A Prayer for Mercy in Time of Trouble

6¹ O Lord , do not rebuke me in Your anger , Nor chasten me in Your wrath . ² Be gracious to me, O Lord , for I am pining away ; Heal me, O Lord , for my bones are dismayed . ³ And my soul is greatly dismayed ; But You, O Lord - how long e ? ⁴ Return , O Lord , rescue my soul ; Save me because of Your lovingkindness . ⁵ For there is no mention of You in death ; In Sheol who will give You thanks ? ⁶ I am weary with my sighing ; Every night I make my bed swim , I dissolve my couch with my tears . ⁷ My eye has wasted away with grief ; It has become old because of all my adversaries .

⁸ Depart from me, all you who do iniquity , For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping . ⁹ The Lord has heard my supplication , The Lord receives my prayer . ¹⁰ All my enemies will be ashamed and greatly dismayed ; They shall turn back , they will suddenly be ashamed .

God's Glory and Man's Honor

8¹ O Lord , our Lord , How majestic is Your name in all the earth , Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens ! ² From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength Because of Your adversaries , To make the enemy and the revengeful cease .

³ When I consider Your heavens , the work of Your fingers , The moon and the stars , which You have ordained ; ⁴ What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him? ⁵ Yet You have made him a little lower than God , And You crown him with glory and majesty ! ⁶ You make him to rule over the works of Your hands ; You have put all things under his feet , ⁷ All sheep and oxen , And also the beasts of the field , ⁸ The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea , Whatever passes through the paths of the seas . ⁹ O Lord , our Lord , How majestic is Your name in all the earth !

Thanksgiving for God's Justice

9¹ I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart ; I will tell of all Your wonders . ² I will be glad and exult in You; I will sing praise to Your name , O Most High . ³ When my enemies turn back , They stumble and perish before e You. ⁴ For You have maintained my just cause ; You have sat on the throne judging righteously . ⁵ You have rebuked the nations , You have destroyed the wicked ; You have blotted out their name forever and ever . ⁶ The enemy has come to an end in perpetual ruins , And You have uprooted the cities ; The very memory of them has perished . ⁷ But the Lord abides forever ; He has established His throne for judgment , ⁸ And He will judge the world in righteousness ; He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity . ⁹ The Lord also will be a stronghold for the oppressed , A stronghold in times of trouble ; ¹⁰ And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, For You, O Lord , have not forsaken those who seek You.

¹¹ Sing praises to the Lord , who dwells in Zion ; Declare among the peoples His deeds . ¹² For He who requires blood remembers them; He does not forget the cry of the afflicted . ¹³ Be gracious to me, O Lord ; See my affliction from those who hate me, You who lift me up from the gates of death , ¹⁴ That I may tell of all Your praises , That in the gates of the daughter of Zion I may rejoice in Your salvation . ¹⁵ The nations have sunk down in the pit which they have made ; In the net which they hid , their own foot has been caught . ¹⁶ The Lord has made Himself known ; He has executed judgment . In the work of his own hands the wicked is snared . Higgaion Selah . ¹⁷ The wicked will return to Sheol , Even all the nations who forget God . ¹⁸ For the needy will not always be forgotten , Nor the hope of the afflicted perish forever . ¹⁹ Arise , O Lord , do not let man prevail ; Let the nations be judged before e You. ²⁰ Put them in fear , O Lord ; Let the nations know that they are but men . Selah .

A Prayer for the Overthrow of the Wicked

10¹ Why do You stand afar off, O Lord ? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble ? ² In pride the wicked hotly pursue the afflicted ; Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised . ³ For the wicked boasts of his heart's desire , And the greedy man curses and spurns the Lord . ⁴ The wicked , in the haughtiness of his countenance , does not seek Him. All his thoughts are, " There is no God ." ⁵ His ways prosper at all times ; Your judgments are on high , out of his sight ; As for all his adversaries , he snorts at them. ⁶ He says to himself , " I will not be moved ; Throughout all generations I will not be in adversity ." ⁷ His mouth is full of curses and deceit and oppression ; Under his tongue is mischief and wickedness . ⁸ He sits in the lurking places of the villages ; In the hiding places he kills the innocent ; His eyes stealthily watch for the unfortunate . ⁹ He lurks in a hiding place as a lion in his lair ; He lurks to catch the afflicted ; He catches the afflicted when he draws him into his net . ¹⁰ He crouches , he bows down , And the unfortunate fall by his mighty ones . ¹¹ He says to himself , "God has forgotten ; He has hidden His face ; He will never e see it."

