5
For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord;
I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.
6
The words of the Lord are pure words:
as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
7
Thou shalt keep them, O Lord,
thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.
8
The wicked walk on every side,
when the vilest men are exalted.
13
A Prayer for Help in Trouble
To the chief Musician,
A Psalm of David.
1
How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord ? for ever?
1 2 1 4
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1 4
How long wilt thou hide thy face from me?
2
How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
having sorrow in my heart daily?
How long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?
3
Consider and hear me, O Lord my God:
lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death; 4
lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.
5
But I have trusted in thy mercy;
my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.
6
I will sing unto the Lord,
because he hath dealt bountifully with me.
14
The Folly and Wickedness of Men
To the chief Musician,
A Psalm of David.
1
The fool hath said in his heart,
There is no God.
They are corrupt,
they have done abominable works,
there is none that doeth good.
2
The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.
3
They are all gone aside,
they are all together become filthy:
there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
4
Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge?
who eat up my people as they eat bread,
and call not upon the Lord.
5
There were they in great fear:
for God is in the generation of the righteous.
1 2 1 5
P s a l m s
1 5
6
Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor,
because the Lord is his refuge.
7
Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion!
When the Lord bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.
15
The Inhabitants of God’s Holy Hill
A Psalm of David.
1
L o r d , who shall abide in thy tabernacle?
Who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
2
He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.
3
He that backbiteth not with his tongue,
nor doeth evil to his neighbor,
nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor.
4
In whose eyes a vile person is contemned;
but he honoreth them that fear the Lord.
He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.
5
He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent.
He that doeth these things shall never be moved.
16
A Goodly Heritage
Michtam of David.
1
Preserve me, O God:
for in thee do I put my trust.
2
O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord:
1 2 1 6
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my goodness extendeth not to thee;
3
but to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.
4
Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god:
their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips.
5
The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot.
6
The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places;
yea, I have a goodly heritage.
7
I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.
8
I have set the Lord always before me:
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
9
Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.
1 0
For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell;
neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
1 1
Thou wilt show me the path of life:
in thy presence is fulness of joy;
at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
17
A Prayer for Protection against Oppressors
A Prayer of David.
1
Hear the right, O Lord,
attend unto my cry;
give ear unto my prayer,
that goeth not out of feigned lips.
2
Let my sentence come forth from thy presence;
let thine eyes behold the things that are equal.
3
Thou hast proved mine heart;
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thou hast visited me in the night;
thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing: I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.
4
Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.
5
Hold up my goings in thy paths,
that my footsteps slip not.
6
I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech.
7
Show thy marvelous loving-kindness,
O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee
from those that rise up against them.
8
Keep me as the apple of the eye;
hide me under the shadow of thy wings,
9
from the wicked that oppress me,
from my deadly enemies, who compass me about.
1 0
They are inclosed in their own fat:
with their mouth they speak proudly.
1 1
They have now compassed us in our steps:
they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth; 1 2
like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
13
Arise, O Lord, disappoint him, cast him down:
deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword: 14
from men which are thy hand, O Lord,
from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure:
they are full of children,
and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.
1 5
As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.
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18
Thanksgiving for Deliverance
To the chief Musician,
A Psalm of David, the servant of the Lord, who spake unto the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul: And he said,
1
I will love thee, O Lord, my strength.
2
The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
3
I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
4
The sorrows of death compassed me,
and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.
5
The sorrows of hell compassed me about:
the snares of death prevented me.
6
In my distress I called upon the Lord,
and cried unto my God:
he heard my voice out of his temple,
and my cry came before him, even into his ears.
7
Then the earth shook and trembled;
the foundations also of the hills moved
and were shaken, because he was wroth.
8
There went up a smoke out of his nostrils,
and fire out of his mouth devoured:
coals were kindled by it.
9
He bowed the heavens also, and came down:
and darkness was under his feet.
1 0
And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly:
yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.
1 1
He made darkness his secret place;
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his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
1 2
At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.
13
The Lord also thundered in the heavens,
and the Highest gave his voice;
hail stones and coals of fire.
14
Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them.
1 5
Then the channels of waters were seen,
and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O Lord,
at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.
1 6
He sent from above, he took me,
he drew me out of many waters.
1 7
He delivered me from my strong enemy,
and from them which hated me:
for they were too strong for me.
1 8
They prevented me in the day of my calamity:
but the Lord was my stay.
19
He brought me forth also into a large place;
he delivered me, because he delighted in me.
2 0
The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.
2 1
For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
2 2
For all his judgments were before me,
and I did not put away his statutes from me.
23
I was also upright before him,
and I kept myself from mine iniquity.
2 4
Therefore hath the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.
2 5
With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt show thyself upright;
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with the pure thou wilt show thyself pure;
and with the froward thou wilt show thyself froward.
2 7
For thou wilt save the afflicted people;
but wilt bring down high looks.
2 8
For thou wilt light my candle:
the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.
29
For by thee I have run through a troop;
and by my God have I leaped over a wall.
3 0
As for God, his way is perfect:
the word of the Lord is tried:
he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.
3 1
For who is God save the Lord ?
Or who is a rock save our God?
3 2
It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.
3 3
He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet,
and setteth me upon my high places.
3 4
He teacheth my hands to war,
so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.
3 5
Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up,
and thy gentleness hath made me great.
3 6
Thou hast enlarged my steps under me,
that my feet did not slip.
3 7
I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them: neither did I turn again till they were consumed.
3 8
I have wounded them that they were not able to rise: they are fallen under my feet.
39
For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me.
40
Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me.
4 1
They cried, but there was none to save them:
even unto the Lord, but he answered them not.
4 2
Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind:
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I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets.
4 3
Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; and thou hast made me the head of the heathen: a people whom I have not known shall serve me.
4 4
As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me:
the strangers shall submit themselves unto me.
4 5
The strangers shall fade away,
and be afraid out of their close places.
46
The Lord liveth; and blessed be my Rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.
4 7
It is God that avengeth me,
and subdueth the people under me.
48
He delivereth me from mine enemies:
yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man.
49
Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the heathen,
and sing praises unto thy name.
