Psalm 65

GOD’S CARE FOR THE EARTH

For the choir director. A psalm of David. A song.

1 Praise is rightfully yours,A

God, in Zion;

vows to you will be fulfilled.g

2 All humanity will come to you,

the one who hears prayer.h

3 Iniquities overwhelm me;

only you can atone for our rebellions.i

4 How happy is the one you choose

and bring near to live in your courts!

We will be satisfied with the goodness of your house*,

the holiness of your temple.B,j

5 You answer us in righteousness,

with awe-inspiring works,

God of our salvation,

the hope of all the ends of the earth

and of the distant seas.k

6 You establish the mountains by your power;

you are robed with strength.l

7 You silence the roar of the seas,

the roar of their waves,

and the tumult of the nations.m

8 Those who live far away are awed by your signs;

you make east and west shout for joy.n

9 You visit the earth and water it abundantly,

enriching it greatly.

God’s stream is filled with water,

for you prepare the earth in this way,

providing people with grain.o

10 You soften it with showers and bless its growth,

soaking its furrows and leveling its ridges.p

11 You crown the year with your goodness;

your carts overflow with plenty.C,q

12 The wilderness pastures overflow,

and the hills are robed with joy.r

13 The pastures are clothed with flocks

and the valleys covered with grain.s

They shout in triumph; indeed, they sing.t

Psalm 66

PRAISE FOR GOD’S MIGHTY ACTS

For the choir director. A song. A psalm.

1 Let the whole earth shout joyfully to God!u

2 Sing about the glory of his name;

make his praise glorious.v

3 Say to God, “How awe-inspiring are your works!

Your enemies will cringe before you

because of your great strength.w

4 The whole earth will worship you

and sing praise to you.

They will sing praise to your name.”x

Selah

5 Come and see the wonders of God;y

his acts for humanityA are awe-inspiring.

6 He turned the sea into dry land,

and they crossed the river on foot.z

There we rejoiced in him.aa

7 He rules forever by his might;

he keeps his eye on the nations.ab

The rebellious should not exalt themselves.ac

Selah

8 Bless our God, you peoples;

let the sound of his praise be heard.ad

9 He keeps us aliveB

and does not allow our feet to slip.a

10 For you, God, tested us;

you refined us as silver is refined.b

11 You lured us into a trap;

you placed burdens on our backs.c

12 You let men ride over our heads;

we went through fire and water,

but you brought us out to abundance.C,d

13 I will enter your house with burnt offerings;

I will pay you my vowse

14 that my lips promised

and my mouth spoke during my distress.f

15 I will offer you fattened sheep as burnt offerings,

with the fragrant smoke of rams;

I will sacrifice bulls with goats.g

Selah

16 Come and listen, all who fear God,

and I will tell what he has done for me.h

17 I cried out to him with my mouth,

and praise was on my tongue.i

18 If I had been aware of malice in my heart,

the Lord would not have listened.j

19 However, God has listened;

he has paid attention to the sound of my prayer.k

20 Blessed be God!

He has not turned away my prayer

or turned his faithful love from me.l

Psalm 67

ALL WILL PRAISE GOD

For the choir director: with stringed instruments. A psalm. A song.

1 May God be gracious to us and bless us;

may he make his face shine upon usm

Selah

2 so that your way may be known on earth,

your salvation among all nations.n

3 Let the peoples praise you, God;

let all the peoples praise you.o

4 Let the nations rejoice and shout for joy,

for you judge the peoples with fairness

and lead the nations on earth.p

Selah

5 Let the peoples praise you, God,

let all the peoples praise you.q

6 The earth has produced its harvest;

God, our God, blesses us.r

7 God will bless us,

and all the ends of the earth will fear him.s

Psalm 68

GOD’S MAJESTIC POWER

For the choir director. A psalm of David. A song.

1 God arises. His enemies scatter,

and those who hate him flee from his presence.t

2 As smoke is blown away,

so you blow them away.

As wax melts before the fire,

so the wicked are destroyed before God.u

3 But the righteous are glad;

they rejoice before God and celebrate with joy.v

4 Sing to God! Sing praises to his name.

Exalt him who rides on the cloudsA—

his name is the LordB—and celebrate before him.w

5 God in his holy dwelling is

a father of the fatherless

and a champion of widows.x

6 God provides homes for those who are deserted.

He leads out the prisoners to prosperity,C

but the rebellious live in a scorched land.y

7 God, when you went out before your people,

when you marched through the desert,

Selah

8 the earth trembled and the skies poured rain

before God, the God of Sinai,D

before God, the God of Israel.z

9 You, God, showered abundant rain;

you revived your inheritance when it languished.aa

10 Your people settled in it;

God, you provided for the poor by your goodness.a

11 The Lord gave the command;

a great company of women brought the good news:b

12 “The kings of the armies flee—they flee!”

She who stays at home divides the spoil.c

13 WhileE you lie among the sheep pens,F

the wings of a dove are covered with silver,

and its feathers with glistening gold.d

14 When the Almighty scattered kings in the land,

it snowed on Zalmon.A,e

15 Mount Bashan is God’s towering mountain;

Mount Bashan is a mountain of many peaks.f

16 Why gaze with envy, you mountain peaks,

at the mountain God desired for his abode?

