PSALM 73

Surely God is good to Israel,
    to those who are pure in heart.

 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
    I had nearly lost my foothold. 

 For I envied the arrogant
    when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

 They have no struggles;
    their bodies are healthy and strong.

 They are free from common human burdens;
    they are not plagued by human ills. 

 Therefore pride is their necklace;
    they clothe themselves with violence. 

 From their callous hearts comes iniquity;
    their evil imaginations have no limits. 

 They scoff, and speak with malice;
    with arrogance they threaten oppression. 

 Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
    and their tongues take possession of the earth. 

 Therefore their people turn to them
    and drink up waters in abundance.

 They say, “How would God know?
    Does the Most High know anything?”

 This is what the wicked are like—
    always free of care, they go on amassing wealth.

 Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure
    and have washed my hands in innocence. 

 All day long I have been afflicted,
    and every morning brings new punishments.

 If I had spoken out like that,
    I would have betrayed your children. 

 When I tried to understand all this,

till I entered the sanctuary of God;
    then I understood their final destiny.

 Surely you place them on slippery ground;
    you cast them down to ruin. 

 How suddenly are they destroyed,
    completely swept away by terrors! 

 They are like a dream when one awakes;
    when you arise, Lord,
    you will despise them as fantasies.

 When my heart was grieved
    and my spirit embittered, 

 I was senseless and ignorant;
    I was a brute beast before you.

  Yet I am always with you;
    you hold me by my right hand. 

 You guide me with your counsel,
    and afterward you will take me into glory. 

 Whom have I in heaven but you?
    And earth has nothing I desire besides you. 

 My flesh and my heart may fail,
    but God is the strength of my heart
    and my portion forever.

 Those who are far from you will perish;
    you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. 

 But as for me, it is good to be near God.
    I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge;
    I will tell of all your deeds.

PSALM 72

Endow the king with your justice, O God,
the royal son with your righteousness. 

May he judge your people in righteousness,
your afflicted ones with justice. 

May the mountains bring prosperity to the people,
the hills the fruit of righteousness.
May he defend the afflicted among the people
and save the children of the needy;
may he crush the oppressor.
May he endure as long as the sun,
as long as the moon, through all generations.
May he be like rain falling on a mown field,
like showers watering the earth.
In his days may the righteous flourish
and prosperity abound till the moon is no more. 

May he rule from sea to sea
and from the river to the ends of the earth.
May the desert tribes bow before him
and his enemies lick the dust.
May the kings of Tarshish and of distant shores
bring tribute to him.
May the kings of Sheba and Seba
present him gifts.
May all kings bow down to him
and all nations serve him. 

For he will deliver the needy who cry out,
the afflicted who have no one to help.
He will take pity on the weak and the needy
and save the needy from death.
He will rescue them from oppression and violence,
for precious is their blood in his sight. 

Long may he live! 

May gold from Sheba be given him.
May people ever pray for him
and bless him all day long.
May grain abound throughout the land;
on the tops of the hills may it sway.
May the crops flourish like Lebanon
and thrive like the grass of the field.
May his name endure forever;
may it continue as long as the sun. 

Then all nations will be blessed through him,
and they will call him blessed. 

Praise be to the LORD God, the God of Israel,
who alone does marvelous deeds.
Praise be to his glorious name forever;
may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and Amen. 

This concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse

PSALM 71

In you, O LORD, I put my trust;

let me never be put to shame.

Deliver me in your righteousness, and cause me to escape;

incline your ear to me, and save me.

Be my strong refuge,

to which I may resort continually;

you have given the commandment to save me,

for you are my rock and my fortress.

         

Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked,

out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.

For you are my hope, O LORD God;

you are my trust from my youth.

By you I have been upheld from birth;

you are he who took me out of my mother’s womb.

My praise shall be continually of you.

         

I have become as a wonder to many,

but you are my strong refuge.

Let my mouth be filled with your praise

and with your glory all the day.

         

Do not cast me off in the time of old age;

do not forsake me when my strength fails.

For my enemies speak against me;

and those who lie in wait for my life take counsel together,

saying, “God has forsaken him;

pursue and take him, for there is none to deliver him.”

         

O God, do not be far from me;

O my God, make haste to help me!

Let them be confounded and consumed

who are adversaries of my life;

let them be covered with reproach and dishonor

who seek my hurt.

