Chronological
Psalm 26
[A Psalm] of David.
1 Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity; I have [expectantly] trusted in, leaned on, and relied on the Lord without wavering and I shall not slide.
2 Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; test my heart and my mind.
3 For Your loving-kindness is before my eyes, and I have walked in Your truth [faithfully].
4 I do not sit with false persons, nor fellowship with pretenders;
5 I hate the company of evildoers and will not sit with the wicked.
6 I will wash my hands in innocence, and go about Your altar, O Lord,
7 That I may make the voice of thanksgiving heard and may tell of all Your wondrous works.
8 Lord, I love the habitation of Your house, and the place where Your glory dwells.
9 Gather me not with sinners and sweep me not away [with them], nor my life with bloodthirsty men,
10 In whose hands is wickedness, and their right hands are full of bribes.
11 But as for me, I will walk in my integrity; redeem me and be merciful and gracious to me.
12 My foot stands on an even place; in the congregations will I bless the Lord.
Psalm 40
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
1 I waited patiently and expectantly for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry.
2 He drew me up out of a horrible pit [a pit of tumult and of destruction], out of the miry clay (froth and slime), and set my feet upon a rock, steadying my steps and establishing my goings.
3 And He has put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many shall see and fear (revere and worship) and put their trust and confident reliance in the Lord.(A)
4 Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man who makes the Lord his refuge and trust, and turns not to the proud or to followers of false gods.
5 Many, O Lord my God, are the wonderful works which You have done, and Your thoughts toward us; no one can compare with You! If I should declare and speak of them, they are too many to be numbered.
6 Sacrifice and offering You do not desire, nor have You delight in them; You have given me the capacity to hear and obey [Your law, a more valuable service than] burnt offerings and sin offerings [which] You do not require.
7 Then said I, Behold, I come; in the volume of the book it is written of me;
8 I delight to do Your will, O my God; yes, Your law is within my heart.(B)
9 I have proclaimed glad tidings of righteousness in the great assembly [tidings of uprightness and right standing with God]. Behold, I have not restrained my lips, as You know, O Lord.
10 I have not concealed Your righteousness within my heart; I have proclaimed Your faithfulness and Your salvation. I have not hid away Your steadfast love and Your truth from the great assembly.(C)
11 Withhold not Your tender mercy from me, O Lord; let Your loving-kindness and Your truth continually preserve me!
12 For innumerable evils have compassed me about; my iniquities have taken such hold on me that I am not able to look up. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart has failed me and forsaken me.
13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me; O Lord, make haste to help me!
14 Let them be put to shame and confounded together who seek and require my life to destroy it; let them be driven backward and brought to dishonor who wish me evil and delight in my hurt!
15 Let them be desolate by reason of their shame who say to me, Aha, aha!
16 Let all those that seek and require You rejoice and be glad in You; let such as love Your salvation say continually, The Lord be magnified!
17 [As for me] I am poor and needy, yet the Lord takes thought and plans for me. You are my Help and my Deliverer. O my God, do not tarry!(D)
Psalm 58
To the Chief Musician; [set to the tune of] “Do Not Destroy.” A record of memorable thoughts of David.
1 Do you indeed in silence speak righteousness, O you mighty ones? [Or is the righteousness, rightness, and justice you should speak quite dumb?] Do you judge fairly and uprightly, O you sons of men?
2 No, in your heart you devise wickedness; you deal out in the land the violence of your hands.
3 The ungodly are perverse and estranged from the womb; they go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.
4 Their poison is like the venom of a serpent; they are like the deaf adder or asp that stops its ear,
5 Which listens not to the voice of charmers or of the enchanter never casting spells so cunningly.
6 Break their teeth, O God, in their mouths; break out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord.
7 Let them melt away as water which runs on apace; when he aims his arrows, let them be as if they were headless or split apart.
8 Let them be as a snail dissolving slime as it passes on or as a festering sore which wastes away, like [the child to which] a woman gives untimely birth that has not seen the sun.
9 Before your pots can feel the thorns [that are placed under them for fuel], He will take them away as with a whirlwind, the green and the burning ones alike.
10 The [unyieldingly] righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 Men will say, Surely there is a reward for the [uncompromisingly] righteous; surely there is a God Who judges on the earth.
Psalm 61
To the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. [A Psalm] of David.
1 Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer.
2 From the end of the earth will I cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed and fainting; lead me to the rock that is higher than I [yes, a rock that is too high for me].
3 For You have been a shelter and a refuge for me, a strong tower against the adversary.
4 I will dwell in Your tabernacle forever; let me find refuge and trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
5 For You, O God, have heard my vows; You have given me the heritage of those who fear, revere, and honor Your name.
6 May You prolong the [true] [a]King’s life [adding days upon days], and may His years be to the last generation [of this world and the generations of the world to come].
7 May He sit enthroned forever before [the face of] God; O ordain that loving-kindness and faithfulness may watch over Him!
8 So will I sing praise to Your name forever, paying my vows day by day.
Psalm 62
To the Chief Musician; according to Jeduthun [Ethan, the noted musician, founder of an official musical family]. A Psalm of David.
1 For God alone my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation.
2 He only is my Rock and my Salvation, my Defense and my Fortress, I shall not be greatly moved.
3 How long will you set upon a man that you may slay him, all of you, like a leaning wall, like a tottering fence?
4 They only consult to cast him down from his height [to dishonor him]; they delight in lies. They bless with their mouths, but they curse inwardly. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
5 My soul, wait only upon God and silently submit to Him; for my hope and expectation are from Him.
6 He only is my Rock and my Salvation; He is my Defense and my Fortress, I shall not be moved.
7 With God rests my salvation and my glory; He is my Rock of unyielding strength and impenetrable hardness, and my refuge is in God!
8 Trust in, lean on, rely on, and have confidence in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is a refuge for us (a fortress and a high tower). Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
9 Men of low degree [in the social scale] are emptiness (futility, a breath) and men of high degree [in the same scale] are a lie and a delusion. In the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath.
10 Trust not in and rely confidently not on extortion and oppression, and do not vainly hope in robbery; if riches increase, set not your heart on them.
11 God has spoken once, twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God.
12 Also to You, O Lord, belong mercy and loving-kindness, for You render to every man according to his work.(A)
Psalm 64
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
1 Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint; guard and preserve my life from the terror of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the secret counsel and conspiracy of the ungodly, from the scheming of evildoers,
3 Who whet their tongues like a sword, who aim venomous words like arrows,
4 Who shoot from ambush at the blameless man; suddenly do they shoot at him, without self-reproach or fear.
5 They encourage themselves in an evil purpose, they talk of laying snares secretly; they say, Who will discover us?
6 They think out acts of injustice and say, We have accomplished a well-devised thing! For the inward thought of each one [is unsearchable] and his heart is deep.
7 But God will shoot an unexpected arrow at them; and suddenly shall they be wounded.
8 And they will be made to stumble, their own tongues turning against them; all who gaze upon them will shake their heads and flee away.
9 And all men shall [reverently] fear and be in awe; and they will declare the work of God, for they will wisely consider and acknowledge that it is His doing.
10 The [uncompromisingly] righteous shall be glad in the Lord and shall trust and take refuge in Him; and all the upright in heart shall glory and offer praise.
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation