Psalms 38–41; Psalm 53

red bookmark icon blue bookmark icon gold bookmark icon
Psalms 38–41

Do Not Forsake Me, O Lord

A Psalm of David, lfor the memorial offering.

O Lord, mrebuke me not in your anger,

nor discipline me in your wrath!

For your narrows have sunk into me,

and your hand ohas come down on me.

There is pno soundness in my flesh

because of your indignation;

there is no health in my qbones

because of my sin.

For my riniquities have gone over my head;

like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.

My wounds stink and fester

because of my foolishness,

I am sutterly bowed down and tprostrate;

all the day I ugo about mourning.

For my sides are filled with burning,

and there is pno soundness in my flesh.

I am feeble and crushed;

I vgroan because of the tumult of my heart.

O Lord, all my longing is before you;

my wsighing is not hidden from you.

10  My heart throbs; my strength fails me,

and xthe light of my eyesit also has gone from me.

11  My yfriends and companions zstand aloof from my aplague,

and my nearest kin bstand far off.

12  Those who seek my life clay their snares;

those who seek my hurt dspeak of ruin

and meditate etreachery all day long.

13  But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear,

like fa mute man who does not open his mouth.

14  I have become like a man who does not hear,

and in whose mouth are no grebukes.

15  But for hyou, O Lord, do I wait;

it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.

16  For I said, Only ilet them not rejoice over me,

who jboast against me when my kfoot slips!

17  For I am lready to fall,

and my pain is ever before me.

18  I mconfess my iniquity;

I am nsorry for my sin.

19  But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty,

and many are those who hate me owrongfully.

20  Those who prender me evil for good

qaccuse me because I rfollow after good.

21  Do not forsake me, O Lord!

O my God, be not sfar from me!

22  tMake haste to help me,

O Lord, my usalvation!

What Is the Measure of My Days?

To the choirmaster: to vJeduthun. A Psalm of David.

I said, I will wguard my ways,

that I xmay not sin with my tongue;

I will yguard my mouth with a muzzle,

so long as the wicked are in my presence.

I was zmute and silent;

I held my peace to no avail,

and my distress grew worse.

My aheart became hot within me.

As I mused, the fire burned;

then I spoke with my tongue:

O Lord, bmake me know my end

and what is the measure of my days;

let me know how fleeting I am!

Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,

and cmy lifetime is as nothing before you.

Surely dall mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah

Surely a man egoes about as a shadow!

Surely for nothing1 they are in turmoil;

man fheaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!

And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?

gMy hope is in you.

Deliver me from all my transgressions.

hDo not make me the scorn of the fool!

iI am mute; I do not open my mouth,

jfor it is you who have done it.

10  kRemove your stroke from me;

I am spent by the hostility of your hand.

11  When you discipline a man

with lrebukes for sin,

you mconsume like a nmoth what is dear to him;

osurely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah

12  pHear my prayer, O Lord,

and give ear to my cry;

hold not your peace at my tears!

For I am qa sojourner with you,

qa guest, like all my fathers.

13  rLook away from me, that I may smile again,

sbefore I depart and tam no more!

My Help and My Deliverer

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

I uwaited patiently for the Lord;

he inclined to me and vheard my cry.

He drew me up from wthe pit of destruction,

out of xthe miry bog,

and yset my feet upon a rock,

zmaking my steps secure.

He put aa new song in my mouth,

a song of praise to our God.

Many will bsee and fear,

and put their trust in the Lord.

Blessed is the man who cmakes

the Lord his trust,

who does not turn to the proud,

to those who dgo astray after a lie!

You have multiplied, O Lord my God,

your ewondrous deeds and your fthoughts toward us;

none can compare with you!

I will proclaim and tell of them,

yet they are gmore than can be told.

hIn sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,

but you have given me an open iear.2

Burnt offering and sin offering

you have not required.

Then I said, Behold, I have come;

in the scroll of the book it is written jof me:

kI delight to do your will, O my God;

your law is lwithin my heart.

I have told the glad news of deliverance3

in mthe great congregation;

behold, I have not nrestrained my lips,

oas you know, O Lord.

10  I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;

I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;

I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness

from the great congregation.

11  As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain

your mercy from me;

your psteadfast love and your faithfulness will

ever preserve me!

12  For evils have qencompassed me

beyond number;

my riniquities have overtaken me,

and I cannot ssee;

they are tmore than the hairs of my head;

my heart ufails me.

13  vBe pleased, O Lord, to wdeliver me!

O Lord, xmake haste to help me!

14  yLet those be put to shame and disappointed altogether

who seek to snatch away my life;

let those be zturned back and brought to dishonor

who delight in my hurt!

15  Let those be appalled because of their shame

who asay to me, Aha, Aha!

16  But may all who seek you

rejoice and be glad in you;

may those who love your salvation

bsay continually, Great is the Lord!

17  As for me, I am cpoor and needy,

but dthe Lord takes thought for me.

You are my help and my deliverer;

do not delay, O my God!

O Lord, Be Gracious to Me

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

eBlessed is the one who considers the poor!4

fIn the day of trouble the Lord delivers him;

the Lord protects him and keeps him alive;

he is called blessed in the land;

you gdo not give him up to the will of his enemies.

The Lord sustains him on his sickbed;

in his illness you restore him to full health.5

As for me, I said, O Lord, hbe gracious to me;

iheal me,6 for I have sinned against you!

My enemies say of me in malice,

When will he die, and his name perish?

And when one comes to see me, jhe utters empty words,

while his heart gathers iniquity;

when he goes out, he tells it abroad.

All who hate me whisper together about me;

they imagine the worst for me.7

They say, A deadly thing is poured out8 on him;

he will not rise again from where he lies.

Even my kclose friend in whom I trusted,

who late my bread, has lifted his heel against me.

10  But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,

and raise me up, that I may repay them!

11  By this I know that myou delight in me:

my enemy will not shout in triumph over me.

12  But nyou have upheld me because of omy integrity,

and pset me in your presence qforever.

13  rBlessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting!

Amen and Amen.


Psalm 53

There Is None Who Does Good

To the choirmaster: according to pMahalath. A Maskil1 of David.

qThe fool says in his heart, There is no God.

They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity;

there is none who does good.

God looks down from heaven

on the children of man

to see if there are any who understand,2

who seek after God.

They have all fallen away;

together they have become corrupt;

there is none who does good,

not even one.

Have those who work evil no knowledge,

who eat up my people as they eat bread,

and do not call upon God?

There they are, in great terror,

rwhere there is no terror!

For God sscatters the bones of him who encamps against you;

you put them to shame, for God has rejected them.

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

When God restores the fortunes of his people,

let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.