1 Why do You stand afar off, O LORD? Why do You hide in times of trouble?

2 The wicked in his pride persecutes the poor; let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.

3 For the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire; he blesses the greedy and renounces the LORD.

4 The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts.

5 His ways are always prospering; Your judgements are far above, out of his sight; As for all his enemies, he sneers at them.

6 He has said in his heart, “I shall not be moved; I shall never be in adversity.”

7 His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue is trouble and iniquity.

8 He sits in the lurking places of the villages; in the secret places he murders the innocent; his eyes are secretly fixed on the helpless.

9 He lies in wait secretly, as a lion in his den; he lies in wait to catch the poor; he catches the poor when he draws him into his net.

10 So he crouches, he lies low, that the helpless may fall by his strength.

11 He has said in his heart, “God has forgotten; He hides His face; He will never see.”

12 Arise, O LORD! O God, lift up Your hand! Do not forget the humble.

13 Why do the wicked renounce God?  He has said in his heart, “You will not require an account.”

14 But You have seen, for You observe trouble and grief, to repay it by Your hand. The helpless commits himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless.

15 Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man;  Seek out his wickedness until You find none.

16 The LORD is KING forever and ever; the nations have perished out of His land.

17 LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear,

18 To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may oppress no more.

To the Chief Musician. To the tune of “Death of a Son”. A Psalm of David.

1 I will praise You, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works.

2 I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

3 When my enemies turn back, they shall fall and perish at Your presence.

4 For You have maintained my right and my cause; You sat on the throne judging in righteousness.

5 You have rebuked the nations, You have destroyed the wicked; You have blotted out their name forever and ever.

6 O enemy, destructions are finished forever!  And You have destroyed cities; even their memory has perished.

7 But the LORD shall endure forever; He has prepared His throne for judgement.

8 He shall judge the world in righteousness, and He shall administer judgement for the people in uprightness.

9 The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in time of troubles.

10 And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.

11 Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion! Declare His deeds among the people.

12 When He avenges blood, He remembers them; He does not forget the cry of the humble.

13 Have mercy on me, O LORD! Consider my trouble from those that hate me, You who lift me up from the gates of death,

14 That I may tell of al Your praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion. I will rejoice in Your salvation.

15 The nations have sunk down in the pit which they made; in the net which they hid, their own foot is caught.

16 The LORD is known by the judgement He executes; the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands.   Meditation.  Selah.

17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.

18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten; the expectation of the poor shall not perish forever.

19 Arise, O LORD, Do not let man prevail; let the nations be judged in Your sight.

20 Put them in fear, O LORD, that the nations may know themselves to be but men.  Selah.

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The Glory of the Lord in Creation

To the Chief  Musician. On the instrument of Gath. A Psalm of David.

1 O LORD, our LORD, how excellent is Your name in all the earth, who have set Your glory above the Heavens!

2 Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, because of Your enemies, that You may silence the enemy and the avenger.

3 When I consider Your heavens, and the works of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained,

4 What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?

5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor.

6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet,

7 All sheep and oxen – even the beasts of the field,

8 The birds of the air, and the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas.

9 O LORD, our LORD, How excellent is YOUR NAME in all the earth.

1 O LORD my God, in You I put my trust; Save me from all those who persecute me; and deliver me,

2 Lest they tear me like a lion, rending me in pieces, while there is none to deliver.

3 O LORD my God, if I have done this; if there is iniquity in my hands,

4 If I have repaid evil to him who was at peace with me, or have plundered my enemy without cause,

5 Let the enemy pursue me and overtake me; Yes let him trample my life to the earth, an lay my honor in the dust.  Selah.

6 Arise, O LORD, in Your anger; Lift Yourself up because of the rage of my enemies; Rise up for me to the judgment You have commanded!

7 So the congregation of the peoples shall surround You; for their sakes, return on high.

8 The LORD shall judge the peoples; Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, and according to my integrity within me.

9 Oh, let the wickedness fo the wicked come to an end, but establish the just; for the righteous God tests the hearts and minds.

