Psalms 51–52; Psalm 54; Psalms 56–57; Psalms 59–60; Psalm 63

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Psalms 51–52

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.

The Steadfast Love of God Endures

To the choirmaster. A Maskil3 of David, when cDoeg, the Edomite, came and told Saul, David has come to the house of Ahimelech.

Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man?

The steadfast love of God endures all the day.

Your dtongue plots destruction,

like ea sharp razor, you fworker of deceit.

You love evil more than good,

and glying more than speaking what is right. Selah

You love all words that devour,

O deceitful tongue.

But God will break you down forever;

he will snatch and htear you from your tent;

he will uproot you from ithe land of the living. Selah

The righteous shall jsee and fear,

and shall klaugh at him, saying,

See the man who would not make

God his refuge,

but ltrusted in the abundance of his riches

and sought refuge in his own destruction!4

But I am like ma green olive tree

in the house of God.

I trust in the steadfast love of God

forever and ever.

I will thank you forever,

because you have done it.

I will wait for your name, nfor it is good,

in the presence of the ogodly.


Psalm 54

The Lord Upholds My Life

To the choirmaster: with tstringed instruments. A Maskil1 of David, uwhen the Ziphites went and told Saul, Is not David hiding among us?

O God, save me by your vname,

and vindicate me by your might.

O God, whear my prayer;

give ear to the words of my mouth.

xFor ystrangers2 have risen against me;

ruthless men zseek my life;

they do not set God before themselves. Selah

Behold, aGod is my helper;

the Lord is the upholder of my life.

He will return the evil to my enemies;

in your bfaithfulness cput an end to them.

With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you;

I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, dfor it is good.

For he has delivered me from every trouble,

and my eye has elooked in triumph on my enemies.


Psalms 56–57

In God I Trust

To the choirmaster: according to The Dove on Far-off Terebinths. A pMiktam1 of David, when the qPhilistines seized him in Gath.

rBe gracious to me, O God, for man stramples on me;

all day long an attacker oppresses me;

my enemies trample on me all day long,

for many attack me proudly.

When I am afraid,

I tput my trust in you.

In God, whose word I praise,

in God I trust; uI shall not be afraid.

What can flesh do to me?

All day long they injure my cause;2

all their thoughts are against me for evil.

They vstir up strife, they wlurk;

they xwatch my steps,

as they have waited for my life.

For their crime will they escape?

yIn wrath zcast down the peoples, O God!

You have kept count of my tossings;3

aput my tears in your bottle.

bAre they not in your book?

Then my enemies will turn back

cin the day when I call.

This I know, that4 dGod is for me.

10  In God, whose word I praise,

in the Lord, whose word I praise,

11  in God I trust; uI shall not be afraid.

What can man do to me?

12  I must perform my evows to you, O God;

I will erender thank offerings to you.

13  fFor you have delivered my soul from death,

yes, my feet from falling,

gthat I may walk before God

hin the light of life.

Let Your Glory Be over All the Earth

To the choirmaster: according to iDo Not Destroy. A jMiktam5 of David, when he fled from Saul, in kthe cave.

lBe merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,

for in you my soul mtakes refuge;

in nthe shadow of your wings I will take refuge,

otill the storms of destruction pass by.

I cry out to God Most High,

to God who pfulfills his purpose for me.

qHe will send from heaven and save me;

he will put to shame rhim who tramples on me. Selah

sGod will send out this steadfast love and his faithfulness!

My soul is in the midst of ulions;

I lie down amid fiery beasts

the children of man, whose vteeth are spears and arrows,

whose wtongues are sharp swords.

xBe exalted, O God, above the heavens!

Let your glory be over all the earth!

They set ya net for my steps;

my soul was zbowed down.

They adug a pit in my way,

but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah

bMy heart is csteadfast, O God,

my heart is steadfast!

I will sing and make melody!

dAwake, emy glory!6

Awake, fO harp and lyre!

I will awake the dawn!

