Psalm 25-30

New American Standard Bible

Prayer for Protection, Guidance, and Pardon.

A Psalm of David.

25 To You, Lord, I ^(A)lift up my soul.
²My God, in You ^(B)I trust,
Do not let me ^(C)be ashamed;
Do not let my ^(D)enemies rejoice over me.
³Indeed, ^(E)none of those who wait for You will be ashamed;
^[a]Those who ^(F)deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed.

⁴^(G)Make me know Your ways, Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
⁵Lead me in ^(H)Your truth and teach me,
For You are the ^(I)God of my salvation;
For You I ^(J)wait all the day.
⁶^(K)Remember, Lord, Your compassion and Your faithfulness,
For they have been ^[b]^(L)from of old.
⁷Do not remember the ^(M)sins of my youth or my wrongdoings;
^(N)Remember me according to Your faithfulness,
For Your ^(O)goodness’ sake, Lord.

⁸^(P)The Lord is good and ^(Q)upright;
Therefore He ^(R)instructs sinners in the way.
⁹He ^(S)leads the ^[c]humble in justice,
And He ^(T)teaches the ^[d]humble His way.
¹⁰All the paths of the Lord are ^(U)faithfulness and truth
To ^(V)those who comply with His covenant and His testimonies.
¹¹For the ^(W)sake of Your name, Lord,
^(X)Forgive my wrongdoing, for it is great.

¹²Who is the person who ^(Y)fears the Lord?
He will ^(Z)instruct him in the way he should choose.
¹³His soul will ^(AA)dwell in ^[e]prosperity,
And his ^[f]descendants will ^(AB)inherit the ^[g]land.
¹⁴The ^[h]^(AC)secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him,
^[i]And He will ^(AD)make them know His covenant.
¹⁵My ^(AE)eyes are continually toward the Lord,
For He will ^[j]^(AF)rescue my feet from the net.

¹⁶^(AG)Turn to me and be gracious to me,
For I am ^(AH)lonely and afflicted.
¹⁷^[k]The ^(AI)troubles of my heart are enlarged;
Bring me ^(AJ)out of my distresses.
¹⁸^(AK)Look at my misery and my trouble,
And ^(AL)forgive all my sins.
¹⁹Look at my enemies, for they ^(AM)are many,
And they ^(AN)hate me with violent hatred.
²⁰^(AO)Guard my soul and save me;
Do not let me ^(AP)be ashamed, for I take refuge in You.
²¹Let ^(AQ)integrity and uprightness protect me,
For ^(AR)I wait for You.
²²^(AS)Redeem Israel, God,
From all his distress.

Protestation of Integrity and Prayer for Protection.

A Psalm of David.

26 ^[l]^(AT)Vindicate me, Lord, for I have ^(AU)walked in my integrity,
And I have ^(AV)trusted in the Lord ^[m]^(AW)without wavering.
²^(AX)Examine me, Lord, and put me to the test;
^(AY)Refine my ^[n]mind and my heart.
³For Your ^(AZ)^[o]goodness is before my eyes,
And I have ^(BA)walked in Your truth.
⁴I do not ^(BB)sit with ^[p]deceitful people,
Nor will I go with ^[q]^(BC)pretenders.
⁵I ^(BD)hate the assembly of evildoers,
And I will not sit with the wicked.
⁶I will ^(BE)wash my hands in innocence,
And I will go around ^(BF)Your altar, Lord,
⁷That I may proclaim with the voice of ^(BG)thanksgiving
And declare all Your ^[r]wonders.

⁸Lord, I ^(BH)love the dwelling of Your house,
And the place ^[s]where Your ^(BI)glory remains.
⁹^(BJ)Do not ^[t]take my soul away along with sinners,
Nor my life with ^(BK)men of bloodshed,
¹⁰In whose hands is a ^(BL)wicked scheme,
And whose right hand is full of ^(BM)bribes.
¹¹But as for me, I will ^(BN)walk in my integrity;
^(BO)Redeem me, and be gracious to me.
¹²^(BP)My foot stands on ^(BQ)level ground;
In the ^(BR)congregations I will bless the Lord.

A Psalm of Fearless Trust in God.

A Psalm of David.

27 The Lord is my ^(BS)light and my ^(BT)salvation;
Whom should I fear?
The Lord is the ^[u]^(BU)defense of my life;
^(BV)Whom should I dread?
²When evildoers came upon me to ^(BW)devour my flesh,
My adversaries and my enemies, they ^(BX)stumbled and fell.
³If an ^(BY)army encamps against me,
My heart will not fear;
If war arises against me,
In spite of this I am ^(BZ)confident.

⁴^(CA)One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:
That I may ^(CB)dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
To behold ^(CC)the ^[v]beauty of the Lord
And to ^[w]^(CD)meditate in His temple.
⁵For on the ^(CE)day of trouble He will ^(CF)conceal me in His ^[x]tabernacle;
He will ^(CG)hide me in the secret place of His tent;
He will ^(CH)lift me up on a rock.
⁶And now ^(CI)my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me,
And I will offer ^(CJ)sacrifices in His tent ^[y]with shouts of joy;
I will ^(CK)sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

⁷^(CL)Hear, Lord, when I cry with my voice,
And be gracious to me and ^(CM)answer me.
⁸When You said, “^(CN)Seek My face,” my heart said to You,
“^(CO)I shall seek Your face, Lord.”
⁹^(CP)Do not hide Your face from me,
Do not turn Your servant away in ^(CQ)anger;
You have been ^(CR)my help;
^(CS)Do not abandon me nor ^(CT)forsake me,
God of my salvation!
¹⁰^[z]For my father and ^(CU)my mother have forsaken me,
But ^(CV)the Lord will take me up.

