Psalm 70–73

Psalm 70a

70:1–5pp—Ps 40:13–17

For the director of music. Of David. A petition.

1 Hasten, O God, to save me;

come quickly, Lord, to help me.b

2 May those who want to take my lifec

be put to shame and confusion;

may all who desire my ruin

be turned back in disgrace.d

3 May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”e

turn back because of their shame.

4 But may all who seek youf

rejoice and be gladg in you;

may those who long for your saving help always say,

“The Lord is great!”h

5 But as for me, I am poor and needy;i

come quickly to me,j O God.

You are my helpk and my deliverer;l

Lord, do not delay.m

Psalm 71

71:1–3pp—Ps 31:1–4

1 In you, Lord, I have taken refuge;n

let me never be put to shame.o

2 In your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me;

turn your earp to me and save me.

3 Be my rock of refuge,

to which I can always go;

give the command to save me,

for you are my rock and my fortress.q

4 Deliverr me, my God, from the hand of the wicked,s

from the grasp of those who are evil and cruel.t

5 For you have been my hope,u Sovereign Lord,

my confidencev since my youth.

6 From birthw I have relied on you;

you brought me forth from my mother’s womb.x

I will ever praisey you.

7 I have become a signz to many;

you are my strong refuge.a

8 My mouthb is filled with your praise,

declaring your splendorc all day long.

9 Do not castd me away when I am old;e

do not forsakef me when my strength is gone.

10 For my enemiesg speak against me;

those who wait to killh me conspirei together.

11 They say, “God has forsakenj him;

pursue him and seize him,

for no one will rescuek him.”

12 Do not be farl from me, my God;

come quickly, God, to helpm me.

13 May my accusersn perish in shame;o

may those who want to harm me

be covered with scorn and disgrace.p

14 As for me, I will always have hope;q

I will praise you more and more.

15 My mouth will tellr of your righteous deeds,s

of your saving acts all day long—

though I know not how to relate them all.

16 I will come and proclaim your mighty acts,t Sovereign Lord;

I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone.

17 Since my youth, God, you have taughtu me,

and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.v

18 Even when I am old and gray,w

do not forsake me, my God,

till I declare your powerx to the next generation,

your mighty acts to all who are to come.y

19 Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens,z

you who have done great things.a

Who is like you, God?b

20 Though you have made me see troubles,c

many and bitter,

you will restored my life again;

from the depths of the earthe

you will again bring me up.

21 You will increase my honorf

and comfortg me once more.

22 I will praise you with the harph

for your faithfulness, my God;

I will sing praise to you with the lyre,i

Holy One of Israel.j

23 My lips will shout for joyk

when I sing praise to you—

I whom you have delivered.l

24 My tongue will tell of your righteous acts

all day long,m

for those who wanted to harm men

have been put to shame and confusion.o

Psalm 72

Of Solomon.

1 Endow the king with your justice,p O God,

the royal son with your righteousness.

2 May he judge your people in righteousness,q

your afflicted ones with justice.

3 May the mountains bring prosperity to the people,

the hills the fruit of righteousness.

4 May he defend the afflictedr among the people

and save the children of the needy;s

may he crush the oppressor.t

5 May he endurea u as long as the sun,

as long as the moon, through all generations.v

6 May he be like rainw falling on a mown field,

like showers watering the earth.

7 In his days may the righteous flourishx

and prosperity abound till the moon is no more.

8 May he rule from sea to sea

and from the Riverb y to the ends of the earth.z

9 May the desert tribes bow before him

and his enemies lick the dust.

10 May the kings of Tarshisha and of distant shoresb

bring tribute to him.

May the kings of Shebac and Seba

present him gifts.d

11 May all kings bow downe to him

and all nations servef him.

12 For he will deliver the needy who cry out,

the afflicted who have no one to help.

13 He will take pityg on the weak and the needy

and save the needy from death.

14 He will rescueh them from oppression and violence,

for preciousi is their blood in his sight.

15 Long may he live!

May gold from Shebaj be given him.

May people ever pray for him

and bless him all day long.k

16 May grainl abound throughout the land;

on the tops of the hills may it sway.

May the cropsm flourish like Lebanonn

and thrivec like the grass of the field.o

17 May his name endure forever;p

may it continue as long as the sun.q

Then all nations will be blessed through him,d

and they will call him blessed.r

18 Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel,s

who alone does marvelous deeds.t

19 Praise be to his glorious nameu forever;

may the whole earth be filled with his glory.v

Amen and Amen.w

20 This concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse.x

BOOK III

Psalms 73–89

Psalm 73

A psalm of Asaph.

1 Surely God is good to Israel,

to those who are pure in heart.y

2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;z

I had nearly lost my foothold.a

3 For I enviedb the arrogant

when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.c

4 They have no struggles;

their bodies are healthy and strong.a

5 They are freed from common human burdens;

they are not plagued by human ills.

6 Therefore pridee is their necklace;f

they clothe themselves with violence.g

7 From their callous heartsh comes iniquityb;

their evil imaginations have no limits.

8 They scoff, and speak with malice;i

with arrogancej they threaten oppression.k

9 Their mouths lay claim to heaven,

and their tongues take possession of the earth.

10 Therefore their people turn to them

and drink up waters in abundance.c

11 They say, “How would God know?

Does the Most High know anything?”

12 This is what the wicked are like—

always free of care,l they go on amassing wealth.m

13 Surely in vainn I have kept my heart pure

and have washed my hands in innocence.o

14 All day long I have been afflicted,p

and every morning brings new punishments.

15 If I had spoken out like that,

I would have betrayed your children.

16 When I tried to understandq all this,

it troubled me deeply

17 till I entered the sanctuaryr of God;

then I understood their final destiny.s

18 Surely you place them on slippery ground;t

you cast them down to ruin.u

19 How suddenlyv are they destroyed,

completely swept awayw by terrors!

20 They are like a dreamx when one awakes;y

when you arise, Lord,

you will despise them as fantasies.z

21 When my heart was grieved

and my spirit embittered,

22 I was senselessa and ignorant;

I was a brute beastb before you.

23 Yet I am always with you;

you hold me by my right hand.c

24 You guided me with your counsel,e

and afterward you will take me into glory.

25 Whom have I in heaven but you?f

And earth has nothing I desire besides you.g

26 My flesh and my hearth may fail,i

but God is the strengthj of my heart

and my portionk forever.

27 Those who are far from you will perish;l

you destroy all who are unfaithfulm to you.

28 But as for me, it is good to be near God.n

I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge;o

I will tell of all your deeds.p