The Law of the Lord Is Perfect

19 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1  iThe heavens declare the glory of God,

and the sky above1 proclaims his handiwork.

2  Day to day pours out speech,

and night to night reveals knowledge.

3  There is no speech, nor are there words,

whose voice is not heard.

4  jTheir kvoice2 goes out through all the earth,

and their words to the end of the world.

In them he has set a tent for lthe sun,

5  mwhich comes out like na bridegroom leaving his chamber,

and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.

6  Its rising is from the end of the heavens,

and its circuit to the end of them,

and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

7  oThe law of the Lord is perfect,3

previving the soul;

qthe testimony of the Lord is rsure,

smaking wise tthe simple;

8  uthe precepts of the Lord are right,

rejoicing the heart;

the commandment of the Lord is vpure,

wenlightening the eyes;

9  the fear of the Lord is clean,

enduring forever;

the rules4 of the Lord are xtrue,

and righteous altogether.

10  More to be desired are they than ygold,

even much zfine gold;

asweeter also than honey

and drippings of bthe honeycomb.

11  Moreover, by them is your servant warned;

cin keeping them there is great reward.

12  dWho can discern his errors?

eDeclare me innocent from fhidden faults.

13  gKeep back your servant also from hpresumptuous sins;

let them not have idominion over me!

Then I shall be blameless,

and innocent of great transgression.

14  Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

be acceptable in your sight,

O Lord, my jrock and my kredeemer.

In the Shadow of Your Wings

17 A fPrayer of David.

1  Hear a just cause, O Lord; gattend to my cry!

Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!

2  From your presence hlet my vindication come!

Let your eyes behold the right!

3  You have itried my heart, you have jvisited me by knight,

you have ltested me, and you will find nothing;

I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.

4  With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips

I have avoided the ways of the violent.

5  My steps have mheld fast to your paths;

my feet have not slipped.

6  I ncall upon you, for you will answer me, O God;

oincline your ear to me; hear my words.

7  pWondrously show1 your steadfast love,

O Savior of those who seek refuge

from qtheir adversaries at your right hand.

8  Keep me as rthe apple of your eye;

hide me in sthe shadow of your wings,

9  from the wicked who do me violence,

my deadly enemies who tsurround me.

10  uThey close their hearts to pity;

with their mouths they vspeak arrogantly.

11  They have now surrounded our wsteps;

they set their eyes to xcast us to the ground.

12  He is like a lion eager to tear,

as a young lion ylurking in ambush.

13  Arise, O Lord! Confront him, subdue him!

Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,

14  from men by your hand, O Lord,

from zmen of the world whose aportion is in this life.2

You fill their womb with treasure;3

they are satisfied with bchildren,

and they leave their abundance to their infants.

15  As for me, I shall cbehold your face in righteousness;

when I dawake, I shall be esatisfied with your likeness.

The Lord Is My Rock and My Fortress

18 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, fthe servant of the Lord, gwho addressed the words of this hsong to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said:

1  I love you, O Lord, my strength.

2  The Lord is my irock and my jfortress and my deliverer,

my God, my irock, in kwhom I take refuge,

my lshield, and mthe horn of my salvation, my nstronghold.

3  I call upon the Lord, who is oworthy to be praised,

and I am saved from my enemies.

4  pThe cords of death encompassed me;

qthe torrents of destruction assailed me;1

5  pthe cords of Sheol entangled me;

the snares of death confronted me.

6  rIn my distress I called upon the Lord;

to my God I cried for help.

From his stemple he heard my voice,

and my cry to him reached his ears.

7  Then the earth treeled and rocked;

the foundations also of the mountains trembled

and quaked, because he was angry.

8  Smoke went up from his nostrils,2

and devouring ufire from his mouth;

glowing coals flamed forth from him.

9  He vbowed the heavens and wcame down;

xthick darkness was under his feet.

10  He rode on a cherub and flew;

he came swiftly on zthe wings of the wind.

11  He made darkness his covering, his acanopy around him,

thick clouds bdark with water.

12  Out of the brightness before him

chailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.

13  The Lord also dthundered in the heavens,

and the Most High uttered his evoice,

hailstones and coals of fire.

14  And he sent out his farrows and scattered them;

he flashed forth lightnings and grouted them.

15  Then hthe channels of the sea were seen,

and the foundations of the world were laid bare

at your irebuke, O Lord,

at the blast of jthe breath of your nostrils.

16  He ksent from on high, he took me;

he ldrew me out of mmany waters.

17  He rescued me from my strong enemy

and from those who hated me,

for they were ntoo mighty for me.

18  They confronted me in the day of my calamity,

but the Lord was my support.

19  He brought me out into oa broad place;

he rescued me, because he pdelighted in me.

20  The Lord dealt with me qaccording to my righteousness;

according to rthe cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.

21  For I have skept the ways of the Lord,

and have not wickedly departed from my God.

22  For tall his rules3 were before me,

and his statutes I did not put away from me.

23  I was ublameless before him,

and I kept myself from my guilt.

24  So the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,

according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

25  With vthe merciful you show yourself merciful;

with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;

26  with the purified you show yourself pure;

and with wthe crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.

27  For you save xa humble people,

but ythe haughty eyes you bring down.

28  For it is you who light my zlamp;

the Lord my God lightens my darkness.

29  For by you I can run against a troop,

and by my God I can aleap over ba wall.

30  This God—his way is cperfect;4

the word of the Lord dproves true;

he is ea shield for all those who ftake refuge in him.

31  For gwho is God, but the Lord?

And who is ha rock, except our God?—

32  the God who iequipped me with strength

and made my way jblameless.

33  He made my feet like the feet of a kdeer

and set me secure on lthe heights.

34  He mtrains my hands for war,

so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

35  You have given …