The Cry of the Soul

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1 Praise the LORD.

    Praise God in his sanctuary;

    praise him in his mighty heavens.

  2 Praise him for his acts of power;

    praise him for his surpassing greatness.

  3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,

    praise him with the harp and lyre,

  4 praise him with timbrel and dancing,

    praise him with the strings and pipe,

  5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,

    praise him with resounding cymbals.

  6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.

    Praise the LORD.

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Of David.

  1 In you, LORD my God,

    I put my trust.

  2 I trust in you;

    do not let me be put to shame,

    nor let my enemies triumph over me.

  3 No one who hopes in you

    will ever be put to shame,

    but shame will come on those

    who are treacherous without cause.

  4 Show me your ways, LORD,

    teach me your paths.

  5 Guide me in your truth and teach me,

    for you are God my Savior,

    and my hope is in you all day long.

  6 Remember, LORD, your great mercy and love,

    for they are from of old.

  7 Do not remember the sins of my youth

    and my rebellious ways;

    according to your love remember me,

    for you, LORD, are good.

  8 Good and upright is the LORD;

    therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.

  9 He guides the humble in what is right

    and teaches them his way.

  10 All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful

    toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.

  11 For the sake of your name, LORD,

    forgive my iniquity, though it is great.

  12 Who, then, are those who fear the LORD?

    He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.

  13 They will spend their days in prosperity,

    and their descendants will inherit the land.

  14 The LORD confides in those who fear him;

    he makes his covenant known to them.

  15 My eyes are ever on the LORD,

    for only he will release my feet from the snare.

  16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,

    for I am lonely and afflicted.

  17 Relieve the troubles of my heart

    and free me from my anguish.

  18 Look on my affliction and my distress

    and take away all my sins.

  19 See how numerous are my enemies

    and how fiercely they hate me!

  20 Guard my life and rescue me;

    do not let me be put to shame,

    for I take refuge in you.

  21 May integrity and uprightness protect me,

    because my hope, LORD, is in you.

  22 Redeem Israel, O God,

    from all their troubles!

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For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A maskil.

  1 We have heard it with our ears, O God;

    our ancestors have told us

    what you did in their days,

    in days long ago.

  2 With your hand you drove out the nations

    and planted our ancestors;

    you crushed the peoples

    and made our ancestors flourish.

  3 It was not by their sword that they won the land,

    nor did their arm bring them victory;

    it was your right hand, your arm,

    and the light of your face, for you loved them.

  4 You are my King and my God,

    who decrees [c] victories for Jacob.

  5 Through you we push back our enemies;

    through your name we trample our foes.

  6 I put no trust in my bow,

    my sword does not bring me victory;

  7 but you give us victory over our enemies,

    you put our adversaries to shame.

  8 In God we make our boast all day long,

    and we will praise your name forever. [d]

  9 But now you have rejected and humbled us;

    you no longer go out with our armies.

  10 You made us retreat before the enemy,

    and our adversaries have plundered us.

  11 You gave us up to be devoured like sheep

    and have scattered us among the nations.

  12 You sold your people for a pittance,

    gaining nothing from their sale.

  13 You have made us a reproach to our neighbors,

    the scorn and derision of those around us.

  14 You have made us a byword among the nations;

    the peoples shake their heads at us.

  15 I live in disgrace all day long,

    and my face is covered with shame

  16 at the taunts of those who reproach and revile me,

    because of the enemy, who is bent on revenge.

  17 All this came upon us,

    though we had not forgotten you;

    we had not been false to your covenant.

  18 Our hearts had not turned back;

    our feet had not strayed from your path.

  19 But you crushed us and made us a haunt for jackals;

    you covered us over with deep darkness.

  20 If we had forgotten the name of our God

    or spread out our hands to a foreign god,

  21 would not God have discovered it,

    since he knows the secrets of the heart?

  22 Yet for your sake we face death all day long;

    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

  23 Awake, Lord! Why do you sleep?

    Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever.

  24 Why do you hide your face

    and forget our misery and oppression?

  25 We are brought down to the dust;

    our bodies cling to the ground.

  26 Rise up and help us;

    redeem us because of your unfailing love.

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1 I cried out to God for help;

    I cried out to God to hear me.

  2 When I was in distress, I sought the Lord;

    at night I stretched out untiring hands,

    and I would not be comforted.

