Oppressed by the Wicked but Rejoicing in the Lord

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

64 Hear my voice, O God, in my [a]meditation;
Preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,
From the rebellion of the workers of iniquity,
Who sharpen their tongue like a sword,
(A)And bend their bows to shoot their arrows—bitter words,
That they may shoot in secret at the blameless;
Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear.

They encourage themselves in an evil matter;
They talk of laying snares secretly;
(B)They say, “Who will see them?”
They devise iniquities:
“We have perfected a shrewd scheme.”
Both the inward thought and the heart of man are deep.

But God shall shoot at them with an arrow;
Suddenly they shall be wounded.
So He will make them stumble over their own tongue;
(C)All who see them shall flee away.
All men shall fear,
And shall (D)declare the work of God;
For they shall wisely consider His doing.

10 (E)The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and trust in Him.
And all the upright in heart shall glory.

Praise to God for His Salvation and Providence

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A Song.

65 Praise is awaiting You, O God, in Zion;
And to You the [b]vow shall be performed.
O You who hear prayer,
(F)To You all flesh will come.
Iniquities prevail against me;
As for our transgressions,
You will (G)provide atonement for them.

(H)Blessed is the man You (I)choose,
And cause to approach You,
That he may dwell in Your courts.
(J)We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house,
Of Your holy temple.

By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us,
O God of our salvation,
You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth,
And of the far-off seas;
Who established the mountains by His strength,
(K)Being clothed with power;
(L)You who still the noise of the seas,
The noise of their waves,
(M)And the tumult of the peoples.
They also who dwell in the farthest parts are afraid of Your signs;
You make the outgoings of the morning and evening [c]rejoice.

You [d]visit the earth and (N)water it,
You greatly enrich it;
(O)The river of God is full of water;
You provide their grain,
For so You have prepared it.
10 You water its ridges abundantly,
You settle its furrows;
You make it soft with showers,
You bless its growth.

11 You crown the year with Your goodness,
And Your paths drip with abundance.
12 They drop on the pastures of the wilderness,
And the little hills rejoice on every side.
13 The pastures are clothed with flocks;
(P)The valleys also are covered with grain;
They shout for joy, they also sing.

Praise to God for His Awesome Works

To the Chief Musician. A Song. A Psalm.

66 Make (Q)a joyful shout to God, all the earth!
Sing out the honor of His name;
Make His praise glorious.
Say to God,
“How (R)awesome are Your works!
(S)Through the greatness of Your power
Your enemies shall submit themselves to You.
(T)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.
(U)He turned the sea into dry land;
(V)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 [e]be moved.
10 For (W)You, O God, have tested us;
(X)You have refined us as silver is refined.
11 (Y)You brought us into the net;
You laid affliction on our backs.
12 (Z)You have caused men to ride over our heads;
(AA)We went through fire and through water;
But You brought us out to [f]rich fulfillment.

13 (AB)I will go into Your house with burnt offerings;
(AC)I will pay You my [g]vows,
14 Which my lips have uttered
And my mouth has spoken when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer You burnt sacrifices of fat animals,
With the sweet aroma of rams;
I will offer bulls with goats. Selah

16 Come and hear, all you who fear God,
And I will declare what He has done for my soul.
17 I cried to Him with my mouth,
And He was [h]extolled with my tongue.
18 (AD)If I regard iniquity in my heart,
The Lord will not hear.
19 But certainly God (AE)has heard me;
He has attended to the voice of my prayer.

20 Blessed be God,
Who has not turned away my prayer,
Nor His mercy from me!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 64:1 complaint
  2. Psalm 65:1 A promised deed
  3. Psalm 65:8 shout for joy
  4. Psalm 65:9 give attention to
  5. Psalm 66:9 slip
  6. Psalm 66:12 abundance
  7. Psalm 66:13 Promised deeds
  8. Psalm 66:17 praised

Psalm 64[a]

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

Hear me, my God, as I voice my complaint;(A)
    protect my life from the threat of the enemy.(B)

Hide me from the conspiracy(C) of the wicked,(D)
    from the plots of evildoers.
They sharpen their tongues like swords(E)
    and aim cruel words like deadly arrows.(F)
They shoot from ambush at the innocent;(G)
    they shoot suddenly, without fear.(H)

They encourage each other in evil plans,
    they talk about hiding their snares;(I)
    they say, “Who will see it[b]?”(J)
They plot injustice and say,
    “We have devised a perfect plan!”
    Surely the human mind and heart are cunning.