But I will hope continually,

and will praise you yet more and more.

My mouth shall tell of your righteousness

and your salvation all the day,

for I do not know their limits.

I will go in the strength of the LORD God;

I will make mention of your righteousness, of yours only.

         

O God, you have taught me from my youth;

and to this day I declare your wondrous works.

Now also when I am old and gray headed,

O God, do not forsake me,

until I declare your strength to this generation,

your power to everyone who is to come.

         

Also your righteousness, O God, is very high,

you who have done great things;

O God, who is like you?

You, who have shown me great and severe troubles,

shall revive me again,

and bring me up again from the depths of the earth.

You shall increase my greatness,

and comfort me on every side.

         

Also with the lute I will praise you—

and your faithfulness, O my God!

To you I will sing with the harp,

O Holy One of Israel.

My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing to you,

and my soul, which you have redeemed.

My tongue also shall talk of your righteousness all the day long;

for they are confounded,

for they are brought to shame

who seek my hurt.

PSALM 70

Make haste, O God, to deliver me!

Make haste to help me, O LORD!

         

Let them be ashamed and confounded

who seek my life;

let them be turned back and confused

who desire my hurt.

Let them be turned back because of their shame,

who say, “Aha, aha!”

         

Let all those who seek you rejoice and be glad in you;

and let those who love your salvation say continually,

“Let God be magnified!”

         

But I am poor and needy;

make haste to me, O God!

You are my help and my deliverer;

O LORD, do not delay.

PSALM 69

Save me, O God,

for the waters have threatened my life.

I have sunk in deep mire, and there is no foothold;

I have come into deep waters, and a flood overflows me.

I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched;

my eyes fail while I wait for my God.

Those who hate me without a cause

are more than the hairs of my head;

those who would destroy me are powerful,

being wrongfully my enemies;

what I did not steal, I then have to restore.

O God, it is you who knows my folly,

and my wrongs are not hidden from you.

May those who wait for you not be ashamed through me,

O LORD God of hosts;

may those who seek you not be dishonored through me,

O God of Israel,

because for your sake I have borne reproach;

dishonor has covered my face.

I have become estranged from my brothers

and an alien to my mother's sons.

For zeal for your house has consumed me,

and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.

When I wept in my soul with fasting,

it became my reproach.

When I made sackcloth my clothing,

I became a byword to them.

Those who sit in the gate talk about me,

and I am the song of the drunkards.

But as for me, my prayer is to you, O LORD,

at an acceptable time;

O God, in the greatness of your lovingkindness,

answer me with your saving truth.

Deliver me from the mire and do not let me sink;

may I be delivered from my foes and from the deep waters.

May the flood of water not overflow me

nor the deep swallow me up,

nor the pit shut its mouth on me.

Answer me, O LORD, for your lovingkindness is good;

according to the greatness of your compassion, turn to me,

and do not hide your face from your servant,

for I am in distress; answer me quickly.

Oh draw near to my soul and redeem it;

ransom me because of my enemies!

You know my reproach and my shame and my dishonor;

all my adversaries are before you.

Reproach has broken my heart and I am so sick

and I looked for sympathy, but there was none,

and for comforters, but I found none.

They also gave me gall for my food

and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

May their table before them become a snare;

and when they are in peace, may it become a trap.

May their eyes grow dim so that they cannot see,

and make their loins shake continually.

Pour out your indignation on them,

and may your burning anger overtake them.

May their camp be desolate;

may none dwell in their tents.

For they have persecuted him whom you yourself have smitten,

and they tell of the pain of those whom you have wounded.

Add iniquity to their iniquity,

and may they not come into your righteousness.

May they be blotted out of the book of life

and may they not be recorded with the righteous.

But I am afflicted and in pain;

may your salvation, O God, set me securely on high.

I will praise the name of God with song

and magnify him with thanksgiving.

And it will please the LORD better than an ox

or a young bull with horns and hoofs.

The humble have seen it and are glad;

you who seek God, let your heart revive.

For the LORD hears the needy

and does not despise his who are prisoners.

Let heaven and earth praise him,

the seas and everything that moves in them.

For God will save Zion and build the cities of Judah,

that they may dwell there and possess it.

The descendants of his servants will inherit it,

and those who love his name will dwell in it.

PSALM 68

Let God arise,

let his enemies be scattered;

let those also who hate him flee before him.

