Psalm 61-67

New American Standard Bible

Confidence in God’s Protection.

For the music director; on a stringed instrument. A Psalm of David.

61 ^(A)Hear my cry, God;
^(B)Give Your attention to my prayer.
²From the ^(C)end of the earth I call to You when my heart is ^(D)faint;
Lead me to ^(E)the rock that is higher than I.
³For You have been a ^(F)refuge for me,
A ^(G)tower of strength against the enemy.
⁴Let me ^[a]^(H)dwell in Your tent forever;
Let me ^(I)take refuge in the shelter of Your wings. Selah

⁵For You have heard my ^(J)vows, God;
You have given me the inheritance of those who ^(K)fear Your name.
⁶You will ^[b]^(L)prolong the king’s ^[c]life;
His years will be like generations.
⁷He will ^[d]sit enthroned ^(M)before God forever;
Appoint ^(N)faithfulness and truth that they may watch over him.
⁸So I will ^(O)sing praise to Your name forever,
That I may ^(P)pay my vows day by day.

God Alone a Refuge from Treachery and Oppression.

For the music director; ^[e]according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

62 ^(Q)My soul waits in silence for God alone;
From Him ^(R)comes my salvation.
²He alone is my ^(S)rock and my salvation,
My ^(T)stronghold; I will not be greatly shaken.

³How long will you attack a man,
That you may murder him, all of you,
Like a ^(U)leaning wall, like a tottering fence?
⁴They have planned only to thrust him down from his high position;
They ^(V)delight in falsehood;
They ^(W)bless with ^[f]their mouth,
But inwardly they curse. Selah

⁵My soul, ^(X)wait in silence for God alone,
For my hope is from Him.
⁶He alone is ^(Y)my rock and my salvation,
My refuge; I will not be shaken.
⁷My ^(Z)salvation and my glory rest on God;
The rock of my strength, my ^(AA)refuge is in God.
⁸^(AB)Trust in Him at all times, you people;
^(AC)Pour out your hearts before Him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah

⁹People of ^(AD)low standing are only ^(AE)breath, and people of rank are a ^(AF)lie;
In the ^(AG)balances they go up.
Together they are lighter than breath.
¹⁰^(AH)Do not trust in oppression,
And do not vainly rely on ^(AI)robbery;
If wealth increases, ^(AJ)do not set your heart on it.

¹¹God has ^(AK)spoken ^[g]once;
^[h]Twice I have heard this:
That ^(AL)power belongs to God;
¹²And faithfulness ^(AM)is Yours, Lord,
For You ^(AN)reward a person according to his work.

The Thirsting Soul Satisfied in God.

A Psalm of David, ^[i]when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

63 God, ^(AO)You are my God; I shall be watching for You;
My soul ^(AP)thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You,
In a ^(AQ)dry and exhausted land where there is no water.
²So have I ^(AR)seen You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and glory.
³Because Your ^[j]^(AS)favor is better than life,
My lips will praise You.
⁴So I will bless You ^(AT)as long as I live;
I will ^(AU)lift up my hands in Your name.
⁵My soul is ^(AV)satisfied as with fat and fatness,
And my mouth offers ^(AW)praises with joyful lips.

⁶When I remember You ^(AX)on my bed,
I meditate on You in the ^(AY)night watches,
⁷For ^(AZ)You have been my help,
And in the ^(BA)shadow of Your wings I sing for joy.
⁸My soul ^(BB)clings ^[k]to You;
Your ^(BC)right hand takes hold of me.

⁹But those who ^(BD)seek my ^[l]life to destroy it,
Will go into the ^[m]^(BE)depths of the earth.
¹⁰^[n]They will be ^[o]^(BF)turned over to the power of the sword;
They will be a ^[p]^(BG)prey for foxes.
¹¹But the ^(BH)king will rejoice in God;
Everyone who ^(BI)swears by Him will boast,
For the ^(BJ)mouths of those who speak lies will be stopped.

Prayer for Rescue from Secret Enemies.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

64 Hear my voice, God, in ^(BK)my ^[q]complaint;
^(BL)Protect my life from dread of the enemy.
²Hide me from the ^(BM)secret discussion of evildoers,
From the restlessness of ^(BN)the workers of injustice,
³Who ^(BO)have sharpened their tongues like a sword.
They ^(BP)aimed bitter speech as their arrows,
⁴To ^(BQ)shoot ^[r]from concealment at the innocent;
Suddenly they shoot at him, and ^(BR)do not fear.
⁵They make firm for themselves an evil ^[s]purpose;
They ^[t]talk of ^(BS)setting snares secretly;
They say, “^(BT)Who can see them?”
⁶They ^[u]devise injustices, saying,
“We are ^[v]ready with a well-conceived plot”;
For the ^[w]^(BU)inward thought and the heart of a person are ^[x]deep.

⁷But ^(BV)God ^[y]will shoot an arrow at them;
Suddenly ^[z]they will be wounded.
⁸So ^[aa]they ^[ab]will ^(BW)make him stumble;
^(BX)Their own tongue is against them;
All who see them will ^(BY)shake their heads.
⁹Then all people ^[ac]will ^(BZ)fear,
And they ^[ad]will ^(CA)declare the work of God,
And ^[ae]will consider ^[af]what He has done.
¹⁰The righteous person will be ^(CB)glad in the Lord and ^(CC)take refuge in Him;
And all the upright in heart will boast.

