Psalms 61-75
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Psalm 61, 8
Assurance of God’s Protection
To the leader: with stringed instruments. Of David.
1
Hear my cry, O God;
listen to my prayer.
2
From the end of the earth I call to you,
when my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock
that is higher than I,
3
for you are my refuge,
a strong tower against the enemy.
4
Let me abide in your tent forever,
find refuge under the shelter of your wings. Selah
5
For you, O God, have heard my vows;
you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
6
Prolong the life of the king;
may his years endure to all generations!
7
May he be enthroned forever before God;
appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!
8
So I will always sing praises to your name,
as I pay my vows day after day.
Psalm 62, 12
Song of Trust in God Alone
To the leader: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
1
For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.
2
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall never be shaken.
3
How long will you assail a person,
will you batter your victim, all of you,
as you would a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
4
Their only plan is to bring down a person of prominence.
They take pleasure in falsehood;
they bless with their mouths,
but inwardly they curse. Selah
5
For God alone my soul waits in silence,
for my hope is from him.
6
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7
On God rests my deliverance and my honor;
my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.
8
Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah
9
Those of low estate are but a breath;
those of high estate are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
they are together lighter than a breath.
10
Put no confidence in extortion,
and set no vain hopes on robbery;
if riches increase, do not set your heart on them.
11
Once God has spoken;
twice have I heard this:
that power belongs to God,
12
and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord.
For you repay to all
according to their work.
Psalm 63, 11
Comfort and Assurance in God’s Presence
A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah.
1
O God, you are my God; I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
3
Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
4
So I will bless you as long as I live;
I will lift up my hands and call on your name.
5
My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,[a]
and my mouth praises you with joyful lips
6
when I think of you on my bed
and meditate on you in the watches of the night,
7
for you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
8
My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.
9
But those who seek to destroy my life
shall go down into the depths of the earth;
10
they shall be given over to the power of the sword;
they shall be prey for jackals.
11
But the king shall rejoice in God;
all who swear by him shall exult,
for the mouths of liars will be stopped.
Psalm 64, 10
Prayer for Protection from Enemies
To the leader. A Psalm of David.
1
Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;
preserve my life from the dread enemy.
2
Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,
from the scheming of evildoers,
3
who whet their tongues like swords,
who aim bitter words like arrows,
4
shooting from ambush at the blameless;
they shoot suddenly and without fear.
5
They hold fast to their evil purpose;
they talk of laying snares secretly,
thinking, “Who can see us?[a]
6
Who can search out our crimes?[b]
We have thought out a cunningly conceived plot.”
For the human heart and mind are deep.
7
But God will shoot his arrow at them;
they will be wounded suddenly.
8
Because of their tongue he will bring them to ruin;[c]
all who see them will shake with horror.
9
Then everyone will fear;
they will tell what God has brought about
and ponder what he has done.
10
Let the righteous rejoice in the Lord
and take refuge in him.
Let all the upright in heart glory.
Psalm 65, 13
Thanksgiving for Earth’s Bounty
To the leader. A Psalm of David. A Song.
1
Praise is due to you,
O God, in Zion,
and to you shall vows be performed,
2
O you who answer prayer!
To you all flesh shall come.
3
When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us,
you forgive our transgressions.
4
Happy are those whom you choose and bring near
to live in your courts.
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
your holy temple.
5
By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance,
O God of our salvation;
you are the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas.
6
By your[a] strength you established the mountains;
you are girded with might.
7
You silence the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples.
8
Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs;
you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.
9
You visit the earth and water it;
you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
you provide the people with grain,
for so you have prepared it.
10
You water its furrows abundantly,
settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
and blessing its growth.
11
You crown the year with your bounty;
your wagon tracks overflow with richness.
12
The pastures of the wilderness overflow;
the hills gird themselves with joy;
13
the meadows clothe themselves with flocks;
the valleys deck themselves with grain;
they shout and sing together for joy.
Psalm 66, 20
Praise for God’s Goodness to Israel
To the leader. A Song. A Psalm.
1
Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth;
2
sing the glory of his name;
give to him glorious praise.
3
Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
Because of your great power, your enemies cringe before you.
4
All the earth worships you;
they sing praises to you,
sing praises to your name.” Selah
5
Come and see what God has done:
he is awesome in his deeds among mortals.
6
He turned the sea into dry land;
they passed through the river on foot.
There we rejoiced in him,
7
who rules by his might forever,
whose eyes keep watch on the nations--
let the rebellious not exalt themselves. Selah
8
Bless our God, O peoples;
let the sound of his praise be heard,
9
who has kept us among the living
and has not let our feet slip.
10
For you, O God, have tested us;
you have tried us as silver is tried.
11
You brought us into the net;
you laid burdens on our backs;
12
you let people ride over our heads;
we went through fire and through water;
yet you have brought us out to a spacious place.[a]
13
I will come into your house with burnt offerings;
I will pay you my vows,
14
those that my lips uttered
and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.
