heart.
4Pay them according to their deeds,
their malicious acts;
according to their handiwork pay them,
give them their deserts.
5For they do not consider the LORD’s deeds,
the work of His hands.
May He tear them down,
never to rebuild them!
6Blessed is the LORD,
for He listens to my plea for mercy.
7The LORD is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in Him.
I was helped,b and my heart exulted,
so I will glorify Him with my song.
8The LORD is c-their strength;-c
He is a stronghold for the deliverance of His anointed.
9Deliver and bless Your very own people;
tend them and sustain them forever.
29 A psalm of David.
Ascribe to the LORD, O divine beings,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
2Ascribe to the LORD the glory of His name;
bow down to the LORD, majestic in holiness.
3The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the LORD, over the mighty waters.
4The voice of the LORD is power;
the voice of the LORD is majesty;
5the voice of the LORD breaks cedars;
the LORD shatters the cedars of Lebanon.
6a-He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,-a
Sirion, like a young wild ox.
7The voice of the LORD kindles flames of fire;
8the voice of the LORD convulses the wilderness;
the LORD convulses the wilderness of Kadesh;
9the voice of the LORD causes hinds to calve,
b-and strips forests bare;-b
while in His temple all say “Glory!”
10The LORD sat enthroned at the Flood;
the LORD sits enthroned, king forever.
11May the LORD grant strength to His people;
may the LORD bestow on His people wellbeing.
30 A psalm of David. A song for the dedication of the House.a
2I extol You, O LORD,
for You have lifted me up,
and not let my enemies rejoice over me.
3O LORD, my God,
I cried out to You,
and You healed me.
4O LORD, You brought me up from Sheol,
preserved me from going down into the Pit.
5O you faithful of the LORD, sing to Him,
and praise His holy name.
6For He is angry but a moment,
and when He is pleased there is life.
b-One may lie down weeping at nightfall;-b
but at dawn there are shouts of joy.
7When I was untroubled,
I thought, “I shall never be shaken,”
8for You, O LORD, when You were pleased,
made [me]c firm as a mighty mountain.
When You hid Your face,
I was terrified.
9I called to You, O LORD;
to my LORD I made appeal,
10“What is to be gained from my death,d
from my descent into the Pit?
Can dust praise You?
Can it declare Your faithfulness?
11Hear, O LORD, and have mercy on me;
O LORD, be my help!”
12You turned my lament into dancing,
you undid my sackcloth and girded me with joy,
13that [my] whole being might sing hymns to You endlessly;
O LORD my God, I will praise You forever.
31 For the leader. A psalm of David.
2I seek refuge in You, O LORD;
may I never be disappointed;
as You are righteous, rescue me.
3Incline Your ear to me;
be quick to save me;
be a rock, a stronghold for me,
a citadel, for my deliverance.
4For You are my rock and my fortress;
You lead me and guide me as befits Your name.
5You free me from the net laid for me,
for You are my stronghold.
6Into Your hand I entrust my spirit;
You redeem me, O LORD, faithful God.
7I detest those who rely on empty folly,
but I trust in the LORD.
8Let me exult and rejoice in Your faithfulness
when You notice my affliction,
are mindful of my deep distress,
9and do not hand me over to my enemy,
but a-grant me relief.-a
10Have mercy on me, O LORD,
for I am in distress;
my eyes are wasted by vexation,
b-my substance and body too.-b
11My life is spent in sorrow,
my years in groaning;
my strength fails because of my iniquity,
my limbs waste away.
12Because 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.
13I am put out of mind like the dead;
I am like an object given up for lost.
14I hear the whisperings of many,
intriguec on every side,
as they scheme together against me,
plotting to take my life.
15But I trust in You, O LORD;
I say, “You are my God!”
16My fate is in Your hand;
save me from the hand of my enemies and pursuers.
17Show favor to Your servant;
as You are faithful, deliver me.
18O LORD, let me not be disappointed when I call You;
let the wicked be disappointed;
let them be silenced in Sheol;
19let lying lips be stilled
that speak haughtily against the righteous
with arrogance and contempt.
20How 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.
21You grant them the protection of Your presence
b-against scheming men;-b
You shelter them in Your pavilion
from contentious tongues.
22Blessed is the LORD,
for He has been wondrously faithful to me,
a veritable bastion.
23Alarmed, I had thought,
“I am thrust out of Your sight”;
yet You listened to my plea for mercy
when I cried out to You.
24So love the LORD, all you faithful;
the LORD guards the loyal,
and more than requites
him who acts arrogantly.
