Psalm 1–41

True Happiness

1Happy are those who reject the advice of evil people,

who do not follow the example of sinners

or join those who have no use for God.

²Instead, they find joy in obeying the Law of the Lord,

and they study it day and night.

^3*They are like trees that grow beside a stream,

that bear fruit at the right time,

and whose leaves do not dry up.

They succeed in everything they do.

⁴But evil people are not like this at all;

they are like straw that the wind blows away.

⁵Sinners will be condemned by God

and kept apart from God’s own people.

⁶The righteous are guided and protected by the Lord,

but the evil are on the way to their doom.

God’s Chosen King

2^*Why do the nations plan rebellion?

Why do people make their useless plots?

^2*Their kings revolt,

their rulers plot together against the Lord

and against the king he chose.

³“Let us free ourselves from their rule,” they say;

“let us throw off their control.”

⁴From his throne in heaven the Lord laughs

and mocks their feeble plans.

⁵Then he warns them in anger

and terrifies them with his fury.

⁶“On Zion,^a my sacred hill,” he says,

“I have installed my king.”

^7*“I will announce,” says the king, “what the Lord has declared.

He said to me: ‘You are my son;

today I have become your father.

⁸Ask, and I will give you all the nations;

the whole earth will be yours.

^9*You will break them with an iron rod;

you will shatter them in pieces like a clay pot.’ ”

¹⁰Now listen to this warning, you kings;

learn this lesson, you rulers of the world:

¹¹Serve the Lord with fear;

¹²tremble and bow down to him;^b

or else his anger will be quickly aroused,

and you will suddenly die.

Happy are all who go to him for protection.

Morning Prayer for Help^+c

3 I have so many enemies, Lord,

so many who turn against me!

²They talk about me and say,

“God will not help him.”

³But you, O Lord, are always my shield from danger;

you give me victory

and restore my courage.

⁴I call to the Lord for help,

and from his sacred hill^d he answers me.

⁵I lie down and sleep,

and all night long the Lord protects me.

⁶I am not afraid of the thousands of enemies

who surround me on every side.

⁷Come, Lord! Save me, my God!

You punish all my enemies

and leave them powerless to harm me.

⁸Victory comes from the Lord—

may he bless his people.

Evening Prayer for Help^e

4 Answer me when I pray,

O God, my defender!

When I was in trouble, you helped me.

Be kind to me now and hear my prayer.

²How long will you people insult me?

How long will you love what is worthless

and go after what is false?

³Remember that the Lord has chosen the righteous for his own,

and he hears me when I call to him.

^4*Tremble with fear and stop sinning;

think deeply about this,

when you lie in silence on your beds.

⁵Offer the right sacrifices to the Lord,

and put your trust in him.

⁶There are many who pray:

“Give us more blessings, O Lord.

Look on us with kindness!”

⁷But the joy that you have given me

is more than they will ever have

with all their corn and wine.

⁸When I lie down, I go to sleep in peace;

you alone, O Lord, keep me perfectly safe.

A Prayer for Protection^f

5 Listen to my words, O Lord,

and hear my sighs.

²Listen to my cry for help,

my God and king!

I pray to you, O Lord;

³you hear my voice in the morning;

at sunrise I offer my prayer^g

and wait for your answer.

⁴You are not a God who is pleased with wrongdoing;

you allow no evil in your presence.

⁵You cannot stand the sight of the proud;

you hate all wicked people.

⁶You destroy all liars

and despise violent, deceitful people.

⁷But because of your great love

I can come into your house;

I can worship in your holy Temple

and bow down to you in reverence.

⁸Lord, I have so many enemies!

Lead me to do your will;

make your way plain for me to follow.

^9*What my enemies say can never be trusted;

they only want to destroy.

Their words are flattering and smooth,

but full of deadly deceit.

¹⁰Condemn and punish them, O God;

may their own plots cause their ruin.

Drive them out of your presence because of their many sins

and their rebellion against you.

¹¹But all who find safety in you will rejoice;

they can always sing for joy.

Protect those who love you;

because of you they are truly happy.

¹²You bless those who obey you, Lord;

your love protects them like a shield.

A Prayer for Help in Time of Trouble^h

6^* Lord, don’t be angry and rebuke me!

Don’t punish me in your anger!

²I am worn out, O Lord; have pity on me!

Give me strength; I am completely exhausted

³and my whole being is deeply troubled.

How long, O Lord, will you wait to help me?

⁴Come and save me, Lord;

in your mercy rescue me from death.

⁵In the world of the dead you are not remembered; no one can praise you there.

⁶I am worn out with grief;

every night my bed is damp from my weeping;

my pillow is soaked with tears.

⁷I can hardly see;

my eyes are so swollen

from the weeping caused by my enemies.

^8*Keep away from me, you evil people!

The Lord hears my weeping;

⁹he listens to my cry for help

and will answer my prayer.

