Psalms 9

A Psalm of Thanksgiving for God’s Justice.

For the choir director; on #Muth-labben. A Psalm of David.

1 I will give thanks to the Lordwith all my heart;

I will tell of all Your wonders.

2 I will be glad and exult in You;

I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

3 When my enemies turn back,

They stumble and perish before You.

4 For You have maintained my just cause;

You have sat on the throne judging righteously.

5 You have rebuked the nations, You have destroyed the wicked;

You have blotted out their name forever and ever.

6 The enemy has come to an end in perpetual ruins,

And You have uprooted the cities;

The very memory of them has perished.

7 But the Lordabides forever;

He has established His throne for judgment,

8 And He will judge the world in righteousness;

He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity.

9 The Lordalso will be a stronghold for the oppressed,

A stronghold in times of trouble;

10 And those who know Your name will put their trust in You,

For You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.

11 Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion;

Declare among the peoples His deeds.

12 For He whorequires blood remembers them;

He does not forget the cry of the afflicted.

13 Be gracious to me, O Lord;

See my affliction from those who hate me,

You who lift me up from the gates of death,

14 That I may tell of all Your praises,

That in the gates of the daughter of Zion

I may rejoice in Your salvation.

15 The nations have sunk down in the pit which they have made;

In the net which they hid, their own foot has been caught.

16 The Lordhas made Himself known;

He has executed judgment.

In the work of his own hands the wicked is snared. Higgaion Selah.

17 The wicked will return to Sheol,

Evenall the nations who forget God.

18 For the needy will not always be forgotten,

Nor the hope of the afflicted perish forever.

19 Arise, O Lord, do not let man prevail;

Let the nations be judged before You.

20 Put them in fear, O Lord;

Let the nations know that they are but men. Selah.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/PSA/9-20108a6bbdd862c087462b607667cd52.mp3?version_id=100—

Psalms 10

A Prayer for the Overthrow of the Wicked.

1 Why do You stand afar off, O Lord?

Why do You hideYourselfin times of trouble?

2 In pride the wicked hotly pursue the afflicted;

Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.

3 For the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire,

# Andthe greedy man cursesandspurns the Lord.

4 The wicked, in the haughtiness of his countenance, does not seekHim.

All his thoughts are, “There is no God.”

5 His ways prosper at all times;

Your judgments are on high, out of his sight;

As for all his adversaries, he snorts at them.

6 He says to himself, “I will not be moved;

Throughout all generations I will not be in adversity.”

7 His mouth is full of curses and deceit and oppression;

Under his tongue is mischief and wickedness.

8 He sits in the lurking places of the villages;

In the hiding places he kills the innocent;

His eyes stealthily watch for the unfortunate.

9 He lurks in a hiding place as a lion in his lair;

He lurks to catch the afflicted;

He catches the afflicted when he draws him into his net.

10 He crouches, he bows down,

# And the unfortunate fallby his mighty ones.

11 He says to himself, “God has forgotten;

He has hidden His face; He will never see it.”

12 Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up Your hand.

Do not forget the afflicted.

13 Why has the wicked spurned God?

He has said to himself, “You will not requireit.”

14 You have seenit,for You have beheld mischief and vexation to take it into Your hand.

The unfortunate commitshimselfto You;

You have been the helper of the orphan.

15 Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer,

Seek out his wickedness until You find none.

16 The Lordis King forever and ever;

Nations have perished from His land.

17 O Lord, You have heard the desire of thehumble;

You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear

18 Tovindicate the orphan and the oppressed,

So that man who is of the earth will no longer cause terror.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/PSA/10-c97ea8f974584e9160a9baf68965981e.mp3?version_id=100—

Psalms 11

The Lord a Refuge and Defense.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

1 In the LordI take refuge;

How can you say to my soul, “Fleeasa bird to your mountain;

2 For, behold, the wicked bend the bow,

They make ready their arrow upon the string

To shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.

3 If the foundations are destroyed,

What can the righteous do?”

4 The Lordis in His holy temple; the Lord’sthrone is in heaven;

His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.

5 The Lordtests the righteous and the wicked,

And the one who loves violence His soul hates.

6 Upon the wicked He will rainsnares;

Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup.

7 For the Lordis righteous, He loves righteousness;

The upright will behold His face.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/PSA/11-235b4c89e181ac880a933a7aa2f639f4.mp3?version_id=100—

Psalms 12

God, a Helper against the Treacherous.

For the choir director; upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David.

