Psalm 33–36
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Lord The Avenger of His People
A Psalm of David.
1 Plead 1my cause, O Lord, with those who strive with me;
Fight against those who fight against me.
2 Take hold of shield and 2buckler,
And stand up for my help.
And stop those who pursue me.
Say to my soul,
“I am your salvation.”
4 aLet those be put to shame and brought to dishonor
Who seek after my life;
Let those be bturned back and brought to confusion
Who plot my hurt.
5 cLet them be like chaff before the wind,
And let the 3angel of the Lord chase them.
6 Let their way be ddark and slippery,
And let the angel of the Lord pursue them.
7 For without cause they have ehidden their net for me in a pit,
Which they have dug without cause for my life.
8 4Let fdestruction come upon him unexpectedly,
And let his net that he has hidden catch himself;
Into that very destruction let him fall.
9 And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord;
It shall rejoice in His salvation.
10 gAll my bones shall say,
“Lord, hwho is like You,
Delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him,
Yes, the poor and the needy from him who plunders him?”
They ask me things that I do not know.
12 iThey reward me evil for good,
To the sorrow of my soul.
13 But as for me, jwhen they were sick,
My clothing was sackcloth;
I humbled myself with fasting;
And my prayer would return to my own 5heart.
14 I paced about as though he were my friend or brother;
I bowed down 6heavily, as one who mourns for his mother.
15 But in my 7adversity they rejoiced
And gathered together;
Attackers gathered against me,
And I did not know it;
They tore at me and did not cease;
16 With ungodly mockers at feasts
They gnashed at me with their teeth.
17 Lord, how long will You klook on?
Rescue me from their destructions,
My precious life from the lions.
18 I will give You thanks in the great assembly;
I will praise You among 8many people.
19 lLet them not rejoice over me who are wrongfully my enemies;
Nor let them wink with the eye who hate me without a cause.
20 For they do not speak peace,
But they devise deceitful matters
Against the quiet ones in the land.
21 They also opened their mouth wide against me,
And said, “Aha, aha!
Our eyes have seen it.”
22 This You have seen, O Lord;
Do not keep silence.
O Lord, do not be far from me.
23 Stir up Yourself, and awake to my vindication,
To my cause, my God and my Lord.
24 Vindicate me, O Lord my God, according to Your righteousness;
And let them not rejoice over me.
25 Let them not say in their hearts, “Ah, so we would have it!”
Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up.”
26 Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion
Who rejoice at my hurt;
Let them be mclothed with shame and dishonor
Who exalt themselves against me.
27 nLet them shout for joy and be glad,
Who favor my righteous cause;
And let them say continually,
“Let the Lord be magnified,
Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.”
28 And my tongue shall speak of Your righteousness
And of Your praise all the day long.
Man’s Wickedness and God’s Perfections
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David the Servant of the Lord.
1 An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked:
aThere is no fear of God before his eyes.
2 For he flatters himself in his own eyes,
When he finds out his iniquity and when he hates.
3 The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit;
bHe has ceased to be wise and to do good.
4 cHe devises wickedness on his bed;
He sets himself din a way that is not good;
5 Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens;
Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
6 Your righteousness is like the 2great mountains;
fYour judgments are a great deep;
O Lord, You preserve man and beast.
7 How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
Therefore the children of men gput their trust under the shadow of Your wings.
8 hThey are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house,
And You give them drink from ithe river of Your pleasures.
9 jFor with You is the fountain of life;
kIn Your light we see light.
10 Oh, continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You,
And Your righteousness to the upright in heart.
11 Let not the foot of pride come against me,
And let not the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12 There the workers of iniquity have fallen;
They have been cast down and are not able to rise.