19
You know the insults I endure —
my shame and disgrace.
You are aware of all my adversaries.
20
Insults have broken my heart,
and I am in despair.
I waited for sympathy,
but there was none;
for comforters, but found no one.
21
Instead, they gave me gall for my food,
and for my thirst
they gave me vinegar to drink.
22
Let their table set before them be a snare,
and let it be a trap for their allies.
23
Let their eyes grow too dim to see,
and let their loins continually shake.
24
Pour out Your rage on them,
and let Your burning anger overtake them.
25
Make their fortification desolate;
may no one live in their tents.
26
For they persecute the one You struck
and talk about the pain of those You wounded.
27
Add guilt to their guilt;
do not let them share in Your righteousness.
28
Let them be erased from the book of life
and not be recorded with the righteous.
29
But as for me — poor and in pain —
let Your salvation protect me, God.
30
I will praise God's name with song
and exalt Him with thanksgiving.
31
That will please
•Yahweh
more than an ox,
more than a bull with horns and hooves.
32
The humble will see it and rejoice.
You who seek God, take heart!
33
For the
Lord
listens to the needy
and does not despise
His own who are prisoners.
34
Let heaven and earth praise Him,
the seas and everything that moves in them,
35
for God will save
•Zion
and build up the cities of Judah.
They will live there and possess it.
36
The descendants of His servants will inherit it,
and those who love His name will live in it.
Psalms
A Call for Deliverance
For the choir director. Davidic. To bring remembrance.
70
God, deliver me.
Hurry to help me,
Lord
!
2
Let those who seek my life
be disgraced and confounded;
let those who wish me harm
be driven back and humiliated.
3
Let those who say, “Aha, aha! ”
retreat because of their shame.
4
Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
let those who love Your salvation
continually say, “God is great! ”
5
I am afflicted and needy;
hurry to me, God.
You are my help and my deliverer;
Lord
, do not delay.
Psalms
God's Help in Old Age
71
Lord
, I seek refuge in You;
let me never be disgraced.
2
In Your justice, rescue and deliver me;
listen closely to me and save me.
3
Be a rock of refuge for me,
where I can always go.
Give the command to save me,
for You are my rock and fortress.
4
Deliver me, my God, from the power of the wicked,
from the grasp of the unjust and oppressive.
5
For You are my hope, Lord
God
,
my confidence from my youth.
6
I have leaned on You from birth;
You took me from my mother's womb.
My praise is always about You.
7
I have become an ominous sign to many,
but You are my strong refuge.
8
My mouth is full of praise
and honor to You all day long.
9
Don't discard me in my old age;
as my strength fails, do not abandon me.
10
For my enemies talk about me,
and those who spy on me plot together,
11
saying, “God has abandoned him;
chase him and catch him,
for there is no one to rescue him.”
12
God, do not be far from me;
my God, hurry to help me.
13
May my adversaries be disgraced and destroyed;
may those who seek my harm
be covered with disgrace and humiliation.
14
But I will hope continually
and will praise You more and more.
15
My mouth will tell about Your righteousness
and Your salvation all day long,
though I cannot sum them up.
16
I come because of the mighty acts of the Lord
God
;
I will proclaim Your righteousness, Yours alone.
17
God, You have taught me from my youth,
and I still proclaim Your wonderful works.
18
Even when I am old and gray,
God, do not abandon me.
Then I will proclaim Your power
to another generation,
Your strength to all who are to come.
19
Your righteousness reaches heaven, God,
You who have done great things;
God, who is like You?
20
You caused me to experience
many troubles and misfortunes,
but You will revive me again.
You will bring me up again,
even from the depths of the earth.
21
You will increase my honor
and comfort me once again.
22
Therefore, I will praise You with a harp
for Your faithfulness, my God;
I will sing to You with a lyre,
Holy One of Israel.
23
My lips will shout for joy
when I sing praise to You
because You have redeemed me.
24
Therefore, my tongue will proclaim
Your righteousness all day long,
for those who seek my harm
will be disgraced and confounded.
Psalms
A Prayer for the King
Solomonic.
72
God, give Your justice to the king
and Your righteousness to the king's son.
2
He will judge Your people with righteousness
and Your afflicted ones with justice.
3
May the mountains bring prosperity to the people
and the hills, righteousness.
4
May he vindicate the afflicted among the people,
help the poor,
and crush the oppressor.
5
May he continue while the sun endures
and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
6
May he be like rain that falls on the cut grass,
like spring showers that water the earth.
7
May the righteous flourish in his days
and prosperity abound
until the moon is no more.
8
May he rule from sea to sea
and from the Euphrates
to the ends of the earth.
9
May desert tribes kneel before him
and his enemies lick the dust.
10
May the kings of Tarshish
and the coasts and islands bring tribute,
the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.
11
Let all kings bow down to him,
all nations serve him.
12
For he will rescue the poor who cry out
and the afflicted who have no helper.
13
He will have pity on the poor and helpless
and save the lives of the poor.
14
He will redeem them from oppression and violence,
for their lives are precious in his sight.
15
May he live long!
May gold from Sheba be given to him.
May prayer be offered for him continually,
and may he be blessed all day long.
16
May there be plenty of grain in the land;
may it wave on the tops of the mountains.
May its crops be like Lebanon.
May people flourish in the cities
like the grass of the field.
17
May his name endure forever;
as long as the sun shines,
may his fame increase.
May all nations be blessed by him
and call him blessed.
18
May the
Lord
God, the God of Israel,
who alone does wonders, be praised.
19
May His glorious name be praised forever;
the whole earth is filled with His glory.
•Amen
and amen.
20
The prayers of David son of Jesse are concluded.
Psalms
BOOK III
(Psalms 73–89)
God's Ways Vindicated
73
God is indeed good to Israel,
to the pure in heart.
2
But as for me, my feet almost slipped;
my steps nearly went astray.
3
For I envied the arrogant;
I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4
They have an easy time until they die,
and their bodies are well fed.
5
They are not in trouble like others;
they are not afflicted like most people.
6
Therefore, pride is their necklace,
and violence covers them like a garment.
7
Their eyes bulge out from fatness;
the imaginations of their hearts run wild.
8
They mock, and they speak maliciously;
they arrogantly threaten oppression.
9
They set their mouths against heaven,
and their tongues strut across the earth.
10
Therefore His people turn to them
and drink in their overflowing words.
11
The wicked say, “How can God know?
Does the
•Most
High know everything? ”
12
Look at them — the wicked!
They are always at ease,
and they increase their wealth.
13
Did I purify my heart
and wash my hands in innocence for nothing?
14
For I am afflicted all day long
and punished every morning.
15
If I had decided to say these things aloud,
I would have betrayed Your people.
16
When I tried to understand all this,
it seemed hopeless
17
until I entered God's sanctuary.
Then I understood their destiny.
18
Indeed, You put them in slippery places;
You make them fall into ruin.
19
How suddenly they become a desolation!
They come to an end, swept away by terrors.
20
Like one waking from a dream,
Lord, when arising, You will despise their image.
21
When I became embittered
and my innermost being was wounded,
22
I was stupid and didn't understand;
I was an unthinking animal toward You.
23
Yet I am always with You;
You hold my right hand.
24
You guide me with Your counsel,
and afterward You will take me up in glory.
25
Who do I have in heaven but You?
And I desire nothing on earth but You.
26
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart,
my portion forever.
27
Those far from You will certainly perish;
You destroy all who are unfaithful to You.
28
But as for me, God's presence is my good.
I have made the Lord
God
my refuge,
so I can tell about all You do.
Psalms
Prayer for Israel