5 0
Great deliverance giveth he to his king;
and showeth mercy to his anointed,
to David, and to his seed for evermore.
19
The Works and Word of God
To the chief Musician,
A Psalm of David.
1
The heavens declare the glory of God;
and the firmament showeth his handiwork.
2
Day unto day uttereth speech,
and night unto night showeth knowledge.
3
There is no speech nor language,
where their voice is not heard.
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4
Their line is gone out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,
5
which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.
6
His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it:
and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
7
The law of the Lord is perfect,
converting the soul:
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple.
8
The statutes of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart:
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
enlightening the eyes.
9
The fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring for ever:
the judgments of the Lord are true
and righteous altogether.
1 0
More to be desired are they than gold,
yea, than much fine gold:
sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
1 1
Moreover by them is thy servant warned:
and in keeping of them there is great reward.
1 2
Who can understand his errors?
Cleanse thou me from secret faults.
13
Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins;
let them not have dominion over me:
then shall I be upright,
and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
14
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight,
O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.
1 2 2 3
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2 0
20
A Prayer for Victory
To the chief Musician,
A Psalm of David.
1
The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble;
the name of the God of Jacob defend thee;
2
send thee help from the sanctuary,
and strengthen thee out of Zion;
3
remember all thy offerings,
and accept thy burnt sacrifice.
Selah.
4
Grant thee according to thine own heart,
and fulfil all thy counsel.
5
We will rejoice in thy salvation,
and in the name of our God we will set up our banners: the Lord fulfil all thy petitions.
6
Now know I that the Lord saveth his anointed;
he will hear him from his holy heaven
with the saving strength of his right hand.
7
Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.
8
They are brought down and fallen:
but we are risen, and stand upright.
9
Save, Lord:
let the king hear us when we call.
1 2 2 4
P s a l m s
2 1
21
Praise for Deliverance from the Enemy
To the chief Musician,
A Psalm of David.
1
The king shall joy in thy strength, O Lord;
and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!
2
Thou hast given him his heart’s desire,
and hast not withholden the request of his lips.
Selah.
3
For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.
4
He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever.
5
His glory is great in thy salvation:
honor and majesty hast thou laid upon him.
6
For thou hast made him most blessed for ever:
thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.
7
For the king trusteth in the Lord,
and through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved.
8
Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies:
thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.
9
Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven
in the time of thine anger:
the Lord shall swallow them up in his wrath,
and the fire shall devour them.
1 0
Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth,
and their seed from among the children of men.
1 1
For they intended evil against thee:
they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform.
1 2
Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back,
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when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them.
13
Be thou exalted, Lord, in thine own strength:
so will we sing and praise thy power.
22
A Cry of Anguish and Song of Praise
To the chief Musician upon Aijeleth Shahar,
A Psalm of David.
1
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?
2
O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.
3
But thou art holy,
O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
4
Our fathers trusted in thee:
they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.
5
They cried unto thee, and were delivered:
they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.
6
But I am a worm, and no man;
a reproach of men, and despised of the people.
7
All they that see me laugh me to scorn:
they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, 8
He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.
9
But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother’s breasts.
1 0
I was cast upon thee from the womb:
thou art my God from my mother’s belly.
1 1
Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.
1 2 2 6
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2 2
1 2
Many bulls have compassed me:
strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.
13
They gaped upon me with their mouths,
as a ravening and a roaring lion.
14
I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint:
my heart is like wax;
it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
1 5
My strength is dried up like a potsherd;
and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws;
and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
1 6
For dogs have compassed me:
the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me:
they pierced my hands and my feet.
1 7
I may tell all my bones:
they look and stare upon me.
1 8
They part my garments among them,
and cast lots upon my vesture.
19
But be not thou far from me, O Lord:
O my strength, haste thee to help me.
2 0
Deliver my soul from the sword;
my darling from the power of the dog.
2 1
Save me from the lion’s mouth:
for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.
2 2
I will declare thy name unto my brethren:
in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.
23
Ye that fear the Lord, praise him;
all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him;
and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.
2 4
For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
neither hath he hid his face from him;
but when he cried unto him, he heard.
2 5
My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him.
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2 6
The meek shall eat and be satisfied:
they shall praise the Lord that seek him:
your heart shall live for ever.
2 7
All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.
2 8
For the kingdom is the Lord’s:
and he is the governor among the nations.
29
All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul.
3 0
A seed shall serve him;
it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.
3 1
They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.
23
The Lord Is My Shepherd
A Psalm of David.
1
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3
He restoreth my soul:
he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil;
my cup runneth over.
6
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
1 2 2 8
P s a l m s
2 4
24
The King of Glory
A Psalm of David.
1
The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
2
For he hath founded it upon the seas,
and established it upon the floods.
3
Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord ?
Or who shall stand in his holy place?
4
He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart;
who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity,
nor sworn deceitfully.
5
He shall receive the blessing from the Lord,
and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6
This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob.
Selah.
7
Lift up your heads, O ye gates;
and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors;
and the King of glory shall come in.
8
Who is this King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
the Lord mighty in battle.
9
Lift up your heads, O ye gates;
even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.
1 0
Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
he is the King of glory.
Selah.
1 2 29
P s a l m s
2 5
25
A Prayer for Guidance, Pardon and Protection
A Psalm of David.
1
Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
2
O my God, I trust in thee:
let me not be ashamed,
let not mine enemies triumph over me.
3
Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed:
let them be ashamed which transgress without cause.
4
Show me thy ways, O Lord;
teach me thy paths.
5
Lead me in thy truth, and teach me:
for thou art the God of my salvation;
on thee do I wait all the day.
6
Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy loving-kindnesses;
for they have been ever of old.
7
Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me
for thy goodness’ sake, O Lord.
8
Good and upright is the Lord:
therefore will he teach sinners in the way.
9
The meek will he guide in judgment:
and the meek will he teach his way.
1 0
All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.
1 1
For thy name’s sake, O Lord,
pardon mine iniquity; for it is great.
1 2
What man is he that feareth the Lord ?
Him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose.
13
His soul shall dwell at ease;
and his seed shall inherit the earth.
1 2 3 0
P s a l m s
2 6
14
The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant.
