PSALM 68

The God of Sinai and of the Sanctuary.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David. A Song.

1 1Let aGod arise, 2let His enemies be scattered,

And 3let those who hate Him flee before Him.

2 As asmoke is driven away, so drive them away;

As bwax melts before the fire,

So let the cwicked perish before God.

3 But let the arighteous be glad; let them exult before God;

Yes, let them rejoice with gladness.

4 Sing to God, asing praises to His name;

1bLift up a song for Him who crides through the deserts,

Whose dname is 2the Lord, and exult before Him.

5 A afather of the fatherless and a bjudge 1for the widows,

Is God in His choly habitation.

6 God 1amakes a home for the lonely;

He bleads out the prisoners into prosperity,

Only cthe rebellious dwell in a parched land.

7 O God, when You awent forth before Your people,

When You bmarched through the wilderness,

1Selah.

8 The aearth quaked;

The bheavens also dropped rain at the presence of God;

1cSinai itself quaked at the presence of God, the God of Israel.

9 You ashed abroad a plentiful rain, O God;

You confirmed Your inheritance when it was 1parched.

10 Your creatures settled in it;

You aprovided in Your goodness for the poor, O God.

11 The Lord gives the 1command;

The awomen who proclaim the good tidings are a great host:

12 “aKings of armies flee, they flee,

And she who remains at home will bdivide the spoil!”

13 1When you lie down aamong the 2sheepfolds,

You are like the wings of a dove covered with silver,

And its pinions with glistening gold.

14 When the Almighty ascattered the kings 1there,

It was snowing in bZalmon.

15 A 1amountain of God is the mountain of Bashan;

A mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan.

16 Why do you look with envy, O mountains with many peaks,

At the mountain which God has adesired for His abode?

Surely bthe Lord will dwell there forever.

17 The achariots of God are 1myriads, bthousands upon thousands;

2The Lord is among them as at Sinai, in holiness.

18 You have aascended on high, You have bled captive Your captives;

You have received gifts among men,

Even among the rebellious also, that 1the Lord God may dwell there.

19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily abears our burden,

bThe God who is our salvation.

Selah.

20 God is to us a aGod of deliverances;

And bto 1God the Lord belong escapes 2from death.

21 Surely God will ashatter the head of His enemies,

The hairy crown of him who goes on in his guilty deeds.

22 The Lord 1said, “aI will bring them back from Bashan.

I will bring them back from the depths of the sea;

23 That 1ayour foot may shatter them in blood,

The tongue of your bdogs may have its portion from your enemies.”

24 They have seen aYour 1procession, O God,

The 1procession of my God, my King, 2binto the sanctuary.

25 The asingers went on, the musicians after them,

1In the midst of the bmaidens beating tambourines.

26 aBless God in the congregations,

Even the Lord, you who are of the bfountain of Israel.

27 There is aBenjamin, the 1youngest, 2ruling them,

The princes of Judah in their throng,

The princes of bZebulun, the princes of Naphtali.

28 1Your God has acommanded your strength;

Show Yourself strong, O God, bwho have acted 2on our behalf.

29 1Because of Your temple at Jerusalem

aKings will bring gifts to You.

30 Rebuke the abeasts 1in the reeds,

The herd of bbulls with the calves of the peoples,

Trampling under foot the pieces of silver;

He has cscattered the peoples who delight in war.

31 Envoys will come out of aEgypt;

1bEthiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God.

32 Sing to God, O akingdoms of the earth,

bSing praises to the Lord,

Selah.

33 To Him who arides upon the 1bhighest heavens, which are from ancient times;

Behold, cHe 2speaks forth with His voice, a dmighty voice.

34 aAscribe strength to God;

His majesty is over Israel

And bHis strength is in the 1skies.

35 1O God, You are aawesome from Your 2sanctuary.

The God of Israel Himself bgives strength and power to the people.

cBlessed be God!

PSALM 35

Prayer for Rescue from Enemies.

A Psalm of David.

1 Contend, O Lord, with those who acontend with me;

Fight against those who bfight against me.

