Psalms 6; Psalms 8; Psalms 9; Psalms 10; Psalms 14; Psalms 16; Psalms 19; Psalms 21

1 Lord, don't be angry and rebuke me! Don't punish me in your anger!

2 I am worn out, O Lord; have pity on me! Give me strength; I am completely exhausted

3 and my whole being is deeply troubled. How long, O Lord, will you wait to help me?

4 Come and save me, Lord; in your mercy rescue me from death.

5 In the world of the dead you are not remembered; no one can praise you there.

6 I am worn out with grief; every night my bed is damp from my weeping; my pillow is soaked with tears.

7 I can hardly see; my eyes are so swollen from the weeping caused by my enemies.

8 Keep away from me, you evil people! The Lord hears my weeping;

9 he listens to my cry for help and will answer my prayer.

10 My enemies will know the bitter shame of defeat; in sudden confusion they will be driven away.

1 O Lord, our Lord, your greatness is seen in all the world! Your praise reaches up to the heavens;

2 it is sung by children and babies. You are safe and secure from all your enemies; you stop anyone who opposes you.

3 When I look at the sky, which you have made, at the moon and the stars, which you set in their places -

4 what are human beings, that you think of them; mere mortals, that you care for them?

5 Yet you made them inferior only to yourself; you crowned them with glory and honor.

6 You appointed them rulers over everything you made; you placed them over all creation:

7 sheep and cattle, and the wild animals too;

8 the birds and the fish and the creatures in the seas.

9 O Lord, our Lord, your greatness is seen in all the world!

1 I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the wonderful things you have done.

2 I will sing with joy because of you. I will sing praise to you, Almighty God.

3 My enemies turn back when you appear; they fall down and die.

4 You are fair and honest in your judgments, and you have judged in my favor.

5 You have condemned the heathen and destroyed the wicked; they will be remembered no more.

6 Our enemies are finished forever; you have destroyed their cities, and they are completely forgotten.

7 But the Lord is king forever; he has set up his throne for judgment.

8 He rules the world with righteousness; he judges the nations with justice.

9 The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a place of safety in times of trouble.

10 Those who know you, Lord, will trust you; you do not abandon anyone who comes to you.

11 Sing praise to the Lord, who rules in Zion! Tell every nation what he has done!

12 God remembers those who suffer; he does not forget their cry, and he punishes those who wrong them.

13 Be merciful to me, O Lord! See the sufferings my enemies cause me! Rescue me from death, O Lord,

14 that I may stand before the people of Jerusalem and tell them all the things for which I praise you. I will rejoice because you saved me.

15 The heathen have dug a pit and fallen in; they have been caught in their own trap.

16 The Lord has revealed himself by his righteous judgments, and the wicked are trapped by their own deeds.

17 Death is the destiny of all the wicked, of all those who reject God.

18 The needy will not always be neglected; the hope of the poor will not be crushed forever.

19 Come, Lord! Do not let anyone defy you! Bring the heathen before you and pronounce judgment on them.

20 Make them afraid, O Lord; make them know that they are only mortal beings.

1 Why are you so far away, O Lord? Why do you hide yourself when we are in trouble?

2 The wicked are proud and persecute the poor; catch them in the traps they have made.

3 The wicked are proud of their evil desires; the greedy curse and reject the Lord.

4 The wicked do not care about the Lord; in their pride they think that God doesn't matter.

5 The wicked succeed in everything. They cannot understand God's judgments; they sneer at their enemies.

6 They say to themselves, "We will never fail; we will never be in trouble."

7 Their speech is filled with curses, lies, and threats; they are quick to speak hateful, evil words.

8 They hide themselves in the villages, waiting to murder innocent people. They spy on their helpless victims;

9 they wait in their hiding place like lions. They lie in wait for the poor; they catch them in their traps and drag them away.

10 The helpless victims lie crushed; brute strength has defeated them.

11 The wicked say to themselves, "God doesn't care! He has closed his eyes and will never see me!"

12 O Lord, punish those wicked people! Remember those who are suffering!

13 How can the wicked despise God and say to themselves, "He will not punish me"?

14 But you do see; you take notice of trouble and suffering and are always ready to help. The helpless commit themselves to you; you have always helped the needy.

