Psalm 71–72

Forsake Me Not When My Strength Is Spent

71ⁱIn you, O Lord, do I take refuge;

let me never be put to shame!

²In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;

incline your ear to me, and save me!

³Be to me a rock of ^jrefuge,

to which I may continually come;

you have ^kgiven the command to save me,

for you are my ^lrock and my fortress.

^4mRescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,

from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.

⁵For you, O Lord, are my ⁿhope,

my trust, O Lord, from my youth.

⁶Upon you I have leaned ^ofrom before my birth;

you are he who ^ptook me from my mother’s womb.

My praise is continually of you.

⁷I have been as ^qa portent to many,

but you are my strong refuge.

⁸My ^rmouth is filled with your praise,

and with your glory all the day.

^9sDo not cast me off in the time of old age;

forsake me not when my strength is spent.

¹⁰For my enemies speak concerning me;

those who ^twatch for my life ^uconsult together

¹¹and say, “God has forsaken him;

pursue and seize him,

for there is none to deliver him.”

¹²O God, be not ^vfar from me;

O my God, ^wmake haste to help me!

¹³May my accusers be ^xput to shame and consumed;

^ywith scorn and disgrace may they be covered

who ^zseek my hurt.

¹⁴But I will ^ahope continually

and will ^bpraise you yet more and more.

¹⁵My ^cmouth will tell of your righteous acts,

of your deeds of salvation all the day,

for ^dtheir number is past my knowledge.

¹⁶With the mighty deeds of the Lord God I will come;

I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.

¹⁷O God, from my youth you have taught me,

and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.

¹⁸So even to ^eold age and gray hairs,

O God, ^fdo not forsake me,

until I proclaim your might to another generation,

your power to all those to come.

¹⁹Your ^grighteousness, O God,

reaches the high heavens.

You who have done ^hgreat things,

O God, ⁱwho is like you?

²⁰You who have ^jmade me see many troubles and calamities

will ^krevive me again;

from the depths of the earth

you will bring me up again.

²¹You will increase my greatness

and comfort me again.

²²I will also praise you with ^lthe harp

for your faithfulness, O my God;

I will sing praises to you with the lyre,

O ^mHoly One of Israel.

²³My lips will shout for joy,

when I sing praises to you;

my soul also, which you have ⁿredeemed.

²⁴And my ^otongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long,

for they have been ^pput to shame and disappointed

who sought to do me hurt.

Give the King Your Justice

72Of ^qSolomon.

¹Give the king your ^rjustice, O God,

and your righteousness to the royal son!

²May he ^sjudge your people with righteousness,

and your poor with justice!

³Let the mountains bear ^tprosperity for the people,

and the hills, in righteousness!

⁴May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,

give deliverance to the children of the needy,

and crush the oppressor!

⁵May they fear you¹ while ^uthe sun endures,

and as long as the moon, ^vthroughout all generations!

⁶May he be like ^wrain that falls on ^xthe mown grass,

like ^yshowers that water the earth!

⁷In his days may ^zthe righteous flourish,

and ^apeace abound, till the moon be no more!

⁸May he have dominion from ^bsea to sea,

and from ^bthe River² to the ^cends of the earth!

⁹May desert tribes ^dbow down before him,

and his enemies ^elick the dust!

¹⁰May the kings of ^fTarshish and of ^gthe coastlands

render him ^htribute;

may the kings of ⁱSheba and ^jSeba

bring gifts!

¹¹May all kings ^kfall down before him,

all nations serve him!

¹²For he delivers ^lthe needy when he calls,

the poor and him who has no helper.

¹³He has pity on the weak and the needy,

and saves the lives of the needy.

¹⁴From oppression and violence he redeems their life,

and ^mprecious is their blood in his sight.

¹⁵Long may he live;

may ⁿgold of Sheba be given to him!

May prayer be made ^ofor him continually,

and blessings invoked for him all the day!

¹⁶May there be abundance of grain in the land;

on the tops of the mountains may it wave;

may its fruit be like Lebanon;

and may people ^pblossom in the cities

like the ^qgrass of the field!

^17rMay his name endure forever,

his fame continue as long as the sun!

^sMay people be blessed in him,

^tall nations call him blessed!

^18uBlessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

who alone does ^vwondrous things.

¹⁹Blessed be his ^wglorious name forever;

may ^xthe whole earth be filled with his glory!

^yAmen and Amen!

^20zThe prayers of ^aDavid, the son of Jesse, are ended.

Book Three