
11 But the meek will inherit the land [84]
and delight in abundant prosperity.
12 The wicked scheme against the righteous
and gnash their teeth at them,
13 but the Lord laughs,
seeing that their day is coming.
14 The wicked have drawn the sword
and bent the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose ways are upright.
15 But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.
16 Better is the little of the righteous
than the abundance of many who are wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken,
but the LORD upholds the righteous.
18 The LORD knows the days of the blameless,
and their inheritance will last forever.
19 In the time of evil they will not be ashamed,
and in the days of famine they will be satisfied.
20 But the wicked and enemies of the LORD
will perish like the glory of the fields.
They will vanish;
like smoke they will fade away.
21 The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but the righteous are gracious and giving.
22 Surely those He blesses will inherit the land,
but the cursed will be destroyed.
23 The steps of a man are ordered by the LORD
who takes delight in his journey.
24 Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed,
for the LORD is holding his hand.[85]
25 I once was young and now am old,
yet never have I seen the righteous abandoned
or their children begging for bread.
26 They are ever generous and quick to lend,
and their children are a blessing.
27 Turn away from evil and do good,
so that you will abide forever.
28 For the LORD loves justice
and will not forsake His saints.
They are preserved forever,
but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off.
29 The righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks justice.
31 The law of his God is in his heart;
his steps do not falter.
32 Though the wicked lie in wait for the righteous,
and seek to slay them,
33 the LORD will not leave them in their power
or let them be condemned under judgment.
34 Wait for the LORD and keep His way,
and He will raise you up to inherit the land.
When the wicked are cut off,
you will see it.
35 I have seen a wicked, ruthless man
flourishing like a well-rooted native tree,
36 yet he passed away and was no more;
though I searched, he could not be found.
37 Consider the blameless and observe the upright,
for posterity awaits the man of peace.[86]
38 But the transgressors will all be destroyed;
the future of the wicked will be cut off.
39 The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD;
He is their stronghold in time of trouble.
40 The LORD helps and delivers them;
He rescues and saves them from the wicked,
because they take refuge in Him.

Do Not Rebuke Me in Your Anger
(Psalm 6:1–10)

A Psalm of David, for remembrance.

38 O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger
or discipline me in Your wrath.
2 For Your arrows have pierced me deeply,
and Your hand has pressed down on me.
3 There is no soundness in my body
because of Your anger;
there is no rest in my bones
because of my sin.
4 For my iniquities have overwhelmed me;
they are a burden too heavy to bear.
5 My wounds are foul and festering
because of my sinful folly.
6 I am bent and brought low;
all day long I go about mourning.
7 For my loins are full of burning pain,
and no soundness remains in my body.
8 I am numb and badly crushed;
I groan in anguish of heart.
9 O Lord, my every desire is before You;
my groaning is not hidden from You.
10 My heart pounds, my strength fails,
and even the light of my eyes has faded.
11 My beloved and friends shun my disease,
and my kinsmen stand at a distance.
12 Those who seek my life lay snares;
those who wish me harm speak destruction,
plotting deceit all day long.
13 But like a deaf man, I do not hear;
and like a mute man, I do not open my mouth.
14 I am like a man who cannot hear,
whose mouth offers no reply.
15 I wait for You, O LORD;
You will answer, O Lord my God.
16 For I said, “Let them not gloat over me—
those who taunt me when my foot slips.”
17 For I am ready to fall,
and my pain is ever with me.
18 Yes, I confess my iniquity;
I am troubled by my sin.
19 Many are my enemies without cause,[87]
and many hate me without reason.[88]
20 Those who repay my good with evil
attack me for pursuing the good.
21 Do not forsake me, O LORD;
be not far from me, O my God.
22 Come quickly to help me,
O Lord my Savior.

I Will Watch My Ways

For the choirmaster. For Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

39 I said, “I will watch my ways
so that I will not sin with my tongue;
I will guard my mouth with a muzzle
as long as the wicked are present.”
2 I was speechless and still;
I remained silent, even from speaking good,
and my sorrow was stirred.
3 My heart grew hot within me;
as I mused, the fire burned.
Then I spoke with my tongue:
4 “Show me, O LORD, my end
and the measure of my days.
Let me know how fleeting my life is.
5 You, indeed, have made my days as handbreadths,
and my lifetime as nothing before You.
Truly each man at his best
exists as but a breath.

Selah

6 Surely every man goes about like a phantom;
surely he bustles in vain;
he heaps up riches
not knowing who will haul them away.
7 And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?
My hope is in You.
8 Deliver me from all my transgressions;
do not make me the reproach of fools.
9 I have become mute;
I do not open my mouth
because of what You have done.
10 Remove Your scourge from me;
I am perishing by the force of Your hand.
11 You discipline and correct a man for his iniquity,
consuming like a moth what he holds dear;
surely each man is but a vapor.

Selah

12 Hear my prayer, O LORD,
and give ear to my cry for help;
do not be deaf to my weeping.
For I am a foreigner dwelling with You,
a stranger like all my fathers.
13 Turn Your gaze away from me,
that I may again be cheered
before I depart and am no more.”

I Waited Patiently for the LORD
(Psalm 70:1–5; Hebrews 10:1–18)

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

40 I waited patiently for the LORD;
He inclined to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me up from the pit of despair,
out of the miry clay;
He set my feet upon a rock,
and made my footsteps firm.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the LORD.
4 Blessed is the man
who has made the LORD his trust,
who has not turned to the proud,
nor to those who lapse into falsehood.[89]
5 Many, O LORD my God,
are the wonders You have done,
and the plans You have for us—
none can compare to You—
if I proclaim and declare them,
they are more than I can count.
6 Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,
but my ears You have opened.[90]
Burnt offerings and sin offerings
You did not require.
7 Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—
it is written about me in the scroll:
8 I delight to do Your will, O my God;[91]
Your law is within my heart.”
9 I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly;
behold, I do not seal my lips,
as You, O LORD, do know.
10 I have not covered up Your righteousness in my heart;
I have declared Your faithfulness and salvation;
I have not concealed Your loving devotion and faithfulness
from the great assembly.
11 O LORD, do not withhold Your mercy from me;
Your loving devotion and faithfulness will always guard me.
12 For evils without number surround me;
my sins have overtaken me, so that I cannot see.
They are more than the hairs of my head,
and my heart has failed within me.
13 Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me;
hurry, O LORD, to help me.
14 May those who seek my life
be ashamed and confounded;
may those who wish me harm
be repelled and humiliated.
15 May those who say to me, “Aha, aha!”
be appalled at their own shame.
16 May all who seek You
rejoice and be glad in You;
may those who love Your salvation
always say, “The LORD be magnified!”
17 But I am poor and needy;
may the Lord think of me.
You are my helper and deliverer;
O my God, do not delay.

Victory over Betrayal
(John 13:18–30)

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

41 Blessed is the one who cares for the poor;
the LORD will deliver him in the day of trouble.
2 The LORD will protect and preserve him;
He will bless him in the land
and refuse to surrender him
to the will of his foes.
3 The LORD will sustain him on his bed of illness
and restore him from his bed of sickness.
4 I said, “O LORD, be gracious to me;
heal me, for I have sinned against You.”
5 My enemies say with malice:
“When will he die and be forgotten?”
6 My visitor speaks falsehood;
he gathers slander in his heart;
he goes out and spreads it abroad.
7 All who hate me whisper against me;
they imagine the worst for me:
8 “A vile disease has been poured into him;
he will never get up from where he lies!”
9 Even my close friend whom I trusted,
the one who shared my bread,
has lifted up his heel against me.[92]
10 But You, O LORD, be gracious to me and raise me up,
that I may repay them.
11 By this I know that You delight in me,
for my enemy does not triumph over me.
12 In my integrity You uphold me
and set me in Your presence forever.
13 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Amen and Amen.

BOOK II

Psalms 42–72

As the Deer Pants for the Water

For the choirmaster. A Maskil of the sons of Korah.[93]

42 As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul longs after You, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, the living God.
When shall I come and appear in God’s presence?[94]
3 My tears have been my food
both day and night,
while men ask me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
4 These things come to mind as I pour out my soul:
how I walked with the multitude,
leading the procession to the house of God
with shouts of joy and praise.
5 Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why the unease within me?
Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him
for the salvation of His presence.
6 O my God, my soul despairs within me.
Therefore I remember You
from the land of Jordan and the peaks of Hermon—
even from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep
in the roar of Your waterfalls;
all Your breakers and waves
have rolled over me.
8 The LORD decrees His loving devotion by day,
and at night His song is with me
as a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I say to God my Rock,
“Why have You forgotten me?
Why must I walk in sorrow
because of the enemy’s oppression?”
10 Like the crushing of my bones,
my enemies taunt me,
while they say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
11 Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why the unease within me?
Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him,
my Savior and my God.

Send Out Your Light

43 Vindicate me, O God, and plead my case
against an ungodly nation;
deliver me from deceitful and unjust men.
2 For You are the God of my refuge.
Why have You rejected me?
Why must I walk in sorrow
because of the enemy’s oppression?
3 Send out Your light and Your truth;
let them lead me.
Let them bring me to Your holy mountain,
and to the place where You dwell.
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God, my greatest joy.
I will praise You with the harp,
O God, my God.
5 Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why the unease within me?
Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him,
my Savior and my God.

Redeem Us, O God
(Romans 8:35–39)

For the choirmaster. A Maskil [95] of the sons of Korah.

44 We have heard with our ears, O God;
our fathers have told us
the work You did in their days,
in the days of old.
2 With Your hand You drove out the nations
and planted our fathers there;
You crushed the peoples
and cast them out.
3 For it was not by their sword that they took the land;
their arm did not bring them victory.
It was by Your right hand,
Your arm, and the light of Your face,
because You favored them.
4 You are my King, O God,
who ordains victories for Jacob.
5 Through You we repel our foes;
through Your name we trample our enemies.
6 For I do not trust in my bow,
nor does my sword save me.[96]
7 For You save us from our enemies;
You put those who hate us to shame.
8 In God we have boasted all day long,
and Your name we will praise forever.

Selah

9 But You have rejected and humbled us;
You no longer go forth with our armies.
10 You have made us retreat from the foe,
and those who hate us have plundered us.
11 You have given us up as sheep to be devoured;
You have scattered us among the nations.
12 You sell Your people for nothing;
no profit do You gain from their sale.
13 You have made us a reproach to our neighbors,
a mockery and derision to those around us.
14 You have made us a byword among the nations,
a laughingstock [97] among the peoples.
15 All day long my disgrace is before me,
and shame has covered my face,
16 at the voice of the scorner and reviler,
because of the enemy, bent on revenge.
17 All this has come upon us,
though we have not forgotten You
or betrayed Your covenant.
18 Our hearts have not turned back;
our steps have not strayed from Your path.
19 But You have crushed us in the lair of jackals;[98]
You have covered us with deepest darkness.
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God
or spread out our hands to a foreign god,
21 would not God have discovered,
since He knows the secrets of the heart?
22 Yet for Your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.[99]
23 Wake up, O Lord! Why are You sleeping?
Arise! Do not reject us forever.
24 Why do You hide Your face
and forget our affliction and oppression?
25 For our soul has sunk to the dust;
our bodies cling to the earth.
26 Rise up; be our help!
Redeem us on account of Your loving devotion.

My Heart Is Stirred by a Noble Theme
(1 Kings 3:1–15; 2 Chronicles 1:1–13; Psalm 72:1–20)

For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Lilies.” A Maskil [100] of the sons of Korah. A love song.

45 My heart is stirred by a noble theme
as I recite my verses to the king;[101]
my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.
2 You are the most handsome of men;
grace has anointed your lips,
since God has blessed you forever.
3 Strap your sword at your side, O mighty warrior;
appear in your majesty and splendor.
4 In your splendor ride forth in victory
on behalf of truth and humility and justice;
may your right hand show your awesome deeds.
5 Your arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s foes;
the nations fall beneath your feet.
6 Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever,
and justice is the scepter of Your kingdom.
7 You have loved righteousness
and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has anointed you
above your companions with the oil of joy.[102]
8 All your garments are fragrant
with myrrh and aloes and cassia;
from palaces of ivory the harps make you glad.
9 The daughters of kings are among your honored women;
the queen stands at your right hand,
adorned with the gold of Ophir.
10 Listen, O daughter! Consider and incline your ear:
Forget your people and your father’s house,
11 and the king will desire your beauty;
bow to him, for he is your lord.
12 The Daughter of Tyre will come with a gift;
men of wealth will seek your favor.
13 All glorious is the princess in her chamber;
her gown is embroidered with gold.
14 In colorful garments she is led to the king;
her virgin companions are brought before you.
15 They are led in with joy and gladness;
they enter the palace of the king.
16 Your sons will succeed your fathers;
you will make them princes throughout the land.
17 I will commemorate your name through all generations;
therefore the nations will praise you forever and ever.

God Is Our Refuge and Strength
(2 Kings 18:13–16; 2 Chronicles 32:1–8)

For the choirmaster. Of the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth.[103] A song.

46 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in times of trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear,
though the earth is transformed
and the mountains are toppled
into the depths of the seas,
3 though their waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake in the surge.

Selah

4 There is a river whose streams delight the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her; she will not be moved.
God will help her when morning dawns.
6 Nations rage, kingdoms crumble;
the earth melts when He lifts His voice.
7 The LORD of Hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Selah

8 Come, see the works of the LORD,
who brings devastation upon the earth.
9 He makes wars to cease throughout the earth;
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
He burns the shields [104] in the fire.
10 “Be still and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted over the earth.”
11 The LORD of Hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Selah

Clap Your Hands, All You Peoples

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

47 Clap your hands, all you peoples;
shout unto God with a voice of triumph.
2 How awesome is the LORD Most High,
the great King over all the earth!
3 He subdues nations beneath us,
and peoples under our feet.
4 He chooses our inheritance for us,
the pride of Jacob, whom He loves.

Selah

5 God has ascended amid shouts of joy,
the LORD with the sound of the horn.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises;
sing praises to our King, sing praises!
7 For God is King of all the earth;
sing profound praises to Him.[105]
8 God reigns over the nations;
God is seated on His holy throne.
9 The nobles of the nations have assembled
as the people of the God of Abraham;
for the shields of the earth belong to God;
He is highly exalted.

Broken Bondage

A song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

48 Great is the LORD,
and greatly to be praised
in the city of our God,
His holy mountain.
2 Beautiful in loftiness,
the joy of all the earth,
like the peaks of Zaphon [106] is Mount Zion,
the city of the great King.
3 God is in her citadels;
He has shown Himself to be a fortress.
4 For behold, the kings assembled;
they all advanced together.
5 They saw and were astounded;
they fled in terror.
6 Trembling seized them there,
anguish like a woman in labor.
7 With a wind from the east
You wrecked the ships of Tarshish.[107]
8 As we have heard, so we have seen
in the city of the LORD of Hosts,
in the city of our God:
God will establish her forever.

Selah

9 Within Your temple, O God,
we contemplate Your loving devotion.
10 Your name, O God, like Your praise,
reaches to the ends of the earth;
Your right hand is full of righteousness.
11 Mount Zion is glad,
the daughters [108] of Judah rejoice,
on account of Your judgments.
12 March around Zion, encircle her,
count her towers,
13 consider her ramparts, tour her citadels,
that you may tell the next generation.
14 For this God is our God forever and ever;
He will be our guide even till death.[109]

The Evanescence of Wealth
(Ecclesiastes 5:8–20)

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

49 Hear this, all you peoples;
listen, all inhabitants of the world,
2 both low and high,
rich and poor alike.
3 My mouth will impart wisdom,
and the meditation of my heart will bring understanding.
4 I will incline my ear to a proverb;
I will express my riddle with the harp:
5 Why should I fear in times of trouble,
when wicked usurpers surround me?
6 They trust in their wealth
and boast in their great riches.
7 No man can possibly redeem his brother [110]
or pay his ransom to God.
8 For the redemption of his soul is costly,
and never can payment suffice,
9 that he should live on forever
and not see decay.
10 For it is clear that wise men die,
and the foolish and the senseless both perish
and leave their wealth to others.
11 Their graves [111] are their eternal homes—
their dwellings for endless generations—
even though their lands were their namesakes.
12 But a man, despite his wealth, cannot endure;
he is like the beasts that perish.
13 This is the fate of the self-confident [112]
and their followers who endorse their sayings.

Selah

14 Like sheep they are destined for Sheol.
Death will be their shepherd.
The upright will rule them in the morning,
and their form will decay in Sheol,
far from their lofty abode.
15 But God will redeem my life from Sheol,
for He will surely take me to Himself.

Selah

16 Do not be amazed when a man grows rich,
when the splendor of his house increases.
17 For when he dies, he will carry nothing away;
his abundance will not follow him down.
18 Though in his lifetime he blesses his soul—
and men praise you when you prosper—
19 he will join the generation of his fathers,
who will never see the light of day.
20 A man who has riches without understanding
is like the beasts that perish.

The Mighty One Calls

A Psalm of Asaph.

50 The Mighty One, God the LORD,
speaks and summons the earth
from where the sun rises to where it sets.
2 From Zion, perfect in beauty,
God shines forth.
3 Our God approaches and will not be silent!
Consuming fire precedes Him,
and a tempest rages around Him.
4 He summons the heavens above,
and the earth, that He may judge His people:
5 “Gather to Me My saints,
who made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”
6 And the heavens proclaim His righteousness,
for God Himself is Judge.[113]

Selah

7 “Hear, O My people, and I will speak,
O Israel, and I will testify against you:
I am God, your God.
8 I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices,
and your burnt offerings are ever before Me.
9 I have no need for a bull from your stall
or goats from your pens,
10 for every beast of the forest is Mine—
the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know every bird in the mountains,
and the creatures of the field are Mine.
12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world is Mine, and the fullness thereof.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls,
or drink the blood of goats?
14 Sacrifice a thank offering to God,
and fulfill your vows to the Most High.
15 Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.”
16 To the wicked, however, God says,
“What right have you to recite My statutes
and to bear My covenant on your lips?
17 For you hate My instruction
and cast My words behind you.
18 When you see a thief, you befriend him,
and throw in your lot with adulterers.
19 You unleash your mouth for evil
and unharness your tongue for deceit.
20 You sit and malign your brother;
you slander your own mother’s son.
21 You have done these things, and I kept silent;
you thought I was [114] just like you.
But now I rebuke you
and accuse you to your face.[115]
22 Now consider this, you who forget God,
lest I tear you to pieces,
with no one to rescue you:
23 He who sacrifices a thank offering honors Me,
and to him who rights his way,
I will show the salvation of God.”

Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God
(2 Samuel 12:1–12)

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. When Nathan the prophet came to him after his adultery with Bathsheba.

51 Have mercy on me,[116] O God,
according to Your loving devotion;
according to Your great compassion,
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me clean of my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against You, You only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in Your sight,
so that You may be proved right when You speak
and blameless when You judge.[117]
5 Surely I was brought forth in iniquity;
I was sinful when my mother conceived me.
6 Surely You desire truth in the inmost being;
You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
7 Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones You have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide Your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from Your presence;
take not Your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
and sustain me with a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
and sinners will return to You.
14 Deliver me from bloodguilt, O God,
the God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing of Your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare Your praise.
16 For You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
You take no pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and a contrite heart,
O God, You will not despise.
18 In Your good pleasure, cause Zion to prosper;
build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices,
in whole burnt offerings;
then bulls will be offered on Your altar.

Why Do You Boast of Evil?
(1 Samuel 22:6–23)

For the choirmaster. A Maskil [118] of David. After Doeg the Edomite went to Saul and told him, “David has gone to the house of Ahimelech.”

52 Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man?
The loving devotion of God endures all day long.
2 Your tongue devises destruction
like a sharpened razor,
O worker of deceit.
3 You love evil more than good,
falsehood more than speaking truth.

Selah

4 You love every word that devours,
O deceitful tongue.
5 Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin;
He will snatch you up and tear you away from your tent;
He will uproot you from the land of the living.

Selah

6 The righteous will see and fear;
they will mock the evildoer, saying,
7 “Look at the man
who did not make God his refuge,
but trusted in the abundance of his wealth
and strengthened himself by destruction.”
8 But I am like an olive tree
flourishing in the house of God;
I trust in the loving devotion of God
forever and ever.
9 I will praise You forever,
because You have done it.
I will wait on Your name—
for it is good—
in the presence of Your saints.

The Fool Says There Is No God
(Psalm 14:1–7; Isaiah 59:1–17; Romans 3:9–20)

For the choirmaster. According to Mahalath.[119] A Maskil [120] of David.

53 The fool says in his heart,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt; their ways are vile.
There is no one who does good.
2 God looks down from heaven
upon the sons of men
to see if any understand,
if any seek God.
3 All have turned away,
they have together become corrupt;[121]
there is no one who does good,
not even one.[122]
4 Will the workers of iniquity never learn?
They devour my people like bread;
they refuse to call upon God.
5 There they are, overwhelmed with dread,
where there was nothing to fear.
For God has scattered the bones
of those who besieged you.
You put them to shame,
for God has despised them.
6 Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come from Zion!
When God restores His captive people,[123]
let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad!

Save Me by Your Name
(1 Samuel 23:7–29)

For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. A Maskil [124] of David. When the Ziphites went to Saul and said, “Is David not hiding among us?”

