Psalm 31:1–32:11

¹In you, O Lord, I seek refuge;

do not let me ever be put to shame;

in your righteousness deliver me.^*

²Incline your ear to me;

rescue me speedily.

Be a rock of refuge for me,

a strong fortress to save me.^*

³You are indeed my rock and my fortress;

for your name’s sake lead me and guide me;^*

⁴take me out of the net that is hidden for me,

for you are my refuge.^*

⁵Into your hand I commit my spirit;

you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.^*

⁶You hate^d those who pay regard to worthless idols,

but I trust in the Lord.^*

⁷I will exult and rejoice in your steadfast love,

because you have seen my affliction;

you have taken notice of my adversities^*

⁸and have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy;

you have set my feet in a broad place.^*

⁹Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress;

my eye wastes away from grief,

my soul and body also.

¹⁰For my life is spent with sorrow

and my years with sighing;

my strength fails because of my misery,^e

and my bones waste away.^*

¹¹I am the scorn of all my adversaries,

a horror^f to my neighbors,

an object of dread to my acquaintances;

those who see me in the street flee from me.^*

¹²I have passed out of mind like one who is dead;

I have become like a broken vessel.^*

¹³For I hear the whispering of many—

terror all around!—

as they scheme together against me,

as they plot to take my life.^*

¹⁴But I trust in you, O Lord;

I say, “You are my God.”^*

¹⁵My times are in your hand;

deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors.^*

¹⁶Let your face shine upon your servant;

save me in your steadfast love.^*

¹⁷Do not let me be put to shame, O Lord,

for I call on you;

let the wicked be put to shame;

let them go dumbfounded to Sheol.^*

¹⁸Let the lying lips be stilled

that speak insolently against the righteous

with pride and contempt.^*

¹⁹O how abundant is your goodness

that you have laid up for those who fear you

and accomplished for those who take refuge in you,

in the sight of everyone!^*

²⁰In the shelter of your presence you hide them

from human plots;

you hold them safe under your shelter

from contentious tongues.^*

²¹Blessed be the Lord,

for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me

when I was beset as a city under siege.^*

²²I had said in my alarm,

“I am driven far^g from your sight.”

But you heard my supplications

when I cried out to you for help.^*

²³Love the Lord, all you his saints.

The Lord preserves the faithful

but abundantly repays the one who acts haughtily.^*

²⁴Be strong, and let your heart take courage,

all you who wait for the Lord.^*

Psalm 32

The Joy of Forgiveness

Of David. A Maskil.

¹Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven,

whose sin is covered.^*

²Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity

and in whose spirit there is no deceit.^*

³While I kept silent, my body wasted away

through my groaning all day long.^*

⁴For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;

my strength was dried up^h as by the heat of summer.   Selah^*

⁵Then I acknowledged my sin to you,

and I did not hide my iniquity;

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

and you forgave the guilt of my sin.   Selah^*

⁶Therefore let all who are faithful

offer prayer to you;

at a time of distress,ⁱ the rush of mighty waters

shall not reach them.^*

⁷You are a hiding place for me;

you preserve me from trouble;

you surround me with glad cries of deliverance.   Selah^*

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

I will counsel you with my eye upon you.^*

⁹Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding,

whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle,

else it will not stay near you.^*

¹⁰Many are the torments of the wicked,

but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord.^*

¹¹Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous,

and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.^*