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Psalm 1
1 Blessed are those
who do not walk
in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of cynics.
2 Rather, they delight in the Law of the Lord,
and they meditate on His Law
day and night.
3 They are like trees
planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in season
and whose leaves do not wither.
Whatever they do, they prosper.
4 The wicked are not like this!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand
in the judgement,
nor sinners in the assembly
of the righteous.
6 For the Lord watches
over the way of the righteous,
But the way of the wicked will perish.
Psalm 2
1 Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and against His anointed,
saying,
3 ‘Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.’
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord holds them in derision!
5 Then He will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in His fury, saying,
6 ‘As for me, I have set my King
on Zion, my holy hill.’
7 I will announce the decree:
The Lord said to me,
‘You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will make
the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron
and dash them in pieces
like a potter's vessel.’
10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry,
and you perish in the way,
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
Psalm 3
A psalm of David, when he fled from his son Absalom.
1 O Lord, how many are my foes!
How many rise up against me!
2 Many are saying of me,
‘God will not deliver him.’
Selah
3 But you are a shield around me, O Lord;
you bestow glory on me
and lift up my head.
4 To the Lord I cry aloud,
and he answers me from his holy hill.
Selah
5 lie down and sleep; I wake again,
because the Lord sustains me.
6 I will not fear the tens of thousands
drawn up against me on every side.
7 Arise, O Lord! Deliver me, O my God!
Strike all my enemies on the jaw;
break the teeth of the wicked.
8 From the Lord comes deliverance.
May your blessing be on your people.
Selah
Psalm 4
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of David.
1 Answer me when I call to you,
O my righteous God.
Give me relief from my distress;
be merciful to me and hear my prayer.
2 How long, O men,
will you turn my glory into shame?
How long will you love delusions
and seek false gods?
Selah
3 Know that the Lord has set apart
the godly for himself;
the Lord will hear when I call to him.
4 In your anger do not sin;
when you are on your beds,
search your hearts and be silent.
Selah
5 Offer right sacrifices
and trust in the Lord.
6 Many are asking,
"Who can show us any good?"
Let the light of your face shine upon us,
O Lord.
7 You have filled my heart with greater joy
than when their grain
and new wine abound.
8 I will lie down and sleep in peace,
For You alone, O Lord,
make me dwell in safety
Psalm 5
For the director of music. For flutes. A psalm of David.
1 Give ear to my words, O Lord;
give heed to my sighing.
2 Listen to the sound of my cry,
my King and my God, for to you I pray.
3 O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;
in the morning I plead my case to you,
and watch.
4 For you are not a God
who delights in wickedness;
evil will not sojourn with you.
5 The boastful will not stand before your eyes;
you hate all evildoers.
6 You destroy those who speak lies;
the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty
and deceitful.
7 But I, through the abundance
of Your steadfast love,
will enter Your house,
I will bow down toward your holy temple
in awe of you.
8 Lead me, Lord, in Your righteousness
because of my foes;
make Your way straight before me.
9 For there is no truth in their mouths;
their hearts are destruction;
their throats are open graves;
they flatter with their tongues.
10 Make them bear their guilt, O God;
let them fall by their own counsels;
because of their many transgressions
cast them out,
for they have rebelled against You.
11 But let all who take refuge in You rejoice;
let them ever sing for joy.
Spread Your protection over them,
so that those who love Your name
may exult in You.
12 For You bless the righteous, O Lord;
You cover them with favour,
as with a shield.
Psalm 6
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. According to sheminith. A psalm of David.
1 O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your wrath.
2 Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am faint;
O Lord, heal me,
for my bones are in agony.
3 My soul is in anguish.
How long, O Lord, how long?
4 Turn, O Lord, and deliver me;
save me because of your unfailing love.
5 No-one remembers you when he is dead.
Who praises you from his grave?
6 I am worn out from groaning;
all night long I flood my bed with weeping
and drench my couch with tears.
7 My eyes grow weak with sorrow;
they fail because of all my foes.
8 Away from me, all you who do evil,
for the Lord has heard my weeping.
