Psalm 68–71

Psalm 68

The Glory of God in His Goodness to Israel

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A Song.

1 Let aGod arise,

Let His enemies be scattered;

Let those also who hate Him flee before Him.

2 bAs smoke is driven away,

So drive them away;

cAs wax melts before the fire,

So let the wicked perish at the presence of God.

3 But dlet the righteous be glad;

Let them rejoice before God;

Yes, let them rejoice exceedingly.

4 Sing to God, sing praises to His name;

eExtol 1Him who rides on the 2clouds,

fBy His name 3Yah,

And rejoice before Him.

5 gA father of the fatherless, a defender of widows,

Is God in His holy habitation.

6 hGod sets the solitary in families;

iHe brings out those who are bound into prosperity;

But jthe rebellious dwell in a dry land.

7 O God, kwhen You went out before Your people,

When You marched through the wilderness,

Selah

8 The earth shook;

The heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God;

Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel.

9 lYou, O God, sent a plentiful rain,

Whereby You confirmed Your inheritance,

When it was weary.

10 Your congregation dwelt in it;

mYou, O God, provided from Your goodness for the poor.

11 The Lord gave the word;

Great was the 4company of those who proclaimed it:

12 “Kings nof armies flee, they flee,

And she who remains at home divides the 5spoil.

13 oThough you lie down among the 6sheepfolds,

pYou will be like the wings of a dove covered with silver,

And her feathers with yellow gold.”

14 qWhen the Almighty scattered kings in it,

It was white as snow in Zalmon.

15 A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan;

A mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan.

16 Why do you 7fume with envy, you mountains of many peaks?

rThis is the mountain which God desires to dwell in;

Yes, the Lord will dwell in it forever.

17 sThe chariots of God are twenty thousand,

Even thousands of thousands;

The Lord is among them as in Sinai, in the Holy Place.

18 tYou have ascended on high,

uYou have led captivity captive;

vYou have received gifts among men,

Even from wthe rebellious,

xThat the Lord God might dwell there.

19 Blessed be the Lord,

Who daily loads us with benefits,

The God of our salvation!

Selah

20 Our God is the God of salvation;

And yto God the Lord belong escapes from death.

21 But zGod will wound the head of His enemies,

aThe hairy scalp of the one who still goes on in his trespasses.

22 The Lord said, “I will bring bback from Bashan,

I will bring them back cfrom the depths of the sea,

23 dThat 8your foot may crush them in blood,

eAnd the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from your enemies.”

24 They have seen Your 9procession, O God,

The procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary.

25 fThe singers went before, the players on instruments followed after;

Among them were the maidens playing timbrels.

26 Bless God in the congregations,

The Lord, from gthe fountain of Israel.

27 hThere is little Benjamin, their leader,

The princes of Judah and their 1company,

The princes of Zebulun and the princes of Naphtali.

28 2Your God has icommanded your strength;

Strengthen, O God, what You have done for us.

29 Because of Your temple at Jerusalem,

jKings will bring presents to You.

30 Rebuke the beasts of the reeds,

kThe herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples,

Till everyone lsubmits himself with pieces of silver.

Scatter the peoples who delight in war.

31 mEnvoys will come out of Egypt;

nEthiopia will quickly ostretch out her hands to God.

32 Sing to God, you pkingdoms of the earth;

Oh, sing praises to the Lord,

Selah

33 To Him qwho rides on the heaven of heavens, which were of old!

Indeed, He sends out His voice, a rmighty voice.

34 sAscribe strength to God;

His excellence is over Israel,

And His strength is in the clouds.

35 O God, tYou are more awesome than Your holy places.

The God of Israel is He who gives strength and power to His people.

Blessed be God!

Psalm 69

An Urgent Plea for Help in Trouble

To the Chief Musician. Set to 1“The Lilies.” A Psalm of David.

1 Save me, O God! For athe waters have come up to my 2neck.

2 bI sink in deep mire,

Where there is no standing;

I have come into deep waters,

Where the floods overflow me.

3 cI am weary with my crying;

My throat is dry;

dMy eyes fail while I wait for my God.

4 Those who ehate me without a cause

Are more than the hairs of my head;

They are mighty who would destroy me,

Being my enemies wrongfully;

Though I have stolen nothing,

I still must restore it.

5 O God, You know my foolishness;

And my sins are not hidden from You.

6 Let not those who 3wait for You, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed because of me;

Let not those who seek You be 4confounded because of me, O God of Israel.

7 Because for Your sake I have borne reproach;

Shame has covered my face.

8 fI have become a stranger to my brothers,

And an alien to my mother’s children;

9 gBecause zeal for Your house has eaten me up,

hAnd the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.

10 When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting,

That became my reproach.

11 I also 5made sackcloth my garment;

I became a byword to them.

