Friday, September 30, 2011

Psalm 74


O God, why have you cast us off for ever?
        
Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?
Remember your congregation,
        
which you have purchased of old;
the rod of your inheritance,
which you have redeemed;
this mount Zion,
wherein you have dwelt.
Lift up your feet unto the perpetual desolations;
        
even all that the enemy has done wickedly in the sanctuary.
Your enemies roar in the midst of your congregations;
        
they set up their ensigns for signs.
A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees.
But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers.
They have cast fire into your sanctuary,
        
they have defiled by casting down the dwelling place of your name to the ground.
They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together:
        
they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land.
We see not our signs:
        
there is no more any prophet:
neither is there among us any that know how long.
O God, how long shall the adversary reproach?
        
Shall the enemy blaspheme your name for ever?
Why withdraw you your hand, even thy right hand?
        
Pluck it out of your bosom.
For God is my King of old,
        
working salvation in the midst of the earth.
You divided the sea by your strength:  

 you broke the heads of the dragons in the waters.
You broke the heads of leviathan  in pieces,
        
and gave him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
You did cleave the fountain and the flood:
        
you dried up mighty rivers.
The day is yours, the night also is yours:
        
you have prepared the light and the sun.
You have set all the borders of the earth:
        
you have made summer and winter.
Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O LORD,
        
and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name.
O deliver not the soul of your turtledove unto the multitude of the wicked:
        
forget not the congregation of your poor for ever.
Have respect unto the covenant:
        
for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.
O let not the oppressed return ashamed:
        
let the poor and needy praise your name.
Arise, O God, plead your own cause:
        
remember how the foolish man reproaches you daily.
Forget not the voice of your enemies:
        
the tumult of those that rise up against you increases continually.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Psalm 73


Truly God is good to Israel,
        
even to such as are of a clean heart.
But as for me, my feet were almost gone;
        
my steps had well-nigh slipped.
For I was envious at the foolish,
        
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
For there are no bands in their death:
        
but their strength is firm.
They are not in trouble as other men;
        
neither are they plagued like other men.
Therefore pride compasses them about as a chain;
        
violence covers them as a garment.
Their eyes stand out with fatness:
        
they have more than heart could wish.
They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning oppression:
        
they speak loftily.
They set their mouth against the heavens,
        
and their tongue walks through the earth.
Therefore his people return hither:
        
and waters of a full cup are wrung out to them.
And they say, How does God know?
        
And is there knowledge in the Most High?
Behold, these are the ungodly,
        
who prosper in the world;
they increase in riches.
Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain,
        
and washed my hands in innocency.
For all the day long have I been plagued,
        
and chastened every morning.
If I say, I will speak thus;
        
behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children.
When I thought to know this,
        
it was too painful for me;
until I went into the sanctuary of God;
        
then understood I their end.
Surely thou didst set them in slippery places:
        
thou cast them down into destruction.
How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment!
        
They are utterly consumed with terrors.
As a dream when one awaketh;
        
so, O Lord, when thou awakest,
thou shalt despise their image.
Thus my heart was grieved,
        
and I was pricked in my reins.
So foolish was I, and ignorant:
        
I was as a beast before thee.
Nevertheless I am continually with thee:
        
you hold me by my right hand.
Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel,
        
and afterward receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but thee?
        
And there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee.
My flesh and my heart fail:
        
but God is the strength of my heart,
and my portion for ever.
For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish:
        
thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee.
But it is good for me to draw near to God:
        
I have put my trust in the Lord GOD,
that I may declare all thy works.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Psalm 72



Give the king thy judgments, O God,
        
and thy righteousness unto the king's son.