  3 I remembered you, God, and I groaned;

    I meditated, and my spirit grew faint.

  4 You kept my eyes from closing;

    I was too troubled to speak.

  5 I thought about the former days,

    the years of long ago;

  6 I remembered my songs in the night.

    My heart meditated and my spirit asked:

  7 “Will the Lord reject forever?

    Will he never show his favor again?

  8 Has his unfailing love vanished forever?

    Has his promise failed for all time?

  9 Has God forgotten to be merciful?

    Has he in anger withheld his compassion?”

  10 Then I thought, “To this I will appeal:

    the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand.

  11 I will remember the deeds of the LORD;

    yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.

  12 I will consider all your works

    and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”

  13 Your ways, God, are holy.

    What god is as great as our God?

  14 You are the God who performs miracles;

    you display your power among the peoples.

  15 With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,

    the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.

  16 The waters saw you, God,

    the waters saw you and writhed;

    the very depths were convulsed.

  17 The clouds poured down water,

    the heavens resounded with thunder;

    your arrows flashed back and forth.

  18 Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind,

    your lightning lit up the world;

    the earth trembled and quaked.

  19 Your path led through the sea,

    your way through the mighty waters,

    though your footprints were not seen.

  20 You led your people like a flock

    by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

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1 LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger

    or discipline me in your wrath.

  2 Have mercy on me, LORD, for I am faint;

    heal me, LORD, for my bones are in agony.

  3 My soul is in deep anguish.

    How long, LORD, how long?

  4 Turn, LORD, and deliver me;

    save me because of your unfailing love.

  5 Among the dead no one proclaims your name.

    Who praises you from the grave?

  6 I am worn out from my groaning.

    All night long I flood my bed with weeping

    and drench my couch with tears.

  7 My eyes grow weak with sorrow;

    they fail because of all my foes.

  8 Away from me, all you who do evil,

    for the LORD has heard my weeping.

  9 The LORD has heard my cry for mercy;

    the LORD accepts my prayer.

  10 All my enemies will be overwhelmed with shame and anguish;

    they will turn back and suddenly be put to shame.

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1 Surely God is good to Israel,

    to those who are pure in heart.

  2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;

    I had nearly lost my foothold.

  3 For I envied the arrogant

    when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

  4 They have no struggles;

    their bodies are healthy and strong.

  5 They are free from common human burdens;

    they are not plagued by human ills.

  6 Therefore pride is their necklace;

    they clothe themselves with violence.

  7 From their callous hearts comes iniquity;

    the evil conceits of their minds know no limits.

  8 They scoff, and speak with malice;

    with arrogance they threaten oppression.

  9 Their mouths lay claim to heaven,

    and their tongues take possession of the earth.

  10 Therefore their people turn to them

    and drink up waters in abundance.

  11 They say, “How would God know?

    Does the Most High know anything?”

  12 This is what the wicked are like—

    always free of care, they go on amassing wealth.

  13 Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure

    and have washed my hands in innocence.

  14 All day long I have been afflicted,

    and every morning brings new punishments.

  15 If I had spoken out like that,

    I would have betrayed your children.

  16 When I tried to understand all this,

    it troubled me deeply

  17 till I entered the sanctuary of God;

    then I understood their final destiny.

  18 Surely you place them on slippery ground;

    you cast them down to ruin.

  19 How suddenly are they destroyed,

    completely swept away by terrors!

  20 They are like a dream when one awakes;

    when you arise, Lord,

    you will despise them as fantasies.

  21 When my heart was grieved

    and my spirit embittered,

  22 I was senseless and ignorant;

    I was a brute beast before you.

  23 Yet I am always with you;

    you hold me by my right hand.

  24 You guide me with your counsel,

    and afterward you will take me into glory.

  25 Whom have I in heaven but you?

    And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

  26 My flesh and my heart may fail,

    but God is the strength of my heart

    and my portion forever.

  27 Those who are far from you will perish;

    you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.

  28 But as for me, it is good to be near God.

    I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge;

    I will tell of all your deeds.

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1 Listen to my prayer, O God,

    do not ignore my plea;

  2 hear me and answer me.

    My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught

  3 because of what my enemy is saying,

    because of the threats of the wicked;

    for they bring down suffering on me

    and assail me in their anger.

  4 My heart is in anguish within me;

    the terrors of death have fallen on me.

  5 Fear and trembling have beset me;

    horror has overwhelmed me.

