Psalms

Introduction

The book of Psalms is filled with the songs and prayers offered to God by the nation of Israel. Their expressions of praise, faith, sorrow, and frustration cover the range of human emotions. Some of the Psalms dwell on the treasure of wisdom and God’s Word. Others reveal the troubled heart of a mourner. Still others explode with praise to God and invite others to join in song. This diversity is unified by one element: they are centered upon the one and only living God. This Creator God is King of all the earth and a refuge to all who trust in him. Many of the Psalms are attributed to King David. The writing and collection of the Psalms into their present form spans the fifteenth to the third centuries b.c.

Book One

The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked

1 Blessed is the man1

who awalks not in bthe counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in cthe way of sinners,

nor dsits in ethe seat of fscoffers;

2  but his gdelight is in the law2 of the Lord,

and on his hlaw he meditates day and night.

3  He is like ia tree

planted by jstreams of water

that yields its fruit in its season,

and its kleaf does not wither.

lIn all that he does, he prospers.

4  The wicked are not so,

but are like mchaff that the wind drives away.

5  Therefore the wicked nwill not stand in the judgment,

nor sinners in othe congregation of the righteous;

6  for the Lord pknows qthe way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked will perish.

The Reign of the Lord’s Anointed

2 rWhy do sthe nations rage1

and the peoples plot in vain?

2  The kings of the earth set themselves,

and the rulers take counsel together,

against the Lord and against his tAnointed, saying,

3  “Let us uburst their bonds apart

and cast away their cords from us.”

4  He who vsits in the heavens wlaughs;

the Lord holds them in derision.

5  Then he will speak to them in his xwrath,

and terrify them in his fury, saying,

6  “As for me, I have yset my King

on zZion, my aholy hill.”

7  I will tell of the decree:

The Lord said to me, b“You are my Son;

today I have begotten you.

8  Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,

and cthe ends of the earth your possession.

9  You shall dbreak2 them with ea rod of iron

and dash them in pieces like fa potter’s vessel.”

10  Now therefore, O kings, be wise;

be warned, O rulers of the earth.

11  gServe the Lord with hfear,

and irejoice with htrembling.

12  jKiss kthe Son,

lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,

for his lwrath is quickly kindled.

mBlessed are all who take refuge in him.

Save Me, O My God

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

1  O Lord, ohow many are my foes!

Many are prising against me;

2  many are saying of my soul,

q“There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah1

3  But you, O Lord, are ra shield sabout me,

my glory, and tthe lifter of my head.

4  I ucried aloud to the Lord,

and he vanswered me from his wholy hill. Selah

5  I xlay down and slept;

I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.

6  I ywill not be afraid of many thousands of people

who have zset themselves against me all around.

7  aArise, O Lord!

Save me, O my God!

For you bstrike all my enemies on the cheek;

you cbreak the teeth of the wicked.

8  dSalvation belongs to the Lord;

your blessing be on your people! Selah

Answer Me When I Call

4 To the echoirmaster: with estringed instruments. A Psalm of David.

1  Answer me when I call, O God of my frighteousness!

You have ggiven me relief when I was in distress.

Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!

2  O men,1 how long shall my honor be turned into shame?

How long will you love vain words and seek after hlies? Selah

3  But know that the Lord has iset apart jthe godly for himself;

the Lord hears when I call to him.

4  kBe angry,2 and do not sin;

lponder in your own hearts mon your beds, and be silent. Selah

5  Offer nright sacrifices,

and put your otrust in the Lord.

6  There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?

pLift up qthe light of your face upon us, O Lord!”

7  You have put rmore joy in my heart

than they have when their grain and wine abound.

8  In peace I will both slie down and sleep;

for you alone, O Lord, make me tdwell in safety.

Lead Me in Your Righteousness

5 To the choirmaster: for the flutes. A Psalm of David.

1  Give ear to my words, O Lord;

consider my ugroaning.

2  Give attention to the sound of my cry,

my vKing and my God,

for wto you do I pray.

3  O Lord, in xthe morning you hear my voice;

in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you1 and ywatch.

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

evil may not dwell with you.

5  The zboastful shall not astand before your eyes;

you bhate all evildoers.

6  You destroy those who speak clies;

the Lord abhors dthe bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

7  But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,

will enter your house.

I will ebow down ftoward your gholy temple

in the fear of you.

8  hLead me, O Lord, in your righteousness

because of my enemies;

imake your way straight before me.

