Beginning
(A special psalm by David.)
The Joy of Forgiveness
1 (A) Our Lord, you bless everyone
whose sins you forgive
and wipe away.
2 You bless them by saying,
“You told me your sins,
without trying to hide them,
and now I forgive you.”
3 Before I confessed my sins,
my bones felt limp,
and I groaned all day long.
4 Night and day your hand
weighed heavily on me,
and my strength was gone
as in the summer heat.
5 So I confessed my sins
and told them all to you.
I said, “I'll tell the Lord
each one of my sins.”
Then you forgave me
and took away my guilt.
6 We worship you, Lord,
and we should always pray
whenever we find out
that we have sinned.[a]
Then we won't be swept away
by a raging flood.
7 You are my hiding place!
You protect me from trouble,
and you put songs in my heart
because you have saved me.
8 You said to me,
“I will point out the road
that you should follow.
I will be your teacher
and watch over you.
9 Don't be stupid
like horses and mules
that must be led with ropes
to make them obey.”
10 All kinds of troubles
will strike the wicked,
but your kindness shields those
who trust you, Lord.
11 And so your good people
should celebrate and shout.
Sing Praises to the Lord
1 You are the Lord's people.
Obey him and celebrate!
He deserves your praise.
2 Praise the Lord with harps!
Use harps with ten strings
to make music for him.
3 Sing a new song. Shout!
Play beautiful music.
4 The Lord is truthful;
he can be trusted.
5 He loves justice and fairness,
and he is kind to everyone
everywhere on earth.
6 The Lord made the heavens
and everything in them
by his word.
7 He scooped up the ocean
and stored the water.
8 Everyone in this world
should worship and honor
the Lord!
9 As soon as he spoke
the world was created;
at his command,
the earth was formed.
10 The Lord destroys the plans
and spoils the schemes
of the nations.
11 But what the Lord has planned
will stand forever.
His thoughts never change.
12 The Lord blesses each nation
that worships only him.
He blesses his chosen ones.
13 The Lord looks at the world
14 from his throne in heaven,
and he watches us all.
15 The Lord gave us each a mind,
and nothing we do
can be hidden from him.
16 (B) Mighty armies alone
cannot win wars for a king;
great strength by itself
cannot keep a soldier safe.
17 In war the strength of a horse
cannot be trusted
to take you to safety.
18 But the Lord watches over
all
who honor him
and trust his kindness.
19 He protects them from death
and starvation.
20 We depend on you, Lord,
to help and protect us.
21 You make our hearts glad
because we trust you,
the only God.
22 Be kind and bless us!
We depend on you.
(Written by David when he pretended to be crazy in front of Abimelech, so that Abimelech would send him away, and David could leave.)
Honor the Lord
1 (C) I will always praise the Lord.
2 With all my heart,
I will praise the Lord.
Let all who are helpless,
listen and be glad.
3 Honor the Lord with me!
Celebrate his great name.
4 I asked the Lord for help,
and he saved me
from all my fears.
5 Keep your eyes on the Lord!
You will shine like the sun
and never blush with shame.
6 I was a nobody, but I prayed,
and the Lord saved me
from all my troubles.
7 If you honor the Lord,
his angel will protect you.
8 (D) Discover for yourself
that the Lord is kind.
Come to him for protection,
and you will be glad.
9 Honor the Lord!
You are his special people.
No one who honors the Lord
will ever be in need.
10 Young lions[b] may go hungry
or even starve,
but if you trust the Lord,
you will never miss out
on anything good.
11 Come, my children, listen
as I teach you
to respect the Lord.
12 (E) Do you want to live
and enjoy a long life?
13 Then don't say cruel things
and don't tell lies.
14 Do good instead of evil
and try to live at peace.
15 If you obey the Lord,
he will watch over you
and answer your prayers.
16 But God despises evil people,
and he will wipe them all
from the earth,
till they are forgotten.
17 When his people pray for help,
he listens and rescues them
from their troubles.
18 The Lord is there to rescue
all
who are discouraged
and have given up hope.
19 The Lord's people
may suffer a lot,
but he will always
bring them safely through.
20 (F) Not one of their bones
will ever be broken.
21 Wicked people are killed
by their own evil deeds,
and if you hate God's people
you will be punished.
22 The Lord saves the lives
of his servants.
Run to him for protection,
and you won't be punished.
(A psalm by David.)
A Prayer for Protection from Enemies
1 Fight my enemies, Lord!
Attack my attackers!
2 Shield me and help me.
3 Aim your spear at everyone
who hunts me down,
but promise to save me.
4 Let all who want to kill me
be disgraced
and put to shame.
Chase away and confuse
all who plan to harm me.
5 Send your angel after them
and let them be like straw
in the wind.
6 Make them run in the dark
on a slippery road,
as your angel chases them.
7 I did them no harm,
but they hid a net
to trap me,
and they dug a deep pit
to catch and kill me.
8 (G) Surprise them with disaster!
Trap them in their own nets
and let them fall and rot
in the pits they have dug.
9 I will celebrate and be joyful
because you, Lord,
have saved me.
10 Every bone in my body
will shout:
“No one is like the Lord!”
You protect the helpless
from those in power;
you save the poor and needy
from those who hurt them.
11 Liars accuse me of crimes
I know nothing about.
12 They repay evil for good,
and I feel all alone.
13 When they were sick,
I wore sackcloth[c]
and went without food.[d]
I truly prayed for them,[e]
14 as I would for a friend
or a relative.
I was in sorrow and mourned,
as I would for my mother.
15 I have stumbled,
and worthless liars
I don't even know
surround me and sneer.
16 Worthless people make fun[f]
and never stop laughing.
17 But all you do is watch!
When will you do something?
Save me from the attack
of those vicious lions.
18 And when your people meet,
I will praise you
and thank you, Lord,
in front of them all.
19 (H) Don't let my brutal enemies
be glad because of me.
They hate me for no reason.
Don't let them wink
behind my back.
20 They say hurtful things,
and they lie to people
who want to live in peace.
21 They are quick to accuse me.
They say, “You did it!
We saw you ourselves.”
22 You see everything, Lord!
Please don't keep silent
or stay so far away.
23 Fight to defend me, Lord God,
24 and prove that I am right
by your standards.
Don't let them laugh at me
25 or say to each other,
“Now we've got what we want!
We'll gobble him up!”
26 Disappoint and confuse
all who are glad
to see me in trouble;
disgrace and embarrass
my proud enemies who say to me,
“You are nothing!”
27 Let all who want me to win
be happy and joyful.
From now on let them say,
“The Lord is wonderful!
God is glad when all goes well
for his servant.”
28 Then I will shout all day,
“Praise the Lord God!
He did what was right.”
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.