1 Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases to be,

For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.

2 They speak falsehood to one another;

With flattering lips and with a double heart they speak.

3 May the Lordcut off all flattering lips,

The tongue that speaks great things;

4 Who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail;

Our lips are our own; who is lord over us?”

5 “Because of the devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy,

Now I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will set him in the safety for which he longs.”

6 The words of the Lordare pure words;

As silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times.

7 You, O Lord, will keep them;

You will preserve him from this generation forever.

8 The wicked strut about on every side

# Whenvileness is exalted among the sons of men.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/PSA/12-5ef4bcf9b8cb857ca3888544ac6bc7e2.mp3?version_id=100—

Psalms 13

Prayer for Help in Trouble.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

1 How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?

How long will You hide Your face from me?

2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul,

Havingsorrow in my heart all the day?

How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

3 Considerandanswer me, O Lordmy God;

Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep thesleep ofdeath,

4 And my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”

Andmy adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.

5 But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness;

My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.

6 I will sing to the Lord,

Because He has dealt bountifully with me.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/PSA/13-0f9a488ab5e443e378e71a3f5c88e9fb.mp3?version_id=100—

Psalms 14

Folly and Wickedness of Men.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

1 The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”

They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds;

There is no one who does good.

2 The Lordhas looked down from heaven upon the sons of men

To see if there are any who understand,

Who seek after God.

3 They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt;

There is no one who does good, not even one.

4 Do all the workers of wickedness not know,

Who eat up my peopleasthey eat bread,

Anddo not call upon the Lord?

5 There they are in great dread,

For God is with the righteous generation.

6 You would put to shame the counsel of the afflicted,

But the Lordis his refuge.

7 Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!

# When the Lordrestores His captive people,

Jacob will rejoice, Israel will be glad.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/PSA/14-08a93a5e517f2c11d650cccd54efc959.mp3?version_id=100—

Psalms 15

Description of a Citizen of Zion.

A Psalm of David.

1 O Lord, who may abide in Your tent?

Who may dwell on Your holy hill?

2 He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness,

And speaks truth in his heart.

3 He does not slander with his tongue,

Nor does evil to his neighbor,

Nor takes up a reproach against his friend;

4 In whose eyes a reprobate is despised,

But who honors those who fear the Lord;

He swears to his own hurt and does not change;

5 He does not put out his moneyat interest,

Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.

He who does these things will never be shaken.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/PSA/15-87c6c5e575faadf1b92c157242b17d5a.mp3?version_id=100—

Psalms 16

The Lord the Psalmist’s Portion in Life and Deliverer in Death.

A #Mikhtam of David.

1 Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You.

2 I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord;

I have no good besides You.”

3 As for the saints who are in the earth,

They are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight.

4 The sorrows of those who have bartered for anothergodwill be multiplied;

I shall not pour out their drink offerings of blood,

Nor will I take their names upon my lips.

5 The Lordis the portion of my inheritance and my cup;

You support my lot.

6 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;

Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.

7 I will bless the Lordwho has counseled me;

Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night.

8 I have set the Lordcontinually before me;

Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

9 Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices;

My flesh also will dwell securely.

10 For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol;

# Nor will You allow Your Holy One toundergo decay.

11 You will make known to me the path of life;

In Your presence is fullness of joy;

In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/PSA/16-6a2e671df7c5520fb06ed236de2e6e73.mp3?version_id=100—

Psalms 17

Prayer for Protection against Oppressors.

A Prayer of David.

1 Hear a just cause, O Lord, give heed to my cry;

Give ear to my prayer, which is not from deceitful lips.

2 Let my judgment come forth from Your presence;

Let Your eyes look with equity.

3 You have tried my heart;

You have visitedmeby night;

# You have tested me and You findnothing;

I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.

4 As for the deeds of men, by the word of Your lips

I have kept from the paths of the violent.

5 My steps have held fast to Your paths.

My feet have not slipped.

6 I have called upon You, for You will answer me, O God;

Incline Your ear to me, hear my speech.

7 Wondrously show Your lovingkindness,

O Savior of those who take refuge at Your right hand

From those who rise upagainst them.

8 Keep me asthe apple of the eye;

Hide me in the shadow of Your wings

9 From the wicked who despoil me,

My deadly enemies who surround me.

10 They have closed their unfeelingheart,

With their mouth they speak proudly.

11 They have now surrounded us in our steps;

They set their eyes to castusdown to the ground.

