Chronological
A Morning Prayer for Protection
For the director of music. For flutes. A psalm of David.
5 Lord, ·listen [L give ear] to my words.
Understand my ·sadness [L moans; sighs].
2 ·Listen [Pay attention] to my cry for help, my King and my God,
because I pray to you.
3 Lord, every morning you hear my voice.
Every morning, I ·tell you what I need [or prepare a sacrifice for you; L stretch out/arrange before you],
and I ·wait for your answer [L watch].
4 You are not a God who ·is pleased with the wicked [takes delight in evil];
·you do not live with those who do evil [L evil does not sojourn with you].
5 Those people who ·make fun of you [or boast] cannot stand before ·you [L your eyes].
You hate all those who do evil.
6 You destroy ·liars [L those who speak lies];
the Lord ·hates [despises] those ·who kill and trick others [L with bloodguilt and deceit].
7 Because of your great ·love [loyalty; covenant love],
I ·can [or will] come into your ·Temple [L house].
Because I ·fear you [hold you in awe],
I can ·worship [bow down] ·in [or toward] your holy Temple.
8 Lord, since I have many enemies,
·show me the right thing to do [L lead/guide me in your righteousness].
·Show me clearly how you want me to live [L Make your way straight before me].
9 My enemies’ mouths do not tell the truth;
·in their hearts they want to destroy others [L their innards are destruction].
Their throats are like open graves [Rom. 3:13];
they use their tongues for ·telling lies [flattery].
10 God, ·declare them guilty [L make them bear their iniquity]!
Let them fall ·into their own traps [or by their own advice].
·Send [Cast] them away because their ·sins [transgressions] are many;
they have ·turned [rebelled] against you.
11 But let everyone who ·trusts [finds refuge in] you ·be happy [rejoice];
let them sing glad songs forever.
·Protect [L Spread your protection on] those who love you
and ·who are happy because of you [L let those who love your name rejoice in you].
12 Lord, you bless those who ·do what is right [are righteous];
you ·protect them [L surround them with favor] like a shield.
A Prayer in Time of Sickness
A psalm of David ·to remember [or for the memorial offering].
38 Lord, don’t ·correct [rebuke; reprove] me when you are angry.
Don’t ·punish [discipline] me when you are ·furious [enraged; 6:1].
2 Your arrows have ·wounded [pierced] me,
and your hand has come down on me.
3 My ·body [flesh] is ·sick [L not sound] from your ·punishment [L indignation].
Even my bones are not healthy because of my sin.
4 My guilt has ·overwhelmed me [L passed over my head];
like a ·load [burden] it ·weighs me down [is too heavy for me].
5 My sores stink and become infected
because I was foolish.
6 I am bent over and bowed down;
I ·am sad [L walk around mourning] all day long.
7 ·I am burning with fever [L My loins are burned with fever],
and my ·whole body [flesh] is ·sore [L not sound].
8 I am weak and ·faint [L completely crushed].
I ·moan [groan] from the ·pain I feel [L anguish of my heart].
9 Lord, you know everything I ·want [desire; long for];
my ·cries [sighs] are not hidden from you.
10 My heart pounds, and my strength ·is gone [abandons/forsakes me].
·I am losing my sight [L The light of my eyes is not with me].
11 Because of my wounds, ·my friends [L those who love me] and neighbors ·avoid [L stand away from] me,
and my relatives ·stay [L stand] far away.
12 ·Some people set traps to kill me [L Those who seek my life set traps for me].
Those who ·want [seek] to ·hurt [harm; trouble] me plan trouble;
all day long they ·think up [meditate on] ·lies [deception].
13 I am like the deaf; I cannot hear.
Like the mute, I cannot ·speak [open my mouth].
14 I am like those who do not hear,
who have no ·answer [reproof] ·to give [L in their mouth].
15 I ·trust [hope in; wait for] you, Lord.
You will answer, my Lord and God.
16 I said, “Don’t let them ·laugh at [rejoice in] me
or ·brag [boast] when ·I am defeated [L my foot totters/slips].”
17 I am ·about to die [L ready to stumble],
and ·I cannot forget my pain [L my pain is constantly with me].
18 I confess my guilt;
I am troubled by my sin.
19 My ·enemies are strong and [L living enemies are] healthy,
and many hate me for no reason.
20 They repay me with evil for the good I did.
They ·lie about me [L are my accusers/adversaries] because I ·try to do [L pursued] good.
