The Lord Upholds My Life

To the choirmaster: with (A)stringed instruments. A Maskil[a] of David, (B)when the Ziphites went and told Saul, “Is not David hiding among us?”

54 O God, save me by your (C)name,
    and vindicate me by your might.
O God, (D)hear my prayer;
    give ear to the words of my mouth.

(E)For (F)strangers[b] have risen against me;
    ruthless men (G)seek my life;
    they do not set God before themselves. Selah

Behold, (H)God is my helper;
    the Lord is the upholder of my life.
He will return the evil to my enemies;
    in your (I)faithfulness (J)put an end to them.

With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you;
    I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, (K)for it is good.
For he has delivered me from every trouble,
    and my eye has (L)looked in triumph on my enemies.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 54:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
  2. Psalm 54:3 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Targum insolent men (compare Psalm 86:14)

Book One

The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked

Blessed is the man[a]
    who (A)walks not in (B)the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in (C)the way of sinners,
    nor (D)sits in (E)the seat of (F)scoffers;
but his (G)delight is in the law[b] of the Lord,
    and on his (H)law he meditates day and night.

He is like (I)a tree
    planted by (J)streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
    and its (K)leaf does not wither.
(L)In all that he does, he prospers.
The wicked are not so,
    but are like (M)chaff that the wind drives away.

Therefore the wicked (N)will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in (O)the congregation of the righteous;
for the Lord (P)knows (Q)the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked will perish.

The Reign of the Lord's Anointed

(R)Why do (S)the nations rage[c]
    and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
    and the rulers take counsel together,
    against the Lord and against his (T)Anointed, saying,
“Let us (U)burst their bonds apart
    and cast away their cords from us.”

He who (V)sits in the heavens (W)laughs;
    the Lord holds them in derision.
Then he will speak to them in his (X)wrath,
    and terrify them in his fury, saying,
“As for me, I have (Y)set my King
    on (Z)Zion, my (AA)holy hill.”

I will tell of the decree:
The Lord said to me, (AB)“You are my Son;
    today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
    and (AC)the ends of the earth your possession.
You shall (AD)break[d] them with (AE)a rod of iron
    and dash them in pieces like (AF)a potter's vessel.”

10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
    be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 (AG)Serve the Lord with (AH)fear,
    and (AI)rejoice with (AJ)trembling.
12 (AK)Kiss (AL)the Son,
    lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
    for his (AM)wrath is quickly kindled.
(AN)Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Save Me, O My God

A Psalm of David, (AO)when he fled from Absalom his son.

O Lord, (AP)how many are my foes!
    Many are (AQ)rising against me;
many are saying of my soul,
    (AR)“There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah[e]

But you, O Lord, are (AS)a shield (AT)about me,
    my glory, and (AU)the lifter of my head.
I (AV)cried aloud to the Lord,
    and he (AW)answered me from his (AX)holy hill. Selah

I (AY)lay down and slept;
    I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.
I (AZ)will not be afraid of many thousands of people
    who have (BA)set themselves against me all around.

(BB)Arise, O Lord!
    Save me, O my God!
For you (BC)strike all my enemies on the cheek;
    you (BD)break the teeth of the wicked.

(BE)Salvation belongs to the Lord;
    your blessing be on your people! Selah

Answer Me When I Call

To the (BF)choirmaster: with (BG)stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.

Answer me when I call, O God of my (BH)righteousness!
    You have (BI)given me relief when I was in distress.
    Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!

O men,[f] how long shall my honor be turned into shame?
    How long will you love vain words and seek after (BJ)lies? Selah
But know that the Lord has (BK)set apart (BL)the godly for himself;
    the Lord hears when I call to him.

(BM)Be angry,[g] and do not sin;
    (BN)ponder in your own hearts (BO)on your beds, and be silent. Selah
Offer (BP)right sacrifices,
    and put your (BQ)trust in the Lord.

There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?
    (BR)Lift up (BS)the light of your face upon us, O Lord!”
You have put (BT)more joy in my heart
    than they have when their grain and wine abound.

