Psalms 69-72

Psalm 69

¹To the chief music-maker; put to Shoshannim. Of David. Be my saviour, O God; because the waters have come in, even to my neck.

²My feet are deep in the soft earth, where there is no support; I have come into deep waters, the waves are flowing over me.

³I am tired with my crying; my throat is burning: my eyes are wasted with waiting for my God.

⁴Those who have hate for me without cause are greater in number than the hairs of my head; those who are against me, falsely desiring my destruction, are very strong; I gave back what I had not taken away.

⁵O God, you see how foolish I am; and my wrongdoing is clear to you.

⁶Let not those who have hope in you be put to shame because of me, O Lord God of armies: let not those who are waiting for you be made low because of me, O God of Israel.

⁷I have been wounded with sharp words because of you; my face has been covered with shame.

⁸I have become strange to my brothers, and like a man from a far country to my mother's children.

⁹I am on fire with passion for your house; and the hard things which are said about you have come on me.

¹⁰My bitter weeping, and my going without food, were turned to my shame.

¹¹When I put on the clothing of grief, they said evil of me.

¹²I am a cause of wonder to those in authority; a song to those who are given to strong drink.

¹³But as for me, let my prayer be made to you, O Lord, at a time when you are pleased; O God, give me an answer in your great mercy, for your salvation is certain.

¹⁴Take me from the grip of the sticky earth, so that I may not go down into it; let me be lifted up from the deep waters.

¹⁵Let me not be covered by the flowing waters; let not the deep waters go over my head, and let me not be shut up in the underworld.

¹⁶Give an answer to my words, O Lord; for your mercy is good: be turned to me, because of your great pity.

¹⁷Let not your face be covered from your servant, for I am in trouble; quickly give me an answer.

¹⁸Come near to my soul, for its salvation: be my saviour, because of those who are against me.

¹⁹You have seen my shame, how I was laughed at and made low; my haters are all before you.

²⁰My heart is broken by bitter words, I am full of grief; I made a search for some to have pity on me, but there was no one; I had no comforter.

²¹They gave me poison for my food; and bitter wine for my drink.

²²Let their table before them be for their destruction; let their feasts become a net to take them.

²³Let their eyes be blind so that they may not see; let their bodies for ever be shaking.

²⁴Let your curse come on them; let the heat of your wrath overtake them.

²⁵Give their houses to destruction, and let there be no one in their tents.

²⁶Because they are cruel to him against whom your hand is turned; they make bitter the grief of him who is wounded by you.

²⁷Let their punishment be increased; let them not come into your righteousness.

²⁸Let their names be taken from the book of the living, let them not be numbered with the upright.

²⁹But I am poor and full of sorrow; let me be lifted up by your salvation, O Lord.

³⁰I will give praise to the name of God with a song; I will give glory to him for what he has done.

³¹This will be more pleasing to the Lord than an ox, or a young ox of full growth.

³²The poor will see it and be glad: you who are lovers of God, let your hearts have life.

³³For the ears of the Lord are open to the poor, and he takes thought for his prisoners.

³⁴Let the heavens and the earth give praise to him, the seas, and everything moving in them.

³⁵For God will be the saviour of Zion, and the builder of the towns of Judah; so that it may be their resting-place and heritage.

³⁶The seed of his servants will have their part in it, and there the lovers of his name will have rest.

Psalm 70

¹To the chief music-maker. Of David. To keep in memory. Let your salvation come quickly, O God; come quickly to my help, O Lord.

²Let those who go after my soul have shame and trouble; let those who have evil designs against me be turned back and made foolish.

³Let those who say Aha, aha! be turned back as a reward of their shame.

⁴Let all those who are looking for you be glad and have joy in you; let the lovers of your salvation ever say, May God be great.

⁵But I am poor and in need; come to me quickly, O God; you are my help and my saviour; let there be no waiting, O Lord.

Psalm 71

¹In you, O Lord, have I put my hope; let me never be shamed.

²Keep me safe in your righteousness, and come to my help; give ear to my voice, and be my saviour.

³Be my strong Rock, the strong place of my salvation; for you are my Rock, and my safe place.

⁴O my God, take me out of the hand of the sinner, out of the hand of the evil and cruel man.

⁵For you are my hope, O Lord God; I have had faith in you from the time when I was young.

⁶You have been my support from the day of my birth; you took me out of my mother's body; my praise will be ever of you.

⁷I am a wonder to all; but you are my strong tower.

⁸My mouth will be full of your praise and glory all the day.

⁹Do not give me up when I am old; be my help even when my strength is gone.

¹⁰For my haters are waiting secretly for me; and those who are watching for my soul are banded together in their evil designs,

¹¹Saying, God has given him up; go after him and take him, for he has no helper.

¹²O God, be not far from me; O my God, come quickly to my help.

¹³Let those who say evil against my soul be overcome and put to shame; let my haters be made low and have no honour.

¹⁴But I will go on ever hoping, and increasing in all your praise.

¹⁵My mouth will make clear your righteousness and your salvation all the day; for they are more than may be measured.

¹⁶I will give news of the great acts of the Lord God; my words will be of your righteousness, and of yours only.

¹⁷O God, you have been my teacher from the time when I was young; and I have been talking of your works of wonder even till now.

¹⁸Now when I am old and grey-headed, O God, give me not up; till I have made clear your strength to this generation, and your power to all those to come.

¹⁹Your righteousness, O God, is very high; you have done great things; O God, who is like you?

²⁰You, who have sent great and bitter troubles on me, will give me life again, lifting me up from the deep waters of the underworld.

²¹You will make me greater than before, and give me comfort on every side.

²²I will give praise to you with instruments of music, O my God, for you are true; I will make songs to you with music, O Holy One of Israel.

²³Joy will be on my lips when I make melody to you; and in my soul, to which you have given salvation.

²⁴My tongue will be talking of your righteousness all the day; for those whose purpose is to do me evil have been crushed and put to shame.

Psalm 72

¹Of Solomon. Give the king your authority, O God, and your righteousness to the king's son.

²May he be a judge of your people in righteousness, and make true decisions for the poor.

³May the mountains give peace to the people, and the hills righteousness.

⁴May he be a judge of the poor among the people, may he give salvation to the children of those who are in need; by him let the violent be crushed.

⁵May his life go on as long as the sun and moon, through all generations.

⁶May he come down like rain on the cut grass; like showers watering the earth.

⁷In his days may the upright do well, living in peace as long as there is a moon in heaven.

⁸Let his kingdom be from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth.

⁹Let those who are against him go down before him; and let his haters be low in the dust.

¹⁰Let the kings of Tarshish and of the islands come back with offerings; let the kings of Sheba and Seba give of their stores.

¹¹Yes, let all kings go down before him; let all nations be his servants.

¹²For he will be a saviour to the poor in answer to his cry; and to him who is in need, without a helper.

¹³He will have pity on the poor, and be the saviour of those who are in need.

¹⁴He will keep their souls free from evil designs and violent attacks; and their blood will be of value in his eyes.

¹⁵May he have long life, and may gold from Sheba be given to him: may prayers be made for him at all times; may blessings be on him every day.

¹⁶May there be wide-stretching fields of grain in the land, shaking on the top of the mountains, full of fruit like Lebanon: may its stems be unnumbered like the grass of the earth.

¹⁷May his name go on for ever, as long as the sun: may men be blessing themselves by him; may all nations be blessing his name.

¹⁸Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel, the only doer of wonders.

¹⁹Praise to the glory of his noble name for ever; let all the earth be full of his glory. So be it, So be it.

²⁰The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended.