PSALM 34

The Lord, a Provider and Deliverer.

A Psalm of David when he †feigned madness before •Abimelech, who drove him away and he departed.

1 I will abless the Lord at all times;

His bpraise shall continually be in my mouth.

2 My soul will amake its boast in the Lord;

The bhumble will hear it and rejoice.

3 O amagnify the Lord with me,

And let us bexalt His name together.

4 I asought the Lord, and He answered me,

And bdelivered me from all my fears.

5 They alooked to Him and were radiant,

And their faces will bnever be ashamed.

6 This 1poor man cried, and athe Lord heard him

And saved him out of all his troubles.

7 The aangel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him,

And rescues them.

8 O ataste and see that the Lord is good;

How bblessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!

9 O fear the Lord, you aHis saints;

For to those who fear Him there is bno want.

10 The young lions do lack and suffer hunger;

But they who seek the Lord shall anot be in want of any good thing.

11 aCome, you children, listen to me;

bI will teach you cthe fear of the Lord.

12 aWho is the man who desires life

And loves length of days that he may bsee good?

13 Keep ayour tongue from evil

And your lips from speaking bdeceit.

14 aDepart from evil and do good;

Seek peace and bpursue it.

15 The aeyes of the Lord are toward the righteous

And His ears are open to their cry.

16 The aface of the Lord is against evildoers,

To bcut off the memory of them from the earth.

17 The righteous acry, and the Lord hears

And delivers them out of all their troubles.

18 The Lord ais near to the bbrokenhearted

And saves those who are 1ccrushed in spirit.

19 aMany are the bafflictions of the righteous,

But the Lord cdelivers him out of them all.

20 He keeps all his bones,

aNot one of them is broken.

21 aEvil shall slay the wicked,

And those who hate the righteous will be 1condemned.

22 The Lord aredeems the soul of His servants,

And none of those who btake refuge in Him will be 1condemned.

PSALM 35

Prayer for Rescue from Enemies.

A Psalm of David.

1 Contend, O Lord, with those who acontend with me;

Fight against those who bfight against me.

2 Take hold of 1abuckler and shield

And rise up for bmy help.

3 Draw also the spear and 1the battle-axe to meet those who pursue me;

Say to my soul, “I am ayour salvation.”

4 Let those be aashamed and dishonored who seek my 1life;

Let those be bturned back and humiliated who devise evil against me.

5 Let them be alike chaff before the wind,

With the angel of the Lord driving them on.

6 Let their way be dark and aslippery,

With the angel of the Lord pursuing them.

7 For awithout cause they bhid their net for me;

Without cause they dug a 1pit for my soul.

8 Let adestruction come upon him unawares,

And blet the net which he hid catch himself;

Into that very cdestruction let him fall.

9 And my soul shall arejoice in the Lord;

It shall bexult in His salvation.

10 All my abones will say, “Lord, bwho is like You,

Who delivers the afflicted from him cwho is too strong for him,

And dthe afflicted and the needy from him who robs him?”

11 aMalicious witnesses rise up;

They ask me of things that I do not know.

12 They arepay me evil for good,

To the bereavement of my soul.

13 But as for me, awhen they were sick, my bclothing was sackcloth;

I chumbled my soul with fasting,

And my dprayer kept returning to my bosom.

14 I went about as though it were my friend or brother;

I abowed down 1mourning, as one who sorrows for a mother.

15 But aat my 1stumbling they rejoiced and gathered themselves together;

The 2bsmiters whom I did not know gathered together against me,

They 3cslandered me without ceasing.

16 Like godless jesters at a feast,

They agnashed at me with their teeth.

17 Lord, ahow long will You look on?

Rescue my soul bfrom their ravages,

My conly life from the lions.

18 I will agive You thanks in the great congregation;

I will bpraise You among a mighty throng.

19 aDo not let those who are wrongfully bmy enemies rejoice over me;

Nor let those cwho hate me without cause 1dwink maliciously.

20 For they do not speak peace,

But they devise adeceitful words against those who are quiet in the land.

21 They aopened their mouth wide against me;

They said, “bAha, aha, our eyes have seen it!”

22 aYou have seen it, O Lord, bdo not keep silent;

O Lord, cdo not be far from me.

23 aStir up Yourself, and awake to my right

And to my cause, my God and my Lord.

24 aJudge me, O Lord my God, according to Your righteousness,

And bdo not let them rejoice over me.

25 Do not let them say in their heart, “aAha, our desire!”

Do not let them say, “We have bswallowed him up!”

26 Let athose be ashamed and humiliated altogether who rejoice at my distress;

Let those be bclothed with shame and dishonor who cmagnify themselves over me.

27 Let them ashout for joy and rejoice, who favor bmy vindication;

And clet them say continually, “The Lord be magnified,

Who ddelights in the prosperity of His servant.”

28 And amy tongue shall declare Your righteousness

And Your praise all day long.

PSALM 36

Wickedness of Men and Lovingkindness of God.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord.

1 Transgression speaks to the ungodly within 1his heart;

There is ano fear of God before his eyes.

2 For 1it aflatters him in his own eyes

Concerning the discovery of his iniquity and the hatred of it.

3 The awords of his mouth are wickedness and deceit;

He has bceased to 1be wise and to do good.

4 He aplans wickedness upon his bed;

He sets himself on a bpath that is not good;

He cdoes not despise evil.

5 Your alovingkindness, O Lord, 1extends to the heavens,

Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

6 Your arighteousness is like the 1mountains of God;

Your bjudgments are like a great deep.

O Lord, You cpreserve man and beast.

7 How aprecious is Your lovingkindness, O God!

And the children of men btake refuge in the shadow of Your wings.

8 They adrink their fill of the 1abundance of Your house;

And You give them to drink of the briver of Your delights.

9 For with You is the afountain of life;

In Your light we see light.

10 O continue Your lovingkindness to athose who know You,

And Your brighteousness to the upright in heart.

11 Let not the foot of pride come upon me,

And let not the hand of the wicked drive me away.

12 There the doers of iniquity have fallen;

They have been thrust down and acannot rise.