New King James Version (NKJV)

Praise to God in His Holiness and Majesty

A Psalm of David.

1 Giveunto theLord, O you mighty ones,

Give unto theLordglory and strength.

2 Give unto theLordthe glory due to His name;

# Worship theLordinthe beauty of holiness.

3 The voice of theLordisover the waters;

# The God of glory thunders;

TheLordisover many waters.

4 The voice of theLordispowerful;

The voice of theLordisfull of majesty.

5 The voice of theLordbreaksthe cedars,

Yes, theLordsplinters the cedars of Lebanon.

6 He makes them also skip like a calf,

# Lebanon andSirion like a young wild ox.

7 The voice of theLorddivides the flames of fire.

8 The voice of theLordshakes the wilderness;

# TheLordshakes the Wilderness ofKadesh.

9 The voice of theLordmakes thedeer give birth,

And strips the forests bare;

And in His temple everyone says, “Glory!”

10 TheLordsatenthronedat the Flood,

# AndtheLordsits as King forever.

11 TheLordwill give strength to His people;

TheLordwill bless His people with peace.

The Blessedness of Answered Prayer

A Psalm. A Song

#

at the dedication of the house of David.

1 I will extol You, OLord, for You havelifted me up,

# And have not let my foesrejoice over me.

2 OLordmy God, I cried out to You,

# And Youhealed me.

3 OLord,You brought my soul up from the grave;

You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.

4 Sing praise to theLord, you saints of His,

And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.

5 ForHis angerisbutfora moment,

# His favorisforlife;

Weeping may endure for a night,

But joycomesin the morning.

6 Now in my prosperity I said,

“I shall never be moved.”

7 Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong;

# You hid Your face,andI was troubled.

8 I cried out to You, OLord;

And to theLordI made supplication:

9 “What profitistherein my blood,

When I go down to the pit?

# Will the dust praise You?

Will it declare Your truth?

10 Hear, OLord, and have mercy on me;

Lord, be my helper!”

11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;

You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,

12 To the end thatmyglory may sing praise to You and not be silent.

OLordmy God, I will give thanks to You forever.

The Lord a Fortress in Adversity

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

1 InYou, OLord, I put my trust;

Let me never be ashamed;

Deliver me in Your righteousness.

2 Bow down Your ear to me,

Deliver me speedily;

Be my rock of refuge,

A fortress of defense to save me.

3 For Youaremy rock and my fortress;

# Therefore,for Your name’s sake,

Lead me and guide me.

4 Pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me,

For Youaremy strength.

5 Into Your hand I commit my spirit;

# You have redeemed me, OLordGod oftruth.

6 I have hated thosewho regard useless idols;

But I trust in theLord.

7 I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy,

For You have considered my trouble;

# You haveknown my soul in adversities,

8 And have notshut me up into the hand of the enemy;

# You have set my feet in a wide place.

9 Have mercy on me, OLord, for I am in trouble;

# My eye wastes away with grief,

Yes,my soul and my body!

10 For my life is spent with grief,

And my years with sighing;

My strength fails because of my iniquity,

And my bones waste away.

11 I am a reproach among all my enemies,

# Butespecially among my neighbors,

Andamrepulsive to my acquaintances;

# Those who see me outside flee from me.

12 I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind;

I am like a broken vessel.

13 For I hear the slander of many;

# Fearison every side;

# While theytake counsel together against me,

They scheme to take away my life.

14 But as for me, I trust in You, OLord;

I say, “Youaremy God.”

15 My timesarein Yourhand;

Deliver me from the hand of my enemies,

And from those who persecute me.

16 Make Your face shine upon Your servant;

Save me for Your mercies’ sake.

17 Do not let me be ashamed, OLord, for I have called upon You;

Let the wicked be ashamed;

# Let them be silent in the grave.

18 Let the lying lips be put to silence,

# Whichspeak insolent things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.

19 Oh, how greatisYour goodness,

Which You have laid up for those who fear You,

WhichYou have prepared for those who trust in You

In the presence of the sons of men!

20 You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence

From the plots of man;

# You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion

From the strife of tongues.

21 BlessedbetheLord,

# ForHe has shown me His marvelous kindness in a strong city!

22 For I said in my haste,

“I am cut off from before Your eyes”;

Nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications

When I cried out to You.

23 Oh, love theLord, all you His saints!

FortheLordpreserves the faithful,

And fully repays the proud person.

24 Be of good courage,

And He shall strengthen your heart,

All you who hope in theLord.

