A Prayer for Mercy in Time of Trouble

6¹ O Jehovah, rebuke me not in thine anger, Neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. ² Have mercy upon me, O Jehovah; for I am withered away: O Jehovah, heal me; for my bones are troubled. ³ My soul also is sore troubled: And thou, O Jehovah, how long? ⁴ Return, O Jehovah, deliver my soul: Save me for thy lovingkindness' sake. ⁵ For in death there is no remembrance of thee: In Sheol who shall give thee thanks? ⁶ I am weary with my groaning; Every night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears. ⁷ Mine eye wasteth away because of grief; It waxeth old because of all mine adversaries.

⁸ Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; For Jehovah hath heard the voice of my weeping. ⁹ Jehovah hath heard my supplication; Jehovah will receive my prayer. ¹⁰ All mine enemies shall be put to shame and sore troubled: They shall turn back, they shall be put to shame suddenly.

God's Glory and Man's Honor

8¹ O Jehovah, our Lord, How excellent is thy name in all the earth, Who hast set thy glory upon the heavens! ² Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou established strength, Because of thine adversaries, That thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.

³ When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, The moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; ⁴ What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him? ⁵ For thou hast made him but little lower than God, And crownest him with glory and honor. ⁶ Thou makest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet: ⁷ All sheep and oxen, Yea, and the beasts of the field, ⁸ The birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, Whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. ⁹ O Jehovah, our Lord, How excellent is thy name in all the earth!

Thanksgiving for God's Justice

9¹ I will give thanks unto Jehovah with my whole heart; I will show forth all thy marvellous works. ² I will be glad and exult in thee; I will sing praise to thy name, O thou Most High. ³ When mine enemies turn back, They stumble and perish at thy presence. ⁴ For thou hast maintained my right and my cause; Thou sittest in the throne judging righteously. ⁵ Thou hast rebuked the nations, thou hast destroyed the wicked; Thou hast blotted out their name for ever and ever. ⁶ The enemy are come to an end, they are desolate for ever; And the cities which thou hast overthrown, The very remembrance of them is perished. ⁷ But Jehovah sitteth [as king] for ever: He hath prepared his throne for judgment; ⁸ And he will judge the world in righteousness, He will minister judgment to the peoples in uprightness. ⁹ Jehovah also will be a high tower for the oppressed, A high tower in times of trouble; ¹⁰ And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee; For thou, Jehovah, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.

¹¹ Sing praises to Jehovah, who dwelleth in Zion: Declare among the people his doings. ¹² For he that maketh inquisition for blood remembereth them; He forgetteth not the cry of the poor. ¹³ Have mercy upon me, O Jehovah; Behold my affliction [which I suffer] of them that hate me, Thou that liftest me up from the gates of death; ¹⁴ That I may show forth all thy praise. In the gates of the daughter of Zion I will rejoice in thy salvation. ¹⁵ The nations are sunk down in the pit that they made: In the net which they hid is their own foot taken. ¹⁶ Jehovah hath made himself known, he hath executed judgment: The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. [Higgaion. Selah ¹⁷ The wicked shall be turned back unto Sheol, Even all the nations that forget God. ¹⁸ For the needy shall not alway be forgotten, Nor the expectation of the poor perish for ever. ¹⁹ Arise, O Jehovah; Let not man prevail: Let the nations be judged in thy sight. ²⁰ Put them in fear, O Jehovah: Let the nations know themselves to be but men. [Selah]

A Prayer for the Overthrow of the Wicked

10¹ Why standest thou afar off, O Jehovah? Why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble? ² In the pride of the wicked the poor is hotly pursued; Let them be taken in the devices that they have conceived. ³ For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, And the covetous renounceth, [yea], contemneth Jehovah. ⁴ The wicked, in the pride of his countenance, [saith], He will not require [it]. All his thoughts are, There is no God. ⁵ His ways are firm at all times; Thy judgments are far above out of his sight: As for all his adversaries, he puffeth at them. ⁶ He saith in his heart, I shall not be moved; To all generations I shall not be in adversity. ⁷ His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppression: Under his tongue is mischief and iniquity. ⁸ He sitteth in the lurking-places of the villages; In the secret places doth he murder the innocent; His eyes are privily set against the helpless. ⁹ He lurketh in secret as a lion in his covert; He lieth in wait to catch the poor: He doth catch the poor, when he draweth him in his net. ¹⁰ He croucheth, he boweth down, And the helpless fall by his strong ones. ¹¹ He saith in his heart, God hath forgotten; He hideth his face; he will never see it.