15
I will offer to you burnt offerings of fatted calves,
with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams;
I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah
16
Come and hear, all you who fear God,
and I will tell what he has done for me.
17
I cried aloud to him,
and he was extolled with my tongue.
18
If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
19
But truly God has listened;
he has heard the words of my prayer.
20
Blessed be God,
who has not rejected my prayer
or removed his steadfast love from me.
Psalm 67, 7
The Nations Called to Praise God
To the leader: with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.
1
May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us, Selah
2
that your way may be known upon earth,
your saving power among all nations.
3
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
4
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth. Selah
5
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
6
The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, has blessed us.
7
May God continue to bless us;
let all the ends of the earth revere him.
Psalm 68, 35, 3 readers
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm. A song.
1
May God arise, may his enemies be scattered;
may his foes flee before him.
2
May you blow them away like smoke--
as wax melts before the fire,
may the wicked perish before God.
3
But may the righteous be glad
and rejoice before God;
may they be happy and joyful.
4
Sing to God, sing in praise of his name,
extol him who rides on the clouds[b];
rejoice before him—his name is the Lord.
5
A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
is God in his holy dwelling.
6
God sets the lonely in families,[c]
he leads out the prisoners with singing;
but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.
7
When you, God, went out before your people,
when you marched through the wilderness,[d]
8
the earth shook, the heavens poured down rain,
before God, the One of Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.
9
You gave abundant showers, O God;
you refreshed your weary inheritance.
10
Your people settled in it,
and from your bounty, God, you provided for the poor.
11
The Lord announces the word,
and the women who proclaim it are a mighty throng:
12
“Kings and armies flee in haste;
the women at home divide the plunder.
Second reader
13
Even while you sleep among the sheep pens,[e]
the wings of my dove are sheathed with silver,
its feathers with shining gold.”
14
When the Almighty[f] scattered the kings in the land,
it was like snow fallen on Mount Zalmon.
15
Mount Bashan, majestic mountain,
Mount Bashan, rugged mountain,
16
why gaze in envy, you rugged mountain,
at the mountain where God chooses to reign,
where the Lord himself will dwell forever?
17
The chariots of God are tens of thousands
and thousands of thousands;
the Lord has come from Sinai into his sanctuary.[g]
18
When you ascended on high,
you took many captives;
you received gifts from people,
even from[h] the rebellious--
that you,[i] Lord God, might dwell there.
19
Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior,
who daily bears our burdens.
20
Our God is a God who saves;
from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death.
21
Surely God will crush the heads of his enemies,
the hairy crowns of those who go on in their sins.
22
The Lord says, “I will bring them from Bashan;
I will bring them from the depths of the sea,
23
that your feet may wade in the blood of your foes,
while the tongues of your dogs have their share.”
24
Your procession, God, has come into view,
the procession of my God and King into the sanctuary.
Third reader
25
In front are the singers, after them the musicians;
with them are the young women playing the timbrels.
26
Praise God in the great congregation;
praise the Lord in the assembly of Israel.
27
There is the little tribe of Benjamin, leading them,
there the great throng of Judah’s princes,
and there the princes of Zebulun and of Naphtali.
28
Summon your power, God[j];
show us your strength, our God, as you have done before.
29
Because of your temple at Jerusalem
kings will bring you gifts.
30
Rebuke the beast among the reeds,
the herd of bulls among the calves of the nations.
Humbled, may the beast bring bars of silver.
Scatter the nations who delight in war.
31
Envoys will come from Egypt;
Cush[k] will submit herself to God.
32
Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth,
sing praise to the Lord,
33
to him who rides across the highest heavens, the ancient heavens,
who thunders with mighty voice.
34
Proclaim the power of God,
whose majesty is over Israel,
whose power is in the heavens.
35
You, God, are awesome in your sanctuary;
the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.
Praise be to God!
Psalm 69, 36
For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” Of David.
1
Save me, O God,
for the waters have come up to my neck.
2
I sink in the miry depths,
where there is no foothold.
I have come into the deep waters;
the floods engulf me.
3
I am worn out calling for help;
my throat is parched.
My eyes fail,
looking for my God.
4
Those who hate me without reason
outnumber the hairs of my head;
many are my enemies without cause,
those who seek to destroy me.
I am forced to restore
what I did not steal.
5
You, God, know my folly;
my guilt is not hidden from you.
6
Lord, the Lord Almighty,
may those who hope in you
not be disgraced because of me;
God of Israel,
may those who seek you
not be put to shame because of me.
7
For I endure scorn for your sake,
and shame covers my face.
8
I am a foreigner to my own family,
a stranger to my own mother’s children;
9
for zeal for your house consumes me,
and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.
10
When I weep and fast,
I must endure scorn;
11
when I put on sackcloth,
people make sport of me.
12
Those who sit at the gate mock me,
and I am the song of the drunkards.
13
But I pray to you, Lord,
in the time of your favor;
in your great love, O God,
answer me with your sure salvation.
