Chronological

God’s Favor to Earth and Man

65 All will be quiet before You, and praise belongs to You, O God, in Zion. And our promise to You will be kept. ² O You Who hears prayer, to You all men come. ³ My sins are strong against me. But You forgive our sins. ⁴ Happy is the man You choose and bring near to You to live in Your holy place. We will be filled with the good things of Your house, Your holy house.

⁵ O God Who saves us, You answer us in the way that is right and good by Your great works that make people stand in fear. You are the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas. ⁶ You have built the mountains by Your strength. You are dressed with power. ⁷ You quiet the storm of the seas, the sound of their waves, and the noise of the people. ⁸ Those who live far away are afraid of Your great works. You make morning and evening call out for joy.

⁹ You visit the earth and water it. You make it very rich. The river of God is full of water. You give the people grain when You have made the earth ready. ¹⁰ You water where the plow has been used. You cover the seeds with earth. You make it soft with rain. And You make the plants grow well. ¹¹ You crown the year with Your good gifts. There is more than enough where You have been. ¹² The fields of the desert are filled with water. And the hills dress themselves with joy. ¹³ The grass lands are covered with birds. And the valleys are covered with grain. They call out for joy and sing.

Song of Praise and Thanks to God

66 Raise the voice of joy to God, all the earth! ² Sing out the honor of His name! Make His praise great! ³ Say to God, “How Your great works make those who hate You afraid! They will have to obey You because of Your great power. ⁴ All the earth will worship You and sing praises to You. They will sing praises to Your name.”

⁵ Come and see what God has done. There is much fear because of His great works toward the children of men. ⁶ He changed the sea into dry land. They passed through the river on foot. There we were full of joy in Him. ⁷ He rules forever by His power. His eyes keep watch over the nations. Do not let those who do not obey You honor themselves.

⁸ Give honor and thanks to God, O people, and let all hear how great He is! ⁹ He keeps us alive, and does not let our feet go out from under us. ¹⁰ For You have tested us, O God. You have made us pure like silver is made pure. ¹¹ You brought us into the net. And You laid a heavy load on our back. ¹² You made men travel over our heads. We went through fire and through water. But You brought us out into a place where we have much more than we need. ¹³ I will come into Your house with burnt gifts. I will give You what I promised, ¹⁴ promises made by my lips and spoken by my mouth when I was in trouble. ¹⁵ I will give You burnt gifts of fat animals with the smoke of rams. I will give You bulls with male goats.

¹⁶ Come and hear, all who fear God, and I will tell you what He has done for me. ¹⁷ I cried to Him with my mouth and praised Him with my tongue. ¹⁸ The Lord will not hear me if I hold on to sin in my heart. ¹⁹ But it is sure that God has heard. He has listened to the voice of my prayer. ²⁰ Honor and thanks be to God! He has not turned away from my prayer or held His loving-kindness from me.

Nations Praise God

67 May God show loving-kindness toward us and bring good to us. May He make His face shine upon us. ² May Your way be known on the earth, and Your saving power among all nations. ³ May the people praise You, O God. May all the people praise You. ⁴ May the nations be glad and sing for joy. For You will be fair when You judge the people and rule the nations of the earth. ⁵ May the people praise You, O God. May all the people praise You. ⁶ The earth has given its fruit. God, our God, will bring good to us. ⁷ God will bring good to us, and all the ends of the earth will fear Him.

A Cry for Help

69 Save me, O God, for the waters have almost taken my life. ² I have gone down into deep mud and there is no place to put my feet. I have come into deep waters and a flood comes over me. ³ I have cried until I am tired. My mouth is dry. My eyes become weak while I wait for my God. ⁴ Those who hate me, without a reason, are more than the hairs on my head. Those who want to destroy me are powerful. I am made to return things that I did not steal.

⁵ O God, You know how foolish I am. My sins are not hidden from You. ⁶ May those who wait for You not be put to shame because of me, O Lord God of All. May those who look for You not lose respect because of me, O God of Israel. ⁷ I have been put to shame because of You. Shame has covered my face. ⁸ I have become a stranger to my brothers, a stranger to my mother’s sons. ⁹ For the strong desire for Your house has burned me up. And the bad things said about You have fallen on me. ¹⁰ When I cried and went without food, I was put to shame. ¹¹ When I put on clothes made from hair, they made fun of me. ¹² Those who sit by the gate talk about me. And I am the song of those who drink too much.

¹³ But as for me, my prayer is to You at the right time, O Lord. Answer me with Your saving truth in Your great loving-kindness, O God. ¹⁴ Take me out of the mud and do not let me go down in it. Take me away from those who hate me and from the deep waters. ¹⁵ Keep the flood water from covering me. Do not let the sea swallow me up. Do not let the deep hole close its mouth over me.

¹⁶ Answer me, O Lord, for Your loving-kindness is good. Turn to me because of Your great loving-pity. ¹⁷ Do not hide Your face from Your servant, for I am in trouble. Hurry to answer me. ¹⁸ Come near to me and save me. Pay the price to set me free from those who hate me. ¹⁹ You know how I have been put to shame by the bad things said about me. All those who hate me are before You.

²⁰ Being put to shame has broken my heart, and I feel very sick. I looked for pity but there was none. I looked for someone to comfort me but there was no one. ²¹ They gave me bitter drink in my food. And because I was thirsty they gave me sour wine.

²² May their table in front of them become a net. May it become a trap when they are in peace. ²³ May their eyes grow dark so they cannot see. And may their backs always shake. ²⁴ Pour out Your anger on them. May Your burning anger catch up with them. ²⁵ May their place of living be empty and may no one live in their tents. ²⁶ For they have made it hard for the one You have punished. And they talk about the pain of those You have hurt. ²⁷ Let their sins add up, and may they not become right with You. ²⁸ May they be taken out of the book of life, and not be written down with those who are right with You.

²⁹ But I am suffering and in pain. O God, may You save me and set me up on high. ³⁰ I will praise the name of God with song. And I will give Him great honor with much thanks. ³¹ This will please the Lord more than any ox or young bull with horns and hoofs. ³² Those without pride will see it and be glad. You who look for God, let your heart receive new strength. ³³ For the Lord hears those who are in need, and does not hate His people in prison.

³⁴ Let heaven and earth and the seas and all the things that move in them give thanks to Him. ³⁵ For God will save Zion and build the cities of Judah. Then His people may live there and have it for their own. ³⁶ And the children of those who obey Him will have it given to them. Those who love His name will live there.

Prayer for Help

70 O God, hurry to take me out of trouble. O Lord, hurry to help me! ² Let those who want to kill me be ashamed and brought low. Let those who want to hurt me be turned away in shame. ³ Let those who say, “O, O!” be turned back because of their shame.

⁴ Let all who look for You be full of joy and be glad in You. And let those who love Your saving power always say, “Let God be honored.” ⁵ But I am poor and in need. Hurry to me, O God! You are my help and the One Who takes me out of trouble. O Lord, do not wait.