The Lord will dwell there forever!g

17 God’s chariots are tens of thousands,

thousands and thousands;h

the Lord is among them in the sanctuary*

as he was at Sinai.i

18 You ascended to the heights, taking away captives;

you received gifts fromC people,

even from the rebellious,

so that the Lord God might dwell there.D,j

19 Blessed be the Lord!

Day after day he bears our burdens;

God is our salvation.k

Selah

20 Our God is a God of salvation,

and escape from death belongs to the Lord my Lord.l

21 Surely God crushes the heads of his enemies,

the hairy brow of one who goes on in his guilty acts.m

22 The Lord said, “I will bring them back from Bashan;

I will bring them back from the depths of the sean

23 so that your foot may wadeE in blood

and your dogs’ tongues may have their share

from the enemies.”o

24 People have seen your procession, God,

the procession of my God,

my King, in the sanctuary.p

25 Singers lead the way,

with musicians following;

among them are young women

playing tambourines.q

26 Bless God in the assemblies;

bless the Lord from the fountain of Israel.r

27 There is Benjamin, the youngest, leading them,

the rulers of Judah in their assembly,F

the rulers of Zebulun, the rulers of Naphtali.s

28 Your God has decreed your strength.

Show your strength, God,

you who have acted on our behalf.t

29 Because of your temple at Jerusalem,

kings will bring tribute to you.u

30 Rebuke the beast in the reeds,

the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.v

Trample underfoot those with bars of silver.A

Scatter the peoples who take pleasure in war.w

31 Ambassadors will comeB from Egypt;

Cush will stretch out its hands to God.x

32 Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth;

sing praise to the Lord,y

Selah

33 to him who rides in the ancient, highest heavens.z

Look, he thunders with his powerful voice!aa

34 Ascribe power to God.

His majesty is over Israel;

his power is among the clouds.ab

35 God, you are awe-inspiring in your sanctuaries.

The God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.

Blessed be God!a

Psalm 69

A PLEA FOR RESCUE

For the choir director: according to “The Lilies.”b Of David.

1 Save me, God,

for the water has risen to my neck.c

2 I have sunk in deep mud, and there is no footing;

I have come into deep water,

and a flood sweeps over me.d

3 I am weary from my crying;

my throat is parched.

My eyes fail, looking for my God.e

4 Those who hate me without cause

are more numerous than the hairs of my head;

my deceitful enemies, who would destroy me,

are powerful.f

Though I did not steal, I must repay.g

5 God, you know my foolishness,

and my guilty acts are not hidden from you.h

6 Do not let those who put their hope in you

be disgraced because of me,

Lord God of Armies;

do not let those who seek you

be humiliated because of me,

God of Israel.i

7 For I have endured insults because of you,

and shame has covered my face.j

8 I have become a stranger to my brothers

and a foreigner to my mother’s sonsk

9 because zeal for your house has consumed me,l

and the insults of those who insult you

have fallen on me.m

10 I mourned and fasted,

but it brought me insults.n

11 I wore sackcloth as my clothing,

and I was a joke to them.

12 Those who sit at the city gate talk about me,

and drunkards make up songs about me.o

13 But as for me, Lord,

my prayer to you is for a time of favor.

In your abundant, faithful love, God,

answer me with your sure salvation.p

14 Rescue me from the miry mud; don’t let me sink.

Let me be rescued from those who hate me

and from the deep water.q

15 Don’t let the floodwaters sweep over me

or the deep swallow me up;

don’t let the Pit close its mouth over me.r

16 Answer me, Lord,

for your faithful love is good.

In keeping with your abundant compassion,

turn to me.s

17 Don’t hide your face from your servant,

for I am in distress.

Answer me quickly!t

18 Come near to me and redeem me;

ransom me because of my enemies.u

19 You know the insults I endure—

my shame and disgrace.

You are aware of all my adversaries.v

20 Insults have broken my heart,

and I am in despair.

I waited for sympathy,

but there was none;

for comforters, but found no one.w

21 Instead, they gave me gall for my food,

and for my thirst

they gave me vinegar to drink.x

22 Let their table set before them be a snare,

and let it be a trap for their allies.y

23 Let their eyes grow too dim to see,

and let their hips continually quake.z

24 Pour out your rage on them,

and let your burning anger overtake them.aa

25 Make their fortification desolate;

may no one live in their tents.ab

26 For they persecute the one you struck

and talk about the pain of those you wounded.ac

27 Charge them with crime on top of crime;

do not let them share in your righteousness.ad

28 Let them be erased from the book of life

and not be recorded with the righteous.a

29 But as for me—poor and in pain—

let your salvation protect me, God.b

30 I will praise God’s name with song

and exalt him with thanksgiving.c

31 That will please the Lord more than an ox,

more than a bull with horns and hooves.d

32 The humble will see it and rejoice.

You who seek God, take heart!e

33 For the Lord listens to the needy

and does not despise

his own who are prisoners.f

34 Let heaven and earth praise him,

the seas and everything that moves in them,g

35 for God will save Zion

and build upA the cities of Judah.

They will live there and possess it.h

36 The descendants of his servants will inherit it,

and those who love his name will live in it.i