Beginning
Psalm 1
The Two Ways
1 How happy is the one who does not
walk in the advice of the wicked
or stand in the pathway with sinners
or sit in the company of mockers!(A)
2 Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction,
and he meditates on it day and night.(B)
3 He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams[a]
that bears its fruit in its season,(C)
and its leaf does not wither.(D)
Whatever he does prospers.(E)
4 The wicked are not like this;
instead, they are like chaff that the wind blows away.(F)
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand up in the judgment,(G)
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
Psalm 2
Coronation of the Son
1 Why(J) do the nations rage(K)
and the peoples plot in vain?(L)
2 The kings of the earth take their stand,(M)
and the rulers conspire together
against the Lord and his Anointed One:[b](N)
3 “Let’s tear off their chains
and throw their ropes off of us.”(O)
4 The one enthroned[c] in heaven laughs;
the Lord ridicules them.(P)
5 Then he speaks to them in his anger
and terrifies them in his wrath:(Q)
6 “I have installed my king
on Zion, my holy mountain.”(R)
7 I will declare the Lord’s decree.
He said to me, “You are my Son;[d]
today I have become your Father.(S)
8 Ask of me,
and I will make the nations your inheritance
and the ends of the earth your possession.(T)
9 You will break them with an iron scepter;
you will shatter them like pottery.”(U)
10 So now, kings, be wise;
receive instruction, you judges of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with reverential awe
and rejoice with trembling.(V)
12 Pay homage to[e] the Son or he will be angry
and you will perish in your rebellion,[f](W)
for his anger may ignite at any moment.(X)
All who take refuge in him are happy.(Y)
Psalm 3
Confidence in Troubled Times
A psalm of David when he fled from his son Absalom.(Z)
1 Lord, how my foes increase!
There are many who attack me.(AA)
2 Many say about me,
“There is no help for him in God.”(AB)Selah
3 But you, Lord, are a shield around me,(AC)
my glory,(AD) and the one who lifts up my head.(AE)
4 I cry aloud to the Lord,
and he answers me from his holy mountain.(AF)Selah
5 I lie down and sleep;
I wake again because the Lord sustains me.(AG)
6 I will not be afraid of thousands of people
who have taken their stand against me on every side.(AH)
7 Rise up, Lord!(AI)
Save me, my God!
You strike all my enemies on the cheek;(AJ)
you break the teeth of the wicked.(AK)
8 Salvation belongs to the Lord;(AL)
may your blessing be on your people.(AM)Selah
Psalm 4
A Night Prayer
For the choir director: with stringed instruments.(AN) A psalm of David.
1 Answer me when I call,
God, who vindicates me.[g](AO)
You freed me from affliction;(AP)
be gracious to me and hear my prayer.
2 How long, exalted ones,[h] will my honor be insulted?(AQ)
How long will you love what is worthless(AR)
and pursue a lie? Selah
3 Know that the Lord has set apart
the faithful for himself;
the Lord will hear when I call to him.
4 Be angry[i] and do not sin;(AS)
reflect in your heart while on your bed and be silent.(AT) Selah
5 Offer sacrifices in righteousness[j](AU)
and trust in the Lord.(AV)
6 Many are asking, “Who can show us anything good?”
Let the light of your face shine on us, Lord.(AW)
7 You have put more joy in my heart
than they have when their grain and new wine abound.(AX)
8 I will both lie down and sleep in peace,(AY)
for you alone, Lord, make me live in safety.(AZ)
Psalm 5
The Refuge of the Righteous
For the choir director: with the flutes. A psalm of David.
1 Listen to my words, Lord;
consider my sighing.(BA)
2 Pay attention to the sound of my cry,(BB)
my King and my God,(BC)
for I pray to you.
3 In the morning,(BD) Lord, you hear my voice;
in the morning I plead my case to you(BE) and watch expectantly.
