Category: Psalm

A David Psalm

1-8 My theme song is God’s love and justice,

and I’m singing it right to you,God.

I’m finding my way down the road of right living,

but how long before you show up?

I’m doing the very best I can,

and I’m doing it at home, where it counts.

I refuse to take a second look

at corrupting people and degrading things.

I reject made-in-Canaan gods,

stay clear of contamination.

The crooked in heart keep their distance;

I refuse to shake hands with those who plan evil.

I put a gag on the gossip

who bad-mouths his neighbor;

I can’t stand

arrogance.

But I have my eye on salt-of-the-earth people—

they’re the ones I want working with me;

Men and women on the straight and narrow—

these are the ones I want at my side.

But no one who traffics in lies

gets a job with me; I have no patience with liars.

I’ve rounded up all the wicked like cattle

and herded them right out of the country.

I purgedGod’s city

of all who make a business of evil.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/PSA/101-11dd4b5ced4cb0d0d438e71e8a338892.mp3?version_id=97—

A Prayer of One Whose Life Is Falling to Pieces, and Who Lets God Know Just How Bad It Is

1-2 God, listen! Listen to my prayer,

listen to the pain in my cries.

Don’t turn your back on me

just when I need you so desperately.

Pay attention! This is a cry forhelp!

And hurry—this can’t wait!

3-11 I’m wasting away to nothing,

I’m burning up with fever.

I’m a ghost of my former self,

half-consumed already by terminal illness.

My jaws ache from gritting my teeth;

I’m nothing but skin and bones.

I’m like a buzzard in the desert,

a crow perched on the rubble.

Insomniac, I twitter away,

mournful as a sparrow in the gutter.

All day long my enemies taunt me,

while others just curse.

They bring in meals—casseroles of ashes!

I draw drink from a barrel of my tears.

And all because of your furious anger;

you swept me up and threw me out.

There’s nothing left of me—

a withered weed, swept clean from the path.

12-17 Yet you,God, are sovereign still,

always and ever sovereign.

You’ll get up from your throne and help Zion—

it’s time for compassionate help.

Oh, how your servants love this city’s rubble

and weep with compassion over its dust!

The godless nations will sit up and take notice

—see your glory, worship your name—

WhenGodrebuilds Zion,

when he shows up in all his glory,

When he attends to the prayer of the wretched.

He won’t dismiss their prayer.

18-22 Write this down for the next generation

so people not yet born will praiseGod:

“Godlooked out from his high holy place;

from heaven he surveyed the earth.

He listened to the groans of the doomed,

he opened the doors of their death cells.”

Write it so the story can be told in Zion,

soGod’s praise will be sung in Jerusalem’s streets

And wherever people gather together

along with their rulers to worship him.

23-28 Godsovereignly brought me to my knees,

he cut me down in my prime.

“Oh, don’t,” I prayed, “please don’t let me die.

You have more years than you know what to do with!

You laid earth’s foundations a long time ago,

and handcrafted the very heavens;

You’ll still be around when they’re long gone,

threadbare and discarded like an old suit of clothes.

You’ll throw them away like a worn-out coat,

but year after year you’re as good as new.

Your servants’ children will have a good place to live

and their children will be at home with you.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/PSA/102-1d4dc09fef4b900908015a96d2f5c83a.mp3?version_id=97—

A David Psalm

1-2 O my soul, blessGod.

From head to toe, I’ll bless his holy name!

O my soul, blessGod,

don’t forget a single blessing!

3-5 He forgives your sins—every one.

He heals your diseases—every one.

He redeems you from hell—saves your life!

He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown.

He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal.

He renews your youth—you’re always young in his presence.

6-18 Godmakes everything come out right;

he puts victims back on their feet.

He showed Moses how he went about his work,

opened up his plans to all Israel.

Godis sheer mercy and grace;

not easily angered, he’s rich in love.

He doesn’t endlessly nag and scold,

nor hold grudges forever.

He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve,

nor pay us back in full for our wrongs.

As high as heaven is over the earth,

so strong is his love to those who fear him.

And as far as sunrise is from sunset,

he has separated us from our sins.

As parents feel for their children,

Godfeels for those who fear him.

He knows us inside and out,

keeps in mind that we’re made of mud.

Men and women don’t live very long;

like wildflowers they spring up and blossom,

But a storm snuffs them out just as quickly,

leaving nothing to show they were here.

God’s love, though, is ever and always,

eternally present to all who fear him,

Making everything right for them and their children

as they follow his Covenant ways

and remember to do whatever he said.

19-22 Godhas set his throne in heaven;

he rules over us all. He’s the King!

So blessGod, you angels,

ready and able to fly at his bidding,

quick to hear and do what he says.

BlessGod,all you armies of angels,

alert to respond to whatever he wills.

BlessGod, all creatures, wherever you are—

everything and everyone made byGod.

And you, O my soul, blessGod!

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/PSA/103-6fb7440e5b478c2506928a75833c2a36.mp3?version_id=97—

1-14 O my soul, blessGod!

God, my God, how great you are!

beautifully, gloriously robed,

Dressed up in sunshine,

and all heaven stretched out for your tent.

You built your palace on the ocean deeps,

made a chariot out of clouds and took off on wind-wings.

You commandeered winds as messengers,

appointed fire and flame as ambassadors.

You set earth on a firm foundation

so that nothing can shake it, ever.

You blanketed earth with ocean,

covered the mountains with deep waters;

Then you roared and the water ran away—

your thunder crash put it to flight.

Mountains pushed up, valleys spread out

in the places you assigned them.

You set boundaries between earth and sea;

never again will earth be flooded.

You started the springs and rivers,

sent them flowing among the hills.

All the wild animals now drink their fill,

wild donkeys quench their thirst.

Along the riverbanks the birds build nests,

ravens make their voices heard.

You water the mountains from your heavenly cisterns;

earth is supplied with plenty of water.

You make grass grow for the livestock,

hay for the animals that plow the ground.

14-23 Oh yes, God brings grain from the land,

wine to make people happy,

Their faces glowing with health,

a people well-fed and hearty.

God’s trees are well-watered—

the Lebanon cedars he planted.

Birds build their nests in those trees;

look—the stork at home in the treetop.

Mountain goats climb about the cliffs;

badgers burrow among the rocks.

The moon keeps track of the seasons,

the sun is in charge of each day.

When it’s dark and night takes over,

all the forest creatures come out.

The young lions roar for their prey,

clamoring to God for their supper.

When the sun comes up, they vanish,

lazily stretched out in their dens.

Meanwhile, men and women go out to work,

busy at their jobs until evening.

24-30 What a wildly wonderful world,God!

You made it all, with Wisdom at your side,

made earth overflow with your wonderful creations.

Oh, look—the deep, wide sea,

brimming with fish past counting,

sardines and sharks and salmon.

Ships plow those waters,

and Leviathan, your pet dragon, romps in them.

All the creatures look expectantly to you

to give them their meals on time.

You come, and they gather around;

you open your hand and they eat from it.

If you turned your back,

they’d die in a minute—

Take back your Spirit and they die,

revert to original mud;

Send out your Spirit and they spring to life—

the whole countryside in bloom and blossom.

31-32 The glory ofGod—let it last forever!

LetGodenjoy his creation!

He takes one look at earth and triggers an earthquake,

points a finger at the mountains, and volcanoes erupt.

33-35 Oh, let me sing toGodall my life long,

sing hymns to my God as long as I live!

Oh, let my song please him;

I’m so pleased to be singing toGod.

But clear the ground of sinners—

no more godless men and women!

O my soul, blessGod!

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/PSA/104-4db8e368fd81b41513bf998c21ca4c9f.mp3?version_id=97—

1-6 Hallelujah!

ThankGod! Pray to him by name!

Tell everyone you meet what he has done!

Sing him songs, belt out hymns,

translate his wonders into music!

Honor his holy name with Hallelujahs,

you who seekGod. Live a happy life!

Keep your eyes open forGod, watch for his works;

be alert for signs of his presence.

Remember the world of wonders he has made,

his miracles, and the verdicts he’s rendered—

O seed of Abraham, his servant,

O child of Jacob, his chosen.

7-15 He’sGod, our God,

in charge of the whole earth.

And he remembers, remembers his Covenant—

for a thousand generations he’s been as good as his word.

It’s the Covenant he made with Abraham,

the same oath he swore to Isaac,

The very statute he established with Jacob,

the eternal Covenant with Israel,

Namely, “I give you the land.

Canaan is your hill-country inheritance.”

When they didn’t count for much,

a mere handful, and strangers at that,

Wandering from country to country,

drifting from pillar to post,

He permitted no one to abuse them.

He told kings to keep their hands off:

“Don’t you dare lay a hand on my anointed,

don’t hurt a hair on the heads of my prophets.”

16-22 Then he called down a famine on the country,

he broke every last blade of wheat.

But he sent a man on ahead:

Joseph, sold as a slave.

They put cruel chains on his ankles,

an iron collar around his neck,

Until God’s word came to the Pharaoh,

andGodconfirmed his promise.

God sent the king to release him.

