For the music director; a psalm of David.
31:1 In you, O Lord, I have taken shelter!
Never let me be humiliated!
Vindicate me by rescuing me!
31:2 Listen to me!
Quickly deliver me!
Be my protector and refuge,
a stronghold where I can be safe!
31:3 For you are my high ridge
for the sake of your own reputation
31:4 You will free me
for you are my place of refuge.
31:5 Into your hand I entrust my life;
you will rescue
31:6 I hate those who serve worthless idols,
but I trust in the Lord.
31:7 I will be happy and rejoice in your faithfulness,
because you notice my pain
and you are aware of how distressed I am.
31:8 You do not deliver me over to the power of the enemy;
you enable me to stand
31:9 Have mercy on me, for I am in distress!
My eyes grow dim
I have lost my strength.
31:10 For my life nears its end in pain;
my years draw to a close as I groan.
My strength fails me because of
and my bones become brittle.
31:11 Because of all my enemies, people disdain me;
my neighbors are appalled by my suffering
those who know me are horrified by my condition;
those who see me in the street run away from me.
31:12 I am forgotten, like a dead man no one thinks about;
I am regarded as worthless, like a broken jar.
31:13 For I hear what so many are saying,
the terrifying news that comes from every direction.
When they plot together against me,
they figure out how they can take my life.
31:14 But I trust in you, O Lord!
I declare, “You are my God!”
31:15 You determine my destiny!
Rescue me from the power of my enemies and those who chase me.
31:16 Smile
Deliver me because of your faithfulness!
31:17 O Lord, do not let me be humiliated,
for I call out to you!
May evil men be humiliated!
May they go wailing to the grave!
31:18 May lying lips be silenced –
lips
with arrogance and contempt!
31:19 How great is your favor,
which you store up for your loyal followers!
In plain sight of everyone you bestow it on those who take shelter
31:20 You hide them with you, where they are safe from the attacks
you conceal them in a shelter, where they are safe from slanderous attacks.
31:21 The Lord deserves praise
for he demonstrated his amazing faithfulness to me when I was besieged by enemies.
31:22 I jumped to conclusions and said,
“I am cut off from your presence!”
But you heard my plea for mercy when I cried out to you for help.
31:23 Love the Lord, all you faithful followers
The Lord protects those who have integrity,
but he pays back in full the one who acts arrogantly.
31:24 Be strong and confident,
all you who wait on the Lord!
By David; a well-written song.
32:1 How blessed
whose sin is pardoned!
32:2 How blessed is the one
in whose spirit there is no deceit.
32:3 When I refused to confess my sin,
my whole body wasted away,
while I groaned in pain all day long.
32:4 For day and night you tormented me;
you tried to destroy me
32:5 Then I confessed my sin;
I no longer covered up my wrongdoing.
I said, “I will confess
And then you forgave my sins.
32:6 For this reason every one of your faithful followers
while there is a window of opportunity.
Certainly
it will not reach them.
32:7 You are my hiding place;
you protect me from distress.
You surround me with shouts of joy from those celebrating deliverance.
32:8 I will instruct and teach you
I will advise you as I look you in the eye.
32:9 Do not be
which will not obey you
unless they are controlled by a bridle and bit.
32:10 An evil person suffers much pain,
but the Lord’s faithfulness overwhelms the one who trusts in him.
32:11 Rejoice in the Lord and be happy, you who are godly!
Shout for joy, all you who are morally upright!
33:1 You godly ones, shout for joy because of the Lord!
It is appropriate for the morally upright to offer him praise.
33:2 Give thanks to the Lord with the harp!
Sing to him to the accompaniment of a ten-stringed instrument!
33:3 Sing to him a new song!
Play skillfully as you shout out your praises to him!
33:4 For
and everything he does is fair.
33:5 The Lord promotes
the Lord’s faithfulness extends throughout the earth.
33:6 By the Lord’s decree
by a mere word from his mouth all the stars in the sky were created.
33:7 He piles up the water of the sea;
he puts the oceans
33:8 Let the whole earth fear
Let all who live in the world stand in awe of him!
33:9 For he spoke, and it
he issued the decree,
33:10 The Lord frustrates
he nullifies the plans
33:11 The Lord’s decisions stand forever;
his plans abide throughout the ages.
33:12 How blessed
the people whom he has chosen to be his special possession.
33:13 The Lord watches
he sees all people.
33:14 From the place where he lives he looks carefully
at all the earth’s inhabitants.
