Psalm 31

The Lord A Fortress in Adversity

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

1 In aYou, O Lord, I 1put my trust; Let me never be ashamed;

Deliver me in Your righteousness.

2 bBow down Your ear to me,

Deliver me speedily;

Be my rock of 2refuge,

A 3fortress of defense to save me.

3 cFor You are my rock and my fortress;

Therefore, dfor Your name’s sake,

Lead me and guide me.

4 Pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me,

For You are my strength.

5 eInto Your hand I commit my spirit;

You have redeemed me, O Lord God of ftruth.

6 I have hated those gwho regard useless idols;

But I trust in the Lord.

7 I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy,

For You have considered my trouble;

You have hknown my soul in 4adversities,

8 And have not ishut 5me up into the hand of the enemy;

jYou have set my feet in a wide place.

9 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble;

kMy eye wastes away with grief,

Yes, my soul and my 6body!

10 For my life is spent with grief,

And my years with sighing;

My strength fails because of my iniquity,

And my bones waste away.

11 lI am a 7reproach among all my enemies,

But mespecially among my neighbors,

And am repulsive to my acquaintances;

nThose who see me outside flee from me.

12 oI am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind;

I am like a 8broken vessel.

13 pFor I hear the slander of many;

qFear is on every side;

While they rtake counsel together against me,

They scheme to take away my life.

14 But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord;

I say, “You are my God.”

15 My times are in Your shand;

Deliver me from the hand of my enemies,

And from those who persecute me.

16 tMake Your face shine upon Your servant;

Save me for Your mercies’ sake.

17 uDo not let me be ashamed, O Lord, for I have called upon You;

Let the wicked be ashamed;

vLet them be silent in the grave.

18 wLet the lying lips be put to silence,

Which xspeak insolent things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.

19 yOh, how great is Your goodness,

Which You have laid up for those who fear You,

Which You have prepared for those who trust in You

In the presence of the sons of men!

20 zYou shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence

From the plots of man;

aYou shall keep them secretly in a 9pavilion

From the strife of tongues.

21 Blessed be the Lord,

For bHe has shown me His marvelous kindness in a 1strong city!

22 For I said in my haste,

“I am cut off from before Your eyes”;

Nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications

When I cried out to You.

23 Oh, love the Lord, all you His saints!

For the Lord preserves the faithful,

And fully repays the proud person.

24 cBe of good courage,

And He shall strengthen your heart,

All you who hope in the Lord.

Psalm 32

The Joy of Forgiveness

A Psalm of David. A 1Contemplation.

1 Blessed is he whose atransgression is forgiven,

Whose sin is covered.

2 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord bdoes not 2impute iniquity,

And cin whose spirit there is no deceit.

3 When I kept silent, my bones grew old

Through my groaning all the day long.

4 For day and night Your dhand was heavy upon me;

My vitality was turned into the drought of summer.

Selah

5 I acknowledged my sin to You,

And my iniquity I have not hidden.

eI said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”

And You forgave the iniquity of my sin.

Selah

6 fFor this cause everyone who is godly shall gpray to You

In a time when You may be found;

Surely in a flood of great waters

They shall not come near him.

7 hYou are my hiding place;

You shall preserve me from trouble;

You shall surround me with isongs of deliverance.

Selah

8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;

I will guide you with My eye.

9 Do not be like the jhorse or like the mule,

Which have no understanding,

Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle,

Else they will not come near you.

10 kMany sorrows shall be to the wicked;

But lhe who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him.

11 mBe glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous;

And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

Psalm 33

The Sovereignty of the Lord In Creation and History

1 Rejoice ain the Lord, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful.

2 Praise the Lord with the harp;

1Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.

3 Sing to Him a new song;

Play skillfully with a shout of joy.

4 For the word of the Lord is right,

And all His work is done in truth.

5 He loves righteousness and justice;

The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

6 bBy the word of the Lord the heavens were made,

And all the chost of them dby the breath of His mouth.

7 eHe gathers the waters of the sea together 2as a heap;

He lays up the deep in storehouses.

8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;

Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.

9 For fHe spoke, and it was done;

He commanded, and it stood fast.

10 gThe Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;

He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect.

11 hThe counsel of the Lord stands forever,

The plans of His heart to all generations.

12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,

The people He has ichosen as His own inheritance.

13 jThe Lord looks from heaven;

He sees all the sons of men.

14 From the place of His dwelling He looks

On all the inhabitants of the earth;

15 He fashions their hearts individually;

kHe 3considers all their works.

16 lNo king is saved by the multitude of an army;

A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.

17 mA horse is a 4vain hope for safety;

Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.

18 nBehold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,

On those who hope in His mercy,

19 To deliver their soul from death,

And oto keep them alive in famine.

20 Our soul waits for the Lord;

He is our help and our shield.

21 For our heart shall rejoice in Him,

Because we have trusted in His holy name.

22 Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us,

Just as we hope in You.