Psalm 10
1Why do you stand far off, LORD?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
2In arrogance, the wicked hunt down the weak.
They are caught in the schemes that they devise.
3For the wicked boasts of his heart’s cravings.
He blesses the greedy and condemns the LORD.
4The wicked, in the pride of his face,
has no room in his thoughts for God.
5His ways are prosperous at all times.
He is arrogant, and your laws are far from his sight.
As for all his adversaries, he sneers at them.
6He says in his heart, “I shall not be shaken.
For generations I shall have no trouble.”
7His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and oppression.
Under his tongue is mischief and iniquity.
8He lies in wait near the villages.
From ambushes, he murders the innocent.
His eyes are secretly set against the helpless.
9He lurks in secret as a lion in his ambush.
He lies in wait to catch the helpless.
He catches the helpless when he draws him in his net.
10The helpless are crushed.
They collapse.
They fall under his strength.
11He says in his heart, “God has forgotten.
He hides his face.
He will never see it.”
Arise, LORD!
God, lift up your hand!
Don’t forget the helpless.
13Why does the wicked person condemn God,
and say in his heart, “God won’t call me into account”?
14But you do see trouble and grief.
You consider it to take it into your hand.
You help the victim and the fatherless.
15Break the arm of the wicked.
As for the evil man, seek out his wickedness until you find none.
16The LORD is King forever and ever!
The nations will perish out of his land.
17LORD, you have heard the desire of the humble.
You will prepare their heart.
You will cause your ear to hear,
18to judge the fatherless and the oppressed,
that man who is of the earth may terrify no more.
Psalm 11
For the Chief Musician. By David.
1In the LORD, I take refuge.
How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain”?
2For, behold, the wicked bend their bows.
They set their arrows on the strings,
that they may shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.
3If the foundations are destroyed,
what can the righteous do?
4The LORD is in his holy temple.
The LORD is on his throne in heaven.
His eyes observe.
His eyes examine the children of men.
5The LORD examines the righteous,
but his soul hates the wicked and him who loves violence.
6On the wicked he will rain blazing coals;
fire, sulfur, and scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.
7For the LORD is righteous.
He loves righteousness.
The upright shall see his face.
Psalm 12
For the Chief Musician; upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David.
1Help, LORD; for the godly man ceases.
For the faithful fail from among the children of men.
2Everyone lies to his neighbor.
They speak with flattering lips, and with a double heart.
3May the LORD cut off all flattering lips,
and the tongue that boasts,
4who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail.
Our lips are our own.
Who is lord over us?”
5“Because of the oppression of the weak and because of the groaning of the needy,
I will now arise,” says the LORD;
“I will set him in safety from those who malign him.”
6The LORD’s words are flawless words,
as silver refined in a clay furnace, purified seven times.
7You will keep them, LORD.
You will preserve them from this generation forever.
8The wicked walk on every side,
when what is vile is exalted among the sons of men.
Psalm 13
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David.
1How long, LORD?
Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
having sorrow in my heart every day?
How long shall my enemy triumph over me?
3Behold, and answer me, LORD, my God.
Give light to my eyes, lest I sleep in death;
4lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed against him;”
lest my adversaries rejoice when I fall.
But I trust in your loving kindness.
My heart rejoices in your salvation.
6I will sing to the LORD,
because he has been good to me.
Psalm 14
For the Chief Musician. By David.
1The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt.
They have done abominable deeds.
There is no one who does good.
2The LORD looked down from heaven on the children of men,
to see if there were any who understood,
who sought after God.
3They have all gone aside.
They have together become corrupt.
There is no one who does good, no, not one.
4Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge,
who eat up my people as they eat bread,
and don’t call on the LORD?
5There they were in great fear,
for God is in the generation of the righteous.
6You frustrate the plan of the poor,
because the LORD is his refuge.
7Oh that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!
When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people,
then Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.
Psalm 15
A Psalm by David.
1LORD, who shall dwell in your sanctuary?
Who shall live on your holy hill?
2He who walks blamelessly and does what is right,
and speaks truth in his heart;
3he who doesn’t slander with his tongue,
nor does evil to his friend,
nor casts slurs against his fellow man;
4in whose eyes a vile man is despised,
but who honors those who fear the LORD;
he who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and doesn’t change;
5he who doesn’t lend out his money for usury,
nor take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things shall never be shaken.