12 Those who 6sit in the gate speak against me,

And I am the song of the idrunkards.

13 But as for me, my prayer is to You,

O Lord, in the acceptable time;

O God, in the multitude of Your mercy,

Hear me in the truth of Your salvation.

14 Deliver me out of the mire,

And let me not sink;

Let me be delivered from those who hate me,

And out of the deep waters.

15 Let not the floodwater overflow me,

Nor let the deep swallow me up;

And let not the pit shut its mouth on me.

16 Hear me, O Lord, for Your lovingkindness is good;

Turn to me according to the multitude of Your tender mercies.

17 And do not hide Your face from Your servant,

For I am in trouble;

Hear me speedily.

18 Draw near to my soul, and redeem it;

Deliver me because of my enemies.

19 You know jmy reproach, my shame, and my dishonor;

My adversaries are all before You.

20 Reproach has broken my heart,

And I am full of 7heaviness;

kI looked for someone to take pity, but there was none;

And for lcomforters, but I found none.

21 They also gave me gall for my food,

mAnd for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

22 nLet their table become a snare before them,

And their well-being a trap.

23 oLet their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see;

And make their loins shake continually.

24 pPour out Your indignation upon them,

And let Your wrathful anger take hold of them.

25 qLet their dwelling place be desolate;

Let no one live in their tents.

26 For they persecute the ones rYou have struck,

And talk of the grief of those You have wounded.

27 sAdd iniquity to their iniquity,

tAnd let them not come into Your righteousness.

28 Let them ube blotted out of the book of the living,

vAnd not be written with the righteous.

29 But I am poor and sorrowful;

Let Your salvation, O God, set me up on high.

30 wI will praise the name of God with a song,

And will magnify Him with thanksgiving.

31 xThis also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bull,

Which has horns and hooves.

32 yThe humble shall see this and be glad;

And you who seek God, zyour hearts shall live.

33 For the Lord hears the poor,

And does not despise aHis prisoners.

34 bLet heaven and earth praise Him,

The seas cand everything that moves in them.

35 dFor God will save Zion

And build the cities of Judah,

That they may dwell there and possess it.

36 Also, ethe 8descendants of His servants shall inherit it,

And those who love His name shall dwell in it.

Psalm 70

Prayer for Relief from Adversaries

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. aTo Bring to Remembrance.

1 Make haste, bO God, to deliver me!

Make haste to help me, O Lord!

2 cLet them be ashamed and confounded

Who seek my life;

Let them be 1turned back and confused

Who desire my hurt.

3 dLet them be turned back because of their shame,

Who say, 2“Aha, aha!”

4 Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;

And let those who love Your salvation say continually,

“Let God be magnified!”

5 eBut I am poor and needy;

fMake haste to me, O God!

You are my help and my deliverer;

O Lord, do not delay.

Psalm 71

God the Rock of Salvation

1 In aYou, O Lord, I put my trust; Let me never be put to shame.

2 bDeliver me in Your righteousness, and cause me to escape;

cIncline Your ear to me, and save me.

3 dBe my 1strong refuge,

To which I may resort continually;

You have given the ecommandment to save me,

For You are my rock and my fortress.

4 fDeliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked,

Out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.

5 For You are gmy hope, O Lord God;

You are my trust from my youth.

6 hBy You I have been 2upheld from birth;

You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb.

My praise shall be continually of You.

7 iI have become as a wonder to many,

But You are my strong refuge.

8 Let jmy mouth be filled with Your praise

And with Your glory all the day.

9 Do not cast me off in the time of old age;

Do not forsake me when my strength fails.

10 For my enemies speak against me;

And those who lie in wait for my life ktake counsel together,

11 Saying, “God has forsaken him;

Pursue and take him, for there is none to deliver him.”

12 lO God, do not be far from me;

O my God, mmake haste to help me!

13 Let them be 3confounded and consumed

Who are adversaries of my life;

Let them be covered with reproach and dishonor

Who seek my hurt.

14 But I will hope continually,

And will praise You yet more and more.

15 My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness

And Your salvation all the day,

For I do not know their limits.

16 I will go in the strength of the Lord God;

I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only.

17 O God, You have taught me from my nyouth;

And to this day I declare Your wondrous works.

18 Now also owhen I am old and grayheaded,

O God, do not forsake me,

Until I declare Your strength to this generation,

Your power to everyone who is to come.

19 Also pYour righteousness, O God, is 4very high,

You who have done great things;

qO God, who is like You?

20 rYou, who have shown me great and severe troubles,

sShall revive me again,

And bring me up again from the depths of the earth.

21 You shall increase my greatness,

And comfort me on every side.

22 Also twith the lute I will praise You—

And Your faithfulness, O my God!

To You I will sing with the harp,

O uHoly One of Israel.

23 My …