54 Save me, O God, by Your name,
and vindicate me by Your might!
2 Hear my prayer, O God;
listen to the words of my mouth.
3 For strangers rise up against me,
and ruthless men seek my life—
men with no regard for God.

Selah

4 Surely God is my helper;
the Lord is the sustainer of my soul.
5 He will reward my enemies with evil.
In Your faithfulness, destroy them.
6 Freely I will sacrifice to You;
I will praise Your name, O LORD, for it is good.
7 For He has delivered me from every trouble,
and my eyes have stared down my foes.

Cast Your Burden upon the LORD
(2 Samuel 17:15–29)

For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. A Maskil [125] of David.

55 Listen to my prayer, O God,
and do not ignore my plea.
2 Attend to me and answer me.
I am restless in my complaint,
and distraught

3 at the voice of the enemy,

at the pressure of the wicked.
For they release disaster upon me
and revile me in their anger.
4 My heart murmurs within me,
and the terrors of death assail me.
5 Fear and trembling grip me,
and horror has overwhelmed me.
6 I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and find rest.
7 How far away I would flee!
In the wilderness I would remain.

Selah

8 I would hurry to my shelter,
far from this raging tempest.”
9 O Lord, confuse and confound their speech,
for I see violence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they encircle the walls,
while malice and trouble lie within.
11 Destruction is within;
oppression and deceit never leave the streets.
12 For it is not an enemy who insults me;
that I could endure.
It is not a foe who rises against me;
from him I could hide.
13 But it is you, a man like myself,
my companion and close friend.
14 We shared sweet fellowship together;
we walked with the crowd into the house of God.
15 Let death seize them by surprise;
let them go down to Sheol alive,
for evil is with them in their homes.
16 But I call to God,
and the LORD saves me.
17 Morning, noon, and night, I cry out in distress,
and He hears my voice.
18 He redeems my soul in peace
from the battle waged against me,
even though many oppose me.
19 God will hear and humiliate them—
the One enthroned for the ages—

Selah

because they do not change
and they have no fear of God.
20 My companion attacks his friends;
he violates his covenant.
21 His speech is smooth as butter,
but war is in his heart.
His words are softer than oil,
yet they are swords unsheathed.
22 Cast your burden upon the LORD
and He will sustain you;
He will never let the righteous be shaken.
23 But You, O God, will bring them down
to the Pit of destruction;
men of bloodshed and deceit
will not live out half their days.
But I will trust in You.

Be Merciful to Me, O God
(1 Samuel 21:8–15)

For the choirmaster. To the tune of “A Dove on Distant Oaks.” A Miktam [126] of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath.

56 Be merciful to me, O God,
for men are hounding me;
all day they press their attack.
2 My enemies pursue me all day long,
for many proudly assail me.
3 When I am afraid,
I put my trust in You.
4 In God, whose word I praise—
in God I trust.
I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
5 All day long they twist my words;
all their thoughts are on my demise.
6 They conspire, they lurk,
they watch my steps
while they wait to take my life.
7 In spite of such sin, will they escape?[127]
In Your anger, O God, cast down the nations.
8 You have taken account of my wanderings.[128]
Put my tears in Your bottle—
are they not in Your book?
9 Then my enemies will retreat
on the day I cry for help.
By this I will know that God is on my side.
10 In God, whose word I praise,
in the LORD, whose word I praise,
11 in God I trust; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
12 Your vows are upon me, O God;
I will render thank offerings to You.
13 For You have delivered my soul from death,
and my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before God
in the light of life.

In You My Soul Takes Refuge
(1 Samuel 22:1–5; Psalm 108:1–13; Psalm 142:1–7)

For the choirmaster. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam [129] of David, when he fled from Saul into the cave.

57 Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy,
for in You my soul takes refuge.
In the shadow of Your wings I will take shelter
until the danger has passed.
2 I cry out to God Most High,[130]
to God who fulfills His purpose for me.
3 He reaches down from heaven and saves me;
He rebukes those who trample me.

Selah

God sends forth
His loving devotion and His truth.
4 My soul is among the lions;
I lie down with ravenous beasts—
with men whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongues are sharp swords.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
may Your glory cover all the earth.
6 They spread a net for my feet;
my soul was despondent.
They dug a pit before me,
but they themselves have fallen into it!

Selah

7 My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast.
I will sing and make music.
8 Awake, my glory![131]
Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.
9 I will praise You, O Lord, among the nations;
I will sing Your praises among the peoples.
10 For Your loving devotion reaches to the heavens,
and Your faithfulness to the clouds.
11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
may Your glory cover all the earth.

God Judges the Earth

For the choirmaster. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam [132] of David.

58 Do you indeed speak justly, O rulers?
Do you judge uprightly, O sons of men?
2 No, in your hearts you devise injustice;
with your hands you mete out violence on the earth.
3 The wicked are estranged from the womb;
the liars go astray from birth.
4 Their venom is like the venom of a snake,
like a cobra that shuts its ears,
5 refusing to hear the tune of the charmer
who skillfully weaves his spell.
6 O God, shatter their teeth in their mouths;
O LORD, tear out the fangs of the lions.
7 May they vanish
like water that runs off;
when they draw the bow,
may their arrows be blunted.[133]
8 Like a slug that dissolves in its slime,
like a woman’s stillborn child,
may they never see the sun.
9 Before your pots can feel the burning thorns—
whether green or dry—
He will sweep them away.
10 The righteous will rejoice
when they see they are avenged;
they will wash their feet
in the blood of the wicked.
11 Then men will say,
“There is surely a reward for the righteous!
There is surely a God who judges the earth!”

Deliver Me from My Enemies
(1 Samuel 19:1–24)

For the choirmaster. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam [134] of David, when Saul sent men to watch David’s house in order to kill him.

59 Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
protect me from those who rise against me.
2 Deliver me from workers of iniquity,
and save me from men of bloodshed.
3 See how they lie in wait for me.
Fierce men conspire against me
for no transgression or sin of my own, O LORD.
4 For no fault of my own,
they move swiftly to attack me.
Arise to help me, and take notice.
5 O LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel,
rouse Yourself to punish all the nations;
show no mercy to the wicked traitors.

Selah

6 They return in the evening, snarling like dogs
and prowling around the city.
7 See what they spew from their mouths—
sharp words from their lips:
“For who can hear us?”
8 But You, O LORD, laugh at them;
You scoff at all the nations.
9 I will keep watch for You, O my strength,
because You, O God, are my fortress.
10 My God of loving devotion will come to meet me;
God will let me stare down my foes.
11 Do not kill them,
or my people will forget.
Scatter them by Your power,
and bring them down,
O Lord, our shield.
12 By the sins of their mouths
and the words of their lips,
let them be trapped in their pride,
in the curses and lies they utter.
13 Consume them in wrath;
consume them till they are no more,
so it may be known to the ends of the earth
that God rules over Jacob.

Selah

14 They return in the evening,
snarling like dogs
and prowling around the city.
15 They scavenge for food,
and growl if they are not satisfied.
16 But I will sing of Your strength
and proclaim Your loving devotion in the morning.
For You are my fortress,
my refuge in times of trouble.
17 To You, O my strength, I sing praises,
for You, O God, are my fortress,
my God of loving devotion.

Victory with God
(2 Samuel 8:1–14; 1 Chronicles 18:1–13; Psalm 108:1–13)

For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Lily of the Covenant.” A Miktam [135] of David for instruction. When he fought Aram-naharaim [136] and Aram-zobah,[137] and Joab returned and struck down 12,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt.

60 You have rejected us, O God;
You have broken us;
You have been angry;
restore us!
2 You have shaken the land
and torn it open.
Heal its fractures,
for it is quaking.
3 You have shown Your people hardship;
we are staggered from the wine You made us drink.
4 You have raised a banner for those who fear You,
that they may flee the bow.[138]

Selah

5 Respond and save us with Your right hand,
that Your beloved may be delivered.
6 God has spoken from His sanctuary:[139]
“I will triumph!
I will parcel out Shechem
and apportion the Valley of Succoth.
7 Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine;
Ephraim is My helmet, Judah is My scepter.
8 Moab is My washbasin;
upon Edom I toss My sandal;
over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
9 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
10 Have You not rejected us, O God?
Will You no longer march out, O God, with our armies?
11 Give us aid against the enemy,
for the help of man is worthless.
12 With God we will perform with valor,
and He will trample our enemies.

You Have Heard My Vows

For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. Of David.

61 Hear my cry, O God;
attend to my prayer.
2 From the ends of the earth I call out to You
whenever my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock
that is higher than I.
3 For You have been my refuge,
a tower of strength against the enemy.
4 Let me dwell in Your tent forever
and take refuge in the shelter of Your wings.

Selah

5 For You have heard my vows, O God;
You have given me the inheritance
reserved for those who fear Your name.
6 Increase the days of the king’s life;
may his years span many generations.
7 May he sit enthroned in God’s presence forever;
appoint Your loving devotion
and Your faithfulness to guard him.
8 Then I will ever sing praise to Your name
and fulfill my vows day by day.

Waiting on God

For the choirmaster. According to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

62 In God alone my soul finds rest;
my salvation comes from Him.
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation.
He is my fortress;
I will never be shaken.
3 How long will you threaten a man?
Will all of you throw him down
like a leaning wall
or a tottering fence?
4 They fully intend to cast him down from his lofty perch;
they delight in lies;
with their mouths they bless,
but inwardly they curse.

Selah

5 Rest in God alone, O my soul,
for my hope comes from Him.
6 He alone is my rock and my salvation;
He is my fortress; I will not be shaken.
7 My salvation and my honor rest on God, my strong rock;
my refuge is in God.
8 Trust in Him at all times, O people;
pour out your hearts before Him.
God is our refuge.

Selah

9 Lowborn men are but a vapor,
the exalted but a lie.
Weighed on the scale, they go up;
together they are but a vapor.
10 Place no trust in extortion,
or false hope in stolen goods.
If your riches increase,
do not set your heart upon them.
11 God has spoken once;
I have heard this twice:
that power belongs to God,
12 and loving devotion to You, O Lord.
For You will repay each man
according to his deeds.[140]

Thirsting for God
(2 Samuel 15:30–37)

A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah.

63 O God, You are my God.
Earnestly I seek You;
my soul thirsts for You.
My body yearns for You
in a dry and weary land without water.
2 So I have seen You in the sanctuary
and beheld Your power and glory.
3 Because Your loving devotion is better than life,
my lips will glorify You.
4 So I will bless You as long as I live;
in Your name I will lift my hands.
5 My soul is satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with joyful lips my mouth will praise You.
6 When I remember You on my bed,
I think of You through the watches of the night.
7 For You are my help;
I will sing for joy in the shadow of Your wings.
8 My soul clings to You;
Your right hand upholds me.
9 But those who seek my life to destroy it
will go into the depths of the earth.
10 They will fall to the power of the sword;
they will become a portion for foxes.
11 But the king will rejoice in God;
all who swear by Him will exult,
for the mouths of liars will be shut.

The Hurtful Tongue
(James 3:1–12)

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

64 Hear, O God, my voice of complaint;
preserve my life from dread of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the scheming of the wicked,
from the mob of workers of iniquity,
3 who sharpen their tongues like swords
and aim their bitter words like arrows,
4 ambushing the innocent in seclusion,
shooting suddenly, without fear.
5 They hold fast to their evil purpose;
they speak of hiding their snares.
“Who will see them?” they say.
6 They devise injustice and say,
“We have perfected a secret plan.”
For the inner man and the heart are mysterious.
7 But God will shoot them with arrows;
suddenly they will be wounded.
8 They will be made to stumble,
their own tongues turned against them.
All who see will shake their heads.
9 Then all mankind will fear
and proclaim the work of God;
so they will ponder what He has done.
10 Let the righteous rejoice in the LORD
and take refuge in Him;
let all the upright in heart exult.

Praise Awaits God in Zion

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A song.

65 Praise awaits You, O God, in Zion;
to You our vows will be fulfilled.
2 O You who listen to prayer,
all people will come to You.
3 When iniquities prevail against me,
You atone for our transgressions.
4 Blessed is the one You choose
and bring near to dwell in Your courts!
We are filled with the goodness of Your house,
the holiness of Your temple.
5 With awesome deeds of righteousness You answer us,
O God of our salvation,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas.
6 You formed the mountains by Your power,
having girded Yourself with might.
7 You stilled the roaring of the seas,
the pounding of their waves,
and the tumult of the nations.
8 Those who live far away fear Your wonders;
You make the dawn and sunset shout for joy.[141]
9 You attend to the earth and water it;[142]
with abundance You enrich it.
The streams of God are full of water,
for You prepare our grain
by providing for the earth.[143]
10 You soak its furrows and level its ridges;
You soften it with showers and bless its growth.
11 You crown the year with Your bounty,
and Your paths overflow with plenty.
12 The pastures of the wilderness overflow;
the hills are robed with joy.
13 The pastures are clothed with flocks,
and the valleys are decked with grain.
They shout in triumph;
indeed, they sing.

Make a Joyful Noise
(Psalm 100:1–5)

For the choirmaster. A song. A Psalm.

66 Make a joyful noise to God,
all the earth!
2 Sing the glory of His name;
make His praise glorious.
3 Say to God, “How awesome are Your deeds!
So great is Your power
that Your enemies cower before You.
4 All the earth bows down to You;
they sing praise to You;
they sing praise to Your name.”

Selah

5 Come and see the works of God;
how awesome are His deeds toward mankind.
6 He turned the sea into dry land;
they passed through the waters on foot;
there we rejoiced in Him.
7 He rules forever by His power;
His eyes watch the nations.
Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves.

Selah

8 Bless our God, O peoples;
let the sound of His praise be heard.
9 He preserves our lives
and keeps our feet from slipping.
10 For You, O God, have tested us;
You have refined us like silver.
11 You led us into the net;
You laid burdens on our backs.
12 You let men ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water,
but You brought us into abundance.
13 I will enter Your house with burnt offerings;
I will fulfill my vows to You—
14 the vows that my lips promised
and my mouth spoke in my distress.
15 I will offer You fatlings as burnt offerings,
with the fragrant smoke of rams;
I will offer bulls and goats.

Selah

16 Come and listen, all you who fear God,
and I will declare what He has done for me.
17 I cried out to Him with my mouth
and praised Him with my tongue.[144]
18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
19 But God has surely heard;
He has attended to the sound of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God, who has not rejected my prayer
or withheld from me His loving devotion!

May God Cause His Face to Shine upon Us

For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. A Psalm. A song.

67 May God be gracious to us and bless us,
and cause His face to shine upon us,

Selah

2 that Your ways may be known on earth,
Your salvation among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise You, O God;
let all the peoples praise You.
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for You judge the peoples justly
and lead the nations of the earth.

Selah

5 Let the peoples praise You, O God;
let all the peoples praise You.
6 The earth has yielded its harvest;
God, our God, blesses us.
7 God blesses us,
that all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.

God’s Enemies Are Scattered

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A song.

68 God arises. His enemies are scattered,
and those who hate Him flee His presence.
2 As smoke is blown away,
You will drive them out;
as wax melts before the fire,
the wicked will perish in the presence of God.
3 But the righteous will be glad
and rejoice before God;
they will celebrate with joy.
4 Sing to God!
Sing praises to His name.
Exalt Him who rides on the clouds [145]—
His name is the LORD—
and rejoice before Him.
5 A father of the fatherless,
and a defender of the widows,
is God in His holy habitation.
6 God settles the lonely in families;
He leads the prisoners out to prosperity,
but the rebellious dwell in a sun-scorched land.
7 O God, when You went out before Your people,
when You marched through the wasteland,

Selah

8 the earth shook and the heavens poured down rain
before God, the One on Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.
9 You sent abundant rain, O God;
You refreshed Your weary inheritance.
10 Your flock settled therein;
O God, from Your bounty You provided for the poor.
11 The Lord gives the command;
a great company of women proclaim it:
12 “Kings and their armies flee in haste;
she who waits at home divides the plunder.
13 Though you lie down among the sheepfolds,
the wings of the dove are covered with silver,
and her feathers with shimmering gold.”
14 When the Almighty [146] scattered the kings in the land,
it was like the snow falling on Zalmon.
15 A mountain of God is Mount Bashan;
a mountain of many peaks is Mount Bashan.
16 Why do you gaze in envy, O mountains of many peaks?
This is the mountain God chose for His dwelling,
where the LORD will surely dwell forever.
17 The chariots of God are tens of thousands—
thousands of thousands are they;
the Lord is in His sanctuary
as He was at Sinai.[147]
18 You have ascended on high;
You have led captives away.
You have received gifts from men,[148]
even from the rebellious,
that the LORD God may dwell there.
19 Blessed be the Lord,
who daily bears our burden,
the God of our salvation.

Selah

20 Our God is a God of deliverance;
the Lord GOD is our rescuer from death.
21 Surely God will crush the heads of His enemies,
the hairy crowns of those who persist in guilty ways.
22 The Lord said, “I will retrieve them from Bashan,
I will bring them up from the depths of the sea,
23 that your foot may be dipped
in the blood of your foes—
the tongues of your dogs in the same.”
24 They have seen Your procession, O God—
the march of my God and King into the sanctuary.
25 The singers lead the way,
the musicians follow after,
among the maidens playing tambourines.
26 Bless God in the great congregation;
bless the LORD from the fountain of Israel.
27 There is Benjamin, the youngest, ruling them,
the princes of Judah in their company,
the princes of Zebulun and of Naphtali.
28 Summon Your power, O God;[149]
show Your strength, O God,
which You have exerted on our behalf.
29 Because of Your temple at Jerusalem
kings will bring You gifts.
30 Rebuke the beast in the reeds,
the herd of bulls among the calves of the nations,
until it submits, bringing bars of silver.
Scatter the nations who delight in war.
31 Envoys will arrive from Egypt;
Cush [150] will stretch out her hands to God.
32 Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth;
sing praises to the Lord—

Selah

33 to Him who rides upon the highest heavens of old;
behold, His mighty voice resounds.
34 Ascribe the power to God,
whose majesty is over Israel,
whose strength is in the skies.
35 O God, You are awesome in Your sanctuary;
the God of Israel Himself
gives strength and power to His people.
Blessed be God!

The Waters Are up to My Neck

For the choirmaster. To the tune of “Lilies.” Of David.

69 Save me, O God,
for the waters are up to my neck.
2 I have sunk into the miry depths,
where there is no footing;
I have drifted into deep waters,
where the flood engulfs me.
3 I am weary from my crying;
my throat is parched.
My eyes fail,
looking for my God.
4 Those who hate me without cause
outnumber the hairs of my head;
many are those who would destroy me—
my enemies for no reason.[151]
Though I did not steal,
I must repay.
5 You know my folly, O God,
and my guilt is not hidden from You.
6 May those who hope in You not be ashamed through me,
O Lord GOD of Hosts;
may those who seek You not be dishonored through me,
O God of Israel.
7 For I have endured scorn for Your sake,
and shame has covered my face.
8 I have become a stranger to my brothers
and a foreigner to my mother’s sons,
9 because zeal for Your house has consumed me,[152]
and the insults of those who insult You have fallen on me.[153]
10 I wept and fasted,
but it brought me reproach.
11 I made sackcloth my clothing,
and I was sport to them.
12 Those who sit at the gate mock me,
and I am the song of drunkards.
13 But my prayer to You, O LORD,
is for a time of favor.
In Your abundant loving devotion, O God,
answer me with Your sure salvation.
14 Rescue me from the mire
and do not let me sink;
deliver me from my foes
and out of the deep waters.
15 Do not let the floods engulf me
or the depths swallow me up;
let not the Pit close its mouth over me.
16 Answer me, O LORD,
for Your loving devotion is good;
turn to me in keeping with Your great compassion.
17 Hide not Your face from Your servant,
for I am in distress.
Answer me quickly!
18 Draw near to my soul and redeem me;
ransom me because of my foes.
19 You know my reproach, my shame and disgrace.
All my adversaries are before You.
20 Insults have broken my heart,
and I am in despair.
I looked for sympathy, but there was none,
for comforters, but I found no one.
21 They poisoned my food with gall
and gave me vinegar to quench my thirst.
22 May their table become a snare;
may it be a retribution and a trap.[154]
23 May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,
and their backs be bent forever.[155]
24 Pour out Your wrath upon them,
and let Your burning anger overtake them.
25 May their place be deserted;
let there be no one to dwell in their tents.[156]
26 For they persecute the one You struck
and recount the pain of those You wounded.
27 Add iniquity to their iniquity;
let them not share in Your righteousness.
28 May they be blotted out of the Book of Life
and not listed with the righteous.
29 But I am in pain and distress;
let Your salvation protect me, O God.
30 I will praise God’s name in song
and exalt Him with thanksgiving.
31 And this will please the LORD more than an ox,
more than a bull with horns and hooves.
32 The humble will see and rejoice.
You who seek God, let your hearts be revived!
33 For the LORD listens to the needy
and does not despise His captive people.
34 Let heaven and earth praise Him,
the seas and everything that moves in them.
35 For God will save Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah,
that they may dwell there and possess it.
36 The descendants of His servants will inherit it,
and those who love His name will settle in it.

Hurry, O LORD, to Help Me!
(Psalm 40:1–17; Psalm 141:1–10)

For the choirmaster. Of David. To bring remembrance.

