Psalm 22–32

Psalm 22

FROM SUFFERING TO PRAISE

For the choir director: according to “The Deer of the Dawn.” A psalm of David.

¹My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?^u

Why are you so far from my deliverance^v

and from my words of groaning?^w

²My God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,

by night, yet I have no rest.^x

³But you are holy,

enthroned on the praises of Israel.^y

⁴Our ancestors trusted in you;

they trusted, and you rescued them.^z

⁵They cried to you and were set free;

they trusted in you and were not disgraced.^aa

⁶But I am a worm and not a man,^ab

scorned by mankind and despised by people.^ac

⁷Everyone who sees me mocks me;

they sneer^A and shake their heads:^ad

⁸“He relies on^B the Lord;

let him save him;

let the Lord^C rescue him,

since he takes pleasure in him.”^ae

⁹It was you who brought me out of the womb,

making me secure at my mother’s breast.^af

¹⁰I was given over to you at birth;^D

you have been my God from my mother’s womb.^ag

¹¹Don’t be far from me, because distress is near

and there’s no one to help.^ah

¹²Many bulls surround me;

strong ones of Bashan encircle me.^a

¹³They open their mouths against me—

lions, mauling and roaring.^b

¹⁴I am poured out like water,^c

and all my bones are disjointed;^d

my heart is like wax,

melting within me.^e

¹⁵My strength is dried up like baked clay;^f

my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.^g

You put me into the dust of death.^h

¹⁶For dogs have surrounded me;ⁱ

a gang of evildoers has closed in on me;

they pierced^E my hands and my feet.^j

¹⁷I can count all my bones;

people^F look and stare at me.^k

¹⁸They divided my garments among themselves,

and they cast lots for my clothing.^l

¹⁹But you, Lord, don’t be far away.^m

My strength, come quickly to help me.ⁿ

²⁰Rescue my life from the sword,^o

my only life^A from the power of these dogs.

²¹Save me from the lion’s mouth,^p

from the horns of wild oxen.

You answered me!^B

²²I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters;

I will praise you in the assembly.^q

²³You who fear the Lord, praise him!^r

All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!

All you descendants of Israel, revere him!^s

²⁴For he has not despised or abhorred

the torment of the oppressed.^t

He did not hide his face from him^u

but listened when he cried to him for help.^v

²⁵I will give praise in the great assembly

because of you;^w

I will fulfill my vows

before those who fear you.^Cx

²⁶The humble will eat and be satisfied;^y

those who seek the Lord will praise him.

May your hearts live forever!^z

²⁷All the ends of the earth will remember

and turn to the Lord.

All the families of the nations

will bow down before you,^aa

²⁸for kingship belongs to the Lord;

he rules the nations.^ab

²⁹All who prosper on earth will eat and bow down;

all those who go down to the dust

will kneel before him—

even the one who cannot preserve his life.^ac

³⁰Their descendants will serve him;

the next generation will be told about the Lord.^ad

³¹They will come and declare his righteousness;

to a people yet to be born

they will declare what he has done.^ae

Psalm 23

THE GOOD SHEPHERD

A psalm of David.

¹The Lord is my shepherd;^af

I have what I need.^ag

²He lets me lie down in green pastures;^ah

he leads me beside quiet waters.^ai

³He renews my life;

he leads me along the right paths^D

for his name’s sake.^aj

⁴Even when I go through the darkest valley,^E

I fear no danger,

for you are with me;^ak

your rod and your staff—they comfort me.^al

⁵You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;^am

my cup overflows.^an

⁶Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me

all the days of my life,^ao

and I will dwell in^A the house of the Lord

as long as I live.^Bap

Psalm 24

THE KING OF GLORY

A psalm of David.

¹The earth and everything in it,

the world and its inhabitants,

belong to the Lord;^a

²for he laid its foundation on the seas

and established it on the rivers.^b

³Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?

Who may stand in his holy place?^c

⁴The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,^d

who has not appealed to^C what is false,^e

and who has not sworn deceitfully.

⁵He will receive blessing from the Lord,^f

and righteousness^D from the God of his salvation.^g

⁶Such is the generation of those who inquire of him,

who seek the face of the God of Jacob.^Eh

Selah

⁷Lift up your heads, you gates!

Rise up, ancient doors!

Then the King of glory will come in.ⁱ

⁸Who is this King of glory?

The Lord, strong and mighty,

the Lord, mighty in battle.^j

⁹Lift up your heads, you gates!

Rise up, ancient doors!

Then the King of glory will come in.

¹⁰Who is he, this King of glory?

The Lord of Armies,

he is the King of glory.^k

Selah

Psalm 25

DEPENDENCE ON THE LORD

Of David.

¹Lord, I appeal to you.^Fl

²My God, I trust in you.