14
Rescue me from the mire,
do not let me sink;
deliver me from those who hate me,
from the deep waters.
15
Do not let the floodwaters engulf me
or the depths swallow me up
or the pit close its mouth over me.
16
Answer me, Lord, out of the goodness of your love;
in your great mercy turn to me.
17
Do not hide your face from your servant;
answer me quickly, for I am in trouble.
18
Come near and rescue me;
deliver me because of my foes.
19
You know how I am scorned, disgraced and shamed;
all my enemies are before you.
20
Scorn has broken my heart
and has left me helpless;
I looked for sympathy, but there was none,
for comforters, but I found none.
21
They put gall in my food
and gave me vinegar for my thirst.
22
May the table set before them become a snare;
may it become retribution and[b] a trap.
23
May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,
and their backs be bent forever.
24
Pour out your wrath on them;
let your fierce anger overtake them.
25
May their place be deserted;
let there be no one to dwell in their tents.
26
For they persecute those you wound
and talk about the pain of those you hurt.
27
Charge them with crime upon crime;
do not let them share in your salvation.
28
May they be blotted out of the book of life
and not be listed with the righteous.
29
But as for me, afflicted and in pain--
may your salvation, God, protect me.
30
I will praise God’s name in song
and glorify him with thanksgiving.
31
This will please the Lord more than an ox,
more than a bull with its horns and hooves.
32
The poor will see and be glad--
you who seek God, may your hearts live!
33
The Lord hears the needy
and does not despise his captive people.
34
Let heaven and earth praise him,
the seas and all that move in them,
35
for God will save Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah.
Then people will settle there and possess it;
36
the children of his servants will inherit it,
and those who love his name will dwell there.
Psalm 70, 5
For the director of music. Of David. A petition.
1
Hasten, O God, to save me;
come quickly, Lord, to help me.
2
May those who want to take my life
be put to shame and confusion;
may all who desire my ruin
be turned back in disgrace.
3
May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
turn back because of their shame.
4
But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who long for your saving help always say,
“The Lord is great!”
5
But as for me, I am poor and needy;
come quickly to me, O God.
You are my help and my deliverer;
Lord, do not delay.
Psalm 71, 24
Prayer for Lifelong Protection and Help
1
In you, O Lord, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
2
In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;
incline your ear to me and save me.
3
Be to me a rock of refuge,
a strong fortress[a] to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
4
Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of the unjust and cruel.
5
For you, O Lord, are my hope,
my trust, O Lord, from my youth.
6
From my birth I have leaned upon you,
my protector since my mother’s womb.[b]
My praise is continually of you.
7
I have been like a portent to many,
but you are my strong refuge.
8
My mouth is filled with your praise
and with your glory all day long.
9
Do not cast me off in the time of old age;
do not forsake me when my strength is spent.
10
For my enemies speak concerning me,
and those who watch for my life consult together.
11
They say, “Pursue and seize that person
whom God has forsaken,
for there is no one to deliver.”
12
O God, do not be far from me;
O my God, make haste to help me!
13
Let my accusers be put to shame and consumed;
let those who seek to hurt me
be covered with scorn and disgrace.
14
But I will hope continually
and will praise you yet more and more.
15
My mouth will tell of your righteous acts,
of your deeds of salvation all day long,
though their number is past my knowledge.
16
I will come praising the mighty deeds of the Lord God;
I will praise your righteousness, yours alone.
17
O God, from my youth you have taught me,
and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.
18
So even to old age and gray hairs,
O God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might
to all the generations to come.[c]
Your power 19 and your righteousness, O God,
reach the high heavens.
You who have done great things,
O God, who is like you?
20
You who have made me see many troubles and calamities
will revive me again;
from the depths of the earth
you will bring me up again.
21
You will increase my honor
and comfort me once again.
22
I will also praise you with the harp
for your faithfulness, O my God;
I will sing praises to you with the lyre,
O Holy One of Israel.
23
My lips will shout for joy
when I sing praises to you;
my soul also, which you have rescued.
24
All day long my tongue will talk of your righteous help,
for those who tried to do me harm
have been put to shame and disgraced.
Psalm 72, 20
Prayer for Guidance and Support for the King
Of Solomon.
1
Give the king your justice, O God,
and your righteousness to a king’s son.
2
May he judge your people with righteousness
and your poor with justice.
3
May the mountains yield prosperity for the people,
and the hills, in righteousness.
4
May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
give deliverance to the needy,
and crush the oppressor.
5
May he live[a] while the sun endures
and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
6
May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass,
like showers that water the earth.
7
In his days may righteousness flourish
and peace abound, until the moon is no more.
8
May he have dominion from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
9
May his foes[b] bow down before him,
and his enemies lick the dust.
10
May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles
render him tribute;
may the kings of Sheba and Seba
bring gifts.
11
May all kings fall down before him,
all nations give him service.
12
For he delivers the needy when they call,
the poor and those who have no helper.