2 Take hold of 1abuckler and shield

And rise up for bmy help.

3 Draw also the spear and 1the battle-axe to meet those who pursue me;

Say to my soul, “I am ayour salvation.”

4 Let those be aashamed and dishonored who seek my 1life;

Let those be bturned back and humiliated who devise evil against me.

5 Let them be alike chaff before the wind,

With the angel of the Lord driving them on.

6 Let their way be dark and aslippery,

With the angel of the Lord pursuing them.

7 For awithout cause they bhid their net for me;

Without cause they dug a 1pit for my soul.

8 Let adestruction come upon him unawares,

And blet the net which he hid catch himself;

Into that very cdestruction let him fall.

9 And my soul shall arejoice in the Lord;

It shall bexult in His salvation.

10 All my abones will say, “Lord, bwho is like You,

Who delivers the afflicted from him cwho is too strong for him,

And dthe afflicted and the needy from him who robs him?”

11 aMalicious witnesses rise up;

They ask me of things that I do not know.

12 They arepay me evil for good,

To the bereavement of my soul.

13 But as for me, awhen they were sick, my bclothing was sackcloth;

I chumbled my soul with fasting,

And my dprayer kept returning to my bosom.

14 I went about as though it were my friend or brother;

I abowed down 1mourning, as one who sorrows for a mother.

15 But aat my 1stumbling they rejoiced and gathered themselves together;

The 2bsmiters whom I did not know gathered together against me,

They 3cslandered me without ceasing.

16 Like godless jesters at a feast,

They agnashed at me with their teeth.

17 Lord, ahow long will You look on?

Rescue my soul bfrom their ravages,

My conly life from the lions.

18 I will agive You thanks in the great congregation;

I will bpraise You among a mighty throng.

19 aDo not let those who are wrongfully bmy enemies rejoice over me;

Nor let those cwho hate me without cause 1dwink maliciously.

20 For they do not speak peace,

But they devise adeceitful words against those who are quiet in the land.

21 They aopened their mouth wide against me;

They said, “bAha, aha, our eyes have seen it!”

22 aYou have seen it, O Lord, bdo not keep silent;

O Lord, cdo not be far from me.

23 aStir up Yourself, and awake to my right

And to my cause, my God and my Lord.

24 aJudge me, O Lord my God, according to Your righteousness,

And bdo not let them rejoice over me.

25 Do not let them say in their heart, “aAha, our desire!”

Do not let them say, “We have bswallowed him up!”

26 Let athose be ashamed and humiliated altogether who rejoice at my distress;

Let those be bclothed with shame and dishonor who cmagnify themselves over me.

27 Let them ashout for joy and rejoice, who favor bmy vindication;

And clet them say continually, “The Lord be magnified,

Who ddelights in the prosperity of His servant.”

28 And amy tongue shall declare Your righteousness

And Your praise all day long.

PSALM 36

Wickedness of Men and Lovingkindness of God.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord.

1 Transgression speaks to the ungodly within 1his heart;

There is ano fear of God before his eyes.

2 For 1it aflatters him in his own eyes

Concerning the discovery of his iniquity and the hatred of it.

3 The awords of his mouth are wickedness and deceit;

He has bceased to 1be wise and to do good.

4 He aplans wickedness upon his bed;

He sets himself on a bpath that is not good;

He cdoes not despise evil.

5 Your alovingkindness, O Lord, 1extends to the heavens,

Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

6 Your arighteousness is like the 1mountains of God;

Your bjudgments are like a great deep.

O Lord, You cpreserve man and beast.

7 How aprecious is Your lovingkindness, O God!

And the children of men btake refuge in the shadow of Your wings.

8 They adrink their fill of the 1abundance of Your house;

And You give them to drink of the briver of Your delights.

9 For with You is the afountain of life;

In Your light we see light.

10 O continue Your lovingkindness to athose who know You,

And Your brighteousness to the upright in heart.

11 Let not the foot of pride come upon me,

And let not the hand of the wicked drive me away.

12 There the doers of iniquity have fallen;

They have been thrust down and acannot rise.