Psalm 31–32

A Prayer of Faith in Troubled Times

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

31Lord, I trust in you;

let me never be disgraced.

Save me because you do what is right.

²Listen to me

and save me quickly.

Be my rock of protection,

a strong city to save me.

³You are my rock and my protection.

For the good of your name, lead me and guide me.

⁴Set me free from the trap they set for me,

because you are my protection.

⁵I give you my life.

Save me, Lord, God of truth.

⁶I hate those who worship false gods.

I trust only in the Lord.

⁷I will be glad and rejoice in your love,

because you saw my suffering;

you knew my troubles.

⁸You have not handed me over to my enemies

but have set me in a safe place.

⁹Lord, have mercy, because I am in misery.

My eyes are weak from so much crying,

and my whole being is tired from grief.

¹⁰My life is ending in sadness,

and my years are spent in crying.

My troubles are using up my strength,

and my bones are getting weaker.

¹¹Because of all my troubles, my enemies hate me,

and even my neighbors look down on me.

When my friends see me,

they are afraid and run.

¹²I am like a piece of a broken pot.

I am forgotten as if I were dead.

¹³I have heard many insults.

Terror is all around me.

They make plans against me

and want to kill me.

¹⁴Lord, I trust you.

I have said, “You are my God.”

¹⁵My life is in your hands.

Save me from my enemies

and from those who are chasing me.

¹⁶Show your kindness to me, your servant.

Save me because of your love.

¹⁷Lord, I called to you,

so do not let me be disgraced.

Let the wicked be disgraced

and lie silent in the grave.

¹⁸With pride and hatred

they speak against those who do right.

So silence their lying lips.

¹⁹How great is your goodness

that you have stored up for those who fear you,

that you have given to those who trust you.

You do this for all to see.

²⁰You protect them by your presence

from what people plan against them.

You shelter them from evil words.

²¹Praise the Lord.

His love to me was wonderful

when my city was attacked.

²²In my distress, I said,

“God cannot see me!”

But you heard my prayer

when I cried out to you for help.

²³Love the Lord, all you who belong to him.

The Lord protects those who truly believe,

but he punishes the proud as much as they have sinned.

²⁴All you who put your hope in the Lord

be strong and brave.

It Is Better to Confess Sin

A maskil of David.

32Happy is the person

whose sins are forgiven,

whose wrongs are pardoned.

²Happy is the person

whom the Lord does not consider guilty

and in whom there is nothing false.

³When I kept things to myself,

I felt weak deep inside me.

I moaned all day long.

⁴Day and night you punished me.

My strength was gone as in the summer heat.

Selah

⁵Then I confessed my sins to you

and didn’t hide my guilt.

I said, “I will confess my sins to the Lord,”

and you forgave my guilt.

Selah

⁶For this reason, all who obey you

should pray to you while they still can.

When troubles rise like a flood,

they will not reach them.

⁷You are my hiding place.

You protect me from my troubles

and fill me with songs of salvation.

Selah

⁸The Lord says, “I will make you wise and show you where to go.

I will guide you and watch over you.

⁹So don’t be like a horse or donkey,

that doesn’t understand.

They must be led with bits and reins,

or they will not come near you.”

¹⁰Wicked people have many troubles,

but the Lord’s love surrounds those who trust him.

¹¹Good people, rejoice and be happy in the Lord.

Sing all you whose hearts are right.