Prayer for Protection, Guidance and Pardon.

A Psalm of David.

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

(G)Make me know Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
Lead 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.
(K)Remember, O Lord, Your compassion and Your lovingkindnesses,
For they have been [b](L)from of old.
Do not remember the (M)sins of my youth or my transgressions;
(N)According to Your lovingkindness remember me,
For Your (O)goodness’ sake, O Lord.

(P)Good and (Q)upright is the Lord;
Therefore He (R)instructs sinners in the way.
He (S)leads the [c]humble in justice,
And He (T)teaches the [d]humble His way.
10 All the paths of the Lord are (U)lovingkindness and truth
To (V)those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.
11 For (W)Your name’s sake, O Lord,
(X)Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.

12 Who is the man who (Y)fears the Lord?
He will (Z)instruct him in the way he should choose.
13 His soul will (AA)abide in [e]prosperity,
And his [f]descendants will (AB)inherit the [g]land.
14 The [h](AC)secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him,
[i]And He will (AD)make them know His covenant.
15 My (AE)eyes are continually toward the Lord,
For He will [j](AF)pluck my feet out of 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 upon my affliction and my [l]trouble,
And (AL)forgive all my sins.
19 Look upon my enemies, for they (AM)are many,
And they (AN)hate me with violent hatred.
20 (AO)Guard my soul and deliver me;
Do not let me (AP)be ashamed, for I take refuge in You.
21 Let (AQ)integrity and uprightness preserve me,
For (AR)I wait for You.
22 (AS)Redeem Israel, O God,
Out of all his troubles.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 25:3 Or Let those...be ashamed
  2. Psalm 25:6 Or everlasting
  3. Psalm 25:9 Or afflicted
  4. Psalm 25:9 Or afflicted
  5. Psalm 25:13 Lit good
  6. Psalm 25:13 Lit seed
  7. Psalm 25:13 Or earth
  8. Psalm 25:14 Or counsel or intimacy
  9. Psalm 25:14 Or And His covenant, to make them know it
  10. Psalm 25:15 Lit bring out
  11. Psalm 25:17 Some commentators read Relieve the troubles of my heart
  12. Psalm 25:18 Lit toil

Praise to the Creator and Preserver.

33 (A)Sing for joy in the Lord, O you righteous ones;
Praise is (B)becoming to the upright.
Give thanks to the Lord with the (C)lyre;
Sing praises to Him with a (D)harp of ten strings.
Sing to Him a (E)new song;
Play skillfully with (F)a shout of joy.
For the word of the Lord (G)is upright,
And all His work is done (H)in faithfulness.
He (I)loves righteousness and justice;
The (J)earth is full of the lovingkindness of the Lord.

By the (K)word of the Lord the heavens were made,
And (L)by the breath of His mouth (M)all their host.
He gathers the (N)waters of the sea together [a]as a heap;
He lays up the deeps in storehouses.
Let (O)all the earth fear the Lord;
Let all the inhabitants of the world (P)stand in awe of Him.
For (Q)He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it [b]stood fast.
10 The Lord (R)nullifies the counsel of the nations;
He frustrates the plans of the peoples.
11 The (S)counsel of the Lord stands forever,
The (T)plans of His heart from generation to generation.
12 Blessed is the (U)nation whose God is the Lord,
The people whom He has (V)chosen for His own inheritance.

13 The Lord (W)looks from heaven;
He (X)sees all the sons of men;
14 From (Y)His dwelling place He looks out
On all the inhabitants of the earth,
15 He who (Z)fashions [c]the hearts of them all,
He who (AA)understands all their works.
16 (AB)The king is not saved by a mighty army;
A warrior is not delivered by great strength.
17 A (AC)horse is a false hope for victory;
Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength.

