Psalm 1–41

BOOK I

(Psalms 1–41)

Psalm 1

THE TWO WAYS

¹How happy is the one who does not

walk in the advice of the wicked

or stand in the pathway with sinners

or sit in the company of mockers!^a

²Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction,

and he meditates on it day and night.^b

³He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams^A

that bears its fruit in its season,^c

and its leaf does not wither.^d

Whatever he does prospers.^e

⁴The wicked are not like this;

instead, they are like chaff that the wind blows away.^f

⁵Therefore the wicked will not stand up in the judgment,^g

nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

⁶For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,^h

but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.ⁱ

Psalm 2

CORONATION OF THE SON

¹Why^j do the nations rage^k

and the peoples plot in vain?^l

²The kings of the earth take their stand,^m

and the rulers conspire together

against the Lord and his Anointed One:^Bn

³“Let’s tear off their chains

and throw their ropes off of us.”^o

⁴The one enthroned^C in heaven laughs;

the Lord ridicules them.^p

⁵Then he speaks to them in his anger

and terrifies them in his wrath:^q

⁶“I have installed my king

on Zion, my holy mountain.”^r

⁷I will declare the Lord’s decree.

He said to me, “You are my Son;

today I have become your Father.^s

⁸Ask of me,

and I will make the nations your inheritance

and the ends of the earth your possession.^t

⁹You will break them with an iron scepter;

you will shatter them like pottery.”^u

¹⁰So now, kings, be wise;

receive instruction, you judges of the earth.

¹¹Serve the Lord with reverential awe

and rejoice with trembling.^v

¹²Pay homage to^A the Son or he will be angry

and you will perish in your rebellion,^Bw

for his anger may ignite at any moment.^x

All who take refuge in him are happy.^y

Psalm 3

CONFIDENCE IN TROUBLED TIMES

A psalm of David when he fled from his son Absalom.^z

¹Lord, how my foes increase!

There are many who attack me.^aa

²Many say about me,

“There is no help for him in God.”^ab

Selah

³But you, Lord, are a shield around me,^ac

my glory,^ad and the one who lifts up my head.^ae

⁴I cry aloud to the Lord,

and he answers me from his holy mountain.^af

Selah

⁵I lie down and sleep;

I wake again because the Lord sustains me.^ag

⁶I will not be afraid of thousands of people

who have taken their stand against me on every side.^a

⁷Rise up, Lord!^b

Save me, my God!

You strike all my enemies on the cheek;^c

you break the teeth of the wicked.^d

⁸Salvation belongs to the Lord;^e

may your blessing be on your people.^f

Selah

Psalm 4

A NIGHT PRAYER

For the choir director: with stringed instruments.^g A psalm of David.

¹Answer me when I call,

God, who vindicates me.^Ch

You freed me from affliction;ⁱ

be gracious to me and hear my prayer.

²How long, exalted ones,^D will my honor be insulted?^j

How long will you love what is worthless^k

and pursue a lie?

Selah

³Know that the Lord has set apart

the faithful for himself;

the Lord will hear when I call to him.

⁴Be angry^E and do not sin;^l

reflect in your heart while on your bed and be silent.^m

Selah

⁵Offer sacrifices in righteousness^Fn

and trust in the Lord.^o

⁶Many are asking, “Who can show us anything good?”

Let the light of your face shine on us, Lord.^p

⁷You have put more joy in my heart

than they have when their grain and new wine abound.^q

⁸I will both lie down and sleep in peace,^r

for you alone, Lord, make me live in safety.^s

Psalm 5

THE REFUGE OF THE RIGHTEOUS

For the choir director: with the flutes. A psalm of David.

¹Listen to my words, Lord;

consider my sighing.^t

²Pay attention to the sound of my cry,^u

my King and my God,^v

for I pray to you.

³In the morning,^w Lord, you hear my voice;

in the morning I plead my case to you^x and watch expectantly.

⁴For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;

evil cannot dwell with you.^y

⁵The boastful cannot stand in your sight;^z

you hate all evildoers.^aa

⁶You destroy those who tell lies;^ab

the Lord abhors violent and treacherous people.^ac

⁷But I enter your house

by the abundance of your faithful love;^ad

I bow down toward your holy temple

in reverential awe of you.^ae

⁸Lord, lead me in your righteousness^af

because of my adversaries;

make your way straight before me.^ag

⁹For there is nothing reliable in what they say;^ah

destruction is within them;

their throat is an open grave;

they flatter with their tongues.^ai

¹⁰Punish them, God;

let them fall by their own schemes.^aj

Drive them out^ak because of their many crimes,

for they rebel against you.^al

¹¹But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;^am

let them shout for joy forever.

May you shelter them,^an

and may those who love your name boast about you.^ao

¹²For you, Lord, bless the righteous one;

you surround him with favor like a shield.^ap

Psalm 6

A PRAYER FOR MERCY

For the choir director: with stringed instruments, according to Sheminith.^a A psalm of David.