9 The Lord has heard my cry for mercy;
the Lord accepts my prayer.
10 All my enemies will be ashamed
and dismayed;
They will turn away in sudden disgrace.
Psalm 7
A shiggaion of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning Cush, a Benjaminite.
1 O Lord my God, I take refuge in You;
save and deliver me from
all who pursue me,
2 or he will tear me like a lion
and rip me to pieces
with no-one to rescue me.
3 O Lord my God, if I have done this
and there is guilt on my hands,
4 if I have done evil to him
who is at peace with me
or have robbed my foe without cause,
5 then let my enemy pursue and overtake me;
let him trample my life to the ground
and make me sleep in the dust.
Selah
6 Arise, O Lord, in Your anger;
rise up against the rage of my enemies.
Awake, my God; decree justice.
7 Let the assembled peoples gather round You.
Rule over them from on high;
8 let the Lord judge the peoples.
Judge me, O Lord,
according to my righteousness,
according to my integrity,
O Most High.
9 O righteous God,
who searches minds and hearts,
bring to an end the violence of the wicked
and make the righteous secure.
10 My shield is God Most High,
who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge,
a God who expresses His wrath every day.
12 If He does not relent,
He will sharpen His sword;
He will bend and string His bow.
13 He has prepared His deadly weapons;
He makes ready His flaming arrows.
14 He who is pregnant with evil
and conceives trouble
gives birth to disillusionment.
15 He who digs a hole and scoops it out
falls into the pit he has made.
16 The trouble he causes recoils on himself;
his violence comes down on his own head.
17 I will give thanks to the Lord
because of his righteousness
and I will sing praise
to the name of the Lord most high
Psalm 8
For the director of music. According to gittith. A psalm of David.
1 O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is Your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
above the heavens.
2 From the lips of children and infants
You have ordained praise
because of Your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
3 When I consider Your heavens,
the work of Your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which You have set in place,
4 what is man that You are mindful of him,
the son of man that You care for him?
5 You made him a little lower
than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honour.
6 You made him ruler over
the works of Your hands;
you put everything under his feet:
7 all flocks and herds,
and the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.
9 O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is Your name in all the earth
Psalm 9:1-8
For the director of music. To the tune of "The Death of the Son". A psalm of David.
1 I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonders.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing praise to your name,
O Most High.
3 My enemies turn back;
they stumble and perish before you.
4 For you have upheld my right and my cause;
you have sat on your throne,
judging righteously.
5 You have rebuked the nations
and destroyed the wicked;
you have blotted out their name
for ever and ever.
6 Endless ruin has overtaken the enemy,
you have uprooted their cities;
even the memory of them
has perished.
7 The Lord reigns for ever;
he has established his throne
for judgement.
8 He will judge the world in righteousness;
He will govern the peoples with justice.
Psalm 9:9-14
9 The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
10 Those who know your name will trust in you,
for you, Lord, have never forsaken
those who seek you.
11 Sing praises to the Lord, enthroned in Zion;
proclaim among the nations
what he has done.
12 For he who avenges blood remembers;
he does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.
13 O Lord, see how my enemies persecute me!
Have mercy and lift me up
from the gates of death,
14 that I may declare your praises in the gates
of the Daughter of Zion
and there rejoice in Your salvation.
Psalm 9:15-20
15 The nations have fallen into
the pit they have dug;
their feet are caught in
the net they have hidden.
16 The Lord is known by his justice;
the wicked are ensnared
by the work of their hands.
Higgaion. Selah
17 The wicked return to the grave,
all the nations that forget God.
18 But the needy will not always be forgotten,
nor the hope of the afflicted ever perish.
19 Arise, O Lord, let not man triumph;
let the nations be judged in your presence.
20 Strike them with terror, O Lord;
let the nations know they are but men.
Psalm 10:1-11
1 Why, O Lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself
in times of trouble?
2 In arrogance the wicked persecute the poor
- let them be caught
in the schemes they have devised.
3 For the wicked boast
of the desires of their heart,
those greedy for gain curse
and renounce the LORD.
