Psalm 25-27

New American Standard Bible

Prayer for Protection, Guidance, and Pardon.

A Psalm of David.

25 To You, Lord, I ^(A)lift up my soul.
²My God, in You ^(B)I trust,
Do not let me ^(C)be ashamed;
Do not let my ^(D)enemies rejoice over me.
³Indeed, ^(E)none of those who wait for You will be ashamed;
^[a]Those who ^(F)deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed.

⁴^(G)Make me know Your ways, Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
⁵Lead me in ^(H)Your truth and teach me,
For You are the ^(I)God of my salvation;
For You I ^(J)wait all the day.
⁶^(K)Remember, Lord, Your compassion and Your faithfulness,
For they have been ^[b]^(L)from of old.
⁷Do not remember the ^(M)sins of my youth or my wrongdoings;
^(N)Remember me according to Your faithfulness,
For Your ^(O)goodness’ sake, Lord.

⁸^(P)The Lord is good and ^(Q)upright;
Therefore He ^(R)instructs sinners in the way.
⁹He ^(S)leads the ^[c]humble in justice,
And He ^(T)teaches the ^[d]humble His way.
¹⁰All the paths of the Lord are ^(U)faithfulness and truth
To ^(V)those who comply with His covenant and His testimonies.
¹¹For the ^(W)sake of Your name, Lord,
^(X)Forgive my wrongdoing, for it is great.

¹²Who is the person who ^(Y)fears the Lord?
He will ^(Z)instruct him in the way he should choose.
¹³His soul will ^(AA)dwell in ^[e]prosperity,
And his ^[f]descendants will ^(AB)inherit the ^[g]land.
¹⁴The ^[h]^(AC)secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him,
^[i]And He will ^(AD)make them know His covenant.
¹⁵My ^(AE)eyes are continually toward the Lord,
For He will ^[j]^(AF)rescue my feet from the net.

¹⁶^(AG)Turn to me and be gracious to me,
For I am ^(AH)lonely and afflicted.
¹⁷^[k]The ^(AI)troubles of my heart are enlarged;
Bring me ^(AJ)out of my distresses.
¹⁸^(AK)Look at my misery and my trouble,
And ^(AL)forgive all my sins.
¹⁹Look at my enemies, for they ^(AM)are many,
And they ^(AN)hate me with violent hatred.
²⁰^(AO)Guard my soul and save me;
Do not let me ^(AP)be ashamed, for I take refuge in You.
²¹Let ^(AQ)integrity and uprightness protect me,
For ^(AR)I wait for You.
²²^(AS)Redeem Israel, God,
From all his distress.

Protestation of Integrity and Prayer for Protection.

A Psalm of David.

26 ^[l]^(AT)Vindicate me, Lord, for I have ^(AU)walked in my integrity,
And I have ^(AV)trusted in the Lord ^[m]^(AW)without wavering.
²^(AX)Examine me, Lord, and put me to the test;
^(AY)Refine my ^[n]mind and my heart.
³For Your ^(AZ)^[o]goodness is before my eyes,
And I have ^(BA)walked in Your truth.
⁴I do not ^(BB)sit with ^[p]deceitful people,
Nor will I go with ^[q]^(BC)pretenders.
⁵I ^(BD)hate the assembly of evildoers,
And I will not sit with the wicked.
⁶I will ^(BE)wash my hands in innocence,
And I will go around ^(BF)Your altar, Lord,
⁷That I may proclaim with the voice of ^(BG)thanksgiving
And declare all Your ^[r]wonders.

⁸Lord, I ^(BH)love the dwelling of Your house,
And the place ^[s]where Your ^(BI)glory remains.
⁹^(BJ)Do not ^[t]take my soul away along with sinners,
Nor my life with ^(BK)men of bloodshed,
¹⁰In whose hands is a ^(BL)wicked scheme,
And whose right hand is full of ^(BM)bribes.
¹¹But as for me, I will ^(BN)walk in my integrity;
^(BO)Redeem me, and be gracious to me.
¹²^(BP)My foot stands on ^(BQ)level ground;
In the ^(BR)congregations I will bless the Lord.

A Psalm of Fearless Trust in God.

A Psalm of David.

27 The Lord is my ^(BS)light and my ^(BT)salvation;
Whom should I fear?
The Lord is the ^[u]^(BU)defense of my life;
^(BV)Whom should I dread?
²When evildoers came upon me to ^(BW)devour my flesh,
My adversaries and my enemies, they ^(BX)stumbled and fell.
³If an ^(BY)army encamps against me,
My heart will not fear;
If war arises against me,
In spite of this I am ^(BZ)confident.

⁴^(CA)One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:
That I may ^(CB)dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
To behold ^(CC)the ^[v]beauty of the Lord
And to ^[w]^(CD)meditate in His temple.
⁵For on the ^(CE)day of trouble He will ^(CF)conceal me in His ^[x]tabernacle;
He will ^(CG)hide me in the secret place of His tent;
He will ^(CH)lift me up on a rock.
⁶And now ^(CI)my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me,
And I will offer ^(CJ)sacrifices in His tent ^[y]with shouts of joy;
I will ^(CK)sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

⁷^(CL)Hear, Lord, when I cry with my voice,
And be gracious to me and ^(CM)answer me.
⁸When You said, “^(CN)Seek My face,” my heart said to You,
“^(CO)I shall seek Your face, Lord.”
⁹^(CP)Do not hide Your face from me,
Do not turn Your servant away in ^(CQ)anger;
You have been ^(CR)my help;
^(CS)Do not abandon me nor ^(CT)forsake me,
God of my salvation!
¹⁰^[z]For my father and ^(CU)my mother have forsaken me,
But ^(CV)the Lord will take me up.

¹¹^(CW)Teach me Your way, Lord,
And lead me on a ^(CX)level path
Because of my enemies.
¹²Do not turn me over to the ^[aa]^(CY)desire of my enemies,
For ^(CZ)false witnesses have risen against me,
And the violent ^(DA)witness.
¹³I certainly believed that I would see the ^(DB)goodness of the Lord
In the ^(DC)land of the living.
¹⁴^(DD)Wait for the Lord;
Be ^(DE)strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the Lord.