70 Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Hurry, O LORD, to help me!
2 May those who seek my life
be ashamed and confounded;
may those who wish me harm
be repelled and humiliated.
3 May those who say, “Aha, aha!”
retreat because of their shame.
4 May all who seek You
rejoice and be glad in You;
may those who love Your salvation always say,
“Let God be magnified!”
5 But I am poor and needy;
hurry to me, O God.
You are my help and my deliverer;
O LORD, do not delay.

Be My Rock of Refuge

71 In You, O LORD, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
2 In Your justice, rescue and deliver me;
incline Your ear and save me.
3 Be my rock of refuge,
where I can always go.
Give the command to save me,
for You are my rock and my fortress.
4 Deliver me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of the unjust and ruthless.
5 For You are my hope, O Lord GOD,
my confidence from my youth.
6 I have leaned on You since birth;
You pulled me from my mother’s womb.
My praise is always for You.
7 I have become a portent to many,
but You are my strong refuge.
8 My mouth is filled with Your praise
and with Your splendor all day long.
9 Do not discard me in my old age;
do not forsake me when my strength fails.
10 For my enemies speak against me,
and those who lie in wait for my life conspire,
11 saying, “God has forsaken him;
pursue him and seize him,
for there is no one to rescue him.”
12 Be not far from me, O God.
Hurry, O my God, to help me.
13 May the accusers of my soul
be ashamed and consumed;
may those who seek my harm
be covered with scorn and disgrace.
14 But I will always hope
and will praise You more and more.
15 My mouth will declare Your righteousness
and Your salvation all day long,
though I cannot know their full measure.
16 I will enter in the strength of the Lord GOD;
I will proclaim Your righteousness—Yours alone.
17 O God, You have taught me from my youth,
and to this day I proclaim Your marvelous deeds.
18 Even when I am old and gray,
do not forsake me, O God,
until I proclaim Your power to the next generation,
Your might to all who are to come.
19 Your righteousness reaches to the heavens, O God,
You who have done great things.
Who, O God, is like You?
20 Though You have shown me many troubles and misfortunes,
You will revive me once again.
Even from the depths of the earth
You will bring me back up.
21 You will increase my honor
and comfort me once again.
22 So I will praise You with the harp
for Your faithfulness, O my God;
I will sing praise to You with the lyre,
O Holy One of Israel.
23 When I sing praise to You
my lips will shout for joy,
along with my soul,
which You have redeemed.
24 My tongue will indeed proclaim
Your righteousness all day long,
for those who seek my harm
are disgraced and confounded.

Endow the King with Your Justice
(1 Kings 3:1–15; 2 Chronicles 1:1–13; Psalm 45:1–17)

Of Solomon.

72 Endow the king with Your justice, O God,
and the son of the king with Your righteousness.
2 May he judge Your people with righteousness
and Your afflicted with justice.
3 May the mountains bring peace to the people,
and the hills bring righteousness.
4 May he vindicate the afflicted among the people;
may he save the children of the needy
and crush the oppressor.
5 May they fear him [157] as long as the sun shines,
as long as the moon remains,
through all generations.
6 May he be like rain that falls on freshly cut grass,
like spring showers that water the earth.
7 May the righteous flourish in his days
and prosperity abound,
until the moon is no more.
8 May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the Euphrates [158] to the ends of the earth.
9 May the nomads bow before him,
and his enemies lick the dust.
10 May the kings of Tarshish and distant shores bring tribute;
may the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.
11 May all kings bow down to him
and all nations serve him.
12 For he will deliver the needy who cry out
and the afflicted who have no helper.
13 He will take pity on the poor and needy
and save the lives of the oppressed.
14 He will redeem them from oppression and violence,
for their blood is precious in his sight.
15 Long may he live!
May gold from Sheba be given him.
May people ever pray for him;
may they bless him all day long.
16 May there be an abundance of grain in the land;
may it sway atop the hills.
May its fruit trees flourish like the forests of Lebanon,
and its people like the grass of the field.
17 May his name endure forever;
may his name continue[159] as long as the sun shines.
In him may all nations be blessed;
may they call him blessed.
18 Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel,
who alone does marvelous deeds.
19 And blessed be His glorious name forever;
may all the earth be filled with His glory.
Amen and amen.

20 Thus conclude the prayers of David son of Jesse.

BOOK III

Psalms 73–89

Surely God Is Good to Israel

A Psalm of Asaph.

73 Surely God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;
my steps had nearly slipped.
3 For I envied the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 They have no struggle in their death;
their bodies are well-fed.
5 They are free of the burdens others carry;
they are not afflicted like other men.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace;
a garment of violence covers them.
7 From their prosperity proceeds iniquity;[160]
the imaginations of their hearts run wild.
8 They mock and speak with malice;
with arrogance they threaten oppression.
9 They set their mouths against the heavens,
and their tongues strut across the earth.
10 So their people [161] return to this place
and drink up waters in abundance.
11 The wicked say, “How can God know?
Does the Most High have knowledge?”
12 Behold, these are the wicked—
always carefree as they increase their wealth.
13 Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure;
in innocence I have washed my hands.
14 For I am afflicted all day long
and punished every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak this way,”
then I would have betrayed Your children.
16 When I tried to understand all this,
it was troublesome in my sight
17 until I entered God’s sanctuary;
then I discerned their end.
18 Surely You set them on slick ground;
You cast them down into ruin.
19 How suddenly they are laid waste,
completely swept away by terrors!
20 Like one waking from a dream,
so You, O Lord, awaken and despise their form.
21 When my heart was grieved
and I was pierced within,
22 I was senseless and ignorant;
I was a brute beast before You.
23 Yet I am always with You;
You hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with Your counsel,
and later receive me in glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but You?
And on earth I desire no one besides You.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength [162] of my heart
and my portion forever.
27 Those far from You will surely perish;
You destroy all who are unfaithful to You.
28 But as for me, it is good to draw near to God.
I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,
that I may proclaim all Your works.

Why Have You Rejected Us Forever?
(Psalm 79:1–13; Jeremiah 52:1–11)

A Maskil [163] of Asaph.

74 Why have You rejected us forever, O God?
Why does Your anger smolder
against the sheep of Your pasture?
2 Remember Your congregation,
which You purchased long ago
and redeemed as the tribe of Your inheritance—
Mount Zion where You dwell.
3 Turn Your steps to the everlasting ruins,
to everything in the sanctuary the enemy has destroyed.
4 Your foes have roared within Your meeting place;
they have unfurled their banners as signs,
5 like men wielding axes in a thicket of trees
6 and smashing all the carvings with hatchets and picks.
7 They have burned Your sanctuary to the ground;
they have defiled the dwelling place of Your Name.
8 They said in their hearts,
“We will crush them completely.”
They burned down every place
where God met us in the land.
9 There are no signs for us to see.
There is no longer any prophet.
And none of us knows how long this will last.
10 How long, O God, will the enemy taunt You?
Will the foe revile Your name forever?
11 Why do You withdraw Your strong right hand?
Stretch it out to destroy them![164]
12 Yet God is my King from ancient times,
working salvation on the earth.
13 You divided the sea by Your strength;
You smashed the heads of the dragons of the sea;
14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan;
You fed him to the creatures of the desert.
15 You broke open the fountain and the flood;
You dried up the ever-flowing rivers.
16 The day is Yours, and also the night;
You established the moon [165] and the sun.
17 You set all the boundaries of the earth;
You made the summer and winter.
18 Remember how the enemy has mocked You, O LORD,
how a foolish people has spurned Your name.
19 Do not deliver the soul of Your dove to beasts;
do not forget the lives of Your afflicted forever.
20 Consider Your covenant,
for haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land.
21 Do not let the oppressed retreat in shame;
may the poor and needy praise Your name.
22 Rise up, O God; defend Your cause!
Remember how the fool mocks You all day long.
23 Do not disregard the clamor of Your adversaries,
the uproar of Your enemies that ascends continually.

God’s Righteous Judgment
(Romans 2:1–16)

For the choirmaster: To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A Psalm of Asaph. A song.

75 We give thanks to You, O God;
we give thanks, for Your Name is near.
The people declare Your wondrous works.
2 “When I choose a time,
I will judge fairly.
3 When the earth and all its dwellers quake,
it is I who bear up its pillars.

Selah

4 I say to the proud, ‘Do not boast,’
and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn.
5 Do not lift up your horn against heaven
or speak with an outstretched neck.’”
6 For exaltation comes neither from east nor west,
nor out of the desert,
7 but it is God who judges;
He brings down one and exalts another.
8 For a cup is in the hand of the LORD,
full of foaming wine mixed with spices.
He pours from His cup,
and all the wicked of the earth
drink it down to the dregs.
9 But I will proclaim Him [166] forever;
I will sing praise to the God of Jacob.
10 “All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,
but the horns of the righteous will be exalted.”

God’s Name Is Great in Israel

For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A song.

76 God is known in Judah;
His name is great in Israel.
2 His tent is in Salem,[167]
His dwelling place in Zion.
3 There He shattered the flaming arrows,
the shield and sword and weapons of war.

Selah

4 You are resplendent with light,
more majestic than mountains filled with game.
5 The valiant lie plundered; they sleep their last sleep.
No men of might could lift a hand.
6 At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
both horse and rider lie stunned.
7 You alone are to be feared.
When You are angry, who can stand before You?
8 From heaven You pronounced judgment,
and the earth feared and was still
9 when God rose up to judge,
to save all the lowly of the earth.

Selah

10 Even the wrath of man shall praise You;
with the survivors of wrath You will clothe Yourself.[168]
11 Make and fulfill your vows to the LORD your God;
let all the neighboring lands bring tribute
to Him who is to be feared.
12 He breaks the spirits of princes;
He is feared by the kings of the earth.

In the Day of Trouble I Sought the LORD

For the choirmaster. According to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.

77 I cried out to God;
I cried aloud to God to hear me.
2 In the day of trouble I sought the Lord;
through the night my outstretched hands did not grow weary;
my soul refused to be comforted.
3 I remembered You, O God, and I groaned;
I mused and my spirit grew faint.

Selah

4 You have kept my eyes from closing;
I am too troubled to speak.
5 I considered the days of old,
the years long in the past.
6 At night I remembered my song;
in my heart I mused, and my spirit pondered:
7 “Will the Lord spurn us forever
and never show His favor again?
8 Is His loving devotion gone forever?
Has His promise failed for all time?
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has His anger shut off His compassion?”

Selah

10 So I said, “I am grieved
that the right hand of the Most High has changed.”[169]
11 I will remember the works of the LORD;
yes, I will remember Your wonders of old.
12 I will reflect on all You have done
and ponder Your mighty deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is so great as our God?
14 You are the God who works wonders;
You display Your strength among the peoples.
15 With power You redeemed Your people,
the sons of Jacob and Joseph.

Selah

16 The waters saw You, O God;
the waters saw You and swirled;
even the depths were shaken.
17 The clouds poured down water;
the skies resounded with thunder;
Your arrows flashed back and forth.
18 Your thunder resounded in the whirlwind;
the lightning lit up the world;
the earth trembled and quaked.
19 Your path led through the sea,
Your way through the mighty waters,
but Your footprints were not to be found.[170]
20 You led Your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

I Will Open My Mouth in Parables
(Matthew 13:34–35)

A Maskil [171] of Asaph.

78 Give ear, O my people, to my instruction;
listen to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in parables;
I will utter things hidden from the beginning,[172]
3 that we have heard and known
and our fathers have relayed to us.
4 We will not hide them from their children,
but will declare to the next generation
the praises of the LORD and His might,
and the wonders He has performed.
5 For He established a testimony in Jacob
and appointed a law in Israel,
which He commanded our fathers
to teach to their children,
6 that the coming generation would know them—
even children yet to be born—
to arise and tell their own children
7 that they should put their confidence in God,
not forgetting His works,
but keeping His commandments.
8 Then they will not be like their fathers,
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
whose heart was not loyal,
whose spirit was not faithful to God.
9 The archers of Ephraim
turned back on the day of battle.
10 They failed to keep God’s covenant
and refused to live by His law.
11 They forgot what He had done,
the wonders He had shown them.
12 He worked wonders before their fathers
in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.
13 He split the sea and brought them through;
He set the waters upright like a wall.
14 He led them with a cloud by day
and with a light of fire all night.
15 He split the rocks in the wilderness
and gave them drink as abundant as the seas.
16 He brought streams from the stone
and made water flow down like rivers.
17 But they continued to sin against Him,
rebelling in the desert against the Most High.
18 They willfully tested God
by demanding the food they craved.
19 They spoke against God, saying,
“Can God really prepare a table in the wilderness?
20 When He struck the rock, water gushed out
and torrents raged.
But can He also give bread
or supply His people with meat?”
21 Therefore the LORD heard
and was filled with wrath;
so a fire was kindled against Jacob,
and His anger flared against Israel,
22 because they did not believe God
or rely on His salvation.
23 Yet He commanded the clouds above
and opened the doors of the heavens.
24 He rained down manna for them to eat;
He gave them grain from heaven.[173]
25 Man ate the bread of angels;
He sent them food in abundance.
26 He stirred the east wind from the heavens
and drove the south wind by His might.
27 He rained meat on them like dust,
and winged birds like the sand of the sea.
28 He felled them in the midst of their camp,
all around their dwellings.
29 So they ate and were well filled,
for He gave them what they craved.
30 Yet before they had filled their desire,
with the food still in their mouths,
31 God’s anger flared against them,
and He put to death their strongest
and subdued the young men of Israel.
32 In spite of all this, they kept on sinning;
despite His wonderful works, they did not believe.
33 So He ended their days in futility,[174]
and their years in sudden terror.
34 When He slew them, they would seek Him;
they repented and searched for God.
35 And they remembered that God was their Rock,
that God Most High [175] was their Redeemer.
36 But they deceived Him with their mouths,
and lied to Him with their tongues.
37 Their hearts were disloyal to Him,
and they were unfaithful to His covenant.
38 And yet He was compassionate;
He forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them.
He often restrained His anger
and did not unleash His full wrath.
39 He remembered that they were but flesh,
a passing breeze that does not return.
40 How often they disobeyed Him in the wilderness
and grieved Him in the desert!
41 Again and again they tested God
and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
42 They did not remember His power [176]—
the day He redeemed them from the adversary,
43 when He performed His signs in Egypt
and His wonders in the fields of Zoan.
44 He turned their rivers to blood,
and from their streams they could not drink.
45 He sent swarms of flies that devoured them,
and frogs that devastated them.
46 He gave their crops to the grasshopper,
the fruit of their labor to the locust.
47 He killed their vines with hailstones
and their sycamore-figs with sleet.[177]
48 He abandoned their cattle to the hail
and their livestock to bolts of lightning.
49 He unleashed His fury against them,
wrath, indignation, and calamity—
a band of destroying angels.
50 He cleared a path for His anger;
He did not spare them from death
but delivered their lives to the plague.
51 He struck all the firstborn of Egypt,
the virility in the tents of Ham.
52 He led out His people like sheep
and guided them like a flock in the wilderness.
53 He led them safely, so they did not fear,
but the sea engulfed their enemies.
54 He brought them to His holy land,
to the mountain His right hand had acquired.
55 He drove out nations before them
and apportioned their inheritance;
He settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
56 But they tested and disobeyed God Most High,
for they did not keep His decrees.
57 They turned back and were faithless like their fathers,
twisted like a faulty bow.
58 They enraged Him with their high places
and provoked His jealousy with their idols.
59 On hearing it, God was furious
and rejected Israel completely.
60 He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh,
the tent He had pitched among men.
61 He delivered His strength to captivity,
and His splendor to the hand of the adversary.
62 He surrendered His people to the sword
because He was enraged by His heritage.
63 Fire consumed His young men,
and their maidens were left without wedding songs.
64 His priests fell by the sword,
but their widows could not lament.
65 Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,
like a mighty warrior overcome by wine.
66 He beat back His foes;
He put them to everlasting shame.
67 He rejected the tent of Joseph
and refused the tribe of Ephraim.
68 But He chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which He loved.
69 He built His sanctuary like the heights,
like the earth He has established forever.
70 He chose David His servant
and took him from the sheepfolds;
71 from tending the ewes He brought him
to be shepherd of His people Jacob,
of Israel His inheritance.
72 So David shepherded them with integrity of heart
and guided them with skillful hands.

A Prayer for Deliverance
(Psalm 74:1–23; Jeremiah 52:1–11)

A Psalm of Asaph.

79 The nations, O God, have invaded Your inheritance;
they have defiled Your holy temple
and reduced Jerusalem to rubble.
2 They have given the corpses of Your servants
as food to the birds of the air,
the flesh of Your saints to the beasts of the earth.
3 They have poured out their blood like water
all around Jerusalem,
and there is no one to bury the dead.
4 We have become a reproach to our neighbors,
a scorn and derision to those around us.
5 How long, O LORD?
Will You be angry forever?
Will Your jealousy burn like fire?
6 Pour out Your wrath on the nations
that do not acknowledge You,
on the kingdoms
that refuse to call on Your name,
7 for they have devoured Jacob
and devastated his homeland.
8 Do not hold past sins against us;
let Your compassion come quickly,
for we are brought low.
9 Help us, O God of our salvation,
for the glory of Your name;
deliver us and atone for our sins,
for the sake of Your name.
10 Why should the nations ask,
“Where is their God?”
Before our eyes, make known among the nations
Your vengeance for the bloodshed of Your servants.
11 May the groans of the captives reach You;
by the strength of Your arm preserve those condemned to death.
12 Pay back into the laps of our neighbors
sevenfold the reproach they hurled at You, O Lord.
13 Then we Your people, the sheep of Your pasture,
will thank You forever;
from generation to generation
we will declare Your praise.

Hear Us, O Shepherd of Israel

For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant.” A Psalm of Asaph.

80 Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel,
who leads Joseph like a flock;
You who sit enthroned between the cherubim,
shine forth

2 before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh.

Rally Your mighty power
and come to save us.
3 Restore us, O God,
and cause Your face to shine upon us,
that we may be saved.
4 O LORD God of Hosts,
how long will Your anger smolder
against the prayers of Your people?
5 You fed them with the bread of tears
and made them drink the full measure of their tears.
6 You make us contend with our neighbors;
our enemies mock us.
7 Restore us, O God of Hosts,
and cause Your face to shine upon us,
that we may be saved.
8 You uprooted a vine from Egypt;
You drove out the nations and transplanted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it,
and it took root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered by its shade,
and the mighty cedars with its branches.
11 It sent out its branches to the Sea,[178]
and its shoots toward the River.[179]
12 Why have You broken down its walls,
so that all who pass by pick its fruit?
13 The boar from the forest ravages it,
and the creatures of the field feed upon it.
14 Return, O God of Hosts, we pray!
Look down from heaven and see!
Attend to this vine—
15 the root Your right hand has planted,
the son You have raised up for Yourself.
16 Your vine has been cut down and burned;
they perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.
17 Let Your hand be upon the man at Your right hand,
on the son of man You have raised up for Yourself.
18 Then we will not turn away from You;
revive us, and we will call on Your name.
19 Restore us, O LORD God of Hosts;
cause Your face to shine upon us,
that we may be saved.

Sing for Joy to God Our Strength

For the choirmaster. According to Gittith.[180] Of Asaph.

81 Sing for joy to God our strength;
make a joyful noise to the God of Jacob.
2 Lift up a song, strike the tambourine,
play the sweet-sounding harp and lyre.
3 Sound the ram’s horn at the New Moon,
and at the full moon on the day of our Feast.
4 For this is a statute for Israel,
an ordinance of the God of Jacob.
5 He ordained it as a testimony for Joseph [181]
when he went out over the land of Egypt,
where I heard an unfamiliar language:
6 “I relieved his shoulder of the burden;
his hands were freed from the basket.
7 You called out in distress, and I rescued you;
I answered you from the cloud of thunder;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.[182]

Selah

8 Hear, O My people, and I will warn you:
O Israel, if only you would listen to Me!
9 There must be no strange god among you,
nor shall you bow to a foreign god.
10 I am the LORD your God,
who brought you up out of Egypt.
Open wide your mouth,
and I will fill it.
11 But My people would not listen to Me,
and Israel would not obey Me.
12 So I gave them up to their stubborn hearts
to follow their own devices.
13 If only My people would listen to Me,
if Israel would follow My ways,
14 how soon I would subdue their enemies
and turn My hand against their foes!
15 Those who hate the LORD would feign obedience,
and their doom would last forever.
16 But I would feed you the finest wheat;
with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

God Presides in the Divine Assembly

A Psalm of Asaph.

82 God presides in the divine assembly;
He renders judgment among the gods:
2 “How long will you judge unjustly [183]
and show partiality to the wicked?

Selah

3 Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless;
uphold the rights of the afflicted and oppressed.
4 Rescue the weak and needy;
save them from the hand of the wicked.
5 They do not know or understand;
they wander in the darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 I have said, ‘You are gods;
you are all sons of the Most High.’[184]
7 But like mortals you will die,
and like rulers you will fall.”
8 Arise, O God, judge the earth,
for all the nations are Your inheritance.

O God, Be Not Silent

A song. A Psalm of Asaph.