Do not let me be disgraced;^m

do not let my enemies gloat over me.ⁿ

³No one who waits for you

will be disgraced;^o

those who act treacherously without cause

will be disgraced.^p

⁴Make your ways known to me, Lord;

teach me your paths.^q

⁵Guide me in your truth and teach me,^r

for you are the God of my salvation;^s

I wait for you all day long.^t

⁶Remember, Lord, your compassion

and your faithful love,

for they have existed from antiquity.^Gu

⁷Do not remember the sins of my youth^v

or my acts of rebellion;^w

in keeping with your faithful love, remember me

because of your goodness, Lord.^x

⁸The Lord is good and upright;^y

therefore he shows sinners the way.^z

⁹He leads the humble in what is right^aa

and teaches them his way.^ab

¹⁰All the Lord’s ways show faithful love and truth

to those who keep his covenant and decrees.^ac

¹¹Lord, for the sake of your name,

forgive my iniquity, for it is immense.^ad

¹²Who is this person who fears the Lord?^ae

He will show him the way he should choose.^af

¹³He will live a good life,

and his descendants will inherit the land.^Aag

¹⁴The secret counsel of the Lord

is for those who fear him,

and he reveals his covenant to them.^ah

¹⁵My eyes are always on the Lord,

for he will pull my feet out of the net.^ai

¹⁶Turn to me and be gracious to me,

for I am alone and afflicted.^aj

¹⁷The distresses of my heart increase;^Bak

bring me out of my sufferings.^al

¹⁸Consider my affliction and trouble,^am

and forgive all my sins.^an

¹⁹Consider my enemies; they are numerous,^ao

and they hate me violently.^ap

²⁰Guard me and rescue me;^a

do not let me be disgraced,

for I take refuge in you.^b

²¹May integrity and what is right

watch over me,

for I wait for you.^c

²²God, redeem Israel, from all its distresses.^d

Psalm 26

PRAYER FOR VINDICATION

Of David.

¹Vindicate me, Lord,

because I have lived with integrity

and have trusted in the Lord without wavering.^e

²Test me, Lord, and try me;

examine my heart and mind.^f

³For your faithful love guides me,^C

and I live by your truth.^g

⁴I do not sit with the worthless

or associate with hypocrites.

⁵I hate a crowd of evildoers,

and I do not sit with the wicked.^h

⁶I wash my hands in innocenceⁱ

and go around your altar, Lord,^j

⁷raising my voice in thanksgiving^k

and telling about your wondrous works.^l

⁸Lord, I love the house where you dwell,

the place where your glory resides.^m

⁹Do not destroy me along with sinners,

or my life along with men of bloodshedⁿ

¹⁰in whose hands are evil schemes

and whose right hands are filled with bribes.^o

¹¹But I live with integrity;

redeem me and be gracious to me.^p

¹²My foot stands on level ground;^q

I will bless the Lord in the assemblies.^r

Psalm 27

MY STRONGHOLD

Of David.

¹The Lord is my light and my salvation—

whom should I fear?^s

The Lord is the stronghold of my life—

whom should I dread?^t

²When evildoers came against me to devour my flesh,^u

my foes and my enemies stumbled and fell.^v

³Though an army deploys against me,

my heart will not be afraid;

though a war breaks out against me,

I will still be confident.^w

⁴I have asked one thing from the Lord;

it is what I desire:

to dwell in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life,^x

gazing on the beauty of the Lord^y

and seeking him in his temple.^z

⁵For he will conceal me in his shelter

in the day of adversity;

he will hide me under the cover of his tent;

he will set me high on a rock.^aa

⁶Then my head will be high

above my enemies around me;^ab

I will offer sacrifices in his tent with shouts of joy.^ac

I will sing and make music to the Lord.^ad

⁷Lord, hear my voice when I call;

be gracious to me and answer me.^ae

⁸My heart says this about you:

“Seek^A his face.”

Lord, I will seek your face.^af

⁹Do not hide your face from me;^ag

do not turn your servant away in anger.^ah

You have been my helper;^ai

do not leave me or abandon me,

God of my salvation.

¹⁰Even if my father and mother abandon me,

the Lord cares for me.^aj

¹¹Because of my adversaries,

show me your way, Lord,

and lead me on a level path.^ak

¹²Do not give me over to the will of my foes,

for false witnesses rise up against me,

breathing violence.^al

¹³I am certain that I will see the Lord’s goodness

in the land of the living.^a

¹⁴Wait for the Lord;

be strong, and let your heart be courageous.^b

Wait for the Lord.^c

Psalm 28

MY STRENGTH

Of David.

¹Lord, I call to you;

my rock, do not be deaf to me.^d

If you remain silent to me,

I will be like those going down to the Pit.^e

²Listen to the sound of my pleading

when I cry to you for help,

when I lift up my hands

toward your holy sanctuary.^f

³Do not drag me away with the wicked,

with the evildoers,

who speak in friendly ways with their neighbors

while malice is in their hearts.^g

⁴Repay them according to what they have done—

according to the evil of their deeds.

Repay them according to the work of their hands;

give them back what they deserve.^h

⁵Because they do not consider

what the Lord has done

or the work of his hands,

he will tear them down and not rebuild them.ⁱ

⁶Blessed be the Lord,

for he has heard the sound of my pleading.^j

⁷The Lord is my strength and my shield;

my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.^k

Therefore my heart celebrates,

and I give thanks to him with my song.^l

⁸The Lord is the strength of his people;^A

he is a stronghold of salvation for his…