In peace I will both (BU)lie down and sleep;
    for you alone, O Lord, make me (BV)dwell in safety.

Lead Me in Your Righteousness

To the choirmaster: for the flutes. A Psalm of David.

Give ear to my words, O Lord;
    consider my (BW)groaning.
Give attention to the sound of my cry,
    my (BX)King and my God,
    for (BY)to you do I pray.
O Lord, in (BZ)the morning you hear my voice;
    in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you[h] and (CA)watch.

For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
    evil may not dwell with you.
The (CB)boastful shall not (CC)stand before your eyes;
    you (CD)hate all evildoers.
You destroy those who speak (CE)lies;
    the Lord abhors (CF)the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,
    will enter your house.
I will (CG)bow down (CH)toward your (CI)holy temple
    in the fear of you.
(CJ)Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness
    because of my enemies;
    (CK)make your way straight before me.

For there is no truth in their mouth;
    their inmost self is (CL)destruction;
(CM)their throat is (CN)an open grave;
    they (CO)flatter with their tongue.
10 (CP)Make them bear their guilt, O God;
    let them (CQ)fall by their own counsels;
because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out,
    for they have rebelled against you.

11 But let all who (CR)take refuge in you (CS)rejoice;
    let them ever sing for joy,
and spread your protection over them,
    that those who love your name may (CT)exult in you.
12 For you (CU)bless the righteous, O Lord;
    you (CV)cover him with favor as with (CW)a shield.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 1:1 The singular Hebrew word for man (ish) is used here to portray a representative example of a godly person; see Preface
  2. Psalm 1:2 Or instruction
  3. Psalm 2:1 Or nations noisily assemble
  4. Psalm 2:9 Revocalization yields (compare Septuagint) You shall rule
  5. Psalm 3:2 The meaning of the Hebrew word Selah, used frequently in the Psalms, is uncertain. It may be a musical or liturgical direction
  6. Psalm 4:2 Or O men of rank
  7. Psalm 4:4 Or Be agitated
  8. Psalm 5:3 Or I direct my prayer to you

In You Do I Take Refuge

A (A)Shiggaion[a] of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush, a Benjaminite.

O Lord my God, in you do I (B)take refuge;
    (C)save me from all my pursuers and deliver me,
lest like (D)a lion they tear my soul apart,
    rending it in pieces, with (E)none to deliver.

O Lord my God, (F)if I have done this,
    if there is (G)wrong in my hands,
if I have repaid (H)my friend[b] with evil
    or (I)plundered my enemy without cause,
let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it,
    and let him (J)trample my life to the ground
    and lay my glory in the dust. Selah

(K)Arise, O Lord, in your anger;
    (L)lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies;
    (M)awake for me; you have appointed a judgment.
Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered about you;
    over it return on high.

The Lord (N)judges the peoples;
    (O)judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness
    and according to the integrity that is in me.
Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
    and may you establish the righteous—
you who (P)test (Q)the minds and hearts,[c]
    O righteous God!
10 My shield is (R)with God,
    who saves (S)the upright in heart.
11 God is (T)a righteous judge,
    and a God who feels (U)indignation every day.

12 If a man[d] does not repent, God[e] will (V)whet his sword;
    he has (W)bent and (X)readied his bow;
13 he has prepared for him his deadly weapons,
    making his (Y)arrows (Z)fiery shafts.
14 Behold, the wicked man (AA)conceives evil
    and is (AB)pregnant with mischief
    and gives birth to lies.
15 He makes (AC)a pit, digging it out,
    and falls into the hole that he has made.
16 His (AD)mischief returns upon his own head,
    and on his own skull his violence descends.

17 I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness,
    and I will (AE)sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 7:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
  2. Psalm 7:4 Hebrew the one at peace with me
  3. Psalm 7:9 Hebrew the hearts and kidneys
  4. Psalm 7:12 Hebrew he
  5. Psalm 7:12 Hebrew he

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