Psalm 22:1–32:11

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

Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?^*

²O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer;

and by night but find no rest.^*

³Yet you are holy,

enthroned on the praises of Israel.^*

⁴In you our ancestors trusted;

they trusted, and you delivered them.

⁵To you they cried and were saved;

in you they trusted and were not put to shame.^*

⁶But I am a worm and not human,

scorned by others and despised by the people.^*

⁷All who see me mock me;

they sneer at me; they shake their heads;^*

⁸“Commit your cause to the Lord; let him deliver—

let him rescue the one in whom he delights!”^*

⁹Yet it was you who took me from the womb;

you kept me safe on my mother’s breast.^*

¹⁰On you I was cast from my birth,

and since my mother bore me you have been my God.^*

¹¹Do not be far from me,

for trouble is near,

and there is no one to help.

¹²Many bulls encircle me;

strong bulls of Bashan surround me;^*

¹³they open wide their mouths at me,

like a ravening and roaring lion.^*

¹⁴I am poured out like water,

and all my bones are out of joint;

my heart is like wax;

it is melted within my breast;^*

¹⁵my mouth^z is dried up like a potsherd,

and my tongue sticks to my jaws;

you lay me in the dust of death.^*

¹⁶For dogs are all around me;

a company of evildoers encircles me;

they bound my hands and feet.^a*

¹⁷I can count all my bones.

They stare and gloat over me;

¹⁸they divide my clothes among themselves,

and for my clothing they cast lots.^*

¹⁹But you, O Lord, do not be far away!

O my help, come quickly to my aid!

²⁰Deliver my soul from the sword,

my life^b from the power of the dog!^*

²¹Save me from the mouth of the lion!

From the horns of the wild oxen you have rescued^c me.^*

²²I will tell of your name to my brothers and sisters;^d

in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:^*

²³You who fear the Lord, praise him!

All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him;

stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!^*

²⁴For he did not despise or abhor

the affliction of the afflicted;

he did not hide his face from me^e

but heard when I^f cried to him.^*

²⁵From you comes my praise in the great congregation;

my vows I will pay before those who fear him.^*

²⁶The poor^g shall eat and be satisfied;

those who seek him shall praise the Lord.

May your hearts live forever!^*

²⁷All the ends of the earth shall remember

and turn to the Lord,

and all the families of the nations

shall worship before him.^h*

²⁸For dominion belongs to the Lord,

and he rules over the nations.^*

²⁹To him,ⁱ indeed, shall all who sleep in^j the earth bow down;

before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,

and I shall live for him.^k*

³⁰Posterity will serve him;

future generations will be told about the Lord^*

³¹and^l proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn,

saying that he has done it.^*

Psalm 23

The Divine Shepherd

A Psalm of David.

¹The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.^*

²He makes me lie down in green pastures;

he leads me beside still waters;^m*

³he restores my soul.ⁿ

He leads me in right paths^o

for his name’s sake.^*

⁴Even though I walk through the darkest valley,^p

I fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.^*

⁵You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.^*

⁶Surely^q goodness and mercy^r shall follow me

all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord

my whole life long.^s*

Psalm 24

Entrance into the Temple

Of David. A Psalm.

¹The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,

the world, and those who live in it,^*

²for he has founded it on the seas

and established it on the rivers.

³Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?

And who shall stand in his holy place?^*

⁴Those who have clean hands and pure hearts,

who do not lift up their souls to what is false

and do not swear deceitfully.^*

⁵They will receive blessing from the Lord

and vindication from the God of their salvation.^*

⁶Such is the company of those who seek him,

who seek the face of the God of Jacob.^t   Selah

⁷Lift up your heads, O gates!

and be lifted up, O ancient doors,

that the King of glory may come in!^*

⁸Who is the King of glory?

The Lord, strong and mighty,

the Lord, mighty in battle.^*

⁹Lift up your heads, O gates!

and be lifted up, O ancient doors,

that the King of glory may come in!^*

¹⁰Who is this King of glory?

The Lord of hosts,

he is the King of glory.   Selah

Psalm 25

Prayer for Guidance and for Deliverance

Of David.

¹To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.^*

²O my God, in you I trust;

do not let me be put to shame;

do not let my enemies exult over me.^*

³Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame;

let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.^*

⁴Make me to know your ways, O Lord;

teach me your paths.^*

⁵Lead me in your truth and teach me,

for you are the God of my salvation;

for you I wait all day long.^*

⁶Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love,

for they have been from of old.^*

⁷Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;

according to your steadfast love remember me,

for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!^*

⁸Good and upright is the Lord;

therefore he instructs sinners in the way.^*

⁹He leads the humble in what is right

and teaches the humble his way.^*

¹⁰All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,

for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.^*

¹¹For your name’s sake, O Lord,

pardon my guilt, for it is great.^*

¹²Who are they who fear the Lord?

