Beginning
Prayer for Help against Persecutors.
For the music director. A Psalm of David; for a memorial.
70 (A)God, hurry to save me;
Lord, hurry to help me!
2 (B)May those who seek my [a]life
Be put to shame and humiliated;
May those who delight [b]in my harm
Be turned back and dishonored.
3 (C)May those who say, “Aha, aha!” be [c]turned back
Because of their shame.
4 May all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
And may those who love Your salvation say continually,
“May God be exalted!”
5 But (D)I am afflicted and needy;
(E)Hurry to me, God!
You are my help and my savior;
Lord, do not delay.
Prayer of an Old Man for Rescue.
71 (F)In You, Lord, I have taken refuge;
Let me never be put to shame.
2 (G)In Your righteousness rescue me and save me;
(H)Extend Your ear to me and help me.
3 (I)Be to me a rock of (J)dwelling to which I may continually come;
You have given the (K)commandment to save me,
For You are (L)my rock and my fortress.
4 (M)Save me, my God, from the hand of the wicked,
From the [d]grasp of the wrongdoer and the ruthless,
5 For You are my (N)hope;
Lord [e]God, You are my (O)confidence from my youth.
6 I have (P)leaned on you since my birth;
You are He who (Q)took me from my mother’s womb;
My (R)praise is continually [f]of You.
7 I have become a (S)marvel to many,
For You are (T)my strong refuge.
8 My (U)mouth is filled with Your praise
And with (V)Your glory all day long.
9 Do not cast me away at the (W)time of my old age;
Do not abandon me when my strength fails.
10 For my enemies have spoken [g]against me;
And those who (X)watch for my [h]life (Y)have consulted together,
11 Saying, “(Z)God has abandoned him;
Pursue and seize him, for there is (AA)no one to save him.”
12 God, (AB)do not be far from me;
My God, (AC)hurry to my aid!
13 May those who are enemies of my soul be (AD)put to shame and consumed;
May they be (AE)covered with disgrace and dishonor, who (AF)seek [i]to injure me.
14 But as for me, I will (AG)wait continually,
And will [j](AH)praise You yet more and more.
15 My (AI)mouth shall tell of Your righteousness
And of (AJ)Your salvation all day long;
For I (AK)do not know the art of writing.
16 I will come (AL)with the mighty deeds of the Lord [k]God;
I will (AM)make mention of Your righteousness, Yours alone.
17 God, You (AN)have taught me from my youth,
And I still (AO)declare Your wondrous deeds.
18 And even when I am (AP)old and gray, God, do not abandon me,
Until I (AQ)declare Your [l]strength to this generation,
Your power to all who are to come.
19 [m]For Your (AR)righteousness, God, reaches to the [n]heavens,
You who have (AS)done great things;
God, (AT)who is like You?
20 You who have (AU)shown [o]me many troubles and distresses
Will (AV)revive [p]me again,
And will bring [q]me up again (AW)from the depths of the earth.
21 May You increase my (AX)greatness
And turn to (AY)comfort me.
22 I will also praise You with [r](AZ)a harp,
And Your [s]truth, my God;
I will sing praises to You with the (BA)lyre,
(BB)Holy One of Israel.
23 My lips will (BC)shout for joy when I sing praises to You;
And my (BD)soul, which You have redeemed.
24 My (BE)tongue also will tell of Your righteousness all day long;
For they are (BF)put to shame, for they are humiliated who seek [t]my harm.
The Reign of the Righteous King.
A Psalm of Solomon.
72 Give the king (BG)Your judgments, God,
And (BH)Your righteousness to the king’s son.
2 [u]May [v]he (BI)judge Your people with righteousness
And [w](BJ)Your afflicted with justice.
3 [x]May the mountains bring [y](BK)peace to the people,
And the hills, in righteousness.
4 [z]May he (BL)vindicate the [aa]afflicted of the people,
Save the children of the needy,
And crush the oppressor.
5 [ab]May they fear You (BM)while the sun shines,
And [ac]as long as the moon shines, throughout all generations.
6 [ad]May he come down (BN)like rain upon the mown grass,
Like (BO)showers that water the earth.
7 [ae]May the (BP)righteous flourish in his days,
As well as an (BQ)abundance of peace, until the moon is no more.