4 In the pride of their countenance
the wicked say,
‘God will not seek it out’;
all their thoughts are,
‘There is no God.’
5 Their ways prosper at all times;
your judgments are on high,
out of their sight;
as for their foes, they scoff at them.
6 They think in their heart,
‘We shall not be moved;
throughout all generations
we shall not meet adversity.’
7 Their mouths are filled
with cursing, deceit and oppression;
under their tongues are mischief
and iniquity.
8 They sit in ambush in the villages;
in hiding places they murder the innocent.
Their eyes stealthily watch
for the helpless;
9 they lurk in secret like a lion in its covert;
They lurk that they may seize the poor;
they seize the poor and
drag them off in their net.
10 They stoop, they crouch,
and the helpless fall by their might.
11 They think in their heart, ‘God has forgotten,
He has hidden his face,
he will never see it!’
Psalm 10:12-18
12 Rise up, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand;
do not forget the oppressed.
13 Why do the wicked renounce God,
and say in their hearts,
‘You will not call us to account’?
14 But you do see!
Indeed you note trouble and grief,
that you may take it into your hands;
the helpless commit themselves to you;
you have been the helper of the orphan.
15 Break the arm of the wicked and evildoers;
seek out their wickedness
until you find none.
16 The Lord is king forever and ever;
the nations shall perish from his land.
17 O Lord, you will hear the desire of the meek;
you will strengthen their heart,
you will incline your ear
18 to do justice for the orphan
and the oppressed,
so that those from earth
may strike terror no more.
Psalm 11
To the leader. Of David.
1 In the Lord I take refuge;
how can you say to me,
'Flee like a bird to the hills;
2 for look, the wicked prepare to use their bows,
placing arrows ready in the string
to shoot those who are honest
from the shadows.’
3 If the foundations are destroyed,
what can the righteous do?
4 The Lord is in his holy temple;
the Lord's throne is in heaven.
He looks with his eyes,
His gaze examines everyone.
5 The Lord tests the righteous,
but He hates the wicked
and the lover of violence.
6 He rains down fire and hot coals
on the criminal;
their lot and cup will be a blistering wind.
7 For the Lord is righteous, He loves justice,
And those who are upright
will see His face.
Psalm 12
To the worship leader; ‘on the eighth’. A Psalm of David.
1 Help, O Lord, for no-one is left who is godly,
and the trustworthy have disappeared
from society.
2 One person lies to another,
speaking with flattery and deception.
3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips
and all boastful tongues
4 who say, ‘We will say whatever we want,
our lips are our own; who controls us?’
5 ‘Because the poor are devastated
and the needy are in anguish,
I will now rise up,’ says the Lord;
‘I will give them the security
for which they long.’
6 The Lord’s words are pure words,
like silver refined in a clay crucible,
purified seven times.
7 You, O Lord, will protect us
and guard us from such people forever.
8 The wicked strut about everywhere,
while worthlessness is valued by everyone.
Psalm 13
To the worship leader. A Psalm of David.
1 How long will you forget me Lord? Forever?
How long will you hide Yourself from me?
2 How long must my soul be in anguish,
with sorrow in my heart all day long?
How long shall my enemy
get the better of me?
3 Consider me and answer me, O Lord my God!
Give light to my eyes,
or I will sleep the sleep of death,
4 and my enemy will say,
"I have beaten him".
They will rejoice at my downfall!
5 As for me, I trust in Your faithful love;
and my heart rejoices in Your salvation.
6 And I will continue to sing to the Lord
when He does good things for me.
Psalm 14
To the worship leader. Of David.
1 The fool says in his heart,
‘There is no God.’
They are corrupt, they do appalling things
and no good is done by anyone.
2 The Lord looks down from heaven on everyone
to see if there are any who are wise,
who seek after God.
3 They have all gone astray,
and all alike are perverse;
there is no one who does what is good,
not even one.
4 Will they not learn, those evil doers
who devour my people like they eat food
and who do not call upon the Lord?
5 They have good reason to be afraid,
for God stays with those
who remain righteous;
6 You who would mock the plans of the poor
When the Lord is their safe haven.
