Chronological
Psalm 17
My Righteous Plea
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A prayer by David.
David’s Righteousness
1 Hear my righteous plea, O Lord.
Pay attention to my outcry.
Turn your ear to my prayer, which is not offered by deceitful lips.
2 May a just verdict for me come from you.
May your eyes observe the things that are right.
3 You have tested my heart.
You have visited me at night.
You have refined me;
you have found nothing wrong.
I resolved that my mouth will not overstep its bounds.
4 As for the deeds of people:
by the words from your lips
I have kept myself from the ways of the violent.
5 Keep my footsteps on your paths.
My steps have not slipped.
God’s Love
6 Indeed, I call to you because you will answer me, O God.
Turn your ear toward me. Hear what I say.
7 Perform wonders through your mercy.
By your right hand save those who seek refuge
from those who rise up against them.
8 Guard me like the pupil of your eye.[a]
In the shadow of your wings hide me
9 from the wicked who try to destroy me,
from those enemies of my life who surround me.
The Enemies’ Ruthlessness
10 Their hearts are calloused.[b]
Their mouths speak arrogantly.
11 Now they surround our steps.
They watch us to throw us to the ground.
12 He is like a lion that is eager to tear,
like a young lion crouching in its hiding place.
13 Rise, O Lord. Confront him. Bring him down.
Save my life from the wicked by your sword.
14 Save me from such men by your hand, O Lord,
from men of this world, whose reward is in this life.
Closing Confidence
14b But you fill the stomachs of those whom you treasure.[c]
Their children are satisfied,
and they leave their wealth to their children.
15 Indeed, in righteousness I will view your face.
When I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.
Psalm 35
David’s Defender
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By David.
Opening Prayer
1 Lord, oppose those who oppose me.
Fight against those who fight against me.
2 Put on your armor and shield.[a]
Rise up to help me.
3 Wield a spear and block the way[b] of those who pursue me.
Say to my soul, “I am your salvation.”
First Petition
4 May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame.
May those who plot to harm me be turned back and dismayed.
5 May they be like chaff driven by the wind.
May an angel of the Lord drive them away.
6 May their path be dark and slippery.
May an angel of the Lord pursue them.
7 Without cause they hid their net to catch me.
Without cause they dug a pit to trap me.
8 May devastation overtake him before he knows it.
May the net which he hid catch him.
May he fall into it to his own destruction.
First Vow
9 Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord.
It will delight in his salvation.
10 All my bones[c] will say, “Lord, who is like you?
You rescue the poor from the one too strong for him,
the poor and needy from the one who robs him.”
The Attacks of the Wicked
11 Malicious witnesses arise.
They ask me about things I do not know.
12 They repay me with evil instead of good.
They rob my soul of happiness.
13 But when they were sick, I dressed in sackcloth.
I afflicted myself with fasting.
My prayers returned unanswered.[d]
14 I walked around mourning,
as if mourning for a friend or for my brother.
I bowed down, dirty with ashes,[e]
as though mourning for my mother.
15 But when I stumbled, they were happy.
They gathered together.
Yes, attackers gathered together against me
though I did not expect it.
They ripped me and were never quiet.
16 Like profane mockers,[f] they gnashed their teeth at me.
Second Petition
17 Lord, how long will you look on?
Restore my life from their devastating attacks,
my precious life from these young lions.
Second Vow
18 I will give thanks to you in the great assembly.
In a large crowd I will praise you.
Third Petition
19 Do not let them rejoice over me—
those who are my enemies without cause.
Do not let those who hate me without reason mock me.[g]
20 For they do not speak for peace,
but they devise false accusations
against those who live quietly in the land.
21 They also open their mouths wide against me.
They say, “Ha! Ha! We see with our own eyes.”
22 Lord, you have seen all this.
Do not be silent.
Lord, do not be far from me.
23 Wake up and rise up to my defense!
My God and Lord, rise to my cause.
24 Judge me according to your righteousness,
O Lord, my God.
Do not let them rejoice over me.
25 Do not let them say in their hearts,
“Aha! Just what we wanted!”
Do not let them say,
“We have swallowed him.”
26 May those who rejoice over my trouble
be put to shame and disgrace.
May those who exalt themselves over me
be clothed with shame and contempt.
27 May those who are pleased by my acquittal
shout for joy and be glad.
May they always say, “The Lord is great.
He takes delight in the peace of his servant.”
Third Vow
28 My tongue will report your righteousness
and your praise all day long.
Psalm 54
Ruthless Men Seek My Life
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For the choir director. With stringed instruments.
A maskil by David. When the Ziphites went and said to Saul, “Isn’t David hiding himself with us?”[a]
The Plea
1 God, save me by your name.
By your power judge me justly.
2 God, hear my prayer.
Turn your ear to the words of my mouth.
The Problem
3 For strangers have risen up against me.
Ruthless men seek my life. Interlude
They pay no attention to God.
The Solution
4 Indeed, God is my helper.
The Lord is the one who preserves my life.
5 Let evil return on those who oppress me.
In your faithfulness destroy them.
The Outcome
6 I will sacrifice willingly to you.
I will praise your name, O Lord, because it is good.
7 Surely, from all my distress he has delivered me.
My eyes have looked down on my enemies.
Psalm 63
My Soul Thirsts for You
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A psalm by David. When he was in the wilderness of Judah.[a]
Thirsting for God
1 God, you are my God. Eagerly I seek you.
My soul thirsts for you. My flesh longs for you,
in a dry and dreary land without water.
2 Yes, in the sanctuary I have watched you
to see your power and your glory.
Joy Even in Adversity
3 Because your mercy is better than life,
my lips will worship you.
4 Yes, I will bless you as long as I live.
In your name I will lift up my hands.
5 My soul will be satisfied with rich food.[b]
My mouth will praise you with lips filled with songs.
6 Whenever I remember you on my bed,
throughout the watches of the night I meditate on you.
7 Because you are a help for me,
I sing for joy under the shade of your wings.
8 My soul clings to you.
Your right hand upholds me.
Destruction for the Defiant
9 But those who seek my life will go to destruction.
They will go into the depths of the earth.
10 They will be given over to the power of the sword.
They will become food for foxes.[c]
11 But the king will rejoice in God.
All who swear by him will praise him,
but the mouths of those speaking lies will be shut.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.