¹² Arise , O Lord ; O God , lift up Your hand . Do not forget the afflicted . ¹³ Why e has the wicked spurned God ? He has said to himself , "You will not require it." ¹⁴ You have seen it, for You have beheld mischief and vexation to take it into Your hand . The unfortunate commits himself to You; You have been the helper of the orphan . ¹⁵ Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer , Seek out his wickedness until You find none . ¹⁶ The Lord is King forever and ever ; Nations have perished from His land . ¹⁷ O Lord , You have heard the desire of the humble ; You will strengthen their heart , You will incline Your ear ¹⁸ To vindicate the orphan and the oppressed , So that man who is of the earth will no longer e cause terror .

The Folly and Wickedness of Men

14¹ The fool has said in his heart , "There is no God ." They are corrupt , they have committed abominable deeds ; There is no one who does good . ² The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men To see if there are any who understand , Who seek after God . ³ They have all turned aside , together they have become corrupt ; There is no one who does good , not even one .

⁴ Do all the workers of wickedness not know , Who eat up my people as they eat bread , And do not call upon the Lord ? ⁵ There they are in great dread , For God is with the righteous generation . ⁶ You would put to shame the counsel of the afflicted , But the Lord is his refuge . ⁷ Oh e , that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion ! When the Lord restores His captive people , Jacob will rejoice , Israel will be glad .

A Goodly Heritage

16¹ Preserve me, O God , for I take refuge in You. ² I said to the Lord , "You are my Lord ; I have no good besides You." ³ As for the saints who are in the earth , They are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight . ⁴ The sorrows of those who have bartered for another god will be multiplied ; I shall not pour out their drink offerings of blood , Nor will I take their names upon my lips . ⁵ The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup ; You support my lot . ⁶ The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Indeed , my heritage is beautiful to me. ⁷ I will bless the Lord who has counseled me; Indeed , my mind instructs me in the night .

⁸ I have set the Lord continually before me; Because He is at my right hand , I will not be shaken . ⁹ Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices ; My flesh also will dwell securely . ¹⁰ For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol ; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay . ¹¹ You will make known to me the path of life ; In Your presence is fullness of joy ; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever .

The Works and Word of God

19¹ The heavens are telling of the glory of God ; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands . ² Day to day pours forth speech , And night to night reveals knowledge . ³ There is no speech , nor are there words ; Their voice is not heard . ⁴ Their line has gone out through all the earth , And their utterances to the end of the world . In them He has placed a tent for the sun , ⁵ Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber ; It rejoices as a strong man to run his course . ⁶ Its rising is from one end of the heavens , And its circuit to the other end of them; And there is nothing hidden from its heat .

⁷ The law of the Lord is perfect , restoring the soul ; The testimony of the Lord is sure , making wise the simple . ⁸ The precepts of the Lord are right , rejoicing the heart ; The commandment of the Lord is pure , enlightening the eyes . ⁹ The fear of the Lord is clean , enduring forever ; The judgments of the Lord are true ; they are righteous altogether . ¹⁰ They are more desirable than gold , yes, than much fine gold ; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb . ¹¹ Moreover , by them Your servant is warned ; In keeping them there is great reward . ¹² Who can discern his errors ? Acquit me of hidden faults. ¹³ Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; Let them not rule over me; Then I will be blameless , And I shall be acquitted of great transgression . ¹⁴ Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight , O Lord , my rock and my Redeemer .

Praise for Deliverance from the Enemy

21¹ O Lord , in Your strength the king will be glad , And in Your salvation how greatly he will rejoice ! ² You have given him his heart's desire , And You have not withheld the request of his lips . Selah . ³ For You meet him with the blessings of good things ; You set a crown of fine gold on his head . ⁴ He asked life of You, You gave it to him, Length of days forever and ever . ⁵ His glory is great through Your salvation , Splendor and majesty You place upon him. ⁶ For You make him most blessed forever ; You make him joyful with gladness in Your presence .

⁷ For the king trusts in the Lord , And through the lovingkindness of the Most High he will not be shaken . ⁸ Your hand will find out all your enemies ; Your right hand will find out those who hate you. ⁹ You will make them as a fiery oven in the time of your anger ; The Lord will swallow them up in His wrath , And fire will devour them. ¹⁰ Their offspring You will destroy from the earth , And their descendants from among the sons of men . ¹¹ Though they intended evil against You And devised a plot , They will not succeed . ¹² For You will make them turn their back ; You will aim with Your bowstrings at their faces . ¹³ Be exalted , O Lord , in Your strength ; We will sing and praise Your power .