7 O that salvation for God’s people
would come from Zion!
Jacob will rejoice and Israel will be glad
When the Lord restores His people.
Psalm 15
A Psalm of David.
1 O Lord, who is allowed in Your Presence?
Who may live on your holy hill?
2 Those who walk without blame,
who do what is right,
and who speak the truth
from their heart;
3 who do not slander others,
who do no evil to their neighbours,
and who do not put others down;
4 who despise the wicked,
but honour those who fear the Lord,
and who stand by their oath
whatever the cost;
5 who do not lend money
over the rate of interest,
nor take a bribe against the innocent.
Those who do these things
shall never be shaken.
Psalm 16
A miktam of David.
1 Keep me safe, O God,
for I look to You for help.
2 I said to Him, ‘You are my Lord
and You are the only good thing I have.’
3 As for the holy people in the land,
they are the glorious good,
for whom I am extremely grateful.
4 Those who run after other gods
will multiply their sorrows
I will not pour out blood before false gods
or take their names on my lips.
5 Lord, you have assigned me my inheritance;
you have made my place secure.
6 The boundary lines have fallen well for me;
and I certainly have a delightful legacy.
7 I will praise the Lord, who gives me advice,
and at night corrects me through
my conscience.
8 I keep the Lord always in mind.
Because he is present with me,
I shall not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad
and every part of me rejoices;
my body also rests secure,
10 because you will not abandon me
to the grave,
nor will you let your faithful one see decay.
11 You will show me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
and with eternal happiness
at your right hand.
Psalm 17
A prayer of David.
1 O Lord, hear my plea for what is right;
listen to my cry.
Give ear to my prayer,
spoken without deceit.
2 May I be proved right by You;
may your eyes see what is right.
3 You have probed my heart
and examined me at night,
test me; and You will find no wrong in me
and my mouth will not give me away.
4 As for what other people do,
well, I have avoided the ways of the violent
because of Your word.
5 Keep my steps securely on paths,
so that my feet do not slip.
6 I call on You, O God, for You will answer me;
listen to me and hear my prayer.
7 Show the wonder of Your great
and faithful love,
You who powerfully save
those who take refuge in You
from their enemies.
8 Keep me as the apple of Your eye;
hide me in the shadow of Your wings
9 from the wicked who oppress me,
from deadly enemies who surround me.
10 Their attitudes are fixed,
and arrogance comes out of their mouths.
11 They have tracked me down,
with eyes alert to pin me down.
12 They are like a lion hungry for prey,
like a young lion crouching
and ready to pounce.
13 Rise up, O Lord, confront them,
overthrow them;
rescue me from the wicked by Your sword
14 By Your hand, O Lord,
save me from such people:
Those of this world who have all they need
and enjoy the rewards of this life,
who have plenty of children
and pass on their inheritance to them.
15 And as for me,
I shall see Your face
through righteousness;
when I awake, I shall be satisfied
with everything I know about You.
Psalm 18:1-6
For the worship leader. Of David the servant of the Lord. He sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:
1 I love You,
O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock,
my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock,
in whom I take refuge.
He is my shield
and the power behind my salvation,
my stronghold.
3 I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and I am saved from my enemies.
4 The cords of death entangled me;
the floods of godlessness terrified me.
5 The cords of the grave coiled around me;
death traps confronted me.
6 In my distress I called to the Lord;
I cried to my God for help.
From His temple He heard my voice;
my cry came to His ears.
Psalm 18:7-19
7 The earth shook and trembled,
and the heart of the mountains
began to tremble
and erupt because of His
blazing anger.
8 He fumed in rage, spitting fire
and spewing out burning coals.
9 He broke through the heavens and came down,
standing on clouds of thunder.
10 He rode on a cherub and flew,
soaring on the wings of the wind.
11 He was concealed in darkness,
draped all around him;
and his shelter was the dark rain clouds
of the sky.
12 Out of clear blue sky in front of Him,
thunderclouds arose with hail
and fiery lightning.
13 The Lord thundered from heaven;
the Most High spoke through the hail
and the fiery lightning.