33:15 He is the one who forms every human heart,
and takes note of all their actions.
33:16 No king is delivered by his vast army;
a warrior is not saved by his great might.
33:17 A horse disappoints those who trust in it for victory;
despite its great strength, it cannot deliver.
33:18 Look, the Lord takes notice of his loyal followers,
those who wait for him to demonstrate his faithfulness
33:19 by saving their lives from death
and sustaining them during times of famine.
33:20 We
he is our deliverer
33:21 For our hearts rejoice in him,
for we trust in his holy name.
33:22 May we experience your faithfulness, O Lord,
for
Written by David, when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, causing the king to send him away.
34:1 I will praise
my mouth will continually praise him.
34:2 I will boast
let the oppressed hear and rejoice!
34:3 Magnify the Lord with me!
Let’s praise
34:4 I sought the Lord’s help
he delivered me from all my fears.
34:5 Those who look to him for help are happy;
their faces are not ashamed.
34:6 This oppressed man cried out and the Lord heard;
he saved him
34:7 The Lord’s angel camps around
the Lord’s
34:8 Taste
How blessed
34:9 Remain loyal to
for his loyal followers
34:10 Even young lions sometimes lack food and are hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
34:11 Come children! Listen to me!
I will teach you what it means to fear the Lord.
34:12 Do you want to really live?
Would you love to live a long, happy life?
34:13 Then make sure you don’t speak evil words
or use deceptive speech!
34:14 Turn away from evil and do what is right!
Strive for peace and promote it!
34:15 The Lord pays attention to the godly
and hears their cry for help.
34:16 But the Lord opposes evildoers
and wipes out all memory of them from the earth.
34:17 The godly
he saves them from all their troubles.
34:18 The Lord is near the brokenhearted;
he delivers
34:19 The godly
but the Lord saves
34:20 He protects
not one of them is broken.
34:21 Evil people self-destruct;
those who hate the godly are punished.
34:22 The Lord rescues his servants;
all who take shelter in him escape punishment.
By David.
35:1 O Lord, fight
Attack those who attack me!
35:2 Grab your small shield and large shield,
and rise up to help me!
35:3 Use your spear and lance
Assure me with these words:
35:4 May those who seek my life be embarrassed and humiliated!
May those who plan to harm me be turned back and ashamed!
35:5 May they be
as the Lord’s angel
35:6 May their path be
as the Lord’s angel chases them!
35:7 I did not harm them, but they hid a net to catch me
and dug a pit to trap me.
35:8 Let destruction take them by surprise!
Let the net they hid catch them!
Let them fall into destruction!
35:9 Then I will rejoice in the Lord
and be happy because of his deliverance.
35:10 With all my strength I will say,
“O Lord, who can compare to you?
You rescue
the oppressed and needy from those who try to rob them.”
35:11 Violent men perjure themselves,
and falsely accuse me.
35:12 They repay me evil for the good I have done;
I am overwhelmed with sorrow.
35:13 When they were sick, I wore sackcloth,
and refrained from eating food.
(If I am lying, may my prayers go unanswered!)
35:14 I mourned for them as I would for a friend or my brother.
I bowed down
35:15 But when I stumbled, they rejoiced and gathered together;
they gathered together to ambush me.
They tore at me without stopping to rest.
35:16 When I tripped, they taunted me relentlessly,
and tried to bite me.
35:17 O Lord, how long are you going to just stand there and watch this?
Rescue
guard my life
35:18 Then I will give you thanks in the great assembly;
I will praise you before a large crowd of people!
35:19 Do not let those who are my enemies for no reason
Do not let those who hate me without cause carry out their wicked schemes!
35:20 For they do not try to make peace with others,
but plan ways to deceive those who are unsuspecting.
35:21 They are ready to devour me;
they say, “Aha! Aha! We’ve got you!”
35:22 But you take notice,
O Lord, do not remain far away from me!
35:23 Rouse yourself, wake up
My God and Lord, defend my just cause!
35:24 Vindicate me by your justice, O Lord my God!
Do not let them gloat
35:25 Do not let them say to themselves,
Do not let them say, “We have devoured him!”
35:26 May those who want to harm me be totally embarrassed and ashamed!
May those who arrogantly taunt me be covered with shame and humiliation!
35:27 May those who desire my vindication shout for joy and rejoice!
May they continually say,
35:28 Then I will tell others about your justice,
and praise you all day long.