83 O God, be not silent; be not speechless;[185]
be not still, O God.
2 See how Your enemies rage,
how Your foes have reared their heads.
3 With cunning they scheme against Your people
and conspire against those You cherish,
4 saying, “Come, let us erase them as a nation;
may the name of Israel be remembered no more.”
5 For with one mind they plot together,
they form an alliance against You—
6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
of Moab and the Hagrites,
7 of Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek,
of Philistia with the people of Tyre.
8 Even Assyria has joined them,
lending strength to the sons of Lot.

Selah

9 Do to them as You did to Midian,
as to Sisera and Jabin at the River Kishon,
10 who perished at Endor
and became like dung on the ground.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
and all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12 who said, “Let us possess for ourselves
the pastures of God.”
13 Make them like tumbleweed, O my God,
like chaff before the wind.
14 As fire consumes a forest,
as a flame sets the mountains ablaze,
15 so pursue them with Your tempest,
and terrify them with Your storm.
16 Cover their faces with shame,
that they may seek Your name, O LORD.
17 May they be ever ashamed and terrified;
may they perish in disgrace.
18 May they know that You alone,
whose name is the LORD,
are Most High over all the earth.

Better Is One Day in Your Courts
(John 1:14–18)

For the choirmaster. According to Gittith.[186] A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

84 How lovely is Your dwelling place,
O LORD of Hosts!
2 My soul longs, even faints,
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.
3 Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she places her young near Your altars,
O LORD of Hosts, my King and my God.
4 How blessed are those who dwell in Your house!
They are ever praising You.

Selah

5 Blessed are those whose strength is in You,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca,[187]
they make it a place of springs;
even the autumn rain covers it with pools.[188]
7 They go from strength to strength,
until each appears before God in Zion.
8 O LORD God of Hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob.

Selah

9 Take notice of our shield, O God,
and look with favor on the face of Your anointed.
10 For better is one day in Your courts
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
11 For the LORD God is a sun and a shield;
the LORD gives grace and glory;
He withholds no good thing
from those who walk with integrity.
12 O LORD of Hosts,
how blessed is the man who trusts in You!

You Showed Favor to Your Land

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

85 You showed favor to Your land, O LORD;
You restored Jacob from captivity.[189]
2 You forgave the iniquity of Your people;
You covered all their sin.

Selah

3 You withheld all Your fury;
You turned from Your burning anger.
4 Restore us, O God of our salvation,
and put away Your displeasure toward us.
5 Will You be angry with us forever?
Will You draw out Your anger to all generations?
6 Will You not revive us again,
that Your people may rejoice in You?
7 Show us Your loving devotion, O LORD,
and grant us Your salvation.
8 I will listen to what God the LORD will say;
for He will surely speak peace to His people and His saints;
He will not let them return to folly.
9 Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him,
that His glory may dwell in our land.
10 Loving devotion and faithfulness have joined together;
righteousness and peace have kissed.
11 Faithfulness sprouts from the earth,
and righteousness looks down from heaven.
12 The LORD will indeed provide what is good,
and our land will yield its increase.
13 Righteousness will go before Him
to prepare the way for His steps.

Tried but Trusting

A prayer of David.

86 Incline Your ear, O LORD, and answer me,
for I am poor and needy.
2 Preserve my soul, for I am godly.
You are my God; save Your servant who trusts in You.
3 Be merciful to me, O Lord,
for I call to You all day long.
4 Bring joy to Your servant,
for to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
5 For You, O Lord, are kind and forgiving,
rich in loving devotion to all who call on You.
6 Hear my prayer, O LORD,
and attend to my plea for mercy.
7 In the day of my distress I call on You,
because You answer me.
8 O Lord, there is none like You among the gods,
nor any works like Yours.
9 All the nations You have made
will come and bow before You, O Lord,
and they will glorify Your name.
10 For You are great and perform wonders;
You alone are God.
11 Teach me Your way, O LORD,
that I may walk in Your truth.
Give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear Your name.
12 I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart;
I will glorify Your name forever.
13 For great is Your loving devotion to me;
You have delivered me from the depths of Sheol.
14 The arrogant rise against me, O God;
a band of ruthless men seeks my life,
with no regard for You.
15 But You, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness.
16 Turn to me and have mercy;
grant Your strength to Your servant;
save the son of Your maidservant.
17 Show me a sign of Your goodness,
that my enemies may see and be ashamed;
for You, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me.

The LORD Loves the Gates of Zion

A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A song.

87 He has founded His city
on the holy mountains.[190]
2 The LORD loves the gates of Zion
more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
3 Glorious things are ascribed to you,
O city of God.

Selah

4 “I will mention Rahab [191] and Babylon
among those who know Me—
along with Philistia, Tyre, and Cush [192]—
when I say, ‘This one was born in Zion.’”
5 And it will be said of Zion:
“This one and that one were born in her,
and the Most High Himself will establish her.”
6 The LORD will record in the register of the peoples:
“This one was born in Zion.”

Selah

7 Singers and pipers will proclaim,
“All my springs of joy are in You.”

I Cry Out before You

A song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. For the choirmaster. According to Mahalath Leannoth.[193] A Maskil [194] of Heman the Ezrahite.

88 O LORD, the God of my salvation,
day and night I cry out before You.
2 May my prayer come before You;
incline Your ear to my cry.
3 For my soul is full of troubles,
and my life draws near to Sheol.
4 I am counted among those descending to the Pit.
I am like a man without strength.
5 I am forsaken among the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom You remember no more,
who are cut off from Your care.
6 You have laid me in the lowest Pit,
in the darkest of the depths.
7 Your wrath weighs heavily upon me;
all Your waves have submerged me.

Selah

8 You have removed my friends from me;
You have made me repulsive to them;
I am confined and cannot escape.
9 My eyes grow dim with grief.
I call to You daily, O LORD;
I spread out my hands to You.
10 Do You work wonders for the dead?
Do departed spirits rise up to praise You?

Selah

11 Can Your loving devotion be proclaimed in the grave,
Your faithfulness in Abaddon [195]?
12 Will Your wonders be known in the darkness,
or Your righteousness in the land of oblivion?
13 But to You, O LORD, I cry for help;
in the morning my prayer comes before You.
14 Why, O LORD, do You reject me?
Why do You hide Your face from me?
15 From my youth I was afflicted and near death.
I have borne Your terrors; I am in despair.
16 Your wrath has swept over me;
Your terrors have destroyed me.
17 All day long they engulf me like water;
they enclose me on every side.
18 You have removed my beloved and my friend;
darkness is my closest companion.

I Will Sing of His Love Forever

A Maskil [196] of Ethan the Ezrahite.

89 I will sing of the loving devotion of the LORD forever;
with my mouth I will proclaim Your faithfulness to all generations.
2 For I have said, “Loving devotion is built up forever;
in the heavens You establish Your faithfulness.”
3 You said, “I have made a covenant with My chosen one,
I have sworn to David My servant:
4 ‘I will establish your offspring forever
and build up your throne for all generations.’”

Selah

5 The heavens praise Your wonders, O LORD—
Your faithfulness as well—
in the assembly of the holy ones.
6 For who in the skies can compare with the LORD?
Who among the heavenly beings [197] is like the LORD?
7 In the council of the holy ones, God is greatly feared,
and awesome above all who surround Him.
8 O LORD God of Hosts, who is like You?
O mighty LORD, Your faithfulness surrounds You.
9 You rule the raging sea;
when its waves mount up, You still them.
10 You crushed Rahab like a carcass;
You scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.
11 The heavens are Yours, and also the earth.
The earth and its fullness You founded.
12 North and south You created;
Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at Your name.
13 Mighty is Your arm; strong is Your hand.
Your right hand is exalted.
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
loving devotion and faithfulness go before You.
15 Blessed are those who know the joyful sound,
who walk, O LORD, in the light of Your presence.
16 They rejoice in Your name all day long,
and in Your righteousness they exult.
17 For You are the glory of their strength,
and by Your favor our horn is exalted.
18 Surely our shield belongs to the LORD,
and our king to the Holy One of Israel.
19 You once spoke in a vision;
to Your godly ones You said,
“I have bestowed help on a warrior;
I have exalted one chosen from the people.
20 I have found My servant David;
with My sacred oil I have anointed him.
21 My hand will sustain him;
surely My arm will strengthen him.
22 No enemy will exact tribute;
no wicked man will oppress him.
23 I will crush his foes before him
and strike down those who hate him.
24 My faithfulness and loving devotion will be with him,
and through My name his horn will be exalted.
25 I will set his hand over the sea,
and his right hand upon the rivers.
26 He will call to Me, ‘You are my Father,
my God, the Rock of my salvation.’
27 I will indeed appoint him as My firstborn,
the highest of the kings of the earth.
28 I will forever preserve My loving devotion for him,
and My covenant with him will stand fast.
29 I will establish his line forever,
his throne as long as the heavens endure.
30 If his sons forsake My law
and do not walk in My judgments,
31 if they violate My statutes
and fail to keep My commandments,
32 I will attend to their transgression with the rod,
and to their iniquity with stripes.
33 But I will not withdraw My loving devotion from him,
nor ever betray My faithfulness.
34 I will not violate My covenant
or alter the utterance of My lips.
35 Once and for all I have sworn by My holiness—
I will not lie to David—
36 his offspring shall endure forever,
and his throne before Me like the sun,
37 like the moon, established forever,
a faithful witness in the sky.”

Selah

38 Now, however, You have spurned and rejected him;
You are enraged by Your anointed one.
39 You have renounced the covenant with Your servant
and sullied his crown in the dust.
40 You have broken down all his walls;
You have reduced his strongholds to rubble.
41 All who pass by plunder him;
he has become a reproach to his neighbors.
42 You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
You have made all his enemies rejoice.
43 You have bent the edge of his sword
and have not sustained him in battle.
44 You have ended his splendor
and cast his throne to the ground.
45 You have cut short the days of his youth;
You have covered him with shame.

Selah

46 How long, O LORD?
Will You hide Yourself forever?
Will Your wrath keep burning like fire?
47 Remember the briefness of my lifespan!
For what futility You have created all men!
48 What man can live and never see death?
Can he deliver his soul from the power of Sheol?

Selah

49 Where, O Lord, is Your loving devotion of old,
which You faithfully swore to David?
50 Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Your servants,
which I bear in my heart from so many people—
51 how Your enemies have taunted, O LORD,
and have mocked every step of Your anointed one!
52 Blessed be the LORD forever!
Amen and amen.

BOOK IV

Psalms 90–106

From Everlasting to Everlasting

A prayer of Moses the man of God.

90 Lord, You have been our dwelling place
through all generations.
2 Before the mountains were born
or You brought forth the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting
You are God.
3 You return man to dust,
saying, “Return, O sons of mortals.”
4 For in Your sight a thousand years
are but a day that passes,[198]
or a watch of the night.
5 You whisk them away in their sleep;
they are like the new grass of the morning—
6 in the morning it springs up new,
but by evening it fades and withers.
7 For we are consumed by Your anger
and terrified by Your wrath.
8 You have set our iniquities before You,
our secret sins in the light of Your presence.
9 For all our days decline in Your fury;
we finish our years with a sigh.
10 The length of our days is seventy years—
or eighty if we are strong—
yet their pride is but labor and sorrow,
for they quickly pass, and we fly away.
11 Who knows the power of Your anger?
Your wrath matches the fear You are due.
12 So teach us to number our days,
that we may present a heart of wisdom.
13 Return, O LORD! How long will it be?
Have compassion on Your servants.
14 Satisfy us in the morning with Your loving devotion,
that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad for as many days as You have afflicted us,
for as many years as we have seen evil.
16 May Your work be shown to Your servants,
and Your splendor to their children.
17 May the favor [199] of the Lord our God rest upon us;
establish for us the work of our hands—
yes, establish the work of our hands!

You Are My Refuge and My Fortress

91 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.[200]
2 I will say to the LORD, “You are my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely He will deliver you
from the snare of the fowler,
and from the deadly plague.
4 He will cover you with His feathers;
under His wings you will find refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the calamity that destroys at noon.
7 Though a thousand may fall at your side,
and ten thousand at your right hand,
no harm will come near you.
8 You will only see it with your eyes
and witness the punishment of the wicked.
9 Because you have made the LORD your dwelling—
my refuge, the Most High—
10 no evil will befall you,
no plague will approach your tent.
11 For He will command His angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
12 They will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.[201]
13 You will tread on the lion and cobra;
you will trample the young lion and serpent.
14 “Because he loves Me, I will deliver him;
because he knows My name, I will protect him.
15 When he calls out to Me,
I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble.
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him My salvation.”

How Great Are Your Works!

A Psalm. A song for the Sabbath day.

92 It is good to praise the LORD,
and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High,
2 to proclaim Your loving devotion in the morning
and Your faithfulness at night
3 with the ten-stringed harp
and the melody of the lyre.
4 For You, O LORD, have made me glad by Your deeds;
I sing for joy at the works of Your hands.
5 How great are Your works, O LORD,
how deep are Your thoughts!
6 A senseless man does not know,
and a fool does not understand,
7 that though the wicked sprout like grass,
and all evildoers flourish,
they will be forever destroyed.
8 But You, O LORD, are exalted forever!
9 For surely Your enemies, O LORD,
surely Your enemies will perish;
all evildoers will be scattered.
10 But You have exalted my horn like that of a wild ox;
with fine oil I have been anointed.
11 My eyes see the downfall of my enemies;
my ears hear the wailing of my wicked foes.[202]
12 The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 Planted in the house of the LORD,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.
14 In old age they will still bear fruit;
healthy and green they will remain,
15 to proclaim, “The LORD is upright; He is my Rock,
and in Him there is no unrighteousness.”

The LORD Reigns!
(Psalm 99:1–9)

93 The LORD reigns! He is robed in majesty;
the LORD has clothed and armed Himself with strength.
The world indeed is firmly established;
it cannot be moved.
2 Your throne was established long ago;
You are from all eternity.
3 The floodwaters have risen, O LORD;
the rivers have raised their voice;
the seas lift up their pounding waves.
4 Above the roar of many waters—
the mighty breakers of the sea—
the LORD on high is majestic.
5 Your testimonies are fully confirmed;
holiness adorns Your house, O LORD,
for all the days to come.

The LORD Will Not Forget His People

94 O LORD, God of vengeance,
O God of vengeance, shine forth.
2 Rise up, O Judge of the earth;
render a reward to the proud.
3 How long will the wicked, O LORD,
how long will the wicked exult?
4 They pour out arrogant words;
all workers of iniquity boast.
5 They crush Your people, O LORD;
they oppress Your heritage.
6 They kill the widow and the foreigner;
they murder the fatherless.
7 They say, “The LORD does not see;
the God of Jacob pays no heed.”
8 Take notice, O senseless among the people!
O fools, when will you be wise?
9 He who affixed the ear, can He not hear?
He who formed the eye, can He not see?
10 He who admonishes the nations, does He not discipline?
He who teaches man, does He lack knowledge?
11 The LORD knows the thoughts of man,
that they are futile.[203]
12 Blessed is the man You discipline, O LORD,
and teach from Your law,
13 to grant him relief from days of trouble,
until a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For the LORD will not forsake His people;
He will never abandon His heritage.
15 Surely judgment will again be righteous,
and all the upright in heart will follow it.
16 Who will rise up for me against the wicked?
Who will stand for me against the workers of iniquity?
17 Unless the LORD had been my helper,
I would soon have dwelt in the abode of silence.
18 If I say, “My foot is slipping,”
Your loving devotion, O LORD, supports me.
19 When anxiety overwhelms me,
Your consolation delights my soul.
20 Can a corrupt throne be Your ally—
one devising mischief by decree?
21 They band together against the righteous
and condemn the innocent to death.[204]
22 But the LORD has been my stronghold,
and my God is my rock of refuge.
23 He will bring upon them their own iniquity
and destroy them for their wickedness.
The LORD our God will destroy them.

Do Not Harden Your Hearts
(Hebrews 3:7–11)

95 Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;
let us shout to the Rock of our salvation!
2 Let us enter His presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to Him in song.
3 For the LORD is a great God,
a great King above all gods.
4 In His hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to Him.
5 The sea is His, for He made it,
and His hands formed the dry land.
6 O come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.
7 For He is our God,
and we are the people of His pasture,
the sheep under His care.
Today, if you hear His voice,
8 do not harden your hearts
as you did at Meribah,[205]
in the day at Massah in the wilderness,[206]
9 where your fathers tested and tried Me,
though they had seen My work.
10 For forty years I was angry with that generation,
and I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray,[207]
and they have not known My ways.”
11 So I swore on oath in My anger,
“They shall never enter My rest.”[208]

Sing to the LORD, All the Earth
(1 Chronicles 16:23–36)

96 Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Sing to the LORD, bless His name;
proclaim His salvation day after day.
3 Declare His glory among the nations,
His wonderful deeds among all peoples.
4 For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
He is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the nations are idols,
but it is the LORD who made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are before Him;
strength and beauty fill His sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the nations,
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 the splendor of His holiness;
tremble before Him, all the earth.
10 Declare among the nations: “The LORD reigns!”
The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved;
He will judge the peoples with equity.
11 Let the heavens be glad
and the earth rejoice;
let the sea resound,
and all that fills it.
12 Let the fields exult,
and all that is in them.
Then all the trees of the forest
will sing for joy

13 before the LORD,

for He is coming—
He is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples in His faithfulness.

Let the Earth Rejoice

97 The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice;
let the distant shores be glad.
2 Clouds and darkness surround Him;
righteousness and justice are His throne’s foundation.
3 Fire goes before Him
and consumes His foes on every side.
4 His lightning illuminates the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax
at the presence of the LORD,
before the Lord of all the earth.
6 The heavens proclaim His righteousness;
all the peoples see His glory.
7 All worshipers of images are put to shame—
those who boast in idols.
Worship Him, all you gods!
8 Zion hears and rejoices,
and the towns of Judah exult
because of Your judgments, O LORD.
9 For You, O LORD, are Most High over all the earth;
You are exalted far above all gods.
10 Hate evil, O you who love the LORD!
He preserves the souls of His saints;
He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
11 Light shines [209] on the righteous,
gladness on the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous ones,
and praise His holy name.

Sing to the LORD a New Song
(Psalm 149:1–9; Isaiah 42:10–17)

A Psalm.

98 Sing to the LORD a new song,
for He has done wonders;
His right hand and holy arm
have gained Him the victory.
2 The LORD has proclaimed His salvation
and revealed His righteousness to the nations.
3 He has remembered His love and faithfulness
to the house of Israel;
all the ends of the earth
have seen the salvation of our God.
4 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth;
break forth—let your cry ring out, and sing praises!
5 Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre,
in melodious song with the harp.
6 With trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn
shout for joy before the LORD, the King.
7 Let the sea resound, and all that fills it,
the world, and all who dwell in it.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands,
let the mountains sing together for joy
9 before the LORD,
for He comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness
and the peoples with equity.

The LORD Reigns!
(Psalm 93:1–5)

99 The LORD reigns;
let the nations tremble!
He is enthroned above the cherubim;
let the earth quake!
2 Great is the LORD in Zion;
He is exalted above all the peoples.
3 Let them praise Your great and awesome name—
He is holy![210]
4 The mighty King loves justice.[211]
You have established equity;
You have exercised justice
and righteousness in Jacob.
5 Exalt the LORD our God,
and worship at His footstool;
He is holy!
6 Moses and Aaron were among His priests;
Samuel was among those who called on His name.
They called to the LORD and He answered.
7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud;
they kept His decrees and the statutes He gave them.
8 O LORD our God, You answered them.
You were a forgiving God to them,
yet an avenger of their misdeeds.
9 Exalt the LORD our God
and worship at His holy mountain,
for the LORD our God is holy.

Make a Joyful Noise
(Psalm 66:1–20)

A Psalm of thanksgiving.

100 Make a joyful noise to the LORD,
all the earth.
2 Serve the LORD with gladness;
come into His presence with joyful songs.
3 Know that the LORD is God.
It is He who made us, and we are His;[212]
we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.
4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving
and His courts with praise;
give thanks to Him and bless His name.
5 For the LORD is good,
and His loving devotion endures forever;
His faithfulness continues to all generations.

I Will Set No Worthless Thing before My Eyes

A Psalm of David.

101 I will sing of Your loving devotion and justice;
to You, O LORD, I will sing praises.
2 I will ponder the way that is blameless—
when will You come to me?
I will walk in my house
with integrity of heart.
3 I will set no worthless thing
before my eyes.
I hate the work of those who fall away;
it shall not cling to me.
4 A perverse heart shall depart from me;
I will know nothing of evil.
5 Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret,
I will put to silence;
the one with haughty eyes and a proud heart,
I will not endure.
6 My eyes favor the faithful of the land,
that they may dwell with me;
he who walks in the way of integrity
shall minister to me.
7 No one who practices deceit
shall dwell in my house;
no one who tells lies
shall stand in my presence.
8 Every morning I will remove all the wicked of the land,
that I may cut off every evildoer from the city of the LORD.

The Prayer of the Afflicted

A prayer of one who is afflicted, when he grows faint and pours out his lament before the LORD.

