The Law of THE LORD

       Blessed is the man
          who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
       or stand in the way of sinners
          or sit in the seat of mockers.
       But his delight is in the law of THE LORD,
          and on HIS law he meditates day and night.
       He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
          which yields its fruit in season
       and whose leaf does not wither.
          Whatever he does prospers.

       Not so the wicked!
          They are like chaff
          that the wind blows away.
       Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
          nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

       For THE LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
          but the way of the wicked will perish.


The Book of Psalms: Psalm 1

THE SON of THE LORD

       Why do the nations conspire
          and the peoples plot in vain?
       The kings of the earth take their stand
          and the rulers gather together
       against THE LORD
          and against HIS ANOINTED ONE.
       "Let us break their chains," they say,
          "and throw off their fetters."

       THE ONE enthroned in heaven laughs;
          THE LORD scoffs at them.
       Then HE rebukes them in HIS anger
          and terrifies them in HIS wrath, saying,
       "I have installed MY King
          on Zion, MY holy hill."

       I will proclaim the decree of THE LORD:

       HE said to me, "YOU are MY SON;
          today I have become YOUR FATHER.
       Ask of ME,
          and I will make the nations YOUR inheritance,
          the ends of the earth YOUR possession.
       YOU will rule them with an iron scepter;
          YOU will dash them to pieces like pottery."

       Therefore, you kings, be wise;
          be warned, you rulers of the earth.
       Serve THE LORD with fear
          and rejoice with trembling.
       Kiss THE SON, lest HE be angry
          and you be destroyed in your way,
       for HIS wrath can flare up in a moment.
          Blessed are all who take refuge in HIM.


The Book of Psalms: Psalm 2

THE LORD is My Shield

       O LORD, how many are my foes!
          How many rise up against me!
       Many are saying of me,
          "GOD will not deliver him."

       But YOU are a shield around me, O LORD;
          YOU bestow glory on me and lift up my head.
       To THE LORD I cry aloud,
          and HE answers me from HIS holy hill.

       I lie down and sleep;
          I wake again, because THE LORD sustains me.
       I will not fear the tens of thousands
          drawn up against me on every side.

       Arise, O LORD!
          Deliver me, O my GOD!
       Strike all my enemies on the jaw;
          break the teeth of the wicked.

       From THE LORD comes deliverance.
          May YOUR blessing be on YOUR people.


The Book of Psalms: Psalm 3

Answer My Prayer, O LORD

       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.

       How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame?
          How long will you love delusions and seek false gods?
       Know that THE LORD has set apart the godly for HIMSELF;
          THE LORD will hear when I call to HIM.

       In your anger do not sin;
          when you are on your beds,
          search your hearts and be silent.
       Offer right sacrifices
          and trust in THE LORD.

       Many are asking, "Who can show us any good?"
          Let the light of YOUR face shine upon us, O LORD.
       YOU have filled my heart with greater joy
          than when their grain and new wine abound.
       I will lie down and sleep in peace,
          for YOU alone, O LORD,
          make me dwell in safety.


The Book of Psalms: Psalm 4

Lead Me, O LORD

       Give ear to my words, O LORD,
          consider my sighing.
       Listen to my cry for help,
          my KING and my GOD,
          for to YOU I pray.
       In the morning, O LORD, YOU hear my voice;
          in the morning I lay my requests before YOU
          and wait in expectation.

       YOU are not a GOD who takes pleasure in evil;
          with YOU the wicked cannot dwell.
      The arrogant cannot stand in YOUR presence;
          YOU hate all who do wrong.
       YOU destroy those who tell lies;
          bloodthirsty and deceitful men
          THE LORD abhors.

       But I, by YOUR great mercy,
          will come into YOUR house;
       in reverence will I bow down
          toward YOUR holy temple.
       Lead me, O LORD, in YOUR righteousness
          because of my enemies--
          make straight YOUR way before me.

       Not a word from their mouth can be trusted;
          their heart is filled with destruction.
       Their throat is an open grave;
          with their tongue they speak deceit.
       Declare them guilty, O GOD!
          Let their intrigues be their downfall.
       Banish them for their many sins,
          for they have rebelled against YOU.