I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;

I will sing praises to you among the nations.

10  For your gsteadfast love is great to the heavens,

your faithfulness to the clouds.

11  xBe exalted, O God, above the heavens!

Let your glory be over all the earth!


Psalms 59–60

Deliver Me from My Enemies

To the choirmaster: according to xDo Not Destroy. A yMiktam1 of David, zwhen Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him.

aDeliver me from my enemies, O my God;

bprotect me from those who crise up against me;

deliver me from dthose who work evil,

and save me from ebloodthirsty men.

For behold, they flie in wait for my life;

fierce men gstir up strife against me.

hFor no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,

for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.

iAwake, come to meet me, and see!

You, jLord God of hosts, are God of Israel.

Rouse yourself to punish all the nations;

spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah

Each evening they kcome back,

howling like dogs

and prowling about the city.

There they are, lbellowing with their mouths

with mswords in their lips

for nWho, they think,2 will hear us?

But you, O Lord, olaugh at them;

you hold all the nations in derision.

O my Strength, I will watch for you,

for you, O God, are pmy fortress.

10  qMy God in his steadfast love3 rwill meet me;

God will let me slook in triumph on my enemies.

11  Kill them not, lest my people forget;

make them totter4 by your power and tbring them down,

O Lord, our ushield!

12  For vthe sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,

let them be trapped in their pride.

For the cursing and lies that they utter,

13  wconsume them in wrath;

consume them till they are no more,

that they may xknow that God rules over Jacob

to ythe ends of the earth. Selah

14  zEach evening they come back,

howling like dogs

and prowling about the city.

15  They awander about for food

and growl if they do not get their fill.

16  But I will sing of your strength;

I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.

For you have been to me ba fortress

and ca refuge in dthe day of my distress.

17  O my Strength, I will sing praises to you,

for you, O God, bare my fortress,

ethe God who shows me steadfast love.

He Will Tread Down Our Foes

To the choirmaster: according to fShushan Eduth. A gMiktam5 of David; hfor instruction; when he istrove with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and when Joab on his return struck down twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.

O God, jyou have rejected us, kbroken our defenses;

you have been angry; loh, restore us.

You have made the land to quake; you have torn it open;

mrepair its breaches, for it totters.

nYou have made your people see hard things;

oyou have given us pwine to drink that made us stagger.

You have set up qa banner for those who fear you,

that they may flee to it rfrom the bow.6 Selah

sThat your tbeloved ones may be delivered,

give salvation by your right hand and answer us!

God has spoken uin his holiness:7

With exultation vI will divide up wShechem

and portion out the Vale of xSuccoth.

yGilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;

zEphraim is amy helmet;

Judah is my bscepter.

cMoab is my washbasin;

upon Edom I dcast my shoe;

over ePhilistia I shout in triumph.8

Who will bring me to the fortified city?

fWho will lead me to Edom?

10  Have you not grejected us, O God?

You hdo not go forth, O God, with our armies.

11  Oh, grant us help against the foe,

for ivain is the salvation of man!

12  With God we shall jdo valiantly;

it is he who will ktread down our foes.


Psalm 63

My Soul Thirsts for You

A Psalm of David, swhen he was in the wilderness of Judah.

O God, you are my God; tearnestly I seek you;

umy soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

as in va dry and weary land where there is no water.

So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,

beholding wyour power and glory.

Because your xsteadfast love is better than life,

my lips will praise you.

So I will bless you yas long as I live;

in your zname I will alift up my hands.

My soul will be bsatisfied as with fat and rich food,

and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,

when I remember you cupon my bed,

and meditate on you in cthe watches of the night;

for you have been my help,

and in dthe shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.

My soul eclings to you;

your right hand fupholds me.

But those who seek to destroy my life

gshall go down into hthe depths of the earth;

10  they shall be given over to the power of the sword;

they shall be a portion for jackals.

11  But ithe king shall rejoice in God;

all who jswear by him shall exult,

kfor the mouths of lliars will be stopped.