25Be strong and of good courage,
all you who wait for the LORD.
32 Of David. a-A maskil.-a
Happy is he whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered over.
2Happy the man whom the LORD does not hold guilty,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3As long as I said nothing,
my limbs wasted away
from my anguished roaring all day long.
4For night and day
Your hand lay heavy on me;
my vigor waned
as in the summer drought.
Selah.
5Then 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.
6Therefore let every faithful man pray to You
b-upon discovering [his sin],-b
that the rushing mighty waters
not overtake him.
7You are my shelter;
You preserve me from distress;
You surround me with the joyous shouts of deliverance.
Selah.
8Let me enlighten you
and show you which way to go;
let me offer counsel; my eye is on you.
9Be not like a senseless horse or mule
a-whose movement must be curbed by bit and bridle;-a
c-far be it from you!-c
10Many are the torments of the wicked,
but he who trusts in the LORD
shall be surrounded with favor.
11Rejoice in the LORD and exult, O you righteous;
shout for joy, all upright men!
33 Sing forth, O you righteous, to the LORD;
it is fit that the upright acclaim Him.
2Praise the LORD with the lyre;
with the ten-stringed harp sing to Him;
3sing Him a new song;
play sweetly with shouts of joy.
4For the word of the LORD is right;
His every deed is faithful.
5He loves what is right and just;
the earth is full of the LORD’s faithful care.
6By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,
by the breath of His mouth, all their host.
7He heaps up the ocean waters like a mound,
stores the deep in vaults.
8Let all the earth fear the LORD;
let all the inhabitants of the world dread Him.
9For He spoke, and it was;
He commanded, and it endured.
10The LORD frustrates the plans of nations,
brings to naught the designs of peoples.
11What the LORD plans endures forever,
what He designs, for ages on end.
12Happy the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people He has chosen to be His own.
13The LORD looks down from heaven;
He sees all mankind.
14From His dwelling-place He gazes
on all the inhabitants of the earth—
15He who fashions the hearts of them all,
who discerns all their doings.
16Kings are not delivered by a large force;
warriors are not saved by great strength;
17horses are a false hope for deliverance;
for all their great power they provide no escape.
18Truly the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him,
who wait for His faithful care
19to save them from death,
to sustain them in famine.
20We set our hope on the LORD,
He is our help and shield;
21in Him our hearts rejoice,
for in His holy name we trust.
22May we enjoy, O LORD, Your faithful care,
as we have put our hope in You.
34 Of David, a-when he feigned madness in the presence of Abime-
lech, who turned him out, and he left.-a
2I bless the LORD at all times;
praise of Him is ever in my mouth.
3I glory in the LORD;
let the lowly hear it and rejoice.
4Exalt the LORD with me;
let us extol His name together.
5I turned to the LORD, and He answered me;
He saved me from all my terrors.
6Men look to Him and are radiant;
let their faces not be downcast.
7Here was a lowly man who called,
and the LORD listened,
and delivered him from all his troubles.
8The angel of the LORD camps around those who fear Him
and rescues them.
9Taste and see how good the LORD is;
happy the man who takes refuge in Him!
10Fear the LORD, you His consecrated ones,
for those who fear Him lack nothing.
11Lions have been reduced to starvation,
but those who turn to the LORD shall not lack any good.
12Come, my sons, listen to me;
I will teach you what it is to fear the LORD.
13Who is the man who is eager for life,
who desires years of good fortune?
14Guard your tongue from evil,
your lips from deceitful speech.
15Shun evil and do good,
seek amityb and pursue it.
16The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,
His ears attentive to their cry.
17The face of the LORD is set against evildoers,
to erase their names from the earth.
18Theyc cry out, and the LORD hears,
and saves them from all their troubles.
19The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
those crushed in spirit He delivers.
20Though the misfortunes of the righteous be many,
the LORD will save him from them all,
21Keeping all his bones intact,
not one of them being broken.
22One misfortune is the deathblow of the wicked;
the foes of the righteous shall be ruined.
23The LORD redeems the life of His servants;
all who take refuge in Him shall not be ruined.
35Of David.
O LORD, strive with my adversaries,
give battle to my foes,
2take up shield and buckler,
and come to my defense;
3ready the spear and javelin
against my pursuers;
tell me, “I am your deliverance.”
4Let those who seek my life
be frustrated and put to shame;
let those who plan to harm me
fall back in disgrace.
5Let them be as chaff in the wind,
the LORD’s angel driving