But God will shoot them with his arrows;
    they will suddenly be struck down.
He will turn their own tongues against them(K)
    and bring them to ruin;
    all who see them will shake their heads(L) in scorn.(M)
All people will fear;(N)
    they will proclaim the works of God
    and ponder what he has done.(O)

10 The righteous will rejoice in the Lord(P)
    and take refuge in him;(Q)
    all the upright in heart will glory in him!(R)

Psalm 65[c]

For the director of music. A psalm of David. A song.

Praise awaits[d] you, our God, in Zion;(S)
    to you our vows will be fulfilled.(T)
You who answer prayer,
    to you all people will come.(U)
When we were overwhelmed by sins,(V)
    you forgave[e] our transgressions.(W)
Blessed are those you choose(X)
    and bring near(Y) to live in your courts!
We are filled with the good things of your house,(Z)
    of your holy temple.

You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds,(AA)
    God our Savior,(AB)
the hope of all the ends of the earth(AC)
    and of the farthest seas,(AD)
who formed the mountains(AE) by your power,
    having armed yourself with strength,(AF)
who stilled the roaring of the seas,(AG)
    the roaring of their waves,
    and the turmoil of the nations.(AH)
The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;
    where morning dawns, where evening fades,
    you call forth songs of joy.(AI)

You care for the land and water it;(AJ)
    you enrich it abundantly.(AK)
The streams of God are filled with water
    to provide the people with grain,(AL)
    for so you have ordained it.[f]
10 You drench its furrows and level its ridges;
    you soften it with showers(AM) and bless its crops.
11 You crown the year with your bounty,(AN)
    and your carts overflow with abundance.(AO)
12 The grasslands of the wilderness overflow;(AP)
    the hills are clothed with gladness.(AQ)
13 The meadows are covered with flocks(AR)
    and the valleys are mantled with grain;(AS)
    they shout for joy and sing.(AT)

Psalm 66

For the director of music. A song. A psalm.

Shout for joy to God, all the earth!(AU)
    Sing the glory of his name;(AV)
    make his praise glorious.(AW)
Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!(AX)
    So great is your power
    that your enemies cringe(AY) before you.
All the earth bows down(AZ) to you;
    they sing praise(BA) to you,
    they sing the praises of your name.”[g]

Come and see what God has done,
    his awesome deeds(BB) for mankind!
He turned the sea into dry land,(BC)
    they passed through(BD) the waters on foot—
    come, let us rejoice(BE) in him.
He rules forever(BF) by his power,
    his eyes watch(BG) the nations—
    let not the rebellious(BH) rise up against him.

Praise(BI) our God, all peoples,
    let the sound of his praise be heard;
he has preserved our lives(BJ)
    and kept our feet from slipping.(BK)
10 For you, God, tested(BL) us;
    you refined us like silver.(BM)
11 You brought us into prison(BN)
    and laid burdens(BO) on our backs.
12 You let people ride over our heads;(BP)
    we went through fire and water,
    but you brought us to a place of abundance.(BQ)

13 I will come to your temple with burnt offerings(BR)
    and fulfill my vows(BS) to you—
14 vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke
    when I was in trouble.
15 I will sacrifice fat animals to you
    and an offering of rams;
    I will offer bulls and goats.(BT)

16 Come and hear,(BU) all you who fear God;
    let me tell(BV) you what he has done for me.
17 I cried out to him with my mouth;
    his praise was on my tongue.
18 If I had cherished sin in my heart,
    the Lord would not have listened;(BW)
19 but God has surely listened
    and has heard(BX) my prayer.
20 Praise be to God,
    who has not rejected(BY) my prayer
    or withheld his love from me!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 64:1 In Hebrew texts 64:1-10 is numbered 64:2-11.
  2. Psalm 64:5 Or us
  3. Psalm 65:1 In Hebrew texts 65:1-13 is numbered 65:2-14.
  4. Psalm 65:1 Or befits; the meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  5. Psalm 65:3 Or made atonement for
  6. Psalm 65:9 Or for that is how you prepare the land
  7. Psalm 66:4 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verses 7 and 15.