  6 I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!

    I would fly away and be at rest.

  7 I would flee far away

    and stay in the desert;

  8 I would hurry to my place of shelter,

    far from the tempest and storm.”

  9 Lord, confuse the wicked, confound their words,

    for I see violence and strife in the city.

  10 Day and night they prowl about on its walls;

    malice and abuse are within it.

  11 Destructive forces are at work in the city;

    threats and lies never leave its streets.

  12 If an enemy were insulting me,

    I could endure it;

    if a foe were rising against me,

    I could hide.

  13 But it is you, one like myself,

    my companion, my close friend,

  14 with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship

    at the house of God,

    as we walked about

    among the worshipers.

  15 Let death take my enemies by surprise;

    let them go down alive to the realm of the dead,

    for evil finds lodging among them.

  16 As for me, I call to God,

    and the LORD saves me.

  17 Evening, morning and noon

    I cry out in distress,

    and he hears my voice.

  18 He rescues me unharmed

    from the battle waged against me,

    even though many oppose me.

  19 God, who is enthroned from of old,

    who does not change—

    he will hear them and humble them,

    because they have no fear of God.

  20 My companion attacks his friends;

    he violates his covenant.

  21 His talk is smooth as butter,

    yet war is in his heart;

    his words are more soothing than oil,

    yet they are drawn swords.

  22 Cast your cares on the LORD

    and he will sustain you;

    he will never let

    the righteous be shaken.

  23 But you, God, will bring down the wicked

    into the pit of decay;

    the bloodthirsty and deceitful

    will not live out half their days.

    But as for me, I trust in you.

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1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place

    throughout all generations.

  2 Before the mountains were born

    or you brought forth the whole world,

    from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

  3 You turn people back to dust,

    saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”

  4 A thousand years in your sight

    are like a day that has just gone by,

    or like a watch in the night.

  5 Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death—

    they are like the new grass of the morning:

  6 In the morning it springs up new,

    but by evening it is dry and withered.

  7 We are consumed by your anger

    and terrified by your indignation.

  8 You have set our iniquities before you,

    our secret sins in the light of your presence.

  9 All our days pass away under your wrath;

    we finish our years with a moan.

  10 Our days may come to seventy years,

    or eighty, if our strength endures;

    yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow,

    for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

  11 If only we knew the power of your anger!

    Your wrath is as great as the fear that is your due.

  12 Teach us to number our days,

    that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

  13 Relent, LORD! How long will it be?

    Have compassion on your servants.

  14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,

    that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

  15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,

    for as many years as we have seen trouble.

  16 May your deeds be shown to your servants,

    your splendor to their children.

  17 May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us;

    establish the work of our hands for us—

    yes, establish the work of our hands.

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1 Do not fret because of those who are evil

    or be envious of those who do wrong;

  2 for like the grass they will soon wither,

    like green plants they will soon die away.

  3 Trust in the LORD and do good;

    dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

  4 Take delight in the LORD

    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

  5 Commit your way to the LORD;

    trust in him and he will do this:

  6 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,

    your vindication like the noonday sun.

  7 Be still before the LORD

    and wait patiently for him;

    do not fret when people succeed in their ways,

    when they carry out their wicked schemes.

  8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;

    do not fret—it leads only to evil.

  9 For those who are evil will be destroyed,

    but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.

  10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more;

    though you look for them, they will not be found.

  11 But the meek will inherit the land

    and enjoy peace and prosperity.

  12 The wicked plot against the righteous

    and gnash their teeth at them;

  13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked,

    for he knows their day is coming.

  14 The wicked draw the sword

    and bend the bow

    to bring down the poor and needy,

    to slay those whose ways are upright.

  15 But their swords will pierce their own hearts,

    and their bows will be broken.

  39 The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD;

    he is their stronghold in time of trouble.

  40 The LORD helps them and delivers them;

    he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,

    because they take refuge in him.

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1 Blessed are those

    who do not walk in step with the wicked

    or stand in the way that sinners take

    or sit in the company of mockers,

  2 but who delight in the law of the LORD

    and meditate on his law day and night.

  3 They are like a tree planted by streams of water,

    which yields its fruit in season

    and whose leaf does not wither—

    whatever they do prospers.

  4 Not so the wicked!

    They are like chaff

    that the wind blows away.

  5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,

    nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

  6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,

    but the way of the wicked will be destroyed.