Psalm 13–19

A Prayer for Help^s

13 How much longer will you forget me, Lord? For ever?

How much longer will you hide yourself from me?

²How long must I endure trouble?

How long will sorrow fill my heart day and night?

How long will my enemies triumph over me?

³Look at me, O Lord my God, and answer me. Restore my strength; don’t let me die.

⁴Don’t let my enemies say, “We have defeated him.”

Don’t let them gloat over my downfall.

⁵I rely on your constant love;

I will be glad, because you will rescue me.

⁶I will sing to you, O Lord,

because you have been good to me.

The Wickedness of Men

^t

14^* Fools say to themselves,

“There is no God.”

They are all corrupt,

and they have done terrible things;

there is no one who does what is right.

^2*The Lord looks down from heaven at human beings

to see if there are

any who are wise, any who worship him.

^3*But they have all gone wrong;

they are all equally bad. Not one of them does what is right,

not a single one.

⁴“Don’t they know?” asks the Lord.

“Are all these evildoers ignorant?

They live by robbing my people,

and they never pray to me.”

⁵But then they will be terrified,

for God is with those who obey him.

⁶Evildoers frustrate the plans of the humble,

but the Lord is their protection.

⁷How I pray that victory

will come to Israel from Zion.

How happy the people of Israel will be

when the Lord makes them prosperous again!

What God Requires^u

15 Lord, who may enter your Temple?

Who may worship on Zion, your sacred hill?^v

²Those who obey God in everything

and always do what is right,

whose words are true and sincere,

³and who do not slander others.

They do no wrong to their friends

nor spread rumours about their neighbours.

⁴They despise those whom God rejects,

but honour those who obey the Lord.

They always do what they promise,

no matter how much it may cost.

⁵They make loans without charging interest

and cannot be bribed to testify against the innocent.

Whoever does these things will always be secure.

A Prayer of Confidence^w

16 Protect me, O God; I trust in you for safety.

²I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;

all the good things I have come from you.”

³How excellent are the Lord’s faithful people!

My greatest pleasure is to be with them.

⁴Those who rush to other gods

bring many troubles on themselves.^x I will not take part in their sacrifices;

I will not worship their gods.

⁵You, Lord, are all I have,

and you give me all I need;

my future is in your hands.

⁶How wonderful are your gifts to me;

how good they are!

⁷I praise the Lord, because he guides me,

and in the night my conscience warns me.

^8*I am always aware of the Lord’s presence;

he is near, and nothing can shake me.

^9*And so I am thankful and glad,

and I feel completely secure,

^10*because you protect me from the power of death.

I have served you faithfully,

and you will not abandon me to the world of the dead.

^11*You will show me the path that leads to life;

your presence fills me with joy

and brings me pleasure for ever.

The Prayer of an Innocent Man^y

17 Listen, O Lord, to my plea for justice;

pay attention to my cry for help!

Listen to my honest prayer.

²You will judge in my favour,

because you know what is right.

³You know my heart.

You have come to me at night;

you have examined me completely

and found no evil desire in me.

⁴I speak no evil as others do;

I have obeyed your command

and have not followed paths of violence.

⁵I have always walked in your way

and have never strayed from it.

⁶I pray to you, O God, because you answer me;

so turn to me and listen to my words.

⁷Reveal your wonderful love and save me;

at your side I am safe from my enemies.

⁸Protect me as you would your very eyes;

hide me in the shadow of your wings

⁹from the attacks of the wicked.

Deadly enemies surround me;

¹⁰they have no pity and speak proudly.

¹¹They are round me now, wherever I turn,

watching for a chance to pull me down.

¹²They are like lions, waiting for me,

wanting to tear me to pieces.

¹³Come, Lord! Oppose my enemies and defeat them!

Save me from the wicked by your sword;

¹⁴save me from those who in this life have all they want.

Punish them with the sufferings you have stored up for them;

may there be enough for their children

and some left over for their children’s children!

¹⁵But I will see you, because I have done no wrong;

and when I awake, your presence will fill me with joy.

David’s song of Victory

^z

18 How I love you, Lord!

You are my defender.

²The Lord is my protector;

he is my strong fortress.

My God is my protection, and with him I am safe.

He protects me like a shield;

he defends me and keeps me safe.

³I call to the Lord,

and he saves me from my enemies.

Praise the Lord!

⁴The danger of death was all round me;

the waves of destruction rolled over me.

⁵The danger of death was round me,

and the grave set its trap for me.

⁶In my trouble

I called to the Lord; I called to my God for help.

In his temple he heard my voice;

he listened to my cry for help.

⁷Then the earth trembled and shook;

the foundations of the mountains rocked and quivered,

because God was angry.

⁸Smoke poured out of his nostrils,

a consuming flame and burning coals from his mouth.

