Psalm 15

LORD, who may dwell in your
sanctuary?
Who may live on your holy hill?

He whose walk is blameless
and who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from his heart
and has no slander on his tongue,
who does his neighbour no wrong
and casts no slur on his fellowman,
who despises a vile man
but honours those who fear the
LORD,
who keeps his oath
even when it hurts,
who lends his money without usury
and does not accept a bribe
against the innocent.

He who does these things
will never be shaken.

Psalm 14

The fool says in his heart,
"There is no God."
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
there is no one who does good.

The LORD looks down from heaven
on the sons of men
to see if there are any who
understand,
any who seek God.
All have turned aside,
they have together become
corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.

Will evildoers never learn -
those who devour my people as
men eat bread
and who do not call on the LORD?
There they are, overwhelmed with
dread,
for God is present in the company
of the righteous,
You evildoers frustrate the plans of
the poor,
but the LORD is their refuge.

Oh, that salvation for Israel would
come out of Zion!
When the LORD restores the
fortunes of his people,
let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

Psalm 13

How long, O LORD? Will you
forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face
from me?
How long must I wrestle with my
thoughts
and every day have sorrow in my
heart?
How long will my enemy triumph
over me?

Look on me and answer, O LORD
my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will
sleep in death;
my enemy will say, I have overcome
him,
and my foes will rejoice when I
fall.
But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your
salvation.
I will sing to the LORD,
for he has been good to me.

Psalm 12

Help, LORD, for the godly are no
more,
the faithful have vanished from
among men.
Everyone lies to his neighbour;
their flattering lies speak with
deception.

May the LORD cut off all flattering
lips
and every boastful tongue
that says, "We will triumph with our
tongues;
we own our lips - who is our
master?

Because of the oppression of the
weak
and the groaning of the needy,
I will now arise, says the LORD.
I will protect them from those
who malign them.
And the words of the LORD are
flawless,
like silver refined in a furnace
of clay,
purified seven times.

O LORD, you will keep us safe
and protect us from such people
forever.
The wicked freely strut about
when what is vile is honoured
among men.

Psalm 11

In the LORD I take refuge.
How then can you say to me:
Flee like a bird to your
mountain.
For look, the wicked bend their
bows;
they set their arrows against the
strings
to shoot from the shadows
at the upright in heart.
When the foundations are being
destroyed,
what can the righteous do?

The LORD is in his holy temple;
the LORD in on his heavenly
throne.
He observes the sons of men;
his eyes examine them.
The LORD examines the righteous,
but the wicked and those who
love violence
his soul hates.
On the wicked he will rain
fiery coals and burning sulphur;
a scorching wind will be their lot.

For the LORD is righteous,
he loves justice;
upright men will see his face.

Psalm 10

Why, O LORD, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in
times of trouble?

In his arrogance the wicked man
hunts down the weak,
who are caught in the schemes he
devises.
He boasts of the cravings of his
heart;
he blesses the greedy and reviles
the LORD.

In his pride the wicked does not seek
him;
in all his thoughts there is no room
for God.
His ways are always prosperous;
he is haughty and your laws are
far from him;
he sneers at all his enemies.
He says to himself, "Nothing will
shake me;
I'll always be happy and never
have trouble."
His mouth is full of curses and lies
and threats;
trouble and evil are under his
tongue.
He lies in wait near the villages;
from ambush he murders the
innocent,
watching in secret for his victims.
He lies in wait like a lion in cover;
he lies in wait to catch the
helpless;
he catches the helpless and drags
them off in his net.
His victims are crushed, they
collapse;
they fall under his strength.
He says to himself, God has
forgotten;
he covers his face and never sees.

Arise, O LORD! Lift up your hand,
O God.
Do not forget the helpless.
Why does the wicked man revile
God?
Why does he say to himself,
"He won't call me into account"?
But you, O God, do see trouble and
grief;
you consider it and take it in hand.
The victim commits himself to you;
you are the helper of the
fatherless.
Break the arm of the wicked and evil
man;
call him to account for his
wickedness
that would not be found out.

The LORD is King for ever and ever;
the nations will perish from his
land.
You hear, O LORD, the desire of the
afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen
to their cry,
defending the fatherless and the
oppressed,
in order that man, who is of the
earth, may terrify no more.

Psalm 9

I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonders.
I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing praise to your name,
O Most High.

My enemies turn back;
they stumble and perish before you.
For you have upheld my right and
my cause;
you have sat on your throne,
judging righteously.
You have rebuked the nations and
destroyed the wicked;
you have blotted out their name
for ever and ever.
Endless ruin has overtaken the
enemy,
you have uprooted their cities;
event the memory of them has
perished.
The LORD reigns forever;
he has established his throne for
judgement.
He will judge the world in
righteousness;
he will govern the peoples with
justice.

The LORD is a refuge for the
oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
Those who know your name will
trust in you,
for you, LORD, have never
forsaken those who seek
you.

Sing praises to the LORD enthroned
in Zion;
proclaim among the nations what he has done.
For he who avenges the blood
remembers;
he does not ignore the cry of the
afflicted.

O LORD, see how my enemies
persecute me!
Have mercy and lift me up
from the gates of death.
that I may declare your praises
in the gates of the Daughter of
Zion
and there rejoice in your
salvation.
The nations have fallen into the pit
they have dug;
their feet are caught in the net they
have hidden.
The LORD in known by his justice;
the wicked are ensnared by the
work of their hands.

The wicked return to the grave,
all the nations that forget God.
But the needy will not always be
forgotten,
nor the hope of the afflicted
ever perish.

