6
I hate those who are devoted to worthless idols,
but I trust in the
Lord
.
7
I will rejoice and be glad in Your faithful love
because You have seen my affliction.
You have known the troubles of my life
8
and have not handed me over to the enemy.
You have set my feet in a spacious place.
9
Be gracious to me,
Lord
,
because I am in distress;
my eyes are worn out from angry sorrow —
my whole being as well.
10
Indeed, my life is consumed with grief
and my years with groaning;
my strength has failed
because of my sinfulness,
and my bones waste away.
11
I am ridiculed by all my adversaries
and even by my neighbors.
I am dreaded by my acquaintances;
those who see me in the street run from me.
12
I am forgotten: gone from memory
like a dead person — like broken pottery.
13
I have heard the gossip of many;
terror is on every side.
When they conspired against me,
they plotted to take my life.
14
But I trust in You,
Lord
;
I say, “You are my God.”
15
The course of my life is in Your power;
deliver me from the power of my enemies
and from my persecutors.
16
Show Your favor to Your servant;
save me by Your faithful love.
17
Lord
, do not let me be disgraced when I call on You.
Let the wicked be disgraced;
let them be silent in
•Sheol
.
18
Let lying lips be quieted;
they speak arrogantly against the righteous
with pride and contempt.
19
How great is Your goodness
that You have stored up for those who
•fear
You
and accomplished in the sight of
•everyone
for those who take refuge in You.
20
You hide them in the protection of Your presence;
You conceal them in a shelter
from the schemes of men,
from quarrelsome tongues.
21
May the
Lord
be praised,
for He has wonderfully shown His faithful love to me
in a city under siege.
22
In my alarm I had said,
“I am cut off from Your sight.”
But You heard the sound of my pleading
when I cried to You for help.
23
Love the
Lord
, all His faithful ones.
The
Lord
protects the loyal,
but fully repays the arrogant.
24
Be strong and courageous,
all you who put your hope in the
Lord
.
Psalms
The Joy of Forgiveness
32
How joyful is the one
whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered!
2
How joyful is the man
the
Lord
does not charge with sin
and in whose spirit is no deceit!
3
When I kept silent, my bones became brittle
from my groaning all day long.
4
For day and night Your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was drained
as in the summer's heat.
5
Then I acknowledged my sin to You
and did not conceal my iniquity.
I said,
“I will confess my transgressions to the
Lord
,”
and You took away the
•guilt
of my sin.
Selah
6
Therefore let everyone who is faithful pray to You
at a time that You may be found.
When great floodwaters come,
they will not reach him.
7
You are my hiding place;
You protect me from trouble.
You surround me with joyful shouts of deliverance.
Selah
8
I will instruct you and show you the way to go;
with My eye on you, I will give counsel.
9
Do not be like a horse or mule,
without understanding,
that must be controlled with bit and bridle
or else it will not come near you.
10
Many pains come to the wicked,
but the one who trusts in the
Lord
will have faithful love surrounding him.
11
Be glad in the
Lord
and rejoice,
you righteous ones;
shout for joy,
all you upright in heart.
Psalms
Praise to the Creator
33
Rejoice in the
Lord
, you righteous ones;
praise from the upright is beautiful.
2
Praise the
Lord
with the lyre;
make music to Him with a ten-stringed harp.
3
Sing a new song to Him;
play skillfully on the strings, with a joyful shout.
4
For the word of the
Lord
is right,
and all His work is trustworthy.
5
He loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of the
Lord
's unfailing love.
6
The heavens were made by the word of the
Lord
,
and all the stars, by the breath of His mouth.
7
He gathers the waters of the sea into a heap;
He puts the depths into storehouses.
8
Let the whole earth tremble before the
Lord
;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
9
For He spoke, and it came into being;
He commanded, and it came into existence.
10
The
Lord
frustrates the counsel of the nations;
He thwarts the plans of the peoples.
11
The counsel of the
Lord
stands forever,
the plans of His heart from generation to generation.
