Answer me, O LORD, for Your lovingkindness is good; According to the greatness of Your compassion, turn to me,
For they have persecuted him whom You Yourself have smitten, And they tell of the pain of those whom You have wounded.
May they be blotted out of the book of life And may they not be recorded with the righteous.
I will praise the name of God with song And magnify Him with thanksgiving.
And it will please the LORD better than an ox Or a young bull with horns and hoofs.
The humble have seen it and are glad; You who seek God, let your heart revive.
For the LORD hears the needy And does not despise His who are prisoners.
Let heaven and earth praise Him, The seas and everything that moves in them.
For God will save Zion and build the cities of Judah, That they may dwell there and possess it.
The descendants of His servants will inherit it, And those who love His name will dwell in it.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David; for a memorial. O God, hasten to deliver me; O LORD, hasten to my help!
Rescue me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, Out of the grasp of the wrongdoer and ruthless man,
Do not cast me off in the time of old age; Do not forsake me when my strength fails.
My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness And of Your salvation all day long; For I do not know the sum of them.
I will come with the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD; I will make mention of Your righteousness, Yours alone.
For Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the heavens, You who have done great things; O God, who is like You?
You who have shown me many troubles and distresses Will revive me again, And will bring me up again from the depths of the earth.
I 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.
A Psalm of Solomon. Give the king Your judgments, O God, And Your righteousness to the king’s son.
Let the mountains bring peace to the people, And the hills, in righteousness.
May he vindicate the afflicted of the people, Save the children of the needy And crush the oppressor.
Let them fear You while the sun endures, And as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
May he come down like rain upon the mown grass, Like showers that water the earth.
In his days may the righteous flourish, And abundance of peace till the moon is no more.
May he also rule from sea to sea And from the River to the ends of the earth.
Let the nomads of the desert bow before him, And his enemies lick the dust.
Let the kings of Tarshish and of the islands bring presents; The kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.
For he will deliver the needy when he cries for help, The afflicted also, and him who has no helper.
He will have compassion on the poor and needy, And the lives of the needy he will save.
So 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.
May 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.
May 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.
Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, Who alone works wonders.
And blessed be His glorious name forever; And may the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen, and Amen.
The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
For I was envious of the arrogant As I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
Therefore pride is their necklace; The garment of violence covers them.
Their eye bulges from fatness; The imaginations of their heart run riot.
They have set their mouth against the heavens, And their tongue parades through the earth.
They say, “How does God know? And is there knowledge with the Most High?”
Behold, these are the wicked; And always at ease, they have increased in wealth.
If I had said, “I will speak thus,” Behold, I would have betrayed the generation of Your children.
Until I came into the sanctuary of God; Then I perceived their end.
My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works.
A Maskil of Asaph. O God, why have You rejected us forever? Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture?
Remember Your congregation, which You have purchased of old, Which You have redeemed to be the tribe of Your inheritance; And this Mount Zion, where You have dwelt.
Turn Your footsteps toward the perpetual ruins; The enemy has damaged everything within the sanctuary.
Your adversaries have roared in the midst of Your meeting place; They have set up their own standards for signs.
They have burned Your sanctuary to the ground; They have defiled the dwelling place of Your name.
New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995
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