18 Behold, (AD)the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,
On those who [d](AE)hope for His lovingkindness,
19 To (AF)deliver their soul from death
And to keep them alive (AG)in famine.
20 Our soul (AH)waits for the Lord;
He is our (AI)help and our shield.
21 For our (AJ)heart rejoices in Him,
Because we trust in His holy name.
22 Let Your lovingkindness, O Lord, be upon us,
According as we have [e]hoped in You.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 33:7 Some versions read in a water skin; i.e. container
  2. Psalm 33:9 Or stood forth
  3. Psalm 33:15 Or their heart together
  4. Psalm 33:18 Or wait
  5. Psalm 33:22 Or waited for

Wickedness of Men and Lovingkindness of God.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord.

36 Transgression speaks to the ungodly within [a]his heart;
There is (A)no fear of God before his eyes.
For [b]it (B)flatters him in his own eyes
Concerning the discovery of his iniquity and the hatred of it.
The (C)words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit;
He has (D)ceased to [c]be wise and to do good.
He (E)plans wickedness upon his bed;
He sets himself on a (F)path that is not good;
He (G)does not despise evil.

Your (H)lovingkindness, O Lord, [d]extends to the heavens,
Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Your (I)righteousness is like the [e]mountains of God;
Your (J)judgments are like a great deep.
O Lord, You (K)preserve man and beast.
How (L)precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
And the children of men (M)take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.
They (N)drink their fill of the [f]abundance of Your house;
And You give them to drink of the (O)river of Your delights.
For with You is the (P)fountain of life;
In Your light we see light.

10 O continue Your lovingkindness to (Q)those who know You,
And Your (R)righteousness to the upright in heart.
11 Let not the foot of pride come upon me,
And let not the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12 There the doers of iniquity have fallen;
They have been thrust down and (S)cannot rise.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 36:1 Another reading is my heart
  2. Psalm 36:2 Or he flatters himself
  3. Psalm 36:3 Or understand to do good
  4. Psalm 36:5 Lit is in
  5. Psalm 36:6 Or mighty mountains
  6. Psalm 36:8 Lit fatness

The Vanity of Life.

For the choir director, for [a]Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

39 I said, “I will (A)guard my ways
That I (B)may not sin with my tongue;
I will guard (C)my mouth as with a muzzle
While the wicked are in my presence.”
I was (D)mute [b]and silent,
I [c]refrained even from good,
And my [d]sorrow grew worse.
My (E)heart was hot within me,
While I was musing the fire burned;
Then I spoke with my tongue:
Lord, make me to know (F)my end
And what is the extent of my days;
Let me know how (G)transient I am.
“Behold, You have made (H)my days as handbreadths,
And my (I)lifetime as nothing in Your sight;
Surely every man [e]at his best is [f]a mere (J)breath. [g]Selah.
“Surely every man (K)walks about as [h]a phantom;
Surely they make an (L)uproar for nothing;
He (M)amasses riches and does not know who will gather them.

“And now, Lord, for what do I wait?
My (N)hope is in You.
(O)Deliver me from all my transgressions;
Make me not the (P)reproach of the foolish.
“I have become (Q)mute, I do not open my mouth,
Because it is (R)You who have done it.
10 (S)Remove Your plague from me;
Because of (T)the opposition of Your hand I am [i]perishing.
11 “With (U)reproofs You chasten a man for iniquity;
You (V)consume as a moth what is precious to him;
Surely (W)every man is a mere breath. Selah.

12 (X)Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry;
Do not be silent (Y)at my tears;
For I am (Z)a stranger with You,
A (AA)sojourner like all my fathers.
13 (AB)Turn Your gaze away from me, that I may [j]smile again
Before I depart and am no more.”

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 39:1 1 Chr 16:41
  2. Psalm 39:2 Lit with silence
  3. Psalm 39:2 Lit kept silence
  4. Psalm 39:2 Lit pain
  5. Psalm 39:5 Lit standing firm
  6. Psalm 39:5 Or altogether vanity
  7. Psalm 39:5 Selah may mean: Pause, Crescendo or Musical interlude
  8. Psalm 39:6 Lit an image
  9. Psalm 39:10 Or wasting away
  10. Psalm 39:13 Or become cheerful