Psalm 22–32

Psalm 22

From Suffering to Praise

For the choir director: according to “The Deer of the Dawn.” ^aA Davidic psalm.

¹My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? ^b

Why are You so far from my deliverance ^c

and from my words of groaning? ^de

²My God, I cry by day, but You do not answer,

by night, yet I have no rest. ^f

³But You are holy,

enthroned on the praises of Israel. ^g

⁴Our fathers trusted in You;

they trusted, and You rescued them. ^h

⁵They cried to You and were set free;

they trusted in You and were not disgraced. ⁱ

⁶But I am a worm and not a man, ^j

scorned by men and despised by people. ^k

⁷Everyone who sees me mocks me;

they sneer ^land shake their heads: ^m

⁸“He relies on ⁿthe Lord;

let Him rescue him;

let the Lord ^odeliver him,

since He takes pleasure in him.” ^p

⁹You took me from the womb,

making me secure while at my mother’s breast. ^q

¹⁰I was given over to You at birth; ^r

You have been my God from my mother’s womb. ^s

¹¹Do not be far from me, because distress is near

and there is no one to help. ^t

¹²Many bulls surround me;

strong ones of Bashan encircle me. ^u

¹³They open their mouths against me—

lions, mauling and roaring. ^v

¹⁴I am poured out like water, ^w

and all my bones are disjointed; ^x

my heart is like wax,

melting within me. ^y

¹⁵My strength is dried up like baked clay; ^z

my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. ^a

You put me into the dust of death. ^b

¹⁶For dogs have surrounded me; ^c

a gang of evildoers has closed in on me;

they pierced ^dmy hands and my feet. ^e

¹⁷I can count all my bones;

people ^flook and stare at me. ^g

¹⁸They divided my garments among themselves,

and they cast lots for my clothing. ^h

¹⁹But You, Lord, don’t be far away. ⁱ

My strength, come quickly to help me. ^j

²⁰Deliver my life from the sword, ^k

my only life ^lfrom the power of these dogs.

²¹Save me from the mouth of the lion! ^m

You have rescued ⁿme

from the horns of the wild oxen.

²²I will proclaim Your name to my brothers;

I will praise You in the congregation. ^o

²³You who fear Yahweh, praise Him! ^p

All you descendants of Jacob, honor Him!

All you descendants of Israel, revere Him! ^q

²⁴For He has not despised or detested

the torment of the afflicted. ^r

He did not hide His face from him ^s

but listened when he cried to Him for help. ^t

²⁵I will give praise ^uin the great congregation

because of You; ^v

I will fulfill my vows

before those who fear You. ^wx

²⁶The humble ^ywill eat and be satisfied; ^z

those who seek the Lord will praise Him.

May your hearts live forever! ^a

²⁷All the ends of the earth will remember

and turn to the Lord.

All the families of the nations

will bow down before You, ^b

²⁸for kingship belongs to the Lord;

He rules over the nations. ^c

²⁹All who prosper on earth will eat and bow down;

all those who go down to the dust

will kneel before Him—

even the one who cannot preserve his life. ^d

³⁰Their descendants will serve Him;

the next generation will be told about the Lord. ^e

³¹They will come and tell a people yet to be born

about His righteousness—

what He has done. ^f

Psalm 23

The Good Shepherd

A Davidic psalm.

¹The Lord is my shepherd; ^g

there is nothing I lack. ^h

²He lets me lie down in green pastures; ⁱ

He leads me beside quiet waters. ^j

³He renews my life;

He leads me along the right paths ^k

for His name’s sake. ^l

⁴Even when I go through the darkest valley, ^m

I fear no danger,

for You are with me; ⁿ

Your rod and Your staff ^o—they comfort me. ^p

⁵You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil; ^q

my cup overflows. ^r

⁶Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me

all the days of my life, ^s

and I will dwell in ^tthe house of the Lord

as long as I live. ^uv

Psalm 24

The King of Glory

A Davidic psalm.

¹The earth and everything in it,

the world and its inhabitants,

belong to the Lord; ^w

²for He laid its foundation on the seas

and established it on the rivers. ^x

³Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?

Who may stand in His holy place? ^y

⁴The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, ^z

who has not set his mind ^aon what is false, ^b

and who has not sworn deceitfully.

⁵He will receive blessing from the Lord, ^c

and righteousness from the God of his salvation. ^d

⁶Such is the generation of those who seek Him,

who seek the face of the God of Jacob. ^efSelah

⁷Lift up your heads, you gates!

Rise up, ancient doors!

Then the King of glory will come in. ^g

⁸Who is this King of glory?

The Lord, strong and mighty,

the Lord, mighty in battle. ^h

⁹Lift up your heads, you gates!

Rise up, ancient doors!

Then the King of glory will come in.

¹⁰Who is He, this King of glory?

The Lord of Hosts,

He is the King of glory. ⁱSelah

Psalm 25

Dependence on the Lord

Davidic.

¹Lord, ^jI turn to You. ^kl

²My God, I trust in You.

Do not let me be disgraced; ^m

do not let my enemies gloat over me. ⁿ

³No one who waits for You

will be disgraced; ^o

those who act treacherously without cause

will be disgraced. ^p

⁴Make Your ways known to me, Lord;

teach me Your paths. ^q

⁵Guide me in Your truth and teach me, ^r

for You are the God of my salvation; ^s

I wait for You all day long. ^t

⁶Remember, Lord, Your compassion

and Your faithful love,

for they have existed from antiquity. ^uv

⁷Do not remember the sins of my youth ^w

or my acts of rebellion; ^x

in keeping with Your faithful love, remember me

because of Your goodness, Lord. ^y

⁸The Lord is good and upright; ^z

therefore He shows sinners the way. ^a

⁹He leads the humble in what is right ^b

and teaches them His way. ^c

¹⁰All the Lord’s ways show faithful love and truth

to those who keep His covenant and decrees. ^d

¹¹Because of Your name, Yahweh,

forgive my sin, for it is great. ^e

¹²Who is the man who fears the Lord? ^f

He will show him the way he should choose. ^g

¹³He will live a good life,

and his descendants will inherit the land. ^hi

¹⁴The secret counsel of the Lord

is for those who fear Him,

and He reveals His covenant to them. ^j

¹⁵My eyes are always on the Lord,

for He will pull my feet out of the net. ^k

¹⁶Turn to me and be gracious to me,

for I am alone and afflicted. ^l

¹⁷The distresses of my heart increase; ^mn

bring me out of my sufferings. ^o

¹⁸Consider my affliction and trouble, ^p

and take away all my sins. ^q

¹⁹Consider my enemies; they are numerous, ^r

and they hate me violently. ^s

²⁰Guard me and deliver me; ^t

do not let me be put to shame,

for I take refuge in You. ^u

²¹May integrity and what is right

watch over me,

for I wait for You. ^v

²²God, redeem Israel, from all its distresses. ^w

Psalm 26

Prayer for Vindication

Davidic.

¹Vindicate me, Lord,

because I have lived with integrity

and have trusted in the Lord without wavering. ^x

²Test me, Lord, and try me;

examine my heart and mind. ^y

³For Your faithful love is before my eyes,

and I live by Your truth. ^z

⁴I do not sit with the worthless

or associate with hypocrites.

⁵I hate a crowd of evildoers,

and I do not sit with the wicked. ^a

⁶I wash my hands ^bin innocence ^c

and go around Your altar, Lord, ^d

⁷raising my voice in thanksgiving ^e

and telling about Your wonderful works. ^f

⁸Lord, I love the house where You dwell,

the place where Your glory resides. ^g

⁹Do not destroy me along with sinners,

or my life along with men of bloodshed ^h

¹⁰in whose hands are evil schemes

and whose right hands are filled with bribes. ⁱ

¹¹But I live with integrity;

redeem me and be gracious to me. ^j

¹²My foot stands on level ground; ^k

I will praise the Lord in the assemblies. ^l

Psalm 27

My Stronghold

Davidic.

¹The Lord is my light and my salvation—

whom should I fear? ^m

The Lord is the stronghold of my life—

of whom should I be afraid? ⁿ

²When evildoers came against me to devour my flesh, ^o

my foes and my enemies stumbled and fell. ^p

³Though an army deploys against me,

my heart is not afraid;

though a war breaks out against me,

still I am confident. ^q

⁴I have asked one thing from the Lord;

it is what I desire:

to dwell in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life, ^r

gazing on the beauty of the Lord ^s

and seeking Him in His temple. ^t

⁵For He will conceal me in His shelter

in the day of adversity;

He will hide me under the cover of His tent;

He will set me high on a rock. ^u

⁶Then my head will be high

above my enemies around me; ^v

I will offer sacrifices in His tent with shouts of joy. ^w

I will sing and make music to the Lord. ^x

⁷Lord, hear my voice when I call;

be gracious to me and answer me. ^y

⁸My heart says this about You,

“You ^zare to seek My face.”

Lord, I will seek Your face. ^a

⁹Do not hide Your face from me; ^b

do not turn Your servant away in anger. ^c

You have been my helper; ^d

do not leave me or abandon me,

God of my salvation.

¹⁰Even if my father and mother abandon me,

the Lord cares for me. ^e

¹¹Because of my adversaries,

show me Your way, Lord,

and lead me on a level path. ^f

¹²Do not give me over to the will of my foes,

for false witnesses rise up against me,

breathing violence. ^g

¹³I am certain that I will see the Lord’s goodness

in the land of the living. ^h

¹⁴Wait for the Lord;

be strong ⁱand courageous. ^j

Wait for the Lord. ^k

Psalm 28

My Strength

Davidic.

¹Lord, I call to You;

my rock, do not be deaf to me. ^l

If You remain silent to me,

I will be like those going down to the Pit. ^m

²Listen to the sound of my pleading

when I cry to You for help,

when I lift up my hands

toward Your holy sanctuary. ⁿ

³Do not drag me away with the wicked,

with the evildoers,

who speak in friendly ways with their neighbors

while malice is in their hearts. ^o

⁴Repay them according to what they have done—

according to the evil of their deeds.

Repay them according to the work of their hands;

give them back what they deserve. ^p

⁵Because they do not consider

what the Lord has done

or the work of His hands,

He will tear them down and not rebuild them. ^q

⁶May the Lord be praised,

for He has heard the sound of my pleading. ^r

⁷The Lord is my strength and my shield;

my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. ^s

Therefore my heart rejoices,

and I praise Him with my song. ^t

⁸The Lord is the strength of His people; ^u

He is a stronghold of salvation for His anointed. ^v

⁹Save Your people, bless Your possession,

shepherd them, and carry them forever. ^w

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