102 Hear my prayer, O LORD;
let my cry for help come before You.
2 Do not hide Your face from me
in my day of distress.
Incline Your ear to me;
answer me quickly when I call.
3 For my days vanish like smoke,
and my bones burn like glowing embers.
4 My heart is afflicted, and withered like grass;
I even forget to eat my bread.
5 Through my loud groaning
my flesh clings to my bones.
6 I am like a desert owl,
like an owl among the ruins.
7 I lie awake;
I am like a lone bird on a housetop.
8 All day long my enemies taunt me;
they ridicule me and curse me.
9 For I have eaten ashes like bread
and mixed my drink with tears
10 because of Your indignation and wrath,
for You have picked me up and cast me aside.
11 My days are like lengthening shadows,
and I wither away like grass.
12 But You, O LORD, sit enthroned forever;
Your renown endures to all generations.
13 You will rise up and have compassion on Zion,
for it is time to show her favor—
the appointed time has come.
14 For Your servants delight in her stones
and take pity on her dust.
15 So the nations will fear the name of the LORD,
and all the kings of the earth will fear Your glory.
16 For the LORD will rebuild Zion;
He has appeared in His glory.
17 He will turn toward the prayer of the destitute;
He will not despise their prayer.
18 Let this be written for the generation to come,
so that a people not yet created may praise the LORD.
19 For He looked down from the heights of His sanctuary;
the LORD gazed out from heaven to earth
20 to hear a prisoner’s groaning,
to release those condemned to death,
21 that they may proclaim the name of the LORD in Zion
and praise Him in Jerusalem,
22 when peoples and kingdoms assemble
to serve the LORD.
23 He has broken my strength on the way;
He has cut short my days.
24 I say: “O my God, do not take me in the midst of my days!
Your years go on through all generations.
25 In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
26 They will perish, but You remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
Like clothing You will change them,
and they will be passed on.
27 But You remain the same,
and Your years will never end.[213]
28 The children of Your servants will dwell securely,
and their descendants will be established before You.”

Bless the LORD, O My Soul

Of David.

103 Bless the LORD, O my soul;
all that is within me, bless His holy name.
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and do not forget all His kind deeds—
3 He who forgives all your iniquities
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the Pit
and crowns you with loving devotion and compassion,
5 who satisfies you with good things,
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The LORD executes righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.
7 He made known His ways to Moses,
His deeds to the people of Israel.
8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion.
9 He will not always accuse us,
nor harbor His anger forever.
10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins
or repaid us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is His loving devotion for those who fear Him.
12 As far as the east is from the west,
so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.
14 For He knows our frame;
He is mindful that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like grass—
he blooms like a flower of the field;
16 when the wind passes over, it vanishes,
and its place remembers it no more.
17 But from everlasting to everlasting
the loving devotion of the LORD
extends to those who fear Him,
and His righteousness to their children’s children—
18 to those who keep His covenant
and remember to obey His precepts.
19 The LORD has established His throne in heaven,
and His kingdom rules over all.
20 Bless the LORD, all His angels mighty in strength
who carry out His word,
who hearken to the voice of His command.
21 Bless the LORD, all His hosts,
you servants who do His will.
22 Bless the LORD, all His works
in all places of His dominion.
Bless the LORD, O my soul!

How Many Are Your Works, O LORD!

104 Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD my God, You are very great;
You are clothed with splendor and majesty.
2 He wraps Himself in light as with a garment;
He stretches out the heavens like a tent,
3 laying the beams of His chambers
in the waters above,
making the clouds His chariot,
walking on the wings of the wind.
4 He makes the winds His messengers,
flames of fire His servants.[214]
5 He set the earth on its foundations,
never to be moved.
6 You covered it with the deep like a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
7 At Your rebuke the waters fled;
at the sound of Your thunder they hurried away—
8 the mountains rose and the valleys sank
to the place You assigned for them—
9 You set a boundary they cannot cross,
that they may never again cover the earth.
10 He sends forth springs in the valleys;
they flow between the mountains.
11 They give drink to every beast of the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 The birds of the air nest beside the springs;
they sing among the branches.
13 He waters the mountains from His chambers;
the earth is satisfied by the fruit of His works.
14 He makes the grass grow for the livestock
and provides crops for man to cultivate,
bringing forth food from the earth:
15 wine that gladdens the heart of man,
oil that makes his face to shine,
and bread that sustains his heart.
16 The trees of the LORD have their fill,
the cedars of Lebanon that He planted,
17 where the birds build their nests;
the stork makes her home in the cypresses.[215]
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats,
the cliffs a refuge for the rock badgers.[216]
19 He made the moon to mark the seasons;
the sun knows when to set.
20 You bring darkness, and it becomes night,
when all the beasts of the forest prowl.
21 The young lions roar for their prey
and seek their food from God.
22 The sun rises, and they withdraw;
they lie down in their dens.
23 Man goes forth to his work
and to his labor until evening.
24 How many are Your works, O LORD!
In wisdom You have made them all;
the earth is full of Your creatures.
25 Here is the sea, vast and wide,
teeming with creatures beyond number,
living things both great and small.
26 There the ships pass,
and Leviathan, which You formed to frolic there.
27 All creatures look to You
to give them their food in due season.
28 When You give it to them,
they gather it up;
when You open Your hand,
they are satisfied with good things.
29 When You hide Your face,
they are terrified;
when You take away their breath,
they die and return to dust.
30 When You send Your Spirit,[217]
they are created,
and You renew
the face of the earth.
31 May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
may the LORD rejoice in His works.
32 He looks on the earth,
and it trembles;
He touches the mountains,
and they smolder.
33 I will sing to the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to Him,
for I rejoice in the LORD.
35 May sinners vanish from the earth
and the wicked be no more.
Bless the LORD, O my soul.
Hallelujah![218]

Tell of His Wonders
(1 Chronicles 16:7–22)

105 Give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name;
make known His deeds among the nations.
2 Sing to Him, sing praises to Him;
tell of all His wonders.
3 Glory in His holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
4 Seek out the LORD and His strength;
seek His face always.
5 Remember the wonders He has done,
His marvels, and the judgments He has pronounced,
6 O offspring of His servant Abraham,
O sons of Jacob, His chosen ones.
7 He is the LORD our God;
His judgments carry throughout the earth.
8 He remembers His covenant forever,
the word He ordained for a thousand generations—
9 the covenant He made with Abraham,
and the oath He swore to Isaac.
10 He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant:
11 “I will give you the land of Canaan
as the portion of your inheritance.”
12 When they were few in number,
few indeed, and strangers in the land,
13 they wandered from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another.
14 He let no man oppress them;
He rebuked kings on their behalf:
15 “Do not touch My anointed ones!
Do no harm to My prophets!”
16 He called down famine on the land
and cut off all their supplies [219] of food.
17 He sent a man before them—
Joseph, sold as a slave.
18 They bruised his feet with shackles
and placed his neck in irons,
19 until his prediction came true
and the word of the LORD proved him right.
20 The king sent and released him;
the ruler of peoples set him free.
21 He made him master of his household,
ruler over all his substance,
22 to instruct [220] his princes as he pleased
and teach his elders wisdom.
23 Then Israel entered Egypt;
Jacob dwelt in the land of Ham.
24 And the LORD made His people very fruitful,
more numerous than their foes,
25 whose hearts He turned to hate His people,
to conspire against His servants.
26 He sent Moses His servant,
and Aaron, whom He had chosen.
27 They performed His miraculous signs among them,
and wonders in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness, and it became dark—
yet they defied His words.[221]
29 He turned their waters to blood
and caused their fish to die.
30 Their land teemed with frogs,
even in their royal chambers.
31 He spoke, and insects swarmed—
gnats throughout their country.
32 He gave them hail for rain,
with lightning throughout their land.
33 He struck their vines and fig trees
and shattered the trees of their country.
34 He spoke, and the locusts came—
young locusts without number.
35 They devoured every plant in their land
and consumed the produce of their soil.
36 Then He struck all the firstborn in their land,
the firstfruits of all their vigor.
37 He brought Israel out with silver and gold,
and none among His tribes stumbled.
38 Egypt was glad when they departed,
for the dread of Israel had fallen on them.
39 He spread a cloud as a covering
and a fire to light up the night.
40 They asked, and He brought quail
and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.
41 He opened a rock, and water gushed out;
it flowed like a river in the desert.
42 For He remembered His holy promise
to Abraham His servant.
43 He brought forth His people with rejoicing,
His chosen with shouts of joy.
44 He gave them the lands of the nations,
that they might inherit the fruit of others’ labor,
45 that they might keep His statutes
and obey His laws.
Hallelujah![222]

Give Thanks to the LORD, for He Is Good

106 Hallelujah![223]
Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
His loving devotion endures forever.
2 Who can describe the mighty acts of the LORD
or fully proclaim His praise?
3 Blessed are those who uphold justice,
who practice righteousness at all times.
4 Remember me, O LORD, in Your favor to Your people;
visit me with Your salvation,
5 that I may see the prosperity of Your chosen ones,
and rejoice in the gladness of Your nation,
and give glory with Your inheritance.
6 We have sinned like our fathers;
we have done wrong and acted wickedly.
7 Our fathers in Egypt did not grasp Your wonders
or remember Your abundant kindness;
but they rebelled by the sea,
there at the Red Sea.[224]
8 Yet He saved them for the sake of His name,
to make His power known.
9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up;
He led them through the depths as through a desert.
10 He saved them from the hand that hated them;
He redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
11 The waters covered their foes;
not one of them remained.
12 Then they believed His promises
and sang His praise.
13 Yet they soon forgot His works
and failed to wait for His counsel.
14 They craved intensely in the wilderness
and tested God in the desert.
15 So He granted their request,
but sent a wasting disease upon them.
16 In the camp they envied Moses,
as well as Aaron, the holy one of the LORD.
17 The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan;
it covered the assembly of Abiram.
18 Then fire blazed through their company;
flames consumed the wicked.
19 At Horeb [225] they made a calf
and worshiped a molten image.
20 They exchanged their Glory [226]
for the image of a grass-eating ox.
21 They forgot God their Savior,
who did great things in Egypt,
22 wondrous works in the land of Ham,
and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.
23 So He said He would destroy them—
had not Moses His chosen one
stood before Him in the breach
to divert His wrath from destroying them.
24 They despised the pleasant land;
they did not believe His promise.
25 They grumbled in their tents
and did not listen to the voice of the LORD.
26 So He raised His hand and swore
to cast them down in the wilderness,
27 to disperse [227] their offspring among the nations
and scatter them throughout the lands.
28 They yoked themselves to Baal of Peor
and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods.
29 So they provoked the LORD to anger with their deeds,
and a plague broke out among them.
30 But Phinehas stood and intervened,
and the plague was restrained.
31 It was credited to him as righteousness
for endless generations to come.
32 At the waters of Meribah [228] they angered the LORD,
and trouble came to Moses because of them.
33 For they rebelled against His Spirit,[229]
and Moses spoke rashly with his lips.
34 They did not destroy the peoples
as the LORD had commanded them,
35 but they mingled with the nations
and adopted their customs.
36 They worshiped their idols,
which became a snare to them.
37 They sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to demons.
38 They shed innocent blood—
the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
and the land was polluted with blood.
39 They defiled themselves by their actions
and prostituted themselves by their deeds.
40 So the anger of the LORD burned against His people,
and He abhorred His own inheritance.
41 He delivered them into the hand of the nations,
and those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies oppressed them,
and subdued them under their hand.
43 Many times He rescued them,
but they were bent on rebellion
and sank down in their iniquity.
44 Nevertheless He heard their cry;
He took note of their distress.
45 And He remembered His covenant with them,
and relented by the abundance of His loving devotion.
46 He made them objects of compassion
to all who held them captive.
47 Save us, O LORD our God,
and gather us from the nations,
that we may give thanks to Your holy name,
that we may glory in Your praise.
48 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Let all the people say, “Amen!”
Hallelujah!

BOOK V

Psalms 107–150

Thanksgiving for Deliverance
(Matthew 8:23–27; Mark 4:35–41; Luke 8:22–25)

107 Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
His loving devotion endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy
3 and gathered from the lands,
from east and west, from north and south.[230]
4 Some wandered in desert wastelands,
finding no path to a city in which to dwell.
5 They were hungry and thirsty;
their soul fainted within them.
6 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
and He delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them on a straight path
to reach a city where they could live.
8 Let them give thanks to the LORD for His loving devotion
and His wonders to the sons of men.
9 For He satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things.
10 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
prisoners in affliction and chains,
11 because they rebelled against the words of God
and despised the counsel of the Most High.
12 He humbled their hearts with hard labor;
they stumbled, and there was no one to help.
13 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
and He saved them from their distress.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death
and broke away their chains.
15 Let them give thanks to the LORD for His loving devotion
and His wonders to the sons of men.
16 For He has broken down the gates of bronze
and cut through the bars of iron.
17 Fools, in their rebellious ways,
and through their iniquities, suffered affliction.
18 They loathed all food
and drew near to the gates of death.
19 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
and He saved them from their distress.
20 He sent forth His word and healed them;
He rescued them from the Pit.
21 Let them give thanks to the LORD for His loving devotion
and His wonders to the sons of men.
22 Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving
and declare His works with rejoicing.
23 Others went out to sea in ships,
conducting trade on the mighty waters.
24 They saw the works of the LORD,
and His wonders in the deep.
25 For He spoke and raised a tempest
that lifted the waves of the sea.
26 They mounted up to the heavens, then sunk to the depths;
their courage melted in their anguish.
27 They reeled and staggered like drunkards,
and all their skill was useless.[231]
28 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
and He brought them out of their distress.
29 He calmed the storm to a whisper,
and the waves of the sea [232] were hushed.
30 They rejoiced in the silence,
and He guided them to the harbor they desired.
31 Let them give thanks to the LORD for His loving devotion
and His wonders to the sons of men.
32 Let them exalt Him in the assembly of the people
and praise Him in the council of the elders.
33 He turns rivers into deserts,
springs of water into thirsty ground,
34 and fruitful land into fields of salt,
because of the wickedness of its dwellers.
35 He turns a desert into pools of water
and a dry land into flowing springs.
36 He causes the hungry to settle there,
that they may establish a city in which to dwell.
37 They sow fields and plant vineyards
that yield a fruitful harvest.
38 He blesses them, and they multiply greatly;
He does not let their herds diminish.
39 When they are decreased and humbled
by oppression, evil, and sorrow,
40 He pours out contempt on the nobles
and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.
41 But He lifts the needy from affliction
and increases their families like flocks.
42 The upright see and rejoice,
and all iniquity shuts its mouth.
43 Let him who is wise pay heed to these things
and consider the loving devotion of the LORD.

Israel’s Kingdom Blessing
(Psalm 57:1–11; Psalm 60:1–12)

A song. A Psalm of David.

108 My heart is steadfast, O God;
I will sing and make music with all my being.[233]
2 Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.
3 I will praise You, O LORD, among the nations;
I will sing Your praises among the peoples.
4 For Your loving devotion extends beyond the heavens,
and Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
may Your glory cover all the earth.
6 Respond and save us with Your right hand,
that Your beloved may be delivered.
7 God has spoken from His sanctuary:[234]
“I will triumph!
I will parcel out Shechem
and apportion the Valley of Succoth.
8 Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine;
Ephraim is My helmet, Judah is My scepter.
9 Moab is My washbasin;
upon Edom I toss My sandal;
over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
10 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
11 Have You not rejected us, O God?
Will You no longer march out, O God, with our armies?
12 Give us aid against the enemy,
for the help of man is worthless.
13 With God we will perform with valor,
and He will trample our enemies.

The Song of the Slandered

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

109 O God of my praise,
be not silent.
2 For wicked and deceitful mouths open against me;
they speak against me with lying tongues.
3 They surround me with hateful words
and attack me without cause.
4 In return for my love they accuse me,
but I am a man of prayer.
5 They repay me evil for good,
and hatred for my love.
6 Set over him a wicked man;
let an accuser stand at his right hand.
7 When he is tried, let him be found guilty,
and may his prayer be regarded as sin.
8 May his days be few;
may another take his position.[235]
9 May his children be fatherless
and his wife a widow.
10 May his children wander as beggars,
seeking sustenance [236] far from their ruined homes.
11 May the creditor seize all he owns,
and strangers plunder the fruits of his labor.
12 May there be no one to extend kindness to him,
and no one to favor his fatherless children.
13 May his descendants be cut off;
may their name be blotted out from the next generation.
14 May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD,
and the sin of his mother never be blotted out.
15 May their sins always remain before the LORD,
that He may cut off their memory from the earth.
16 For he never thought to show kindness,
but pursued the poor and needy and brokenhearted,
even to their death.
17 The cursing that he loved,
may it fall on him;
the blessing in which he refused to delight,
may it be far from him.
18 The cursing that he wore like a coat,
may it soak into his body like water,
and into his bones like oil.
19 May it be like a robe wrapped about him,
like a belt tied forever around him.
20 May this be the LORD’s reward to my accusers,
to those who speak evil against me.
21 But You, O GOD, the Lord,
deal kindly with me for the sake of Your name;
deliver me by the goodness of Your loving devotion.
22 For I am poor and needy;
my heart is wounded within me.
23 I am fading away like a lengthening shadow;
I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees are weak from fasting,
and my body grows lean and gaunt.
25 I am an object of scorn to my accusers;
when they see me, they shake their heads.
26 Help me, O LORD my God;
save me according to Your loving devotion.
27 Let them know that this is Your hand,
that You, O LORD, have done it.
28 Though they curse, You will bless.
When they rise up, they will be put to shame,
but Your servant will rejoice.
29 May my accusers be clothed with disgrace;
may they wear their shame like a robe.
30 With my mouth I will thank the LORD profusely;
I will praise Him in the presence of many.
31 For He stands at the right hand of the needy one,
to save him from the condemners of his soul.

God’s Faithful Messiah
(Genesis 14:17–24; Hebrews 5:1–10)

A Psalm of David.

110 The LORD said to my Lord:
“Sit at My right hand
until I make Your enemies
a footstool for Your feet.”[237]
2 The LORD extends Your mighty scepter from Zion:
“Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”
3 Your people shall be willing
on Your day of battle.
Arrayed in holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn,
to You belongs the dew of Your youth.
4 The LORD has sworn
and will not change His mind:
“You are a priest forever
in the order of Melchizedek.”[238]
5 The Lord is at Your right hand;
He will crush kings in the day of His wrath.
6 He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead;
He will crush the leaders far and wide.
7 He will drink from the brook by the road;
therefore He will lift up His head.

Majestic Is His Work

111 Hallelujah![239]
I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart
in the council of the upright and in the assembly.
2 Great are the works of the LORD;
they are pondered by all who delight in them.
3 Splendid and majestic is His work;
His righteousness endures forever.
4 He has caused His wonders to be remembered;
the LORD is gracious and compassionate.
5 He provides food for those who fear Him;
He remembers His covenant forever.
6 He has shown His people the power of His works
by giving them the inheritance of the nations.
7 The works of His hands are truth and justice;
all His precepts are trustworthy.
8 They are upheld forever and ever,
enacted in truth and uprightness.
9 He has sent redemption to His people;
He has ordained His covenant forever;
holy and awesome is His name.
10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
all who follow His precepts gain rich understanding.
His praise endures forever!

The Blessed Fear of the LORD
(Psalm 128:1–6)

112 Hallelujah![240]
Blessed is the man who fears the LORD,
who greatly delights in His commandments.
2 His descendants will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in his house,
and his righteousness endures forever.
4 Light dawns in the darkness for the upright—
for the gracious, compassionate, and righteous.
5 It is well with the man who is generous and lends freely,
whose affairs are guided by justice.
6 Surely he will never be shaken;
the righteous man will be remembered forever.
7 He does not fear bad news;
his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.
8 His heart is assured; he does not fear,
until he looks in triumph on his foes.
9 He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever;[241]
his horn will be lifted high in honor.
10 The wicked man will see and be grieved;
he will gnash his teeth and waste away;
the desires of the wicked will perish.

The LORD Exalts the Humble
(1 Samuel 1:1–8)

113 Hallelujah![242]
Give praise, O servants of the LORD;
praise the name of the LORD.
2 Blessed be the name of the LORD
both now and forevermore.
3 From where the sun rises to where it sets,
the name of the LORD is praised.
4 The LORD is exalted over all the nations,
His glory above the heavens.
5 Who is like the LORD our God,
the One enthroned on high?
6 He humbles Himself to behold
the heavens and the earth.
7 He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the dump
8 to seat them with nobles,
with the princes of His people.
9 He settles the barren woman in her home
as a joyful mother to her children.
Hallelujah!

A Psalm of Exodus

114 When Israel departed from Egypt,
the house of Jacob from a people of foreign tongue,
2 Judah became God’s sanctuary,
and Israel His dominion.
3 The sea observed and fled;
the Jordan turned back;
4 the mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like lambs.
5 Why was it, O sea, that you fled,
O Jordan, that you turned back,
6 O mountains, that you skipped like rams,
O hills, like lambs?
7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Jacob,
8 who turned the rock into a pool,
the flint into a fountain of water!