1 5
Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord;
for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.
1 6
Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me;
for I am desolate and afflicted.
1 7
The troubles of my heart are enlarged:
O bring thou me out of my distresses.
1 8
Look upon mine affliction and my pain;
and forgive all my sins.
19
Consider mine enemies; for they are many;
and they hate me with cruel hatred.
2 0
O keep my soul, and deliver me:
let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in thee.
2 1
Let integrity and uprightness preserve me;
for I wait on thee.
2 2
Redeem Israel, O God,
out of all his troubles.
26
A Protestation of Integrity
A Psalm of David.
1
Judge me, O Lord;
for I have walked in mine integrity:
I have trusted also in the Lord;
therefore I shall not slide.
2
Examine me, O Lord, and prove me;
try my reins and my heart.
3
For thy loving-kindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth.
4
I have not sat with vain persons,
neither will I go in with dissemblers.
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5
I have hated the congregation of evildoers;
and will not sit with the wicked.
6
I will wash mine hands in innocency:
so will I compass thine altar, O Lord:
7
that I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.
8
L o r d , I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honor dwelleth.
9
Gather not my soul with sinners,
nor my life with bloody men:
1 0
in whose hands is mischief,
and their right hand is full of bribes.
1 1
But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity:
redeem me, and be merciful unto me.
1 2
My foot standeth in an even place:
in the congregations will I bless the Lord.
27
The Lord Is My Light and My Salvation
A Psalm of David.
1
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
2
When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh,
they stumbled and fell.
3
Though a host should encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear:
though war should rise against me,
in this will I be confident.
4
One thing have I desired of the Lord,
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that will I seek after;
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord,
and to inquire in his temple.
5
For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
6
And now shall mine head be lifted up
above mine enemies round about me:
therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord.
7
Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice:
have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
8
When thou saidst, Seek ye my face;
my heart said unto thee,
Thy face, Lord, will I seek.
9
Hide not thy face far from me;
put not thy servant away in anger:
thou hast been my help;
leave me not, neither forsake me,
O God of my salvation.
1 0
When my father and my mother forsake me,
then the Lord will take me up.
1 1
Teach me thy way, O Lord,
and lead me in a plain path,
because of mine enemies.
1 2
Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me,
and such as breathe out cruelty.
13
I had fainted, unless I had believed
to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
14
Wait on the Lord:
be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.
1 2 3 3
P s a l m s
2 8
28
A Prayer for Help and Praise for Its Answer
A Psalm of David.
1
Unto thee will I cry, O Lord my rock;
be not silent to me:
lest, if thou be silent to me,
I become like them that go down into the pit.
2
Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle.
3
Draw me not away with the wicked,
and with the workers of iniquity,
which speak peace to their neighbors,
but mischief is in their hearts.
4
Give them according to their deeds,
and according to the wickedness of their endeavors: give them after the work of their hands;
render to them their desert.
5
Because they regard not the works of the Lord,
nor the operation of his hands,
he shall destroy them, and not build them up.
6
Blessed be the Lord,
because he hath heard the voice of my supplications.
7
The Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusted in him, and I am helped:
therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth;
and with my song will I praise him.
8
The Lord is their strength,
and he is the saving strength of his anointed.
9
Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance:
feed them also, and lift them up for ever.
1 2 3 4
P s a l m s
29
29
The Voice of the Lord in the Storm
A Psalm of David.
1
Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty,
give unto the Lord glory and strength.
2
Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name;
worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
3
The voice of the Lord is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth:
the Lord is upon many waters.
4
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
5
The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars;
yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.
6
He maketh them also to skip like a calf;
Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.
7
The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire.
8
The voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness;
the Lord shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh.
9
The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests:
and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory.
1 0
The Lord sitteth upon the flood;
yea, the Lord sitteth King for ever.
1 1
The Lord will give strength unto his people;
the Lord will bless his people with peace.
1 2 3 5
P s a l m s
3 0
30
Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Death
A Psalm and Song at the dedication of the house of David.
1
I will extol thee, O Lord; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.
2
O Lord my God, I cried unto thee,
and thou hast healed me.
3
O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
4
Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his,
and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.
5
For his anger endureth but a moment;
in his favor is life:
weeping may endure for a night,
but joy cometh in the morning.
6
And in my prosperity I said,
I shall never be moved.
7
L o r d , by thy favor thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.
8
I cried to thee, O Lord;
and unto the Lord I made supplication.
9
What profit is there in my blood,
when I go down to the pit?
Shall the dust praise thee?
Shall it declare thy truth?
1 0
Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me:
L o r d , be thou my helper.
1 1
Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth,
and girded me with gladness;
1 2
to the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.
1 2 3 6
P s a l m s
3 1
31
A Profession of Trust
To the chief Musician,
A Psalm of David.
1
In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust;
let me never be ashamed:
deliver me in thy righteousness.
2
Bow down thine ear to me;
deliver me speedily:
be thou my strong rock,
for a house of defense to save me.
3
For thou art my rock and my fortress;
therefore for thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me.
4
Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me: for thou art my strength.
5
Into thine hand I commit my spirit:
thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.
6
I have hated them that regard lying vanities:
but I trust in the Lord.
7
I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy:
for thou hast considered my trouble;
thou hast known my soul in adversities;
8
and hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy: thou hast set my feet in a large room.
9
Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief,
yea, my soul and my belly.
1 0
For my life is spent with grief,
and my years with sighing:
my strength faileth because of mine iniquity,
and my bones are consumed.
1 1
I was a reproach among all mine enemies,
1 2 3 7
P s a l m s
3 1
but especially among my neighbors,
and a fear to mine acquaintance:
they that did see me without fled from me.
1 2
I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind:
I am like a broken vessel.
13
For I have heard the slander of many:
fear was on every side:
while they took counsel together against me,
they devised to take away my life.
14
But I trusted in thee, O Lord:
I said, Thou art my God.
1 5
My times are in thy hand:
deliver me from the hand of mine enemies,
and from them that persecute me.
1 6
Make thy face to shine upon thy servant:
save me for thy mercies’ sake.
