The Lord a Fortress in Adversity

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

31 In (A)You, O Lord, I [a]put my trust;
Let me never be ashamed;
Deliver me in Your righteousness.
(B)Bow down Your ear to me,
Deliver me speedily;
Be my rock of [b]refuge,
A [c]fortress of defense to save me.

(C)For You are my rock and my fortress;
Therefore, (D)for Your name’s sake,
Lead me and guide me.
Pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me,
For You are my strength.
(E)Into Your hand I commit my spirit;
You have redeemed me, O Lord God of (F)truth.

I have hated those (G)who regard useless idols;
But I trust in the Lord.
I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy,
For You have considered my trouble;
You have (H)known my soul in [d]adversities,
And have not (I)shut[e] me up into the hand of the enemy;
(J)You have set my feet in a wide place.

Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble;
(K)My eye wastes away with grief,
Yes, my soul and my [f]body!
10 For my life is spent with grief,
And my years with sighing;
My strength fails because of my iniquity,
And my bones waste away.
11 (L)I am a [g]reproach among all my enemies,
But (M)especially among my neighbors,
And am repulsive to my acquaintances;
(N)Those who see me outside flee from me.
12 (O)I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind;
I am like a [h]broken vessel.
13 (P)For I hear the slander of many;
(Q)Fear is on every side;
While they (R)take counsel together against me,
They scheme to take away my life.

14 But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord;
I say, “You are my God.”
15 My times are in Your (S)hand;
Deliver me from the hand of my enemies,
And from those who persecute me.
16 (T)Make Your face shine upon Your servant;
Save me for Your mercies’ sake.
17 (U)Do not let me be ashamed, O Lord, for I have called upon You;
Let the wicked be ashamed;
(V)Let them be silent in the grave.
18 (W)Let the lying lips be put to silence,
Which (X)speak insolent things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.

19 (Y)Oh, how great is Your goodness,
Which You have laid up for those who fear You,
Which You have prepared for those who trust in You
In the presence of the sons of men!
20 (Z)You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence
From the plots of man;
(AA)You shall keep them secretly in a [i]pavilion
From the strife of tongues.

21 Blessed be the Lord,
For (AB)He has shown me His marvelous kindness in a [j]strong city!
22 For I said in my haste,
“I am cut off from before Your eyes”;
Nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications
When I cried out to You.

23 Oh, love the Lord, all you His saints!
For the Lord preserves the faithful,
And fully repays the proud person.
24 (AC)Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart,
All you who hope in the Lord.

The Joy of Forgiveness

A Psalm of David. A [k]Contemplation.

32 Blessed is he whose (AD)transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man to whom the Lord (AE)does not [l]impute iniquity,
And (AF)in whose spirit there is no deceit.

When I kept silent, my bones grew old
Through my groaning all the day long.
For day and night Your (AG)hand was heavy upon me;
My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah
I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I have not hidden.
(AH)I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

(AI)For this cause everyone who is godly shall (AJ)pray to You
In a time when You may be found;
Surely in a flood of great waters
They shall not come near him.
(AK)You are my hiding place;
You shall preserve me from trouble;
You shall surround me with (AL)songs of deliverance. Selah

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will guide you with My eye.
Do not be like the (AM)horse or like the mule,
Which have no understanding,
Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle,
Else they will not come near you.

10 (AN)Many sorrows shall be to the wicked;
But (AO)he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him.
11 (AP)Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous;
And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

The Sovereignty of the Lord in Creation and History

33 Rejoice (AQ)in the Lord, O you righteous!
For praise from the upright is beautiful.
Praise the Lord with the harp;
[m]Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.
Sing to Him a new song;
Play skillfully with a shout of joy.

For the word of the Lord is right,
And all His work is done in truth.
He loves righteousness and justice;
The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

(AR)By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
And all the (AS)host of them (AT)by the breath of His mouth.
(AU)He gathers the waters of the sea together [n]as a heap;
He lays up the deep in storehouses.

Let all the earth fear the Lord;
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
For (AV)He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast.

10 (AW)The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect.
11 (AX)The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
The plans of His heart to all generations.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
The people He has (AY)chosen as His own inheritance.

13 (AZ)The Lord looks from heaven;
He sees all the sons of men.
14 From the place of His dwelling He looks
On all the inhabitants of the earth;
15 He fashions their hearts individually;
(BA)He [o]considers all their works.

16 (BB)No king is saved by the multitude of an army;
A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.
17 (BC)A horse is a [p]vain hope for safety;
Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.

18 (BD)Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,
On those who hope in His mercy,
19 To deliver their soul from death,
And (BE)to keep them alive in famine.

20 Our soul waits for the Lord;
He is our help and our shield.
21 For our heart shall rejoice in Him,
Because we have trusted in His holy name.
22 Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us,
Just as we hope in You.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 31:1 have taken refuge
  2. Psalm 31:2 strength
  3. Psalm 31:2 Lit. house of fortresses
  4. Psalm 31:7 troubles
  5. Psalm 31:8 given me over
  6. Psalm 31:9 Lit. belly
  7. Psalm 31:11 despised thing
  8. Psalm 31:12 Lit. perishing
  9. Psalm 31:20 shelter
  10. Psalm 31:21 fortified
  11. Psalm 32:1 Heb. Maschil
  12. Psalm 32:2 charge his account with
  13. Psalm 33:2 Lit. Sing to Him
  14. Psalm 33:7 LXX, Tg., Vg. in a vessel
  15. Psalm 33:15 understands
  16. Psalm 33:17 false

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