14 He shot his arrows and scattered them,
and routed them with great bolts
of lightning.
15 The depths of the sea were laid bare
and the foundations of the earth
were exposed
by your rebuke, O Lord;
at the ferocious outpouring of Your anger.
16 He reached down from on high
and took hold of me;
He pulled me out of deep water.
17 He rescued me from my strong enemy,
those who hated me
and were too strong for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity
But the Lord was my support
19 He brought me out into a broad place;
He delivered me,
because He delighted in me.
Psalm 18:20-30
20 The Lord has acknowledged
what I have done as right,
and rewarded me because of
my clean hands.
21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
and have not been disloyal to my God.
22 All his judgements were before me,
and I did not ignore His rulings.
23 I was honest before Him,
and I kept myself from being
grossly unjust.
24 Therefore the Lord has rewarded me
for doing what is right,
just as my hands are clean in His sight.
25 With the devout You show Yourself devout;
with the honest You show Yourself honest;
26 with the pure You show Yourself pure;
and with the devious You show
Your cunning.
27 For You will save afflicted people,
but humiliate the high and mighty.
28 You, O Lord, give light to my lamp;
my God lights up my darkness.
29 With your help I can overcome
armed intruders,
and by my God I can scale a wall.
30 God’s way is perfect;
the word of the Lord proves true,
and He is a shield for all who trust Him.
Psalm 18:31-45
31 For who is God besides the Lord?
And who is a Rock except our God?
32 It is God who equips me with strength
and gives me a safe journey.
33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
He enables me to stand
securely on the heights.
34 He trains my hands for the art of battle;
my arms can bend a bronzed bow.
35 You give me Your shield of salvation,
Your right hand sustains me
and Your humility makes me effective.
36 You give me space in which to walk,
so that I do not slip on my ankles.
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them;
I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
38 I wounded them so that they could not rise;
they fell under my feet.
39 You equipped me with strength for battle,
and have made me victorious
over those who fought against me.
40 You made my opponents flee in defeat,
and I destroyed my enemies.
41 They cried for help,
but there was no-one to save them,
to the Lord, but He did not answer.
42 I beat them as fine as dust
carried in the wind;
I threw them out as mud in the streets.
43 You have delivered me
from the people’s strife,
and You have made me
a leader of nations;
people I did not know
are subject to me!
44 As soon as they hear me, they obey me;
foreigners cringe in front of me.
45 They all lose heart
and come trembling from their strongholds.
Psalm 18:46-50
46 The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock!
Exalted be God my Saviour!
47 He is the God who avenged me,
who made peoples subject to me,
48 who saved me from my enemies.
You raised me above my foes,
and rescued me from violent men.
49 Therefore I will praise you, O Lord,
among the nations;
I will sing the praises of your name.
50 He gives his king great victories;
he shows unfailing love to his anointed,
to David and his descendants for ever.
Psalm 19:1-6
1 The heavens publish the glory of God;
the Universe exposes the work
of his hands.
2 From day to day they pour out information;
and from night to night
they reveal knowledge.
3 Nothing is spoken,
there are no words,
and no voice is heard,
4 Yet their communication reaches all the earth,
their message to the ends of the world.
He has pitched in the heavens
a tent for the sun,
5 which is like a bridegroom
leaving the wedding-suite,
like a champion rejoicing
to run his course.
6 It rises at one end of the heavens
and goes around to the other;
nothing escapes its heat.
Psalm 19:7-14
7 The law of the Lord is perfect,
rescuing the soul.
The testimony of the Lord is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the open-minded.
8 The precepts of the Lord are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are clear,
giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring for ever.
The ordinances of the Lord are sure
and all of them are righteous.
10 They are more precious than gold,
than a hoard of purest gold;
sweeter than honey,
than honey from the comb.
11 Your servant is taught by them,
and keeping them brings a great reward.
12 Who can detect their own errors?
Acquit me from my unknown sins,
13 and hold your servant back from wilful sins;
let them not control me.
Then will I be blameless,
and innocent of grave sin.
14 May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
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