He shall judge thy people with righteousness,
        
and thy poor with judgment.
The mountains shall bring peace to the people,
        
and the little hills, by righteousness.
He shall judge the poor of the people,
        
he shall save the children of the needy,
and shall break in pieces the oppressor.
They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure,
        
throughout all generations.
He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass:
        
as showers that water the earth.
In his days shall the righteous flourish;
        
and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.
He shall have dominion also from sea to sea,
        
and from the river unto the ends of the earth.
They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him;
        
and his enemies shall lick the dust.
The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents:
        
the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
Yea, all kings shall fall down before him:
        
all nations shall serve him.
For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth;
        
the poor also, and him that hath no helper.
He shall spare the poor and needy,
        
and shall save the souls of the needy.
He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence:
        
and precious shall their blood be in his sight.
And he shall live,
        
and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba:
prayer also shall be made for him continually;
and daily shall he be praised.
There shall be a handful of corn in the earth
        
upon the top of the mountains;
the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon:
and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.
His name shall endure for ever:
        
his name shall be continued as long as the sun:
and men shall be blessed in him:
all nations shall call him blessed.
Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel,
        
who only doeth wondrous things.
And blessed be his glorious name for ever:
        
and let the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen, and Amen.
The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Psalm 71



In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust:
        
let me never be put to confusion.
Deliver me in thy righteousness,
        
and cause me to escape:
incline thine ear unto me,
and save me.
Be thou my strong habitation,
        
whereunto I may continually resort:
thou hast given commandment to save me;
for thou art my rock and my fortress.
Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked,
        
out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.
For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD:
        
thou art my trust from my youth.
By thee have I been holden up from the womb:
        
thou art he that took me out of my mother's bowels:
my praise shall be continually of thee.
I am as a wonder unto many;
        
but thou art my strong refuge.
Let my mouth be filled with thy praise
        
and with thy honor all the day.
Cast me not off in the time of old age;
        
forsake me not when my strength faileth.
For mine enemies speak against me;
        
and they that lay wait for my soul take counsel together,
saying, God hath forsaken him:
        
persecute and take him;
for there is none to deliver him.
O God, be not far from me:
        
O my God, make haste for my help.
Let them be confounded and consumed that are adversaries to my soul;
        
let them be covered with reproach and dishonor that seek my hurt.
But I will hope continually,
        
and will yet praise thee more and more.
My mouth shall show forth thy righteousness
        
and thy salvation all the day;
for I know not the numbers thereof.
I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD:
        
I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only.
O God, thou hast taught me from my youth:
        
and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.
Now also when I am old and grayheaded,
        
O God, forsake me not;
until I have showed thy strength unto this generation,
and thy power to every one that is to come.
Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high,
        
who hast done great things:
O God, who is like unto thee!
Thou, which hast showed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again,
        
and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth.
Thou shalt increase my greatness,
        
and comfort me on every side.
I will also praise thee with the psaltery,
        
even thy truth, O my God:
unto thee will I sing with the harp,
O thou Holy One of Israel.
My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee;
        
and my soul, which thou hast redeemed.
My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long:
        
for they are confounded,
for they are brought unto shame, that seek my hurt.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Psalm 70


Make haste, O God, to deliver me;
        
make haste to help me, O LORD.
Let them be ashamed and confounded
        
that seek after my soul:
let them be turned backward, and put to confusion,
that desire my hurt.
Let them be turned back for a reward of their shame
        
that say, Aha, aha.
Let all those that seek thee
        
rejoice and be glad in thee:
and let such as love thy salvation
say continually, Let God be magnified.
But I am poor and needy;
        
make haste unto me, O God:
thou art my help and my deliverer;
O LORD, make no tarrying.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Psalm 69


Save me, O God;
        
for the waters are come in unto my soul.
I sink in deep mire,
        
where there is no standing:
I am come into deep waters,
where the floods overflow me.
I am weary of my crying:
        
my throat is dried:
mine eyes fail while I wait for my God.
They that hate me without a cause  are more than the hairs of mine head:
        
they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty:
then I restored that which I took not away.
O God, thou knowest my foolishness;
        
and my sins are not hid from thee.
Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed for my sake:
        
let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel.
Because for thy sake I have borne reproach;
        
shame hath covered my face.
I am become a stranger unto my brethren,
        
and an alien unto my mother's children.
For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up;
        
and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me. 
When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting,
        
