For the Director of Music. Of David the servant of the Lord. He sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said: 

1 I love you, Lord, my strength. 

2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. 

3 I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies. 

4 The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. 

5 The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. 

6 In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. 

7 The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry. 

8 Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. 

9 He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. 

10 He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind. 

11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him - the dark rain clouds of the sky. 

12 Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightnigh. 

13 The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. 

14 He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy, with great bolts of lightning he routed them. 

15 The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at your rebuke, Lord, at the blast of breath from your nostrils.

16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. 

17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. 

18 They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support. 

19 He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. 

20 The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me. 

21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord; I am not guilty of turning from my God. 

22 All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from his decrees. 

23 I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin.

24 The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight. 

25 To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless,

26 to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the devious you show yourself shrewd. 

27 You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty. 

28 You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. 

29 With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall. 

30 As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord's word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him. 

31 For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God?

32 It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure. 

33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights. 

34 He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 

35 You make your saving help my shield, and your right hand sustains me; your help has made me great. 

36 You provide a broad path for my feet, so that my ankles do not give way. 

(to be continued) 

A prayer of David 

1 Hear me, Lord, my plea is just; listen to my cry. Hear my prayer --

It does not rise from deceitful lips. 

2 Let my vindication come from you; may your eyes see what is right.

3 Though you probe my heart, though you examine me at night and test me, you will find that I have planned no evil; my mouth has not transgressed. 

4 Though people tried to bribe me, I have kept myself from the ways of the violent through what your lips have commanded. 

5 My steps have help to your paths; my feet have not stumbled. 

6 I call on you, my God, for you will answer me; turn your ear to me and hear my prayer. 

7 Show me the wonders of your great love, you who save by your right hand those who take refuge in you from their foes.  

8 Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings

9 from the wicked who are out to destroy me,  from my mortal enemies who surround me. 

10 They close up their callous  hearts, and their mouths speak with arrogance. 

11 They have tracked me down, they now surround me, with eyes alert, to throw me to the ground. 

12 They are like a lion hungry for prey, like a fierce lion crouching in cover. 

13 Rise up, Lord, confront them, bring them down; With your sword rescue me from the wicked. 

14 By your hand save me from such people, Lord, from those of this world whose reward is in this life. 

May what you have stored up for the wicked fill their bellies; may their children gorge themselves on it, and 

may there be leftovers for their little ones. 

15 As for me, I will be vindicated and will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness. 

Psalms 16 

A miktam of David. 

1 Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge. 

2 I say to the LORD, "Your are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing." 

3 I say of the holy people who are in the land, "They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight." 

4 Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more. I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods

or take up their names on my lips. 

5 Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. 

6 The boundary line have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. 

7 I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. 

8 I will keep my eyes always on the LORD. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 

9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, 

10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. 

11 You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Psalms 15 

A psalm of David. 

1 LORD, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain?

2 The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart; 

3 whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbor, and casts no slur on others; 

4 who despises a vile person but honors those who fear the LORD; who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and does not change their mind;

5 who lends money to the poor without interest; who does not accept a bribe against the innocent. 

Whoever does these things will never be shaken. 

For the director of music. Of David. 

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

2 The LORD looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. 

3 All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. 

4 Do all these evildoers know nothing?

They devour my people as though eating bread; they never call on the Lord.

5 But there they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous. 

6 You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the LORD is their refuge. 

7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!

When the LORD restores his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad! 

For the director of music. A psalm of David. 

1 How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 

2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? 

How long will my enemy triumph over me? 

3 Look on me and answer, LORD my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death, 

4 and my enemy will say, "I have overcome him," and my foes will rejoice when I fall. 

5 But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. 

6 I will sing the LORD's praise, for He has been good to me. 

For the director of music. According to sheminith. 

A psalm of David. 

1 Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore; those who are loyal have vanished from the human race. 

2 Everyone lies to their neighbor; they flatter with their lips but harbor deception in their hearts.

3 May the Lord silence all flattering lips and every boastful tongue--

4 those who say, "By our tongues we will prevail; our own lips will defend us -- who is lord over us?"

5 "Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan, I will now arise," says the LORD. 

" I will protect them from those who malign them". 

6 And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times. 

7 You, LORD, will keep the needy safe and will protect us forever from the wicked, 

8 who freely strut about when what is vile is honored by the human race. 

1 In the Lord I put my trust;

4 The Lord is in His holy temple,

7 For the Lord is righteous,

Psalms 10

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

2 In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises. 

3 He boasts about the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD. 

4 In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God. 

5 His ways are always prosperous; your laws are rejected by him; he sneers at all his enemies. 

6 He says to himself, "Nothing will ever shake me." He swears, "No one will ever do me harm."

7 His mouth is full of lies and threats; trouble and evil are under his tongue. 

8 He lies in wait near the villages; from ambush he murders the innocent. His eyes watch in secret for his victims; 

9 like a lion in cover, he lies in wait.  He lies in wait to catch the helpless; he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net. 

10 His victims are crushed, they collapse; they fall under his strength.

11 He says to himself, "God will never notice; he covers his face and never sees."

12 Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless. 

13 Why does the wicked man revile God? Why does he say to himself, "He won't call me to account"?

14 But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; you consider their grief and take it in hand.  The victims commit themselves to you; you are the helper of the fatherless.

15 Break the arm of the wicked man; call the evildoer to account for his wickedness that would not otherwise be found out. 

16 The LORD is King for ever and ever; the nations will perish from his land. 

17 You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, 

18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed, so that mere earthly mortals will never again strike terror. 

Psalms 9 

For the director of music. To the tune of "The Death of the Son." A psalm of David. 

1 I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. 

2 I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High. 

3 My enemies turn back; they stumble and perish before you. 

4 For you have upheld my right and my cause, sitting enthroned as the righteous judge. 

5 You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked; you have blotted out their name for ever and ever. 

6 Endless ruin has overtaken my enemies, you have uprooted their cities; even the memory of them has perished. 

7 The LORD reigns forever; he has established his throne for judgment. 

8 He rules the world in righteousness and judges the peoples with equity.

9 The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. 

10 Those who know your name trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you. 

11 Sing the praises of the LORD, enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations what he has done. 

12 For he who avenges blood remembers; he does not ignore the cries of the afflicted. 

13 LORD, see how my enemies persecute me! Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death, 

14 that I may declare your praises in the gates of Daughter Zion, and there rejoice in your salvation. 

15 The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug; their feet are caught in the net they have hidden. 

16 The LORD is known by his acts of justice; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. 

17 The wicked go down to the realm of the dead, all the nations that forget God. 

18 But God will never forget the needy; the hope of the afflicted will never perish. 

19 Arise, Lord, do not let mortals triumph; let the nations be judged in your presence. 

20 Strike them with terror, Lord; let the nations know they are only mortal.