       But let all who take refuge in YOU be glad;
          let them ever sing for joy.
       Spread YOUR protection over them,
          that those who love YOUR name may rejoice in YOU.
       For surely, O LORD, YOU bless the righteous;
          YOU surround them with YOUR favor as with a shield.


The Book of Psalms: Psalm 5

Deliver Me, O LORD

       O LORD, do not rebuke me in YOUR anger
          or discipline me in YOUR wrath.
       Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am faint;
          O LORD, heal me, for my bones are in agony.
       My soul is in anguish.
          How long, O LORD, how long?

       Turn, O LORD, and deliver me;
          save me because of YOUR unfailing love.
       No one remembers YOU when he is dead.
          Who praises YOU from the grave?

       I am worn out from groaning;
          all night long I flood my bed with weeping
          and drench my couch with tears.
       My eyes grow weak with sorrow;
          they fail because of all my foes.

       Away from me, all you who do evil,
          for THE LORD has heard my weeping.
       THE LORD has heard my cry for mercy;
          THE LORD accepts my prayer.
       All my enemies will be ashamed and dismayed;
          they will turn back in sudden disgrace.


The Book of Psalms: Psalm 6

GOD is a Righteous Judge

       O LORD my GOD, I take refuge in YOU;
          save and deliver me from all who pursue me,
       or they will tear me like a lion
          and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me.

       O LORD my GOD, if I have done this
          and there is guilt on my hands--
       if I have done evil to him who is at peace with me
          or without cause have robbed my foe--
       then let my enemy pursue and overtake me;
          let him trample my life to the ground
          and make me sleep in the dust.

       Arise, O LORD, in YOUR anger;
          rise up against the rage of my enemies.
          Awake, my GOD; decree justice.
       Let the assembled peoples gather around YOU.
          Rule over them from on high;
          let THE LORD judge the peoples.
       Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness,
          according to my integrity, O MOST HIGH.
       O righteous GOD,
          who searches minds and hearts,
       bring to an end the violence of the wicked
          and make the righteous secure.

       My shield is GOD MOST HIGH,
          who saves the upright in heart.
       GOD is a righteous judge,
          a GOD who expresses HIS wrath every day.
       If HE does not relent,
          HE will sharpen HIS sword;
          HE will bend and string HIS bow.
       HE has prepared HIS deadly weapons;
          HE makes ready HIS flaming arrows.

       He who is pregnant with evil
          and conceives trouble gives birth to disillusionment.
       He who digs a hole and scoops it out
          falls into the pit he has made.
       The trouble he causes recoils on himself;
          his violence comes down on his own head.

       I will give thanks to THE LORD because of HIS righteousness
          and will sing praise to the name of THE LORD MOST HIGH.


The Book of Psalms: Psalm 7

The Glory of THE LORD

       O LORD, our LORD,
          how majestic is YOUR name in all the earth!

       YOU have set YOUR glory
          above the heavens.
       From the lips of children and infants
          YOU have ordained praise
       because of YOUR enemies,
          to silence the foe and the avenger.

       When I consider YOUR heavens,
          the work of YOUR fingers,
       the moon and the stars,
          which YOU have set in place,
       what is man that YOU are mindful of him,
          the son of man that YOU care for him?
       YOU made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
          and crowned him with glory and honor.

       YOU made him ruler over the works of YOUR hands;
          YOU put everything under his feet:
       all flocks and herds,
          and the beasts of the field,
       the birds of the air,
          and the fish of the sea,
          all that swim the paths of the seas.

       O LORD, our LORD,
          how majestic is YOUR name in all the earth!


The Book of Psalms: Psalm 8

THE LORD Reigns Forever

       I will praise YOU, O LORD, with all my heart;
          I will tell of all YOUR wonders.
       I will be glad and rejoice in YOU;
          I will sing praise to YOUR name, O MOST HIGH.

       My enemies turn back;
          they stumble and perish before YOU.
       For YOU have upheld my right and my cause;
          YOU have sat on YOUR throne, judging righteously.
       YOU have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
          YOU have blotted out their name for ever and ever.
       Endless ruin has overtaken the enemy,
          YOU have uprooted their cities;
          even the memory of them has perished.