1 7
Let me not be ashamed, O Lord;
for I have called upon thee:
let the wicked be ashamed,
and let them be silent in the grave.
1 8
Let the lying lips be put to silence;
which speak grievous things
proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.
19
Oh how great is thy goodness,
which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!
2 0
Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man:
thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion
from the strife of tongues.
2 1
Blessed be the Lord:
for he hath showed me his marvelous kindness in a strong city.
2 2
For I said in my haste,
I am cut off from before thine eyes:
1 2 3 8
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3 2
nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee.
23
O love the Lord, all ye his saints:
for the Lord preserveth the faithful,
and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.
2 4
Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.
32
The Blessedness of Forgiveness
A Psalm of David, Maschil.
1
Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
2
Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.
3
When I kept silence, my bones waxed old
through my roaring all the day long.
4
For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me:
my moisture is turned into the drought of summer.
Selah.
5
I acknowledged my sin unto thee,
and mine iniquity have I not hid.
I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.
Selah.
6
For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found:
surely in the floods of great waters
they shall not come nigh unto him.
7
Thou art my hiding place;
thou shalt preserve me from trouble;
thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance.
1 2 3 9
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3 3
Selah.
8
I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.
9
Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule,
which have no understanding:
whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.
1 0
Many sorrows shall be to the wicked:
but he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about.
1 1
Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous:
and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.
33
Praise to the Creator and Preserver
1
Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous:
for praise is comely for the upright.
2
Praise the Lord with harp:
sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.
3
Sing unto him a new song;
play skilfully with a loud noise.
4
For the word of the Lord is right;
and all his works are done in truth.
5
He loveth righteousness and judgment:
the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
6
By the word of the Lord were the heavens made;
and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
7
He gathereth the waters of the sea together as a heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses.
8
Let all the earth fear the Lord:
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
9
For he spake, and it was done;
he commanded, and it stood fast.
1 0
The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought:
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he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.
1 1
The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever,
the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
1 2
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.
13
The Lord looketh from heaven;
he beholdeth all the sons of men.
14
From the place of his habitation he looketh
upon all the inhabitants of the earth.
1 5
He fashioneth their hearts alike;
he considereth all their works.
1 6
There is no king saved by the multitude of a host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.
1 7
A horse is a vain thing for safety:
neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.
1 8
Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;
19
to deliver their soul from death,
and to keep them alive in famine.
2 0
Our soul waiteth for the Lord:
he is our help and our shield.
2 1
For our heart shall rejoice in him,
because we have trusted in his holy name.
2 2
Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us,
according as we hope in thee.
34
Praise for Deliverance from Troubles
A Psalm of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech; who drove him away, and he departed.
1
I will bless the Lord at all times:
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
1 2 4 1
P s a l m s
3 4
2
My soul shall make her boast in the Lord:
the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.
3
O magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together.
4
I sought the Lord, and he heard me,
and delivered me from all my fears.
5
They looked unto him, and were lightened:
and their faces were not ashamed.
6
This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
7
The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.
8
O taste and see that the Lord is good:
blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
9
O fear the Lord, ye his saints:
for there is no want to them that fear him.
1 0
The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger:
but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.
1 1
Come, ye children, hearken unto me:
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
1 2
What man is he that desireth life,
and loveth many days, that he may see good?
13
Keep thy tongue from evil,
and thy lips from speaking guile.
14
Depart from evil, and do good;
seek peace, and pursue it.
1 5
The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.
1 6
The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
1 7
The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
1 8
The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
19
Many are the afflictions of the righteous:
1 2 4 2
P s a l m s
3 5
but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.
2 0
He keepeth all his bones:
not one of them is broken.
2 1
Evil shall slay the wicked:
and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate.
2 2
The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants:
and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.
35
A Prayer for Rescue from Enemies
A Psalm of David.
1
Plead my cause, O Lord, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me.
2
Take hold of shield and buckler,
and stand up for mine help.
3
Draw out also the spear,
and stop the way against them that persecute me: say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.
4
Let them be confounded and put to shame
that seek after my soul:
let them be turned back and brought to confusion that devise my hurt.
5
Let them be as chaff before the wind:
and let the angel of the Lord chase them.
6
Let their way be dark and slippery:
and let the angel of the Lord persecute them.
7
For without cause have they hid for me their net in a pit, which without cause they have digged for my soul.
8
Let destruction come upon him at unawares;
and let his net that he hath hid catch himself:
into that very destruction let him fall.
9
And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord:
1 2 4 3
P s a l m s
3 5
it shall rejoice in his salvation.
1 0
All my bones shall say,
L o r d , who is like unto thee,
which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him?
1 1
False witnesses did rise up;
they laid to my charge things that I knew not.
1 2
They rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling of my soul.
13
But as for me, when they were sick,
my clothing was sackcloth:
I humbled my soul with fasting;
and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.
14
I behaved myself as though he had been my friend or brother: I bowed down heavily, as one that mourneth for his mother.
1 5
But in mine adversity they rejoiced,
and gathered themselves together:
yea, the abjects gathered themselves together against me, and I knew it not;
they did tear me, and ceased not:
1 6
with hypocritical mockers in feasts,
they gnashed upon me with their teeth.
1 7
Lord, how long wilt thou look on?
Rescue my soul from their destructions,
my darling from the lions.
1 8
I will give thee thanks in the great congregation: I will praise thee among much people.
19
Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me: neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without a cause.
2 0
For they speak not peace:
but they devise deceitful matters against them that are quiet in the land.
2 1
Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me,
and said, Aha, aha, our eye hath seen it.
2 2
This thou hast seen, O Lord: keep not silence: O Lord, be not far from me.
1 2 4 4
P s a l m s
3 6
23
Stir up thyself, and awake to my judgment,
even unto my cause, my God and my Lord.
2 4
Judge me, O Lord my God, according to thy righteousness; and let them not rejoice over me.
2 5
Let them not say in their hearts,
Ah, so would we have it:
let them not say, We have swallowed him up.
2 6
Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion together that rejoice at mine hurt:
let them be clothed with shame and dishonor
that magnify themselves against me.
