PSALM 101

A Psalm of David.

1 I will sing of loyalty and of justice;

to thee, O Lord, I will sing.

2 I will give heed to the way that is blameless.

Oh when wilt thou come to me?

I will walk with integrity of heart

within my house;

3 I will not set before my eyes

anything that is base.

I hate the work of those who fall away;

it shall not cleave to me.

4 Perverseness of heart shall be far from me;

I will know nothing of evil.

5 Him who slanders his neighbor secretly

I will destroy.

The man of haughty looks and arrogant heart

I will not endure.

6 I will look with favor on the faithful in the land,

that they may dwell with me;

he who walks in the way that is blameless

shall minister to me.

7 No man who practices deceit

shall dwell in my house;

no man who utters lies

shall continue in my presence.

8 Morning by morning I will destroy

all the wicked in the land,

cutting off all the evildoers

from the city of the Lord.

PSALM 16

A Miktam of David.

1 Preserve me, O God, for in thee I take refuge.

2 I say to the Lord, “Thou art my Lord;

I have no good apart from thee.”g

3 As for the saints in the land, they are the noble,

in whom is all my delight.

4 Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows* ;*

their libations of blood I will not pour out

or take their names upon my lips.

5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;

thou holdest my lot.

6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

yea, I have a goodly heritage.

7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;

in the night also my heart instructs me.

8 I keep the Lord always before me;

because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;

my body also dwells secure.

10 For thou dost not give me up to Sheol,

or let thy godly one see the Pit.

11 Thou dost show me the path of life;

in thy presence there is fulness of joy,

in thy right hand are pleasures for evermore.

PSALM 17

A Prayer of David.

1 Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry!

Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!

2 From thee let my vindication come!

Let thy eyes see the right!

3 If thou triest my heart, if thou visitest me by night,

if thou testest me, thou wilt find no wickedness in me;

my mouth does not transgress.

4 With regard to the works of men, by the word of thy lips

I have avoided the ways of the violent.

5 My steps have held fast to thy paths,

my feet have not slipped.

6 I call upon thee, for thou wilt answer me, O God;

incline thy ear to me, hear my words.

7 Wondrously show thy steadfast love,

O savior of those who seek refuge

from their adversaries at thy right hand.

8 Keep me as the apple of the eye;

hide me in the shadow of thy wings,

9 from the wicked who despoil me,

my deadly enemies who surround me.

10 They close their hearts to pity;

with their mouths they speak arrogantly.

11 They track me down; now they surround me;

they set their eyes to cast me to the ground.

12 They are like a lion eager to tear,

as a young lion lurking in ambush.

13 Arise, O Lord! confront them, overthrow them!

Deliver my life from the wicked by thy sword,

14 from men by thy hand, O Lord,

from men whose portion in life is of the world.

May their belly be filled with what thou hast stored up for them;

may their children have more than enough;

may they leave something over to their babes.

15 As for me, I shall behold thy face in righteousness;

when I awake, I shall be satisfied with beholding thy form.

PSALM 18

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord, who addressed the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said:

1 I love thee, O Lord, my strength.

2 The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer,

my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,

my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

3 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,

and I am saved from my enemies.

4 The cords of death encompassed me,

the torrents of perdition assailed me;

5 the cords of Sheol entangled me,

the snares of death confronted me.

6 In my distress I called upon the Lord;

to my God I cried for help.

From his temple he heard my voice,

and my cry to him reached his ears.

7 Then the earth reeled and rocked;

the foundations also of the mountains trembled

and quaked, because he was angry.

8 Smoke went up from his nostrils,

and devouring fire from his mouth;

glowing coals flamed forth from him.

9 He bowed the heavens, and came down;

thick darkness was under his feet.

10 He rode on a cherub, and flew;

he came swiftly upon the wings of the wind.

11 He made darkness his covering around him,

his canopy thick clouds dark with water.

12 Out of the brightness before him

there broke through his clouds

hailstones and coals of fire.

13 The Lord also thundered in the heavens,

and the Most High uttered his voice,

hailstones and coals of fire.

14 And he sent out his arrows, and scattered them;

he flashed forth lightnings, and routed them.

15 Then the channels of the sea were seen,

and the foundations of the world were laid bare,

at thy rebuke, O Lord,

at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.

16 He reached from on high, he took me,

he drew me out of many waters.

17 He delivered me from my strong enemy,

and from those who hated me;

for they were too mighty for me.

18 They came upon me in the day of my calamity;

but the Lord was my stay.

19 He brought me forth into a broad place;

he delivered me, because he delighted in me.

20 The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness;

according to the cleanness of my hands he recompensed me.

21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord,

and have not wickedly departed from my God.

22 For all his ordinances were before me,

and his statutes I did not put away from me.

23 I was blameless before him,

and I kept myself from guilt.

24 Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness,

according to the cleanness of my …