The Pharaoh set Joseph free;

He appointed him master of his palace,

put him in charge of all his business

To personally instruct his princes

and train his advisors in wisdom.

23-42 Then Israel entered Egypt,

Jacob immigrated to the Land of Ham.

God gave his people lots of babies;

soon their numbers alarmed their foes.

He turned the Egyptians against his people;

they abused and cheated God’s servants.

Then he sent his servant Moses,

and Aaron, whom he also chose.

They worked marvels in that spiritual wasteland,

miracles in the Land of Ham.

He spoke, “Darkness!” and it turned dark—

they couldn’t see what they were doing.

He turned all their water to blood

so that all their fish died;

He made frogs swarm through the land,

even into the king’s bedroom;

He gave the word and flies swarmed,

gnats filled the air.

He substituted hail for rain,

he stabbed their land with lightning;

He wasted their vines and fig trees,

smashed their groves of trees to splinters;

With a word he brought in locusts,

millions of locusts, armies of locusts;

They consumed every blade of grass in the country

and picked the ground clean of produce;

He struck down every firstborn in the land,

the first fruits of their virile powers.

He led Israel out, their arms filled with loot,

and not one among his tribes even stumbled.

Egypt was glad to have them go—

they were scared to death of them.

God spread a cloud to keep them cool through the day

and a fire to light their way through the night;

They prayed and he brought quail,

filled them with the bread of heaven;

He opened the rock and water poured out;

it flowed like a river through that desert—

All because he remembered his Covenant,

his promise to Abraham, his servant.

43-45 Remember this! He led his people out singing for joy;

his chosen people marched, singing their hearts out!

He made them a gift of the country they entered,

helped them seize the wealth of the nations

So they could do everything he told them—

could follow his instructions to the letter.

Hallelujah!

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/PSA/105-87e723e019d5df2d3f1bf8586e960c10.mp3?version_id=97—

1-3 Hallelujah!

ThankGod! And why?

Because he’s good, because his love lasts.

But who on earth can do it—

declaimGod’s mighty acts, broadcast all his praises?

You’re one happy man when you do what’s right,

one happy woman when you form the habit of justice.

4-5 Remember me,God, when you enjoy your people;

include me when you save them;

I want to see your chosen succeed,

celebrate with your celebrating nation,

join the Hallelujahs of your pride and joy!

6-12 We’ve sinned a lot, both we and our parents;

We’ve fallen short, hurt a lot of people.

After our parents left Egypt,

they took your wonders for granted,

forgot your great and wonderful love.

They were barely beyond the Red Sea

when they defied the High God

—the very place he saved them!

—the place he revealed his amazing power!

He rebuked the Red Sea so that it dried up on the spot

—he paraded them right through!

—no one so much as got wet feet!

He saved them from a life of oppression,

pried them loose from the grip of the enemy.

Then the waters flowed back on their oppressors;

there wasn’t a single survivor.

Thenthey believed his words were true

and broke out in songs of praise.

13-18 But it wasn’t long before they forgot the whole thing,

wouldn’t wait to be told what to do.

They only cared about pleasing themselves in that desert,

provoked God with their insistent demands.

He gave them exactly what they asked for—

but along with it they got an empty heart.

One day in camp some grew jealous of Moses,

also of Aaron, holy priest ofGod.

The ground opened and swallowed Dathan,

then buried Abiram’s gang.

Fire flared against that rebel crew

and torched them to a cinder.

19-22 They cast in metal a bull calf at Horeb

and worshiped the statue they’d made.

They traded the Glory

for a cheap piece of sculpture—a grass-chewing bull!

They forgot God, their very own Savior,

who turned things around in Egypt,

Who created a world of wonders in the Land of Ham,

who gave that stunning performance at the Red Sea.

23-27 Fed up, God decided to get rid of them—

and except for Moses, his chosen, he would have.

But Moses stood in the gap and deflected God’s anger,

prevented it from destroying them utterly.

They went on to reject the Blessed Land,

didn’t believe a word of what God promised.

They found fault with the life they had

and turned a deaf ear toGod’s voice.

Exasperated, God swore

that he’d lay them low in the desert,

Scattering their children hither and yon,

strewing them all over the earth.

28-31 Then they linked up with Baal Peor,

attending funeral banquets and eating idol food.

That made God so angry

that a plague spread through their ranks;

Phinehas stood up and pled their case

and the plague was stopped.

This was counted to his credit;

his descendants will never forget it.

32-33 They angered God again at Meribah Springs;

this time Moses got mixed up in their evil;

Because they defiedGodyet again,

Moses exploded and lost his temper.