⁹He tore the sky apart and came down

with a dark cloud under his feet.

¹⁰He flew swiftly on a winged creature;^a

he travelled on the wings of the wind.

¹¹He covered himself with darkness;

thick clouds, full of water, surrounded him.

¹²Hailstones and flashes of fire

came from the lightning before him

and broke through the dark clouds.

¹³Then the Lord thundered from the sky;

and the voice of the Most High was heard.^b

¹⁴He shot his arrows and scattered his enemies;

with flashes of lightning he sent them running.

¹⁵The floor of the ocean was laid bare,

and the foundations of the earth were uncovered,

when you rebuked your enemies, Lord,

and roared at them in anger.

¹⁶The Lord reached down from above and took hold of me;

he pulled me out of the deep waters.

¹⁷He rescued me from my powerful enemies

and from all those who hate me—they were too strong for me.

¹⁸When I was in trouble, they attacked me,

but the Lord protected me.

¹⁹He helped me out of danger;

he saved me because he was pleased with me.

²⁰The Lord rewards me because I do what is right;

he blesses me because I am innocent.

²¹I have obeyed the law of the Lord;

I have not turned away from my God.

²²I have observed all his laws; I have not disobeyed his commands.

²³He knows that I am faultless,

that I have kept myself from doing wrong.

²⁴And so he rewards me because I do what is right,

because he knows that I am innocent.

²⁵O Lord, you are faithful to those who are faithful to you;

completely good to those who are perfect.

²⁶You are pure to those who are pure,

but hostile to those who are wicked.

²⁷You save those who are humble,

but you humble those who are proud.

²⁸O Lord, you give me light;

you dispel my darkness.

²⁹You give me strength to attack my enemies

and power to overcome their defences.

³⁰This God—how perfect are his deeds!

How dependable his words!

He is like a shield

for all who seek his protection.

³¹The Lord alone is God;

God alone is our defence.

³²He is the God

who makes me strong, who makes my pathway safe.

^33*He makes me sure-footed as a deer;

he keeps me safe on the mountains.

³⁴He trains me for battle,

so that I can use the strongest bow.

³⁵O Lord, you protect me and save me;

your care has made me great,

and your power has kept me safe.

³⁶You have kept me from being captured,

and I have never fallen.

³⁷I pursue my enemies and catch them;

I do not stop until I destroy them.

³⁸I strike them down, and they cannot rise;

they lie defeated before me.

³⁹You give me strength for the battle

and victory over my enemies.

⁴⁰You make my enemies run from me;

I destroy those who hate me.

⁴¹They cry for help, but no one saves them;

they call to the Lord, but he does not answer.

⁴²I crush them, so that they become like dust

which the wind blows away.

I trample on them like mud in the streets.

⁴³You saved me from a rebellious people

and made me ruler over the nations;

people I did not know have now become my subjects.

⁴⁴Foreigners bow before me;

when they hear me, they obey.

⁴⁵They lose their courage

and come trembling from their fortresses.

⁴⁶The Lord lives! Praise my defender!

Proclaim the greatness of the God who saves me.

⁴⁷He gives me victory over my enemies;

he subdues the nations under me

⁴⁸and saves me from my foes.

O Lord, you give me victory over my enemies

and protect me from violent people.

^49*And so I praise you among the nations;

I sing praises to you.

⁵⁰God gives great victories to his king;

he shows constant love to the one he has chosen,

to David and his descendants for ever.

God’s Glory in Creation^c

19 How clearly the sky reveals God’s glory!

How plainly it shows what he has done!

²Each day announces it to the following day;

each night repeats it to the next.

³No speech or words are used,

no sound is heard;

^4*Yet their message^d goes out to all the world

and is heard to the ends of the earth.

God made a home in the sky for the sun;

⁵It comes out in the morning like a happy bridegroom,

like an athlete eager to run a race.

⁶It starts at one end of the sky

and goes across to the other.

Nothing can hide from its heat.

The Law of the

⁷The law of the Lord is perfect;

it gives new strength.

The commands of the Lord are trustworthy,

giving wisdom to those who lack it.

⁸The laws of the Lord are right,

and those who obey them are happy.

The commands of the Lord are just

and give understanding to the mind.

⁹Reverence for the Lord is good;

it will continue for ever.

The judgements of the Lord are just;

they are always fair.

¹⁰They are more desirable than the finest gold;

they are sweeter than the purest honey.

¹¹They give knowledge to me, your servant;

I am rewarded for obeying them.

¹²No one can see his own errors;

deliver me, Lord, from hidden faults!

¹³Keep me safe, also, from wilful sins;

don’t let them rule over me.

Then I shall be perfect

and free from the evil of sin.

¹⁴May my words and my thoughts be acceptable to you,

O Lord, my…