Psalm 1–41

Two Ways to Live

1Happy are those who don’t listen to the wicked,

who don’t go where sinners go,

who don’t do what evil people do.

²They love the Lord’s teachings,

and they think about those teachings day and night.

³They are strong, like a tree planted by a river.

The tree produces fruit in season,

and its leaves don’t die.

Everything they do will succeed.

⁴But wicked people are not like that.

They are like chaff that the wind blows away.

⁵So the wicked will not escape God’s punishment.

Sinners will not worship with God’s people.

⁶This is because the Lord takes care of his people,

but the wicked will be destroyed.

The Lord’s Chosen King

2Why are the nations so angry?

Why are the people making useless plans?

²The kings of the earth prepare to fight,

and their leaders make plans together

against the Lord

and his appointed one.

³They say, “Let’s break the chains that hold us back

and throw off the ropes that tie us down.”

⁴But the one who sits in heaven laughs;

the Lord makes fun of them.

⁵Then the Lord warns them

and frightens them with his anger.

⁶He says, “I have appointed my own king

to rule in Jerusalem on my holy mountain, Zion.”

⁷Now I will tell you what the Lord has declared:

He said to me, “You are my son.

Today I have become your father.

⁸If you ask me, I will give you the nations;

all the people on earth will be yours.

⁹You will rule over them with an iron rod.

You will break them into pieces like pottery.”

¹⁰So, kings, be wise;

rulers, learn this lesson.

¹¹Obey the Lord with great fear.

Be happy, but tremble.

¹²Show that you are loyal to his son,

or you will be destroyed by his anger,

because he can quickly become angry.

But happy are those who trust him for protection.

A Morning Prayer

David sang this when he ran away from his son Absalom.

3Lord, I have many enemies!

Many people have turned against me.

²Many are saying about me,

“God won’t rescue him.”

Selah

³But, Lord, you are my shield,

my wonderful God who gives me courage.

⁴I will pray to the Lord,

and he will answer me from his holy mountain.

Selah

⁵I can lie down and go to sleep,

and I will wake up again,

because the Lord gives me strength.

⁶Thousands of troops may surround me,

but I am not afraid.

⁷Lord, rise up!

My God, come save me!

You have struck my enemies on the cheek;

you have broken the teeth of the wicked.

⁸The Lord can save his people.

Lord, bless your people.

Selah

An Evening Prayer

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of David.

4Answer me when I pray to you,

my God who does what is right.

Make things easier for me when I am in trouble.

Have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

²People, how long will you turn my honor into shame?

How long will you love what is false and look for new lies?

Selah

³You know that the Lord has chosen for himself those who are loyal to him.

The Lord listens when I pray to him.

⁴When you are angry, do not sin.

Think about these things quietly

as you go to bed.

Selah

⁵Do what is right as a sacrifice to the Lord

and trust the Lord.

⁶Many people ask,

“Who will give us anything good?”

Lord, be kind to us.

⁷But you have made me very happy,

happier than they are,

even with all their grain and new wine.

⁸I go to bed and sleep in peace,

because, Lord, only you keep me safe.

A Morning Prayer for Protection

For the director of music. For flutes. A psalm of David.

5Lord, listen to my words.

Understand my sadness.

²Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God,

because I pray to you.

³Lord, every morning you hear my voice.

Every morning, I tell you what I need,

and I wait for your answer.

⁴You are not a God who is pleased with the wicked;

you do not live with those who do evil.

⁵Those people who make fun of you cannot stand before you.

You hate all those who do evil.

⁶You destroy liars;

the Lord hates those who kill and trick others.

⁷Because of your great love,

I can come into your Temple.

Because I fear and respect you,

I can worship in your holy Temple.

⁸Lord, since I have many enemies,

show me the right thing to do.

Show me clearly how you want me to live.

⁹My enemies’ mouths do not tell the truth;

in their hearts they want to destroy others.

Their throats are like open graves;

they use their tongues for telling lies.

¹⁰God, declare them guilty!

Let them fall into their own traps.

Send them away because their sins are many;

they have turned against you.

¹¹But let everyone who trusts you be happy;

let them sing glad songs forever.

Protect those who love you

and who are happy because of you.

¹²Lord, you bless those who do what is right;

you protect them like a soldier’s shield.

A Prayer for Mercy in Troubled Times

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. Upon the sheminith. A psalm of David.

6Lord, don’t correct me when you are angry;

don’t punish me when you are very angry.

²Lord, have mercy on me because I am weak.

Heal me, Lord, because my bones ache.

³I am very upset.

Lord, how long will it be?

⁴Lord, return and save me;

save me because of your kindness.

⁵Dead people don’t remember you;

those in the grave don’t praise you.

⁶I am tired of crying to you.