13
He has pity on the weak and the needy
and saves the lives of the needy.
14
From oppression and violence he redeems their life,
and precious is their blood in his sight.
15
Long may he live!
May gold of Sheba be given to him.
May prayer be made for him continually
and blessings invoked for him all day long.
16
May there be abundance of grain in the land;
may it wave on the tops of the mountains;
may its fruit be like Lebanon;
and may people blossom in the cities
like the grass of the field.
17
May his name endure forever,
his fame continue as long as the sun.
May all nations be blessed in him;[c]
may they pronounce him happy.
18
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
who alone does wondrous things.
19
Blessed be his glorious name forever;
may his glory fill the whole earth.
Amen and Amen.
20
The prayers of David son of Jesse are ended.
Psalm 73, 28
Plea for Relief from Oppressors
A Psalm of Asaph.
1
Truly God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
2
But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;
my steps had nearly slipped.
3
For I was envious of the arrogant;
I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4
For they have no pain;
their bodies are sound and sleek.
5
They are not in trouble as others are;
they are not plagued like other people.
6
Therefore pride is their necklace;
violence covers them like a garment.
7
Their eyes swell out with fatness;
their hearts overflow with follies.
8
They scoff and speak with malice;
loftily they threaten oppression.
9
They set their mouths against heaven,
and their tongues range over the earth.
10
Therefore the people turn and praise them[a]
and find no fault in them.[b]
11
And they say, “How can God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12
Such are the wicked;
always at ease, they increase in riches.
13
All in vain I have kept my heart clean
and washed my hands in innocence.
14
For all day long I have been plagued
and am punished every morning.
15
If I had said, “I will talk on in this way,”
I would have been untrue to the circle of your children.
16
But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17
until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I perceived their end.
18
Truly you set them in slippery places;
you make them fall to ruin.
19
How they are destroyed in a moment,
swept away utterly by terrors!
20
They are[c] like a dream when one awakes;
on awaking you despise their phantoms.
21
When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
22
I was stupid and ignorant;
I was like a brute beast toward you.
23
Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
24
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me with honor.[d]
25
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you.
26
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength[e] of my heart and my portion forever.
27
Indeed, those who are far from you will perish;
you put an end to those who are false to you.
28
But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
to tell of all your works.
Psalm 74 , 23
Plea for Help in Time of National Humiliation
A Maskil of Asaph.
1
O God, why do you cast us off forever?
Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?
2
Remember your congregation, which you acquired long ago,
which you redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage.
Remember Mount Zion, where you came to dwell.
3
Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins;
the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary.
4
Your foes have roared within your holy place;
they set up their emblems there.
5
At the upper entrance they hacked
the wooden trellis with axes.[a]
6
And then, with hatchets and hammers,
they smashed all its carved work.
7
They set your sanctuary on fire;
they desecrated the dwelling place of your name,
bringing it to the ground.
8
They said to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”;
they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.
9
We do not see our emblems;
there is no longer any prophet,
and there is no one among us who knows how long.
10
How long, O God, is the foe to scoff?
Is the enemy to revile your name forever?
11
Why do you hold back your hand;
why do you keep your hand in[b] your bosom?
12
Yet God my King is from of old,
working salvation in the earth.
13
You divided the sea by your might;
you broke the heads of the dragons in the waters.
14
You crushed the heads of Leviathan;
you gave him as food[c] for the creatures of the wilderness.
15
You cut openings for springs and torrents;
you dried up ever-flowing streams.
16
Yours is the day, yours also the night;
you established the luminaries[d] and the sun.
17
You have fixed all the bounds of the earth;
you made summer and winter.
18
Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs,
and an impious people reviles your name.
19
Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild animals;
do not forget the life of your poor forever.
20
Have regard for your[e] covenant,
for the dark places of the land are full of the haunts of violence.
21
Do not let the downtrodden be put to shame;
let the poor and needy praise your name.
22
Rise up, O God, plead your cause;
remember how the impious scoff at you all day long.
23
Do not forget the clamor of your foes,
the uproar of your adversaries that goes up continually.
Psalm 75, 10
Thanksgiving for God’s Wondrous Deeds
To the leader: Do Not Destroy. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.
1
We give thanks to you, O God;
we give thanks; your name is near.
People tell of your wondrous deeds.
2
At the set time that I appoint,
I will judge with equity.
3
When the earth totters, with all its inhabitants,
it is I who keep its pillars steady. Selah
4
I say to the boastful, “Do not boast,”
and to the wicked, “Do not lift up your horn;
5
do not lift up your horn on high
or speak with insolent neck.”
6
For not from the east or from the west
and not from the wilderness comes lifting up,
7
but it is God who executes judgment,
putting down one and lifting up another.
8
For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup
with foaming wine, well mixed;
he will pour a draught from it,
and all the wicked of the earth
shall drain it down to the dregs.
9
But I will rejoice[a] forever;
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10
All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,
but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.
