A Prayer for Deliverance

701 Hurry, God, to deliver me.
Come quickly to help me, Yahweh. 2 Let them be disappointed and confounded who seek my soul.
Let those who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace. 3 Let them be turned because of their shame
Who say, “Aha! Aha!” 4 Let all those who seek you rejoice and be glad in you.
Let those who love your salvation continually say,
“Let God be exalted!” 5 But I am poor and needy.
Come to me quickly, God.
You are my help and my deliverer.
Yahweh, don’t delay.

The Prayer of an Old Man

711 In you, Yahweh, I take refuge.
Never let me be disappointed. 2 Deliver me in your righteousness, and rescue me.
Turn your ear to me, and save me. 3 Be to me a rock of refuge to which I may always go.
Give the command to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress. 4 Rescue me, my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man. 5 For you are my hope, Lord Yahweh;
my confidence from my youth. 6 I have relied on you from the womb.
You are he who took me out of my mother’s womb.
I will always praise you. 7 I am a marvel to many,
but you are my strong refuge. 8 My mouth shall be filled with your praise,
with your honor all the day. 9 Don’t reject me in my old age.
Don’t forsake me when my strength fails. 10 For my enemies talk about me.
Those who watch for my soul conspire together, 11 saying, “God has forsaken him.
Pursue and take him, for no one will rescue him.” 12 God, don’t be far from me.
My God, hurry to help me. 13 Let my accusers be disappointed and consumed.
Let them be covered with disgrace and scorn who want to harm me.

14 But I will always hope,
and will add to all of your praise. 15 My mouth will tell about your righteousness,
and of your salvation all day,
though I don’t know its full measure. 16 I will come with the mighty acts of the Lord Yahweh.
I will make mention of your righteousness, even of yours alone. 17 God, you have taught me from my youth.
Until now, I have declared your wondrous works. 18 Yes, even when I am old and gray-haired, God, don’t forsake me,
until I have declared your strength to the next generation,
your might to everyone who is to come. 19 Your righteousness also, God, reaches to the heavens;
you have done great things.
God, who is like you? 20 You, who have shown us many and bitter troubles,
you will let me live.
You will bring us up again from the depths of the earth. 21 Increase my honor,
and comfort me again. 22 I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, my God.
I sing praises to you with the lyre, Holy One of Israel. 23 My lips shall shout for joy!
My soul, which you have redeemed, sings praises to you! 24 My tongue will also talk about your righteousness all day long,
for they are disappointed, and they are confounded,
who want to harm me.

The Reign of the Righteous King

721 God, give the king your justice;
your righteousness to the royal son.

2 He will judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice. 3 The mountains shall bring prosperity to the people.
The hills bring the fruit of righteousness. 4 He will judge the poor of the people.
He will save the children of the needy,
and will break the oppressor in pieces. 5 They shall fear you while the sun endures;
and as long as the moon, throughout all generations. 6 He will come down like rain on the mown grass,
as showers that water the earth. 7 In his days, the righteous shall flourish,
and abundance of peace, until the moon is no more. 8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea,
from the River to the ends of the earth. 9 Those who dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him.
His enemies shall lick the dust. 10 The kings of Tarshish and of the islands will bring tribute.
The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. 11 Yes, all kings shall fall down before him.
All nations shall serve him. 12 For he will deliver the needy when he cries;
the poor, who has no helper. 13 He will have pity on the poor and needy.
He will save the souls of the needy. 14 He will redeem their soul from oppression and violence.
Their blood will be precious in his sight. 15 They shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba.
Men shall pray for him continually.
They shall bless him all day long. 16 There shall be abundance of grain throughout the land.
Its fruit sways like Lebanon.
Let it flourish, thriving like the grass of the field. 17 His name endures forever.
His name continues as long as the sun.
Men shall be blessed by him.
All nations will call him blessed.

18 Praise be to Yahweh God, the God of Israel,
who alone does marvelous deeds. 19 Blessed be his glorious name forever!
Let the whole earth be filled with his glory!
Amen and amen. 20 This ends the prayers by David, the son of Jesse.

BOOK III

The Fate of the Wicked

731 Surely God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart. 2 But as for me, my feet were almost gone.
My steps had nearly slipped. 3 For I was envious of the arrogant,
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 4 For there are no struggles in their death,
but their strength is firm. 5 They are free from burdens of men,
neither are they plagued like other men. 6 Therefore pride is like a chain around their neck.
Violence covers them like a garment. 7 Their eyes bulge with fat.
Their minds pass the limits of conceit. 8 They scoff and speak with malice.
In arrogance, they threaten oppression. 9 They have set their mouth in the heavens.
Their tongue walks through the earth. 10 Therefore their people return to them,
and they drink up waters of abundance. 11 They say, “How does God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?” 12 Behold, these are the wicked.
Being always at ease, they increase in riches. 13 Surely in vain I have cleansed my heart,
and washed my hands in innocence, 14 For all day long have I been plagued,
and punished every morning.

15 If I had said, “I will speak thus;”
behold, I would have betrayed the generation of your children. 16 When I tried to understand this,
it was too painful for me; 17 Until I entered God’s sanctuary,
and considered their latter end. 18 Surely you set them in slippery places.
You throw them down to destruction. 19 How they are suddenly destroyed!
They are completely swept away with terrors. 20 As a dream when one wakes up,
so, Lord, when you awake, you will despise their fantasies.

21 For my soul was grieved.
I was embittered in my heart. 22 I was so senseless and ignorant.
I was a brute beast before you. 23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you.
You have held my right hand. 24 You will guide me with your counsel,
and afterward receive me to glory. 25 Who do I have in heaven?
There is no one on earth who I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart fails,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 27 For, behold, those who are far from you shall perish.
You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to you. 28 But it is good for me to come close to God.
I have made the Lord Yahweh my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.