¹ O Lord, I have come to you for protection;
    don’t let me be disgraced.
    Save me, for you do what is right.
² Turn your ear to listen to me;
    rescue me quickly.
Be my rock of protection,
    a fortress where I will be safe.
³ You are my rock and my fortress.
    For the honor of your name, lead me out of this danger.
⁴ Pull me from the trap my enemies set for me,
    for I find protection in you alone.
⁵ I entrust my spirit into your hand.
    Rescue me, Lord, for you are a faithful God.

⁶ I hate those who worship worthless idols.
    I trust in the Lord.
⁷ I will be glad and rejoice in your unfailing love,
    for you have seen my troubles,
    and you care about the anguish of my soul.
⁸ You have not handed me over to my enemies
    but have set me in a safe place.

⁹ Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am in distress.
    Tears blur my eyes.
    My body and soul are withering away.
¹⁰ I am dying from grief;
    my years are shortened by sadness.
Sin has drained my strength;
    I am wasting away from within.
¹¹ I am scorned by all my enemies
    and despised by my neighbors—
    even my friends are afraid to come near me.
When they see me on the street,
    they run the other way.
¹² I am ignored as if I were dead,
    as if I were a broken pot.
¹³ I have heard the many rumors about me,
    and I am surrounded by terror.
My enemies conspire against me,
    plotting to take my life.

¹⁴ But I am trusting you, O Lord,
    saying, “You are my God!”
¹⁵ My future is in your hands.
    Rescue me from those who hunt me down relentlessly.
¹⁶ Let your favor shine on your servant.
    In your unfailing love, rescue me.
¹⁷ Don’t let me be disgraced, O Lord,
    for I call out to you for help.
Let the wicked be disgraced;
    let them lie silent in the grave.^[a]
18 Silence their lying lips—
    those proud and arrogant lips that accuse the godly.

¹⁹ How great is the goodness
    you have stored up for those who fear you.
You lavish it on those who come to you for protection,
    blessing them before the watching world.
²⁰ You hide them in the shelter of your presence,
    safe from those who conspire against them.
You shelter them in your presence,
    far from accusing tongues.

²¹ Praise the Lord,
    for he has shown me the wonders of his unfailing love.
    He kept me safe when my city was under attack.
²² In panic I cried out,
    “I am cut off from the Lord!”
But you heard my cry for mercy
    and answered my call for help.

²³ Love the Lord, all you godly ones!
    For the Lord protects those who are loyal to him,
    but he harshly punishes the arrogant.
²⁴ So be strong and courageous,
    all you who put your hope in the Lord!

¹ Oh, what joy for those
    whose disobedience is forgiven,
    whose sin is put out of sight!
² Yes, what joy for those
    whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt,^[c]
    whose lives are lived in complete honesty!
³ When I refused to confess my sin,
    my body wasted away,
    and I groaned all day long.
⁴ Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me.
    My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Interlude

⁵ Finally, I confessed all my sins to you
    and stopped trying to hide my guilt.
I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.”
    And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. Interlude

⁶ Therefore, let all the godly pray to you while there is still time,
    that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgment.
⁷ For you are my hiding place;
    you protect me from trouble.
    You surround me with songs of victory. Interlude

⁸ The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.
    I will advise you and watch over you.
⁹ Do not be like a senseless horse or mule
    that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control.”

¹⁰ Many sorrows come to the wicked,
    but unfailing love surrounds those who trust the Lord.
¹¹ So rejoice in the Lord and be glad, all you who obey him!
    Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure!

⁶ The Lord merely spoke,
    and the heavens were created.
He breathed the word,
    and all the stars were born.
⁷ He assigned the sea its boundaries
    and locked the oceans in vast reservoirs.
⁸ Let the whole world fear the Lord,
    and let everyone stand in awe of him.
⁹ For when he spoke, the world began!
    It appeared at his command.

¹⁰ The Lord frustrates the plans of the nations
    and thwarts all their schemes.
¹¹ But the Lord’s plans stand firm forever;
    his intentions can never be shaken.

