New American Standard Bible (NASB)

A Cry of Distress and Imprecation on Adversaries.

For the choir director; according to #Shoshannim. A Psalm of David.

1 Save me, O God,

For the waters have threatened my life.

2 I have sunk in deep mire, and there is no foothold;

I have come into deep waters, and a flood overflows me.

3 I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched;

My eyes fail while I wait for my God.

4 Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head;

Those who would destroy me are powerful, being wrongfully my enemies;

What I did not steal, I then have to restore.

5 O God, it is You who knows my folly,

And my wrongs are not hidden from You.

6 May those who wait for You not be ashamed through me, O Lord Godof hosts;

May those who seek You not be dishonored through me, O God of Israel,

7 Because for Your sake I have borne reproach;

Dishonor has covered my face.

8 I have become estranged from my brothers

And an alien to my mother’s sons.

9 For zeal for Your house has consumed me,

And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.

10 When I wept in my soul with fasting,

It became my reproach.

11 When I made sackcloth my clothing,

I became a byword to them.

12 Those who sit in the gate talk about me,

And Iamthe song of the drunkards.

13 But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord, at an acceptable time;

O God, in the greatness of Your lovingkindness,

Answer me with Your saving truth.

14 Deliver me from the mire and do not let me sink;

May I be delivered from my foes and from the deep waters.

15 May the flood of water not overflow me

Nor the deep swallow me up,

Nor the pit shut its mouth on me.

16 Answer me, O Lord, for Your lovingkindness is good;

According to the greatness of Your compassion, turn to me,

17 And do not hide Your face from Your servant,

For I am in distress; answer me quickly.

18 Oh draw near to my soulandredeem it;

Ransom me because of my enemies!

19 You know my reproach and my shame and my dishonor;

# All my adversaries arebefore You.

20 Reproach has broken my heart and I am so sick.

And I looked for sympathy, but there was none,

And for comforters, but I found none.

21 They also gave megall for my food

And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

22 May their table before them become a snare;

And when they are in peace,may it becomea trap.

23 May their eyes grow dim so that they cannot see,

And make their loins shake continually.

24 Pour out Your indignation on them,

And may Your burning anger overtake them.

25 May their camp be desolate;

May none dwell in their tents.

26 For they have persecuted him whom You Yourself have smitten,

And they tell of the pain of those whom You have wounded.

27 Add iniquity to their iniquity,

And may they not come into Your righteousness.

28 May they be blotted out of the book of life

And may they not be recorded with the righteous.

29 But I am afflicted and in pain;

May Your salvation, O God, set mesecurelyon high.

30 I will praise the name of God with song

And magnify Him with thanksgiving.

31 And it will please the Lordbetter than an ox

Ora young bull with horns and hoofs.

32 The humble have seenit andare glad;

You who seek God, let your heart revive.

33 For the Lordhears the needy

And does not despise Hiswho areprisoners.

34 Let heaven and earth praise Him,

The seas and everything that moves in them.

35 For God will save Zion and build the cities of Judah,

That they may dwell there and possess it.

36 The descendants of His servants will inherit it,

And those who love His name will dwell in it.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/PSA/69-6cfceff3e6f3eb70edf264319235111b.mp3?version_id=100—

Prayer for Help against Persecutors.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David; for a memorial.

1 O God,hastento deliver me;

O Lord, hasten to my help!

2 Let those be ashamed and humiliated

Who seek my life;

Let those be turned back and dishonored

Who delight in my hurt.

3 Let those be turned back because of their shame

Who say, “Aha, aha!”

4 Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;

And let those who love Your salvation say continually,

“Let God be magnified.”

5 But I am afflicted and needy;

Hasten to me, O God!

You are my help and my deliverer;

O Lord, do not delay.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/PSA/70-aee9ea4bdbc2f0357b13fd4194efe1ca.mp3?version_id=100—

Prayer of an Old Man for Deliverance.

1 In You, O Lord, I have taken refuge;

Let me never be ashamed.

2 In Your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;

Incline Your ear to me and save me.

3 Be to me a rock of habitation to which I may continually come;

You have given commandment to save me,

For You are my rock and my fortress.

4 Rescue me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked,

Out of the grasp of the wrongdoer and ruthless man,

5 For You are my hope;

O Lord God,You aremy confidence from my youth.