+++
Psalm 61, 8
Assurance of God’s Protection
To the leader: with stringed instruments. Of David.
1
Hear my cry, O God;
listen to my prayer.
2
From the end of the earth I call to you,
when my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock
that is higher than I,
3
for you are my refuge,
a strong tower against the enemy.
4
Let me abide in your tent forever,
find refuge under the shelter of your wings. Selah
5
For you, O God, have heard my vows;
you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
6
Prolong the life of the king;
may his years endure to all generations!
7
May he be enthroned forever before God;
appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!
8
So I will always sing praises to your name,
as I pay my vows day after day.
Psalm 62, 12
Song of Trust in God Alone
To the leader: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
1
For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.
2
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall never be shaken.
3
How long will you assail a person,
will you batter your victim, all of you,
as you would a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
4
Their only plan is to bring down a person of prominence.
They take pleasure in falsehood;
they bless with their mouths,
but inwardly they curse. Selah
5
For God alone my soul waits in silence,
for my hope is from him.
6
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7
On God rests my deliverance and my honor;
my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.
8
Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah
9
Those of low estate are but a breath;
those of high estate are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
they are together lighter than a breath.
10
Put no confidence in extortion,
and set no vain hopes on robbery;
if riches increase, do not set your heart on them.
11
Once God has spoken;
twice have I heard this:
that power belongs to God,
12
and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord.
For you repay to all
according to their work.
Psalm 63, 11
Comfort and Assurance in God’s Presence
A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah.
1
O God, you are my God; I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
3
Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
4
So I will bless you as long as I live;
I will lift up my hands and call on your name.
5
My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,[a]
and my mouth praises you with joyful lips
6
when I think of you on my bed
and meditate on you in the watches of the night,
7
for you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
8
My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.
9
But those who seek to destroy my life
shall go down into the depths of the earth;
10
they shall be given over to the power of the sword;
they shall be prey for jackals.
11
But the king shall rejoice in God;
all who swear by him shall exult,
for the mouths of liars will be stopped.
Psalm 64, 10
Prayer for Protection from Enemies
To the leader. A Psalm of David.
1
Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;
preserve my life from the dread enemy.
2
Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,
from the scheming of evildoers,
3
who whet their tongues like swords,
who aim bitter words like arrows,
4
shooting from ambush at the blameless;
they shoot suddenly and without fear.
5
They hold fast to their evil purpose;
they talk of laying snares secretly,
thinking, “Who can see us?[a]
6
Who can search out our crimes?[b]
We have thought out a cunningly conceived plot.”
For the human heart and mind are deep.
7
But God will shoot his arrow at them;
they will be wounded suddenly.
8
Because of their tongue he will bring them to ruin;[c]
all who see them will shake with horror.
9
Then everyone will fear;
they will tell what God has brought about
and ponder what he has done.
10
Let the righteous rejoice in the Lord
and take refuge in him.
Let all the upright in heart glory.
Psalm 65, 13
Thanksgiving for Earth’s Bounty
To the leader. A Psalm of David. A Song.
1
Praise is due to you,
O God, in Zion,
and to you shall vows be performed,
2
O you who answer prayer!
To you all flesh shall come.
3
When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us,
you forgive our transgressions.
4
Happy are those whom you choose and bring near
to live in your courts.
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
your holy temple.
5
By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance,
O God of our salvation;
you are the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas.
6
By your[a] strength you established the mountains;
you are girded with might.
7
You silence the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples.
8
Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs;
you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.
9
You visit the earth and water it;
you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
you provide the people with grain,
for so you have prepared it.
10
You water its furrows abundantly,
settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
and blessing its growth.
11
You crown the year with your bounty;
your wagon tracks overflow with richness.
12
The pastures of the wilderness overflow;
the hills gird themselves with joy;
13
the meadows clothe themselves with flocks;
the valleys deck themselves with grain;
they shout and sing together for joy.
Psalm 66, 20
Praise for God’s Goodness to Israel
To the leader. A Song. A Psalm.
1
Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth;
2
sing the glory of his name;
give to him glorious praise.
3
Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
Because of your great power, your enemies cringe before you.
4
All the earth worships you;
they sing praises to you,
sing praises to your name.” Selah
5
Come and see what God has done:
he is awesome in his deeds among mortals.
6
He turned the sea into dry land;
they passed through the river on foot.
There we rejoiced in him,
7
who rules by his might forever,
whose eyes keep watch on the nations--
let the rebellious not exalt themselves. Selah
8
Bless our God, O peoples;
let the sound of his praise be heard,
9
who has kept us among the living
and has not let our feet slip.
10
For you, O God, have tested us;
you have tried us as silver is tried.
11
You brought us into the net;
you laid burdens on our backs;
12
you let people ride over our heads;
we went through fire and through water;
yet you have brought us out to a spacious place.[a]
13
I will come into your house with burnt offerings;
I will pay you my vows,
14
those that my lips uttered
and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.
