Psalm 26-31

New American Standard Bible

Protestation of Integrity and Prayer for Protection.

A Psalm of David.

26 ^[a]^(A)Vindicate me, Lord, for I have ^(B)walked in my integrity,
And I have ^(C)trusted in the Lord ^[b]^(D)without wavering.
²^(E)Examine me, Lord, and put me to the test;
^(F)Refine my ^[c]mind and my heart.
³For Your ^(G)^[d]goodness is before my eyes,
And I have ^(H)walked in Your truth.
⁴I do not ^(I)sit with ^[e]deceitful people,
Nor will I go with ^[f]^(J)pretenders.
⁵I ^(K)hate the assembly of evildoers,
And I will not sit with the wicked.
⁶I will ^(L)wash my hands in innocence,
And I will go around ^(M)Your altar, Lord,
⁷That I may proclaim with the voice of ^(N)thanksgiving
And declare all Your ^[g]wonders.

⁸Lord, I ^(O)love the dwelling of Your house,
And the place ^[h]where Your ^(P)glory remains.
⁹^(Q)Do not ^[i]take my soul away along with sinners,
Nor my life with ^(R)men of bloodshed,
¹⁰In whose hands is a ^(S)wicked scheme,
And whose right hand is full of ^(T)bribes.
¹¹But as for me, I will ^(U)walk in my integrity;
^(V)Redeem me, and be gracious to me.
¹²^(W)My foot stands on ^(X)level ground;
In the ^(Y)congregations I will bless the Lord.

A Psalm of Fearless Trust in God.

A Psalm of David.

27 The Lord is my ^(Z)light and my ^(AA)salvation;
Whom should I fear?
The Lord is the ^[j]^(AB)defense of my life;
^(AC)Whom should I dread?
²When evildoers came upon me to ^(AD)devour my flesh,
My adversaries and my enemies, they ^(AE)stumbled and fell.
³If an ^(AF)army encamps against me,
My heart will not fear;
If war arises against me,
In spite of this I am ^(AG)confident.

⁴^(AH)One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:
That I may ^(AI)dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
To behold ^(AJ)the ^[k]beauty of the Lord
And to ^[l]^(AK)meditate in His temple.
⁵For on the ^(AL)day of trouble He will ^(AM)conceal me in His ^[m]tabernacle;
He will ^(AN)hide me in the secret place of His tent;
He will ^(AO)lift me up on a rock.
⁶And now ^(AP)my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me,
And I will offer ^(AQ)sacrifices in His tent ^[n]with shouts of joy;
I will ^(AR)sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

⁷^(AS)Hear, Lord, when I cry with my voice,
And be gracious to me and ^(AT)answer me.
⁸When You said, “^(AU)Seek My face,” my heart said to You,
“^(AV)I shall seek Your face, Lord.”
⁹^(AW)Do not hide Your face from me,
Do not turn Your servant away in ^(AX)anger;
You have been ^(AY)my help;
^(AZ)Do not abandon me nor ^(BA)forsake me,
God of my salvation!
¹⁰^[o]For my father and ^(BB)my mother have forsaken me,
But ^(BC)the Lord will take me up.

¹¹^(BD)Teach me Your way, Lord,
And lead me on a ^(BE)level path
Because of my enemies.
¹²Do not turn me over to the ^[p]^(BF)desire of my enemies,
For ^(BG)false witnesses have risen against me,
And the violent ^(BH)witness.
¹³I certainly believed that I would see the ^(BI)goodness of the Lord
In the ^(BJ)land of the living.
¹⁴^(BK)Wait for the Lord;
Be ^(BL)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 ^(BM)rock, do not be deaf to me,
For if You ^(BN)are silent to me,
I will become like those who ^(BO)go down to the pit.
²Hear the ^(BP)sound of my pleadings when I cry to You for help,
When I ^(BQ)raise my hands ^(BR)toward ^[q]Your holy ^(BS)sanctuary.
³^(BT)Do not drag me away with the wicked
And with those who practice injustice,
Who ^(BU)speak peace with their neighbors,
While evil is in their hearts.
⁴Give back to them ^(BV)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 ^(BW)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 ^(BX)has heard the sound of my pleading.
⁷The Lord is my ^(BY)strength and my ^(BZ)shield;
My heart ^(CA)trusts in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore ^(CB)my heart triumphs,
And with ^(CC)my song I shall thank Him.
⁸The Lord is ^[r]their ^(CD)strength,
And He is a refuge of ^(CE)salvation to His anointed.
⁹^(CF)Save Your people and bless ^(CG)Your inheritance;
Be their ^(CH)shepherd also, and ^(CI)carry them forever.

The Voice of the Lord in the Storm.

A Psalm of David.

29 ^(CJ)Ascribe to the Lord, ^[s]sons of the mighty,
Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
²Ascribe to the Lord the glory ^[t]due His name;
Worship the Lord ^(CK)in holy attire.

³The ^(CL)voice of the Lord is on the waters;
The God of glory ^(CM)thunders,
The Lord is over ^[u]^(CN)many waters.
⁴The voice of the Lord is ^(CO)powerful,
The voice of the Lord is majestic.
⁵The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
Yes, the Lord breaks ^(CP)the cedars of Lebanon in pieces.
⁶He makes Lebanon ^(CQ)skip like a calf,
And ^(CR)Sirion like a young wild ox.
⁷The voice of the Lord divides ^[v]flames of fire.
⁸The voice of the Lord ^[w]shakes the wilderness;
The Lord shakes the wilderness of ^(CS)Kadesh.
⁹The voice of the Lord makes ^(CT)the deer give birth
And strips the forests bare;
And ^(CU)in His temple everything says, “Glory!”

