Category: Psalm

A David Psalm, After He Was Confronted by Nathan About the Affair with Bathsheba

1-3 Generous in love—God, give grace!

Huge in mercy—wipe out my bad record.

Scrub away my guilt,

soak out my sins in your laundry.

I know how bad I’ve been;

my sins are staring me down.

4-6 You’re the One I’ve violated, and you’ve seen

it all, seen the full extent of my evil.

You have all the facts before you;

whatever you decide about me is fair.

I’ve been out of step with you for a long time,

in the wrong since before I was born.

What you’re after is truth from the inside out.

Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.

7-15 Soak me in your laundry and I’ll come out clean,

scrub me and I’ll have a snow-white life.

Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,

set these once-broken bones to dancing.

Don’t look too close for blemishes,

give me a clean bill of health.

God, make a fresh start in me,

shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.

Don’t throw me out with the trash,

or fail to breathe holiness in me.

Bring me back from gray exile,

put a fresh wind in my sails!

Give me a job teaching rebels your ways

so the lost can find their way home.

Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God,

and I’ll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.

Unbutton my lips, dear God;

I’ll let loose with your praise.

16-17 Going through the motions doesn’t please you,

a flawless performance is nothing to you.

I learned God-worship

when my pride was shattered.

Heart-shattered lives ready for love

don’t for a moment escape God’s notice.

18-19 Make Zion the place you delight in,

repair Jerusalem’s broken-down walls.

Then you’ll get real worship from us,

acts of worship small and large,

Including all the bulls

they can heave onto your altar!

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/PSA/51-f53a43fb5ef1de3ef27b30df1ef20da2.mp3?version_id=97—

A David Psalm, When Doeg the Edomite Reported to Saul, “David’s at Ahimelech’s House”

1-4 Why do you brag of evil, “Big Man”?

God’s mercy carries the day.

You scheme catastrophe;

your tongue cuts razor-sharp,

artisan in lies.

You love evil more than good,

you call black white.

You love malicious gossip,

you foul-mouth.

5 God will tear you limb from limb,

sweep you up and throw you out,

Pull you up by the roots

from the land of life.

6-7 Good people will watch and

worship. They’ll laugh in relief:

“Big Man bet on the wrong horse,

trusted in big money,

made his living from catastrophe.”

8 And I’m an olive tree,

growing green in God’s house.

I trusted in the generous mercy

of God then and now.

9 I thank you always

that you went into action.

And I’ll stay right here,

your good name my hope,

in company with your faithful friends.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/PSA/52-8beb90c9e5d44eedd50fd22eaf00d7fd.mp3?version_id=97—

A David Psalm

1-2 Bilious and bloated, they gas,

“God is gone.”

It’s poison gas—

they foul themselves, they poison

Rivers and skies;

thistles are their cash crop.

God sticks his head out of heaven.

He looks around.

He’s looking for someone not stupid—

one man, even, God-expectant,

just one God-ready woman.

3 He comes up empty. A string

of zeros. Useless, unshepherded

Sheep, taking turns pretending

to be Shepherd.

The ninety and nine

follow the one.

4 Don’t they know anything,

all these impostors?

Don’t they know

they can’t get away with this,

Treating people like a fast-food meal

over which they’re too busy to pray?

5 Night is coming for them, and nightmare—

a nightmare they’ll never wake up from.

God will make hash of these squatters,

send them packing for good.

6 Is there anyone around to save Israel?

God turns life around.

Turned-around Jacob skips rope,

turned-around Israel sings laughter.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/PSA/53-4a187bf2751706122b31c55ac0ee843c.mp3?version_id=97—

A David Psalm, When the Ziphites Reported to Saul, “David Is Hiding Out with Us”

1-2 God, for your sake, help me!

Use your influence to clear me.

Listen, God—I’m desperate.

Don’t be too busy to hear me.

3 Outlaws are out to get me,

hit men are trying to kill me.

Nothing will stop them;

God means nothing to them.

4-5 Oh, look! God’s right here helping!

God’s on my side,

Evil is looping back on my enemies.

Don’t let up! Finish them off!

6-7 I’m ready now to worship, so ready.

I thank you,God—you’re so good.

