Psalm 61-65
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 61[a]
Prayer of the King in Time of Danger
1 For the leader; with stringed instruments. Of David.
I
2 Hear my cry, O God,
listen to my prayer!
3 From the ends of the earth[b] I call;
my heart grows faint.
Raise me up, set me on a rock,
4 for you are my refuge,
a tower of strength against the foe.(A)
5 Let me dwell in your tent forever,
take refuge in the shelter of your wings.(B)
Selah
II
6 For you, O God, have heard my vows,
you have granted me the heritage of those who revere your name.
7 Add days to the life of the king;
may his years be as from generation to generation;(C)
8 (D)May he reign before God forever;
send your love and fidelity[c] to preserve him—(E)
9 I will duly sing to your name forever,
fulfill my vows day after day.
Psalm 62[d]
Trust in God Alone
1 For the leader; ‘al Jeduthun.[e] A psalm of David.
I
2 My soul rests in God alone,(F)
from whom comes my salvation.
3 God alone is my rock and salvation,
my fortress; I shall never fall.
4 How long will you set yourself against a man?
You shall all be destroyed,
Like a sagging wall
or a tumbled down fence!
5 Even highly placed people
plot to overthrow him.
They delight in lies;
they bless with their mouths,
but inwardly they curse.(G)
Selah
II
6 My soul, be at rest in God alone,
from whom comes my hope.
7 God alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not fall.
8 My deliverance and honor are with God,(H)
my strong rock;
my refuge is with God.
9 Trust God at all times, my people!
Pour out your hearts to God our refuge!
Selah
III
10 Mortals are a mere breath,
the sons of man but an illusion;(I)
On a balance they rise;[f]
together they weigh nothing.
11 Do not trust in extortion;
in plunder put no empty hope.
On wealth that increases,
do not set your heart.(J)
12 [g]One thing God has said;
two things I have heard:(K)
Strength belongs to God;
13 so too, my Lord, does mercy,
For you repay each man
according to his deeds.(L)
Psalm 63[h]
Ardent Longing for God
1 A psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.(M)
I
2 O God, you are my God—
it is you I seek!
For you my body yearns;
for you my soul thirsts,
In a land parched, lifeless,
and without water.(N)
3 I look to you in the sanctuary
to see your power and glory.
4 For your love is better than life;[i]
my lips shall ever praise you!
II
5 I will bless you as long as I live;
I will lift up my hands, calling on your name.
6 My soul shall be sated as with choice food,
with joyous lips my mouth shall praise you!
7 I think of you upon my bed,
I remember you through the watches of the night
8 You indeed are my savior,
and in the shadow of your wings I shout for joy.(O)
9 My soul clings fast to you;
your right hand upholds me.
III
10 But those who seek my life will come to ruin;
they shall go down to the depths of the netherworld!
11 Those who would hand over my life to the sword shall
become the prey of jackals!
12 But the king shall rejoice in God;
all who swear by the Lord[j] shall exult,
but the mouths of liars will be shut!(P)
Psalm 64[k]
Treacherous Conspirators Punished by God
1 For the leader. A psalm of David.
I
2 O God, hear my anguished voice;
from a dreadful foe protect my life.
3 Hide me from the malicious crowd,
the mob of evildoers.
4 They sharpen their tongues like swords,
bend their bows of poison words.(Q)
5 They shoot at the innocent from ambush,
they shoot him in a moment and do not fear.
6 They resolve on their wicked plan;
they conspire to set snares;
they say: “Who will see us?”
7 They devise wicked schemes,
conceal the schemes they devise;
the designs of their hearts are hidden.(R)
II
8 God shoots an arrow at them;
in a moment they are struck down.(S)
9 They are brought down by their own tongues;
all who see them flee.(T)
10 Every person fears and proclaims God’s actions,
they ponder his deeds.
11 The righteous rejoices and takes refuge in the Lord;
all the upright give praise.(U)
Psalm 65[l]
Thanksgiving for God’s Blessings
1 For the leader. A psalm of David. A song.
I
2 To you we owe our hymn of praise,
O God on Zion;
To you our vows[m] must be fulfilled,
3 [n]you who hear our prayers.
To you all flesh must come(V)
4 with its burden of wicked deeds.