To Your Name Be the Glory
(Psalm 135:1–21)

115 Not to us, O LORD, not to us,
but to Your name be the glory,
because of Your loving devotion,
because of Your faithfulness.
2 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in heaven;
He does as He pleases.
4 Their idols are silver and gold,
made by the hands of men.
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 feel;
they have feet, but cannot walk;
they cannot even clear their throats.[243]
8 Those who make them become like them,
as do all who trust in them.
9 O Israel,[244] trust in the LORD!
He is their help and shield.
10 O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD!
He is their help and shield.
11 You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD!
He is their help and shield.
12 The LORD is mindful of us;
He will bless us.
He will bless the house of Israel;
He will bless the house of Aaron;
13 He will bless those who fear the LORD—
small and great alike.
14 May the LORD give you increase,
both you and your children.
15 May you be blessed by the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
16 The highest heavens belong to the LORD,
but the earth He has given to mankind.
17 It is not the dead who praise the LORD,
nor any who descend into silence.
18 But it is we who will bless the LORD,
both now and forevermore.
Hallelujah![245]

The LORD Has Heard My Voice

116 I love the LORD, for He has heard my voice—
my appeal for mercy.
2 Because He has inclined His ear to me,
I will call on Him as long as I live.
3 The ropes of death entangled me;
the anguish of Sheol overcame me;
I was confronted by trouble and sorrow.
4 Then I called on the name of the LORD:
“O LORD, deliver my soul!”
5 The LORD is gracious and righteous;
our God is full of compassion.
6 The LORD preserves the simplehearted;
I was helpless, and He saved me.
7 Return to your rest, O my soul,
for the LORD has been good to you.
8 For You have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.
9 I will walk before the LORD
in the land of the living.
10 I believed, therefore I said,[246]
“I am greatly afflicted.”
11 In my alarm I said,
“All men are liars!”
12 How can I repay the LORD
for all His goodness to me?
13 I will lift the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the LORD.
14 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all His people.
15 Precious in the sight of the LORD
is the death of His saints.
16 Truly, O LORD, I am Your servant;
I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant;
You have broken my bonds.
17 I will offer to You a sacrifice of thanksgiving
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, O Jerusalem.
Hallelujah![247]

Extol Him, All You Peoples

117 Praise the LORD, all you nations!
Extol Him, all you peoples![248]
2 For great is His loving devotion toward us,
and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.
Hallelujah![249]

The LORD Is on My Side

118 Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
His loving devotion endures forever.
2 Let Israel [250] say,
“His loving devotion endures forever.”
3 Let the house of Aaron say,
“His loving devotion endures forever.”
4 Let those who fear the LORD say,
“His loving devotion endures forever.”
5 In my distress I called to the LORD,
and He answered and set me free.
6 The LORD is on my side;[251] I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?[252]
7 The LORD is on my side; He is my helper.
Therefore I will look in triumph on those who hate me.
8 It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in man.
9 It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in princes.
10 All the nations surrounded me,
but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
11 They surrounded me on every side,
but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
12 They swarmed around me like bees,
but they were extinguished like burning thorns;
in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
13 I was pushed so hard I was falling,
but the LORD helped me.
14 The LORD is my strength and my song,
and He has become my salvation.
15 Shouts of joy and salvation resound in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the LORD performs with valor!
16 The right hand of the LORD is exalted!
The right hand of the LORD performs with valor!”
17 I will not die, but I will live
and proclaim what the LORD has done.
18 The LORD disciplined me severely,
but He has not given me over to death.
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter and give thanks to the LORD.
20 This is the gate of the LORD;
the righteous shall enter through it.
21 I will give You thanks, for You have answered me,
and You have become my salvation.
22 The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.[253]
23 This is from the LORD,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.[254]
24 This is the day that the LORD has made;
we will rejoice and be glad in it.
25 O LORD, save us, we pray.[255]
We beseech You, O LORD, cause us to prosper!
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.[256]
From the house of the LORD we bless you.
27 The LORD is God;
He has made His light to shine upon us.
Bind the festal sacrifice with cords
to the horns of the altar.[257]
28 You are my God, and I will give You thanks.
You are my God, and I will exalt You.
29 Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
His loving devotion endures forever.

Your Word Is a Lamp to My Feet

ALEPH

119 Blessed [258] are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the Law of the LORD.
2 Blessed are those who keep His testimonies
and seek Him with all their heart.
3 They do no iniquity;
they walk in His ways.
4 You have ordained Your precepts,
that we should keep them diligently.
5 Oh, that my ways were committed
to keeping Your statutes!
6 Then I would not be ashamed
when I consider all Your commandments.
7 I will praise You with an upright heart
when I learn Your righteous judgments.
8 I will keep Your statutes;
do not utterly forsake me.


BETH

9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to Your word.
10 With all my heart I have sought You;
do not let me stray from Your commandments.
11 I have hidden Your word in my heart
that I might not sin against You.
12 Blessed are You, O LORD;
teach me Your statutes.
13 With my lips I proclaim
all the judgments of Your mouth.
14 I rejoice in the way of Your testimonies
as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on Your precepts
and regard Your ways.
16 I will delight in Your statutes;
I will not forget Your word.


GIMEL

17 Deal bountifully with Your servant,
that I may live and keep Your word.
18 Open my eyes that I may see
wondrous things from Your law.
19 I am a stranger on the earth;
do not hide Your commandments from me.
20 My soul is consumed with longing
for Your judgments at all times.
21 You rebuke the arrogant—
the cursed who stray from Your commandments.
22 Remove my scorn and contempt,
for I have kept Your testimonies.
23 Though rulers sit and slander me,
Your servant meditates on Your statutes.
24 Your testimonies are indeed my delight;
they are my counselors.


DALETH

25 My soul cleaves to the dust;
revive me according to Your word.
26 I recounted my ways, and You answered me;
teach me Your statutes.
27 Make clear to me the way of Your precepts;
then I will meditate on Your wonders.
28 My soul melts with sorrow;
strengthen me according to Your word.
29 Remove me from the path of deceit
and graciously grant me Your law.
30 I have chosen the way of truth;
I have set Your ordinances before me.
31 I cling to Your testimonies, O LORD;
let me not be put to shame.
32 I run in the path of Your commandments,
for You will enlarge my heart.


HE

33 Teach me, O LORD, the way of Your statutes,
and I will keep them to the end.[259]
34 Give me understanding that I may obey Your law,
and follow it with all my heart.
35 Direct me in the path of Your commandments,
for there I find delight.
36 Turn my heart to Your testimonies
and not to covetous gain.
37 Turn my eyes away from worthless things;
revive me with Your word.[260]
38 Establish Your word to Your servant,
to produce reverence for You.
39 Turn away the disgrace I dread,
for Your judgments are good.
40 How I long for Your precepts!
Revive me in Your righteousness.


WAW

41 May Your loving devotion come to me, O LORD,
Your salvation, according to Your promise.
42 Then I can answer him who taunts,
for I trust in Your word.
43 Never take Your word of truth from my mouth,
for I hope in Your judgments.
44 I will always obey Your law,
forever and ever.
45 And I will walk in freedom,
for I have sought Your precepts.
46 I will speak of Your testimonies before kings,
and I will not be ashamed.
47 I delight in Your commandments
because I love them.
48 I lift up my hands to Your commandments, which I love,
and I meditate on Your statutes.


ZAYIN

49 Remember Your word to Your servant,
upon which You have given me hope.
50 This is my comfort in affliction,
that Your promise has given me life.
51 The arrogant utterly deride me,
but I do not turn from Your law.
52 I remember Your judgments of old, O LORD,
and in them I find comfort.
53 Rage has taken hold of me
because of the wicked who reject Your law.
54 Your statutes are songs to me
in the house of my pilgrimage.
55 In the night, O LORD, I remember Your name,
that I may keep Your law.
56 This is my practice,
for I obey Your precepts.


HETH

57 The LORD is my portion;
I have promised to keep Your words.
58 I have sought Your face with all my heart;
be gracious to me according to Your promise.
59 I considered my ways
and turned my steps to Your testimonies.
60 I hurried without hesitating
to keep Your commandments.
61 Though the ropes of the wicked bind me,
I do not forget Your law.
62 At midnight I rise to give You thanks
for Your righteous judgments.
63 I am a friend to all who fear You,
and to those who keep Your precepts.
64 The earth is filled with Your loving devotion, O LORD;
teach me Your statutes.


TETH

65 You are good to Your servant, O LORD,
according to Your word.
66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge,
for I believe in Your commandments.
67 Before I was afflicted, I went astray;
but now I keep Your word.
68 You are good, and You do what is good;
teach me Your statutes.
69 Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies,
I keep Your precepts with all my heart.
70 Their hearts are hard [261] and callous,
but I delight in Your law.
71 It was good for me to be afflicted,
that I might learn Your statutes.
72 The law from Your mouth is more precious to me
than thousands of pieces of gold and silver.


YODH

73 Your hands have made me and fashioned me;
give me understanding to learn Your commandments.
74 May those who fear You see me and rejoice,
for I have hoped in Your word.
75 I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are righteous,
and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.
76 May Your loving devotion comfort me, I pray,
according to Your promise to Your servant.
77 May Your compassion come to me, that I may live,
for Your law is my delight.
78 May the arrogant be put to shame for subverting me with a lie;
I will meditate on Your precepts.
79 May those who fear You turn to me,
those who know Your testimonies.
80 May my heart be blameless in Your statutes,
that I may not be put to shame.


KAPH

81 My soul faints for Your salvation;
I wait for Your word.
82 My eyes fail, looking for Your promise;
I ask, “When will You comfort me?”
83 Though I am like a wineskin dried up by smoke,
I do not forget Your statutes.
84 How many days must Your servant wait?[262]
When will You execute judgment on my persecutors?
85 The arrogant have dug pits for me
in violation of Your law.
86 All Your commandments are faithful;
I am persecuted without cause—help me!
87 They almost wiped me from the earth,
but I have not forsaken Your precepts.
88 Revive me according to Your loving devotion,
that I may obey the testimony of Your mouth.


LAMEDH

89 Your word, O LORD, is everlasting;
it is firmly fixed in the heavens.
90 Your faithfulness continues through all generations;
You established the earth, and it endures.
91 Your ordinances stand to this day,[263]
for all things are servants to You.
92 If Your law had not been my delight,
then I would have perished in my affliction.
93 I will never forget Your precepts,
for by them You have revived me.
94 I am Yours; save me,
for I have sought Your precepts.
95 The wicked wait to destroy me,
but I will ponder Your testimonies.
96 I have seen a limit to all perfection,
but Your commandment is without limit.


MEM

97 Oh, how I love Your law!
All day long it is my meditation.
98 Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies,
for they are always with me.
99 I have more insight than all my teachers,
for Your testimonies are my meditation.
100 I discern more than the elders,
for I obey Your precepts.
101 I have kept my feet from every evil path,
that I may keep Your word.
102 I have not departed from Your ordinances,
for You Yourself have taught me.
103 How sweet are Your words to my taste—
sweeter than honey in my mouth!
104 I gain understanding from Your precepts;
therefore I hate every false way.


NUN

105 Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.
106 I have sworn and confirmed
that I will keep Your righteous judgments.
107 I am severely afflicted, O LORD;
revive me through Your word.
108 Accept the freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD,
and teach me Your judgments.
109 I constantly take my life in my hands,
yet I do not forget Your law.
110 The wicked have set a snare for me,
but I have not strayed from Your precepts.
111 Your testimonies are my heritage forever,
for they are the joy of my heart.
112 I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes,
even to the very end.


SAMEKH

113 The double-minded I despise,
but Your law I love.
114 You are my hiding place and my shield;
I put my hope in Your word.
115 Depart from me, you evildoers,
that I may obey the commandments of my God.
116 Sustain me as You promised, that I may live;
let me not be ashamed of my hope.
117 Uphold me, and I will be saved,
that I may always regard Your statutes.
118 You reject all who stray from Your statutes,
for their deceitfulness is in vain.
119 All the wicked on earth You discard like dross;
therefore I love Your testimonies.
120 My flesh trembles in awe of You;
I stand in fear of Your judgments.


AYIN

121 I have done what is just and right;
do not leave me to my oppressors.
122 Ensure Your servant’s well-being;
do not let the arrogant oppress me.
123 My eyes fail, looking for Your salvation,
and for Your righteous promise.
124 Deal with Your servant according to Your loving devotion,
and teach me Your statutes.
125 I am Your servant; give me understanding,
that I may know Your testimonies.
126 It is time for the LORD to act,
for they have broken Your law.
127 Therefore I love Your commandments more than gold,
even the purest gold.
128 Therefore I admire all Your precepts
and hate every false way.


PE

129 Wonderful are Your testimonies;
therefore I obey them.
130 The unfolding of Your words gives light;
it informs the simple.
131 I open my mouth and pant,
longing for Your commandments.
132 Turn to me and show me mercy,
as You do to those who love Your name.
133 Order my steps in Your word;
let no sin rule over me.
134 Redeem me from the oppression of man,
that I may keep Your precepts.
135 Make Your face shine upon Your servant,
and teach me Your statutes.
136 My eyes shed streams of tears
because Your law is not obeyed.


TZADE

137 Righteous are You, O LORD,
and upright are Your judgments.
138 The testimonies You have laid down are righteous
and altogether faithful.
139 My zeal has consumed me
because my foes forget Your words.
140 Your promise is completely pure;
therefore Your servant loves it.
141 I am lowly and despised,
but I do not forget Your precepts.
142 Your righteousness is everlasting
and Your law is true.
143 Trouble and distress have found me,
but Your commandments are my delight.
144 Your testimonies are righteous forever.
Give me understanding, that I may live.


KOPH

145 I call with all my heart; answer me, O LORD!
I will obey Your statutes.
146 I call to You; save me,
that I may keep Your testimonies.
147 I rise before dawn and cry for help;
in Your word I have put my hope.
148 My eyes anticipate the watches of night,
that I may meditate on Your word.
149 Hear my voice, O LORD, according to Your loving devotion;
give me life according to Your justice.
150 Those who follow after wickedness draw near;
they are far from Your law.
151 You are near, O LORD,
and all Your commandments are true.
152 Long ago I learned from Your testimonies
that You have established them forever.


RESH

153 Look upon my affliction and rescue me,
for I have not forgotten Your law.
154 Defend my cause and redeem me;
revive me according to Your word.
155 Salvation is far from the wicked
because they do not seek Your statutes.
156 Great are Your mercies, O LORD;
revive me according to Your ordinances.
157 Though my persecutors and foes are many,
I have not turned from Your testimonies.
158 I look on the faithless with loathing
because they do not keep Your word.
159 Consider how I love Your precepts, O LORD;
give me life according to Your loving devotion.
160 The entirety of Your word is truth,
and all Your righteous judgments endure forever.


SIN and SHIN

161 Rulers persecute me without cause,
but my heart fears only Your word.
162 I rejoice in Your promise
like one who finds great spoil.
163 I hate and abhor falsehood,
but Your law I love.
164 Seven times a day I praise You
for Your righteous judgments.
165 Abundant peace belongs to those who love Your instruction;
nothing can make them stumble.
166 I wait for Your salvation, O LORD,
and I carry out Your commandments.
167 I obey Your testimonies
and love them greatly.
168 I obey Your precepts and Your testimonies,
for all my ways are before You.


TAW

169 May my cry come before You, O LORD;
give me understanding according to Your word.
170 May my plea come before You;
rescue me according to Your promise.
171 My lips pour forth praise,
for You teach me Your statutes.
172 My tongue sings of Your word,
for all Your commandments are righteous.
173 May Your hand be ready to help me,
for I have chosen Your precepts.
174 I long for Your salvation, O LORD,
and Your law is my delight.
175 Let me live to praise You;
may Your judgments sustain me.
176 I have strayed like a lost sheep;
seek Your servant, for I have not forgotten Your commandments.

In My Distress I Cried to the LORD

A song of ascents.

120 In my distress I cried to the LORD,
and He answered me.
2 Deliver my soul, O LORD,
from lying lips and a deceitful tongue.
3 What will He do to you,
and what will be added to you,
O deceitful tongue?
4 Sharp arrows will come from the warrior,
with burning coals of the broom tree!
5 Woe to me that I dwell in Meshech,
that I live among the tents of Kedar!
6 Too long have I dwelt
among those who hate peace.
7 I am in favor of peace;
but when I speak, they want war.

I Lift Up My Eyes to the Hills

A song of ascents.

121 I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
2 My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not allow your foot to slip;
your Protector will not slumber.
4 Behold, the Protector of Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD is your keeper;
the LORD is the shade on your right hand.
6 The sun will not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD will guard you from all evil;
He will preserve your soul.
8 The LORD will watch over your coming and going,
both now and forevermore.

Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem

A song of ascents. Of David.

122 I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the LORD.”
2 Our feet are standing in your gates,
O Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is built up
as a city united together,
4 where the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD,
as a testimony for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
5 For there the thrones of judgment stand,
the thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you prosper.[264]
7 May there be peace within your walls,
and prosperity [265] inside your fortresses.”
8 For the sake of my brothers and friends,
I will say, “Peace be within you.”
9 For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,
I will seek your prosperity.

I Lift Up My Eyes to You

A song of ascents.

123 I lift up my eyes to You,
the One enthroned in heaven.
2 As the eyes of servants
look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maidservant
look to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes are on the LORD our God
until He shows us mercy.
3 Have mercy on us, O LORD, have mercy,
for we have endured much contempt.
4 We have endured much scorn from the arrogant,
much contempt from the proud.

Our Help Is in the Name of the LORD

A song of ascents. Of David.

124 If the LORD had not been on our side—
let Israel now declare—
2 if the LORD had not been on our side
when men attacked us,
3 when their anger flared against us,
then they would have swallowed us alive,
4 then the floods would have engulfed us,
then the torrent would have overwhelmed us,
5 then the raging waters
would have swept us away.
6 Blessed be the LORD,
who has not given us as prey to their teeth.
7 We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowler;
the net is torn, and we have slipped away.
8 Our help is in the name of the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

The LORD Surrounds His People

A song of ascents.

125 Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion.
It cannot be moved; it abides forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the LORD surrounds His people,
both now and forevermore.
3 For the scepter of the wicked will not rest
upon the land allotted to the righteous,
so that the righteous will not put forth
their hands to injustice.
4 Do good, O LORD, to those who are good,
and to the upright in heart.
5 But those who turn to crooked ways
the LORD will banish with the evildoers.
Peace be upon Israel.

Zion’s Captives Restored

A song of ascents.

126 When the LORD restored the captives of Zion,[266]
we were like dreamers.[267]
2 Then our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with shouts of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
3 The LORD has done great things for us;
we are filled with joy.
4 Restore our captives,[268] O LORD,
like streams in the Negev.
5 Those who sow in tears
will reap with shouts of joy.
6 He who goes out weeping,
bearing a trail of seed,
will surely return with shouts of joy,
carrying sheaves of grain.

Children Are a Heritage from the LORD

A song of ascents. Of Solomon.

127 Unless the LORD builds the house,
its builders labor in vain;
unless the LORD protects the city,
its watchmen stand guard in vain.
2 In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for bread to eat—
for He gives sleep to His beloved.
3 Children are indeed a heritage from the LORD,
and the fruit of the womb is His reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
so are children born in one’s youth.
5 Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
He will not be put to shame
when he confronts the enemies at the gate.

The Blessed Fear of the LORD
(Psalm 112:1–10)

A song of ascents.

128 Blessed are all who fear the LORD,
who walk in His ways!
2 For when you eat the fruit of your labor,
blessings and prosperity will be yours.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
flourishing within your house,
your sons like olive shoots
sitting around your table.
4 In this way indeed shall blessing come
to the man who fears the LORD.
5 May the LORD bless you from Zion,
that you may see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life,
6 that you may see
your children’s children.
Peace be upon Israel!

The Cords of the Wicked

A song of ascents.

129 Many a time they have persecuted me from my youth—
let Israel now declare—
2 many a time they have persecuted me from my youth,
but they have not prevailed against me.
3 The plowmen plowed over my back;
they made their furrows long.
4 The LORD is righteous;
He has cut me from the cords of the wicked.
5 May all who hate Zion
be turned back in shame.
6 May they be like grass on the rooftops,
which withers before it can grow,
7 unable to fill the hands of the reaper,
or the arms of the binder of sheaves.
8 May none who pass by say to them,
“The blessing of the LORD be on you;
we bless you in the name of the LORD.”

Out of the Depths

A song of ascents.

130 Out of the depths
I cry to You, O LORD!
2 O Lord, hear my voice;
let Your ears be attentive to my plea for mercy.
3 If You, O LORD, kept track of iniquities,
then who, O Lord, could stand?
4 But with You there is forgiveness,
so that You may be feared.
5 I wait for the LORD; my soul does wait,
and in His word I put my hope.
6 My soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning—
more than watchmen wait for the morning.
7 O Israel, put your hope in the LORD,
for with the LORD is loving devotion,
and with Him is redemption in abundance.
8 And He will redeem Israel
from all iniquity.

I Have Stilled My Soul

A song of ascents. Of David.

131 My heart is not proud, O LORD,
my eyes are not haughty.
I do not aspire to great things
or matters too lofty for me.
2 Surely I have stilled and quieted my soul;
like a weaned child with his mother,
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
3 O Israel, put your hope in the LORD,
both now and forevermore.

The LORD Has Chosen Zion

A song of ascents.