You got me out of every scrape,

and I saw my enemies get it.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/PSA/54-ec02ec6d0d765fdcd712cd00b20b217a.mp3?version_id=97—

A David Psalm

1-3 Open your ears, God, to my prayer;

don’t pretend you don’t hear me knocking.

Come close and whisper your answer.

I really need you.

I shudder at the mean voice,

quail before the evil eye,

As they pile on the guilt,

stockpile angry slander.

4-8 My insides are turned inside out;

specters of death have me down.

I shake with fear,

I shudder from head to foot.

“Who will give me wings,” I ask—

“wings like a dove?”

Get me out of here on dove wings;

I want some peace and quiet.

I want a walk in the country,

I want a cabin in the woods.

I’m desperate for a change

from rage and stormy weather.

9-11 Come down hard, Lord—slit their tongues.

I’m appalled how they’ve split the city

Into rival gangs

prowling the alleys

Day and night spoiling for a fight,

trash piled in the streets,

Even shopkeepers gouging and cheating

in broad daylight.

12-14 This isn’t the neighborhood bully

mocking me—I could take that.

This isn’t a foreign devil spitting

invective—I could tune that out.

It’syou! We grew up together!

You!My best friend!

Those long hours of leisure as we walked

arm in arm, God a third party to our conversation.

15 Haul my betrayers off alive to hell—let them

experience the horror, let them

feel every desolate detail of a damned life.

16-19 I call to God;

Godwill help me.

At dusk, dawn, and noon I sigh

deep sighs—he hears, he rescues.

My life is well and whole, secure

in the middle of danger

Even while thousands

are lined up against me.

God hears it all, and from his judge’s bench

puts them in their place.

But, set in their ways, they won’t change;

they pay him no mind.

20-21 And this, my best friend, betrayed his best friends;

his life betrayed his word.

All my life I’ve been charmed by his speech,

never dreaming he’d turn on me.

His words, which were music to my ears,

turned to daggers in my heart.

22-23 Pile your troubles onGod’s shoulders—

he’ll carry your load, he’ll help you out.

He’ll never let good people

topple into ruin.

But you, God, will throw the others

into a muddy bog,

Cut the lifespan of assassins

and traitors in half.

And I trust in you.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/PSA/55-17309aa72e48649b9552f2fff5c53c45.mp3?version_id=97—

A David Psalm, When He Was Captured by the Philistines in Gath

1-4 Take my side, God—I’m getting kicked around,

stomped on every day.

Not a day goes by

but somebody beats me up;

They make it their duty

to beat me up.

When I get really afraid

I come to you in trust.

I’m proud to praise God;

fearless now, I trust in God.

What can mere mortals do?

5-6 They don’t let up—

they smear my reputation

and huddle to plot my collapse.

They gang up,

sneak together through the alleys

To take me by surprise,

wait their chance to get me.

7 Pay them back in evil!

Get angry, God!

Down with these people!

8 You’ve kept track of my every toss and turn

through the sleepless nights,

Each tear entered in your ledger,

each ache written in your book.

9 If my enemies run away,

turn tail when I yell at them,

Then I’ll know

that God is on my side.

10-11 I’m proud to praise God,

proud to praiseGod.

Fearless now, I trust in God;

what can mere mortals do to me?

12-13 God, you did everything you promised,

and I’m thanking you with all my heart.

You pulled me from the brink of death,

my feet from the cliff-edge of doom.

Now I stroll at leisure with God

in the sunlit fields of life.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/PSA/56-9ce240f6156284e147226e6717714329.mp3?version_id=97—

A David Psalm, When He Hid in a Cave from Saul

1-3 Be good to me, God—and now!

I’ve run to you for dear life.

I’m hiding out under your wings

until the hurricane blows over.

I call out to High God,

the God who holds me together.

He sends orders from heaven and saves me,

he humiliates those who kick me around.

God delivers generous love,

he makes good on his word.

4 I find myself in a pride of lions

who are wild for a taste of human flesh;

Their teeth are lances and arrows,

their tongues are sharp daggers.

5 Soar high in the skies, O God!

Cover the whole earth with your glory!

6 They booby-trapped my path;

I thought I was dead and done for.

They dug a mantrap to catch me,

and fell in headlong themselves.