21 Lord, don’t ·leave [abandon; forsake] me;
my God, don’t ·go away [be far from me].
22 Quickly come and help me,
my Lord and Savior.
A Prayer in Time of Sickness
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
41 ·Happy [Blessed] are those who ·think about [or care for] the poor [James 1:27].
·When trouble comes [L In the day of trouble/evil], the Lord will ·save [rescue; T deliver] them.
2 The Lord will ·protect [guard; keep] them and ·spare their life [keep them alive]
and will ·bless them [make them happy] in the land.
He will not ·let their enemies take them [L give their lives to their enemy; or give them over to the desire of their enemy].
3 The Lord will give them strength when they are ·sick [L on their sickbed],
and he will ·make them well again [L restore them from their bed of illness].
4 I said, “Lord, have ·mercy [compassion] on me.
Heal me, because I have sinned against you.”
5 My enemies are saying evil things about me.
They say, “When will he die and ·be forgotten [L his name/reputation perish]?”
6 Some people come to see me,
but ·they lie [L speak deceptive/vain things].
·They just come to get bad news [L Their hearts collect iniquities].
Then they go ·and gossip [L out and speak].
7 All ·my enemies [L those who hate me] whisper about me
and ·think [imagine] ·the worst [trouble; evil] about me.
8 They say, “·He has a terrible disease [or An evil spell has been cast on him].
He ·will never get out of bed again [L lies down and will not get up].”
9 ·My best and truest friend [L A man of peace in whom I trust/find support], who ate at my table,
has ·even turned against me [L lifted his heel against me; C an act of treachery; 55:12–14; Matt. 26:23; Mark 14:18; Luke 22:21; John 13:18].
10 Lord, have ·mercy [compassion] on me.
·Give me strength [L Raise me up] so I can pay them back.
11 Because my enemies do not ·defeat [triumph over; or make fun of] me,
I know you are ·pleased [delighted] with me.
12 Because I am ·innocent [blameless], you support me
and will ·let me be with you [L set me in your presence] forever.
13 ·Praise [Blessed be] the Lord, the God of Israel.
·He has always been [L …from everlasting to everlasting],
and he will always be.
Amen and amen [C verse 13 is a doxology that closes Book 1].
Book 2: Psalms 42–72
Wishing to Be Near God
For the director of music. A ·maskil [skillful psalm; meditation] of the sons of Korah [C descendants of Kohath, son of Levi, who served as Temple musicians; 1 Chr. 6:22].
42 As a deer ·thirsts [longs; T pants] for streams of water,
so ·I [T my soul] ·thirst [L longs] for you, God.
2 ·I [T My soul] thirst for the living God.
When can I go to ·meet with [L see] ·him [L the face of God]?
3 Day and night, my tears have been my food.
People are always saying,
“Where is your God?”
4 When I remember these things,
I ·speak with a broken heart [L pour out my soul].
I used to walk with the ·crowd [throng]
and lead them to ·God’s Temple [L the house of God]
with ·songs of praise [L the sound of praise and thanks, a crowd in procession].
5 Why ·am I so sad [L are you cast down, my soul]?
Why ·am I so upset [L are you groaning/in an uproar]?
I ·should [or will] ·put my hope in [wait for] God
and ·keep praising [or will again praise] him,
my ·Savior [Victor] and 6 my God.
·I am very sad [My soul is cast down].
So I remember you ·where the Jordan River begins [L from the land of Jordan],
·near the peaks of [L and from] Hermon and Mount Mizar [C far from the Temple where God made his presence known].
7 ·Troubles have come again and again [L Deep calls to deep], ·sounding like waterfalls [L at the sound of your torrents; C waters represent distress; 69:1–2].
Your waves and your breakers ·are crashing all around [L pass over] me.
8 The Lord ·shows [commands] his ·true love [loyalty; covenant love] every day.
At night I have a song,
and I pray to my living God.
9 I say to God, my Rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why am I ·sad [L going around in mourning]
and ·troubled [oppressed] by my enemies?”
10 My enemies’ ·insults [scorn] make me feel
as if my bones were ·broken [L murdered].
They are always saying,
“Where is your God?”
11 Why ·am I so sad [L are you cast down, my soul]?
Why ·am I so upset [are you groaning/in an uproar]?
I ·should [or will] ·put my hope in [wait for] God
and ·keep praising [or will again praise] him,
my ·Savior [Victor] and my God.
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