He will teach them the way that they should choose.

¹³They will abide in prosperity,

and their children shall possess the land.^*

¹⁴The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him,

and he makes his covenant known to them.^*

¹⁵My eyes are ever toward the Lord,

for he will pluck my feet out of the net.^*

¹⁶Turn to me and be gracious to me,

for I am lonely and afflicted.^*

¹⁷Relieve the troubles of my heart,

and bring me^u out of my distress.^*

¹⁸Consider my affliction and my trouble,

and forgive all my sins.^*

¹⁹Consider how many are my foes

and with what violent hatred they hate me.^*

²⁰O guard my life and deliver me;

do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.

²¹May integrity and uprightness preserve me,

for I wait for you.^*

²²Redeem Israel, O God,

out of all its troubles.^*

Psalm 26

Plea for Justice and Declaration of Righteousness

Of David.

¹Vindicate me, O Lord,

for I have walked in my integrity,

and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.^*

²Prove me, O Lord, and try me;

test my heart and mind.^*

³For your steadfast love is before my eyes,

and I walk in faithfulness to you.^v*

⁴I do not sit with the worthless,

nor do I consort with hypocrites;^*

⁵I hate the company of evildoers

and will not sit with the wicked.^*

⁶I wash my hands in innocence

and go around your altar, O Lord,^*

⁷singing aloud a song of thanksgiving

and telling all your wondrous deeds.^*

⁸O Lord, I love the house in which you dwell

and the place where your glory abides.^*

⁹Do not sweep me away with sinners

nor my life with the bloodthirsty,^*

¹⁰those in whose hands are evil devices

and whose right hands are full of bribes.^*

¹¹But as for me, I walk in my integrity;

redeem me and be gracious to me.^*

¹²My foot stands on level ground;

in the great congregation I will bless the Lord.^*

Psalm 27

Triumphant Song of Confidence

Of David.

¹The Lord is my light and my salvation;

whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold^w of my life;

of whom shall I be afraid?^*

²When evildoers assail me

to devour my flesh—

my adversaries and foes—

they shall stumble and fall.^*

³Though an army encamp against me,

my heart shall not fear;

though war rise up against me,

yet I will be confident.^*

⁴One thing I asked of the Lord;

this I seek:

to live in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life,

to behold the beauty of the Lord,

and to inquire in his temple.^*

⁵For he will hide me in his shelter

in the day of trouble;

he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;

he will set me high on a rock.^*

⁶Now my head is lifted up

above my enemies all around me,

and I will offer in his tent

sacrifices with shouts of joy;

I will sing and make melody to the Lord.^*

⁷Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;

be gracious to me and answer me!^*

⁸“Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!”

Your face, Lord, do I seek.^*

⁹Do not hide your face from me.

Do not turn your servant away in anger,

you who have been my help.

Do not cast me off; do not forsake me,

O God of my salvation!^*

¹⁰If my father and mother forsake me,

the Lord will take me up.^*

¹¹Teach me your way, O Lord,

and lead me on a level path

because of my enemies.^*

¹²Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries,

for false witnesses have risen against me,

and they are breathing out violence.^*

¹³I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord

in the land of the living.^*

¹⁴Wait for the Lord;

be strong, and let your heart take courage;

wait for the Lord!^*

Psalm 28

Prayer for Help and Thanksgiving for It

Of David.

¹To you, O Lord, I call;

my rock, do not refuse to hear me,

for if you are silent to me,

I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.^*

²Hear the voice of my supplication,

as I cry to you for help,

as I lift up my hands

toward your most holy sanctuary.^x*

³Do not drag me away with the wicked,

with those who are workers of evil,

who speak peace with their neighbors

while mischief is in their hearts.^*

⁴Repay them according to their work

and according to the evil of their deeds;

repay them according to the work of their hands;

render them their due reward.^*

⁵Because they do not regard the works of the Lord

or the work of his hands,

he will break them down and build them up no more.^*

⁶Blessed be the Lord,

for he has heard the sound of my pleadings.^*

⁷The Lord is my strength and my shield;

in him my heart trusts;

so I am helped, and my heart exults,

and with my song I give thanks to him.^*

⁸The Lord is the strength of his people;

he is the saving refuge of his anointed.^*

⁹O save your people and bless…