Psalm 3-8

New American Standard Bible

Morning Prayer of Trust in God.

A Psalm of David, when ^[a]he fled from his son Absalom.

3 Lord, how ^(A)my enemies have increased!
Many are rising up against me.
²Many are saying of my soul,
“There is no ^(B)salvation for him in God.” Selah

³But You, Lord, are ^(C)a shield around me,
My ^(D)glory, and the One who ^(E)lifts my head.
⁴I was crying out to the Lord with my voice,
And He ^(F)answered me from ^(G)His holy ^[b]mountain. Selah
⁵^[c]I ^(H)lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the Lord sustains me.
⁶I will ^(I)not be afraid of ten thousands of people
Who have ^(J)set themselves against me all around.

⁷^(K)Arise, Lord; ^(L)save me, my God!
For You ^[d]have ^(M)struck all my enemies on the ^[e]cheek;
You ^[f]have ^(N)shattered the teeth of the wicked.
⁸^[g]^(O)Salvation belongs to the Lord;
May Your ^(P)blessing ^[h]be upon Your people! Selah

Evening Prayer of Trust in God.

^[i]For the music director; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.

4 ^(Q)Answer me when ^(R)I call, God ^[j]of my righteousness!
You have ^[k]^(S)relieved me in my distress;
Be ^(T)gracious to me and ^(U)hear my prayer.

²You sons of man, how long will ^(V)my ^[l]honor be treated as ^(W)an insult?
How long will you love ^(X)what is worthless and strive for a ^(Y)lie? Selah
³But know that the Lord has ^[m]^(Z)set apart the ^(AA)godly person for Himself;
The Lord ^(AB)hears when I call to Him.

⁴^[n]^(AC)Tremble, ^[o]^(AD)and do not sin;
^[p]^(AE)Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah
⁵Offer ^[q]the ^(AF)sacrifices of righteousness,
And ^(AG)trust in the Lord.

⁶Many are saying, “^(AH)Who will show us anything good?”
^(AI)Lift up the light of Your face upon us, Lord!
⁷You have put ^(AJ)joy in my heart,
More than when their grain and new wine are abundant.
⁸In peace I will ^[r]both ^(AK)lie down and sleep,
For You alone, Lord, have me ^(AL)dwell in safety.

Prayer for Protection from the Wicked.

For the music director; for ^[s]flute accompaniment. A Psalm of David.

5 ^(AM)Listen to my words, Lord,
Consider my ^(AN)sighing.
²Listen to ^(AO)the sound of my cry for help, ^(AP)my King and my God,
For to You I pray.
³In the morning, Lord, ^[t]You will hear my voice;
In the ^(AQ)morning I will present my ^[u]prayer to You and be on the ^(AR)watch.

⁴For You are not a God ^(AS)who takes pleasure in wickedness;
^(AT)No evil can dwell with You.
⁵The ^(AU)boastful will not ^(AV)stand before Your eyes;
You ^(AW)hate all who do injustice.
⁶You ^(AX)destroy those who speak lies;
The Lord loathes ^(AY)the person of bloodshed and deceit.
⁷But as for me, ^(AZ)by Your abundant graciousness I will enter Your house,
^[v]At Your holy temple I will ^(BA)bow in ^(BB)reverence for You.

⁸Lord, ^(BC)lead me ^(BD)in Your righteousness ^(BE)because of my enemies;
Make Your way ^[w]straight before me.
⁹For there is ^(BF)nothing ^[x]trustworthy in ^[y]their mouth;
Their ^(BG)inward part is destruction itself.
Their ^(BH)throat is an open grave;
They ^[z]flatter with their tongue.
¹⁰Make them pay, God;
^(BI)Have them fall by their own schemes!
^(BJ)Scatter them in the multitude of their wrongdoings,
For they are ^(BK)rebellious against You.

¹¹But ^(BL)rejoice, all who ^(BM)take refuge in You,
Sing for joy forever!
And ^[aa]may You ^(BN)shelter them,
That those who ^(BO)love Your name may rejoice in You.
¹²For You ^(BP)bless the righteous person, Lord,
You ^(BQ)surround him with favor as with a shield.

Prayer for Mercy in Time of Trouble.

For the music director; with stringed instruments, ^[ab]upon an eight-string lyre. A Psalm of David.