2 7
Let them shout for joy, and be glad,
that favor my righteous cause:
yea, let them say continually,
Let the Lord be magnified,
which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.
2 8
And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness
and of thy praise all the day long.
36
The Steadfast Love of God
To the chief Musician,
A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord.
1
The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes.
2
For he flattereth himself in his own eyes,
until his iniquity be found to be hateful.
3
The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left off to be wise, and to do good.
4
He deviseth mischief upon his bed;
he setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil.
1 2 4 5
P s a l m s
3 7
5
Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens;
and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds.
6
Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep:
O Lord, thou preservest man and beast.
7
How excellent is thy loving-kindness, O God!
Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.
8
They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.
9
For with thee is the fountain of life:
in thy light shall we see light.
1 0
O continue thy loving-kindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart.
1 1
Let not the foot of pride come against me,
and let not the hand of the wicked remove me.
1 2
There are the workers of iniquity fallen:
they are cast down, and shall not be able to rise.
37
The Insecurity of the Wicked
A Psalm of David.
1
Fret not thyself because of evildoers,
neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
2
For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
and wither as the green herb.
3
Trust in the Lord, and do good;
so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
4
Delight thyself also in the Lord;
and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
5
Commit thy way unto the Lord;
trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
1 2 4 6
P s a l m s
3 7
6
And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.
7
Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him:
fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
8
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath:
fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
9
For evildoers shall be cut off:
but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.
1 0
For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be:
yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
1 1
But the meek shall inherit the earth;
and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
1 2
The wicked plotteth against the just,
and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.
13
The Lord shall laugh at him:
for he seeth that his day is coming.
14
The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy,
and to slay such as be of upright conversation.
1 5
Their sword shall enter into their own heart,
and their bows shall be broken.
1 6
A little that a righteous man hath
is better than the riches of many wicked.
1 7
For the arms of the wicked shall be broken:
but the Lord upholdeth the righteous.
1 8
The Lord knoweth the days of the upright:
and their inheritance shall be for ever.
19
They shall not be ashamed in the evil time:
and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
2 0
But the wicked shall perish,
and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.
2 1
The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again:
but the righteous showeth mercy, and giveth.
1 2 4 7
P s a l m s
3 7
2 2
For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off.
23
The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.
2 4
Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.
2 5
I have been young, and now am old;
yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken,
nor his seed begging bread.
2 6
He is ever merciful, and lendeth;
and his seed is blessed.
2 7
Depart from evil, and do good;
and dwell for evermore.
2 8
For the Lord loveth judgment,
and forsaketh not his saints;
they are preserved for ever:
but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.
29
The righteous shall inherit the land,
and dwell therein for ever.
3 0
The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom,
and his tongue talketh of judgment.
3 1
The law of his God is in his heart;
none of his steps shall slide.
3 2
The wicked watcheth the righteous,
and seeketh to slay him.
3 3
The Lord will not leave him in his hand,
nor condemn him when he is judged.
3 4
Wait on the Lord, and keep his way,
and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land:
when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.
3 5
I have seen the wicked in great power,
and spreading himself like a green bay tree.
3 6
Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.
3 7
Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright:
1 2 4 8
P s a l m s
3 8
for the end of that man is peace.
3 8
But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.
39
But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: he is their strength in the time of trouble.
40
And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them:
he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.
38
The Prayer of a Suffering Penitent
A Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance.
1
O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath:
neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
2
For thine arrows stick fast in me,
and thy hand presseth me sore.
3
There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin.
4
For mine iniquities are gone over mine head:
as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
5
My wounds stink and are corrupt 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 filled with a loathsome disease:
and there is no soundness in my flesh.
8
I am feeble and sore broken:
I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart.
9
Lord, all my desire is before thee;
and my groaning is not hid from thee.
1 0
My heart panteth, my strength faileth me:
as for the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me.
1 1
My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore;
1 2 4 9
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3 9
and my kinsmen stand afar off.
1 2
They also that seek after my life lay snares for me;
and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long.
13
But I, as a deaf man, heard not;
and I was as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth.
14
Thus I was as a man that heareth not,
and in whose mouth are no reproofs.
1 5
For in thee, O Lord, do I hope:
thou wilt hear, O Lord my God.
1 6
For I said, Hear me, lest otherwise they should rejoice over me: when my foot slippeth,
they magnify themselves against me.
1 7
For I am ready to halt,
and my sorrow is continually before me.
1 8
For I will declare mine iniquity;
I will be sorry for my sin.
19
But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied.
2 0
They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good is.
2 1
Forsake me not, O Lord:
O my God, be not far from me.
2 2
Make haste to help me,
O Lord my salvation.
39
Hope in the Lord
To the chief Musician, even to Jeduthun, A Psalm of David.
1
I said, I will take heed to my ways,
that I sin not with my tongue:
1 2 5 0
P s a l m s
3 9
I will keep my mouth with a bridle,
while the wicked is before me.
2
I was dumb with silence,
I held my peace, even from good;
and my sorrow was stirred.
3
My heart was hot within me;
while I was musing the fire burned:
then spake I with my tongue,
4
L o r d , make me to know mine end,
and the measure of my days, what it is;
that I may know how frail I am.
5
Behold, thou hast made my days as a handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee:
verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity.
Selah.
6
Surely every man walketh in a vain show:
surely they are disquieted in vain:
he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.
7
And now, Lord, what wait I for?
My hope is in thee.
8
Deliver me from all my transgressions:
make me not the reproach of the foolish.
9
I was dumb, I opened not my mouth;
because thou didst it.
1 0
Remove thy stroke away from me:
I am consumed by the blow of thine hand.
1 1
When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is vanity.
Selah.
1 2
Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears:
for I am a stranger with thee,
and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.
13
O spare me, that I may recover strength,
1 2 5 1
P s a l m s
4 0
before I go hence, and be no more.
40
Praise for Deliverance
To the chief Musician,
A Psalm of David.
1
I waited patiently for the Lord;
and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
2
He brought me up also out of a horrible pit,
out of the miry clay,
and set my feet upon a rock,
and established my goings.
3
And he hath put a new song in my mouth,
even praise unto our God:
many shall see it, and fear,
and shall trust in the Lord.
