Psalm 17; Psalm 22; Psalm 38; Psalm 51

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Psalm 17

In the Shadow of Your Wings

A fPrayer of David.

Hear a just cause, O Lord; gattend to my cry!

Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!

From your presence hlet my vindication come!

Let your eyes behold the right!

You have itried my heart, you have jvisited me by knight,

you have ltested me, and you will find nothing;

I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.

With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips

I have avoided the ways of the violent.

My steps have mheld fast to your paths;

my feet have not slipped.

I ncall upon you, for you will answer me, O God;

oincline your ear to me; hear my words.

pWondrously show1 your steadfast love,

O Savior of those who seek refuge

from qtheir adversaries at your right hand.

Keep me as rthe apple of your eye;

hide me in sthe shadow of your wings,

from the wicked who do me violence,

my deadly enemies who tsurround me.

10  uThey close their hearts to pity;

with their mouths they vspeak arrogantly.

11  They have now surrounded our wsteps;

they set their eyes to xcast us to the ground.

12  He is like a lion eager to tear,

as a young lion ylurking in ambush.

13  Arise, O Lord! Confront him, subdue him!

Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,

14  from men by your hand, O Lord,

from zmen of the world whose aportion is in this life.2

You fill their womb with treasure;3

they are satisfied with bchildren,

and they leave their abundance to their infants.

15  As for me, I shall cbehold your face in righteousness;

when I dawake, I shall be esatisfied with your likeness.


Psalm 22

Why Have You Forsaken Me?

To the choirmaster: according to The Doe of the Dawn. A Psalm of David.

uMy God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so vfar from saving me, from the words of my wgroaning?

O my God, I cry by xday, but you do not answer,

and by night, but I find no rest.

Yet you are yholy,

zenthroned on athe praises1 of Israel.

In you our fathers trusted;

they trusted, and you delivered them.

To you they bcried and were rescued;

in you they ctrusted and were not put to shame.

But I am da worm and not a man,

escorned by mankind and fdespised by the people.

All who see me gmock me;

they make mouths at me; they hwag their heads;

iHe trusts in the Lord; let him jdeliver him;

let him rescue him, for he kdelights in him!

Yet you are he who ltook me from the womb;

you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts.

10  On you was I cast from my birth,

and from mmy mother’s womb you have been my God.

11  Be not nfar from me,

for trouble is near,

and there is onone to help.

12  Many bulls encompass me;

pstrong bulls of qBashan surround me;

13  they ropen wide their mouths at me,

like a ravening and roaring lion.

14  I am spoured out like water,

and all my bones are tout of joint;

my uheart is like vwax;

it is melted within my breast;

15  my strength is wdried up like a potsherd,

and my xtongue sticks to my jaws;

you lay me in the dust of death.

16  For ydogs encompass me;

a company of evildoers zencircles me;

they have apierced my hands and feet2

17  I can count all my bones

they bstare and gloat over me;

18  cthey divide my garments among them,

and for my clothing they cast lots.

19  But you, O Lord, ndo not be far off!

O you my help, dcome quickly to my aid!

20  Deliver my soul from the sword,

my precious life from the power of ethe dog!

21  Save me from fthe mouth of the lion!

You have rescued3 me from the horns of gthe wild oxen!

22  hI will tell of your name to my ibrothers;

in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:

23  You who jfear the Lord, praise him!

All you offspring of Jacob, kglorify him,

and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!

24  For he has not despised or abhorred

the affliction of lthe afflicted,

and he has not mhidden his face from him,

but has heard, when he ncried to him.

25  From you comes my praise in the great ocongregation;

my pvows I will qperform before those who fear him.

26  rThe afflicted4 shall seat and be satisfied;

those who seek him shall praise the Lord!

May your hearts tlive forever!

27  All uthe ends of the earth shall remember

and turn to the Lord,

and all vthe families of the nations

shall worship before you.

28  For wkingship belongs to the Lord,

and he rules over the nations.

29  All xthe prosperous of the earth eat and worship;

before him shall ybow all who go down to the dust,

even the one who could not zkeep himself alive.

30  Posterity shall serve him;

it shall be told of the Lord to the coming ageneration;

31  they shall bcome and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet cunborn,

that he has done it.


Psalm 38

Do Not Forsake Me, O Lord

A Psalm of David, lfor the memorial offering.

O Lord, mrebuke me not in your anger,

nor discipline me in your wrath!

For your narrows have sunk into me,

and your hand ohas come down on me.

There is pno soundness in my flesh

because of your indignation;

there is no health in my qbones

because of my sin.

For my riniquities have gone over my head;

like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.

My wounds stink and fester

because of my foolishness,

I am sutterly bowed down and tprostrate;

all the day I ugo about mourning.

For my sides are filled with burning,

and there is pno soundness in my flesh.

I am feeble and crushed;

I vgroan because of the tumult of my heart.

O Lord, all my longing is before you;

my wsighing is not hidden from you.

10  My heart throbs; my strength fails me,

and xthe light of my eyesit also has gone from me.

11  My yfriends and companions zstand aloof from my aplague,

and my nearest kin bstand far off.

12  Those who seek my life clay their snares;

those who seek my hurt dspeak of ruin

and meditate etreachery all day long.

13  But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear,

like fa mute man who does not open his mouth.

14  I have become like a man who does not hear,

and in whose mouth are no grebukes.

15  But for hyou, O Lord, do I wait;

it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.

16  For I said, Only ilet them not rejoice over me,

who jboast against me when my kfoot slips!

17  For I am lready to fall,

and my pain is ever before me.

18  I mconfess my iniquity;

I am nsorry for my sin.

19  But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty,

and many are those who hate me owrongfully.

20  Those who prender me evil for good

qaccuse me because I rfollow after good.

21  Do not forsake me, O Lord!

O my God, be not sfar from me!

22  tMake haste to help me,

O Lord, my usalvation!


Psalm 51

Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when vNathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

wHave mercy on me,1 O God,

according to your steadfast love;

according to your xabundant mercy

yblot out my transgressions.

zWash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

and acleanse me from my sin!

bFor I know my transgressions,

and my sin is ever before me.

cAgainst you, you only, have I sinned

and done what is evil din your sight,

eso that you may be justified in your words

and blameless in your judgment.

Behold, fI was brought forth in iniquity,

and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Behold, you delight in truth in gthe inward being,

and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

Purge me hwith hyssop, and I shall be clean;

zwash me, and I shall be iwhiter than snow.

Let me hear joy and gladness;

jlet the bones kthat you have broken rejoice.

lHide your face from my sins,

and yblot out all my iniquities.

10  mCreate in me a nclean heart, O God,

and orenew a right2 spirit within me.

11  pCast me not away from your presence,

and take not qyour Holy Spirit from me.

12  Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

and uphold me with a willing spirit.

13  Then I will teach transgressors your ways,

and sinners will rreturn to you.

14  Deliver me from sbloodguiltiness, O God,

O tGod of my salvation,

and umy tongue will sing aloud of your vrighteousness.

15  O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will declare your praise.

16  wFor you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;

you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.

17  The sacrifices of God are xa broken spirit;

a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

18  yDo good to Zion in your good pleasure;

zbuild up the walls of Jerusalem;

19  then will you delight in aright sacrifices,

in burnt offerings and bwhole burnt offerings;

then bulls will be offered on your altar.