¹¹^(CW)Teach me Your way, Lord,
And lead me on a ^(CX)level path
Because of my enemies.
¹²Do not turn me over to the ^[aa]^(CY)desire of my enemies,
For ^(CZ)false witnesses have risen against me,
And the violent ^(DA)witness.
¹³I certainly believed that I would see the ^(DB)goodness of the Lord
In the ^(DC)land of the living.
¹⁴^(DD)Wait for the Lord;
Be ^(DE)strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the Lord.

A Prayer for Help, and Praise for Its Answer.

A Psalm of David.

28 To You, Lord, I call;
My ^(DF)rock, do not be deaf to me,
For if You ^(DG)are silent to me,
I will become like those who ^(DH)go down to the pit.
²Hear the ^(DI)sound of my pleadings when I cry to You for help,
When I ^(DJ)raise my hands ^(DK)toward ^[ab]Your holy ^(DL)sanctuary.
³^(DM)Do not drag me away with the wicked
And with those who practice injustice,
Who ^(DN)speak peace with their neighbors,
While evil is in their hearts.
⁴Give back to them ^(DO)according to their work and according to the evil of their practices;
Give back to them according to the work of their hands;
Repay them what is due them.
⁵Because they ^(DP)do not regard the works of the Lord
Nor the deeds of His hands,
He will tear them down and not build them up.

⁶Blessed be the Lord,
Because He ^(DQ)has heard the sound of my pleading.
⁷The Lord is my ^(DR)strength and my ^(DS)shield;
My heart ^(DT)trusts in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore ^(DU)my heart triumphs,
And with ^(DV)my song I shall thank Him.
⁸The Lord is ^[ac]their ^(DW)strength,
And He is a refuge of ^(DX)salvation to His anointed.
⁹^(DY)Save Your people and bless ^(DZ)Your inheritance;
Be their ^(EA)shepherd also, and ^(EB)carry them forever.

The Voice of the Lord in the Storm.

A Psalm of David.

29 ^(EC)Ascribe to the Lord, ^[ad]sons of the mighty,
Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
²Ascribe to the Lord the glory ^[ae]due His name;
Worship the Lord ^(ED)in holy attire.

³The ^(EE)voice of the Lord is on the waters;
The God of glory ^(EF)thunders,
The Lord is over ^[af]^(EG)many waters.
⁴The voice of the Lord is ^(EH)powerful,
The voice of the Lord is majestic.
⁵The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
Yes, the Lord breaks ^(EI)the cedars of Lebanon in pieces.
⁶He makes Lebanon ^(EJ)skip like a calf,
And ^(EK)Sirion like a young wild ox.
⁷The voice of the Lord divides ^[ag]flames of fire.
⁸The voice of the Lord ^[ah]shakes the wilderness;
The Lord shakes the wilderness of ^(EL)Kadesh.
⁹The voice of the Lord makes ^(EM)the deer give birth
And strips the forests bare;
And ^(EN)in His temple everything says, “Glory!”

¹⁰The Lord sat as King at the ^(EO)flood;
Yes, the Lord sits as ^(EP)King forever.
¹¹^[ai]The Lord will give ^(EQ)strength to His people;
^[aj]The Lord will bless His people with ^(ER)peace.

Thanksgiving for Rescue from Death.

A Psalm; a Song at the Dedication of the House. A Psalm of David.

30 I will ^(ES)exalt You, Lord, for You have ^(ET)lifted me up,
And have not let my ^(EU)enemies rejoice over me.
²Lord my God,
I ^(EV)cried to You for help, and You ^(EW)healed me.
³Lord, You have ^(EX)brought up my soul from ^[ak]Sheol;
You have kept me alive, ^[al]that I would not ^(EY)go down to the pit.
⁴^(EZ)Sing praise to the Lord, you ^(FA)His godly ones,
And ^(FB)praise the mention of His holiness.
⁵For ^(FC)His anger is but for a moment,
His ^(FD)favor is for a lifetime;
Weeping may ^(FE)last for the night,
But a shout of joy comes in the morning.

⁶Now as for me, I said in my prosperity,
“I will ^(FF)never be moved.”
⁷Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain to stand strong;
You ^(FG)hid Your face, I was dismayed.
⁸To You, Lord, I called,
And to the Lord I pleaded for compassion:
⁹“What gain is there in my blood, if I ^(FH)go down to the pit?
Will the ^(FI)dust praise You? Will it declare Your faithfulness?

¹⁰“^(FJ)Hear, Lord, and be gracious to me;
Lord, be my ^(FK)helper.”
¹¹You have turned ^(FL)my mourning into dancing for me;
You have ^(FM)untied my sackcloth and encircled me with ^(FN)joy,
¹²That my ^[am]^(FO)soul may sing praise to You and not be silent.
Lord my God, I will ^(FP)give thanks to You forever.