¹Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger;

do not discipline me in your wrath.^b

²Be gracious to me, Lord, for I am weak;^Ac

heal me,^d Lord, for my bones are shaking;^e

³my whole being is shaken with terror.^f

And you, Lord—how long?^g

⁴Turn, Lord! Rescue me;

save me because of your faithful love.^h

⁵For there is no remembrance of you in death;

who can thank you in Sheol?ⁱ

⁶I am weary from my groaning;^j

with my tears I dampen my bed

and drench my couch every night.^k

⁷My eyes are swollen from grief;^l

they grow old because of all my enemies.

⁸Depart from me, all evildoers,

for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.^m

⁹The Lord has heard my plea for help;ⁿ

the Lord accepts my prayer.^o

¹⁰All my enemies will be ashamed and shake with terror;

they will turn back^p and suddenly be disgraced.^q

Psalm 7

PRAYER FOR JUSTICE

A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush, a Benjaminite.

¹Lord my God, I seek refuge in you;^r

save me from all my pursuers and rescue me,^s

²or they^A will tear me like a lion,

ripping me apart with no one to rescue me.^t

³Lord my God, if I have done this,

if there is injustice on my hands,^u

⁴if I have done harm to one at peace with me^v

or have plundered^B my adversary without cause,^w

⁵may an enemy pursue and overtake me;

may he trample me to the ground^x

and leave my honor in the dust.^y

Selah

⁶Rise up, Lord, in your anger;

lift yourself up against the fury of my adversaries;^z

awake for me;^Caa

you have ordained a judgment.^ab

⁷Let the assembly of peoples gather around you;^ac

take your seat on high over it.^ad

⁸The Lord judges the peoples;^ae

vindicate me, Lord,

according to my righteousness and my integrity.^af

⁹Let the evil of the wicked come to an end,^ag

but establish the righteous.^ah

The one who examines the thoughts and emotions^D

is a righteous God.^ai

¹⁰My shield is with God,^aj

who saves the upright in heart.^ak

¹¹God is a righteous judge

and a God who shows his wrath every day.^al

¹²If anyone does not repent,

he will sharpen his sword;^am

he has strung his bow and made it ready.^an

¹³He has prepared his deadly weapons;

he tips his arrows with fire.^ao

¹⁴See, the wicked one is pregnant with evil,

conceives trouble, and gives birth to deceit.^ap

¹⁵He dug a pit and hollowed it out

but fell into the hole he had made.^aq

¹⁶His trouble comes back on his own head;

his own violence comes down on top of his head.^ar

¹⁷I will thank the Lord for his righteousness;

I will sing about the name of the Lord Most High.^as

Psalm 8

GOD’S GLORY, HUMAN DIGNITY

For the choir director: on the Gittith.^a A psalm of David.

¹Lord, our Lord,

how magnificent is your name throughout the earth!^b

You have covered the heavens with your majesty.^Ac

²From the mouths of infants and nursing babies,^d

you have established a stronghold^B

on account of your adversaries

in order to silence the enemy and the avenger.

³When I observe your heavens,

the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars,

which you set in place,^e

⁴what is a human being that you remember him,

a son of man^C that you look after him?^f

⁵You made him little less than God^DE

and crowned him with glory and honor.

⁶You made him ruler over the works of your hands;

you put everything under his feet:^g

⁷all the sheep and oxen,

as well as the animals in the wild,

⁸the birds of the sky,

and the fish of the sea

that pass through the currents of the seas.^h

⁹Lord, our Lord,

how magnificent is your name throughout the earth!

Psalm 9

CELEBRATION OF GOD’S JUSTICE

For the choir director: according to Muth-labben. A psalm of David.

¹I will thank the Lord with all my heart;

I will declare all your wondrous works.ⁱ

²I will rejoice and boast about you;^j

I will sing about your name, Most High.^k

³When my enemies retreat,

they stumble and perish before you.^l

⁴For you have upheld my just cause;^m

you are seated on your throne as a righteous judge.ⁿ

⁵You have rebuked the nations:^o

You have destroyed the wicked;^p

you have erased their name forever and ever.^q

⁶The enemy has come to eternal ruin;

you have uprooted the cities,

and the very memory of them has perished.^r

⁷But the Lord sits enthroned forever;^s

he has established his throne for judgment.^t

⁸And he judges the world with righteousness;

he executes judgment on the nations with fairness.^u

⁹The Lord is a refuge for the persecuted,

a refuge in times of trouble.^v

¹⁰Those who know your name trust in you

because you have not abandoned

those who seek you, Lord.^w

¹¹Sing to the Lord, who dwells in Zion;^x

proclaim his deeds among the nations.^y

¹²For the one who seeks an accounting

for bloodshed remembers them;^z

he does not forget the cry of the oppressed.^aa

¹³Be gracious to me, Lord;

consider my affliction at the hands of those who hate me.^ab

Lift me up from the gates of death,^ac

¹⁴so that I may declare all your praises.

I will rejoice in your salvation^ad

within the gates of Daughter Zion.

¹⁵The nations have fallen into the pit they made;

their foot is caught in the net they have concealed.^ae

¹⁶The Lord has made himself known;

he has executed justice,^af

snaring the wicked

by the work of their hands.^a

Higgaion. Selah

¹⁷The wicked will return to Sheol^b—

all…