Historical
Prayer for help against persecutors.
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David; [a]to bring to remembrance.
70 Make haste, O God, to deliver me;
Make haste to help me, O Jehovah.
2 Let them be put to shame and confounded
That seek after my soul:
Let them be turned backward and brought to dishonor
That delight in my hurt.
3 Let them be turned back [b]by reason of their shame
That say, Aha, aha.
4 Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee;
And let such as love thy salvation say continually,
Let God be magnified.
5 But I am poor and needy;
Make haste unto me, O God:
Thou art my help and my deliverer;
O Jehovah, make no tarrying.
Prayer of an old man for deliverance.
71 In thee, O Jehovah, do I take refuge:
Let me never be put to shame.
2 Deliver me in thy righteousness, and rescue me:
Bow down thine ear unto me, and save me.
3 Be thou to me a rock of habitation, whereunto I may continually resort:
Thou hast given commandment to save me;
For thou art my rock and my fortress.
4 Rescue me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked,
Out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.
5 For thou art my hope, O Lord Jehovah:
Thou art my trust from my youth.
6 By thee have I been holden up from the womb;
Thou [c]art he that took me out of my mother’s bowels:
My praise shall be continually of thee.
7 I am as a wonder unto many;
But thou art my strong refuge.
8 My mouth shall be filled with thy praise,
And with thy honor all the day.
9 Cast me not off in the time of old age;
Forsake me not when my strength faileth.
10 For mine enemies speak concerning me;
And they that watch for my soul take counsel together,
11 Saying, God hath forsaken him:
Pursue and take him; for there is none to deliver.
12 O God, be not far from me;
O my God, make haste to help me.
13 Let them be put to shame and consumed that are adversaries to my soul;
Let them be covered with reproach and dishonor that seek my hurt.
14 But I will hope continually,
And will praise thee yet more and more.
15 My mouth shall tell of thy righteousness,
And of thy salvation all the day;
For I know not the numbers thereof.
16 I will come [d]with the mighty acts of the Lord Jehovah:
I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only.
17 O God, thou hast taught me from my youth;
And hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.
18 Yea, even [e]when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not,
Until I have declared [f]thy strength unto the next generation,
Thy might to every one that is to come.
19 Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high;
Thou who hast done great things, O God, who is like unto thee?
20 Thou, who hast showed [g]us many and sore troubles,
Wilt quicken [h]us again,
And wilt bring [i]us up again from the depths of the earth.
21 Increase thou my greatness,
And turn again and comfort me.
22 I will also praise thee with the psaltery,
Even thy truth, O my God:
Unto thee will I sing praises with the harp,
O thou Holy One of Israel.
23 My lips shall shout for joy when I sing praises unto thee;
And my soul, which thou hast redeemed.
24 My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long;
For they are put to shame, for they are confounded, that seek my hurt.
The reign of the righteous king.
A Psalm of Solomon.
72 Give the king thy judgments, O God,
And thy righteousness unto the king’s son.
2 [j]He will judge thy people with righteousness,
And thy poor with justice.
3 The mountains shall bring peace to the people,
And the hills, in righteousness.
4 He will judge the poor of the people,
He will save the children of the needy,
And will break in pieces the oppressor.
5 They shall fear thee while the sun endureth,
And [k]so long as the moon, throughout all generations.
6 He will come down like rain upon the mown grass,
As showers that water the earth.
7 In his days shall the righteous flourish,
And abundance of peace, till the moon be no more.
8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea,
And from the River unto the ends of the earth.
9 They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him;
And his enemies shall lick the dust.
10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall render tribute:
The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
11 Yea, all kings shall fall down before him;
All nations shall serve him.
12 For he will deliver the needy when he crieth,
And the poor, [l]that hath no helper.
13 He will have pity on the [m]poor and needy,
And the souls of the needy he will save.
14 He will redeem their soul from [n]oppression and violence;
And precious will their blood be in his sight:
15 And [o]they shall live; and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba:
And men shall pray for him continually;
They shall bless him all the day long.
16 There shall be [p]abundance of grain in the [q]earth upon the top of the mountains;
The fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon:
And they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.
17 His name shall endure for ever;
His name shall [r]be continued [s]as long as the sun:
And men shall [t]be blessed in him;
All nations shall call him happy.
18 Blessed be Jehovah God, the God of Israel,
Who only doeth wondrous things:
19 And blessed be his glorious name for ever;
And let the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen, and Amen.
20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
Book III
The end of the wicked contrasted with that of the righteous.
A Psalm of Asaph.
[u]73 Surely God is good to Israel,
Even to such as are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet were almost gone;
My steps had well nigh slipped.
3 For I was envious at the [v]arrogant,
When I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 For there are no pangs in their death;
But their strength is firm.
5 They are not [w]in trouble as other men;
Neither are they plagued like other men.
6 Therefore pride is as a chain about their neck;
Violence covereth them as a garment.
7 Their eyes stand out with fatness:
[x]They have more than heart could wish.
8 They scoff, and in wickedness utter oppression:
They speak [y]loftily.
9 They have set their mouth [z]in the heavens,
And their tongue walketh through the earth.
10 Therefore [aa]his people return hither:
And waters of a full cup are drained by them.
11 And they say, How doth God know?
And is there knowledge in the Most High?
12 Behold, these are the wicked;
And, being alway at ease, they increase in riches.
13 Surely in vain have I cleansed my heart,
And washed my hands in innocency;
14 For all the day long have I been plagued,
And [ab]chastened every morning.
15 If I had said, I will speak thus;
Behold, I had dealt treacherously with the generation of thy children.
16 When I thought how I might know this,
It was [ac]too painful for me;
17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God,
And considered their latter end.
18 Surely thou settest them in slippery places:
Thou castest them down to [ad]destruction.
19 How are they become a desolation in a moment!
They are utterly consumed with terrors.
20 As a dream when one awaketh,
So, O Lord, [ae]when thou awakest, thou wilt despise their image.
21 For my soul [af]was grieved,
And I was pricked in my [ag]heart:
22 So brutish [ah]was I, and ignorant;
I was as a beast [ai]before thee.
23 Nevertheless I am continually with thee:
Thou hast holden my right hand.
24 Thou wilt guide me with thy counsel,
And afterward receive me [aj]to glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but thee?
And there is none upon earth that I desire [ak]besides thee.
26 My flesh and my heart faileth;
But God is the [al]strength of my heart and my portion for ever.
27 For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish:
Thou hast destroyed all them that play the harlot, departing from thee.
28 But it is good for me to draw near unto God:
I have made the Lord Jehovah my refuge,
That I may tell of all thy works.
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