132 O LORD, remember on behalf of David
all the hardships he endured,
2 how he swore an oath to the LORD,
and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 “I will not enter my house
or get into my bed,
4 I will not give sleep to my eyes
or slumber to my eyelids,
5 until I find a place for the LORD,
a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.[269]”
6 We heard that the ark was in Ephrathah;[270]
we found it in the fields of Jaar.
7 Let us go to His dwelling place;
let us worship at His footstool.
8 Arise, O LORD, to Your resting place,
You and the ark of Your strength.
9 May Your priests be clothed with righteousness,
and Your saints shout for joy.
10 For the sake of Your servant David,
do not reject Your anointed one.
11 The LORD swore an oath to David,
a promise He will not revoke:
“One of your descendants
I will place on your throne.[271]
12 If your sons keep My covenant
and the testimony I will teach them,
then their sons will also sit on your throne
forever and ever.”
13 For the LORD has chosen Zion;
He has desired it for His home:
14 “This is My resting place forever and ever;
here I will dwell, for I have desired this home.
15 I will bless her with abundant provisions;
I will satisfy her poor with bread.
16 I will clothe her priests with salvation,
and her saints will sing out in joy.
17 There I will make a horn grow for David;
I have prepared a lamp for My anointed one.
18 I will clothe his enemies with shame,
but the crown upon him will gleam.”

How Pleasant to Live in Harmony!
(1 Corinthians 1:10–17; Ephesians 4:1–16)

A song of ascents. Of David.

133 Behold, how good and pleasant it is
when brothers live together in harmony!
2 It is like fine oil on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down Aaron’s beard
over the collar of his robes.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon
falling on the mountains of Zion.
For there the LORD has bestowed the blessing
of life forevermore.

Bless the LORD, All You Servants

A song of ascents.

134 Come, bless the LORD,
all you servants of the LORD
who serve by night
in the house of the LORD!
2 Lift up your hands to the sanctuary
and bless the LORD!
3 May the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth,
bless you from Zion.

Give Praise, O Servants of the LORD
(Psalm 115:1–18)

135 Hallelujah![272]
Praise the name of the LORD.
Give praise, O servants of the LORD,
2 who stand in the house of the LORD,
in the courts of the house of our God.
3 Hallelujah, for the LORD is good;
sing praises to His name, for it is lovely.
4 For the LORD has chosen Jacob as His own,
Israel as His treasured possession.
5 For I know that the LORD is great;
our Lord is above all gods.
6 The LORD does all that pleases Him
in the heavens and on the earth,
in the seas and in all their depths.
7 He causes the clouds to rise
from the ends of the earth.
He generates the lightning with the rain
and brings forth the wind from His storehouses.
8 He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
of both man and beast.
9 He sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 He struck down many nations
and slaughtered mighty kings:
11 Sihon king of the Amorites,
Og king of Bashan,
and all the kings of Canaan.
12 He gave their land as an inheritance,
as a heritage to His people Israel.
13 Your name, O LORD, endures forever,
Your renown, O LORD, through all generations.
14 For the LORD will vindicate His people [273]
and will have compassion on His servants.
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
made by the hands of men.
16 They have mouths, but cannot speak;
they have eyes, but cannot see;
17 they have ears, but cannot hear;
nor is there breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them become like them,
as do all who trust in them.
19 O house of Israel, bless the LORD;
O house of Aaron, bless the LORD;
20 O house of Levi, bless the LORD;
you who fear the LORD, bless the LORD!
21 Blessed be the LORD from Zion—
He who dwells in Jerusalem.
Hallelujah!

His Loving Devotion Endures Forever
(2 Chronicles 7:1–3)

136 Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good.

His loving devotion endures forever.

2 Give thanks to the God of gods.

His loving devotion endures forever.

3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords.

His loving devotion endures forever.

4 He alone does great wonders.

His loving devotion endures forever.

5 By His insight He made the heavens.

His loving devotion endures forever.

6 He spread out the earth upon the waters.

His loving devotion endures forever.

7 He made the great lights—

His loving devotion endures forever.

8 the sun to rule the day,

His loving devotion endures forever.

9 the moon and stars to govern the night.

His loving devotion endures forever.

10 He struck down the firstborn of Egypt

His loving devotion endures forever.

11 and brought Israel out from among them

His loving devotion endures forever.

12 with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.

His loving devotion endures forever.

13 He divided the Red Sea [274] in two

His loving devotion endures forever.

14 and led Israel through the midst,

His loving devotion endures forever.

15 but swept [275] Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea.

His loving devotion endures forever.

16 He led His people through the wilderness.

His loving devotion endures forever.

17 He struck down great kings

His loving devotion endures forever.

18 and slaughtered mighty kings—

His loving devotion endures forever.

19 Sihon king of the Amorites

His loving devotion endures forever.

20 and Og king of Bashan—

His loving devotion endures forever.

21 and He gave their land as an inheritance,

His loving devotion endures forever.

22 a heritage to His servant Israel.

His loving devotion endures forever.

23 He remembered us in our low estate

His loving devotion endures forever.

24 and freed us from our enemies.

His loving devotion endures forever.

25 He gives food to every creature.

His loving devotion endures forever.

26 Give thanks to the God of heaven!

His loving devotion endures forever.

By the Rivers of Babylon
(Ezekiel 1:1–3)

137 By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
2 There on the willows [276]
we hung our harps,
3 for there our captors requested a song;
our tormentors demanded songs of joy:
“Sing us a song of Zion.”
4 How can we sing a song of the LORD
in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
may my right hand cease to function.
6 May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
if I do not remember you,
if I do not exalt Jerusalem
as my greatest joy!
7 Remember, O LORD,
the sons of Edom on the day Jerusalem fell:
“Destroy it,” they said,
“tear it down to its foundations!”
8 O Daughter of Babylon,
doomed to destruction,
blessed is he who repays you
as you have done to us.
9 Blessed is he who seizes your infants
and dashes them against the rocks.

A Thankful Heart

Of David.

138 I give You thanks with all my heart;
before the gods I sing Your praises.
2 I bow down toward Your holy temple
and give thanks to Your name
for Your loving devotion and Your faithfulness;
You have exalted Your name
and Your word above all else.
3 On the day I called, You answered me;
You emboldened me and strengthened my soul.[277]
4 All the kings of the earth will give You thanks, O LORD,
when they hear the words of Your mouth.
5 They will sing of the ways of the LORD,
for the glory of the LORD is great.
6 Though the LORD is on high,
He attends to the lowly;
but the proud He knows from afar.
7 If I walk in the midst of trouble,
You preserve me from the anger of my foes;
You extend Your hand,
and Your right hand saves me.
8 The LORD will fulfill
His purpose for me.
O LORD, Your loving devotion endures forever—
do not abandon the works of Your hands.

You Have Searched Me and Known Me

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

139 O LORD, You have searched me
and known me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
You understand my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down;
You are aware of all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
You know all about it, O LORD.
5 You hem me in behind and before;
You have laid Your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go to escape Your Spirit?
Where can I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend to the heavens, You are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle by the farthest sea,
10 even there Your hand will guide me;
Your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me,
and the light become night around me”—
12 even the darkness is not dark to You,
but the night shines like the day,
for darkness is as light to You.
13 For You formed my inmost being;[278]
You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise You,
for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Marvelous are Your works,
and I know this very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from You
when I was made in secret,
when I was woven together
in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all my days were written in Your book
and ordained for me
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are Your thoughts,[279] O God,
how vast is their sum!
18 If I were to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand;
and when I awake,
I am still with You.
19 O God, that You would slay the wicked—
away from me, you bloodthirsty men—
20 who speak of You deceitfully;
Your enemies take Your name in vain.[280]
21 Do I not hate those who hate You, O LORD,
and detest those who rise against You?
22 I hate them with perfect hatred;
I count them as my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my concerns.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me;
lead me in the way everlasting.

Rescue Me from Evil Men

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

140 Rescue me, O LORD, from evil men.
Protect me from men of violence,
2 who devise evil in their hearts
and stir up war all day long.
3 They sharpen their tongues like snakes;
the venom of vipers is on their lips.[281]

Selah

4 Guard me, O LORD,
from the hands of the wicked.
Keep me safe from men of violence
who scheme to make me stumble.
5 The proud hide a snare for me;
the cords of their net are spread along the path,
and lures are set out for me.

Selah

6 I say to the LORD, “You are my God.”
Hear, O LORD, my cry for help.
7 O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation,
You shield my head in the day of battle.
8 Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked;
do not promote their evil plans,
lest they be exalted.

Selah

9 May the heads of those who surround me
be covered in the trouble their lips have caused.
10 May burning coals fall on them;
may they be thrown into the fire,
into the miry pits, never to rise again.
11 May no slanderer be established in the land;
may calamity hunt down the man of violence.
12 I know that the LORD upholds justice for the poor
and defends the cause of the needy.
13 Surely the righteous will praise Your name;
the upright will dwell in Your presence.

Come Quickly to Me
(Psalm 70:1–5)

A Psalm of David.

141 I call upon You, O LORD; come quickly to me.
Hear my voice when I call to You.
2 May my prayer be set before You like incense,
my uplifted hands like the evening offering.
3 Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth;
keep watch at the door of my lips.
4 Do not let my heart be drawn to any evil thing
or take part in works of wickedness
with men who do iniquity;
let me not feast on their delicacies.
5 Let the righteous man strike me;
let his rebuke be an act of loving devotion.
It is oil for my head; let me not refuse it.
For my prayer is ever against the deeds of the wicked.
6 When their rulers are thrown down from the cliffs,
the people will listen to my words,
for they are pleasant.
7 As when one plows and breaks up the soil,
so our bones have been scattered at the mouth of Sheol.
8 But my eyes are fixed on You,
O GOD the Lord.
In You I seek refuge;
do not leave my soul defenseless.[282]
9 Keep me from the snares they have laid for me,
and from the lures of evildoers.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
while I pass by in safety.

I Lift My Voice to the LORD
(1 Samuel 22:1–5; Psalm 57:1–11)

A Maskil [283] of David, when he was in the cave. A prayer.

142 I cry aloud to the LORD;
I lift my voice to the LORD for mercy.
2 I pour out my complaint before Him;
I reveal my trouble to Him.
3 Although my spirit grows faint within me,
You know my way.
Along the path I travel
they have hidden a snare for me.
4 Look to my right and see;
no one attends to me.
There is no refuge for me;
no one cares for my soul.
5 I cry to You, O LORD: “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”
6 Listen to my cry,
for I am brought quite low.
Rescue me from my pursuers,
for they are too strong for me.
7 Free my soul from prison,
that I may praise Your name.
The righteous will gather around me
because of Your goodness to me.

I Stretch Out My Hands to You

A Psalm of David.

143 O LORD, hear my prayer.
In Your faithfulness, give ear to my plea;
in Your righteousness, answer me.
2 Do not bring Your servant into judgment,
for no one alive is righteous before You.
3 For the enemy has pursued my soul,
crushing my life to the ground,
making me dwell in darkness
like those long since dead.
4 My spirit grows faint within me;
my heart is dismayed inside me.
5 I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all Your works;
I consider the work of Your hands.
6 I stretch out my hands to You;
my soul thirsts for You like a parched land.

Selah

7 Answer me quickly, O LORD;
my spirit fails.
Do not hide Your face from me,
or I will be like those who descend to the Pit.
8 Let me hear Your loving devotion in the morning,
for I have put my trust in You.
Teach me the way I should walk,
for to You I lift up my soul.
9 Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD;
I flee to You for refuge.[284]
10 Teach me to do Your will,
for You are my God.
May Your good Spirit lead me
on level ground.
11 For the sake of Your name, O LORD,
revive me.
In Your righteousness,
bring my soul out of trouble.
12 And in Your loving devotion,
cut off my enemies.
Destroy all who afflict me,
for I am Your servant.

Blessed Be the LORD, My Rock

Of David.

144 Blessed be the LORD, my Rock,
who trains my hands for war,
my fingers for battle.
2 He is my steadfast love and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer.
He is my shield, in whom I take refuge,
who subdues peoples [285] under me.
3 O LORD, what is man, that You regard him,
the son of man that You think of him?
4 Man is like a breath;
his days are like a passing shadow.
5 Part Your heavens, O LORD, and come down;
touch the mountains, that they may smoke.
6 Flash forth Your lightning and scatter them;
shoot Your arrows and rout them.
7 Reach down from on high;
set me free and rescue me
from the deep waters,
from the grasp of foreigners,
8 whose mouths speak falsehood,
whose right hands are deceitful.
9 I will sing to You a new song, O God;
on a harp of ten strings I will make music to You—
10 to Him who gives victory to kings,
who frees His servant David from the deadly sword.
11 Set me free and rescue me
from the grasp of foreigners,
whose mouths speak falsehood,
whose right hands are deceitful.
12 Then our sons will be like plants
nurtured in their youth,
our daughters like corner pillars
carved to adorn a palace.
13 Our storehouses will be full,
supplying all manner of produce;
our flocks will bring forth thousands,
tens of thousands in our fields.
14 Our oxen will bear great loads.[286]
There will be no breach in the walls,
no going into captivity,
and no cry of lament in our streets.
15 Blessed are the people of whom this is so;
blessed are the people whose God is the LORD.

I Will Exalt You, My God and King

A Psalm of praise. Of David.[287]

145 I will exalt You, my God and King;
I will bless Your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless You,
and I will praise Your name forever and ever.
3 Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised;
His greatness is unsearchable.
4 One generation will commend Your works to the next,
and will proclaim Your mighty acts—
5 the glorious splendor of Your majesty.
And I will meditate on Your wondrous works.
6 They will proclaim the power of Your awesome deeds,
and I will declare Your greatness.
7 They will extol the fame of Your abundant goodness
and sing joyfully of Your righteousness.
8 The LORD is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion.
9 The LORD is good to all;
His compassion rests on all He has made.
10 All You have made will give You thanks, O LORD,
and Your saints will bless You.
11 They will tell of the glory of Your kingdom
and speak of Your might,
12 to make known to men Your mighty acts
and the glorious splendor of Your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and Your dominion endures through all generations.
The LORD is faithful in all His words
and kind in all His actions.[288]
14 The LORD upholds all who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to You,
and You give them their food in season.
16 You open Your hand
and satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17 The LORD is righteous in all His ways
and kind in all His deeds.
18 The LORD is near to all who call on Him,
to all who call out to Him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him;
He hears their cry and saves them.
20 The LORD preserves all who love Him,
but all the wicked He will destroy.
21 My mouth will declare the praise of the LORD;
let every creature bless His holy name
forever and ever.

Praise the LORD, O My Soul

146 Hallelujah![289]
Praise the LORD, O my soul.
2 I will praise the LORD all my life;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
3 Put not your trust in princes,
in mortal man, who cannot save.
4 When his spirit departs, he returns to the ground;
on that very day his plans perish.
5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD his God,
6 the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them.
He remains faithful forever.
7 He executes justice for the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets the prisoners free,
8 the LORD opens the eyes of the blind,
the LORD lifts those who are weighed down,
the LORD loves the righteous.
9 The LORD protects foreigners;
He sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but the ways of the wicked He frustrates.
10 The LORD reigns forever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Hallelujah!

It Is Good to Sing Praises

147 Hallelujah![290]
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
how pleasant and lovely to praise Him!
2 The LORD builds up Jerusalem;
He gathers the exiles of Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
4 He determines the number of the stars;
He calls them each by name.
5 Great is our Lord, and mighty in power;
His understanding has no limit.
6 The LORD sustains the humble,
but casts the wicked to the ground.
7 Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;
make music on the harp to our God,
8 who covers the sky with clouds,
who prepares rain for the earth,
who makes grass to grow on the hills.
9 He provides food for the animals,
and for the young ravens when they call.
10 He does not delight in the strength of the horse;
He takes no pleasure in the legpower of the man.
11 The LORD is pleased with those who fear Him,
who hope in His loving devotion.
12 Exalt the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion!
13 For He strengthens the bars of your gates
and blesses the children within you.
14 He makes peace at your borders;
He fills you with the finest wheat.
15 He sends forth His command to the earth;
His word runs swiftly.
16 He spreads the snow like wool;
He scatters the frost like ashes;
17 He casts forth His hail like pebbles.[291]
Who can withstand His icy blast?
18 He sends forth His word and melts them;
He unleashes His winds, and the waters flow.
19 He declares His word to Jacob,
His statutes and judgments to Israel.
20 He has done this for no other nation;
they do not know His judgments.[292]
Hallelujah!

Praise the LORD from the Heavens
(Psalm 33:1–22)

148 Hallelujah![293]
Praise the LORD from the heavens;
praise Him in the highest places.[294]
2 Praise Him, all His angels;
praise Him, all His heavenly hosts.
3 Praise Him, O sun and moon;
praise Him, all you shining stars.
4 Praise Him, O highest heavens,
and you waters above the skies.
5 Let them praise the name of the LORD,
for He gave the command and they were created.
6 He established them forever and ever;
He issued a decree that will never pass away.
7 Praise the LORD from the earth,
all great sea creatures and ocean depths,
8 lightning and hail, snow and clouds,
powerful wind fulfilling His word,
9 mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars,
10 wild animals and all cattle,
crawling creatures and flying birds,
11 kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth,
12 young men and maidens,
old and young together.
13 Let them praise the name of the LORD,
for His name alone is exalted;
His splendor is above the earth and the heavens.
14 He has raised up a horn for His people,
the praise of all His saints,
of Israel, a people near to Him.
Hallelujah!

Sing to the LORD a New Song
(Psalm 98:1–9; Isaiah 42:10–17)

149 Hallelujah![295]
Sing to the LORD a new song—
His praise in the assembly of the godly.
2 Let Israel rejoice in their Maker;
let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.
3 Let them praise His name with dancing,
and make music to Him with tambourine and harp.
4 For the LORD takes pleasure in His people;
He adorns the afflicted with salvation.
5 Let the saints exult in glory;
let them shout for joy upon their beds.
6 May the high praises of God be in their mouths,
and a double-edged sword in their hands,
7 to inflict vengeance on the nations
and punishment on the peoples,
8 to bind their kings with chains
and their nobles with shackles of iron,
9 to execute the judgment written against them.
This honor is for all His saints.
Hallelujah!

Let Everything That Has Breath Praise the LORD

150 Hallelujah![296]
Praise God in His sanctuary.
Praise Him in His mighty heavens.[297]
2 Praise Him for His mighty acts;
praise Him for His excellent greatness.
3 Praise Him with the sound of the horn;
praise Him with the harp and lyre.
4 Praise Him with tambourine and dancing;
praise Him with strings and flute.
5 Praise Him with clashing cymbals;
praise Him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!
Hallelujah!

