Praise for Deliverance

401 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. 2 He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord. 4 Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after false gods! 5 Thou hast multiplied, O Lord my God, thy wondrous deeds and thy thoughts toward us; none can compare with thee! Were I to proclaim and tell of them, they would be more than can be numbered.

6 Sacrifice and offering thou dost not desire; but thou hast given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering thou hast not required. 7 Then I said, "Lo, I come; in the roll of the book it is written of me; 8 I delight to do thy will, O my God; thy law is within my heart." 9 I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; lo, I have not restrained my lips, as thou knowest, O Lord. 10 I have not hid thy saving help within my heart, I have spoken of thy faithfulness and thy salvation; I have not concealed thy steadfast love and thy faithfulness from the great congregation.

11 Do not thou, O Lord, withhold thy mercy from me, let thy steadfast love and thy faithfulness ever preserve me! 12 For evils have encompassed me without number; my iniquities have overtaken me, till I cannot see; they are more than the hairs of my head; my heart fails me. 13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me! O Lord, make haste to help me! 14 Let them be put to shame and confusion altogether who seek to snatch away my life; let them be turned back and brought to dishonor who desire my hurt! 15 Let them be appalled because of their shame who say to me, "Aha, Aha!" 16 But may all who seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee; may those who love thy salvation say continually, "Great is the Lord!" 17 As for me, I am poor and needy; but the Lord takes thought for me. Thou art my help and my deliverer; do not tarry, O my God!

A Prayer for Healing

411 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. Blessed is he who considers the poor! The Lord delivers him in the day of trouble; 2 the Lord protects him and keeps him alive; he is called blessed in the land; thou dost not give him up to the will of his enemies. 3 The Lord sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness thou healest all his infirmities. 4 As for me, I said, "O Lord, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against thee!"

5 My enemies say of me in malice: "When will he die, and his name perish?" 6 And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words, while his heart gathers mischief; when he goes out, he tells it abroad. 7 All who hate me whisper together about me; they imagine the worst for me. 8 They say, "A deadly thing has fastened upon him; he will not rise again from where he lies." 9 Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, has lifted his heel against me. 10 But do thou, O Lord, be gracious to me, and raise me up, that I may requite them! 11 By this I know that thou art pleased with me, in that my enemy has not triumphed over me. 12 But thou hast upheld me because of my integrity, and set me in thy presence for ever. 13 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen.

Thirsting for God

421 To the choirmaster. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah. As a hart longs for flowing streams, so longs my soul for thee, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God? 3 My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me continually, "Where is your God?" 4 These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I went with the throng, and led them in procession to the house of God, with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival. 5 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help

6 and my God. My soul is cast down within me, therefore I remember thee from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. 7 Deep calls to deep at the thunder of thy cataracts; all thy waves and thy billows have gone over me. 8 By day the Lord commands his steadfast love; and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life. 9 I say to God, my rock: "Why hast thou forgotten me? Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?" 10 As with a deadly wound in my body, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me continually, "Where is your God?" 11 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.

A Prayer for Vindication and Deliverance

431 Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people; from deceitful and unjust men deliver me! 2 For thou art the God in whom I take refuge; why hast thou cast me off? Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? 3 Oh send out thy light and thy truth; let them lead me, let them bring me to thy holy hill and to thy dwelling! 4 Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy; and I will praise thee with the lyre, O God, my God. 5 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.

Former Deliverances and Present Troubles

441 To the choirmaster. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah. We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what deeds thou didst perform in their days, in the days of old: 2 thou with thy own hand didst drive out the nations, but them thou didst plant; thou didst afflict the peoples, but them thou didst set free; 3 for not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm give them victory; but thy right hand, and thy arm, and the light of thy countenance; for thou didst delight in them. 4 Thou art my King and my God, who ordainest victories for Jacob. 5 Through thee we push down our foes; through thy name we tread down our assailants. 6 For not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword save me. 7 But thou hast saved us from our foes, and hast put to confusion those who hate us. 8 In God we have boasted continually, and we will give thanks to thy name for ever. [Selah]

9 Yet thou hast cast us off and abased us, and hast not gone out with our armies. 10 Thou hast made us turn back from the foe; and our enemies have gotten spoil. 11 Thou hast made us like sheep for slaughter, and hast scattered us among the nations. 12 Thou hast sold thy people for a trifle, demanding no high price for them. 13 Thou hast made us the taunt of our neighbors, the derision and scorn of those about us. 14 Thou hast made us a byword among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples. 15 All day long my disgrace is before me, and shame has covered my face, 16 at the words of the taunters and revilers, at the sight of the enemy and the avenger.

17 All this has come upon us, though we have not forgotten thee, or been false to thy covenant. 18 Our heart has not turned back, nor have our steps departed from thy way, 19 that thou shouldst have broken us in the place of jackals, and covered us with deep darkness. 20 If we had forgotten the name of our God, or spread forth our hands to a strange god, 21 would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart. 22 Nay, for thy sake we are slain all the day long, and accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 23 Rouse thyself! Why sleepest thou, O Lord? Awake! Do not cast us off for ever! 24 Why dost thou hide thy face? Why dost thou forget our affliction and oppression? 25 For our soul is bowed down to the dust; our body cleaves to the ground. 26 Rise up, come to our help! Deliver us for the sake of thy steadfast love!

A Song for the King's Marriage

451 To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah a love song. My heart overflows with a goodly theme; I address my verses to the king; my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe. 2 You are the fairest of the sons of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you for ever. 3 Gird your sword upon your thigh, O mighty one, in your glory and majesty! 4 In your majesty ride forth victoriously for the cause of truth and to defend the right; let your right hand teach you dread deeds! 5 Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; the peoples fall under you.

6 Your divine throne endures for ever and ever. Your royal scepter is a scepter of equity; 7 you love righteousness and hate wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows; 8 your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia. From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad; 9 daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor; at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.

10 Hear, O daughter, consider, and incline your ear; forget your people and your father's house; 11 and the king will desire your beauty. Since he is your lord, bow to him; 12 the people of Tyre will sue your favor with gifts, the richest of the people 13 with all kinds of wealth. The princess is decked in her chamber with gold-woven robes; 14 in many-colored robes she is led to the king, with her virgin companions, her escort, in her train. 15 With joy and gladness they are led along as they enter the palace of the king. 16 Instead of your fathers shall be your sons; you will make them princes in all the earth. 17 I will cause your name to be celebrated in all generations; therefore the peoples will praise you for ever and ever.