       THE LORD reigns forever;
          HE has established HIS throne for judgment.
       HE will judge the world in righteousness;
          HE will govern the peoples with justice.
       THE LORD is a refuge for the oppressed,
          a stronghold in times of trouble.
       Those who know YOUR name will trust in YOU,
          for YOU, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek YOU.

       Sing praises to THE LORD, enthroned in Zion;
          proclaim among the nations what HE has done.
       For HE who avenges blood remembers;
          HE does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.

       O LORD, see how my enemies persecute me!
          Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death,
       that I may declare YOUR praises
          in the gates of the Daughter of Zion
          and there rejoice in YOUR salvation.
       The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug;
          their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.
       THE LORD is known by HIS justice;
          the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.
       The wicked return to the grave,
          all the nations that forget GOD.
       But the needy will not always be forgotten,
          nor the hope of the afflicted ever perish.

       Arise, O LORD, let not man triumph;
          let the nations be judged in YOUR presence.
       Strike them with terror, O LORD;
          let the nations know they are but men.


The Book of Psalms: Psalm 9

THE LORD Defends the Helpless

       Why, O LORD, do YOU stand far off?
          Why do YOU hide YOURSELF in times of trouble?

       In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,
          who are caught in the schemes he devises.
       He boasts of the cravings of his heart;
          he blesses the greedy and reviles THE LORD.
       In his pride the wicked does not seek HIM;
          in all his thoughts there is no room for GOD.
       His ways are always prosperous;
          he is haughty and YOUR laws are far from him;
          he sneers at all his enemies.
       He says to himself, "Nothing will shake me;
          I'll always be happy and never have trouble."
       His mouth is full of curses and lies and threats;
          trouble and evil are under his tongue.
       He lies in wait near the villages;
          from ambush he murders the innocent,
          watching in secret for his victims.
       He lies in wait like a lion in cover;
          he lies in wait to catch the helpless;
          he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.
       His victims are crushed, they collapse;
          they fall under his strength.
       He says to himself, "GOD has forgotten;
          HE covers HIS face and never sees."

       Arise, LORD! Lift up YOUR hand, O GOD.
          Do not forget the helpless.
       Why does the wicked man revile GOD?
          Why does he say to himself,
          "HE won't call me to account"?
       But YOU, O GOD, do see trouble and grief;
          YOU consider it to take it in hand.
       The victim commits himself to YOU;
          YOU are the helper of the fatherless.
       Break the arm of the wicked and evil man;
          call him to account for his wickedness
          that would not be found out.

       THE LORD is KING for ever and ever;
          the nations will perish from HIS land.
       YOU hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted;
          YOU encourage them, and YOU listen to their cry,
       defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
          in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.


The Book of Psalms: Psalm 10

THE LORD is Righteous

       In THE LORD I take refuge.
          How then can you say to me:
          "Flee like a bird to your mountain.
       For look, the wicked bend their bows;
          they set their arrows against the strings
       to shoot from the shadows
          at the upright in heart.
       When the foundations are being destroyed,
          what can the righteous do?"

       THE LORD is in HIS holy temple;
          THE LORD is on HIS heavenly throne.
       HE observes the sons of men;
          HIS eyes examine them.
       THE LORD examines the righteous,
          but the wicked and those who love violence
          HIS soul hates.
       On the wicked HE will rain
          fiery coals and burning sulfur;
          a scorching wind will be their lot.

       For THE LORD is righteous,
          HE loves justice;
          upright men will see HIS face.


The Book of Psalms: Psalm 11

THE LORD Will Protect Us

       Help, LORD, for the godly are no more;
          the faithful have vanished from among men.
       Everyone lies to his neighbor;
          their flattering lips speak with deception.

       May THE LORD cut off all flattering lips
          and every boastful tongue
       that says, "We will triumph with our tongues;
          we own our lips--who is our master?"

       "Because of the oppression of the weak
          and the groaning of the needy,
       I will now arise," says THE LORD.
          "I will protect them from those who malign them."
       And the words of THE LORD are flawless,
          like silver refined in a furnace of clay,
          purified seven times.

       O LORD, YOU will keep us safe
          and protect us from such people forever.
       The wicked freely strut about
          when what is vile is honored among men.


The Book of Psalms: Psalm 12

How Long, O LORD?

