5
But I have trusted in Your faithful love;
my heart will rejoice in Your deliverance.
6
I will sing to the
Lord
because He has treated me generously.
Psalms
A Portrait of Sinners
For the choir director. Davidic.
14
The fool says in his heart, “God does not exist.”
They are corrupt; they do vile deeds.
There is no one who does good.
2
The
Lord
looks down from heaven on the
•human
race
to see if there is one who is wise,
one who seeks God.
3
All have turned away;
all alike have become corrupt.
There is no one who does good,
not even one.
4
Will evildoers never understand?
They consume My people as they consume bread;
they do not call on the
Lord
.
5
Then they will be filled with terror,
for God is with those who are righteous.
6
You sinners frustrate the plans of the afflicted,
but the
Lord
is his refuge.
7
Oh, that Israel's deliverance would come from
•Zion
!
When the
Lord
restores the fortunes of His people,
Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.
Psalms
A Description of the Godly
A Davidic psalm.
15
Lord
, who can dwell in Your tent?
Who can live on Your holy mountain?
2
The one who lives honestly, practices righteousness,
and acknowledges the truth in his heart —
3
who does not slander with his tongue,
who does not harm his friend
or discredit his neighbor,
4
who despises the one rejected by the
Lord
but honors those who
•fear
the
Lord
,
who keeps his word whatever the cost,
5
who does not lend his money at interest
or take a bribe against the innocent —
the one who does these things will never be moved.
Psalms
Confidence in the
Lord
16
Protect me, God, for I take refuge in You.
2
I said to
•Yahweh
, “You are my Lord;
I have nothing good besides You.”
3
As for the holy people who are in the land,
they are the noble ones.
All my delight is in them.
4
The sorrows of those who take another god
for themselves will multiply;
I will not pour out their
•drink
offerings of blood,
and I will not speak their names with my lips.
5
Lord
, You are my portion
and my cup of blessing;
You hold my future.
6
The boundary lines have fallen for me
in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
7
I will praise the
Lord
who counsels me —
even at night my conscience instructs me.
8
I keep the
Lord
in mind always.
Because He is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
9
Therefore my heart is glad
and my spirit rejoices;
my body also rests securely.
10
For You will not abandon me to
•Sheol
;
You will not allow Your Faithful One to see decay.
11
You reveal the path of life to me;
in Your presence is abundant joy;
in Your right hand are eternal pleasures.
Psalms
A Prayer for Protection
A Davidic prayer.
17
Lord
, hear a just cause;
pay attention to my cry;
listen to my prayer —
from lips free of deceit.
2
Let my vindication come from You,
for You see what is right.
3
You have tested my heart;
You have examined me at night.
You have tried me and found nothing evil;
I have determined that my mouth will not sin.
4
Concerning what people do:
by the word of Your lips
I have avoided the ways of the violent.
5
My steps are on Your paths;
my feet have not slipped.
6
I call on You, God,
because You will answer me;
listen closely to me; hear what I say.
7
Display the wonders of Your faithful love,
Savior of all who seek refuge
from those who rebel against Your right hand.
8
Protect me as the pupil of Your eye;
hide me in the shadow of Your wings
9
from the wicked who treat me violently,
my deadly enemies who surround me.
10
They have become hardened;
their mouths speak arrogantly.
11
They advance against me; now they surround me.
They are determined
to throw me to the ground.
12
They are like a lion eager to tear,
like a young lion lurking in ambush.
13
Rise up,
Lord
!
Confront him; bring him down.
With Your sword, save me from the wicked.
14
With Your hand,
Lord
, save me from men,
from men of the world
whose portion is in this life:
You fill their bellies with what You have in store;
their sons are satisfied,
and they leave their surplus to their children.
15
But I will see Your face in righteousness;
when I awake, I will be satisfied with Your presence.
Psalms
Praise for Deliverance
For the choir director. Of the servant of the
Lord
, David, who spoke the words of this song to the
Lord
on the day the
Lord
rescued him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:
18
I love You,
Lord
, my strength.
2
The
Lord
is my rock,
my fortress, and my deliverer,
my God, my mountain where I seek refuge,
my shield and the
•horn
of my salvation,
my stronghold.
3
I called to the
Lord
, who is worthy of praise,
and I was saved from my enemies.
4
The ropes of death were wrapped around me;
the torrents of destruction terrified me.
5
The ropes of
•Sheol
entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
6
I called to the
Lord
in my distress,
and I cried to my God for help.
From His temple He heard my voice,
and my cry to Him reached His ears.
7
Then the earth shook and quaked;
the foundations of the mountains trembled;
they shook because He burned with anger.
8
Smoke rose from His nostrils,
and consuming fire came from His mouth;
coals were set ablaze by it.
9
He parted the heavens and came down,
a dark cloud beneath His feet.
10
He rode on a cherub and flew,
soaring on the wings of the wind.
11
He made darkness His hiding place,
dark storm clouds His canopy around Him.
12
From the radiance of His presence,
His clouds swept onward with hail and blazing coals.
13
The
Lord
thundered from heaven;
the
•Most
High projected His voice.
14
He shot His arrows and scattered them;
He hurled lightning bolts and routed them.
15
The depths of the sea became visible,
the foundations of the world were exposed,
at Your rebuke,
Lord
,
at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.
16
He reached down from heaven
and took hold of me;
He pulled me out of deep waters.
17
He rescued me from my powerful enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were too strong for me.
18
They confronted me in the day of my distress,
but the
Lord
was my support.
19
He brought me out to a spacious place;
He rescued me because He delighted in me.
20
The
Lord
rewarded me
according to my righteousness;
He repaid me
according to the cleanness of my hands.
21
For I have kept the ways of the
Lord
and have not turned from my God to wickedness.
22
Indeed, I have kept all His ordinances in mind
and have not disregarded His statutes.
23
I was blameless toward Him
and kept myself from sinning.
24
So the
Lord
repaid me
according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.
25
With the faithful
You prove Yourself faithful;
with the blameless man
You prove Yourself blameless;
26
with the pure
You prove Yourself pure,
but with the crooked
You prove Yourself shrewd.
27
For You rescue an afflicted people,
but You humble those with haughty eyes.
28
Lord
, You light my lamp;
my God illuminates my darkness.
29
With You I can attack a barrier,
and with my God I can leap over a wall.
30
God — His way is perfect;
the word of the
Lord
is pure.
He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
31
For who is God besides
•Yahweh
?
And who is a rock? Only our God.
32
God — He clothes me with strength
and makes my way perfect.
33
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer
and sets me securely on the heights.
34
He trains my hands for war;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35
You have given me the shield of Your salvation;
Your right hand upholds me,
and Your humility exalts me.
36
You widen a place beneath me for my steps,
and my ankles do not give way.
37
I pursue my enemies and overtake them;
I do not turn back until they are wiped out.
38
I crush them, and they cannot get up;
they fall beneath my feet.
39
You have clothed me with strength for battle;
You subdue my adversaries beneath me.
40
You have made my enemies retreat before me;
I annihilate those who hate me.
41
They cry for help, but there is no one to save them —
they cry to the
Lord
, but He does not answer them.
42
I pulverize them like dust before the wind;
I trample them like mud in the streets.
43
You have freed me from the feuds among the people;
You have appointed me the head of nations;
a people I had not known serve me.
44
Foreigners submit to me grudgingly;
as soon as they hear, they obey me.
45
Foreigners lose heart
and come trembling from their fortifications.