New King James Version (NKJV)

A Dirge and a Prayer for Israel, Destroyed by Enemies

A Psalm of Asaph.

1 O God, the nations have come intoYour inheritance;

Your holy temple they have defiled;

# They have laid Jerusalem in heaps.

2 The dead bodies of Your servants

They have givenasfood for the birds of the heavens,

The flesh of Your saints to the beasts of the earth.

3 Their blood they have shed like water all around Jerusalem,

Andtherewasno one to burythem.

4 We have become a reproach to ourneighbors,

A scorn and derision to those who are around us.

5 How long,Lord?

Will You be angry forever?

# Will Yourjealousy burn like fire?

6 Pour out Your wrath on the nations thatdo not know You,

# And on the kingdoms thatdo not call on Your name.

7 For they have devoured Jacob,

And laid waste his dwelling place.

8 Oh, do not remember former iniquities against us!

Let Your tender mercies come speedily to meet us,

For we have been brought very low.

9 Help us, O God of our salvation,

For the glory of Your name;

And deliver us, and provide atonement for our sins,

# For Your name’s sake!

10 Why should the nations say,

“Whereistheir God?”

Let there be known among the nations in our sight

The avenging of the blood of Your servantswhichhasbeenshed.

11 Letthe groaning of the prisoner come before You;

According to the greatness of Your power

Preserve those who are appointed to die;

12 And return to our neighborssevenfold into their bosom

# Their reproach with which they have reproached You, O Lord.

13 Sowe, Your people and sheep of Your pasture,

Will give You thanks forever;

# We will show forth Your praise to all generations.

Prayer for Israel’s Restoration

To the Chief Musician.

#

Set to “The Lilies.” A Testimony of Asaph. A Psalm.

1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,

# You who lead Josephlike a flock;

# You who dwellbetweenthe cherubim,shine forth!

2 BeforeEphraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh,

Stir up Your strength,

And comeandsave us!

3 Restore us, O God;

# Cause Your face to shine,

And we shall be saved!

4 OLordGod of hosts,

# How long will You be angry

Against the prayer of Your people?

5 You have fed them with the bread of tears,

And given them tears to drink in great measure.

6 You have made us a strife to our neighbors,

And our enemies laugh among themselves.

7 Restore us, O God of hosts;

Cause Your face to shine,

And we shall be saved!

8 You have broughta vine out of Egypt;

# You have cast out the nations, and planted it.

9 You preparedroomfor it,

And caused it to take deep root,

And it filled the land.

10 The hills were covered with its shadow,

# And the mighty cedars with itsboughs.

11 She sent out her boughs to the Sea,

And her branches to the River.

12 Why have Youbroken down her hedges,

So that all who pass by the way pluck herfruit?

13 The boar out of the woods uproots it,

And the wild beast of the field devours it.

14 Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts;

# Look down from heaven and see,

And visit this vine

15 And the vineyard which Your right hand has planted,

# And the branchthatYou made strongfor Yourself.

16 Itisburned with fire,itiscut down;

# They perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.

17 Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,

Upon the son of manwhomYou made strong for Yourself.

18 Then we will not turn back from You;

Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.

19 Restore us, OLordGod of hosts;

Cause Your face to shine,

And we shall be saved!

An Appeal for Israel’s Repentance

To the Chief Musician.

#

On an instrument of Gath.

A

Psalm

of Asaph.

1 Sing aloud to God our strength;

Make a joyful shout to the God of Jacob.

2 Raise a song and strike the timbrel,

The pleasant harp with the lute.

3 Blow the trumpet at the time of the New Moon,

At the full moon, on our solemn feast day.

4 Forthisisa statute for Israel,

A law of the God of Jacob.

5 This He established in Josephasa testimony,

When He went throughout the land of Egypt,

# WhereI heard a language I did not understand.

6 “I removed his shoulder from the burden;

His hands were freed from the baskets.

7 You called in trouble, and I delivered you;

# I answered you in the secret place of thunder;

# Itested you at the waters of Meribah.

Selah

8 “Hear,O My people, and I will admonish you!

O Israel, if you will listen to Me!

9 There shall be noforeign god among you;

Nor shall you worship any foreign god.

10 IamtheLordyour God,

Who brought you out of the land of Egypt;

# Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

11 “But My people would not heed My voice,

# And Israel wouldhavenone of Me.

12 So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart,

To walk in their own counsels.