6 By You I have been sustained frommybirth;

You are He who took me from my mother’s womb;

My praise is continually of You.

7 I have become a marvel to many,

For You are my strong refuge.

8 My mouth is filled with Your praise

And with Your glory all day long.

9 Do not cast me off in the time of old age;

Do not forsake me when my strength fails.

10 For my enemies have spoken against me;

And those who watch for my life have consulted together,

11 Saying, “God has forsaken him;

Pursue and seize him, for there is no one to deliver.”

12 O God, do not be far from me;

O my God, hasten to my help!

13 Let those who are adversaries of my soul be ashamedandconsumed;

Let them be covered with reproach and dishonor, who seek to injure me.

14 But as for me, I will hope continually,

And will praise You yet more and more.

15 My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness

Andof Your salvation all day long;

For I do not know the sumof them.

16 I will come with the mighty deeds of the Lord God;

I will make mention of Your righteousness, Yours alone.

17 O God, You have taught me from my youth,

And I still declare Your wondrous deeds.

18 And even whenI amold and gray, O God, do not forsake me,

Until I declare Your strength tothisgeneration,

Your power to all who are to come.

19 For Your righteousness, O God,reachesto the heavens,

You who have done great things;

O God, who is like You?

20 You who have shownme many troubles and distresses

Will revive me again,

And will bring me up again from the depths of the earth.

21 May You increase my greatness

And turntocomfort me.

22 I will also praise You with a harp,

EvenYour truth, O my God;

To You I will sing praises with the lyre,

O Holy One of Israel.

23 My lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to You;

And my soul, which You have redeemed.

24 My tongue also will utter Your righteousness all day long;

For they are ashamed, for they are humiliated who seek my hurt.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/PSA/71-ada71dd989693bc1bc27b5fbaac0f4ba.mp3?version_id=100—

The Reign of the Righteous King.

A Psalm of Solomon.

1 Give the king Your judgments, O God,

And Your righteousness to the king’s son.

2 May he judge Your people with righteousness

# AndYour afflicted with justice.

3 Let the mountains bring peace to the people,

And the hills, in righteousness.

4 May he vindicate the afflicted of the people,

Save the children of the needy

And crush the oppressor.

5 Let them fear You while the sunendures,

And as long as the moon, throughout all generations.

6 May he come down like rain upon the mown grass,

Like showers that water the earth.

7 In his days may the righteous flourish,

And abundance of peace till the moon is no more.

8 May he also rule from sea to sea

And from the River to the ends of the earth.

9 Let the nomads of the desert bow before him,

And his enemies lick the dust.

10 Let the kings of Tarshish and of the islands bring presents;

The kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.

11 And let all kings bow down before him,

All nations serve him.

12 For he will deliver the needy when he cries for help,

The afflicted also, and him who has no helper.

13 He will have compassion on the poor and needy,

And the lives of the needy he will save.

14 He will rescue their life from oppression and violence,

And their blood will be precious in his sight;

15 So may he live, and may the gold of Sheba be given to him;

And let them pray for him continually;

Let them bless him all day long.

16 May there be abundance of grain in the earth on top of the mountains;

Its fruit will wave likethe cedars ofLebanon;

And may those from the city flourish like vegetation of the earth.

17 May his name endure forever;

May his name increase as long as the sunshines;

And letmenbless themselves by him;

Let all nations call him blessed.

18 Blessed be the LordGod, the God of Israel,

Who alone works wonders.

19 And blessed be His glorious name forever;

And may the whole earth be filled with His glory.

Amen, and Amen.

20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/PSA/72-6e85430ebdee89b4f28d39e53e85fd05.mp3?version_id=100—

BOOK 3

The End of the Wicked Contrasted with That of the Righteous.

A Psalm of Asaph.

1 Surely God is good to Israel,

To those who are pure in heart!

2 But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling,

My steps had almost slipped.

3 For I was envious of the arrogant

AsI saw the prosperity of the wicked.

4 For there are no pains in their death,

And their body is fat.

5 They are not in troubleas othermen,

Nor are they plagued like mankind.

6 Therefore pride is their necklace;

The garment of violence covers them.

7 Their eye bulges from fatness;

The imaginations oftheirheart run riot.

8 They mock and wickedly speak of oppression;

They speak from on high.

9 They have set their mouth against the heavens,

And their tongue parades through the earth.

10 Therefore his people return to this place,

And waters of abundance are drunk by them.