6 Lord, ^(BR)do not rebuke me in Your anger,
Nor discipline me in Your wrath.
²Be gracious to me, Lord, for I am ^(BS)frail;
^(BT)Heal me, Lord, for ^(BU)my bones are horrified.
³And my ^(BV)soul is greatly horrified;
But You, Lord—^(BW)how long?

⁴Return, Lord, ^(BX)rescue my ^[ac]soul;
Save me because of Your mercy.
⁵For ^(BY)there is no ^[ad]mention of You in death;
In ^[ae]Sheol, who will praise You?

⁶I am ^(BZ)weary with my sighing;
Every night I make my bed swim,
I flood my couch with ^(CA)my tears.
⁷My ^(CB)eye has wasted away with grief;
It has grown old because of all my enemies.

⁸^(CC)Leave me, all you who practice injustice,
For the Lord ^(CD)has heard the sound of my weeping.
⁹The Lord ^(CE)has heard my pleading,
The Lord ^(CF)receives my prayer.
¹⁰All my enemies will ^(CG)be put to shame and greatly horrified;
They shall ^[af]turn back, they will ^(CH)suddenly be put to shame.

The Lord Implored to Defend the Psalmist against the Wicked.

A ^[ag]Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord ^[ah]concerning Cush, a Benjaminite.

7 O Lord my God, ^(CI)in You I have taken refuge;
Save me from all those who pursue me, and ^(CJ)rescue me,
²Or he will tear ^[ai]my soul ^(CK)like a lion,
Dragging me away, while there is no one to rescue me.

³O Lord my God, if I have done this,
If there is ^(CL)injustice in my hands,
⁴If I have ^(CM)done evil to ^[aj]my friend,
Or have ^(CN)plundered ^[ak]my enemy for no reason,
⁵Let the enemy pursue ^[al]my soul and overtake ^[am]it;
And let him trample my life to the ground
And lay my glory in the dust. Selah

⁶^(CO)Arise, Lord, in Your anger;
^(CP)Raise Yourself against ^(CQ)the rage of my enemies,
And ^(CR)stir Yourself ^[an]for me; You have ordered judgment.
⁷Let the assembly of the ^(CS)peoples encompass You,
And return on high over it.
⁸The Lord ^(CT)judges the peoples;
^[ao]^(CU)Vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.
⁹Please let ^(CV)the evil of the wicked come to an end, but ^(CW)establish the righteous;
For the righteous God ^(CX)puts hearts and ^[ap]minds to the test.
¹⁰My ^(CY)shield is ^[aq]with God,
Who ^(CZ)saves the upright in heart.
¹¹God is a ^(DA)righteous judge,
And a God who ^(DB)shows indignation every day.

¹²If one ^(DC)does not repent, He will ^(DD)sharpen His sword;
He has ^(DE)bent His bow and taken aim.
¹³He has also prepared deadly weapons for Himself;
He makes His ^(DF)arrows fiery shafts.
¹⁴Behold, an evil person is pregnant with injustice,
And he ^(DG)conceives harm and gives birth to lies.
¹⁵He has dug a pit and hollowed it out,
And has ^(DH)fallen into the hole which he made.
¹⁶His ^(DI)harm will return on his own head,
And his ^(DJ)violence will descend on the top of his own head.

¹⁷I will give thanks to the Lord ^(DK)according to His righteousness
And will ^(DL)sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.

The Lord’s Glory and Mankind’s Dignity.

For the music director; on the Gittith. A Psalm of David.

8 Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth,
You who have ^[ar]^(DM)displayed Your splendor above the heavens!
²^(DN)From the mouths of infants and nursing babies You have established ^[as]^(DO)strength
Because of Your enemies,
To do away with ^(DP)the enemy and the revengeful.

³When I ^[at]^(DQ)consider ^(DR)Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The ^(DS)moon and the stars, which You have set in place;
⁴^(DT)What is man that You think of him,
And a son of man that You are concerned about him?
⁵Yet You have made him a ^(DU)little lower than ^[au]God,
And ^(DV)You crown him with ^(DW)glory and majesty!
⁶You have him ^(DX)rule over the works of Your hands;
You have ^(DY)put everything under his feet,
⁷All sheep and oxen,
And also the animals of the field,
⁸The birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.