As smoke is driven away,

so drive them away;

as wax melts before the fire,

so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.

But let the righteous be glad;

let them rejoice before God;

yes, let them rejoice exceedingly.

         

Sing to God, sing praises to his name;

extol him who rides on the clouds,

by his name YAH,

and rejoice before him.

         

A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows,

is God in his holy habitation.

God sets the solitary in families;

he brings out those who are bound into prosperity;

but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.

         

O God, when you went out before your people,

when you marched through the wilderness,  Selah  

the earth shook;

the heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God;

Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God,

the God of Israel.

You, O God, sent a plentiful rain,

whereby you confirmed your inheritance,

when it was weary.

Your congregation dwelt in it;

you, O God, provided from your goodness for the poor.

         

The LORD gave the word;

great was the company of those who proclaimed it:

“Kings of armies flee, they flee,

and she who remains at home divides the spoil.

Though you lie down among the sheepfolds,

you will be like the wings of a dove covered with silver,

and her feathers with yellow gold.”

When the Almighty scattered kings in it,

it was white as snow in Zalmon.

         

A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan;

a mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan.

why do you fume with envy, you mountains of many peaks?

This is the mountain which God desires to dwell in;

yes, the LORD will dwell in it forever.

         

The chariots of God are twenty thousand,

even thousands of thousands;

the LORD is among them as in Sinai, in the Holy Place.

You have ascended on high,

you have led captivity captive;

you have received gifts among men,

even from the rebellious,

that the LORD God might dwell there.

         

Blessed be the LORD,

who daily loads us with benefits,

the God of our salvation!  Selah  

Our God is the God of salvation;

and to God the LORD belong escapes from death.

         

But God will wound the head of his enemies,

the hairy scalp of the one who still goes on in his trespasses.

The LORD said, “I will bring back from Bashan,

I will bring them back from the depths of the sea

that your foot may crush them in blood,

and the tongues of your dogs

may have their portion from your enemies.”

         

They have seen your procession, O God,

the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary.

The singers went before,

the players on instruments followed after;

among them were the maidens playing timbrels.

Bless God in the congregations,

the LORD, from the fountain of Israel.

There is little Benjamin, their leader,

the princes of Judah and their company,

the princes of Zebulun and the princes of Naphtali.

         

Your God has commanded your strength;

strengthen, O God, what you have done for us.

Because of your temple at Jerusalem,

kings will bring presents to you.

Rebuke the beasts of the reeds,

the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples,

till everyone submits himself with pieces of silver.

Scatter the peoples who delight in war.

Envoys will come out of Egypt;

Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God.

         

Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth;

oh, sing praises to the LORD,  Selah  

to him who rides on the heaven of heavens, which were of old!

Indeed, he sends out his voice, a mighty voice.

Ascribe strength to God;

his excellence is over Israel,

and his strength is in the clouds.

O God, you are more awesome than your holy places.

The God of Israel is he who gives strength

and power to his people.

         

Blessed be God!

PSALM 67

May God be gracious to us and bless us

and make his face to shine upon us,

Selah

that your way may be known upon earth,

your saving power among all nations.

Let the peoples praise you, O God;

let all the peoples praise you.

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,

for you judge the peoples with equity

and guide the nations upon earth.

Selah

Let the peoples praise you, O God;

let all the peoples praise you.

The earth has yielded its increase;

God, our God, has blessed us.

May God continue to bless us;

let all the ends of the earth revere him.

PSALM 66

Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth!

Sing out the honor of his name;

make his praise glorious.

Say to God,

“How awesome are your works!

Through the greatness of your power

your enemies shall submit themselves to you.

All the earth shall worship you

and sing praises to you;

they shall sing praises to your name.”  Selah  

         

Come and see the works of God;

he is awesome in his doing toward the sons of men.

He turned the sea into dry land;

they went through the river on foot.

There we will rejoice in him.

He rules by his power forever;

his eyes observe the nations;

do not let the rebellious exalt themselves.  Selah  

         

Oh, bless our God, you peoples!

And make the voice of his praise to be heard,

who keeps our soul among the living,

and does not allow our feet to be moved.

For you, O God, have tested us;

you have refined us as silver is refined.

You brought us into the net;

you laid affliction on our backs.

You have caused men to ride over our heads;

we went through fire and through water;

but you brought us out to rich fulfillment.