11 They say, “How does God know?

And is there knowledge with the Most High?”

12 Behold, these are the wicked;

And always at ease, they have increasedinwealth.

13 Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure

And washed my hands in innocence;

14 For I have been stricken all day long

And chastened every morning.

15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”

Behold, I would have betrayed the generation of Your children.

16 When I pondered to understand this,

It was troublesome in my sight

17 Until I came into the sanctuary of God;

ThenI perceived their end.

18 Surely You set them in slippery places;

You cast them down to destruction.

19 How they are destroyed in a moment!

They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors!

20 Like a dream when one awakes,

O Lord, when aroused, You will despise their form.

21 When my heart was embittered

And I was pierced within,

22 Then I was senseless and ignorant;

I waslikea beast before You.

23 Nevertheless I am continually with You;

You have taken hold of my right hand.

24 With Your counsel You will guide me,

And afterward receive me to glory.

25 Whom have I in heavenbut You?

And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.

26 My flesh and my heart may fail,

But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

27 For, behold, those who are far from You will perish;

You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You.

28 But as for me, the nearness of God is my good;

I have made the Lord Godmy refuge,

That I may tell of all Your works.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/PSA/73-1f83914e4f97cfe5d09c402ff0d4d3c5.mp3?version_id=100—

An Appeal against the Devastation of the Land by the Enemy.

A Maskil of Asaph.

1 O God, why have You rejectedusforever?

Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture?

2 Remember Your congregation, which You have purchased of old,

Which You have redeemed to be the tribe of Your inheritance;

Andthis Mount Zion, where You have dwelt.

3 Turn Your footsteps toward the perpetual ruins;

The enemy has damaged everything within the sanctuary.

4 Your adversaries have roared in the midst of Your meeting place;

They have set up their own standards for signs.

5 It seems as if one had lifted up

Hisaxe in a forest of trees.

6 And now all its carved work

They smash with hatchet and hammers.

7 They have burned Your sanctuary to the ground;

They have defiled the dwelling place of Your name.

8 They said in their heart, “Let us completely subdue them.”

They have burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

9 We do not see our signs;

There is no longer any prophet,

Nor is there any among us who knows how long.

10 How long, O God, will the adversary revile,

Andthe enemy spurn Your name forever?

11 Why do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand?

From within Your bosom, destroythem!

12 Yet God is my king from of old,

Who works deeds of deliverance in the midst of the earth.

13 You divided the sea by Your strength;

You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters.

14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan;

You gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.

15 You broke open springs and torrents;

You dried up ever-flowing streams.

16 Yours is the day, Yours also is the night;

You have prepared the light and the sun.

17 You have established all the boundaries of the earth;

You have made summer and winter.

18 Remember this, O Lord, that the enemy has reviled,

And a foolish people has spurned Your name.

19 Do not deliver the soul of Your turtledove to the wild beast;

Do not forget the life of Your afflicted forever.

20 Consider the covenant;

For the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.

21 Let not the oppressed return dishonored;

Let the afflicted and needy praise Your name.

22 Arise, O God,andplead Your own cause;

Remember how the foolish man reproaches You all day long.

23 Do not forget the voice of Your adversaries,

The uproar of those who rise against You which ascends continually.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/PSA/74-4942cf898178fd7ecf63f4134e3fd440.mp3?version_id=100—

God Abases the Proud, but Exalts the Righteous.

For the choir director; set to Al-tashheth. A Psalm of Asaph, a Song.

1 We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks,

For Your name is near;

Men declare Your wondrous works.

2 “When I select an appointed time,

It is I who judge with equity.

3 “The earth and all who dwell in itmelt;

It is I who have firmly set its pillars. Selah.

4 “I said to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’

And to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up the horn;

5 Do not lift up your horn on high,

Do not speak with insolent pride.'”

6 For not from the east, nor from the west,

Nor from the desertcomesexaltation;

7 But God is the Judge;

He puts down one and exalts another.

8 For a cup is in the hand of the Lord, and the wine foams;

It is well mixed, and He pours out of this;

Surely all the wicked of the earth must drainanddrink down its dregs.

9 But as for me, I will declareitforever;

I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.

10 And all the horns of the wicked He will cut off,

Butthe horns of the righteous will be lifted up.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/PSA/75-d8abd6eb2e716b080be86b17585afe30.mp3?version_id=100—

The Victorious Power of the God of Jacob.