⁹^(DZ)Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth!

Footnotes

Psalm 3 Title 2 Sam 15:13-17, 29
Psalm 3:4 Or hill
Psalm 3:5 Or As for me, I
Psalm 3:7 Or strike
Psalm 3:7 Or jaw
Psalm 3:7 Or shatter
Psalm 3:8 Or Deliverance
Psalm 3:8 Or is
Psalm 4 Title I.e., Belonging to the choir director’s anthology
Psalm 4:1 I.e., who maintains my right
Psalm 4:1 Lit made room for
Psalm 4:2 Or glory
Psalm 4:3 Another reading is dealt wonderfully with
Psalm 4:4 I.e., with anger or fear
Psalm 4:4 Or but
Psalm 4:4 Lit Speak
Psalm 4:5 Or righteous sacrifices
Psalm 4:8 Or at the same time
Psalm 5 Title Heb Nehiloth
Psalm 5:3 Or May You hear
Psalm 5:3 Or sacrifice
Psalm 5:7 Or Toward
Psalm 5:8 Or smooth
Psalm 5:9 Or true
Psalm 5:9 So ancient versions; MT his
Psalm 5:9 Or make their tongue smooth
Psalm 5:11 Or You shelter
Psalm 6 Title Or according to a lower octave (Heb Sheminith)
Psalm 6:4 Or life
Psalm 6:5 Or remembrance
Psalm 6:5 I.e., the netherworld
Psalm 6:10 Or again be abruptly put to shame
Psalm 7 Title I.e., Dithyrambic rhythm; or wild, passionate song
Psalm 7 Title Or concerning the words of
Psalm 7:2 Or me
Psalm 7:4 Lit him who was at peace with me
Psalm 7:4 Or him who for no reason was my enemy,
Psalm 7:5 Or me
Psalm 7:5 Or me
Psalm 7:6 One ancient version reads O my God
Psalm 7:8 Lit Judge
Psalm 7:9 Lit kidneys, figurative for inner man
Psalm 7:10 Lit upon
Psalm 8:1 Lit put
Psalm 8:2 Or a strength
Psalm 8:3 Or see
Psalm 8:5 LXX angels

Psalm 32

New American Standard Bible

Blessedness of Forgiveness and of Trust in God.

A Psalm of David. A ^[a]Maskil.

32 ^(A)How blessed is he whose wrongdoing is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered!
²How blessed is a person whose guilt the Lord ^(B)does not take into account,
And in whose spirit there is ^(C)no deceit!

³When ^(D)I kept silent about my sin, ^(E)my ^[b]body wasted away
Through my ^[c]^(F)groaning all day long.
⁴For day and night ^(G)Your hand was heavy upon me;
My ^[d]^(H)vitality failed as with the dry heat of summer. Selah
⁵I ^(I)acknowledged my sin to You,
And I ^(J)did not hide my guilt;
I said, “^(K)I will confess my wrongdoings to the Lord”;
And You ^(L)forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah
⁶Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You ^[e]^(M)in a time when You may be found;
Certainly ^(N)in a flood of great waters, they will not reach him.
⁷You are ^(O)my hiding place; You ^(P)keep me from trouble;
You surround me with ^[f]^(Q)songs of deliverance. Selah

⁸I will ^(R)instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;
I will advise you ^(S)with My eye upon you.
⁹Do not be ^(T)like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding,
Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check,
Otherwise they will not come near to you.
¹⁰The ^(U)sorrows of the wicked are many,
But ^(V)the one who trusts in the Lord, goodness will surround him.
¹¹Be ^(W)glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones;
And shout for joy, all you who are ^(X)upright in heart.

Footnotes

Psalm 32 Title Possibly Contemplative; or Didactic; or Skillful Psalm
Psalm 32:3 Or bones, substance
Psalm 32:3 Lit roaring
Psalm 32:4 Lit life juices were turned into the drought of summer
Psalm 32:6 Lit in a time of finding out
Psalm 32:7 Or shouts

Romans 4:6-8

New American Standard Bible

⁶just as David also speaks of the blessing of the person to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

⁷“^(A)Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven,
And whose sins have been covered.
⁸^(B)Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not ^(C)take into account.”