The Joy of Forgiveness

A

Psalm

of David. A Contemplation.

1 Blessedishewhosetransgressionisforgiven,

Whosesiniscovered.

2 Blessedisthe man to whom theLorddoes not impute iniquity,

# Andin whose spiritthereisno deceit.

3 When I kept silent, my bones grew old

Through my groaning all the day long.

4 For day and night Yourhand was heavy upon me;

My vitality was turned into the drought of summer.

Selah

5 I acknowledged my sin to You,

And my iniquity I have not hidden.

# I said, “I will confess my transgressions to theLord,”

And You forgave the iniquity of my sin.

Selah

6 For this cause everyone who is godly shallpray to You

In a time when You may be found;

Surely in a flood of great waters

They shall not come near him.

7 Youaremy hiding place;

You shall preserve me from trouble;

# You shall surround me withsongs of deliverance.

Selah

8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;

I will guide you with My eye.

9 Do not be like thehorseorlike the mule,

Whichhave no understanding,

Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle,

Else they will not come near you.

10 Many sorrowsshallbeto the wicked;

# Buthe who trusts in theLord, mercy shall surround him.

11 Be glad in theLordand rejoice, you righteous;

And shout for joy, allyouupright in heart!

The Sovereignty of the Lord in Creation and History

1 Rejoicein theLord, O you righteous!

Forpraise from the upright is beautiful.

2 Praise theLordwith the harp;

Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.

3 Sing to Him a new song;

Play skillfully with a shout of joy.

4 For the word of theLordisright,

And all His workisdonein truth.

5 He loves righteousness and justice;

The earth is full of the goodness of theLord.

6 By the word of theLordthe heavens were made,

# And all thehost of themby the breath of His mouth.

7 He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap;

He lays up the deep in storehouses.

8 Let all the earth fear theLord;

Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.

9 ForHe spoke, and it wasdone;

He commanded, and it stood fast.

10 TheLordbrings the counsel of the nations to nothing;

He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect.

11 The counsel of theLordstands forever,

The plans of His heart to all generations.

12 Blessedisthe nation whose GodistheLord,

# The people He haschosen as His own inheritance.

13 TheLordlooks from heaven;

He sees all the sons of men.

14 From the place of His dwelling He looks

On all the inhabitants of the earth;

15 He fashions their hearts individually;

# He considers all their works.

16 No kingissaved by the multitude of an army;

A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.

17 A horseisa vain hope for safety;

Neither shall it deliveranyby its great strength.

18 Behold, the eye of theLordison those who fear Him,

On those who hope in His mercy,

19 To deliver their soul from death,

# Andto keep them alive in famine.

20 Our soul waits for theLord;

Heisour help and our shield.

21 For our heart shall rejoice in Him,

Because we have trusted in His holy name.

22 Let Your mercy, OLord, be upon us,

Just as we hope in You.

The Happiness of Those Who Trust in God

A

Psalm

of David

#

when he pretended madness before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.

1 I willbless theLordat all times;

His praiseshallcontinuallybein my mouth.

2 My soul shall make its boast in theLord;

The humble shall hearofitand be glad.

3 Oh, magnify theLordwith me,

And let us exalt His name together.

4 Isought theLord, and He heard me,

And delivered me from all my fears.

5 They looked to Him and were radiant,

And their faces were not ashamed.

6 This poor man cried out, and theLordheardhim,

And saved him out of all his troubles.

7 The angel of theLordencamps all around those who fear Him,

And delivers them.

8 Oh,taste and see that theLordisgood;

# Blessedisthe manwhotrusts in Him!

9 Oh, fear theLord, you His saints!

Thereisno want to those who fear Him.

10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger;

# But those who seek theLordshall not lack any goodthing.

11 Come, you children, listen to me;

# I will teach you the fear of theLord.

12 Whoisthe manwhodesires life,

And lovesmanydays, that he may see good?

13 Keep your tongue from evil,

# And your lips from speakingdeceit.

14 Depart from evil and do good;

# Seek peace and pursue it.

15 The eyes of theLordareon the righteous,

And His earsareopento their cry.

16 The face of theLordisagainst those who do evil,

# To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

17 Therighteouscry out, andtheLordhears,

And delivers them out of all their troubles.

18 TheLordisnearto those who have a broken heart,

And saves such as have a contrite spirit.

19 Manyarethe afflictions of the righteous,

# But theLorddelivers him out of them all.

20 He guards all his bones;

# Not one of them is broken.

21 Evil shall slay the wicked,

And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.

22 TheLordredeems the soul of His servants,

And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.