4
Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud,
nor such as turn aside to lies.
5
Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done,
and thy thoughts which are to us-ward:
they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee:
if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.
6
Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire;
mine ears hast thou opened:
burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.
7
Then said I, Lo, I come:
in the volume of the book it is written of me, 8
I delight to do thy will, O my God:
yea, thy law is within my heart.
1 2 5 2
P s a l m s
4 0
9
I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips,
O Lord, thou knowest.
1 0
I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy loving-kindness and thy truth from the great congregation.
1 1
Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O Lord: let thy loving-kindness and thy truth continually preserve me.
1 2
For innumerable evils have compassed me about:
mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up;
they are more than the hairs of mine head:
therefore my heart faileth me.
13
Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me:
O Lord, make haste to help me.
14
Let them be ashamed and confounded together
that seek after my soul to destroy it;
let them be driven backward and put to shame
that wish me evil.
1 5
Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame that say unto me, Aha, aha.
1 6
Let all those that seek thee
rejoice and be glad in thee:
let such as love thy salvation
say continually, The Lord be magnified.
1 7
But I am poor and needy;
yet the Lord thinketh upon me:
thou art my help and my deliverer;
make no tarrying, O my God.
1 2 5 3
P s a l m s
4 1
41
A Prayer for Healing
To the chief Musician,
A Psalm of David.
1
Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.
2
The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive;
and he shall be blessed upon the earth:
and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies.
3
The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness.
4
I said, Lord, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee.
5
Mine enemies speak evil of me,
When shall he die, and his name perish?
6
And if he come to see me, he speaketh vanity: his heart gathereth iniquity to itself;
when he goeth abroad, he telleth it.
7
All that hate me whisper together against me:
against me do they devise my hurt.
8
An evil disease, say they, cleaveth fast unto him: and now that he lieth he shall rise up no more.
9
Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread,
hath lifted up his heel against me.
1 0
But thou, O Lord, be merciful unto me,
and raise me up, that I may requite them.
1 1
By this I know that thou favorest me,
because mine enemy doth not triumph over me.
1 2
And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before thy face for ever.
13
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel
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from everlasting, and to everlasting.
Amen, and Amen.
42
Thirsting for God
To the chief Musician, Maschil, for the sons of Korah.
1
As the hart panteth after the water brooks,
so panteth my soul after thee, O God.
2
My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God:
when shall I come and appear before God?
3
My tears have been my meat day and night,
while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?
4
When I remember these things,
I pour out my soul in me:
for I had gone with the multitude,
I went with them to the house of God,
with the voice of joy and praise,
with a multitude that kept holyday.
5
Why art thou cast down, O my soul?
And why art thou disquieted in me?
Hope thou in God:
for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.
6
O my God, my soul is cast down within me:
therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar.
7
Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.
8
Yet the Lord will command his loving-kindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.
9
I will say unto God my rock,
Why hast thou forgotten me?
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Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
1 0
As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God?
1 1
Why art thou cast down, O my soul?
And why art thou disquieted within me?
Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him,
who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
43
A Prayer for Vindication and Deliverance
1
Judge me, O God, and plead my cause
against an ungodly nation:
O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man.
2
For thou art the God of my strength:
why dost thou cast me off?
Why go I mourning
because of the oppression of the enemy?
3
O send out thy light and thy truth:
let them lead me;
let them bring me unto thy holy hill,
and to thy tabernacles.
4
Then will I go unto the altar of God,
unto God my exceeding joy:
yea, upon the harp will I praise thee,
O God my God.
5
Why art thou cast down, O my soul?
And why art thou disquieted within me?
Hope in God: for I shall yet praise him,
who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
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44
Former Deliverances and Present Troubles
To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, Maschil.
1
We have heard with our ears, O God,
our fathers have told us,
what work thou didst in their days,
in the times of old.
2
How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them;
how thou didst afflict the people,
and cast them out.
3
For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them:
but thy right hand, and thine arm,
and the light of thy countenance,
because thou hadst a favor unto them.
4
Thou art my King, O God:
command deliverances for Jacob.
5
Through thee will we push down our enemies:
through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us.
6
For I will not trust in my bow,
neither shall my sword save me.
7
But thou hast saved us from our enemies,
and hast put them to shame that hated us.
8
In God we boast all the day long,
and praise thy name for ever.
Selah.
9
But thou hast cast off, and put us to shame;
and goest not forth with our armies.
1 0
Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy:
and they which hate us spoil for themselves.
1 1
Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat;
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and hast scattered us among the heathen.
1 2
Thou sellest thy people for nought,
and dost not increase thy wealth by their price.
13
Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbors,
a scorn and a derision to them that are round about us.
14
Thou makest us a byword among the heathen,
a shaking of the head among the people.
1 5
My confusion is continually before me,
and the shame of my face hath covered me,
1 6
for the voice of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth; by reason of the enemy and avenger.
1 7
All this is come upon us;
yet have we not forgotten thee,
neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant.
1 8
Our heart is not turned back,
neither have our steps declined from thy way;
19
though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death.
2 0
If we have forgotten the name of our God,
or stretched out our hands to a strange god;
2 1
shall not God search this out?
For he knoweth the secrets of the heart.
2 2
Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.
23
Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord?
Arise, cast us not off for ever.
2 4
Wherefore hidest thou thy face,
and forgettest our affliction and our oppression?
2 5
For our soul is bowed down to the dust:
our belly cleaveth unto the earth.
2 6
Arise for our help,
and redeem us for thy mercies’ sake.
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45
A Song for the King’s Marriage
To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim,
for the sons of Korah, Maschil,
A Song of loves.
1
My heart is inditing a good matter:
I speak of the things which I have made touching the King: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.
2
Thou art fairer than the children of men:
grace is poured into thy lips:
therefore God hath blessed thee for ever.
3
Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most Mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty.
4
And in thy majesty ride prosperously,
because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things.
5
Thine arrows are sharp
in the heart of the King’s enemies;
whereby the people fall under thee.
6
Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre.
7
Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee
with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
8
All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces,
whereby they have made thee glad.
9
Kings’ daughters were among thy honorable women: upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir.