that was to my reproach.
I made sackcloth also my garment;
        
and I became a proverb to them.
They that sit in the gate speak against me;
        
and I was the song of the drunkards.
But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O LORD,
        
in an acceptable time:
O God, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me,
in the truth of thy salvation.
Deliver me out of the mire,
        
and let me not sink:
let me be delivered from them that hate me,
and out of the deep waters.
Let not the waterflood overflow me,
        
neither let the deep swallow me up,
and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me.
Hear me, O LORD;
        
for thy loving-kindness is good:
turn unto me
according to the multitude of thy tender mercies.
And hide not thy face from thy servant;
        
for I am in trouble:
hear me speedily.
Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it:
        
deliver me because of mine enemies.
Thou hast known my reproach,
        
and my shame, and my dishonor:
mine adversaries are all before thee.
Reproach hath broken my heart;
        
and I am full of heaviness:
and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none;
and for comforters, but I found none.
They gave me also gall for my meat;
        
and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. 
Let their table become a snare before them:
        
and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap.
Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not;
        
and make their loins continually to shake.
Pour out thine indignation upon them,
        
and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them.
Let their habitation be desolate;
        
and let none dwell in their tents. 
For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten;
        
and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded.
Add iniquity unto their iniquity:
        
and let them not come into thy righteousness.

Let them be blotted out of the book of the living,
        
and not be written with the righteous.
But I am poor and sorrowful:
        
let thy salvation, O God, set me up on high.
I will praise the name of God with a song,
        
and will magnify him with thanksgiving.
This also shall please the LORD better than an ox
        
or bullock that hath horns and hoofs.
The humble shall see this, and be glad:
        
and your heart shall live that seek God.
For the LORD heareth the poor,
        
and despiseth not his prisoners.
Let the heaven and earth praise him,
        
the seas, and every thing that moveth therein.
For God will save Zion,
        
and will build the cities of Judah:
that they may dwell there,
and have it in possession.
The seed also of his servants shall inherit it:
        
and they that love his name shall dwell therein.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Psalm 68


Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered:
        
let them also that hate him flee before him.
As smoke is driven away, so drive them away:
        
as wax melts before the fire,
so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
But let the righteous be glad;
        
let them rejoice before God:
yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.
Sing unto God, sing praises to his name:
        
extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH,
and rejoice before him.
A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows,
        
is God in his holy habitation.
God sets the solitary in families:
        
he brings out those which are bound with chains:
but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.
O God, when thou went forth before thy people,
        
when thou didst march through the wilderness;

The earth shook, the heavens also dropped
        
at the presence of God:
even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
Thou, O God, did send a plentiful rain,
        
whereby thou did confirm thine inheritance,
when it was weary.
Thy congregation hath dwelt therein:
        
thou, O God, hast prepared of thy goodness for the poor.
The Lord gave the word:
        
great was the company of those that published it.
Kings of armies did flee apace:
        
and she that tarried at home divided the spoil.
Though ye have lain among the pots,
        
yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver,
and her feathers with yellow gold.
When the Almighty scattered kings in it,
        
it was white as snow in Salmon.
The hill of God is as the hill of Bashan;
        
a high hill as the hill of Bashan.
Why leap ye, ye high hills?
        
This is the hill which God desires to dwell in;
yea, the LORD will dwell in it for ever.
The chariots of God are twenty thousand,
        
even thousands of angels:
the Lord is among them,
as in Si'nai, in the holy place.
Thou hast ascended on high,
        
thou hast led captivity captive:
thou hast received gifts for men; 
yea, for the rebellious also,
that the LORD God might dwell among them.
Blessed be the Lord,
        
who daily loads us with benefits,
even the God of our salvation.