         

I will go into your house with burnt offerings;

I will pay you my vows,

which my lips have uttered

and my mouth has spoken when I was in trouble.

I will offer you burnt sacrifices of fat animals,

with the sweet aroma of rams;

I will offer bulls with goats.  Selah  

         

Come and hear, all you who fear God,

and I will declare what he has done for my soul.

I cried to him with my mouth,

and he was extolled with my tongue.

If I regard iniquity in my heart,

the LORD will not hear.

But certainly God has heard me;

he has attended to the voice of my prayer.

         

Blessed be God,

who has not turned away my prayer,

nor his mercy from me!

PSALM 65

God, you will be praised in Jerusalem.

We will keep our promises to you.

You hear our prayers.

All people will come to you.

Our guilt overwhelms us,

but you forgive our sins.

Happy are the people you choose

and invite to stay in your court.

We are filled with good things in your house,

your holy Temple.

You answer us in amazing ways,

God our Savior.

People everywhere on the earth

and beyond the sea trust you.

You made the mountains by your strength;

you are dressed in power.

You stopped the roaring seas,

the roaring waves,

and the uproar of the nations.

Even those people at the ends of the earth fear your miracles.

You are praised from where the sun rises to where it sets.

You take care of the land and water it;

you make it very fertile.

The rivers of God are full of water.

Grain grows because you make it grow.

You send rain to the plowed fields;

you fill the rows with water.

You soften the ground with rain,

and then you bless it with crops.

You give the year a good harvest,

and you load the wagons with many crops.

The desert is covered with grass

and the hills with happiness.

The pastures are full of flocks,

and the valleys are covered with grain.

Everything shouts and sings for joy.

PSALM 64

Hear me, O God, as I voice my complaint;

protect my life from the threat of the enemy.

Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked,

from that noisy crowd of evildoers.

They sharpen their tongues like swords

and aim their words like deadly arrows.

They shoot from ambush at the innocent man;

they shoot at him suddenly, without fear.

They encourage each other in evil plans,

they talk about hiding their snares;

they say, “Who will see them?”

They plot injustice and say,

“We have devised a perfect plan!”

Surely the mind and heart of man are cunning.

But God will shoot them with arrows;

suddenly they will be struck down.

He will turn their own tongues against them

and bring them to ruin;

all who see them will shake their heads in scorn.

All mankind will fear;

they will proclaim the works of God

and ponder what he has done.

Let the righteous rejoice in the LORD

and take refuge in him;

let all the upright in heart praise him!

PSALM 63

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.

So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,

beholding your power and glory.

Because your steadfast love is better than life,

my lips will praise you.

So I will bless you as long as I live;

I will lift up my hands and call on your name.

My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,

and my mouth praises you with joyful lips.

When I think of you on my bed,

and meditate on you in the watches of the night;

for you have been my help,

and in the shadow of your wings I sing for you.

My soul clings to you;

your right hand upholds me.

But those who seek to destroy my life

shall go down into the depths of the earth;

they shall be given over to the power of the sword,

they shall be prey for jackals.

But the king shall rejoice in God;

all who swear by him shall exult,

for the mouths of liars will be stopped.

PSALM 62

My soul waits in silence for God only;

from him is my salvation.

He only is my rock and my salvation,

my stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken.

How long will you assail a man,

that you may murder him, all of you,

like a leaning wall, like a tottering fence?

They have counseled only to thrust him down from his high position;

they delight in falsehood;

they bless with their mouth,

but inwardly they curse. Selah.

My soul, wait in silence for God only,

for my hope is from him.

He only is my rock and my salvation,

my stronghold; I shall not be shaken.

On God my salvation and my glory rest;

the rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.

Trust in him at all times, O people;

pour out your heart before him;

God is a refuge for us. Selah.

Men of low degree are only vanity and men of rank are a lie;

in the balances they go up;

they are together lighter than breath.

Do not trust in oppression

and do not vainly hope in robbery;

if riches increase, do not set your heart upon them.

Once God has spoken;

twice I have heard this:

that power belongs to God;

and lovingkindness is yours, O LORD,

for you recompense a man according to his work.

PSALM 61

 Hear my cry, O God;

listen to my prayer.

From the ends of the earth I call to you,

I call as my heart grows faint;

lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

For you have been my refuge,

a strong tower against the foe.