8 May he also rule (BR)from sea to sea,
And from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
9 [af]May (BS)the nomads of the desert (BT)bow before him,
And his enemies (BU)lick the dust.
10 [ag]May the kings of (BV)Tarshish and of the [ah](BW)islands bring gifts;
May the kings of (BX)Sheba and (BY)Seba (BZ)offer tributes.
11 [ai]And may all (CA)kings bow down before him,
All (CB)nations serve him.
12 For he will (CC)save the needy when he cries for help,
The [aj]afflicted also, and him who has no helper.
13 He will have (CD)compassion on the poor and needy,
And he will save the [ak]lives of the needy.
14 He will [al](CE)rescue their [am]life from oppression and violence,
And their blood will be (CF)precious in his sight;
15 So may he live, and may the (CG)gold of Sheba be given to him;
And [an]they are to pray for him continually;
[ao]They are to bless him all day long.
16 May there be abundance of grain on the earth on top of the mountains;
Its fruit will wave like the cedars of (CH)Lebanon;
And may those from the city flourish like the (CI)vegetation of the earth.
17 May his (CJ)name endure forever;
May his name produce descendants [ap](CK)as long as the sun shines;
And may people (CL)wish blessings on themselves by him;
(CM)May all nations call him blessed.
18 (CN)Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
Who alone (CO)works wonders.
19 And blessed be His (CP)glorious name forever;
And may the whole (CQ)earth be filled with His glory.
(CR)Amen and Amen.
20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
BOOK 3
The End of the Wicked Contrasted with That of the Righteous.
A Psalm of Asaph.
73 God certainly is (CS)good to Israel,
To those who are (CT)pure in heart!
2 But as for me, (CU)my feet came close to stumbling,
My steps [aq]had almost slipped.
3 For I was (CV)envious of the [ar]arrogant
As I saw the (CW)prosperity of the wicked.
4 For there are no pains in their death,
And their belly is fat.
5 They are (CX)not [as]in trouble like other people,
Nor are they (CY)tormented together with the rest of mankind.
6 Therefore arrogance is (CZ)their necklace;
The (DA)garment of violence covers them.
7 Their eye [at]bulges from (DB)fatness;
The imaginations of their heart overflow.
8 They (DC)mock and [au]wickedly speak of oppression;
They (DD)speak from on high.
9 They have (DE)set their mouth [av]against the heavens,
And their tongue [aw]parades through the earth.
10 Therefore [ax]his people return here,
And (DF)abundant waters are drunk by them.
11 They say, “(DG)How does God know?
And is there knowledge [ay]with the Most High?”
12 Behold, (DH)these are the wicked;
And always (DI)at ease, they have increased in wealth.
13 Surely (DJ)in vain I have [az]kept my heart pure
And (DK)washed my hands in innocence;
14 For I have been stricken (DL)all day long,
And [ba](DM)punished every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak this way,”
Behold, I would have betrayed the (DN)generation of Your children.
16 When I (DO)thought of understanding this,
It was [bb]troublesome in my sight
17 Until I entered the [bc](DP)sanctuary of God;
Then I perceived their (DQ)end.
18 You indeed put them on (DR)slippery ground;
You dropped them into [bd](DS)ruin.
19 How they are [be](DT)destroyed in a moment!
They are utterly swept away by (DU)sudden terrors!
20 Like a (DV)dream when one awakes,
Lord, when (DW)stirred, You will (DX)despise their image.
21 When my (DY)heart was embittered
And I was (DZ)pierced [bf]within,
22 Then I was (EA)stupid and ignorant;
I was like an (EB)animal [bg]before You.
23 Nevertheless (EC)I am continually with You;
You have taken hold of my right hand.
24 You will (ED)guide me with Your plan,
And afterward (EE)receive me [bh]to glory.
25 (EF)Whom do I have in heaven but You?
And with You, I desire nothing on earth.
26 My (EG)flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the [bi]strength of my heart and my (EH)portion forever.
27 For, behold, (EI)those who are far from You will (EJ)perish;
You have destroyed all those who [bj](EK)are unfaithful to You.
28 But as for me, (EL)the nearness of God is good for me;
I have made the Lord [bk]God my (EM)refuge,
So that I may (EN)tell of all Your works.
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