Every night my bed is wet with tears;

my bed is soaked from my crying.

⁷My eyes are weak from so much crying;

they are weak from crying about my enemies.

⁸Get away from me, all you who do evil,

because the Lord has heard my crying.

⁹The Lord has heard my cry for help;

the Lord will answer my prayer.

¹⁰All my enemies will be ashamed and troubled.

They will turn and suddenly leave in shame.

A Prayer for Fairness

A shiggaion of David which he sang to the Lord about Cush, from the tribe of Benjamin.

7Lord my God, I trust in you for protection.

Save me and rescue me

from those who are chasing me.

²Otherwise, like a lion they will tear me apart.

They will rip me to pieces, and no one can save me.

³Lord my God, what have I done?

Have my hands done something wrong?

⁴Have I done wrong to my friend

or stolen without reason from my enemy?

⁵If I have, let my enemy chase me and capture me.

Let him trample me into the dust

and bury me in the ground.

Selah

⁶Lord, rise up in your anger;

stand up against my enemies’ anger.

Get up and demand fairness.

⁷Gather the nations around you

and rule them from above.

⁸Lord, judge the people.

Lord, defend me because I am right,

because I have done no wrong, God Most High.

⁹God, you do what is right.

You know our thoughts and feelings.

Stop those wicked actions done by evil people,

and help those who do what is right.

¹⁰God protects me like a shield;

he saves those whose hearts are right.

¹¹God judges by what is right,

and God is always ready to punish the wicked.

¹²If they do not change their lives,

God will sharpen his sword;

he will string his bow and take aim.

¹³He has prepared his deadly weapons;

he has made his flaming arrows.

¹⁴There are people who think up evil

and plan trouble and tell lies.

¹⁵They dig a hole to trap others,

but they will fall into it themselves.

¹⁶They will get themselves into trouble;

the violence they cause will hurt only themselves.

¹⁷I praise the Lord because he does what is right.

I sing praises to the Lord Most High.

The Lord’s Greatness

For the director of music. On the gittith. A psalm of David.

8Lord our Lord,

your name is the most wonderful name in all the earth!

It brings you praise in heaven above.

²You have taught children and babies

to sing praises to you

because of your enemies.

And so you silence your enemies

and destroy those who try to get even.

³I look at your heavens,

which you made with your fingers.

I see the moon and stars,

which you created.

⁴But why are people even important to you?

Why do you take care of human beings?

⁵You made them a little lower than the angels

and crowned them with glory and honor.

⁶You put them in charge of everything you made.

You put all things under their control:

⁷all the sheep, the cattle,

and the wild animals,

⁸the birds in the sky,

the fish in the sea,

and everything that lives under water.

⁹Lord our Lord,

your name is the most wonderful name in all the earth!

Thanksgiving for Victory

For the director of music. To the tune of “The Death of the Son.” A psalm of David.

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

I will tell all the miracles you have done.

²I will be happy because of you;

God Most High, I will sing praises to your name.

³My enemies turn back;

they are overwhelmed and die because of you.

⁴You have heard my complaint;

you sat on your throne and judged by what was right.

⁵You spoke strongly against the foreign nations and destroyed the wicked;

you wiped out their names forever and ever.

⁶The enemy is gone forever.

You destroyed their cities;

no one even remembers them.

⁷But the Lord rules forever.

He sits on his throne to judge,

⁸and he will judge the world in fairness;

he will decide what is fair for the nations.

⁹The Lord defends those who suffer;

he defends them in times of trouble.

¹⁰Those who know the Lord trust him,

because he will not leave those who come to him.

¹¹Sing praises to the Lord who is king on Mount Zion.

Tell the nations what he has done.

¹²He remembers who the murderers are;

he will not forget the cries of those who suffer.

¹³Lord, have mercy on me.

See how my enemies hurt me.

Do not let me go through the gates of death.

¹⁴Then, at the gates of Jerusalem, I will praise you;

I will rejoice because you saved me.

¹⁵The nations have fallen into the pit they dug.

Their feet are caught in the nets they laid.

¹⁶The Lord has made himself known by his fair decisions;

the wicked get trapped by what they do.

Higgaion. Selah

¹⁷Wicked people will go to the grave,

and so will all those who forget God.

¹⁸But those who have troubles will not be forgotten.

The hopes of the poor will never die.

¹⁹Lord, rise up and judge the nations.

Don’t let people think they are strong.

²⁰Teach them to fear you, Lord.

The nations must learn that they are only human.

Selah

A Complaint About Evil People

10Lord, why are you so far away?

Why do you hide when there is trouble?

²Proudly the wicked chase down those who suffer.

Let them be caught in their own traps.

³They brag about the things they want.

They bless the greedy but hate the Lord.

⁴The wicked people are too proud.

They do not look for God;

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