For the choir director; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph, a Song.

1 God is known in Judah;

His name is great in Israel.

2 His tabernacle is in Salem;

His dwelling place also is in Zion.

3 There He broke the flaming arrows,

The shield and the sword and the weapons of war. Selah.

4 You are resplendent,

More majestic than the mountains of prey.

5 The stouthearted were plundered,

They sank into sleep;

And none of the warriors could use his hands.

6 At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob,

Both rider and horse were cast into a dead sleep.

7 You, even You, are to be feared;

And who may stand in Your presence when once You are angry?

8 You caused judgment to be heard from heaven;

The earth feared and was still

9 When God arose to judgment,

To save all the humble of the earth. Selah.

10 For the wrath of man shall praise You;

With a remnant of wrath You will gird Yourself.

11 Make vows to the Lordyour God and fulfillthem;

Let all who are around Him bring gifts to Him who is to be feared.

12 He will cut off the spirit of princes;

He is feared by the kings of the earth.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/PSA/76-774caf52f8795f4e9b1c5eb958e66340.mp3?version_id=100—

Comfort in Trouble from Recalling God’s Mighty Deeds.

For the choir director; according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.

1 My voicerisesto God, and I will cry aloud;

My voicerisesto God, and He will hear me.

2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord;

# In the night my hand was stretched outwithout weariness;

My soul refused to be comforted.

3 WhenI remember God, then I am disturbed;

WhenI sigh, then my spirit grows faint. Selah.

4 You have held my eyelidsopen;

I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

5 I have considered the days of old,

The years of long ago.

6 I will remember my song in the night;

I will meditate with my heart,

And my spirit ponders:

7 Will the Lord reject forever?

And will He never be favorable again?

8 Has His lovingkindness ceased forever?

HasHispromise come to an end forever?

9 Has God forgotten to be gracious,

Or has He in anger withdrawn His compassion? Selah.

10 Then I said, “It is my grief,

That the right hand of the Most High has changed.”

11 I shall remember the deeds of the Lord;

Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.

12 I will meditate on all Your work

And muse on Your deeds.

13 Your way, O God, is holy;

What god is great like our God?

14 You are the God who works wonders;

You have made known Your strength among the peoples.

15 You have by Your power redeemed Your people,

The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.

16 The waters saw You, O God;

The waters saw You, they were in anguish;

The deeps also trembled.

17 The clouds poured out water;

The skies gave forth a sound;

Your arrows flashed here and there.

18 The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;

The lightnings lit up the world;

The earth trembled and shook.

19 Your way was in the sea

And Your paths in the mighty waters,

And Your footprints may not be known.

20 You led Your people like a flock

By the hand of Moses and Aaron.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/PSA/77-a496e6bdb94d2d957c11f3ee721de863.mp3?version_id=100—

God’s Guidance of His People in Spite of Their Unfaithfulness.

A Maskil of Asaph.

1 Listen, O my people, to my instruction;

Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

2 I will open my mouth in a parable;

I will utter dark sayings of old,

3 Which we have heard and known,

And our fathers have told us.

4 We will not conceal them from their children,

But tell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord,

And His strength and His wondrous works that He has done.

5 For He established a testimony in Jacob

And appointed a law in Israel,

Which He commanded our fathers

That they should teach them to their children,

6 That the generation to come might know,eventhe childrenyetto be born,

Thatthey may arise and tellthemto their children,

7 That they should put their confidence in God

And not forget the works of God,

But keep His commandments,

8 And not be like their fathers,

A stubborn and rebellious generation,

# A generation that did notprepare its heart

And whose spirit was not faithful to God.

9 The sons of Ephraim were archers equipped with bows,

Yetthey turned back in the day of battle.

10 They did not keep the covenant of God

And refused to walk in His law;

11 They forgot His deeds

And His miracles that He had shown them.

12 He wrought wonders before their fathers

In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.

13 He divided the sea and caused them to pass through,

And He made the waters stand up like a heap.

14 Then He led them with the cloud by day

And all the night with a light of fire.

15 He split the rocks in the wilderness

And gavethemabundant drink like the ocean depths.

16 He brought forth streams also from the rock

And caused waters to run down like rivers.

17 Yet they still continued to sin against Him,

To rebel against the Most High in the desert.