12
Happy is the nation whose God is
•Yahweh
—
the people He has chosen to be His own possession!
13
The
Lord
looks down from heaven;
He observes everyone.
14
He gazes on all the inhabitants of the earth
from His dwelling place.
15
He alone shapes their hearts;
He considers all their works.
16
A king is not saved by a large army;
a warrior will not be delivered by great strength.
17
The horse is a false hope for safety;
it provides no escape by its great power.
18
Now the eye of the
Lord
is on those who
•fear
Him —
those who depend on His faithful love
19
to deliver them from death
and to keep them alive in famine.
20
We wait for Yahweh;
He is our help and shield.
21
For our hearts rejoice in Him
because we trust in His holy name.
22
May Your faithful love rest on us, Yahweh,
for we put our hope in You.
Psalms
The
Lord
Delivers the Righteous
Concerning David, when he pretended to be insane in the presence of Abimelech, who drove him out, and he departed.
34
I will praise the
Lord
at all times;
His praise will always be on my lips.
2
I will boast in the
Lord
;
the humble will hear and be glad.
3
Proclaim
•Yahweh
's greatness with me;
let us exalt His name together.
4
I sought the
Lord
, and He answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
5
Those who look to Him are radiant with joy;
their faces will never be ashamed.
6
This poor man cried, and the
Lord
heard him
and saved him from all his troubles.
7
The Angel of the
Lord
encamps
around those who
•fear
Him, and rescues them.
8
Taste and see that the
Lord
is good.
How happy is the man who takes refuge in Him!
9
You who are His holy ones, fear Yahweh,
for those who fear Him lack nothing.
10
Young lions lack food and go hungry,
but those who seek the
Lord
will not lack any good thing.
11
Come, children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the
Lord
.
12
Who is the man who delights in life,
loving a long life to enjoy what is good?
13
Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from deceitful speech.
14
Turn away from evil and do what is good;
seek peace and pursue it.
15
The eyes of the
Lord
are on the righteous,
and His ears are open to their cry for help.
16
The face of the
Lord
is set
against those who do what is evil,
to erase all memory of them from the earth.
17
The righteous cry out, and the
Lord
hears,
and delivers them from all their troubles.
18
The
Lord
is near the brokenhearted;
He saves those crushed in spirit.
19
Many adversities come to the one who is righteous,
but the
Lord
delivers him from them all.
20
He protects all his bones;
not one of them is broken.
21
Evil brings death to the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be punished.
22
The
Lord
redeems the life of His servants,
and all who take refuge in Him will not be punished.
Psalms
Prayer for Victory
Davidic.
35
Oppose my opponents,
Lord
;
fight those who fight me.
2
Take Your shields — large and small —
and come to my aid.
3
Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers,
and assure me: “I am your deliverance.”
4
Let those who seek to kill me
be disgraced and humiliated;
let those who plan to harm me
be turned back and ashamed.
5
Let them be like chaff in the wind,
with the angel of the
Lord
driving them away.
6
Let their way be dark and slippery,
with the angel of the
Lord
pursuing them.
7
They hid their net for me without cause;
they dug a pit for me without cause.
8
Let ruin come on him unexpectedly,
and let the net that he hid ensnare him;
let him fall into it — to his ruin.
9
Then I will rejoice in the
Lord
;
I will delight in His deliverance.
10
My very bones will say,
“
Lord
, who is like You,
rescuing the poor from one too strong for him,
the poor or the needy from one who robs him? ”
11
Malicious witnesses come forward;
they question me about things I do not know.
12
They repay me evil for good,
making me desolate.
13
Yet when they were sick,
my clothing was
•sackcloth
;
I humbled myself with fasting,
and my prayer was genuine.
14
I went about grieving as if for my friend or brother;
I was bowed down with grief,
like one mourning a mother.
15
But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee;
they gathered against me.
Assailants I did not know
tore at me and did not stop.
16
With godless mockery
they gnashed their teeth at me.