34-39 They didn’t wipe out those godless cultures

as ordered byGod;

Instead they intermarried with the heathen,

and in time became just like them.

They worshiped their idols,

were caught in the trap of idols.

They sacrificed their sons and daughters

at the altars of demon gods.

They slit the throats of their babies,

murdered their infant girls and boys.

They offered their babies to Canaan’s gods;

the blood of their babies stained the land.

Their way of life stank to high heaven;

they lived like whores.

40-43 AndGodwas furious—a wildfire anger;

he couldn’t stand even to look at his people.

He turned them over to the heathen

so that the people who hated them ruled them.

Their enemies made life hard for them;

they were tyrannized under that rule.

Over and over God rescued them, but they never learned—

until finally their sins destroyed them.

44-46 Still, when God saw the trouble they were in

and heard their cries for help,

He remembered his Covenant with them,

and, immense with love, took them by the hand.

He poured out his mercy on them

while their captors looked on, amazed.

47-48 Save us,God, our God!

Gather us back out of exile

So we can give thanks to your holy name

and join in the glory when you are praised!

Blessed beGod, Israel’s God!

Bless now, bless always!

Oh! Let everyone say Amen!

Hallelujah!

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/PSA/106-ad380ad9d03f9ca1a88b4426a517c10a.mp3?version_id=97—

1-3 Oh, thankGod—he’s so good!

His love never runs out.

All of you set free byGod, tell the world!

Tell how he freed you from oppression,

Then rounded you up from all over the place,

from the four winds, from the seven seas.

4-9 Some of you wandered for years in the desert,

looking but not finding a good place to live,

Half-starved and parched with thirst,

staggering and stumbling, on the brink of exhaustion.

Then, in your desperate condition, you called out toGod.

He got you out in the nick of time;

He put your feet on a wonderful road

that took you straight to a good place to live.

So thankGodfor his marvelous love,

for his miracle mercy to the children he loves.

He poured great draughts of water down parched throats;

the starved and hungry got plenty to eat.

10-16 Some of you were locked in a dark cell,

cruelly confined behind bars,

Punished for defying God’s Word,

for turning your back on the High God’s counsel—

A hard sentence, and your hearts so heavy,

and not a soul in sight to help.

Then you called out toGodin your desperate condition;

he got you out in the nick of time.

He led you out of your dark, dark cell,

broke open the jail and led you out.

So thankGodfor his marvelous love,

for his miracle mercy to the children he loves;

He shattered the heavy jailhouse doors,

he snapped the prison bars like matchsticks!

17-22 Some of you were sick because you’d lived a bad life,

your bodies feeling the effects of your sin;

You couldn’t stand the sight of food,

so miserable you thought you’d be better off dead.

Then you called out toGodin your desperate condition;

he got you out in the nick of time.

He spoke the word that healed you,

that pulled you back from the brink of death.

So thankGodfor his marvelous love,

for his miracle mercy to the children he loves;

Offer thanksgiving sacrifices,

tell the world what he’s done—sing it out!

23-32 Some of you set sail in big ships;

you put to sea to do business in faraway ports.

Out at sea you sawGodin action,

saw his breathtaking ways with the ocean:

With a word he called up the wind—

an ocean storm, towering waves!

You shot high in the sky, then the bottom dropped out;

your hearts were stuck in your throats.

You were spun like a top, you reeled like a drunk,

you didn’t know which end was up.

Then you called out toGodin your desperate condition;

he got you out in the nick of time.

He quieted the wind down to a whisper,

put a muzzle on all the big waves.

And you were so glad when the storm died down,

and he led you safely back to harbor.

So thankGodfor his marvelous love,

for his miracle mercy to the children he loves.

Lift high your praises when the people assemble,

shout Hallelujah when the elders meet!

33-41 Godturned rivers into wasteland,

springs of water into sunbaked mud;

Luscious orchards became alkali flats

because of the evil of the people who lived there.

Then he changed wasteland into fresh pools of water,

arid earth into springs of water,

Brought in the hungry and settled them there;

they moved in—what a great place to live!

They sowed the fields, they planted vineyards,

they reaped a bountiful harvest.

He blessed them and they prospered greatly;

their herds of cattle never decreased.

But abuse and evil and trouble declined

as he heaped scorn on princes and sent them away.

He gave the poor a safe place to live,

treated their clans like well-cared-for sheep.

42-43 Good people see this and are glad;

bad people are speechless, stopped in their tracks.

If you are really wise, you’ll think this over—

it’s time you appreciatedGod’s deep love.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/PSA/107-b85b3259520fda0ca18803b72eba26f6.mp3?version_id=97—

A David Prayer

1-2 I’m ready, God, so ready,

ready from head to toe.