¹² What joy for the nation whose God is the Lord,
    whose people he has chosen as his inheritance.

¹³ The Lord looks down from heaven
    and sees the whole human race.
¹⁴ From his throne he observes
    all who live on the earth.
¹⁵ He made their hearts,
    so he understands everything they do.
¹⁶ The best-equipped army cannot save a king,
    nor is great strength enough to save a warrior.
¹⁷ Don’t count on your warhorse to give you victory—
    for all its strength, it cannot save you.

¹⁸ But the Lord watches over those who fear him,
    those who rely on his unfailing love.
¹⁹ He rescues them from death
    and keeps them alive in times of famine.

²⁰ We put our hope in the Lord.
    He is our help and our shield.
²¹ In him our hearts rejoice,
    for we trust in his holy name.
²² Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord,
    for our hope is in you alone.

¹ I will praise the Lord at all times.
    I will constantly speak his praises.
² I will boast only in the Lord;
    let all who are helpless take heart.
³ Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness;
    let us exalt his name together.

⁴ I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me.
    He freed me from all my fears.
⁵ Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy;
    no shadow of shame will darken their faces.
⁶ In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened;
    he saved me from all my troubles.
⁷ For the angel of the Lord is a guard;
    he surrounds and defends all who fear him.

⁸ Taste and see that the Lord is good.
    Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!
⁹ Fear the Lord, you his godly people,
    for those who fear him will have all they need.
¹⁰ Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry,
    but those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing.

¹¹ Come, my children, and listen to me,
    and I will teach you to fear the Lord.
¹² Does anyone want to live a life
    that is long and prosperous?
¹³ Then keep your tongue from speaking evil
    and your lips from telling lies!
¹⁴ Turn away from evil and do good.
    Search for peace, and work to maintain it.

¹⁵ The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right;
    his ears are open to their cries for help.
¹⁶ But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil;
    he will erase their memory from the earth.
¹⁷ The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help.
    He rescues them from all their troubles.
¹⁸ The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;
    he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.

¹⁹ The righteous person faces many troubles,
    but the Lord comes to the rescue each time.
²⁰ For the Lord protects the bones of the righteous;
    not one of them is broken!

²¹ Calamity will surely destroy the wicked,
    and those who hate the righteous will be punished.
²² But the Lord will redeem those who serve him.
    No one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.

⁷ My life is an example to many,
    because you have been my strength and protection.
⁸ That is why I can never stop praising you;
    I declare your glory all day long.
⁹ And now, in my old age, don’t set me aside.
    Don’t abandon me when my strength is failing.
¹⁰ For my enemies are whispering against me.
    They are plotting together to kill me.
¹¹ They say, “God has abandoned him.
    Let’s go and get him,
    for no one will help him now.”

¹² O God, don’t stay away.
    My God, please hurry to help me.
¹³ Bring disgrace and destruction on my accusers.
    Humiliate and shame those who want to harm me.
¹⁴ But I will keep on hoping for your help;
    I will praise you more and more.
¹⁵ I will tell everyone about your righteousness.
    All day long I will proclaim your saving power,
    though I am not skilled with words.^[a]
16 I will praise your mighty deeds, O Sovereign Lord.
    I will tell everyone that you alone are just.

¹⁷ O God, you have taught me from my earliest childhood,
    and I constantly tell others about the wonderful things you do.
¹⁸ Now that I am old and gray,
    do not abandon me, O God.
Let me proclaim your power to this new generation,
    your mighty miracles to all who come after me.

¹⁹ Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the highest heavens.
    You have done such wonderful things.
    Who can compare with you, O God?
²⁰ You have allowed me to suffer much hardship,
    but you will restore me to life again
    and lift me up from the depths of the earth.
²¹ You will restore me to even greater honor
    and comfort me once again.