1 0
Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house; 1 1
so shall the King greatly desire thy beauty:
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for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him.
1 2
And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; even the rich among the people shall entreat thy favor.
13
The King’s daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold.
14
She shall be brought unto the King in raiment of needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee.
1 5
With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the King’s palace.
1 6
Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children,
whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth.
1 7
I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever.
46
God Is Our Refuge and Strength
To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah,
A Song upon Alamoth.
1
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
2
Therefore will not we fear,
though the earth be removed,
and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 3
though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.
Selah.
4
There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High.
5
God is in the midst of her;
she shall not be moved:
God shall help her, and that right early.
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6
The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved:
he uttered his voice, the earth melted.
7
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
Selah.
8
Come, behold the works of the Lord,
what desolations he hath made in the earth.
9
He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.
1 0
Be still, and know that I am God:
I will be exalted among the heathen,
I will be exalted in the earth.
1 1
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
Selah.
47
God Is the King of All the Earth
To the chief Musician,
A Psalm for the sons of Korah.
1
O clap your hands, all ye people;
shout unto God with the voice of triumph.
2
For the Lord most high is terrible;
he is a great King over all the earth.
3
He shall subdue the people under us,
and the nations under our feet.
4
He shall choose our inheritance for us,
the excellency of Jacob whom he loved.
Selah.
5
God is gone up with a shout,
the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
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6
Sing praises to God, sing praises:
sing praises unto our King, sing praises.
7
For God is the King of all the earth:
sing ye praises with understanding.
8
God reigneth over the heathen:
God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness.
9
The princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of the God of Abraham:
for the shields of the earth belong unto God: he is greatly exalted.
48
The Beauty and Glory of Zion
A Song and Psalm for the sons of Korah.
1
Great is the Lord,
and greatly to be praised
in the city of our God,
in the mountain of his holiness.
2
Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.
3
God is known in her palaces for a refuge.
4
For, lo, the kings were assembled,
they passed by together.
5
They saw it, and so they marveled;
they were troubled, and hasted away.
6
Fear took hold upon them there,
and pain, as of a woman in travail.
7
Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish
with an east wind.
8
As we have heard, so have we seen
in the city of the Lord of hosts,
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in the city of our God:
God will establish it for ever.
Selah.
9
We have thought of thy loving-kindness, O God,
in the midst of thy temple.
1 0
According to thy name, O God,
so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth: thy right hand is full of righteousness.
1 1
Let mount Zion rejoice,
let the daughters of Judah be glad,
because of thy judgments.
1 2
Walk about Zion, and go round about her:
tell the towers thereof.
13
Mark ye well her bulwarks,
consider her palaces;
that ye may tell it to the generation following.
14
For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.
49
The Folly of Trusting in Riches
To the chief Musician,
A Psalm for the sons of Korah.
1
Hear this, all ye people;
give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world: 2
both low and high,
rich and poor, together.
3
My mouth shall speak of wisdom;
and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.
4
I will incline mine ear to a parable:
I will open my dark saying upon the harp.
5
Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil,
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when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?
6
They that trust in their wealth,
and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; 7
none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him:
8
(for the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:)
9
that he should still live for ever,
and not see corruption.
1 0
For he seeth that wise men die,
likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.
1 1
Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names.
1 2
Nevertheless man being in honor abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.
13
This their way is their folly:
yet their posterity approve their sayings.
Selah.
14
Like sheep they are laid in the grave;
death shall feed on them;
and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.
1 5
But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me.
Selah.
1 6
Be not thou afraid when one is made rich,
when the glory of his house is increased;
1 7
for when he dieth he shall carry nothing away:
his glory shall not descend after him.
1 8
Though while he lived he blessed his soul,
(and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself,) 19
he shall go to the generation of his fathers;
they shall never see light.
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Man that is in honor, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.
50
God Is the Judge
A Psalm of Asaph.
1
The mighty God, even the Lord,
hath spoken, and called the earth
from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.
2
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God hath shined.
3
Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence:
a fire shall devour before him,
and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.
4
He shall call to the heavens from above,
and to the earth, that he may judge his people.
5
Gather my saints together unto me;
those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.
6
And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself.
Selah.
7
Hear, O my people, and I will speak;
O Israel, and I will testify against thee:
I am God, even thy God.
8
I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices
or thy burnt offerings, to have been continually before me.
9
I will take no bullock out of thy house,
nor he goats out of thy folds:
1 0
for every beast of the forest is mine,
and the cattle upon a thousand hills.
1 1
I know all the fowls of the mountains:
and the wild beasts of the field are mine.
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If I were hungry, I would not tell thee:
for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.
13
Will I eat the flesh of bulls,
or drink the blood of goats?
14
Offer unto God thanksgiving;
and pay thy vows unto the Most High:
1 5
and call upon me in the day of trouble:
I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
1 6
But unto the wicked God saith,
What hast thou to do to declare my statutes,
or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?
1 7
seeing thou hatest instruction,
and castest my words behind thee.
1 8
When thou sawest a thief,
then thou consentedst with him,
and hast been partaker with adulterers.
19
Thou givest thy mouth to evil,
and thy tongue frameth deceit.
2 0
Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother’s son.
2 1
These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such a one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.
2 2
Now consider this, ye that forget God,
lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.
23
Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me:
and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I show the salvation of God.
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51
A Prayer for Cleansing
To the chief Musician,
A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bath-sheba.
1
Have mercy upon me, O God,
according to thy loving-kindness:
according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
2
Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
3
For I acknowledge my transgressions:
and my sin is ever before me.
4
Against thee, thee only, have I sinned,
and done this evil in thy sight:
that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
5
Behold, I was shapen in iniquity;
and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6
Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
7
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean:
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8
Make me to hear joy and gladness;
that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
9
Hide thy face from my sins,
and blot out all mine iniquities.
1 0
Create in me a clean heart, O God;
and renew a right spirit within me.
1 1
Cast me not away from thy presence;
and take not thy Holy Spirit from me.
1 2
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation;
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and uphold me with thy free Spirit.
13
Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
14
Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,
thou God of my salvation:
and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
1 5
O Lord, open thou my lips;
and my mouth shall show forth thy praise.
