Beginning
Prayer for Help against Persecutors.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David; for a memorial.
70 (A)O God, hasten to deliver me;
O Lord, hasten to my help!
2 (B)Let those be ashamed and humiliated
Who seek my [a]life;
Let those be turned back and dishonored
Who delight [b]in my hurt.
3 (C)Let those be [c]turned back because of their shame
Who say, “Aha, aha!”
4 Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
And let those who love Your salvation say continually,
“Let God be magnified.”
5 But (D)I am afflicted and needy;
(E)Hasten to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
O Lord, do not delay.
Prayer of an Old Man for Deliverance.
71 (F)In You, O Lord, I have taken refuge;
Let me never be ashamed.
2 (G)In Your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;
(H)Incline Your ear to me and save me.
3 (I)Be to me a rock of (J)habitation to which I may continually come;
You have given (K)commandment to save me,
For You are (L)my [d]rock and my fortress.
4 (M)Rescue me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked,
Out of the [e]grasp of the wrongdoer and ruthless man,
5 For You are my (N)hope;
O Lord [f]God, You are my (O)confidence from my youth.
6 [g]By You I have been (P)sustained from my birth;
You are He who (Q)took me from my mother’s womb;
My (R)praise is continually [h]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 off in the (W)time of old age;
Do not forsake me when my strength fails.
10 For my enemies have spoken [i]against me;
And those who (X)watch for my [j]life (Y)have consulted together,
11 Saying, “(Z)God has forsaken him;
Pursue and seize him, for there is (AA)no one to deliver.”
12 O God, (AB)do not be far from me;
O my God, (AC)hasten to my help!
13 Let those who are adversaries of my soul be (AD)ashamed and consumed;
Let them be (AE)covered with reproach and dishonor, who (AF)seek [k]to injure me.
14 But as for me, I will (AG)hope continually,
And will [l](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 [m]sum of them.
16 I will come (AL)with the mighty deeds of the Lord [n]God;
I will (AM)make mention of Your righteousness, Yours alone.
17 O 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, O God, do not forsake me,
Until I (AQ)declare Your [o]strength to this generation,
Your power to all who are to come.
19 [p]For Your (AR)righteousness, O God, reaches to the [q]heavens,
You who have (AS)done great things;
O God, (AT)who is like You?
20 You who have (AU)shown [r]me many troubles and distresses
Will (AV)revive [s]me again,
And will bring [t]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 [u](AZ)a harp,
Even Your [v]truth, O my God;
To You I will sing praises with the (BA)lyre,
O (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 utter Your righteousness all day long;
For they are (BF)ashamed, for they are humiliated who seek [w]my hurt.
The Reign of the Righteous King.
A Psalm of Solomon.
72 Give the king (BG)Your judgments, O God,
And (BH)Your righteousness to the king’s son.
2 [x]May [y]he (BI)judge Your people with righteousness
And [z](BJ)Your afflicted with justice.
3 [aa]Let the mountains bring [ab](BK)peace to the people,
And the hills, in righteousness.
4 [ac]May he (BL)vindicate the [ad]afflicted of the people,
Save the children of the needy
And crush the oppressor.
5 [ae]Let them fear You (BM)while the sun endures,
And [af]as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
6 [ag]May he come down (BN)like rain upon the mown grass,
Like (BO)showers that water the earth.
7 In his days [ah]may the (BP)righteous flourish,
And (BQ)abundance of peace till the moon is no more.
8 May he also rule (BR)from sea to sea
And from the River to the ends of the earth.
9 [ai]Let (BS)the nomads of the desert (BT)bow before him,
And his enemies (BU)lick the dust.
10 [aj]Let the kings of (BV)Tarshish and of the [ak](BW)islands bring presents;
The kings of (BX)Sheba and (BY)Seba (BZ)offer [al]gifts.
11 [am]And let all (CA)kings bow down before him,
All (CB)nations serve him.
12 For he will (CC)deliver the needy when he cries for help,
The [an]afflicted also, and him who has no helper.
13 He will have (CD)compassion on the poor and needy,
And the [ao]lives of the needy he will save.
14 He will [ap](CE)rescue their [aq]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 let [ar]them pray for him continually;
Let [as]them bless him all day long.
16 May there be abundance of grain in 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 (CI)vegetation of the earth.
17 May his (CJ)name endure forever;
May his name [at]increase [au](CK)as long as the sun shines;
And let men (CL)bless themselves by him;
(CM)Let 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 Surely God 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 [av]had almost slipped.
3 For I was (CV)envious of the [aw]arrogant
As I saw the (CW)prosperity of the wicked.
4 For there are no pains in their death,
And their [ax]body is fat.
5 They are (CX)not [ay]in trouble as other [az]men,
Nor are they (CY)plagued [ba]like mankind.
6 Therefore pride is (CZ)their necklace;
The (DA)garment of violence covers them.
7 Their eye [bb]bulges from (DB)fatness;
The imaginations of their heart [bc]run riot.
8 They (DC)mock and [bd]wickedly speak of oppression;
They (DD)speak from on high.
9 They have (DE)set their mouth [be]against the heavens,
And their tongue [bf]parades through the earth.
10 Therefore [bg]his people return to this place,
And waters of (DF)abundance are [bh]drunk by them.
11 They say, “(DG)How does God know?
And is there knowledge [bi]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 [bj]kept my heart pure
And (DK)washed my hands in innocence;
14 For I have been stricken (DL)all day long
And [bk](DM)chastened every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
Behold, I would have betrayed the (DN)generation of Your children.
16 When I (DO)pondered to understand this,
It was [bl]troublesome in my sight
17 Until I came into the [bm](DP)sanctuary of God;
Then I perceived their (DQ)end.
18 Surely You set them in (DR)slippery places;
You cast them down to [bn](DS)destruction.
19 How they are [bo](DT)destroyed in a moment!
They are utterly swept away by (DU)sudden terrors!
20 Like a (DV)dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when (DW)aroused, You will (DX)despise their [bp]form.
21 When my (DY)heart was embittered
And I was (DZ)pierced [bq]within,
22 Then I was (EA)senseless and ignorant;
I was like [br]a (EB)beast [bs]before You.
23 Nevertheless (EC)I am continually with You;
You have taken hold of my right hand.
24 With Your counsel You will (ED)guide me,
And afterward (EE)receive me [bt]to glory.
25 (EF)Whom have I in heaven but You?
And [bu]besides You, I desire nothing on earth.
26 My (EG)flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the [bv]strength of my heart and my (EH)portion forever.
27 For, behold, (EI)those who are far from You will (EJ)perish;
You have [bw]destroyed all those who [bx](EK)are unfaithful to You.
28 But as for me, (EL)the nearness of God is my good;
I have made the Lord [by]God my (EM)refuge,
That I may (EN)tell of all Your works.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.