12 He is like a lion that is eager to tear,

And as a young lion lurking in hiding places.

13 Arise, O Lord, confront him, bring him low;

Deliver my soul from the wicked with Your sword,

14 From men with Your hand, O Lord,

From men of the world, whose portion is inthislife,

And whose belly You fill with Your treasure;

They are satisfied with children,

And leave their abundance to their babes.

15 As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness;

I will be satisfied with Your likeness when I awake.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/PSA/17-7eb226c18caa914a6d516c2ad4ed7245.mp3?version_id=100—

Psalms 18

The Lord Praised for Giving Deliverance.

For the choir director. A Psalm of 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. And he said,

1 “I love You, O Lord, my strength.”

2 The Lordis my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,

My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;

My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

3 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,

And I am saved from my enemies.

4 The cords of death encompassed me,

# And the torrents ofungodliness terrified me.

5 The cords of Sheol surrounded me;

The snares of death confronted me.

6 In my distress I called upon the Lord,

And cried to my God for help;

He heard my voice out of His temple,

And my cry for help before Him came into His ears.

7 Then the earth shook and quaked;

And the foundations of the mountains were trembling

And were shaken, because He was angry.

8 Smoke went up out of His nostrils,

And fire from His mouth devoured;

Coals were kindled by it.

9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down

With thick darkness under His feet.

10 He rode upon a cherub and flew;

And He sped upon the wings of the wind.

11 He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him,

Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.

12 From the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds,

Hailstones and coals of fire.

13 The Lordalso thundered in the heavens,

And the Most High uttered His voice,

Hailstones and coals of fire.

14 He sent out His arrows, and scattered them,

And lightning flashes in abundance, and routed them.

15 Then the channels of water appeared,

And the foundations of the world were laid bare

At Your rebuke, O Lord,

At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

16 He sent from on high, He took me;

He drew me out of many waters.

17 He delivered me from my strong enemy,

And from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.

18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,

But the Lordwas my stay.

19 He brought me forth also into a broad place;

He rescued me, because He delighted in me.

20 The Lordhas rewarded me according to my righteousness;

According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.

21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord,

And have not wickedly departed from my God.

22 For all His ordinances were before me,

And I did not put away His statutes from me.

23 I was alsoblameless with Him,

And I kept myself from my iniquity.

24 Therefore the Lordhas recompensed me according to my righteousness,

According to the cleanness of my hands in His eyes.

25 With the kind You show Yourself kind;

With the blameless You show Yourself blameless;

26 With the pure You show Yourself pure,

# And with the crooked You show Yourselfastute.

27 For You save an afflicted people,

But haughty eyes You abase.

28 For You light my lamp;

The Lordmy God illumines my darkness.

29 For by You I canrun upon a troop;

And by my God I can leap over a wall.

30 As for God, His way is blameless;

The word of the Lordis tried;

He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

31 For who is God, but the Lord?

And who is a rock, except our God,

32 The God who girds me with strength

And makes my way blameless?

33 He makes my feet like hinds’feet,

And sets me upon my high places.

34 He trains my hands for battle,

So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

35 You have also given me the shield of Your salvation,

And Your right hand upholds me;

And Your gentleness makes me great.

36 You enlarge my steps under me,

And my feet have not slipped.

37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them,

And I did not turn back until they were consumed.

38 I shattered them, so that they were not able to rise;

They fell under my feet.

39 For You have girded me with strength for battle;

You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.

40 You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me,

# And Idestroyed those who hated me.

41 They cried for help, but there was none to save,

Evento the Lord, but He did not answer them.

42 Then I beat them fine as the dust before the wind;

I emptied them out as the mire of the streets.

43 You have delivered me from the contentions of the people;

You have placed me as head of the nations;

A people whom I have not known serve me.

44 As soon as they hear, they obey me;

# Foreignerssubmit to me.

45 Foreigners fade away,

And come trembling out of their fortresses.

46 The Lordlives, and blessed be my rock;

And exalted be the God of my salvation,

47 The God who executes vengeance for me,

And subdues peoples under me.

48 He delivers me from my enemies;

Surely You lift me above those who rise up against me;

You rescue me from the violent man.

49 Therefore I will give thanks to You among the nations, O Lord,

And I will sing praises to Your name.

50 He gives greatdeliverance to His king,

And shows lovingkindness to His anointed,

To David and his descendants forever.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/PSA/18-758f60c6d124803f7351c8ef181ceaae.mp3?version_id=100—