4 For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
evil cannot dwell with you.(BF)
5 The boastful cannot stand in your sight;(BG)
you hate all evildoers.(BH)
6 You destroy those who tell lies;(BI)
the Lord abhors violent and treacherous people.(BJ)
7 But I enter your house
by the abundance of your faithful love;(BK)
I bow down toward your holy temple
in reverential awe of you.(BL)
8 Lord, lead me in your righteousness(BM)
because of my adversaries;
make your way straight before me.(BN)
9 For there is nothing reliable in what they say;(BO)
destruction is within them;
their throat is an open grave;
they flatter with their tongues.(BP)
10 Punish them, God;
let them fall by their own schemes.(BQ)
Drive them out(BR) because of their many crimes,
for they rebel against you.(BS)
11 But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;(BT)
let them shout for joy forever.
May you shelter them,(BU)
and may those who love your name boast about you.(BV)
12 For you, Lord, bless the righteous one;
you surround him with favor like a shield.(BW)
Psalm 6
A Prayer for Mercy
For the choir director: with stringed instruments, according to Sheminith.(BX) A psalm of David.
1 Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger;
do not discipline me in your wrath.(BY)
2 Be gracious to me, Lord, for I am weak;[k](BZ)
heal me,(CA) Lord, for my bones are shaking;(CB)
3 my whole being is shaken with terror.(CC)
And you, Lord—how long?(CD)
4 Turn, Lord! Rescue me;
save me because of your faithful love.(CE)
5 For there is no remembrance of you in death;
who can thank you in Sheol?(CF)
6 I am weary from my groaning;(CG)
with my tears I dampen my bed
and drench my couch every night.(CH)
7 My eyes are swollen from grief;(CI)
they grow old because of all my enemies.
8 Depart from me, all evildoers,
for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.(CJ)
9 The Lord has heard my plea for help;(CK)
the Lord accepts my prayer.(CL)
10 All my enemies will be ashamed and shake with terror;
they will turn back(CM) and suddenly be disgraced.(CN)
Psalm 7
Prayer for Justice
A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush, a Benjaminite.
1 Lord my God, I seek refuge in you;(CO)
save me from all my pursuers and rescue me,(CP)
2 or they[l] will tear me like a lion,
ripping me apart with no one to rescue me.(CQ)
3 Lord my God, if I have done this,
if there is injustice on my hands,(CR)
4 if I have done harm to one at peace with me(CS)
or have plundered[m] my adversary without cause,(CT)
5 may an enemy pursue and overtake me;
may he trample me to the ground(CU)
and leave my honor in the dust.(CV)Selah
6 Rise up, Lord, in your anger;
lift yourself up against the fury of my adversaries;(CW)
awake for me;[n](CX)
you have ordained a judgment.(CY)
7 Let the assembly of peoples gather around you;(CZ)
take your seat on high over it.(DA)
8 The Lord judges the peoples;(DB)
vindicate me, Lord,
according to my righteousness and my integrity.(DC)
9 Let the evil of the wicked come to an end,(DD)
but establish the righteous.(DE)
The one who examines the thoughts and emotions[o]
is a righteous God.(DF)
10 My shield is with God,(DG)
who saves the upright in heart.(DH)
11 God is a righteous judge
and a God who shows his wrath every day.(DI)
12 If anyone does not repent,
he will sharpen his sword;(DJ)
he has strung his bow and made it ready.(DK)
13 He has prepared his deadly weapons;
he tips his arrows with fire.(DL)
14 See, the wicked one is pregnant with evil,
conceives trouble, and gives birth to deceit.(DM)
15 He dug a pit and hollowed it out
but fell into the hole he had made.(DN)
16 His trouble comes back on his own head;
his own violence comes down on top of his head.(DO)
17 I will thank the Lord for his righteousness;
I will sing about the name of the Lord Most High.(DP)
Psalm 8
God’s Glory, Human Dignity
For the choir director: on the Gittith.(DQ) A psalm of David.
1 Lord, our Lord,
how magnificent is your name throughout the earth!(DR)
You have covered the heavens with your majesty.[p](DS)
2 From the mouths of infants and nursing babies,(DT)
you have established a stronghold[q]
on account of your adversaries
in order to silence the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I observe your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you set in place,(DU)
4 what is a human being that you remember him,
a son of man[r] that you look after him?(DV)
5 You made him little less than God[s][t]
and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands;
you put everything under his feet:(DW)
7 all the sheep and oxen,
as well as the animals in the wild,
8 the birds of the sky,
and the fish of the sea
that pass through the currents of the seas.(DX)
9 Lord, our Lord,
how magnificent is your name throughout the earth!
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