15
I will offer to you burnt offerings of fatted calves,
with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams;
I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah
16
Come and hear, all you who fear God,
and I will tell what he has done for me.
17
I cried aloud to him,
and he was extolled with my tongue.
18
If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
19
But truly God has listened;
he has heard the words of my prayer.
20
Blessed be God,
who has not rejected my prayer
or removed his steadfast love from me.
Psalm 67, 7
The Nations Called to Praise God
To the leader: with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.
1
May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us, Selah
2
that your way may be known upon earth,
your saving power among all nations.
3
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
4
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth. Selah
5
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
6
The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, has blessed us.
7
May God continue to bless us;
let all the ends of the earth revere him.
Psalm 68, 35, 3 readers
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm. A song.
1
May God arise, may his enemies be scattered;
may his foes flee before him.
2
May you blow them away like smoke--
as wax melts before the fire,
may the wicked perish before God.
3
But may the righteous be glad
and rejoice before God;
may they be happy and joyful.
4
Sing to God, sing in praise of his name,
extol him who rides on the clouds[b];
rejoice before him—his name is the Lord.
5
A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
is God in his holy dwelling.
6
God sets the lonely in families,[c]
he leads out the prisoners with singing;
but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.
7
When you, God, went out before your people,
when you marched through the wilderness,[d]
8
the earth shook, the heavens poured down rain,
before God, the One of Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.
9
You gave abundant showers, O God;
you refreshed your weary inheritance.
10
Your people settled in it,
and from your bounty, God, you provided for the poor.
11
The Lord announces the word,
and the women who proclaim it are a mighty throng:
12
“Kings and armies flee in haste;
the women at home divide the plunder.
Second reader
13
Even while you sleep among the sheep pens,[e]
the wings of my dove are sheathed with silver,
its feathers with shining gold.”
14
When the Almighty[f] scattered the kings in the land,
it was like snow fallen on Mount Zalmon.
15
Mount Bashan, majestic mountain,
Mount Bashan, rugged mountain,
16
why gaze in envy, you rugged mountain,
at the mountain where God chooses to reign,
where the Lord himself will dwell forever?
17
The chariots of God are tens of thousands
and thousands of thousands;
the Lord has come from Sinai into his sanctuary.[g]
18
When you ascended on high,
you took many captives;
you received gifts from people,
even from[h] the rebellious--
that you,[i] Lord God, might dwell there.
19
Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior,
who daily bears our burdens.
20
Our God is a God who saves;
from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death.
21
Surely God will crush the heads of his enemies,
the hairy crowns of those who go on in their sins.
22
The Lord says, “I will bring them from Bashan;
I will bring them from the depths of the sea,
23
that your feet may wade in the blood of your foes,
while the tongues of your dogs have their share.”
24
Your procession, God, has come into view,
the procession of my God and King into the sanctuary.
Third reader
25
In front are the singers, after them the musicians;
with them are the young women playing the timbrels.
26
Praise God in the great congregation;
praise the Lord in the assembly of Israel.
27
There is the little tribe of Benjamin, leading them,
there the great throng of Judah’s princes,
and there the princes of Zebulun and of Naphtali.
28
Summon your power, God[j];
show us your strength, our God, as you have done before.
29
Because of your temple at Jerusalem
kings will bring you gifts.
30
Rebuke the beast among the reeds,
the herd of bulls among the calves of the nations.
Humbled, may the beast bring bars of silver.
Scatter the nations who delight in war.
31
Envoys will come from Egypt;
Cush[k] will submit herself to God.
32
Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth,
sing praise to the Lord,
33
to him who rides across the highest heavens, the ancient heavens,
who thunders with mighty voice.
34
Proclaim the power of God,
whose majesty is over Israel,
whose power is in the heavens.
35
You, God, are awesome in your sanctuary;
the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.
Praise be to God!
Psalm 69, 36
For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” Of David.
1
Save me, O God,
for the waters have come up to my neck.
2
I sink in the miry depths,
where there is no foothold.
I have come into the deep waters;
the floods engulf me.
3
I am worn out calling for help;
my throat is parched.
My eyes fail,
looking for my God.
4
Those who hate me without reason
outnumber the hairs of my head;
many are my enemies without cause,
those who seek to destroy me.
I am forced to restore
what I did not steal.
5
You, God, know my folly;
my guilt is not hidden from you.
6
Lord, the Lord Almighty,
may those who hope in you
not be disgraced because of me;
God of Israel,
may those who seek you
not be put to shame because of me.
7
For I endure scorn for your sake,
and shame covers my face.
8
I am a foreigner to my own family,
a stranger to my own mother’s children;
9
for zeal for your house consumes me,
and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.
10
When I weep and fast,
I must endure scorn;
11
when I put on sackcloth,
people make sport of me.
12
Those who sit at the gate mock me,
and I am the song of the drunkards.
13
But I pray to you, Lord,
in the time of your favor;
in your great love, O God,
answer me with your sure salvation.