7-8 I’m ready, God, so ready,

ready from head to toe,

Ready to sing, ready to raise a tune:

“Wake up, soul!

Wake up, harp! wake up, lute!

Wake up, you sleepyhead sun!”

9-10 I’m thanking you,God, out loud in the streets,

singing your praises in town and country.

The deeper your love, the higher it goes;

every cloud is a flag to your faithfulness.

11 Soar high in the skies, O God!

Cover the whole earth with your glory!

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/PSA/57-21b3ecb7a7f173559b236f97228377ab.mp3?version_id=97—

A David Psalm

1-2 Is this any way to run a country?

Is there an honest politician in the house?

Behind the scenes you brew cauldrons of evil,

behind closed doors you make deals with demons.

3-5 The wicked crawl from the wrong side of the cradle;

their first words out of the womb are lies.

Poison, lethal rattlesnake poison,

drips from their forked tongues—

Deaf to threats, deaf to charm,

decades of wax built up in their ears.

6-9 God, smash their teeth to bits,

leave them toothless tigers.

Let their lives be buckets of water spilled,

all that’s left, a damp stain in the sand.

Let them be trampled grass

worn smooth by the traffic.

Let them dissolve into snail slime,

be a miscarried fetus that never sees sunlight.

Before what they cook up is half-done, God,

throw it out with the garbage!

10-11 The righteous will call up their friends

when they see the wicked get their reward,

Serve up their blood in goblets

as they toast one another,

Everyone cheering, “It’s worth it to play by the rules!

God’s handing out trophies and tending the earth!”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/PSA/58-ce3e788ad128cddf48bbab06587d6862.mp3?version_id=97—

A David Psalm, When Saul Set a Watch on David’s House in Order to Kill Him

1-2 My God! Rescue me from my enemies,

defend me from these mutineers.

Rescue me from their dirty tricks,

save me from their hit men.

3-4 Desperadoes have ganged up on me,

they’re hiding in ambush for me.

I did nothing to deserve this,God,

crossed no one, wronged no one.

All the same, they’re after me,

determined to get me.

4-5 Wake up and see for yourself! You’reGod,

God-of-Angel-Armies, Israel’s God!

Get on the job and take care of these pagans,

don’t be soft on these hard cases.

6-7 They return when the sun goes down,

They howl like coyotes, ringing the city.

Then suddenly they’re all at the gate,

Snarling invective, drawn daggers in their teeth.

They think they’ll never get caught.

8-10 But you,God, break out laughing;

you treat the godless nations like jokes.

Strong God, I’m watching you do it,

I can always count on you.

God in dependable love shows up on time,

shows me my enemies in ruin.

11-13 Don’t make quick work of them,God,

lest my people forget.

Bring them down in slow motion,

take them apart piece by piece.

Let all their mean-mouthed arrogance

catch up with them,

Catch them out and bring them down

—every muttered curse

—every barefaced lie.

Finish them off in fine style!

Finish them off for good!

Then all the world will see

that God rules well in Jacob,

everywhere that God’s in charge.

14-15 They return when the sun goes down,

They howl like coyotes, ringing the city.

They scavenge for bones,

And bite the hand that feeds them.

16-17 And me? I’m singing your prowess,

shouting at cockcrow your largesse,

For you’ve been a safe place for me,

a good place to hide.

Strong God, I’m watching you do it,

I can always count on you—

God, my dependable love.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/PSA/59-0078bfae7a5c371572cab625c35c96c7.mp3?version_id=97—

A David Psalm, When He Fought Against Aram-naharaim and Aram-zobah and Joab Killed Twelve Thousand Edomites at the Valley of Salt

1-2 God! you walked off and left us,

kicked our defenses to bits

And stalked off angry.

Come back. Oh please, come back!

You shook earth to the foundations,

ripped open huge crevasses.

Heal the breaks! Everything’s

coming apart at the seams.

3-5 You made your people look doom in the face,

then gave us cheap wine to drown our troubles.

Then you planted a flag to rally your people,

an unfurled flag to look to for courage.

Now do something quickly, answer right now,

so the one you love best is saved.

6-8 That’s when God spoke in holy splendor,

“Bursting 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.”

9-10 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?

11-12 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/60-158a29e88e5d071ff6970efc9ecb0225.mp3?version_id=97—