God’s Abundant Favor to Earth and Mankind.

For the music director. A Psalm of David. A Song.

65 There will be silence ^[ag]before You, and praise in Zion, God,
And the ^(CD)vow will be fulfilled for You.
²You who hear prayer,
To You ^(CE)all ^[ah]mankind comes.
³^[ai]^(CF)Wrongdoings prevail against me;
As for our offenses, You ^[aj]^(CG)forgive them.
⁴^(CH)Blessed is the one You ^(CI)choose and allow to approach You;
He will dwell in Your courtyards.
We will be ^(CJ)satisfied with the goodness of Your house,
Your holy temple.

⁵By ^(CK)awesome deeds You answer us in righteousness, ^(CL)God of our salvation,
You who are the trust of all the ^(CM)ends of the earth and the farthest ^[ak]^(CN)sea;
⁶Who ^(CO)establishes the mountains by His strength,
Who is ^(CP)encircled with might;
⁷Who ^(CQ)stills the roaring of the seas,
The roaring of their waves,
And the ^(CR)turmoil of the nations.
⁸They who dwell at the ^(CS)ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs;
You make the ^[al]sunrise and the sunset shout for joy.

⁹You visit the earth and ^(CT)cause it to overflow;
You greatly ^(CU)enrich it;
The ^[am]^(CV)stream of God is full of water;
You prepare their ^(CW)grain, for so You prepare ^[an]the earth.
¹⁰You water its furrows abundantly,
You ^[ao]settle its ridges,
You soften it ^(CX)with showers,
You bless its growth.
¹¹You have crowned the year ^[ap]with Your ^(CY)goodness,
And Your ^[aq]paths ^(CZ)drip with fatness.
¹²^(DA)The pastures of the wilderness drip,
And the ^(DB)hills encircle themselves with rejoicing.
¹³The meadows are ^(DC)clothed with flocks
And the valleys are ^(DD)covered with grain;
They ^(DE)shout for joy, yes, they sing.

Praise for God’s Mighty Deeds and for His Answer to Prayer.

For the music director. A Song. A Psalm.

66 ^(DF)Shout joyfully to God, all the earth;
²Sing the ^(DG)glory of His name;
Make His ^(DH)praise glorious.
³Say to God, “How ^(DI)awesome are Your works!
Because of the greatness of Your power Your enemies will ^(DJ)pretend to obey You.
⁴^(DK)All the earth will worship You,
And will ^(DL)sing praises to You;
They will sing praises to Your name.” Selah

⁵^(DM)Come and see the works of God,
Who is ^(DN)awesome in His deeds toward the sons of mankind.
⁶He ^(DO)turned the sea into dry land;
They passed through ^(DP)the river on foot;
Let’s ^(DQ)rejoice there, in Him!
⁷He ^(DR)rules by His might forever;
His ^(DS)eyes keep watch on the nations;
The rebellious shall not ^(DT)exalt themselves! Selah

⁸Bless our God, you peoples,
And ^[ar]^(DU)sound His praise abroad,
⁹Who ^[as]^(DV)keeps us in life,
And ^(DW)does not allow our feet to ^[at]slip.
¹⁰For You have ^(DX)put us to the test, God;
You have ^(DY)refined us as silver is refined.
¹¹You ^(DZ)brought us into the net;
You laid an oppressive burden upon ^[au]us.
¹²You made men ^(EA)ride over our heads;
We went through ^(EB)fire and through water.
Yet You ^(EC)brought us out into a place of abundance.
¹³I shall ^(ED)come into Your house with burnt offerings;
I shall ^(EE)pay You my vows,
¹⁴Which my lips uttered
And my mouth spoke when I was ^(EF)in distress.
¹⁵I shall ^(EG)offer to You burnt offerings of fat animals,
With the smoke of ^(EH)rams;
I shall make an offering of ^[av]bulls with male goats. Selah

¹⁶^(EI)Come and hear, all who ^[aw]fear God,
And I will ^(EJ)tell of what He has done for my soul.
¹⁷I cried to Him with my mouth,
And ^[ax]He was ^(EK)exalted with my tongue.
¹⁸If I ^[ay]^(EL)regard wickedness in my heart,
The ^(EM)Lord will not hear;
¹⁹But ^(EN)God has heard;
He has given attention to the sound of my prayer.
²⁰^(EO)Blessed be God,
Who ^(EP)has not turned away my prayer
Nor His favor from me.

The Nations Exhorted to Praise God.

For the music director; with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.

67 God be gracious to us and ^(EQ)bless us,
And ^(ER)cause His face to shine ^[az]upon us— Selah
²That ^(ES)Your way may be known on the earth,
^(ET)Your salvation among all nations.
³May the ^(EU)peoples praise You, God;
May all the peoples praise You.
⁴May the ^(EV)nations be glad and sing for joy;
For You will ^(EW)judge the peoples with fairness
And ^(EX)guide the nations on the earth. Selah
⁵May the ^(EY)peoples praise You, God;
May all the peoples praise You.
⁶The ^(EZ)earth has yielded its produce;
God, our God, ^(FA)blesses us.
⁷God blesses us,
^[ba]So that ^(FB)all the ends of the earth may fear Him.