10 My defense is of God, who saves the upright in heart.

11 God is a just judge, and God is angry with the wicked every day.

12 If he does not turn back, He will sharpen His sword; He bends His bow and makes it ready.

13 He also prepares for Himself instruments of death; He makes His arrows into fiery shafts.

14 Behold, the wicked brings forth iniquity; Yes, he conceives trouble and brings forth falsehood.

15 He made a pit and dug it out and has fallen into the ditch which he made.

16 His trouble shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down on his own crown.

17 I will praise the LORD according to His righteousness, and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.

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A Prayer of Faith in Time of Distress

To the Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. On an eight-stringed harp. A Psalm of David.

1 O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger, nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure.

2 Have mercy on me, O LORD, for I am weak; O LORD heal me for my bones are troubled.

3 My soul also is greatly troubled; But you, O LORD – how long?

4 Return, O LORD, deliver me! Oh, save me for Your mercies’ sake!

5 For in death there is no remembrance of YOU; In the grave who will give You thanks?

6 I am weary with my groaning; all night I make my bed swim; I drench my couch with tears.

7 My eyes wastes away because of grief; it grows old because of all my enemies.

8 Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity; for the LORD has heard the voice of my weeping.

9 The LORD has heard of my supplication; The LORD will receive my prayer.

10 Let all my enemies be ashamed and greatly troubled; let them turn back and be ashamed suddenly.

To the Chief Musician, With flutes. A Psalm of David.

1 Give ear to my words, O LORD, Consider my meditation.

2 Give heed to the voice of my cry, My King and my God, for to You I will pray.

3 My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; In the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up.

4 For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, nor shall evil dwell with You.

5 The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity.

6 You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; The LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. 

7 But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitudes of Your mercy; In fear of You I will worship toward Your holy temple.

8 Lead me, O LORD, in Your righteousness because of my enemies;  Make Your way straight before my face.

9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is destruction; their throat is an open tomb; they flatter with their tongue.

10 Pronounce, them guilty, O God! Let them fall by their own counsels; Cast them out in the multitudes of their transgressions, for they have rebelled against You.

11 But let all those that rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them. Let those also who love Your name be joyful in You.

12 For You, O LORD,  will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a shield.

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The Safety of the Faithful

To the Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.

1 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.

2 How long, O you sons of men, Will you turn my glory to shame? How long will you love worthlessness and seek falsehood?

3 But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself him who is godly; The LORD will hear when I call to Him.

4 Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still.  Selah

5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD.

6 There are many who say, “Who will show us any good?”  LORD,  lift up the light of Your countenance upon us.

7 You have put gladness in my heart, more than in the season that their grain and wine increased.

8 I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

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The Lord Helps His Troubled People

A psalm of David when he fled from Absolam his son.

1 Lord, how they have increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me. 2 Many are they who say of me, “There is no help for him in God.”   Selah

3 But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, My glory and the ONE who lifts my head.  4 I cried to the Lord with my voice,  and He heard me from His holy hill.  Selah

5 I lay down and slept; I awoke for the Lord sustained me.  6 I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.

7 Arise, O Lord; Save me, O my God!  For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone; You have broken the teeth of the ungodly. 8 Salvation belongs to the Lord. Your blessing is upon Your people.  Selah

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The Messiah‘s Triumph and Kingdom

1 Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing? 2  The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, 3  ”Let us break their bonds in pieces and cast away their cords from us”

4 He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision. 5 Then He shall speak to them in His Wrath, and distress them in His deep displeasure: 6 “Yet I have set My King on My holy hill in Zion.” 7 “ I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You, 8 Ask of Me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron; you shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ “

10 Now therefore, be wise, O Kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth. 11 Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.  12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.

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I have decided to read a Psalm a day and type it when I can and if put on my heart to write how it affects me.

Authors: David, Asaph, Sons of Korah, and others

Date: 1000-300 BC

Theme: Communion with God in Prayer and Praise

Key words: Rejoice, Mercy (loving-kindness), Praise, Enemies, Lord, Righteousness

Psalm 1

The Way of the Righteous and the End of the Ungodly

1 Blessed is the man, Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;  2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. 3  He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.

4 The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.  5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in judgement, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But  the way of the ungodly shall perish.