We are overcome by our sins;
only you can pardon them.(W)
5 Blessed the one whom you will choose and bring
to dwell in your courts.
May we be filled with the good things of your house,
your holy temple!
II
6 You answer us with awesome deeds[o] of justice,
O God our savior,
The hope of all the ends of the earth
and of those far off across the sea.(X)
7 You are robed in power,
you set up the mountains by your might.
8 You still the roaring of the seas,(Y)
the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples.(Z)
9 Distant peoples stand in awe of your marvels;
the places of morning and evening you make resound with joy.
10 [p]You visit the earth and water it,
make it abundantly fertile.(AA)
God’s stream[q] is filled with water;
you supply their grain.
Thus do you prepare it:
11 you drench its plowed furrows,
and level its ridges.
With showers you keep it soft,
blessing its young sprouts.
12 You adorn the year with your bounty;
your paths[r] drip with fruitful rain.
13 The meadows of the wilderness also drip;
the hills are robed with joy.
14 The pastures are clothed with flocks,
the valleys blanketed with grain;
they cheer and sing for joy.(AB)
Footnotes
- Psalm 61 A lament of the king who feels himself at the brink of death (Ps 61:3) and cries out for the strong and saving presence of God (Ps 61:3b–5). The king cites the prayer being made for him (Ps 61:7–8), and promises to give thanks to God.
- 61:3 Ends of the earth: “earth” being taken in its occasional meaning “the underworld,” cf. Jon 2:3.
- 61:8 Send your love and fidelity: as in Ps 43:3 the psalmist asks God to send these two divine attributes like angels to protect the king.
- Psalm 62 A song of trust displaying serenity from experiencing God’s power (the refrains of Ps 62:2–3 and Ps 62:6–7) and anger toward unjust enemies (Ps 62:4–5). From the experience of being rescued, the psalmist can teach others to trust in God (Ps 62:9–12).
- 62:1 ‘Al Jeduthun: apparently the Hebrew name for the melody.
- 62:10 On a balance they rise: precious objects were weighed by balancing two pans suspended from a beam. The lighter pan rises.
- 62:12 One thing…two things: parallelism of numbers for the sake of variation, a common device in Semitic poetry. One should not literally add up the numbers, cf. Am 1:3; Prv 6:16–19; 30:15, 18, 21.
- Psalm 63 A Psalm expressing the intimate relationship between God and the worshiper. Separated from God (Ps 63:2), the psalmist longs for the divine life given in the Temple (Ps 63:3–6), which is based on a close relationship with God (Ps 63:7–9). May all my enemies be destroyed and God’s true worshipers continue in giving praise (Ps 63:10–11)!
- 63:4 For your love is better than life: only here in the Old Testament is anything prized above life—in this case God’s love.
- 63:12 All who swear by the Lord: to swear by a particular god meant that one was a worshiper of that god (Is 45:23; 48:1; Zep 1:5).
- Psalm 64 A lament of a person overwhelmed by the malice of the wicked who are depicted in the Psalms as the enemies of the righteous (Ps 64:2–7). When people see God bringing upon the wicked the evil they intended against others, they will know who is the true ruler of the world (Ps 64:8–10). The final verse is a vow of praise (Ps 64:11).
- Psalm 65 The community, aware of its unworthiness (Ps 65:3–4), gives thanks for divine bounty (Ps 65:5), a bounty resulting from God’s creation victory (Ps 65:6–9). At God’s touch the earth comes alive with vegetation and flocks (Ps 65:10–13).
- 65:2 Vows: the Israelites were accustomed to promising sacrifices in the Temple if their prayers were heard.
- 65:3 To you all flesh must come: all must have recourse to God’s mercy.
- 65:6 Awesome deeds: the acts of creating—installing mountains, taming seas, restraining nations (Ps 65:7–8)—that are visible worldwide (Ps 65:6, 9).
- 65:10–14 Apparently a description of the agricultural year, beginning with the first fall rains that soften the hard sun-baked soil (Ps 65:9–10).
- 65:10 God’s stream: the fertile waters of the earth derive from God’s fertile waters in the heavenly world.
- 65:12 Paths: probably the tracks of God’s storm chariot dropping rain upon earth.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.