13 “Oh,that My people would listen to Me,

That Israel would walk in My ways!

14 I would soon subdue their enemies,

And turn My hand against their adversaries.

15 The haters of theLordwould pretend submission to Him,

But their fate would endure forever.

16 He wouldhave fed them also with the finest of wheat;

# And with honeyfrom the rock I would have satisfied you.”

A Plea for Justice

A Psalm of Asaph.

1 Godstands in the congregation of the mighty;

# He judges amongthe gods.

2 How long will you judge unjustly,

# Andshow partiality to the wicked?

Selah

3 Defend the poor and fatherless;

# Do justice to the afflicted andneedy.

4 Deliver the poor and needy;

Freethemfrom the hand of the wicked.

5 They do not know, nor do they understand;

They walk about in darkness;

# All thefoundations of the earth are unstable.

6 I said,“Youaregods,

And all of youarechildren of the Most High.

7 But you shall die like men,

And fall like one of the princes.”

8 Arise, O God, judge the earth;

# For You shall inherit all nations.

Prayer to Frustrate Conspiracy Against Israel

A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.

1 Donot keep silent, O God!

Do not hold Your peace,

And do not be still, O God!

2 For behold,Your enemies make a tumult;

And those who hate You have lifted up their head.

3 They have taken crafty counsel against Your people,

# And consulted togetheragainst Your sheltered ones.

4 They have said, “Come, andlet us cut them off frombeinga nation,

That the name of Israel may be remembered no more.”

5 For they have consulted together with one consent;

They form a confederacy against You:

6 The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites;

Moab and the Hagrites;

7 Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek;

Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;

8 Assyria also has joined with them;

They have helped the children of Lot.

Selah

9 Deal with them aswithMidian,

# AswithSisera,

AswithJabin at the Brook Kishon,

10 Who perished at En Dor,

# Whobecameasrefuse on the earth.

11 Make their nobles likeOreb and like Zeeb,

# Yes, all their princes likeZebah and Zalmunna,

12 Who said, “Let us take for ourselves

The pastures of God for a possession.”

13 O my God, make them like the whirling dust,

# Like the chaff before the wind!

14 As the fire burns the woods,

# And as the flamesets the mountains on fire,

15 So pursue them with Your tempest,

And frighten them with Your storm.

16 Fill their faces with shame,

That they may seek Your name, OLord.

17 Let them be confounded and dismayed forever;

Yes, let them be put to shame and perish,

18 That they may know that You, whosename aloneistheLord,

# Arethe Most High over all the earth.

The Blessedness of Dwelling in the House of God

To the Chief Musician.

#

On an instrument of Gath. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

1 HowlovelyisYour tabernacle,

OLordof hosts!

2 My soul longs, yes, even faints

For the courts of theLord;

My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

3 Even the sparrow has found a home,

And the swallow a nest for herself,

Where she may lay her young—

EvenYour altars, OLordof hosts,

My King and my God.

4 Blessedarethose who dwell in Yourhouse;

They will still be praising You.

Selah

5 Blessedisthe man whose strengthisin You,

Whose heartisset on pilgrimage.

6 Astheypass through the Valleyof Baca,

They make it a spring;

The rain also covers it with pools.

7 They gofrom strength to strength;

# Eachoneappears before God in Zion.

8 OLordGod of hosts, hear my prayer;

Give ear, O God of Jacob!

Selah

9 O God, behold our shield,

And look upon the face of Your anointed.

10 For a day in Your courtsisbetter than a thousand.

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God

Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

11 For theLordGodisa sun andshield;

TheLordwill give grace and glory;

# No goodthingwill He withhold

From those who walk uprightly.

12 OLordof hosts,

# Blessedisthe man who trusts in You!

Prayer that the Lord Will Restore Favor to the Land

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm

#

of the sons of Korah.

1 Lord, You have been favorable to Your land;

# You havebrought back the captivity of Jacob.

2 You have forgiven the iniquity of Your people;

You have covered all their sin.

Selah

3 You have taken away all Your wrath;

You have turned from the fierceness of Your anger.

4 Restore us, O God of our salvation,

And cause Your anger toward us to cease.

5 Will You be angry with us forever?

Will You prolong Your anger to all generations?

