31
For the leader. A psalm of David.
I seek refuge in You, O LORD; may I never be disappointed; as You are righteous, rescue me.
Incline Your ear to me; be quick to save me; be a rock, a stronghold for me, a citadel, for my deliverance.
For You are my rock and my fortress; You lead me and guide me as befits Your name.
You free me from the net laid for me, for You are my stronghold.
Into Your hand I entrust my spirit; You redeem me, O LORD, faithful God.
I detest those who rely on empty folly, but I trust in the LORD.
Let me exult and rejoice in Your faithfulness when You notice my affliction, are mindful of my deep distress,
and do not hand me over to my enemy, but grant me relief.
Have mercy on me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes are wasted by vexation, my substance and body too.
My life is spent in sorrow, my years in groaning; my strength fails because of my iniquity, my limbs waste away.
Because of all my foes I am the particular butt of my neighbors, a horror to my friends; those who see me on the street avoid me.
I am put out of mind like the dead; I am like an object given up for lost.
I hear the whisperings of many, intrigue on every side, as they scheme together against me, plotting to take my life.
But I trust in You, O LORD; I say, “You are my God!”
My fate is in Your hand; save me from the hand of my enemies and pursuers.
Show favor to Your servant; as You are faithful, deliver me.
O LORD, let me not be disappointed when I call You; let the wicked be disappointed; let them be silenced in Sheol;
let lying lips be stilled that speak haughtily against the righteous with arrogance and contempt.
How abundant is the good that You have in store for those who fear You, that You do in the full view of men for those who take refuge in You.
You grant them the protection of Your presence against scheming men; You shelter them in Your pavilion from contentious tongues.
Blessed is the LORD, for He has been wondrously faithful to me, a veritable bastion.
Alarmed, I had thought, “I am thrust out of Your sight”; yet You listened to my plea for mercy when I cried out to You.
So love the LORD, all you faithful; the LORD guards the loyal, and more than requites him who acts arrogantly.
Be strong and of good courage, all you who wait for the LORD.
32
Of David. A maskil. Happy is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered over.
Happy the man whom the LORD does not hold guilty, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
As long as I said nothing, my limbs wasted away from my anguished roaring all day long.
For night and day Your hand lay heavy on me; my vigor waned as in the summer drought.Selah.
Then I acknowledged my sin to You; I did not cover up my guilt; I resolved, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and You forgave the guilt of my sin.Selah.
Therefore let every faithful man pray to You upon discovering [his sin], that the rushing mighty waters not overtake him.
You are my shelter; You preserve me from distress; You surround me with the joyous shouts of deliverance. Selah.
Let me enlighten you and show you which way to go; let me offer counsel; my eye is on you.
Be not like a senseless horse or mule whose movement must be curbed by bit and bridle; far be it from you!
Many are the torments of the wicked, but he who trusts in the LORD shall be surrounded with favor.
Rejoice in the LORD and exult, O you righteous; shout for joy, all upright men!
72
Of Solomon. O God, endow the king with Your judgments, the king’s son with Your righteousness;
that he may judge Your people rightly, Your lowly ones, justly.
Let the mountains produce well-being for the people, the hills, the reward of justice.
Let him champion the lowly among the people, deliver the needy folk, and crush those who wrong them.
Let them fear You as long as the sun shines, while the moon lasts, generations on end.
Let him be like rain that falls on a mown field, like a downpour of rain on the ground,
that the righteous may flourish in his time, and well-being abound, till the moon is no more.
Let him rule from sea to sea, from the river to the ends of the earth.
Let desert-dwellers kneel before him, and his enemies lick the dust.
Let kings of Tarshish and the islands pay tribute, kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.
Let all kings bow to him, and all nations serve him.
For he saves the needy who cry out, the lowly who have no helper.
He cares about the poor and the needy; He brings the needy deliverance.
He redeems them from fraud and lawlessness; the shedding of their blood weighs heavily upon him.
So let him live, and receive gold of Sheba; let prayers for him be said always, blessings on him invoked at all times.
Let abundant grain be in the land, to the tops of the mountains; let his crops thrive like the forest of Lebanon; and let men sprout up in towns like country grass.
May his name be eternal; while the sun lasts, may his name endure; let men invoke his blessedness upon themselves; let all nations count him happy.
Blessed is the LORD God, God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things;
Blessed is His glorious name forever; His glory fills the whole world. Amen and Amen.
End of the prayers of David son of Jesse.