Psalm 20–22

Psalm 20

For the choir director: A psalm of David.

¹In times of trouble, may the Lord answer your cry.

May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe from all harm.

²May he send you help from his sanctuary

and strengthen you from Jerusalem.

³May he remember all your gifts

and look favorably on your burnt offerings.

Interlude

⁴May he grant your heart’s desires

and make all your plans succeed.

⁵May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory

and raise a victory banner in the name of our God.

May the Lord answer all your prayers.

⁶Now I know that the Lord rescues his anointed king.

He will answer him from his holy heaven

and rescue him by his great power.

⁷Some nations boast of their chariots and horses,

but we boast in the name of the Lord our God.

⁸Those nations will fall down and collapse,

but we will rise up and stand firm.

⁹Give victory to our king, O Lord!

Answer our cry for help.

Psalm 21

For the choir director: A psalm of David.

¹How the king rejoices in your strength, O Lord!

He shouts with joy because you give him victory.

²For you have given him his heart’s desire;

you have withheld nothing he requested.

Interlude

³You welcomed him back with success and prosperity.

You placed a crown of finest gold on his head.

⁴He asked you to preserve his life,

and you granted his request.

The days of his life stretch on forever.

⁵Your victory brings him great honor,

and you have clothed him with splendor and majesty.

⁶You have endowed him with eternal blessings

and given him the joy of your presence.

⁷For the king trusts in the Lord.

The unfailing love of the Most High will keep him from stumbling.

⁸You will capture all your enemies.

Your strong right hand will seize all who hate you.

⁹You will throw them in a flaming furnace

when you appear.

The Lord will consume them in his anger;

fire will devour them.

¹⁰You will wipe their children from the face of the earth;

they will never have descendants.

¹¹Although they plot against you,

their evil schemes will never succeed.

¹²For they will turn and run

when they see your arrows aimed at them.

¹³Rise up, O Lord, in all your power.

With music and singing we celebrate your mighty acts.

Psalm 22

For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be sung to the tune “Doe of the Dawn.”

¹My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?

Why are you so far away when I groan for help?

²Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer.

Every night I lift my voice, but I find no relief.

³Yet you are holy,

enthroned on the praises of Israel.

⁴Our ancestors trusted in you,

and you rescued them.

⁵They cried out to you and were saved.

They trusted in you and were never disgraced.

⁶But I am a worm and not a man.

I am scorned and despised by all!

⁷Everyone who sees me mocks me.

They sneer and shake their heads, saying,

⁸“Is this the one who relies on the Lord?

Then let the Lord save him!

If the Lord loves him so much,

let the Lord rescue him!”

⁹Yet you brought me safely from my mother’s womb

and led me to trust you at my mother’s breast.

¹⁰I was thrust into your arms at my birth.

You have been my God from the moment I was born.

¹¹Do not stay so far from me,

for trouble is near,

and no one else can help me.

¹²My enemies surround me like a herd of bulls;

fierce bulls of Bashan have hemmed me in!

¹³Like lions they open their jaws against me,

roaring and tearing into their prey.

¹⁴My life is poured out like water,

and all my bones are out of joint.

My heart is like wax,

melting within me.

¹⁵My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay.

My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.

You have laid me in the dust and left me for dead.

¹⁶My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs;

an evil gang closes in on me.

They have pierced my hands and feet.

¹⁷I can count all my bones.

My enemies stare at me and gloat.

¹⁸They divide my garments among themselves

and throw dice for my clothing.

¹⁹O Lord, do not stay far away!

You are my strength; come quickly to my aid!

²⁰Save me from the sword;

spare my precious life from these dogs.

²¹Snatch me from the lion’s jaws

and from the horns of these wild oxen.

²²I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters.

I will praise you among your assembled people.

²³Praise the Lord, all you who fear him!

Honor him, all you descendants of Jacob!

Show him reverence, all you descendants of Israel!

²⁴For he has not ignored or belittled the suffering of the needy.

He has not turned his back on them,

but has listened to their cries for help.

²⁵I will praise you in the great assembly.

I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who worship you.

²⁶The poor will eat and be satisfied.

All who seek the Lord will praise him.

Their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy.

²⁷The whole earth will acknowledge the Lord and return to him.

All the families of the nations will bow down before him.

²⁸For royal power belongs to the Lord.

He rules all the nations.

²⁹Let the rich of the earth feast and worship.

Bow before him, all who are mortal,

all whose lives will end as dust.

³⁰Our children will also serve him.

Future generations will hear about the wonders of the Lord.

³¹His righteous acts will be told to those not yet born.

They will hear about everything he has done.