¹⁰The Lord sat as King at the ^(CV)flood;
Yes, the Lord sits as ^(CW)King forever.
¹¹^[x]The Lord will give ^(CX)strength to His people;
^[y]The Lord will bless His people with ^(CY)peace.

Thanksgiving for Rescue from Death.

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

30 I will ^(CZ)exalt You, Lord, for You have ^(DA)lifted me up,
And have not let my ^(DB)enemies rejoice over me.
²Lord my God,
I ^(DC)cried to You for help, and You ^(DD)healed me.
³Lord, You have ^(DE)brought up my soul from ^[z]Sheol;
You have kept me alive, ^[aa]that I would not ^(DF)go down to the pit.
⁴^(DG)Sing praise to the Lord, you ^(DH)His godly ones,
And ^(DI)praise the mention of His holiness.
⁵For ^(DJ)His anger is but for a moment,
His ^(DK)favor is for a lifetime;
Weeping may ^(DL)last for the night,
But a shout of joy comes in the morning.

⁶Now as for me, I said in my prosperity,
“I will ^(DM)never be moved.”
⁷Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain to stand strong;
You ^(DN)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 ^(DO)go down to the pit?
Will the ^(DP)dust praise You? Will it declare Your faithfulness?

¹⁰“^(DQ)Hear, Lord, and be gracious to me;
Lord, be my ^(DR)helper.”
¹¹You have turned ^(DS)my mourning into dancing for me;
You have ^(DT)untied my sackcloth and encircled me with ^(DU)joy,
¹²That my ^[ab]^(DV)soul may sing praise to You and not be silent.
Lord my God, I will ^(DW)give thanks to You forever.

A Psalm of Complaint and of Praise.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

31 ^(DX)In You, Lord, I have taken refuge;
Let me never ^(DY)be ^[ac]put to shame;
^(DZ)In Your righteousness rescue me.
²^(EA)Incline Your ear to me, rescue me quickly;
Be a ^(EB)rock of ^[ad]strength for me,
A ^[ae]stronghold to save me.
³For You are my rock and ^(EC)my fortress;
For the ^(ED)sake of Your name You will lead me and guide me.
⁴You will ^(EE)pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me,
For You are my ^(EF)strength.
⁵^(EG)Into Your hand I entrust my spirit;
You have ^(EH)redeemed me, Lord, ^(EI)God of ^[af]truth.

⁶I hate those who ^(EJ)devote themselves to worthless ^[ag]idols,
But I ^(EK)trust in the Lord.
⁷I will ^(EL)rejoice and be glad in Your faithfulness,
Because You have ^(EM)seen my misery;
You have known the troubles of my soul,
⁸And You have not ^(EN)handed me over to the enemy;
You have set my feet in a large place.

⁹Be gracious to me, Lord, for ^(EO)I am in distress;
My ^(EP)eye is wasted away from grief, ^(EQ)my soul and my body too.
¹⁰For my life is spent with ^(ER)sorrow
And my years with sighing;
My ^(ES)strength has failed because of my guilt,
And ^(ET)my ^[ah]body has wasted away.
¹¹Because of all my adversaries, I have become a ^(EU)disgrace,
Especially to my ^(EV)neighbors,
And an object of dread to my acquaintances;
Those who see me in the street flee from me.
¹²I am ^(EW)forgotten like a dead person, out of mind;
I am like a broken vessel.
¹³For I have heard the ^[ai]^(EX)slander of many,
^(EY)Terror is on every side;
While they ^(EZ)took counsel together against me,
They ^(FA)schemed to take away my life.

¹⁴But as for me, I trust in You, Lord,
I say, “^(FB)You are my God.”
¹⁵My ^(FC)times are in Your hand;
^(FD)Rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me.
¹⁶Make Your ^(FE)face shine upon Your servant;
^(FF)Save me in Your faithfulness.
¹⁷Let me not be ^(FG)put to shame, Lord, for I call upon You;
Let the ^(FH)wicked be put to shame, let them ^(FI)be silent in ^[aj]Sheol.
¹⁸Let the ^(FJ)lying lips be speechless,
Which ^(FK)speak arrogantly against the righteous
With pride and contempt.

¹⁹How great is Your ^(FL)goodness,
Which You have stored up for those who fear You,
Which You have performed for those who ^(FM)take refuge in You,
^(FN)Before the sons of mankind!
²⁰You hide them in the ^(FO)secret place of Your presence from the ^(FP)conspiracies of mankind;
You keep them secretly in a ^[ak]shelter from the ^(FQ)strife of tongues.
²¹^(FR)Blessed be the Lord,
For He has shown His ^(FS)marvelous faithfulness to me in a besieged ^(FT)city.
²²As for me, ^(FU)I said in my alarm,
“I am ^(FV)cut off from Your eyes”;
Nevertheless You ^(FW)heard the sound of my pleadings
When I called to You for help.

²³Love the Lord, all ^(FX)His godly ones!
The Lord ^(FY)watches over the faithful
But fully ^(FZ)repays the one who acts arrogantly.
²⁴^(GA)Be strong and let your heart take courage,
All you who wait for the Lord.