Psalm 30

The Blessedness of Answered Prayer

A Psalm. A Song aAt the Dedication of the House of David.

1 I will extol You, O Lord, for You have blifted me up,

And have not let my foes crejoice over me.

2 O Lord my God, I cried out to You,

And You dhealed me.

3 O Lord, eYou brought my soul up from the grave;

You have kept me alive, 1that I should not go down to the pit.

4 fSing praise to the Lord, you saints of His,

And give thanks at the remembrance of 2His holy name.

5 For gHis anger is but for a moment,

hHis favor is for life;

Weeping may endure for a night,

But 3joy comes in the morning.

6 Now in my prosperity I said,

“I shall never be 4moved.”

7 Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong;

iYou hid Your face, and I was troubled.

8 I cried out to You, O Lord;

And to the Lord I made supplication:

9 “What profit is there in my blood,

When I go down to the pit?

jWill the dust praise You?

Will it declare Your truth?

10 Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me;

Lord, be my helper!”

11 kYou have turned for me my mourning into dancing;

You have put off 5my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,

12 To the end that my 6glory may sing praise to You and not be silent.

O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

Psalm 31

The Lord A Fortress in Adversity

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

1 In aYou, O Lord, I 1put my trust; Let me never be ashamed;

Deliver me in Your righteousness.

2 bBow down Your ear to me,

Deliver me speedily;

Be my rock of 2refuge,

A 3fortress of defense to save me.

3 cFor You are my rock and my fortress;

Therefore, dfor Your name’s sake,

Lead me and guide me.

4 Pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me,

For You are my strength.

5 eInto Your hand I commit my spirit;

You have redeemed me, O Lord God of ftruth.

6 I have hated those gwho regard useless idols;

But I trust in the Lord.

7 I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy,

For You have considered my trouble;

You have hknown my soul in 4adversities,

8 And have not ishut 5me up into the hand of the enemy;

jYou have set my feet in a wide place.

9 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble;

kMy eye wastes away with grief,

Yes, my soul and my 6body!

10 For my life is spent with grief,

And my years with sighing;

My strength fails because of my iniquity,

And my bones waste away.

11 lI am a 7reproach among all my enemies,

But mespecially among my neighbors,

And am repulsive to my acquaintances;

nThose who see me outside flee from me.

12 oI am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind;

I am like a 8broken vessel.

13 pFor I hear the slander of many;

qFear is on every side;

While they rtake counsel together against me,

They scheme to take away my life.

14 But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord;

I say, “You are my God.”

15 My times are in Your shand;

Deliver me from the hand of my enemies,

And from those who persecute me.

16 tMake Your face shine upon Your servant;

Save me for Your mercies’ sake.

17 uDo not let me be ashamed, O Lord, for I have called upon You;

Let the wicked be ashamed;

vLet them be silent in the grave.

18 wLet the lying lips be put to silence,

Which xspeak insolent things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.

19 yOh, how great is Your goodness,

Which You have laid up for those who fear You,

Which You have prepared for those who trust in You

In the presence of the sons of men!

20 zYou shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence

From the plots of man;

aYou shall keep them secretly in a 9pavilion

From the strife of tongues.

21 Blessed be the Lord,

For bHe has shown me His marvelous kindness in a 1strong city!

22 For I said in my haste,

“I am cut off from before Your eyes”;

Nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications

When I cried out to You.

23 Oh, love the Lord, all you His saints!

For the Lord preserves the faithful,

And fully repays the proud person.

24 cBe of good courage,

And He shall strengthen your heart,

All you who hope in the Lord.

Psalm 32

The Joy of Forgiveness

A Psalm of David. A 1Contemplation.

1 Blessed is he whose atransgression is forgiven,

Whose sin is covered.

2 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord bdoes not 2impute iniquity,

And cin whose spirit there is no deceit.

3 When I kept silent, my bones grew old

Through my groaning all the day long.

4 For day and night Your dhand was heavy upon me;

My vitality was turned into the drought of summer.

Selah

5 I acknowledged my sin to You,

And my iniquity I have not hidden.

eI said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”

And You forgave the iniquity of my sin.

Selah

6 fFor this cause everyone who is godly shall gpray to You

In a time when You may be found;

Surely in a flood of great waters

They shall not come near him.

7 hYou are my hiding place;

You shall preserve me from trouble;

You shall surround me with isongs of deliverance.

Selah

8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;

I will guide you with My eye.

9 Do not be like the jhorse or like the mule,

Which have no understanding,

Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle,

Else they will not come near you.

10 kMany sorrows shall be to the wicked;

But lhe who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him.

11 mBe glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous;

And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

Psalm 33

The Sovereignty of the Lord In Creation and History

1 Rejoice ain the Lord, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful.

2 Praise the Lord with the harp;

1Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.

3 Sing to Him a new song;

Play skillfully with a shout of joy.

4 For the word of the Lord is right,

And all His work is done in truth.

5 He loves righteousness and justice;

The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

6 bBy the word of the Lord the heavens were made,

And all the chost of them dby the breath of His mouth.

7 eHe gathers the waters of the sea together 2as a heap;

He lays up the deep in storehouses.

8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;

Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.

9 For fHe spoke, and it was done;

He commanded, and it stood fast.

10 gThe Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;

He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect.

11 hThe counsel of the Lord stands forever,

The plans of His heart to all generations.

12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,

The people He has ichosen as His own inheritance.

13 jThe Lord looks from heaven;

He sees all the sons of men.

14 From the place of His dwelling He looks

On all the inhabitants of the earth;

15 He fashions their hearts individually;

kHe 3considers all their works.

16 lNo king is saved by the multitude of an army;

A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.

17 mA horse is a 4vain hope for safety;

Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.

18 nBehold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,

On those who hope in His mercy,

19 To deliver their soul from death,

And oto keep them alive in famine.

20 Our soul waits for the Lord;

He is our help and our shield.

21 For our heart shall rejoice in Him,

Because we have trusted in His holy name.

22 Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us,

Just as we hope in You.

Psalm 34

The Happiness of Those Who Trust in God

A Psalm of David aWhen He Pretended Madness Before Abimelech, Who Drove Him Away, and He Departed.

1 I will bbless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

2 My soul shall make its boast in the Lord;

The humble shall hear of it and be glad.

3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me,

And let us exalt His name together.

4 I csought the Lord, and He heard me,

And delivered me from all my fears.

5 They looked to Him and were radiant,

And their faces were not ashamed.

6 This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him,

And saved him out of all his troubles.

7 dThe 1angel of the Lord eencamps all around those who fear Him,

And delivers them.

8 Oh, ftaste and see that the Lord is good;

gBlessed is the man who trusts in Him!

9 Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints!

There is no 2want to those who fear Him.

10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger;

hBut those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.

11 Come, you children, listen to me;

iI will teach you the fear of the Lord.

12 jWho is the man who desires life,

And loves many days, that he may see good?

13 Keep your tongue from evil,

And your lips from speaking kdeceit.

14 lDepart from evil and do good;

mSeek peace and pursue it.

15 nThe eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,

And His ears are open to their cry.

16 oThe face of the Lord is against those who do evil,

pTo 3cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

17 The righteous cry out, and qthe Lord hears,

And delivers them out of all their troubles.

18 rThe Lord is near sto those who have a broken heart,

And saves such as 4have a contrite spirit.

19 tMany are the afflictions of the righteous,

uBut the Lord delivers him out of them all.

20 He guards all his bones;

vNot one of them is broken.

21 wEvil shall slay the wicked,

And those who hate the righteous shall be 5condemned.

22 The Lord xredeems the soul of His servants,

And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.