Psalm 16
A Poem by David.
1Preserve me, God, for I take refuge in you.
2My soul, you have said to the LORD, “You are my Lord.
Apart from you I have no good thing.”
3As for the saints who are on the earth,
they are the excellent ones in whom is all my delight.
Their sorrows shall be multiplied who give gifts to another god.
Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer,
nor take their names on my lips.
5The LORD assigned my portion and my cup.
You made my lot secure.
The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places.
Yes, I have a good inheritance.
7I will bless the LORD, who has given me counsel.
Yes, my heart instructs me in the night seasons.
8I have set the LORD always before me.
Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
9Therefore my heart is glad, and my tongue rejoices.
My body shall also dwell in safety.
10For you will not leave my soul in Sheol,
neither will you allow your holy one to see corruption.
11You will show me the path of life.
In your presence is fullness of joy.
In your right hand there are pleasures forever more.
Psalm 17
A Prayer by David.
1Hear, LORD, my righteous plea.
Give ear to my prayer that doesn’t go out of deceitful lips.
2Let my sentence come out of your presence.
Let your eyes look on equity.
3You have proved my heart.
You have visited me in the night.
You have tried me, and found nothing.
I have resolved that my mouth shall not disobey.
4As for the deeds of men, by the word of your lips,
I have kept myself from the ways of the violent.
5My steps have held fast to your paths.
My feet have not slipped.
6I have called on you, for you will answer me, God.
Turn your ear to me.
Hear my speech.
7Show your marvelous loving kindness,
you who save those who take refuge by your right hand from their enemies.
8Keep me as the apple of your eye.
Hide me under the shadow of your wings,
9from the wicked who oppress me,
my deadly enemies, who surround me.
10They close up their callous hearts.
With their mouth they speak proudly.
11They have now surrounded us in our steps.
They set their eyes to cast us down to the earth.
12He is like a lion that is greedy of his prey,
as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
13Arise, LORD, confront him.
Cast him down.
Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,
14from men by your hand, LORD,
from men of the world, whose portion is in this life.
You fill the belly of your cherished ones.
Your sons have plenty,
and they store up wealth for their children.
15As for me, I shall see your face in righteousness.
I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with seeing your form.
Psalm 18
For the Chief Musician. By David the servant of the LORD, who spoke to the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said,
1I love you, LORD, my strength.
2The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer;
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower.
3I call on the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;
and I am saved from my enemies.
4The cords of death surrounded me.
The floods of ungodliness made me afraid.
5The cords of Sheol were around me.
The snares of death came on me.
6In my distress I called on the LORD,
and cried to my God.
He heard my voice out of his temple.
My cry before him came into his ears.
7Then the earth shook and trembled.
The foundations also of the mountains quaked and were shaken,
because he was angry.
8Smoke went out of his nostrils.
Consuming fire came out of his mouth.
Coals were kindled by it.
9He bowed the heavens also, and came down.
Thick darkness was under his feet.
10He rode on a cherub, and flew.
Yes, he soared on the wings of the wind.
11He made darkness his hiding place, his pavilion around him,
darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
12At the brightness before him his thick clouds passed,
hailstones and coals of fire.
13The LORD also thundered in the sky.
The Most High uttered his voice:
hailstones and coals of fire.
14He sent out his arrows, and scattered them.
He routed them with great lightning bolts.
15Then the channels of waters appeared.
The foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, LORD,
at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.
16He sent from on high.
He took me.
He drew me out of many waters.
17He delivered me from my strong enemy,
from those who hated me; for they were too mighty for me.
18They came on me in the day of my calamity,
but the LORD was my support.
19He brought me out also into a large place.
He delivered me, because he delighted in me.
20The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness.
According to the cleanness of my hands, he has recompensed me.
21For I have kept the ways of the LORD,
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22For all his ordinances were before me.
I didn’t put away his statutes from me.
23I was also blameless with him.
I kept myself from my iniquity.
24Therefore the LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.
25With the merciful you will show yourself merciful.
With the perfect man, you will show yourself perfect.
26With the pure, you will show yourself pure.
With the crooked you will show yourself shrewd.
27For you will save the afflicted people,
but the arrogant eyes you will bring down.
28For you will light my lamp, LORD.
My God will light up my darkness.
29For by you, I advance through a troop.
By my God, I leap over a wall.
30As for God, his way is perfect.
