PSALM 69

A Cry of Distress and Imprecation on Adversaries.

For the choir director; according to Shoshannim. A Psalm of David.

1Save me, O God,

For the waters have threatened my life.

2I have sunk in deep mire, and there is no foothold;

I have come into deep waters, and a flood overflows me.

3I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched;

My eyes fail while I wait for my God.

4Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head;

Those who would destroy me are powerful, being wrongfully my enemies;

What I did not steal, I then have to restore.

5O God, it is You who knows my folly,

And my wrongs are not hidden from You.

6May those who wait for You not be ashamed through me, O Lord God of hosts;

May those who seek You not be dishonored through me, O God of Israel,

7Because for Your sake I have borne reproach;

Dishonor has covered my face.

8I have become estranged from my brothers

And an alien to my mother’s sons.

9For zeal for Your house has consumed me,

And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.

10When I wept in my soul with fasting,

It became my reproach.

11When I made sackcloth my clothing,

I became a byword to them.

12Those who sit in the gate talk about me,

And I am the song of the drunkards.

13But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord, at an acceptable time;

O God, in the greatness of Your lovingkindness,

Answer me with Your saving truth.

14Deliver me from the mire and do not let me sink;

May I be delivered from my foes and from the deep waters.

15May the flood of water not overflow me

Nor the deep swallow me up,

Nor the pit shut its mouth on me.

16Answer me, O Lord, for Your lovingkindness is good;

According to the greatness of Your compassion, turn to me,

17And do not hide Your face from Your servant,

For I am in distress; answer me quickly.

18Oh draw near to my soul and redeem it;

Ransom me because of my enemies!

19You know my reproach and my shame and my dishonor;

All my adversaries are before You.

20Reproach has broken my heart and I am so sick.

And I looked for sympathy, but there was none,

And for comforters, but I found none.

21They also gave me gall for my food

And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

22May their table before them become a snare;

And when they are in peace, may it become a trap.

23May their eyes grow dim so that they cannot see,

And make their loins shake continually.

24Pour out Your indignation on them,

And may Your burning anger overtake them.

25May their camp be desolate;

May none dwell in their tents.

26For they have persecuted him whom You Yourself have smitten,

And they tell of the pain of those whom You have wounded.

27Add iniquity to their iniquity,

And may they not come into Your righteousness.

28May they be blotted out of the book of life

And may they not be recorded with the righteous.

29But I am afflicted and in pain;

May Your salvation, O God, set me securely on high.

30I will praise the name of God with song

And magnify Him with thanksgiving.

31And it will please the Lord better than an ox

Or a young bull with horns and hoofs.

32The humble have seen it and are glad;

You who seek God, let your heart revive.

33For the Lord hears the needy

And does not despise His who are prisoners.

34Let heaven and earth praise Him,

The seas and everything that moves in them.

35For God will save Zion and build the cities of Judah,

That they may dwell there and possess it.

36The descendants of His servants will inherit it,

And those who love His name will dwell in it.

PSALM 70

Prayer for Help against Persecutors.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David; for a memorial.

1O God, hasten to deliver me;

O Lord, hasten to my help!

2Let those be ashamed and humiliated

Who seek my life;

Let those be turned back and dishonored

Who delight in my hurt.

3Let those be turned back because of their shame

Who say, “Aha, aha!”

4Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;

And let those who love Your salvation say continually,

“Let God be magnified.”

5But I am afflicted and needy;

Hasten to me, O God!

You are my help and my deliverer;

O Lord, do not delay.

PSALM 71

Prayer of an Old Man for Deliverance.

1In You, O Lord, I have taken refuge;

Let me never be ashamed.

2In Your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;

Incline Your ear to me and save me.

3Be to me a rock of habitation to which I may continually come;

You have given commandment to save me,

For You are my rock and my fortress.

4Rescue me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked,

Out of the grasp of the wrongdoer and ruthless man,

5For You are my hope;

O Lord God, You are my confidence from my youth.

6By You I have been sustained from my birth;

You are He who took me from my mother’s womb;

My praise is continually of You.

7I have become a marvel to many,

For You are my strong refuge.

8My mouth is filled with Your praise

And with Your glory all day long.

9Do not cast me off in the time of old age;

Do not forsake me when my strength fails.

10For my enemies have spoken against me;

And those who watch for my life have consulted together,

11Saying, “God has forsaken him;

Pursue and seize him, for there is no one to deliver.”

12O God, do not be far from me;

O my God, hasten to my help!

13Let those who are adversaries of my soul be ashamed and consumed;

Let them be covered with reproach and dishonor, who seek to injure me.

14But as for me, I will hope continually,

And will praise You yet more and more.

15My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness

And of Your salvation all day long;

For I do not know the sum of them.

16I will come with the mighty deeds of the Lord God;

I will make mention of Your righteousness, Yours alone.

17O God, You have taught me from my youth,

And I still declare Your wondrous deeds.

18And even when I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me,

Until I declare Your strength to this generation,

Your power to all who are to come.

19For Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the heavens,

You who have done great things;

O God, who is like You?

20You who have shown me many troubles and distresses

Will revive me again,

And will bring me up again from the depths of the earth.

21May You increase my greatness

And turn to comfort me.

22I will also praise You with a harp,

Even Your truth, O my God;

To You I will sing praises with the lyre,

O Holy One of Israel.

23My lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to You;

And my soul, which You have redeemed.

24My tongue also will utter Your righteousness all day long;

For they are ashamed, for they are humiliated who seek my hurt.

PSALM 72

The Reign of the Righteous King.

A Psalm of Solomon.

1Give the king Your judgments, O God,

And Your righteousness to the king’s son.

2May he judge Your people with righteousness

And Your afflicted with justice.

3Let the mountains bring peace to the people,

And the hills, in righteousness.

4May he vindicate the afflicted of the people,

Save the children of the needy

And crush the oppressor.

5Let them fear You while the sun endures,

And as long as the moon, throughout all generations.

6May he come down like rain upon the mown grass,

Like showers that water the earth.

7In his days may the righteous flourish,

And abundance of peace till the moon is no more.

8May he also rule from sea to sea

And from the River to the ends of the earth.

9Let the nomads of the desert bow before him,

And his enemies lick the dust.

10Let the kings of Tarshish and of the islands bring presents;

The kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.

11And let all kings bow down before him,

All nations serve him.

12For he will deliver the needy when he cries for help,

The afflicted also, and him who has no helper.

13He will have compassion on the poor and needy,

And the lives of the needy he will save.

14He will rescue their life from oppression and violence,

And their blood will be precious in his sight;

15So may he live, and may the gold of Sheba be given to him;

And let them pray for him continually;

Let them bless him all day long.

16May there be abundance of grain in the earth on top of the mountains;

Its fruit will wave like the cedars of Lebanon;

And may those from the city flourish like vegetation of the earth.

17May his name endure forever;

May his name increase as long as the sun shines;

And let men bless themselves by him;

Let all nations call him blessed.

18Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,

Who alone works wonders.

19And blessed be His glorious name forever;

And may the whole earth be filled with His glory.

Amen, and Amen.

20The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.