15 Break the power of wicked and evil people; punish them for the wrong they have done until they do it no more.

16 The Lord is king forever and ever. Those who worship other gods will vanish from his land.

17 You will listen, O Lord, to the prayers of the lowly; you will give them courage.

18 You will hear the cries of the oppressed and the orphans; you will judge in their favor, so that mortal men may cause terror no more.

1 Fools say to themselves, "There is no God!" They are all corrupt, and they have done terrible things; there is no one who does what is right.

2 The Lord looks down from heaven at us humans to see if there are any who are wise, any who worship him.

3 But they have all gone wrong; they are all equally bad. Not one of them does what is right, not a single one.

4 "Don't they know?" asks the Lord. "Are all these evildoers ignorant? They live by robbing my people, and they never pray to me."

5 But then they will be terrified, for God is with those who obey him.

6 Evildoers frustrate the plans of the humble, but the Lord is their protection.

7 How I pray that victory will come to Israel from Zion. How happy the people of Israel will be when the Lord makes them prosperous again!

1 Protect me, O God; I trust in you for safety.

2 I say to the Lord, "You are my Lord; all the good things I have come from you."

3 How excellent are the Lord's faithful people! My greatest pleasure is to be with them.

4 Those who rush to other gods bring many troubles on themselves. I will not take part in their sacrifices; I will not worship their gods.

5 You, Lord, are all I have, and you give me all I need; my future is in your hands.

6 How wonderful are your gifts to me; how good they are!

7 I praise the Lord, because he guides me, and in the night my conscience warns me.

8 I am always aware of the Lord's presence; he is near, and nothing can shake me.

9 And so I am thankful and glad, and I feel completely secure,

10 because you protect me from the power of death. I have served you faithfully, and you will not abandon me to the world of the dead.

11 You will show me the path that leads to life; your presence fills me with joy and brings me pleasure forever.

1 How clearly the sky reveals God's glory! How plainly it shows what he has done!

2 Each day announces it to the following day; each night repeats it to the next.

3 No speech or words are used, no sound is heard;

4 yet their message goes out to all the world and is heard to the ends of the earth. God made a home in the sky for the sun;

5 it comes out in the morning like a happy bridegroom, like an athlete eager to run a race.

6 It starts at one end of the sky and goes across to the other. Nothing can hide from its heat.

7 The law of the Lord is perfect; it gives new strength. The commands of the Lord are trustworthy, giving wisdom to those who lack it.

8 The laws of the Lord are right, and those who obey them are happy. The commands of the Lord are just and give understanding to the mind.

9 Reverence for the Lord is good; it will continue forever. The judgments of the Lord are just; they are always fair.

10 They are more desirable than the finest gold; they are sweeter than the purest honey.

11 They give knowledge to me, your servant; I am rewarded for obeying them.

12 None of us can see our own errors; deliver me, Lord, from hidden faults!

13 Keep me safe, also, from willful sins; don't let them rule over me. Then I shall be perfect and free from the evil of sin.

14 May my words and my thoughts be acceptable to you, O Lord, my refuge and my redeemer!

1 The king is glad, O Lord, because you gave him strength; he rejoices because you made him victorious.

2 You have given him his heart's desire; you have answered his request.

3 You came to him with great blessings and set a crown of gold on his head.

4 He asked for life, and you gave it, a long and lasting life.

5 His glory is great because of your help; you have given him fame and majesty.

6 Your blessings are with him forever, and your presence fills him with joy.

7 The king trusts in the Lord Almighty; and because of the Lord's constant love he will always be secure.

8 The king will capture all his enemies; he will capture everyone who hates him.

9 He will destroy them like a blazing fire when he appears. The Lord will devour them in his anger, and fire will consume them.

10 None of their descendants will survive; the king will kill them all.

11 They make their plans, and plot against him, but they will not succeed.

12 He will shoot his arrows at them and make them turn and run.

13 We praise you, Lord, for your great strength! We will sing and praise your power.