18 And in their heart they put God to the test

By asking food according to their desire.

19 Then they spoke against God;

They said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?

20 “Behold, He struck the rock so that waters gushed out,

And streams were overflowing;

Can He give bread also?

Will He provide meat for His people?”

21 Therefore the Lordheard and was full of wrath;

And a fire was kindled against Jacob

And anger also mounted against Israel,

22 Because they did not believe in God

And did not trust in His salvation.

23 Yet He commanded the clouds above

And opened the doors of heaven;

24 He rained down manna upon them to eat

And gave them food from heaven.

25 Man did eat the bread of angels;

He sent them food in abundance.

26 He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens

And by His power He directed the south wind.

27 When He rained meat upon them like the dust,

Even winged fowl like the sand of the seas,

28 Then He letthemfall in the midst of their camp,

Round about their dwellings.

29 So they ate and were well filled,

And their desire He gave to them.

30 Before they had satisfied their desire,

While their food was in their mouths,

31 The anger of God rose against them

And killed some of their stoutest ones,

And subdued the choice men of Israel.

32 In spite of all this they still sinned

And did not believe in His wonderful works.

33 So He brought their days to an end in futility

And their years in sudden terror.

34 When He killed them, then they sought Him,

And returned and searched diligently for God;

35 And they remembered that God was their rock,

And the Most High God their Redeemer.

36 But they deceived Him with their mouth

And lied to Him with their tongue.

37 For their heart was not steadfast toward Him,

Nor were they faithful in His covenant.

38 But He, being compassionate, forgavetheiriniquity and did not destroythem;

And often He restrained His anger

And did not arouse all His wrath.

39 Thus He remembered that they were but flesh,

A wind that passes and does not return.

40 How often they rebelled against Him in the wilderness

And grieved Him in the desert!

41 Again and again theytempted God,

And pained the Holy One of Israel.

42 They did not remember His power,

The day when He redeemed them from the adversary,

43 When He performed His signs in Egypt

And His marvels in the field of Zoan,

44 And turned their rivers to blood,

And their streams, they could not drink.

45 He sent among them swarms of flies which devoured them,

And frogs which destroyed them.

46 He gave also their crops to the grasshopper

And the product of their labor to the locust.

47 He destroyed their vines with hailstones

And their sycamore trees with frost.

48 He gave over their cattle also to the hailstones

And their herds to bolts of lightning.

49 He sent upon them His burning anger,

Fury and indignation and trouble,

A band of destroying angels.

50 He leveled a path for His anger;

He did not spare their soul from death,

But gave over their life to the plague,

51 And smote all the firstborn in Egypt,

The firstissueof their virility in the tents of Ham.

52 But He led forth His own people like sheep

And guided them in the wilderness like a flock;

53 He led them safely, so that they did not fear;

But the sea engulfed their enemies.

54 So He brought them to His holy land,

To this hill country which His right hand had gained.

55 He also drove out the nations before them

And apportioned them for an inheritance by measurement,

And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.

56 Yet theytempted and rebelled against the Most High God

And did not keep His testimonies,

57 But turned back and acted treacherously like their fathers;

They turned aside like a treacherous bow.

58 For they provoked Him with their high places

And aroused His jealousy with their graven images.

59 When God heard, He was filled with wrath

And greatly abhorred Israel;

60 So that He abandoned the dwelling place at Shiloh,

The tent which He had pitched among men,

61 And gave up His strength to captivity

And His glory into the hand of the adversary.

62 He also delivered His people to the sword,

And was filled with wrath at His inheritance.

63 Fire devoured His young men,

And His virgins had no wedding songs.

64 His priests fell by the sword,

And His widows could not weep.

65 Then the Lord awoke asif fromsleep,

Like a warrior overcome by wine.

66 He drove His adversaries backward;

He put on them an everlasting reproach.

67 He also rejected the tent of Joseph,

And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,

68 But chose the tribe of Judah,

Mount Zion which He loved.

69 And He built His sanctuary like the heights,

Like the earth which He has founded forever.

70 He also chose David His servant

And took him from the sheepfolds;

71 From the care of the ewes with suckling lambs He brought him

To shepherd Jacob His people,

And Israel His inheritance.

72 So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart,

And guided them with his skillful hands.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/PSA/78-cb0aee168c33ceb81e731ac738263d4a.mp3?version_id=100—