       How long, O LORD? Will YOU forget me forever?
          How long will YOU hide YOUR face from me?
       How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
          and every day have sorrow in my heart?
          How long will my enemy triumph over me?

       Look on me and answer, O LORD my GOD.
          Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;
       my enemy will say, "I have overcome him,"
          and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

       But I trust in YOUR unfailing love;
          my heart rejoices in YOUR salvation.
       I will sing to THE LORD,
          for HE has been good to me.


The Book of Psalms: Psalm 13

The Righteous Seek GOD

       The fool says in his heart,
          "There is no GOD."
       They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
          there is no one who does good.

       THE LORD looks down from heaven
          on the sons of men
       to see if there are any who understand,
          any who seek GOD.
       All have turned aside,
          they have together become corrupt;
       there is no one who does good,
          not even one.

       Will evildoers never learn--
          those who devour my people as men eat bread
          and who do not call on THE LORD?
       There they are, overwhelmed with dread,
          for GOD is present in the company of the righteous.
       You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor,
          but THE LORD is their refuge.

       Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
          When THE LORD restores the fortunes of HIS people,
          let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!


The Book of Psalms: Psalm 14

Who May Dwell With THE LORD?

       LORD, who may dwell in YOUR sanctuary?
          Who may live on YOUR holy hill?

       He whose walk is blameless
          and who does what is righteous,
       who speaks the truth from his heart
          and has no slander on his tongue,
       who does his neighbor no wrong
          and casts no slur on his fellowman,
       who despises a vile man
          but honors those who fear THE LORD,
       who keeps his oath
          even when it hurts,
       who lends his money without usury
          and does not accept a bribe against the innocent.

       He who does these things
          will never be shaken.


The Book of Psalms: Psalm 15

THE LORD is My GOD

       Keep me safe, O GOD,
          for in YOU I take refuge.

       I said to THE LORD, "YOU are my LORD;
          apart from YOU I have no good thing."
       As for the saints who are in the land,
          they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight.
       The sorrows of those will increase
          who run after other gods.
       I will not pour out their libations of blood
          or take up their names on my lips.

       LORD, YOU have assigned me my portion and my cup;
          YOU have made my lot secure.
       The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
          surely I have a delightful inheritance.

       I will praise THE LORD, who counsels me;
          even at night my heart instructs me.
       I have set THE LORD always before me.
          Because HE is at my right hand,
          I will not be shaken.
       Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
          my body also will rest secure,
       because YOU will not abandon me to the grave,
          nor will YOU let YOUR Holy One see decay.
       YOU have made known to me the path of life;
          YOU will fill me with joy in YOUR presence,
          with eternal pleasures at YOUR right hand.


The Book of Psalms: Psalm 16

I Call On YOU, O GOD

       Hear, O LORD, my righteous plea;
          listen to my cry.
       Give ear to my prayer--
          it does not rise from deceitful lips.
       May my vindication come from YOU;
          may YOUR eyes see what is right.

       Though YOU probe my heart and examine me at night,
          though YOU test me, YOU will find nothing;
          I have resolved that my mouth will not sin.
       As for the deeds of men--
          by the word of YOUR lips
       I have kept myself
          from the ways of the violent.
       My steps have held to YOUR paths;
          my feet have not slipped.

       I call on YOU, O GOD, for YOU will answer me;
          give ear to me and hear my prayer,
       Show the wonder of YOUR great love,
          YOU who save by YOUR right hand,
          those who take refuge in YOU from their foes.
       Keep me as the apple of YOUR eye;
          hide me in the shadow of YOUR wings
       from the wicked who assail me,
          from my mortal enemies who surround me.

       They close up their callous hearts,
          and their mouths speak with arrogance.
       They have tracked me down, they now surround me,
          with eyes alert, to throw me to the ground.
       They are like a lion hungry for prey,
          like a great lion crouching in cover.

       Rise up, O LORD, confront them, bring them down;
          rescue me from the wicked by YOUR sword.
       O LORD, by YOUR hand save me from such men,
          from men of this world whose reward is in this life.

       YOU still the hunger of those YOU cherish;
          their sons have plenty,
          and they store up wealth for their children.
       And I--in righteousness I will see YOUR face;
          when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing YOUR likeness.


The Book of Psalms: Psalm 17