PSALM 15

Description of a Citizen of Zion.

A Psalm of David.

1O Lord, who may abide in Your tent?

Who may dwell on Your holy hill?

2He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness,

And speaks truth in his heart.

3He does not slander with his tongue,

Nor does evil to his neighbor,

Nor takes up a reproach against his friend;

4In whose eyes a reprobate is despised,

But who honors those who fear the Lord;

He swears to his own hurt and does not change;

5He does not put out his money at interest,

Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.

He who does these things will never be shaken.

PSALM 16

The Lord the Psalmist’s Portion in Life and Deliverer in Death.

A Mikhtam of David.

1Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You.

2I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord;

I have no good besides You.”

3As for the saints who are in the earth,

They are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight.

4The sorrows of those who have bartered for another god will be multiplied;

I shall not pour out their drink offerings of blood,

Nor will I take their names upon my lips.

5The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup;

You support my lot.

6The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;

Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.

7I will bless the Lord who has counseled me;

Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night.

8I have set the Lord continually before me;

Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

9Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices;

My flesh also will dwell securely.

10For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol;

Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.

11You will make known to me the path of life;

In Your presence is fullness of joy;

In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

PSALM 17

Prayer for Protection against Oppressors.

A Prayer of David.

1Hear a just cause, O Lord, give heed to my cry;

Give ear to my prayer, which is not from deceitful lips.

2Let my judgment come forth from Your presence;

Let Your eyes look with equity.

3You have tried my heart;

You have visited me by night;

You have tested me and You find nothing;

I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.

4As for the deeds of men, by the word of Your lips

I have kept from the paths of the violent.

5My steps have held fast to Your paths.

My feet have not slipped.

6I have called upon You, for You will answer me, O God;

Incline Your ear to me, hear my speech.

7Wondrously show Your lovingkindness,

O Savior of those who take refuge at Your right hand

From those who rise up against them.

8Keep me as the apple of the eye;

Hide me in the shadow of Your wings

9From the wicked who despoil me,

My deadly enemies who surround me.

10They have closed their unfeeling heart,

With their mouth they speak proudly.

11They have now surrounded us in our steps;

They set their eyes to cast us down to the ground.

12He is like a lion that is eager to tear,

And as a young lion lurking in hiding places.

13Arise, O Lord, confront him, bring him low;

Deliver my soul from the wicked with Your sword,

14From men with Your hand, O Lord,

From men of the world, whose portion is in this life,

And whose belly You fill with Your treasure;

They are satisfied with children,

And leave their abundance to their babes.

15As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness;

I will be satisfied with Your likeness when I awake.

PSALM 18

The Lord Praised for Giving Deliverance.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord, who spoke to 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 love You, O Lord, my strength.”

2The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,

My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;

My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

3I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,

And I am saved from my enemies.

4The cords of death encompassed me,

And the torrents of ungodliness terrified me.

5The cords of Sheol surrounded me;

The snares of death confronted me.

6In my distress I called upon the Lord,

And cried to my God for help;

He heard my voice out of His temple,

And my cry for help before Him came into His ears.

7Then the earth shook and quaked;

And the foundations of the mountains were trembling

And were shaken, because He was angry.

8Smoke went up out of His nostrils,

And fire from His mouth devoured;

Coals were kindled by it.

9He bowed the heavens also, and came down

With thick darkness under His feet.

10He rode upon a cherub and flew;

And He sped upon the wings of the wind.

11He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him,

Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.

12From the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds,

Hailstones and coals of fire.

13The Lord also thundered in the heavens,

And the Most High uttered His voice,

Hailstones and coals of fire.

14He sent out His arrows, and scattered them,

And lightning flashes in abundance, and routed them.

15Then the channels of water appeared,

And the foundations of the world were laid bare

At Your rebuke, O Lord,

At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

16He sent from on high, He took me;

He drew me out of many waters.

17He delivered me from my strong enemy,

And from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.

18They confronted me in the day of my calamity,

But the Lord was my stay.

19He brought me forth also into a broad place;

He rescued me, because He delighted in me.

20The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness;

According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.

21For I have kept the ways of the Lord,

And have not wickedly departed from my God.

22For all His ordinances were before me,

And I did not put away His statutes from me.

23I was also blameless with Him,

And I kept myself from my iniquity.

24Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness,

According to the cleanness of my hands in His eyes.

25With the kind You show Yourself kind;

With the blameless You show Yourself blameless;

26With the pure You show Yourself pure,

And with the crooked You show Yourself astute.

27For You save an afflicted people,

But haughty eyes You abase.

28For You light my lamp;

The Lord my God illumines my darkness.

29For by You I can run upon a troop;

And by my God I can leap over a wall.

30As for God, His way is blameless;

The word of the Lord is tried;

He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

31For who is God, but the Lord?

And who is a rock, except our God,

32The God who girds me with strength

And makes my way blameless?

33He makes my feet like hinds’ feet,

And sets me upon my high places.

34He trains my hands for battle,

So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

35You have also given me the shield of Your salvation,

And Your right hand upholds me;

And Your gentleness makes me great.

36You enlarge my steps under me,

And my feet have not slipped.

37I pursued my enemies and overtook them,

And I did not turn back until they were consumed.

38I shattered them, so that they were not able to rise;

They fell under my feet.

39For You have girded me with strength for battle;

You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.

40You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me,

And I destroyed those who hated me.

41They cried for help, but there was none to save,

Even to the Lord, but He did not answer them.

42Then I beat them fine as the dust before the wind;

I emptied them out as the mire of the streets.

43You have delivered me from the contentions of the people;

You have placed me as head of the nations;

A people whom I have not known serve me.

44As soon as they hear, they obey me;

Foreigners submit to me.

45Foreigners fade away,

And come trembling out of their fortresses.

46The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock;

And exalted be the God of my salvation,

47The God who executes vengeance for me,

And subdues peoples under me.

48He delivers me from my enemies;

Surely You lift me above those who rise up against me;

You rescue me from the violent man.

49Therefore I will give thanks to You among the nations, O Lord,

And I will sing praises to Your name.

50He gives great deliverance to His king,

And shows lovingkindness to His anointed,

To David and his descendants forever.