¹⁰My enemies will know the bitter shame of defeat;

in sudden confusion they will be driven away.

A Prayer for Justiceⁱ

7 O Lord, my God, I come to you for protection;

rescue me and save me from all who pursue me,

²or else like a lion they will carry me off

where no one can save me,

and there they will tear me to pieces.

^3–4O Lord, my God,

if I have wronged anyone, if I have betrayed a friend

or without cause done violence to my enemy—^j

if I have done any of these things-

⁵then let my enemies pursue me and catch me,

let them cut me down and kill me

and leave me lifeless on the ground!

⁶Rise in your anger, O Lord!

Stand up against the fury of my enemies;

rouse yourself and help me!

Justice is what you demand,

⁷so bring together all the peoples round you,

and rule over them from above.^k

⁸You are the judge of the whole human race.

Judge in my favour, O Lord;

you know that I am innocent.

^9*You are a righteous God

and judge our thoughts and desires.

Stop the wickedness of evildoers

and reward those who are good.

¹⁰God is my protector;

he saves those who obey him.

¹¹God is a righteous judge

and always condemns the wicked.

¹²If they do not change their ways,

God will sharpen his sword.

He bends his bow and makes it ready;

¹³he takes up his deadly weapons

and aims his burning arrows.

¹⁴See how wicked people think up evil;

they plan trouble and practice deception.

¹⁵But in the traps they set for others,

they themselves get caught.

¹⁶So they are punished by their own evil

and are hurt by their own violence.

¹⁷I thank the Lord for his justice,

I sing praises to the Lord, the Most High.

God’s Glory and Man’s Dignity ^l

8 O Lord, our Lord,

your greatness is seen in all the world!

Your praise reaches up to the heavens;

^2*it is sung by children and babies.

You are safe and secure from all your enemies;

you stop anyone who opposes you.

³When I look at the sky, which you have made,

at the moon and the stars, which you set in their places-

^4*what are human beings, that you think of them;

mere mortals, that you care for them?

⁵Yet you made them inferior only to yourself;^m

you crowned them with glory and honour.

^6*You appointed them rulers over everything you made;

you placed them over all creation:

⁷sheep and cattle,

and the wild animals too;

⁸the birds and the fish and the creatures in the seas.

⁹O Lord, our Lord,

your greatness is seen in all the world!

Thanksgiving to God for His Justiceⁿ

9 I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;

I will tell of all the wonderful things you have done.

²I will sing with joy because of you.

I will sing praise to you, Almighty God.

³My enemies turn back when you appear;

they fall down and die.

⁴You are fair and honest in your judgements,

and you have judged in my favour.

⁵You have condemned the heathen

and destroyed the wicked;

they will be remembered no more.

⁶Our enemies are finished for ever;

you have destroyed their cities,

and they are completely forgotten.

⁷But the Lord is king for ever;

he has set up his throne for judgement.

⁸He rules the world with righteousness;

he judges the nations with justice.

⁹The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,

a place of safety in times of trouble.

¹⁰Those who know you, Lord, will trust you;

you do not abandon anyone who comes to you.

¹¹Sing praise to the Lord, who rules in Zion!

Tell every nation what he has done!

¹²God remembers those who suffer;

he does not forget their cry,

and he punishes those who wrong them.

¹³Be merciful to me, O Lord!

See the sufferings my enemies cause me!

Rescue me from death, O Lord,

¹⁴that I may stand before the people of Jerusalem

and tell them all the things for which I praise you.

I will rejoice because you saved me.

¹⁵The heathen have dug a pit and fallen in;

they have been caught in their own trap.

¹⁶The Lord has revealed himself by his righteous judgements,

and the wicked are trapped by their own deeds.

¹⁷Death is the destiny of all the wicked,

of all those who reject God.

¹⁸The needy will not always be neglected;

the hope of the poor will not be crushed for ever.

¹⁹Come, Lord! Do not let human beings defy you!

Bring the heathen before you

and pronounce judgement on them.

²⁰Make them afraid, O Lord;

make them know that they are only mortal beings.

A Prayer for Justice

10Why are you so far away, O Lord?

Why do you hide yourself when we are in trouble?

²The wicked are proud and persecute the poor;

catch them in the traps they have made.

³The wicked are proud of their evil desires;

the greedy curse and reject the Lord.

⁴The wicked do not care about the Lord;

in their pride they think that God doesn’t matter.

⁵The wicked succeed in everything.

They cannot understand God’s judgements;

they sneer at their enemies.

⁶They say to themselves, “I will never fail;

I will never be in trouble.”

^7*Their speech is filled with curses, lies, and threats;

they are quick to speak hateful, evil words.

⁸They hide themselves in the villages,

waiting to murder innocent people.

They spy on their helpless victims;

⁹they wait in their hiding places like lions.

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