The Lord the Avenger of His People

A

Psalm

of David.

1 Pleadmycause,OLord, with those who strive with me;

Fight against those who fight against me.

2 Take hold of shield and buckler,

And stand up for my help.

3 Also draw out the spear,

And stop those who pursue me.

Say to my soul,

“Iamyour salvation.”

4 Let those be put to shame and brought to dishonor

Who seek after my life;

# Let those beturned back and brought to confusion

Who plot my hurt.

5 Let them be like chaff before the wind,

And let the angel of theLordchasethem.

6 Let their way bedark and slippery,

And let the angel of theLordpursue them.

7 For without cause they havehidden their net for meina pit,

Whichthey have dug without cause for my life.

8 Letdestruction come upon him unexpectedly,

And let his net that he has hidden catch himself;

Into that very destruction let him fall.

9 And my soul shall be joyful in theLord;

It shall rejoice in His salvation.

10 All my bones shall say,

# “Lord,whoislike You,

Delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him,

Yes, the poor and the needy from him who plunders him?”

11 Fierce witnesses rise up;

They ask methingsthat I do not know.

12 They reward me evil for good,

Tothe sorrow of my soul.

13 But as for me,when they were sick,

My clothingwassackcloth;

I humbled myself with fasting;

And my prayer would return to my own heart.

14 I paced about as thoughheweremy friendorbrother;

I bowed down heavily, as one who mournsforhismother.

15 But in my adversity they rejoiced

And gathered together;

Attackers gathered against me,

And I did not knowit;

They toreatmeand did not cease;

16 With ungodly mockers at feasts

They gnashed at me with their teeth.

17 Lord, how long will Youlook on?

Rescue me from their destructions,

My preciouslifefrom the lions.

18 I will give You thanks in the great assembly;

I will praise You among many people.

19 Let them not rejoice over me who are wrongfully my enemies;

Nor let them wink with the eye who hate me without a cause.

20 For they do not speak peace,

But they devise deceitful matters

Againstthequiet ones in the land.

21 They also opened their mouth wide against me,

Andsaid, “Aha, aha!

Our eyes have seenit.”

22 ThisYou have seen, OLord;

Do not keep silence.

O Lord, do not be far from me.

23 Stir up Yourself, and awake to my vindication,

To my cause, my God and my Lord.

24 Vindicate me, OLordmy God, according to Your righteousness;

And let them not rejoice over me.

25 Let them not say in their hearts, “Ah, so we would have it!”

Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up.”

26 Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion

Who rejoice at my hurt;

# Let them beclothed with shame and dishonor

Who exalt themselves against me.

27 Let them shout for joy and be glad,

Who favor my righteous cause;

And let them say continually,

“Let theLordbe magnified,

Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.”

28 And my tongue shall speak of Your righteousness

Andof Your praise all the day long.

Man’s Wickedness and God’s Perfections

To the Chief Musician.

A

Psalm

of David the servant of the

Lord

.

1 An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked:

# Thereisno fear of God before his eyes.

2 For he flatters himself in his own eyes,

When he finds out his iniquityandwhen he hates.

3 The words of his moutharewickedness and deceit;

# He has ceased to be wiseandto do good.

4 He devises wickedness on his bed;

# He sets himselfin a waythatisnot good;

# He does not abhorevil.

5 Your mercy, OLord,isin the heavens;

Your faithfulnessreachesto the clouds.

6 Your righteousnessislike the great mountains;

# Your judgmentsarea great deep;

OLord, You preserve man and beast.

7 How preciousisYour lovingkindness, O God!

# Therefore the children of menput their trust under the shadow of Your wings.

8 They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house,

# And You give them drink fromthe river of Your pleasures.

9 For with Youisthe fountain of life;

# In Your light we see light.

10 Oh, continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You,

And Your righteousness to the upright in heart.

11 Let not the foot of pride come against me,

And let not the hand of the wicked drive me away.

12 There the workers of iniquity have fallen;

They have been cast down and are not able to rise.

The Heritage of the Righteous and the Calamity of the Wicked

A

Psalm

of David.

1 Donot fret because of evildoers,

Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.

2 For they shall soon be cut downlike the grass,

And wither as the green herb.

3 Trust in theLord, and do good;

Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

4 Delight yourself also in theLord,

# And He shall give you the desires of yourheart.

5 Commit your way to theLord,

Trust also in Him,

And He shall bringitto pass.

6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,

And your justice as the noonday.

7 Rest in theLord,and wait patiently for Him;

# Do not fret because of him whoprospers in his way,

Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.