¹² Arise, O Jehovah; O God, lift up thy hand: Forget not the poor. ¹³ Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God, And say in his heart, Thou wilt not require [it]? ¹⁴ Thou hast seen [it]; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: The helpless committeth [himself] unto thee; Thou hast been the helper of the fatherless. ¹⁵ Break thou the arm of the wicked; And as for the evil man, seek out his wickedness till thou find none. ¹⁶ Jehovah is King for ever and ever: The nations are perished out of his land. ¹⁷ Jehovah, thou hast heard the desire of the meek: Thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear; ¹⁸ To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, That man who is of the earth may be terrible no more.

The Folly and Wickedness of Men

14¹ The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works; There is none that doeth good. ² Jehovah looked down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there were any that did understand, That did seek after God. ³ They are all gone aside; They are together become filthy; There is none that doeth good, no, not one.

⁴ Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, Who eat up my people [as] they eat bread, And call not upon Jehovah? ⁵ There were they in great fear; For God is in the generation of the righteous. ⁶ Ye put to shame the counsel of the poor, Because Jehovah is his refuge. ⁷ Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When Jehovah bringeth back the captivity of his people, Then shall Jacob rejoice, [and] Israel shall be glad.

A Goodly Heritage

16¹ Preserve me, O God; For in thee do I take refuge. ² [O my soul], thou hast said unto Jehovah, Thou art my Lord: I have no good beyond thee. ³ As for the saints that are in the earth, They are the excellent in whom is all my delight. ⁴ Their sorrows shall be multiplied that give gifts for another [god]: Their drink-offerings of blood will I not offer, Nor take their names upon my lips. ⁵ Jehovah is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: Thou maintainest my lot. ⁶ The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; Yea, I have a goodly heritage. ⁷ I will bless Jehovah, who hath given me counsel; Yea, my heart instructeth me in the night seasons.

⁸ I have set Jehovah always before me: Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. ⁹ Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth; My flesh also shall dwell in safety. ¹⁰ For thou wilt not leave my soul to Sheol; Neither wilt thou suffer thy holy one to see corruption. ¹¹ Thou wilt show me the path of life: In thy presence is fulness of joy; In thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

The Works and Word of God

19¹ The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament showeth his handiwork. ² Day unto day uttereth speech, And night unto night showeth knowledge. ³ There is no speech nor language; Their voice is not heard. ⁴ Their line is gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, ⁵ Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, And rejoiceth as a strong man to run his course. ⁶ His going forth is from the end of the heavens, And his circuit unto the ends of it; And there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.

⁷ The law of Jehovah is perfect, restoring the soul: The testimony of Jehovah is sure, making wise the simple. ⁸ The precepts of Jehovah are right, rejoicing the heart: The commandment of Jehovah is pure, enlightening the eyes. ⁹ The fear of Jehovah is clean, enduring for ever: The ordinances of Jehovah are true, [and] righteous altogether. ¹⁰ More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the droppings of the honeycomb. ¹¹ Moreover by them is thy servant warned: In keeping them there is great reward. ¹² Who can discern [his] errors? Clear thou me from hidden [faults]. ¹³ Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous [sins]; Let them not have dominion over me: Then shall I be upright, And I shall be clear from great transgression. ¹⁴ Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in thy sight, O Jehovah, my rock, and my redeemer.

Praise for Deliverance from the Enemy

21¹ The king shall joy in thy strength, O Jehovah; And in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! ² Thou hast given him his heart's desire, And hast not withholden the request of his lips. [Selah] ³ For thou meetest him with the blessings of goodness: Thou settest a crown of fine gold on his head. ⁴ He asked life of thee, thou gavest it him, Even length of days for ever and ever. ⁵ His glory is great in thy salvation: Honor and majesty dost thou lay upon him. ⁶ For thou makest him most blessed for ever: Thou makest him glad with joy in thy presence.

⁷ For the king trusteth in Jehovah; And through the lovingkindness of the Most High he shall not be moved. ⁸ Thy hand will find out all thine enemies; Thy right hand will find out those that hate thee. ⁹ Thou wilt make them as a fiery furnace in the time of thine anger: Jehovah will swallow them up in his wrath, And the fire shall devour them. ¹⁰ Their fruit wilt thou destroy from the earth, And their seed from among the children of men. ¹¹ For they intended evil against thee; They conceived a device which they are not able to perform. ¹² For thou wilt make them turn their back; Thou wilt make ready with thy bowstrings against their face. ¹³ Be thou exalted, O Jehovah, in thy strength: So will we sing and praise thy power.