²² Then I will praise you with music on the harp,
    because you are faithful to your promises, O my God.
I will sing praises to you with a lyre,
    O Holy One of Israel.
²³ I will shout for joy and sing your praises,
    for you have ransomed me.
²⁴ I will tell about your righteous deeds
    all day long,
for everyone who tried to hurt me
    has been shamed and humiliated.

¹ Lord, through all the generations
    you have been our home!
² Before the mountains were born,
    before you gave birth to the earth and the world,
    from beginning to end, you are God.

³ You turn people back to dust, saying,
    “Return to dust, you mortals!”
⁴ For you, a thousand years are as a passing day,
    as brief as a few night hours.
⁵ You sweep people away like dreams that disappear.
    They are like grass that springs up in the morning.
⁶ In the morning it blooms and flourishes,
    but by evening it is dry and withered.
⁷ We wither beneath your anger;
    we are overwhelmed by your fury.
⁸ You spread out our sins before you—
    our secret sins—and you see them all.
⁹ We live our lives beneath your wrath,
    ending our years with a groan.

¹⁰ Seventy years are given to us!
    Some even live to eighty.
But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble;
    soon they disappear, and we fly away.
¹¹ Who can comprehend the power of your anger?
    Your wrath is as awesome as the fear you deserve.
¹² Teach us to realize the brevity of life,
    so that we may grow in wisdom.

¹³ O Lord, come back to us!
    How long will you delay?
    Take pity on your servants!
¹⁴ Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love,
    so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives.
¹⁵ Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery!
    Replace the evil years with good.
¹⁶ Let us, your servants, see you work again;
    let our children see your glory.
¹⁷ And may the Lord our God show us his approval
    and make our efforts successful.
    Yes, make our efforts successful!

¹ Lord, hear my prayer!
    Listen to my plea!
² Don’t turn away from me
    in my time of distress.
Bend down to listen,
    and answer me quickly when I call to you.
³ For my days disappear like smoke,
    and my bones burn like red-hot coals.
⁴ My heart is sick, withered like grass,
    and I have lost my appetite.
⁵ Because of my groaning,
    I am reduced to skin and bones.
⁶ I am like an owl in the desert,
    like a little owl in a far-off wilderness.
⁷ I lie awake,
    lonely as a solitary bird on the roof.
⁸ My enemies taunt me day after day.
    They mock and curse me.
⁹ I eat ashes for food.
    My tears run down into my drink
¹⁰ because of your anger and wrath.
    For you have picked me up and thrown me out.
¹¹ My life passes as swiftly as the evening shadows.
    I am withering away like grass.

¹² But you, O Lord, will sit on your throne forever.
    Your fame will endure to every generation.
¹³ You will arise and have mercy on Jerusalem^[a]—
    and now is the time to pity her,
    now is the time you promised to help.
¹⁴ For your people love every stone in her walls
    and cherish even the dust in her streets.
¹⁵ Then the nations will tremble before the Lord.
    The kings of the earth will tremble before his glory.
¹⁶ For the Lord will rebuild Jerusalem.
    He will appear in his glory.
¹⁷ He will listen to the prayers of the destitute.
    He will not reject their pleas.

¹⁸ Let this be recorded for future generations,
    so that a people not yet born will praise the Lord.
¹⁹ Tell them the Lord looked down
    from his heavenly sanctuary.
He looked down to earth from heaven
²⁰     to hear the groans of the prisoners,
    to release those condemned to die.
²¹ And so the Lord’s fame will be celebrated in Zion,
    his praises in Jerusalem,
²² when multitudes gather together
    and kingdoms come to worship the Lord.

²³ He broke my strength in midlife,
    cutting short my days.
²⁴ But I cried to him, “O my God, who lives forever,
    don’t take my life while I am so young!
²⁵ Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth
    and made the heavens with your hands.
²⁶ They will perish, but you remain forever;
    they will wear out like old clothing.
You will change them like a garment
    and discard them.
²⁷ But you are always the same;
    you will live forever.
²⁸ The children of your people
    will live in security.
Their children’s children
    will thrive in your presence.”