14
Rescue me from the mire,
do not let me sink;
deliver me from those who hate me,
from the deep waters.
15
Do not let the floodwaters engulf me
or the depths swallow me up
or the pit close its mouth over me.
16
Answer me, Lord, out of the goodness of your love;
in your great mercy turn to me.
17
Do not hide your face from your servant;
answer me quickly, for I am in trouble.
18
Come near and rescue me;
deliver me because of my foes.
19
You know how I am scorned, disgraced and shamed;
all my enemies are before you.
20
Scorn has broken my heart
and has left me helpless;
I looked for sympathy, but there was none,
for comforters, but I found none.
21
They put gall in my food
and gave me vinegar for my thirst.
22
May the table set before them become a snare;
may it become retribution and[b] a trap.
23
May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,
and their backs be bent forever.
24
Pour out your wrath on them;
let your fierce anger overtake them.
25
May their place be deserted;
let there be no one to dwell in their tents.
26
For they persecute those you wound
and talk about the pain of those you hurt.
27
Charge them with crime upon crime;
do not let them share in your salvation.
28
May they be blotted out of the book of life
and not be listed with the righteous.
29
But as for me, afflicted and in pain--
may your salvation, God, protect me.
30
I will praise God’s name in song
and glorify him with thanksgiving.
31
This will please the Lord more than an ox,
more than a bull with its horns and hooves.
32
The poor will see and be glad--
you who seek God, may your hearts live!
33
The Lord hears the needy
and does not despise his captive people.
34
Let heaven and earth praise him,
the seas and all that move in them,
35
for God will save Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah.
Then people will settle there and possess it;
36
the children of his servants will inherit it,
and those who love his name will dwell there.
Psalm 70, 5
For the director of music. Of David. A petition.
1
Hasten, O God, to save me;
come quickly, Lord, to help me.
2
May those who want to take my life
be put to shame and confusion;
may all who desire my ruin
be turned back in disgrace.
3
May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
turn back because of their shame.
4
But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who long for your saving help always say,
“The Lord is great!”
5
But as for me, I am poor and needy;
come quickly to me, O God.
You are my help and my deliverer;
Lord, do not delay.
Psalm 71, 24
Prayer for Lifelong Protection and Help
1
In you, O Lord, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
2
In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;
incline your ear to me and save me.
3
Be to me a rock of refuge,
a strong fortress[a] to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
4
Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of the unjust and cruel.
5
For you, O Lord, are my hope,
my trust, O Lord, from my youth.
6
From my birth I have leaned upon you,
my protector since my mother’s womb.[b]
My praise is continually of you.
7
I have been like a portent to many,
but you are my strong refuge.
8
My mouth is filled with your praise
and with your glory all day long.
9
Do not cast me off in the time of old age;
do not forsake me when my strength is spent.
10
For my enemies speak concerning me,
and those who watch for my life consult together.
11
They say, “Pursue and seize that person
whom God has forsaken,
for there is no one to deliver.”
12
O God, do not be far from me;
O my God, make haste to help me!
13
Let my accusers be put to shame and consumed;
let those who seek to hurt me
be covered with scorn and disgrace.
14
But I will hope continually
and will praise you yet more and more.
15
My mouth will tell of your righteous acts,
of your deeds of salvation all day long,
though their number is past my knowledge.
16
I will come praising the mighty deeds of the Lord God;
I will praise your righteousness, yours alone.
17
O God, from my youth you have taught me,
and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.
18
So even to old age and gray hairs,
O God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might
to all the generations to come.[c]
Your power 19 and your righteousness, O God,
reach the high heavens.
You who have done great things,
O God, who is like you?
20
You who have made me see many troubles and calamities
will revive me again;
from the depths of the earth
you will bring me up again.
21
You will increase my honor
and comfort me once again.
22
I will also praise you with the harp
for your faithfulness, O my God;
I will sing praises to you with the lyre,
O Holy One of Israel.
23
My lips will shout for joy
when I sing praises to you;
my soul also, which you have rescued.
24
All day long my tongue will talk of your righteous help,
for those who tried to do me harm
have been put to shame and disgraced.
Psalm 72, 20
Prayer for Guidance and Support for the King
Of Solomon.
1
Give the king your justice, O God,
and your righteousness to a king’s son.
2
May he judge your people with righteousness
and your poor with justice.
3
May the mountains yield prosperity for the people,
and the hills, in righteousness.
4
May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
give deliverance to the needy,
and crush the oppressor.
5
May he live[a] while the sun endures
and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
6
May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass,
like showers that water the earth.
7
In his days may righteousness flourish
and peace abound, until the moon is no more.
8
May he have dominion from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
9
May his foes[b] bow down before him,
and his enemies lick the dust.
10
May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles
render him tribute;
may the kings of Sheba and Seba
bring gifts.
11
May all kings fall down before him,
all nations give him service.
12
For he delivers the needy when they call,
the poor and those who have no helper.
