Beginning

⁴ I do not sit with those committed to what is false,
    nor do I travel with hypocrites.
⁵ I hate the company of those who practice evil,
    nor do I sit with the wicked.
⁶ I wash my hands innocently.
    I go around your altar, Lord,
⁷ so I may praise you loudly with thanksgiving
    and declare all your wondrous acts.

⁸ Lord, I love the dwelling place that is your house,
    the place where your glory resides.
⁹ Do not group me^[b] with sinners,
    nor include me^[c] with men who shed blood.
¹⁰ Their hands are filled with wicked schemes,
    and their right hands with bribes.

¹¹ But as for me,
    I walk in my integrity.
        Redeem me and be gracious to me!
¹² My feet stand on level ground;
    among the worshiping congregations
        I will bless the Lord.

² When those who practice evil, my enemies, and my oppressors
    come near me to devour my flesh,
        they stumble and fall.
³ If an army encamps against me,
    my heart will not fear.
If a war is launched against me,
    I will even trust in that situation.
⁴ I have asked one thing from the Lord;
    it is what I really seek:
that I may remain in the Lord’s Temple
    all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord;
    and to inquire in his Temple.

⁵ For he will conceal me in his shelter on the day of evil;
    He will hide me in a secluded chamber within his tent;
        He will place me on a high rock.
⁶ Now my head will be lifted up above my enemies,
    even those who surround me.
I will sacrifice in his tent with shouts of joy;
    I will sing and make melodies to the Lord.

⁷ Hear my voice, Lord, when I cry out!
    Be gracious to me and answer me.
⁸ My mind recalls your word,^[d]
    “Seek my face,”
        so your face, Lord, I will seek.
⁹ Do not hide your face from me;
    do not turn away in anger from your servant.
You have been my help,
    therefore do not abandon or forsake me,
        God of my salvation.
¹⁰ Though my father and my mother abandoned me,
    the Lord gathers me up.

¹¹ Teach me your way, Lord,
    and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.
¹² Do not hand me over to the desires of my enemies;
    for false witnesses have risen up against me;
        even the one who breathes out violence.
¹³ I believe that I will see the Lord’s goodness
    in the land of the living.
¹⁴ Wait on the Lord.
    Be courageous, and he will strengthen your heart.
        Wait on the Lord!

³ Do not drag me away with the wicked,
    with those who practice iniquity,
who speak peace to their neighbors
    while harboring evil in their hearts.
⁴ Reward them according to their deeds;
    according to the evil of their actions.
Reward them based on what they do;^[g]
    give them what they deserve.
⁵ Because they do not understand the deeds of the Lord
    or the work of his hands,
        He will tear them down and never build them up.

⁶ Blessed be the Lord!
    For he has heard the sound of my supplications.
⁷ The Lord is my strength and my shield;
    my heart trusts in him,
        and I received help.
My heart rejoices,
    and I give thanks to him with my song.

⁸ The Lord is the strength of his people;^[h]
    he is a refuge of deliverance for his anointed.
⁹ Deliver your people
    and bless your inheritance!
Shepherd them
    and lift them up forever!

³ The voice of the Lord was heard^[i] above the waters;
    the God of glory thundered;
        the Lord was heard^[j] over many waters.
⁴ The voice of the Lord is powerful;
    the voice of the Lord is majestic.
⁵ The voice of the Lord snaps the cedars;^[k]
    the Lord snaps the cedars of Lebanon.
⁶ He makes them stagger like a calf,
    even Lebanon and Sirion^[l] like a young wild ox.

⁷ The voice of the Lord shoots out flashes of fire.
⁸ The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
        the voice of the Lord shakes^[m] the wilderness of Kadesh.
⁹ The voice of the Lord causes deer to give birth,
    and strips the forest bare.
        In his Temple all of them shout, “Glory!”

¹⁰ The Lord sat enthroned over the flood,
    and the Lord sits as king forever.
¹¹ The Lord will give strength to his people;
    the Lord will bless his people with peace.

⁴ You, his godly ones,
    sing to the Lord,
        give thanks at the mention of his holiness.
⁵ For his wrath is only momentary;
    yet his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may lodge for the night,
    but shouts of joy will come in the morning.

⁶ As for me,
    I said in my prosperity,
        “I will never be moved.”
⁷ By your favor, Lord,
    you established me as a strong mountain;
Then you hid your face,
    and I was dismayed.

⁸ I cried out to you, Lord,
    and I make supplication to the Lord:
⁹ “What profit is there in my death^[p] if I go down to the Pit?^[q]
    Can dust worship you?
        Can it proclaim your faithfulness?”
¹⁰ Hear me, Lord,
    and have mercy on me!
        Lord, help me!

¹¹ You have turned my mourning into dancing;
    you took off my sackcloth
        and clothed me with a garment of joy,
¹² so that I may sing praise to you
    and not remain silent.
Lord, my God,
    I will give you thanks forever!

³ For you are my rock and my fortress;
    for the sake of your name guide me and lead me.
⁴ Rescue me from the net that they concealed to trap me;
    for you are my strength.
⁵ Into your hands I commit my spirit;
    for you have redeemed me,
        Lord God of truth.

⁶ I despise those who trust vain idols;
    but I have trusted in the Lord.
⁷ I will rejoice and be glad in your gracious love,
    for you see my affliction
        and take note that my soul is distressed.
⁸ You have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy,
    but you have set my feet in a sturdy^[r] place.

⁹ Be gracious to me, Lord,
    for I am in distress.
My eyes have been consumed by my grief
    along with my soul and my body.
¹⁰ My life is consumed by sorrow,
    my years with groaning.
My strength has faltered because of my iniquity;^[s]
    my bones have been consumed.

¹¹ I have become an object of reproach to all my enemies,
    especially to my neighbors.
I have become an object of fear to my friends,
    and whoever sees me outside runs away from me.
¹² Like a dead man, I am forgotten in their thoughts^[t]—
    like broken pottery.
¹³ I have heard the slander of many;
    it is like terror all around me,
        as they conspire together and plot to take my life.

¹⁴ But I trust in you, Lord.
    I say, “You are my God.”
¹⁵ My times are in your hands.
    Deliver me from the hands of my enemies
        and from those who pursue me.
¹⁶ May your face shine on your servant;
    in your gracious love, deliver me.
¹⁷ Let me not be ashamed, Lord,
    for I have called upon you.
Let the wicked be put to shame,
    let them be silent in the next life.^[u]
18 Let the lying lips be made still,
    especially those who speak arrogantly
        against the righteous with pride and contempt.

¹⁹ How great is your goodness
    that you have reserved for those who fear you,
that you have set in place for those who take refuge in you,
    in the presence of the children of men.
²⁰ You will hide them in the secret place of your presence,
    away from the conspiracies of men.
You will hide them in your tent,
    away from their contentious tongues.

²¹ Blessed be the Lord!
    In a marvelous way he demonstrated his gracious love to me,
        when I was in a city under siege.
²² When I said in my panic,
    “I have been cut off in your sight,”
then you surely heard the voice of my prayer
    in my plea to you for help.
²³ Love the Lord, all his godly ones!
    The Lord preserves the faithful
        and repays those who act with proud motives.
²⁴ Be strong,
    and let your heart be courageous,
        all you who put your hope in the Lord.