I long to dwell in your tent forever

and take refuge in the shelter of your wings. Selah

For you have heard my vows, O God;

you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.

Increase the days of the king’s life,

his years for many generations.

May he be enthroned in God’s presence forever;

appoint your love and faithfulness to protect him.

Then will I ever sing praise to your name

and fulfill my vows day after day.

PSALM 60

God, you have rejected us and scattered us.

You have been angry, but please come back to us.

You made the earth shake and crack.

Heal its breaks because it is shaking.

You have given your people trouble.

You made us unable to walk straight,

like people drunk with wine.

You have raised a banner to gather those who fear you.

Now they can stand up against the enemy.  Selah

Answer us and save us by your power

so the people you love will be rescued.

God has said from his Temple,

"When I win, I will divide Shechem

 and measure off the Valley of Succoth.

Gilead and Manasseh are mine.

Ephraim is like my helmet.

Judah holds my royal scepter.

Moab is like my washbowl.

I throw my sandals at Edom.

I shout at Philistia."

Who will bring me to the strong, walled city?

Who will lead me to Edom?

God, surely you have rejected us;

you do not go out with our armies.

Help us fight the enemy.

Human help is useless,

but we can win with God's help.

He will defeat our enemies.

PSALM 59

Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;

defend me from those who rise up against me.

Deliver me from the workers of iniquity,

and save me from bloodthirsty men.

         

For look, they lie in wait for my life;

the mighty gather against me,

not for my transgression nor for my sin, O LORD.

They run and prepare themselves through no fault of mine.

         

Awake to help me, and behold!

You therefore, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel,

awake to punish all the nations;

do not be merciful to any wicked transgressors.  Selah  

         

At evening they return,

they growl like a dog,

and go all around the city.

Indeed, they belch with their mouth;

swords are in their lips;

for they say, “Who hears?”

         

But you, O LORD, shall laugh at them;

you shall have all the nations in derision.

I will wait for you, O you his strength;

for God is my defense.

My God of mercy shall come to meet me;

God shall let me see my desire on my enemies.

         

Do not slay them, lest my people forget;

scatter them by your power,

and bring them down,

O LORD our shield.

For the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips,

let them even be taken in their pride,

and for the cursing and lying which they speak.

Consume them in wrath, consume them,

that they may not be;

and let them know that God rules in Jacob

to the ends of the earth.  Selah  

         

And at evening they return,

they growl like a dog,

and go all around the city.

They wander up and down for food,

and howl if they are not satisfied.

         

But I will sing of your power;

yes, I will sing aloud of your mercy in the morning;

for you have been my defense

and refuge in the day of my trouble.

To you, O my strength, I will sing praises;

for God is my defense,

my God of mercy.

PSALM 58

Do you rulers indeed speak justly?

Do you judge uprightly among men?

No, in your heart you devise injustice,

and your hands mete out violence on the earth.

Even from birth the wicked go astray;

from the womb they are wayward and speak lies.

Their venom is like the venom of a snake,

like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears,

that will not heed the tune of the charmer,

however skillful the enchanter may be.

Break the teeth in their mouths, O God;

Tear out, O LORD, the fangs of the lions!

Let them vanish like water that flows away;

When they draw the bow, let their arrows be blunted.

Like a slug melting away as it moves along,

like a stillborn child, may they not see the sun.

Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns –

whether they be green or dry – the wicked will be swept away.

The righteous will be glad when they are avenged,

when they bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.

Then men will say,

“Surely the righteous still are rewarded;

surely there is a God who judges the earth.”

PSALM 57

Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me,

for in you I take refuge.

I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings

until the disaster has passed.

I cry out to God Most High,

to God, who vindicates me.

He sends from heaven and saves me,

rebuking those who hotly pursue me –

God sends forth his love and his faithfulness.

I am in the midst of lions;

I am forced to dwell among man-eating beasts,

whose teeth are spears and arrows,

whose tongues are sharp swords.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;

let your glory be over all the earth.

They spread a net for my feet –

I was bowed down in distress.

They dug a pit in my path –

but they have fallen into it themselves.

My heart, O God, is steadfast,

my heart is steadfast;

I will sing and make music.

Awake, my soul!

Awake, harp and lyre!

I will awaken the dawn.

I will praise you, LORD, among the nations;

I will sing of you among the peoples.

For great is you love, reaching to the heavens;

your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;

let your glory be over all the earth.