8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;

# Do not fret—itonlycausesharm.

9 For evildoers shall be cut off;

But those who wait on theLord,

# They shallinherit the earth.

10 Foryet a little while and the wickedshallbenomore;

# Indeed,you will look carefully for his place,

But itshallbenomore.

11 But the meek shall inherit the earth,

And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

12 The wicked plots against the just,

# And gnashes at him with his teeth.

13 The Lord laughs at him,

# For He sees thathis day is coming.

14 The wicked have drawn the sword

And have bent their bow,

To cast down the poor and needy,

To slay those who are of upright conduct.

15 Their sword shall enter their own heart,

And their bows shall be broken.

16 A little that a righteous man has

Isbetter than the riches of many wicked.

17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,

But theLordupholds the righteous.

18 TheLordknows the days of the upright,

And their inheritance shall be forever.

19 They shall not be ashamed in the evil time,

And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

20 But the wicked shall perish;

And the enemies of theLord,

Like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish.

Into smoke they shall vanish away.

21 The wicked borrows and does not repay,

# Butthe righteous shows mercy and gives.

22 Forthoseblessed by Him shall inherit the earth,

Butthosecursed by Him shall be cut off.

23 The steps of agoodman are ordered by theLord,

And He delights in his way.

24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;

For theLordupholdshimwithHis hand.

25 I have been young, andnowam old;

Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,

Nor his descendants begging bread.

26 Heisever merciful, and lends;

And his descendantsareblessed.

27 Depart from evil, and do good;

And dwell forevermore.

28 For theLordloves justice,

And does not forsake His saints;

They are preserved forever,

But the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off.

29 The righteous shall inherit the land,

And dwell in it forever.

30 The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom,

And his tongue talks of justice.

31 The law of his Godisin his heart;

None of his steps shall slide.

32 The wickedwatches the righteous,

And seeks to slay him.

33 TheLordwill not leave him in his hand,

Nor condemn him when he is judged.

34 Wait on theLord,

And keep His way,

And He shall exalt you to inherit the land;

When the wicked are cut off, you shall seeit.

35 I have seen the wicked in great power,

And spreading himself like a native green tree.

36 Yet he passed away, and behold, hewasnomore;

Indeed I sought him, but he could not be found.

37 Mark the blamelessman,and observe the upright;

For the future ofthatmanispeace.

38 But the transgressors shall be destroyed together;

The future of the wicked shall be cut off.

39 But the salvation of the righteousisfrom theLord;

# Heistheir strengthin the time of trouble.

40 AndtheLordshall help them and deliver them;

He shall deliver them from the wicked,

And save them,

# Because they trust in Him.

Prayer in Time of Chastening

A Psalm of David.

#

To bring to remembrance.

1 OLord, do notrebuke me in Your wrath,

Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure!

2 For Your arrows pierce me deeply,

And Your hand presses me down.

3 Thereisno soundness in my flesh

Because of Your anger,

Noranyhealth in my bones

Because of my sin.

4 For my iniquities have gone over my head;

Like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.

5 My wounds are foulandfestering

Because of my foolishness.

6 I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly;

I go mourning all the day long.

7 For my loins are full of inflammation,

Andthereisno soundness in my flesh.

8 I am feeble and severely broken;

I groan because of the turmoil of my heart.

9 Lord, all my desireisbefore You;

And my sighing is not hidden from You.

10 My heart pants, my strength fails me;

As for the light of my eyes, it also has gone from me.

11 My loved ones and my friendsstand aloof from my plague,

And my relatives stand afar off.

12 Those also who seek my life lay snaresforme;

Those who seek my hurt speak of destruction,

And plan deception all the day long.

13 But I, like a deafman,do not hear;

AndIamlike a mutewhodoes not open his mouth.

14 Thus I am like a man who does not hear,

And in whose mouthisno response.

15 For in You, OLord,I hope;

You will hear, O Lord my God.

16 For I said,“Hear me,lest they rejoice over me,

Lest, when my foot slips, they exaltthemselvesagainst me.”

17 For Iamready to fall,

And my sorrowiscontinually before me.

18 For I willdeclare my iniquity;

# I will bein anguish over my sin.

19 But my enemiesarevigorous,andthey are strong;

And those who hate me wrongfully have multiplied.

20 Those alsowho render evil for good,

They are my adversaries, because I followwhatisgood.

21 Do not forsake me, OLord;

# O my God,be not far from me!

22 Make haste to help me,

O Lord, my salvation!