He that is our God is the God of salvation;
        
and unto GOD the Lord belong the issues from death.
But God shall wound the head of his enemies,
        
and the hairy scalp of such a one as goes on still in his trespasses.
The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan,
        
I will bring my people again from the depths of the sea:
that thy foot may be dipped in the blood of thine enemies,
        
and the tongue of thy dogs in the same.
They have seen thy goings, O God;
        
even the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary.
The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after;
        
among them were the damsels playing with timbrels.
Bless ye God in the congregations,
        
even the Lord, from the fountain of Israel.
There is little Benjamin with their ruler,
        
the princes of Judah and their council,
the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali.
Thy God hath commanded thy strength:
        
strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us.
Because of thy temple at Jerusalem
        
shall kings bring presents unto thee.
Rebuke the company of spearmen,
        
the multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the people,
till every one submit himself with pieces of silver:
scatter thou the people that delight in war.
Princes shall come out of Egypt;
        
Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.
Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth;
        
O sing praises unto the Lord.

To him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens,
        
which were of old; lo, he doth send out his voice,
and that a mighty voice.
Ascribe ye strength unto God:
        
his excellency is over Israel,
and his strength is in the clouds.

O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places:
        
the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people.
Blessed be God.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Psalm 67


God be merciful unto us, and bless us;
        
and cause his face to shine upon us;

that thy way may be known upon earth,
        
thy saving health among all nations.
Let the people praise thee, O God;
        
let all the people praise thee.
O let the nations be glad and sing for joy:
        
for thou shalt judge the people righteously,
and govern the nations upon earth.

Let the people praise thee, O God;
        
let all the people praise thee.
Then shall the earth yield her increase;
        
and God, even our own God, shall bless us.
God shall bless us;
        
and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Psalm 66



Make a joyful noise unto God,
        
all ye lands:
sing forth the honor of his name:
        
make his praise glorious.
Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works!
        
Through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies
submit themselves unto thee.
All the earth shall worship thee,
        
and shall sing unto thee;
they shall sing to thy name.

Come and see the works of God:
        
he is terrible in his doing toward the children of men.
He turned the sea into dry land:
        
they went through the flood on foot: 
there did we rejoice in him.
He rules by his power for ever;
        
his eyes behold the nations:
let not the rebellious exalt themselves.

O bless our God, ye people,
        
and make the voice of his praise to be heard:
which holds our soul in life,
        
and suffers not our feet to be moved.
For thou, O God, hast proved us:
        
thou hast tried us, as silver is tried.
Thou brought us into the net;
        
thou laid affliction upon our loins.
Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads;
        
we went through fire and through water:
but thou brought us out into a wealthy place.
I will go into thy house with burnt offerings:
        
I will pay thee my vows,
which my lips have uttered,
        
and my mouth hath spoken,
when I was in trouble.
I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings,
        
with the incense of rams:
I will offer bullocks with goats.

Come and hear, all ye that fear God,
        
and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.
I cried unto him with my mouth,
        
and he was extolled with my tongue.
If I regard iniquity in my heart,
        
the Lord will not hear me:
but verily God hath heard me;
        
he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
Blessed be God,
        
which hath not turned away my prayer,
nor his mercy from me.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Psalm 65


Praise waits for you, O God, in Zion:
        
and unto you shall the vow be performed.
O thou that hearest prayer,
        
unto you shall all flesh come.
Iniquities prevail against me:
        
as for our transgressions,
you shall purge them away.
Blessed is the man whom you choose,
        
and cause to approach unto you,
that he may dwell in your courts:
we shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
even of your holy temple.
By terrible things in righteousness will you answer us,
        
O God of our salvation;
who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth,
and of them that are afar off upon the sea:
which by his strength sets fast the mountains;
        
being girded with power:
which stills the noise of the seas,
        
the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people.
They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at your tokens:
        
thou makes the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice.
You visit the earth, and waters it:
        
you greatly enrich it with the river of God, which is full of water:
you prepare them corn,
when you have so provided for it.
You water the ridges thereof abundantly:
        
you settle the furrows thereof:
you make it soft with showers:
you bless the springing thereof.
You crown the year with your goodness;
        
and your paths drop fatness.
They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness:
        
and the little hills rejoice on every side.
The pastures are clothed with flocks;
        
the valleys also are covered over with corn;
they shout for joy, they also sing