Arise, O LORD, let not man
triumph;
let the nations be judged in your
presence.
Strike them with terror, O LORD;
let the nations know they are but
men.

Psalm 8

O LORD, our LORD,
how majestic is your name in all
the earth!

You have set your glory
above the heavens.
From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise
because of your enemies,
to silence the foe and the
avenger.

When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of
him,
the son of man that you care for
him?
You made him a little lower than the
heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and
honour.

You made him ruler over the works
of your hands;
you put everything under his
feet:
all flocks and herds,
and the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air,
and the fish of the sea,
all that swim in the paths of the seas.

O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all
the earth!

Psalm 7

O LORD my God, I take refuge in you;
save and deliver me from all who
pursue me,
or they will tear me like a lion
and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me.

O LORD my God, if I have done this
and there is guilt on my hands -
if I have done evil to him who is at
peace with me
or without cause have robbed my
foe -
then let my enemy pursue and
overtake me;
let him trample my life to the
ground
and make me sleep in the dust.

Arise, O LORD, in your anger;
rise up against the rage of my
enemies.
Awake, my God; decree justice.
Let the assembled peoples gather
around you.
Rule over them from on high;
let the LORD judge the peoples.
Judge me, O LORD, according to my
righteousness,
according to my integrity, O Most
High.
O righteous God,
who searches minds and hearts,
bring to an end the violence of the
wicked
and make the righteous secure.

My shield is God Most High,
who saves the upright in heart.
God is a righteous judge,
a God who expresses his wrath
every day.
If he does not relent,
he will sharpen his sword;
he will bend and and string his bow.
He has prepared his deadly weapons;
he makes ready his flaming
arrows.

He who is pregnant with evil
and conceives trouble gives birth
to disillusionment.
He who digs a hole and scoops it out
falls into the pit he has made.
The trouble he causes recoils on
himself;
his violence comes down on his
own head.

I will give thanks to the LORD because
of his righteousness
and will sing praise to the name
of the LORD Most High.

Psalm 6

O LORD, do not rebuke me in your
anger
or discipline me in your wrath.
Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am
faint;
O LORD, heal me, for my bones
are in agony.
My soul is in anguish.
How long, O LORD, how long?

Turn, O LORD, and deliver me;
save me because of your unfailing
love.
No one remembers you when he is
dead.
Who praises you from the grave?

I am worn out from groaning;
all night long I flood my bed with
weeping
and drench my couch with tears.
My eyes grow weak with sorrow;
they fail because of all my foes.

Away from me, all you who do
evil,
for the LORD has heard my weeping.
The LORD has heard my cry for
mercy;
the LORD accepts my prayer.
All my enemies will be ashamed and
dismayed;
they will turn back in sudden
disgrace.

Psalm 5

Give ear to my words, O LORD,
consider my sighing.
Listen to my cry for help,
my King and my God,
for to you I pray.
In the morning, O LORD, you hear
my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests
before you
and wait in expectation.

You are not a God who takes pleasure
in evil;
with you the wicked cannot
dwell.
The arrogant cannot stand in
your presence;
you hate all who do wrong.
You destroy those who tell lies;
bloodthirsty and deceitful men
the LORD abhors.

But I, by your great mercy,
will come into your house;
in reverence will I bow down
toward your holy temple.
Lead me, O LORD, in
your righteousness
because of my enemies-
make straight your way before
me.

Not a word from their mouth can be
trusted;
their heart is filled with destruction.
Their throat is an open grave;
with their tongue they speak
deceit.
Declare them guilty, O God!
Let their intrigues be their downfall.
Banish them for their many sins,
for they have rebelled against
you.

But let all who take refuge in you be
glad;
let them ever sing for joy.
Spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name
may rejoice in you.
For surely, O LORD, you bless the
righteous;
you surround them with your favour as with a shield.

Psalm 4

Answer me when I call to you,
O my righteous God.
Give me relief from my distress;
be merciful to me and hear my prayer.

How long, O men, will you turn my
glory into shame?
How long will you love delusions
and seek false gods?
Know that the LORD has set apart the
godly for himself;
the LORD will hear when I call to him.

In your anger do not sin;
when you are on your beds,
search your hearts and be silent.

Offer sacrifices
and trust in the LORD.

Many are asking, "Who can show us
any good?"
Let the light of your face shine
upon us, O LORD.

You have filled my heart with greater joy
than when their grain and new
wine abound.
I will lie down and sleep in peace,
for you alone, O LORD,
make me dwell in safety.

Psalm 3

O LORD, how many are my foes!
How many rise up against me!
Many of them are saying of me,
God will not deliver him.

But you are a shield around me,
O LORD;
you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.
To the LORD I cry aloud,
and he answers me from his holy hill.

I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.
I will not fear the tens of thousands
drawn up against me on every side.

Arise, O LORD!
Deliver me, O my God!
Strike all my enemies on the jaw;
break the teeth of the wicked.

From the LORD comes deliverance.
May your blessing be on your people.

Psalm 2

Why do the nations conspire
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers gather together against the LORD
and against his Anointed One.
Let us break their chains, they say,
and throw off their fetters.

The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
the LORD scoffs at them.
Then he rebukes them in his anger
and terrifies them in his wrath saying,
I have installed my King
on Zion, my holy hill.
I will proclaim the decree of the LORD:
He said to me, "You are my Son;
today I have become your Father.
Ask of me
and I will make the nations your inheritance,
the ends of the earth your possession.
You will rule them with an iron sceptre;
you will dash them to pieces like pottery.

Therefore, you kings, be wise;
be warned you rulers of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear
and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry
and you be destroyed in your way,
for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Psalm 1

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the house of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgement, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.