Ready to sing,

ready to raise a God-song:

“Wake, soul! Wake, lute!

Wake up, you sleepyhead sun!”

3-6 I’m thanking you,God, out in the streets,

singing your praises in town and country.

The deeper your love, the higher it goes;

every cloud’s a flag to your faithfulness.

Soar high in the skies, O God!

Cover the whole earth with your glory!

And for the sake of the one you love so much,

reach down and help me—answer me!

7-9 That’s when God spoke in holy splendor:

“Brimming over with joy,

I make a present of Shechem,

I hand out Succoth Valley as a gift.

Gilead’s in my pocket,

to say nothing of Manasseh.

Ephraim’s my hard hat,

Judah my hammer.

Moab’s a scrub bucket—

I mop the floor with Moab,

Spit on Edom,

rain fireworks all over Philistia.”

10-11 Who will take me to the thick of the fight?

Who’ll show me the road to Edom?

You aren’t giving up on us, are you, God?

refusing to go out with our troops?

12-13 Give us help for the hard task;

human help is worthless.

In God we’ll do our very best;

he’ll flatten the opposition for good.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/PSA/108-63eb228ea05dcc8b7cdf03108c801e5e.mp3?version_id=97—

A David Prayer

1-5 My God, don’t turn a deaf ear to my hallelujah prayer.

Liars are pouring out invective on me;

Their lying tongues are like a pack of dogs out to get me,

barking their hate, nipping my heels—and for no reason!

I loved them and now they slander me—yes, me!—

and treat my prayer like a crime;

They return my good with evil,

they return my love with hate.

6-20 Send the Evil One to accuse my accusing judge;

dispatch Satan to prosecute him.

When he’s judged, let the verdict be “Guilty,”

and when he prays, let his prayer turn to sin.

Give him a short life,

and give his job to somebody else.

Make orphans of his children,

dress his wife in widow’s weeds;

Turn his children into begging street urchins,

evicted from their homes—homeless.

May the bank foreclose and wipe him out,

and strangers, like vultures, pick him clean.

May there be no one around to help him out,

no one willing to give his orphans a break.

Chop down his family tree

so that nobody even remembers his name.

But erect a memorial to the sin of his father,

and make sure his mother’s name is there, too—

Their sins recorded forever beforeGod,

but they themselves sunk in oblivion.

That’s all he deserves since he was never once kind,

hounded the afflicted and heartbroken to their graves.

Since he loved cursing so much,

let curses rain down;

Since he had no taste for blessing,

let blessings flee far from him.

He dressed up in curses like a fine suit of clothes;

he drank curses, took his baths in curses.

So give him a gift—a costume of curses;

he can wear curses every day of the week!

That’s what they’ll get, those out to get me—

an avalanche of just deserts fromGod.

21-25 Oh,God, my Lord, step in;

work a miracle for me—you can do it!

Get me out of here—your love is so great!—

I’m at the end of my rope, my life in ruins.

I’m fading away to nothing, passing away,

my youth gone, old before my time.

I’m weak from hunger and can hardly stand up,

my body a rack of skin and bones.

I’m a joke in poor taste to those who see me;

they take one look and shake their heads.

26-29 Help me, oh help me,God, my God,

save me through your wonderful love;

Then they’ll know that your hand is in this,

that you,God, have been at work.

Let them curse all they want;

youdo the blessing.

Let them be jeered by the crowd when they stand up,

followed by cheers for me, your servant.

Dress my accusers in clothes dirty with shame,

discarded and humiliating old ragbag clothes.

30-31 My mouth’s full of great praise forGod,

I’m singing his hallelujahs surrounded by crowds,

For he’s always at hand to take the side of the needy,

to rescue a life from the unjust judge.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/PSA/109-94683f70af8f7289c457a865f1e83fa3.mp3?version_id=97—

A David Prayer

1-3 The word ofGodto my Lord:

“Sit alongside me here on my throne

until I make your enemies a stool for your feet.”

You were forged a strong scepter byGodof Zion;

now rule, though surrounded by enemies!

Your people will freely join you, resplendent in holy armor

on the great day of your conquest,

Join you at the fresh break of day,

join you with all the vigor of youth.

4-7 Godgave his word and he won’t take it back:

you’re the permanent priest, the Melchizedek priest.

The Lord stands true at your side,

crushing kings in his terrible wrath,

Bringing judgment on the nations,

handing out convictions wholesale,

crushing opposition across the wide earth.

The King-Maker put his King on the throne;

the True King rules with head held high!

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/PSA/110-4553bf403b9df12ab302070a926410a4.mp3?version_id=97—