The LORD’s word is tried.
He is a shield to all those who take refuge in him.
31For who is God, except the LORD?
Who is a rock, besides our God,
32the God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect?
33He makes my feet like deer’s feet,
and sets me on my high places.
34He teaches my hands to war,
so that my arms bend a bow of bronze.
35You have also given me the shield of your salvation.
Your right hand sustains me.
Your gentleness has made me great.
36You have enlarged my steps under me,
My feet have not slipped.
37I will pursue my enemies, and overtake them.
I won’t turn away until they are consumed.
38I will strike them through, so that they will not be able to rise.
They shall fall under my feet.
39For you have armed me with strength to the battle.
You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.
40You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me,
that I might cut off those who hate me.
41They cried, but there was no one to save;
even to the LORD, but he didn’t answer them.
42Then I beat them small as the dust before the wind.
I cast them out as the mire of the streets.
43You have delivered me from the strivings of the people.
You have made me the head of the nations.
A people whom I have not known shall serve me.
44As soon as they hear of me they shall obey me.
The foreigners shall submit themselves to me.
45The foreigners shall fade away,
and shall come trembling out of their strongholds.
46The LORD lives! Blessed be my rock.
Exalted be the God of my salvation,
47even the God who executes vengeance for me,
and subdues peoples under me.
48He rescues me from my enemies.
Yes, you lift me up above those who rise up against me.
You deliver me from the violent man.
49Therefore I will give thanks to you, LORD, among the nations,
and will sing praises to your name.
50He gives great deliverance to his king,
and shows loving kindness to his anointed,
to David and to his offspring, forever more.
Psalm 19
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David.
1The heavens declare the glory of God.
The expanse shows his handiwork.
2Day after day they pour out speech,
and night after night they display knowledge.
3There is no speech nor language
where their voice is not heard.
4Their voice has gone out through all the earth,
their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
5which is as a bridegroom coming out of his room,
like a strong man rejoicing to run his course.
6His going out is from the end of the heavens,
his circuit to its ends.
There is nothing hidden from its heat.
The LORD’s law is perfect, restoring the soul.
The LORD’s covenant is sure, making wise the simple.
8The LORD’s precepts are right, rejoicing the heart.
The LORD’s commandment is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever.
The LORD’s ordinances are true, and righteous altogether.
10They are more to be desired than gold, yes, than much fine gold,
sweeter also than honey and the extract of the honeycomb.
11Moreover your servant is warned by them.
In keeping them there is great reward.
12Who can discern his errors?
Forgive me from hidden errors.
Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins.
Let them not have dominion over me.
Then I will be upright.
I will be blameless and innocent of great transgression.
14Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
LORD, my rock, and my redeemer.
Psalm 20
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David.
1May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble.
May the name of the God of Jacob set you up on high,
2send you help from the sanctuary,
grant you support from Zion,
3remember all your offerings,
and accept your burned sacrifice. Selah.
4May he grant you your heart’s desire,
and fulfill all your counsel.
5We will triumph in your salvation.
In the name of our God, we will set up our banners.
May the LORD grant all your requests.
6Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed.
He will answer him from his holy heaven,
with the saving strength of his right hand.
7Some trust in chariots, and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
8They are bowed down and fallen,
but we rise up, and stand upright.
9Save, LORD!
Let the King answer us when we call!
Psalm 21
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David.
1The king rejoices in your strength, LORD!
How greatly he rejoices in your salvation!
2You have given him his heart’s desire,
and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah.
3For you meet him with the blessings of goodness.
You set a crown of fine gold on his head.
4He asked life of you and you gave it to him,
even length of days forever and ever.
5His glory is great in your salvation.
You lay honor and majesty on him.
6For you make him most blessed forever.
You make him glad with joy in your presence.
7For the king trusts in the LORD.
Through the loving kindness of the Most High, he shall not be moved.
8Your hand will find out all of your enemies.
Your right hand will find out those who hate you.
9You will make them as a fiery furnace in the time of your anger.
The LORD will swallow them up in his wrath.
The fire shall devour them.
10You will destroy their descendants from the earth,
their posterity from among the children of men.
11For they intended evil against you.
They plotted evil against you which cannot succeed.
12For you will make them turn their back,
when you aim drawn bows at their face.
13Be exalted, LORD, in your strength,
so we will sing and praise your power.