Footnotes

[edit]
  1. ↑ 2:1 Or noisily assemble; see Revelation 11:18.
  2. ↑ 2:2 Cited in Acts 4:25–26
  3. ↑ 2:7 Literally today I have begotten You; cited in Acts 13:33, Hebrews 1:5, and Hebrews 5:5
  4. ↑ 2:9 LXX You will rule them or You will shepherd them
  5. ↑ 2:9 Cited in Revelation 2:27; see also Revelation 12:5 and Revelation 19:15.
  6. ↑ 3:2 Selah or Interlude is probably a musical or literary term; here and throughout the Psalms.
  7. ↑ 4:2 Or false gods
  8. ↑ 4:4 Or In your anger do not sin or Tremble and do not sin; cited in Ephesians 4:26
  9. ↑ 5:7 Forms of the Hebrew chesed are translated here and in most cases throughout the Scriptures as loving devotion; the range of meaning includes love, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, and mercy, as well as loyalty to a covenant.
  10. ↑ 5:9 Or flattery; cited in Romans 3:13
  11. ↑ 6:1 Sheminith is probably a musical term; here and in 1 Chronicles 15:21 and Psalm 12:1.
  12. ↑ 7:1 Shiggaion is probably a musical or liturgical term.
  13. ↑ 7:4 Hebrew the one at peace with me
  14. ↑ 7:9 Hebrew hearts and kidneys
  15. ↑ 8:1 Gittith is probably a musical or liturgical term; here and in Psalms 81 and 84.
  16. ↑ 8:2 Literally You have ordained strength; LXX You have prepared praise; cited in Matthew 21:16
  17. ↑ 8:5 Or than God or than the heavenly beings; see also LXX.
  18. ↑ 8:6 Cited in 1 Corinthians 15:27 and Hebrews 2:6–8
  19. ↑ 9:1 Psalms 9 and 10 together follow an acrostic pattern, each stanza beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the LXX they form one psalm.
  20. ↑ 9:16 Higgaion Selah or quiet interlude is probably a musical or liturgical term.
  21. ↑ 10:7 LXX bitterness; cited in Romans 3:14
  22. ↑ 10:10 Or He crouches and lies low
  23. ↑ 12:1 Sheminith is probably a musical term; here and in 1 Chronicles 15:21 and Psalm 6:1.
  24. ↑ 12:6 Probable reading; MT like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified sevenfold
  25. ↑ 14:1 The Hebrew words rendered fool throughout the Psalms denote one who is morally deficient.
  26. ↑ 14:3 LXX worthless
  27. ↑ 14:3 Cited in Romans 3:10–12
  28. ↑ 16:1 Miktam is probably a musical or liturgical term; used for Psalm 16 and Psalms 56–60.
  29. ↑ 16:7 Or my heart instructs me; Hebrew my kidneys instruct me
  30. ↑ 16:8 LXX I foresaw
  31. ↑ 16:9 LXX will dwell in hope
  32. ↑ 16:10 Cited in Acts 13:35
  33. ↑ 16:11 Cited in Acts 2:25–28
  34. ↑ 17:8 Literally as the pupil, the daughter of
  35. ↑ 17:14 Or May what You have stored up for the wicked fill their bellies
  36. ↑ 18:12 Or bolts of lightning; also in verse 13
  37. ↑ 18:13 Most Hebrew manuscripts; some Hebrew manuscripts and LXX do not include—hailstones and coals of fire; see 2 Samuel 22:14.
  38. ↑ 18:35 Or and Your help exalts me or and You stoop down to make me great
  39. ↑ 18:42 Some Hebrew manuscripts, LXX, and Syriac (see also 2 Samuel 22:43); MT I poured them out
  40. ↑ 18:49 Cited in Romans 15:9
  41. ↑ 19:3 Or There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard
  42. ↑ 19:4 LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate; Hebrew their measuring line
  43. ↑ 19:4 Cited in Romans 10:18
  44. ↑ 20:9 Or give victory to
  45. ↑ 22:1 Cited in Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34
  46. ↑ 22:8 Cited in Matthew 27:43
  47. ↑ 22:15 MT; or My mouth, a possible reading of the original Hebrew text
  48. ↑ 22:16 DSS, LXX, Vulgate, and Syriac; most MT like a lion at my hands and feet
  49. ↑ 22:18 Cited in John 19:24; see also Matthew 27:35, Mark 15:24, and Luke 23:34
  50. ↑ 22:22 LXX I will sing Your praises in the assembly; cited in Hebrews 2:12.
  51. ↑ 23:1 See Revelation 7:17.
  52. ↑ 23:4 Or the valley of deep darkness
  53. ↑ 24:1 Cited in 1 Corinthians 10:26
  54. ↑ 24:4 Or to falsehood or to vanity
  55. ↑ 24:6 LXX, Syriac, and two Hebrew manuscripts; MT who seek your face, O Jacob
  56. ↑ 25:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each verse beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
  57. ↑ 25:21 Or because my hope is in You; LXX because I wait for You, O Lord
  58. ↑ 26:2 Hebrew my kidneys
  59. ↑ 28:2 Or Your innermost sanctuary or Your Most Holy Place
  60. ↑ 29:1 Or sons of God or sons of might
  61. ↑ 29:2 Or in holy attire
  62. ↑ 29:6 That is, Mount Hermon
  63. ↑ 29:9 Or LORD makes the deer to calve
  64. ↑ 30:4 Or and praise the memorial of His holiness; see Exodus 3:15.
  65. ↑ 30:9 Or in my destruction
  66. ↑ 30:9 Or to corruption
  67. ↑ 31:5 Cited in Luke 23:46
  68. ↑ 31:6 MT; one Hebrew manuscript, LXX, and Syriac You hate
  69. ↑ 32:1 Maskil is probably a musical or liturgical term; used for Psalms 32, 42, 44–45, 52–55, 74, 78, 88–89, and 142.
  70. ↑ 32:1 LXX Blessed is he whose lawless acts are forgiven, whose sins are covered; cited in Romans 4:7
  71. ↑ 32:2 LXX Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him; cited in Romans 4:8
  72. ↑ 32:4 Or my vitality was turned
  73. ↑ 34:1 Abimelech is another name for Achish; see 1 Samuel 21–29 and 1 Kings 2:39.
  74. ↑ 34:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each verse beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
  75. ↑ 34:15 LXX to their prayer
  76. ↑ 34:16 Cited in 1 Peter 3:10–12
  77. ↑ 34:20 Cited in John 19:36
  78. ↑ 35:3 Or and close the way
  79. ↑ 35:13 Literally returned to my bosom
  80. ↑ 35:16 Or Like a godless circle of mockers,
  81. ↑ 35:19 See John 15:25.
  82. ↑ 36:1 Cited in Romans 3:18
  83. ↑ 37:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each stanza beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
  84. ↑ 37:11 Or the earth; see Matthew 5:5.
  85. ↑ 37:24 Or upholds him with His hand
  86. ↑ 37:37 Or for there is a future for the man of peace
  87. ↑ 38:19 One DSS manuscript; MT My enemies are vigorous and strong
  88. ↑ 38:19 See John 15:25
  89. ↑ 40:4 Or who turn aside to false gods or who run after lies
  90. ↑ 40:6 Hebrew; some LXX manuscripts but a body You prepared for me
  91. ↑ 40:8 Cited in Hebrews 10:5–7
  92. ↑ 41:9 Cited in John 13:18
  93. ↑ 42:1 In many Hebrew manuscripts Psalms 42 and 43 constitute one psalm. Maskil is probably a musical or liturgical term; used for Psalms 32, 42, 44–45, 52–55, 74, 78, 88–89, and 142.
  94. ↑ 42:2 Or and see the face of God?
  95. ↑ 44:1 Maskil is probably a musical or liturgical term; used for Psalms 32, 42, 44–45, 52–55, 74, 78, 88–89, and 142.
  96. ↑ 44:6 Or give me victory; similarly in verse 7
  97. ↑ 44:14 Literally a shaking of the head
  98. ↑ 44:19 Or serpents or dragons
  99. ↑ 44:22 Cited in Romans 8:36
  100. ↑ 45:1 Maskil is probably a musical or liturgical term; used for Psalms 32, 42, 44–45, 52–55, 74, 78, 88–89, and 142.
  101. ↑ 45:1 Or King; here and throughout Psalm 45
  102. ↑ 45:7 Cited in Hebrews 1:8–9
  103. ↑ 46:1 Alamoth is probably a musical or liturgical term; here and in 1 Chronicles 15:20.
  104. ↑ 46:9 Or chariots
  105. ↑ 47:7 Or sing a Maskil of praise or sing praises with understanding
  106. ↑ 48:2 Or in the far north; the most sacred mountain of the Canaanites was Zaphon
  107. ↑ 48:7 Or a fleet of trading ships
  108. ↑ 48:11 Or the villages
  109. ↑ 48:14 Or He will guide us beyond death
  110. ↑ 49:7 Or redeem another
  111. ↑ 49:11 LXX, Syriac, and Aramaic Targum; Hebrew Their inward thoughts
  112. ↑ 49:13 Or the way of the foolish
  113. ↑ 50:6 Or He is a God of justice
  114. ↑ 50:21 Or you thought the ‘I AM’ was
  115. ↑ 50:21 Literally and I set it in order before your eyes
  116. ↑ 51:1 Or Be gracious to me
  117. ↑ 51:4 LXX and victorious when You judge; cited in Romans 3:4
  118. ↑ 52:1 Maskil is probably a musical or liturgical term; used for Psalms 32, 42, 44–45, 52–55, 74, 78, 88–89, and 142.
  119. ↑ 53:1 Mahalath is probably a musical or liturgical term; see also Psalm 88:1.
  120. ↑ 53:1 Maskil is probably a musical or liturgical term; used for Psalms 32, 42, 44–45, 52–55, 74, 78, 88–89, and 142.
  121. ↑ 53:3 LXX worthless
  122. ↑ 53:3 Cited in Romans 3:10–12
  123. ↑ 53:6 Or the fortunes of His people
  124. ↑ 54:1 Maskil is probably a musical or liturgical term; used for Psalms 32, 42, 44–45, 52–55, 74, 78, 88–89, and 142.
  125. ↑ 55:1 Maskil is probably a musical or liturgical term; used for Psalms 32, 42, 44–45, 52–55, 74, 78, 88–89, and 142.
  126. ↑ 56:1 Miktam is probably a musical or liturgical term; used for Psalms 16 and 56–60.
  127. ↑ 56:7 Or do not let them escape; MT does not include do not.
  128. ↑ 56:8 Or sorrows
  129. ↑ 57:1 Miktam is probably a musical or liturgical term; used for Psalms 16 and 56–60.
  130. ↑ 57:2 Hebrew Elohim-Elyon
  131. ↑ 57:8 Or Awake, my soul!
  132. ↑ 58:1 Miktam is probably a musical or liturgical term; used for Psalms 16 and 56–60.
  133. ↑ 58:7 Or when they are trodden down, may they wither like grass
  134. ↑ 59:1 Miktam is probably a musical or liturgical term; used for Psalms 16 and 56–60.
  135. ↑ 60:1 Miktam is probably a musical or liturgical term; used for Psalms 16 and 56–60.
  136. ↑ 60:1 That is, Mesopotamia; Aram-naharaim means Aram of the two rivers, likely the region between the Euphrates and Balih Rivers in northwestern Mesopotamia.
  137. ↑ 60:1 That is, the land northeast of Damascus
  138. ↑ 60:4 Or that it may be displayed because of truth
  139. ↑ 60:6 Or in His holiness
  140. ↑ 62:12 Cited in Romans 2:6
  141. ↑ 65:8 Or where morning dawns and evening fades You call forth songs of joy.
  142. ↑ 65:9 Or and make it overflow
  143. ↑ 65:9 Or to provide the people with grain, for so You have ordained it
  144. ↑ 66:17 Or and His praise was on my tongue
  145. ↑ 68:4 Or rides through the deserts
  146. ↑ 68:14 Hebrew Shaddai
  147. ↑ 68:17 Or the Lord has come from Sinai in His holiness
  148. ↑ 68:18 Cited in Ephesians 4:8
  149. ↑ 68:28 LXX and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts Your God has summoned your power
  150. ↑ 68:31 That is, the upper Nile region
  151. ↑ 69:4 See John 15:25
  152. ↑ 69:9 Cited in John 2:17
  153. ↑ 69:9 Cited in Romans 15:3
  154. ↑ 69:22 A slight revocalization of the Hebrew (see also LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate); literally may their prosperity be a trap; cited in Romans 11:9
  155. ↑ 69:23 LXX; Hebrew and may their loins tremble continually; cited in Romans 11:10
  156. ↑ 69:25 Cited in Acts 1:20
  157. ↑ 72:5 LXX He shall endure
  158. ↑ 72:8 Hebrew the River
  159. ↑ 72:17 Or increase
  160. ↑ 73:7 Literally Their eye bulges with fatness; Syriac From their callous heart proceeds iniquity
  161. ↑ 73:10 Or His people
  162. ↑ 73:26 Hebrew rock
  163. ↑ 74:1 Maskil is probably a musical or liturgical term; used for Psalms 32, 42, 44–45, 52–55, 74, 78, 88–89, and 142.
  164. ↑ 74:11 Literally From the midst of Your bosom destroy them! or From the midst of Your bosom remove it!
  165. ↑ 74:16 Literally the light
  166. ↑ 75:9 Or proclaim it
  167. ↑ 76:2 That is, Jerusalem
  168. ↑ 76:10 Or Surely Your wrath against men brings You praise, and the survivors of Your wrath will be restrained.
  169. ↑ 77:10 Or “To this I will appeal: to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”
  170. ↑ 77:19 Or were unknown
  171. ↑ 78:1 Maskil is probably a musical or liturgical term; used for Psalms 32, 42, 44–45, 52–55, 74, 78, 88–89, and 142.
  172. ↑ 78:2 Or from ancient times; see also LXX; cited in Matthew 13:35
  173. ↑ 78:24 Cited in John 6:31
  174. ↑ 78:33 Or in vapor
  175. ↑ 78:35 Hebrew El-Elyon
  176. ↑ 78:42 Or His hand
  177. ↑ 78:47 Or frost or driving rain
  178. ↑ 80:11 That is, the Mediterranean Sea, also called the Great Sea
  179. ↑ 80:11 That is, the Euphrates
  180. ↑ 81:1 Gittith is probably a musical or liturgical term; here and in Psalms 8 and 84.
  181. ↑ 81:5 Or in Joseph
  182. ↑ 81:7 Meribah means quarreling; see Exodus 17:7.
  183. ↑ 82:2 Or How long will you defend the unjust
  184. ↑ 82:6 Cited in John 10:34
  185. ↑ 83:1 Or deaf
  186. ↑ 84:1 Gittith is probably a musical or liturgical term; here and in Psalms 8 and 81.
  187. ↑ 84:6 Or Valley of Poplars
  188. ↑ 84:6 Or with blessings
  189. ↑ 85:1 Or restored the fortunes of Jacob
  190. ↑ 87:1 Literally His foundation is on the holy mountains
  191. ↑ 87:4 Rahab is a poetic name for Egypt.
  192. ↑ 87:4 That is, the upper Nile region
  193. ↑ 88:1 Mahalath Leannoth is probably a musical or liturgical term; see also Psalm 53:1.
  194. ↑ 88:1 Maskil is probably a musical or liturgical term; used for Psalms 32, 42, 44–45, 52–55, 74, 78, 88–89, and 142.
  195. ↑ 88:11 Abaddon means Destruction.
  196. ↑ 89:1 Maskil is probably a musical or liturgical term; used for Psalms 32, 42, 44–45, 52–55, 74, 78, 88–89, and 142.
  197. ↑ 89:6 Or the sons of God or the sons of might
  198. ↑ 90:4 See 2 Peter 3:8.
  199. ↑ 90:17 Or beauty
  200. ↑ 91:1 Hebrew Shaddai
  201. ↑ 91:12 Cited in Matthew 4:6 and Luke 4:10–11
  202. ↑ 92:11 Or my ears hear evildoers when they rise against me
  203. ↑ 94:11 Cited in 1 Corinthians 3:20
  204. ↑ 94:21 Or condemn innocent blood
  205. ↑ 95:8 LXX as you did in the rebellion; Meribah means quarreling; see Exodus 17:7; cited in Hebrews 3:15 and Hebrews 4:7.
  206. ↑ 95:8 LXX in the day of testing in the wilderness; Massah means testing; see Exodus 17:7.
  207. ↑ 95:10 LXX They always go astray in the heart
  208. ↑ 95:11 Cited in Hebrews 3:7–11, Hebrews 4:3, and Hebrews 4:5
  209. ↑ 97:11 One Hebrew manuscript, LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate; most Hebrew manuscripts Light is sown
  210. ↑ 99:3 Or it is holy!
  211. ↑ 99:4 Or The might of the King loves justice.
  212. ↑ 100:3 Or and not we ourselves
  213. ↑ 102:27 Cited in Hebrews 1:10–12
  214. ↑ 104:4 LXX He makes His angels winds, His servants flames of fire. Cited in Hebrews 1:7
  215. ↑ 104:17 Or pines or junipers or firs
  216. ↑ 104:18 Or the coneys or the hyraxes
  217. ↑ 104:30 Or breath
  218. ↑ 104:35 Or Hallelu YAH, meaning Praise the LORD
  219. ↑ 105:16 Hebrew staff
  220. ↑ 105:22 LXX and Syriac; MT to bind
  221. ↑ 105:28 LXX and Syriac; Hebrew for had they not defied His words?
  222. ↑ 105:45 Or Hallelu YAH, meaning Praise the LORD
  223. ↑ 106:1 Or Hallelu YAH, meaning Praise the LORD; also in verse 48
  224. ↑ 106:7 Or the Sea of Reeds; also in verses 9 and 22
  225. ↑ 106:19 That is, Mount Sinai, or possibly a mountain in the range containing Mount Sinai
  226. ↑ 106:20 Or their glorious God
  227. ↑ 106:27 Or cast down or cause to fall
  228. ↑ 106:32 Meribah means quarreling; see Exodus 17:7.
  229. ↑ 106:33 Or they provoked His Spirit
  230. ↑ 107:3 Hebrew north and the sea
  231. ↑ 107:27 Or and all their wisdom was swallowed up or and they were at their wits’ end
  232. ↑ 107:29 DSS; MT their waves
  233. ↑ 108:1 Or with my glory
  234. ↑ 108:7 Or in His holiness
  235. ↑ 109:8 Cited in Acts 1:20
  236. ↑ 109:10 Hebrew; LXX may they be driven
  237. ↑ 110:1 Cited in Matthew 22:44, Mark 12:36; Luke 20:42–43, Acts 2:34–35, and Hebrews 1:13
  238. ↑ 110:4 Cited in Hebrews 5:6, Hebrews 7:17, and Hebrews 7:21
  239. ↑ 111:1 Or Hallelu YAH, meaning Praise the LORD. This psalm is an acrostic poem, each line beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
  240. ↑ 112:1 Or Hallelu YAH, meaning Praise the LORD. This psalm is an acrostic poem, each line beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
  241. ↑ 112:9 Cited in 2 Corinthians 9:9
  242. ↑ 113:1 Or Hallelu YAH, meaning Praise the LORD; also in verse 9
  243. ↑ 115:7 Literally they cannot utter with their throat
  244. ↑ 115:9 MT; many Hebrew manuscripts, LXX, and Syriac O house of Israel
  245. ↑ 115:18 Or Hallelu YAH, meaning Praise the LORD
  246. ↑ 116:10 LXX therefore I have spoken; cited in 2 Corinthians 4:13
  247. ↑ 116:19 Or Hallelu YAH, meaning Praise the LORD
  248. ↑ 117:1 Cited in Romans 15:11
  249. ↑ 117:2 Or Hallelu YAH, meaning Praise the LORD
  250. ↑ 118:2 LXX the house of Israel
  251. ↑ 118:6 Or The LORD is with me; also in verse 7; LXX The Lord is my helper
  252. ↑ 118:6 Cited in Hebrews 13:6
  253. ↑ 118:22 Hebrew the head of the corner; cited in Matthew 21:42, Mark 12:10, Luke 20:17, Acts 4:11, and 1 Peter 2:7
  254. ↑ 118:23 Cited in Matthew 21:42 and Mark 12:11
  255. ↑ 118:25 Hebrew hosia-na, meaning save, we pray or save now; see Matthew 21:9, Matthew 21:15, Mark 11:9, and John 12:13.
  256. ↑ 118:26 Cited in Matthew 21:9, Matthew 23:39, Mark 11:9, Luke 13:35, Luke 19:38, and John 12:13
  257. ↑ 118:27 Or Join in the festal procession with boughs in hand, up to the horns of the altar.
  258. ↑ 119:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem of twenty-two stanzas, following the letters of the Hebrew alphabet; within a stanza, each verse begins with the same Hebrew letter.
  259. ↑ 119:33 Or keep them as my reward
  260. ↑ 119:37 Two MT manuscripts and DSS; most MT manuscripts in Your way
  261. ↑ 119:70 Or fat
  262. ↑ 119:84 Or How many are the days of Your servant?
  263. ↑ 119:91 Or They stand this day according to Your ordinances
  264. ↑ 122:6 Or be secure
  265. ↑ 122:7 Or security
  266. ↑ 126:1 Or brought back the captives to Zion; or restored the fortunes of Zion
  267. ↑ 126:1 Or like those restored to health
  268. ↑ 126:4 Or Restore our fortunes
  269. ↑ 132:5 LXX for the God of Jacob; see Acts 7:46.
  270. ↑ 132:6 Literally Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah
  271. ↑ 132:11 Literally “From the fruit of your body I will set (one) on your throne. Cited in Acts 2:30
  272. ↑ 135:1 Or Hallelu YAH, meaning Praise the LORD; also in verses 3 and 21
  273. ↑ 135:14 Or will judge His people; see also LXX; cited in Hebrews 10:30.
  274. ↑ 136:13 Or the Sea of Reeds; also in verse 15
  275. ↑ 136:15 Hebrew shook off
  276. ↑ 137:2 Or poplars
  277. ↑ 138:3 Or You emboldened me with strength in my soul
  278. ↑ 139:13 Hebrew my kidneys
  279. ↑ 139:17 Or How amazing are Your thoughts concerning me
  280. ↑ 139:20 Hebrew Your enemies take in vain or Your enemies bear up in vain; LXX Your enemies take Your cities in vain
  281. ↑ 140:3 Cited in Romans 3:13
  282. ↑ 141:8 Or do not pour out my life or do not give me over to death
  283. ↑ 142:1 Maskil is probably a musical or liturgical term; used for Psalms 32, 42, 44–45, 52–55, 74, 78, 88–89, and 142.
  284. ↑ 143:9 LXX and one Hebrew manuscript; most Hebrew manuscripts in You I take cover
  285. ↑ 144:2 Many Hebrew manuscripts, DSS, Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts subdues my people
  286. ↑ 144:14 Or Our chieftains will be firmly established
  287. ↑ 145:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each verse beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
  288. ↑ 145:13 The final two lines are supplied by one MT manuscript, LXX, Syriac, and DSS.
  289. ↑ 146:1 Or Hallelu YAH, meaning Praise the LORD; also in verse 10
  290. ↑ 147:1 Or Hallelu YAH, meaning Praise the LORD; also in verse 20
  291. ↑ 147:17 Or like crumbs or like morsels
  292. ↑ 147:20 MT; DSS and LXX He has not made known to them His judgments
  293. ↑ 148:1 Or Hallelu YAH, meaning Praise the LORD; also in verse 14
  294. ↑ 148:1 See Matthew 21:9, Mark 11:10, and Luke 19:38.
  295. ↑ 149:1 Or Hallelu YAH, meaning Praise the LORD; also in verse 9
  296. ↑ 150:1 Or Hallelu YAH, meaning Praise the LORD; also in verse 6
  297. ↑ 150:1 Or in the expanse of his might or in the firmament of his might; see also Genesis 1:6–8.

Old Testament

New Testament

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