Psalms 5; Psalms 38; Psalms 41; Psalms 42

1 Open your ears to my words, O LORD. Consider my innermost thoughts.

2 Pay attention to my cry for help, my king and my God, because I pray only to you.

3 In the morning, O LORD, hear my voice. In the morning I lay my needs in front of you, and I wait.

4 You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness. Evil will never be your guest.

5 Those who brag cannot stand in your sight. You hate all troublemakers.

6 You destroy those who tell lies. The LORD is disgusted with bloodthirsty and deceitful people.

7 But I will enter your house because of your great mercy. Out of reverence for you, I will bow toward your holy temple.

8 O LORD, lead me in your righteousness because of those who spy on me. Make your way in front of me smooth.

9 Nothing in their mouths is truthful. Destruction comes from their hearts. Their throats are open graves. They flatter with their tongues.

10 Condemn them, O God. Let their own schemes be their downfall. Throw them out for their many crimes because they have rebelled against you.

11 But let all who take refuge in you rejoice. Let them sing with joy forever. Protect them, and let those who love your name triumph in you.

12 You bless righteous people, O LORD. Like a large shield, you surround them with your favor.

1 O LORD, do not angrily punish me or discipline me in your wrath.

2 Your arrows have struck me. Your hand has struck me hard.

3 No healthy spot is left on my body because of your rage. There is no peace in my bones because of my sin.

4 My guilt has overwhelmed me. Like a heavy load, it is more than I can bear.

5 My wounds smell rotten. They fester because of my stupidity.

6 I am bent over and bowed down very low. All day I walk around in mourning.

7 My insides are filled with burning pain, and no healthy spot is left on my body.

8 I am numb and completely devastated. I roar because my heart's in turmoil.

9 You know all my desires, O Lord, and my groaning has not been hidden from you.

10 My heart is pounding. I have lost my strength. Even the light of my eyes has left me.

11 My loved ones and my friends keep their distance and my relatives stand far away because of my sickness.

12 Those who seek my life lay traps for me. Those who are out to harm me talk about ruining me. All day long they think of ways to deceive me.

13 But I am like a person who cannot hear and like a person who cannot speak.

14 I am like one who cannot hear and who can offer no arguments.

15 But I wait with hope for you, O LORD. You will answer, O Lord, my God.

16 I said, "Do not let them gloat over me. When my foot slips, do not let them promote themselves at my expense."

17 I am ready to fall. I am continually aware of my pain.

18 I confess my guilt. My sin troubles me.

19 My mortal enemies are growing stronger. Many hate me for no reason.

20 They pay me back with evil instead of good, and they accuse me because I try to do what is good.

21 Do not abandon me, O LORD. O my God, do not be so distant from me.

22 Come quickly to help me, O Lord, my savior.

1 Blessed is the one who has concern for helpless people. The LORD will rescue him in times of trouble.

2 The LORD will protect him and keep him alive. He will be blessed in the land. Do not place him at the mercy of his enemies.

3 The LORD will support him on his sickbed. You will restore this person to health when he is ill.

4 I said, "O LORD, have pity on me! Heal my soul because I have sinned against you."

5 My enemies say terrible things about me: "When will he die, and when will his family name disappear?"

6 When one of them comes to visit me, he speaks foolishly. His heart collects gossip. [Then] he leaves to tell others.

7 Everyone who hates me whispers about me. They think evil things about me and say,

8 "A devilish disease has attached itself to him. He will never leave his sickbed."

9 Even my closest friend whom I trusted, the one who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.

10 Have pity on me, O LORD! Raise me up so that I can pay them back

11 and my enemy cannot shout in triumph over me. When you do this, I know that you are pleased with me.

12 You defend my integrity, and you set me in your presence forever.

13 Thank the LORD God of Israel through all eternity! Amen and amen!

1 As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God.

2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When may I come to see God's face?

3 My tears are my food day and night. People ask me all day long, "Where is your God?"

4 I will remember these things as I pour out my soul: how I used to walk with the crowd and lead it in a procession to God's house. [I sang] songs of joy and thanksgiving while crowds of people celebrated a festival.

5 Why are you discouraged, my soul? Why are you so restless? Put your hope in God, because I will still praise him. He is my savior and my God.

6 My soul is discouraged. That is why I will remember you in the land of Jordan, on the peaks of Hermon, on Mount Mizar.

7 One deep sea calls to another at the roar of your waterspouts. All the whitecaps on your waves have swept over me.

8 The LORD commands his mercy during the day, and at night his song is with me-- a prayer to the God of my life.

9 I will ask God, my rock, "Why have you forgotten me? Why must I walk around in mourning while the enemy oppresses me?"

10 With a shattering blow to my bones, my enemies taunt me. They ask me all day long, "Where is your God?"

11 Why are you discouraged, my soul? Why are you so restless? Put your hope in God, because I will still praise him. He is my savior and my God.