1 6
For thou desirest not sacrifice;
else would I give it:
thou delightest not in burnt offering.
1 7
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God,
thou wilt not despise.
1 8
Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion:
build thou the walls of Jerusalem.
19
Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering:
then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.
52
The Futility of Boastful Wickedness
To the chief Musician, Maschil,
A Psalm of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said unto him, David is come to the house of Ahimelech.
1
Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man?
The goodness of God endureth continually.
2
Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs;
like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
3
Thou lovest evil more than good;
and lying rather than to speak righteousness.
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Selah.
4
Thou lovest all devouring words,
O thou deceitful tongue.
5
God shall likewise destroy thee for ever,
he shall take thee away,
and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living.
Selah.
6
The righteous also shall see, and fear,
and shall laugh at him:
7
Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches,
and strengthened himself in his wickedness.
8
But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.
9
I will praise thee for ever,
because thou hast done it:
and I will wait on thy name;
for it is good before thy saints.
53
The Folly and Wickedness of Men
To the chief Musician upon Mahalath, Maschil,
A Psalm of David.
1
The fool hath said in his heart,
There is no God.
Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.
2
God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God.
3
Every one of them is gone back:
they are altogether become filthy;
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there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
4
Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge?
who eat up my people as they eat bread:
they have not called upon God.
5
There were they in great fear, where no fear was: for God hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee:
thou hast put them to shame,
because God hath despised them.
6
Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion!
When God bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.
54
A Prayer for Protection from Enemies
To the chief Musician on Neginoth, Maschil,
A Psalm of David, when the Ziphim came and said to Saul, Doth not David hide himself with us?
1
Save me, O God, by thy name,
and judge me by thy strength.
2
Hear my prayer, O God;
give ear to the words of my mouth.
3
For strangers are risen up against me,
and oppressors seek after my soul:
they have not set God before them.
Selah.
4
Behold, God is mine helper:
the Lord is with them that uphold my soul.
5
He shall reward evil unto mine enemies:
cut them off in thy truth.
6
I will freely sacrifice unto thee:
I will praise thy name, O Lord;
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for it is good.
7
For he hath delivered me out of all trouble:
and mine eye hath seen his desire upon mine enemies.
55
A Prayer for the Destruction of the Deceitful
To the chief Musician on Neginoth, Maschil,
A Psalm of David.
1
Give ear to my prayer, O God;
and hide not thyself from my supplication.
2
Attend unto me, and hear me:
I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise;
3
because of the voice of the enemy,
because of the oppression of the wicked:
for they cast iniquity upon me,
and in wrath they hate me.
4
My heart is sore pained within me:
and the terrors of death are fallen upon me.
5
Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me,
and horror hath overwhelmed me.
6
And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove!
For then would I fly away, and be at rest.
7
Lo, then would I wander far off,
and remain in the wilderness.
Selah.
8
I would hasten my escape
from the windy storm and tempest.
9
Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues: for I have seen violence and strife in the city.
1 0
Day and night they go about it upon the walls thereof: mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it.
1 1
Wickedness is in the midst thereof:
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deceit and guile depart not from her streets.
1 2
For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it:
neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him:
13
but it was thou, a man mine equal,
my guide, and mine acquaintance.
14
We took sweet counsel together,
and walked unto the house of God in company.
1 5
Let death seize upon them,
and let them go down quick into hell:
for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.
1 6
As for me, I will call upon God;
and the Lord shall save me.
1 7
Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.
1 8
He hath delivered my soul in peace
from the battle that was against me:
for there were many with me.
19
God shall hear, and afflict them,
even he that abideth of old.
Selah.
Because they have no changes,
therefore they fear not God.
2 0
He hath put forth his hands against such as be at peace with him: he hath broken his covenant.
2 1
The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart:
his words were softer than oil,
yet were they drawn swords.
2 2
Cast thy burden upon the Lord,
and he shall sustain thee:
he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
23
But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction:
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bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee.
56
A Prayer of Trust
To the chief Musician upon Jonath-elem-rechokim, Michtam of David, when the Philistines took him in Gath.
1
Be merciful unto me, O God:
for man would swallow me up;
he fighting daily oppresseth me.
2
Mine enemies would daily swallow me up:
for they be many that fight against me, O thou Most High.
3
What time I am afraid,
I will trust in thee.
4
In God I will praise his word,
in God I have put my trust;
I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.
5
Every day they wrest my words:
all their thoughts are against me for evil.
6
They gather themselves together,
they hide themselves,
they mark my steps,
when they wait for my soul.
7
Shall they escape by iniquity?
In thine anger cast down the people, O God.
8
Thou tellest my wanderings:
put thou my tears into thy bottle:
are they not in thy book?
9
When I cry unto thee,
then shall mine enemies turn back:
this I know; for God is for me.
1 0
In God will I praise his word:
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in the Lord will I praise his word.
1 1
In God have I put my trust:
I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.
1 2
Thy vows are upon me, O God:
I will render praises unto thee.
13
For thou hast delivered my soul from death:
wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?
57
A Prayer for Rescue from Persecutors
To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David, when he fled from Saul in the cave.
1
Be merciful unto me, O God,
be merciful unto me:
for my soul trusteth in thee:
yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.
2
I will cry unto God most high;
unto God that performeth all things for me.
3
He shall send from heaven, and save me
from the reproach of him that would swallow me up.
Selah.
God shall send forth his mercy and his truth.
4
My soul is among lions:
and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.
5
Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let thy glory be above all the earth.
6
They have prepared a net for my steps;
my soul is bowed down:
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5 8
they have digged a pit before me,
into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves.
Selah.
7
My heart is fixed, O God,
my heart is fixed:
I will sing and give praise.
8
Awake up, my glory;
awake, psaltery and harp:
I myself will awake early.
9
I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people:
I will sing unto thee among the nations.
1 0
For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.
1 1
Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens:
let thy glory be above all the earth.
58
A Prayer for the Punishment of the Wicked
To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David.
1
Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation?
Do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men?
2
Yea, in heart ye work wickedness;
ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth.
3
The wicked are estranged from the womb:
they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.
4
Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear; 5
which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely.