Psalm 71–72

Psalm 71

God’s Help in Old Age

¹Lord, I seek refuge in You;

let me never be disgraced. ⁿ

²In Your justice, rescue and deliver me;

listen closely to me and save me. ^o

³Be a rock of refuge for me,

where I can always go.

Give the command to save me,

for You are my rock and fortress. ^p

⁴Deliver me, my God, from the power of the wicked,

from the grasp of the unjust and oppressive. ^q

⁵For You are my hope, Lord God,

my confidence from my youth. ^r

⁶I have leaned on You from birth;

You took me from my mother’s womb. ^s

My praise is always about You. ^t

⁷I have become an ominous sign to many,

but You are my strong refuge. ^u

⁸My mouth is full of praise

and honor to You all day long. ^v

⁹Don’t discard me in my old age;

as my strength fails, do not abandon me. ^w

¹⁰For my enemies talk about me,

and those who spy on me plot together, ^x

¹¹saying, “God has abandoned him;

chase him and catch him,

for there is no one to rescue him.” ^y

¹²God, do not be far from me;

my God, hurry to help me. ^z

¹³May my adversaries be disgraced and destroyed;

may those who seek my harm

be covered with disgrace and humiliation. ^a

¹⁴But I will hope continually

and will praise You more and more. ^b

¹⁵My mouth will tell about Your righteousness

and Your salvation all day long,

though I cannot sum them up. ^c

¹⁶I come because of the mighty acts of the Lord God;

I will proclaim Your righteousness, Yours alone. ^d

¹⁷God, You have taught me from my youth,

and I still proclaim Your wonderful works. ^e

¹⁸Even when I am old and gray,

God, do not abandon me. ^f

Then I will ^gproclaim Your power

to another generation,

Your strength to all who are to come. ^h

¹⁹Your righteousness reaches heaven, God,

You who have done great things;

God, who is like You? ⁱ

²⁰You caused me to experience

many troubles and misfortunes, ^j

but You will revive me again. ^k

You will bring me up again,

even from the depths of the earth. ^l

²¹You will increase my honor

and comfort me once again. ^m

²²Therefore, I will praise You with a harp

for Your faithfulness, my God;

I will sing to You with a lyre,

Holy One of Israel. ⁿ

²³My lips will shout for joy

when I sing praise to You

because You have redeemed me. ^o

²⁴Therefore, my tongue will proclaim

Your righteousness all day long,

for those who seek my harm

will be disgraced and confounded. ^p

Psalm 72

A Prayer for the King

Solomonic. ^q

¹God, give Your justice to the king

and Your righteousness to the king’s son. ^r

²He will judge Your people with righteousness

and Your afflicted ones with justice. ^s

³May the mountains bring prosperity ^tto the people

and the hills, righteousness. ^u

⁴May he vindicate the afflicted among the people,

help the poor,

and crush the oppressor. ^v

⁵May he continue ^wwhile the sun endures

and as long as the moon, throughout all generations. ^x

⁶May he be like rain that falls on the cut grass,

like spring showers that water the earth. ^y

⁷May the righteous ^zflourish in his days

and prosperity ^aabound

until the moon is no more. ^b

⁸May he rule from sea to sea

and from the Euphrates

to the ends of the earth. ^c

⁹May desert tribes kneel before him

and his enemies lick the dust. ^d

¹⁰May the kings of Tarshish

and the coasts and islands bring tribute,

the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts. ^e

¹¹Let all kings bow down to him,

all nations serve him. ^f

¹²For he will rescue the poor who cry out

and the afflicted who have no helper. ^g

¹³He will have pity on the poor and helpless

and save the lives of the poor. ^h

¹⁴He will redeem them from oppression and violence,

for their lives are ⁱprecious ^jin his sight. ^k

¹⁵May he live long!

May gold from Sheba be given to him.

May prayer be offered for him continually,

and may he be blessed all day long. ^l

¹⁶May there be plenty of grain in the land;

may it wave on the tops of the mountains.

May its crops be like Lebanon.

May people flourish in the cities

like the grass of the field. ^m

¹⁷May his name endure forever;

as long as the sun shines,

may his fame increase.

May all nations be blessed by him

and call him blessed. ⁿ

¹⁸May the Lord God, the God of Israel,

who alone does wonders, be praised. ^o

¹⁹May His glorious name be praised forever;

the whole earth is filled with His glory. ^p

Amen and amen.

²⁰The prayers of David son of Jesse are concluded. ^q