9  For there is no truth in their mouth;

their inmost self is jdestruction;

ktheir throat is lan open grave;

they mflatter with their tongue.

10  nMake them bear their guilt, O God;

let them ofall by their own counsels;

because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out,

for they have rebelled against you.

11  But let all who ptake refuge in you qrejoice;

let them ever sing for joy,

and spread your protection over them,

that those who love your name may rexult in you.

12  For you sbless the righteous, O Lord;

you tcover him with favor as with ua shield.

O Lord, Deliver My Life

6 To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments; according to vThe Sheminith.1 A Psalm of David.

1  O Lord, wrebuke me not in your anger,

nor xdiscipline me in your wrath.

2  Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;

yheal me, O Lord, zfor my bones are troubled.

3  My asoul also is greatly troubled.

But you, O Lord—bhow long?

4  Turn, O Lord, deliver my life;

save me for the sake of your steadfast love.

5  For in cdeath there is no remembrance of you;

in Sheol who will give you praise?

6  I am dweary with my emoaning;

every night I flood my bed with tears;

I drench my couch with my weeping.

7  My feye wastes away because of grief;

it grows weak because of all my foes.

8  gDepart from me, all you hworkers of evil,

for the Lord ihas heard the sound of my weeping.

9  The Lord has heard my jplea;

the Lord accepts my prayer.

10  All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;

they shall kturn back and be put to shame in a moment.

In You Do I Take Refuge

7 A lShiggaion1 of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush, a Benjaminite.

1  O Lord my God, in you do I mtake refuge;

nsave me from all my pursuers and deliver me,

2  lest like oa lion they tear my soul apart,

rending it in pieces, with pnone to deliver.

3  O Lord my God, qif I have done this,

if there is rwrong in my hands,

4  if I have repaid smy friend2 with evil

or tplundered my enemy without cause,

5  let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it,

and let him utrample my life to the ground

and lay my glory in the dust. Selah

6  vArise, O Lord, in your anger;

wlift yourself up against the fury of my enemies;

xawake for me; you have appointed a judgment.

7  Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered about you;

over it return on high.

8  The Lord yjudges the peoples;

zjudge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness

and according to the integrity that is in me.

9  Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end,

and may you establish the righteous—

you who atest bthe minds and hearts,3

O righteous God!

10  My shield is cwith God,

who saves dthe upright in heart.

11  God is ea righteous judge,

and a God who feels findignation every day.

12  If a man4 does not repent, God5 will gwhet his sword;

he has hbent and ireadied his bow;

13  he has prepared for him his deadly weapons,

making his jarrows kfiery shafts.

14  Behold, the wicked man lconceives evil

and is lpregnant with mischief

and gives birth to lies.

15  He makes ma pit, digging it out,

and falls into the hole that he has made.

16  His nmischief returns upon his own head,

and on his own skull his violence descends.

17  I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness,

and I will osing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.

How Majestic Is Your Name

8 To the choirmaster: according to The pGittith.1 A Psalm of David.

1  O Lord, our Lord,

how majestic is your qname in all the earth!

You have set your rglory above the heavens.

2  sOut of the mouth of babies and infants,

you have established tstrength because of your foes,

to still uthe enemy and the avenger.

3  When I vlook at your heavens, the work of your wfingers,

the moon and the stars, xwhich you have set in place,

4  ywhat is man that you are zmindful of him,

and athe son of man that you bcare for him?

5  Yet you have made him a little lower than cthe heavenly beings2

and crowned him with dglory and honor.

6  You have given him edominion over the works of your hands;

fyou have put all things under his feet,

7  all sheep and oxen,

and also the beasts of the field,

8  the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,

whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

9  O Lord, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!

I Will Recount Your Wonderful Deeds

9 1 To the choirmaster: according to Muth-labben.2 A Psalm of David.

1  I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;

I will recount all of your gwonderful deeds.

2  I will be glad and hexult in you;

I will ising praise to your name, jO Most High.

3  When my enemies turn back,

they stumble and perish before3 your presence.

4  For you have kmaintained my just cause;

you have lsat on the throne, giving righteous judgment.

5  You have mrebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish;

you have nblotted out their name forever and ever.

6  The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins;

their cities you rooted out;

the very memory of them has perished.

7  But the Lord sits enthroned forever;

he has established his throne for justice,

8  and he ojudges the world with righteousness…