6 Will You notrevive us again,

That Your people may rejoice in You?

7 Show us Your mercy,Lord,

And grant us Your salvation.

8 I will hear what God theLordwill speak,

For He will speak peace

To His people and to His saints;

But let them not turn back to folly.

9 SurelyHis salvationisnear to those who fear Him,

# That glory may dwell in our land.

10 Mercy and truth have met together;

# Righteousness and peace have kissed.

11 Truth shall spring out of the earth,

And righteousness shall look down from heaven.

12 Yes, theLordwill givewhatisgood;

And our land will yield its increase.

13 Righteousness will go before Him,

And shall make His footstepsourpathway.

Prayer for Mercy, with Meditation on the Excellencies of the Lord

A Prayer of David.

1 Bow down Your ear, OLord, hear me;

For Iampoor and needy.

2 Preserve my life, for Iamholy;

You are my God;

Save Your servant who trusts in You!

3 Be merciful to me, O Lord,

For I cry to You all day long.

4 Rejoice the soul of Your servant,

# For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

5 ForYou, Lord,aregood, and ready to forgive,

And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.

6 Give ear, OLord, to my prayer;

And attend to the voice of my supplications.

7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon You,

For You will answer me.

8 Among the godsthereisnone like You, O Lord;

Norarethereanyworkslike Your works.

9 All nations whom You have made

Shall come and worship before You, O Lord,

And shall glorify Your name.

10 For Youaregreat, anddo wondrous things;

# You aloneareGod.

11 Teach me Your way, OLord;

I will walk in Your truth;

Unite my heart to fear Your name.

12 I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart,

And I will glorify Your name forevermore.

13 For greatisYour mercy toward me,

And You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

14 O God, the proud have risen against me,

And a mob of violentmenhave sought my life,

And have not set You before them.

15 ButYou, O Lord,area God full of compassion, and gracious,

Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.

16 Oh, turn to me, and have mercy on me!

Give Your strength to Your servant,

And save the son of Your maidservant.

17 Show me a sign for good,

That those who hate me may seeitand be ashamed,

Because You,Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

The Glories of the City of God

A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song.

1 His foundationisin the holy mountains.

2 TheLordloves the gates of Zion

More than all the dwellings of Jacob.

3 Glorious things are spoken of you,

O city of God!

Selah

4 “I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to those who know Me;

Behold, O Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia:

‘Thisonewas born there.’ ”

5 And of Zion it will be said,

“Thisoneand thatonewere born in her;

And the Most High Himself shall establish her.”

6 TheLordwill record,

# When Heregisters the peoples:

“Thisonewas born there.”

Selah

7 Both the singers and the players on instrumentssay,

“All my springsarein you.”

A Prayer for Help in Despondency

A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. To the Chief Musician. Set to “Mahalath Leannoth.” A Contemplation of

#

Heman the Ezrahite.

1 OLord,God of my salvation,

I have cried out day and night before You.

2 Let my prayer come before You;

Incline Your ear to my cry.

3 For my soul is full of troubles,

# And my lifedraws near to the grave.

4 I am counted with those whogo down to the pit;

# I am like a manwhohasno strength,

5 Adrift among the dead,

Like the slain who lie in the grave,

Whom You remember no more,

And who are cut off from Your hand.

6 You have laid me in the lowest pit,

In darkness, in the depths.

7 Your wrath lies heavy upon me,

# And You have afflictedmewith allYour waves.

Selah

8 You have put away my acquaintances far from me;

You have made me an abomination to them;

# Iamshut up, and I cannot get out;

9 My eye wastes away because of affliction.

# Lord, I have called daily upon You;

I have stretched out my hands to You.

10 Will You work wonders for the dead?

Shall the dead ariseandpraise You?

Selah

11 Shall Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave?

OrYour faithfulness in the place of destruction?

12 Shall Your wonders be known in the dark?

And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

13 But to You I have cried out, OLord,

And in the morning my prayer comes before You.

14 Lord, why do You cast off my soul?

Whydo You hide Your face from me?

15 Ihavebeenafflicted and ready to die frommyyouth;

I suffer Your terrors;

I am distraught.

16 Your fierce wrath has gone over me;

Your terrors have cut me off.

17 They came around me all day long like water;

They engulfed me altogether.

18 Loved one and friend You have put far from me,

Andmy acquaintances into darkness.