13
He has pity on the weak and the needy
and saves the lives of the needy.
14
From oppression and violence he redeems their life,
and precious is their blood in his sight.
15
Long may he live!
May gold of Sheba be given to him.
May prayer be made for him continually
and blessings invoked for him all day long.
16
May there be abundance of grain in the land;
may it wave on the tops of the mountains;
may its fruit be like Lebanon;
and may people blossom in the cities
like the grass of the field.
17
May his name endure forever,
his fame continue as long as the sun.
May all nations be blessed in him;[c]
may they pronounce him happy.
18
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
who alone does wondrous things.
19
Blessed be his glorious name forever;
may his glory fill the whole earth.
Amen and Amen.
20
The prayers of David son of Jesse are ended.
Psalm 73, 28
Plea for Relief from Oppressors
A Psalm of Asaph.
1
Truly God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
2
But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;
my steps had nearly slipped.
3
For I was envious of the arrogant;
I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4
For they have no pain;
their bodies are sound and sleek.
5
They are not in trouble as others are;
they are not plagued like other people.
6
Therefore pride is their necklace;
violence covers them like a garment.
7
Their eyes swell out with fatness;
their hearts overflow with follies.
8
They scoff and speak with malice;
loftily they threaten oppression.
9
They set their mouths against heaven,
and their tongues range over the earth.
10
Therefore the people turn and praise them[a]
and find no fault in them.[b]
11
And they say, “How can God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12
Such are the wicked;
always at ease, they increase in riches.
13
All in vain I have kept my heart clean
and washed my hands in innocence.
14
For all day long I have been plagued
and am punished every morning.
15
If I had said, “I will talk on in this way,”
I would have been untrue to the circle of your children.
16
But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17
until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I perceived their end.
18
Truly you set them in slippery places;
you make them fall to ruin.
19
How they are destroyed in a moment,
swept away utterly by terrors!
20
They are[c] like a dream when one awakes;
on awaking you despise their phantoms.
21
When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
22
I was stupid and ignorant;
I was like a brute beast toward you.
23
Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
24
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me with honor.[d]
25
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you.
26
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength[e] of my heart and my portion forever.
27
Indeed, those who are far from you will perish;
you put an end to those who are false to you.
28
But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
to tell of all your works.
Psalm 74 , 23
Plea for Help in Time of National Humiliation
A Maskil of Asaph.
1
O God, why do you cast us off forever?
Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?
2
Remember your congregation, which you acquired long ago,
which you redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage.
Remember Mount Zion, where you came to dwell.
3
Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins;
the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary.
4
Your foes have roared within your holy place;
they set up their emblems there.
5
At the upper entrance they hacked
the wooden trellis with axes.[a]
6
And then, with hatchets and hammers,
they smashed all its carved work.
7
They set your sanctuary on fire;
they desecrated the dwelling place of your name,
bringing it to the ground.
8
They said to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”;
they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.
9
We do not see our emblems;
there is no longer any prophet,
and there is no one among us who knows how long.
10
How long, O God, is the foe to scoff?
Is the enemy to revile your name forever?
11
Why do you hold back your hand;
why do you keep your hand in[b] your bosom?
12
Yet God my King is from of old,
working salvation in the earth.
13
You divided the sea by your might;
you broke the heads of the dragons in the waters.
14
You crushed the heads of Leviathan;
you gave him as food[c] for the creatures of the wilderness.
15
You cut openings for springs and torrents;
you dried up ever-flowing streams.
16
Yours is the day, yours also the night;
you established the luminaries[d] and the sun.
17
You have fixed all the bounds of the earth;
you made summer and winter.
18
Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs,
and an impious people reviles your name.
19
Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild animals;
do not forget the life of your poor forever.
20
Have regard for your[e] covenant,
for the dark places of the land are full of the haunts of violence.
21
Do not let the downtrodden be put to shame;
let the poor and needy praise your name.
22
Rise up, O God, plead your cause;
remember how the impious scoff at you all day long.
23
Do not forget the clamor of your foes,
the uproar of your adversaries that goes up continually.
Psalm 75, 10
Thanksgiving for God’s Wondrous Deeds
To the leader: Do Not Destroy. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.
1
We give thanks to you, O God;
we give thanks; your name is near.
People tell of your wondrous deeds.
2
At the set time that I appoint,
I will judge with equity.
3
When the earth totters, with all its inhabitants,
it is I who keep its pillars steady. Selah
4
I say to the boastful, “Do not boast,”
and to the wicked, “Do not lift up your horn;
5
do not lift up your horn on high
or speak with insolent neck.”
6
For not from the east or from the west
and not from the wilderness comes lifting up,
7
but it is God who executes judgment,
putting down one and lifting up another.
8
For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup
with foaming wine, well mixed;
he will pour a draught from it,
and all the wicked of the earth
shall drain it down to the dregs.
9
But I will rejoice[a] forever;
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10
All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,
but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.