A Prayer for Divine Scrutiny and Redemption

A Psalm of David.

26 Vindicate (A)me, O Lord,
For I have (B)walked in my integrity.
(C)I have also trusted in the Lord;
I shall not slip.
(D)Examine me, O Lord, and [a]prove me;
Try my mind and my heart.
For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes,
And (E)I have walked in Your truth.
I have not (F)sat with idolatrous mortals,
Nor will I go in with hypocrites.
I have (G)hated the assembly of evildoers,
And will not sit with the wicked.

I will wash my hands in innocence;
So I will go about Your altar, O Lord,
That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving,
And tell of all Your wondrous works.
Lord, (H)I have loved the habitation of Your house,
And the place [b]where Your glory dwells.

(I)Do[c] not gather my soul with sinners,
Nor my life with bloodthirsty men,
10 In whose hands is a sinister scheme,
And whose right hand is full of (J)bribes.

11 But as for me, I will walk in my integrity;
Redeem me and be merciful to me.
12 (K)My foot stands in an even place;
In the congregations I will bless the Lord.

An Exuberant Declaration of Faith

A Psalm of David.

27 The Lord is my (L)light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The (M)Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked came against me
To (N)eat[d] up my flesh,
My enemies and foes,
They stumbled and fell.
(O)Though an army may encamp against me,
My heart shall not fear;
Though war may rise against me,
In this I will be confident.

(P)One thing I have desired of the Lord,
That will I seek:
That I may (Q)dwell in the house of the Lord
All the days of my life,
To behold the [e]beauty of the Lord,
And to inquire in His temple.
For (R)in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall (S)set me high upon a rock.

And now (T)my head shall be [f]lifted up above my enemies all around me;
Therefore I will offer sacrifices of [g]joy in His tabernacle;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice!
Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
When You said, “Seek My face,”
My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.”
(U)Do not hide Your face from me;
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not leave me nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation.
10 (V)When my father and my mother forsake me,
Then the Lord will take care of me.

11 (W)Teach me Your way, O Lord,
And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.
12 Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries;
For (X)false witnesses have risen against me,
And such as breathe out violence.
13 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the Lord
(Y)In the land of the living.

14 (Z)Wait[h] on the Lord;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord!

Rejoicing in Answered Prayer

A Psalm of David.

28 To You I will cry, O Lord my Rock:
(AA)Do not be silent to me,
(AB)Lest, if You are silent to me,
I become like those who go down to the pit.
Hear the voice of my supplications
When I cry to You,
(AC)When I lift up my hands (AD)toward Your holy sanctuary.

Do not [i]take me away with the wicked
And with the workers of iniquity,
(AE)Who speak peace to their neighbors,
But evil is in their hearts.
(AF)Give them according to their deeds,
And according to the wickedness of their endeavors;
Give them according to the work of their hands;
Render to them what they deserve.
Because (AG)they do not regard the works of the Lord,
Nor the operation of His hands,
He shall destroy them
And not build them up.

Blessed be the Lord,
Because He has heard the voice of my supplications!
The Lord is (AH)my strength and my shield;
My heart (AI)trusted in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore my heart greatly rejoices,
And with my song I will praise Him.

The Lord is [j]their strength,
And He is the (AJ)saving refuge of His [k]anointed.
Save Your people,
And bless (AK)Your inheritance;
Shepherd them also,
(AL)And bear them up forever.

Praise to God in His Holiness and Majesty

A Psalm of David.

29 Give[l] (AM)unto the Lord, O you mighty ones,
Give unto the Lord glory and strength.
[m]Give unto the Lord the glory [n]due to His name;
Worship the Lord in (AN)the [o]beauty of holiness.

The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
(AO)The God of glory thunders;
The Lord is over many waters.
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
The voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

The voice of the Lord breaks (AP)the cedars,
Yes, the Lord splinters the cedars of Lebanon.
(AQ)He makes them also skip like a calf,
Lebanon and (AR)Sirion like a young wild ox.
The voice of the Lord [p]divides the flames of fire.

The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
The Lord shakes the Wilderness of (AS)Kadesh.
The voice of the Lord makes the (AT)deer give birth,
And strips the forests bare;
And in His temple everyone says, “Glory!”

10 The (AU)Lord sat enthroned at the Flood,
And (AV)the Lord sits as King forever.
11 (AW)The Lord will give strength to His people;
The Lord will bless His people with peace.

The Blessedness of Answered Prayer

A Psalm. A Song (AX)at the dedication of the house of David.

30 I will extol You, O Lord, for You have (AY)lifted me up,
And have not let my foes (AZ)rejoice over me.
O Lord my God, I cried out to You,
And You (BA)healed me.
O Lord, (BB)You brought my soul up from the grave;
You have kept me alive, [q]that I should not go down to the pit.

(BC)Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His,
And give thanks at the remembrance of [r]His holy name.
For (BD)His anger is but for a moment,
(BE)His favor is for life;
Weeping may endure for a night,
But [s]joy comes in the morning.

Now in my prosperity I said,
“I shall never be [t]moved.”
Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong;
(BF)You hid Your face, and I was troubled.

I cried out to You, O Lord;
And to the Lord I made supplication:
“What profit is there in my blood,
When I go down to the pit?
(BG)Will the dust praise You?
Will it declare Your truth?
10 Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me;
Lord, be my helper!”

11 (BH)You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
You have put off [u]my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,
12 To the end that my [v]glory may sing praise to You and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 26:2 test me
  2. Psalm 26:8 Lit. of the tabernacle of Your glory
  3. Psalm 26:9 Do not take away
  4. Psalm 27:2 devour
  5. Psalm 27:4 delightfulness
  6. Psalm 27:6 Lifted up in honor
  7. Psalm 27:6 joyous shouts
  8. Psalm 27:14 Wait in faith
  9. Psalm 28:3 drag
  10. Psalm 28:8 So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Syr., Vg. the strength of His people
  11. Psalm 28:8 Commissioned one, Heb. messiah
  12. Psalm 29:1 Ascribe
  13. Psalm 29:2 Ascribe
  14. Psalm 29:2 Lit. of His name
  15. Psalm 29:2 majesty
  16. Psalm 29:7 stirs up, lit. hews out
  17. Psalm 30:3 So with Qr., Tg.; Kt., LXX, Syr., Vg. from those who descend to the pit
  18. Psalm 30:4 Or His holiness
  19. Psalm 30:5 a shout of joy
  20. Psalm 30:6 shaken
  21. Psalm 30:11 The sackcloth of my mourning
  22. Psalm 30:12 soul

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