Psalm 28

⁷Answer me quickly, O Lord; my spirit fails. Do not hide Your face from me, or I will be like those who descend to the Pit.

²The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

⁴I am counted among those descending to the Pit. I am like a man without strength.

⁵I am forsaken among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom You remember no more, who are cut off from Your care.

¹²let us swallow them alive like Sheol, and whole like those descending into the Pit.

¹A song. A Psalm of Asaph. O God, be not silent; be not speechless; be not still, O God.

⁴Trust in the Lord forever, because God the Lord is the Rock eternal.

²May my prayer be set before You like incense; my uplifted hands, like the evening offering.

²I bow down toward Your holy temple and give thanks to Your name for Your loving devotion and Your faithfulness; You have exalted Your name and Your word above all else.

⁶I say to the Lord, “You are my God.” Hear, O Lord, my cry for help.

⁸Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or dissension.

²Lift up your hands to the sanctuary and bless the Lord!

⁷But I will enter Your house by the abundance of Your loving devotion; in reverence I will bow down toward Your holy temple.

²¹His speech is smooth as butter, but war is in his heart. His words are softer than oil, yet they are swords unsheathed.

²They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.

⁸Their tongues are deadly arrows; they speak deception. With his mouth a man speaks peace to his neighbor, but in his heart he sets a trap for him.

⁹Should I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord. Should I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?”

⁹Do not take my soul away with sinners, or my life with men of bloodshed,

⁵This is what the Lord says: “As for the prophets who lead My people astray, who proclaim peace while they chew with their teeth, but declare war against one who puts nothing in their mouths:

⁴They fully intend to cast him down from his lofty perch; they delight in lies; with their mouths they bless, but inwardly they curse. Selah

¹²“Behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to give to each one according to what he has done.

¹⁴Alexander the coppersmith did great harm to me. The Lord will repay him according to his deeds.

¹⁷The cursing that he loved, may it fall on him; the blessing in which he refused to delight, may it be far from him.

¹⁸The cursing that he wore like a coat, may it soak into his body like water, and into his bones like oil.

⁶Give back to her as she has done to others; pay her back double for what she has done; mix her a double portion in her own cup.

¹²By the sins of their mouths and the words of their lips, let them be trapped in their pride, in the curses and lies they utter.

¹³Consume them in wrath; consume them till they are no more, so it may be known to the ends of the earth that God rules over Jacob. Selah

²²Take notice, therefore, of the kindness and severity of God: severity to those who fell, but kindness to you, if you continue in His kindness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.

¹²At their feasts are the lyre and harp, tambourines and flutes and wine. They disregard the actions of the Lord and fail to see the work of His hands.

²⁸Furthermore, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, He gave them up to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.

²⁶He strikes them for their wickedness in full view,

²⁷because they turned aside from Him and had no regard for any of His ways.

³⁷Although Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still did not believe in Him.

⁴For You, O Lord, have made me glad by Your deeds; I sing for joy at the works of Your hands.

⁵How great are Your works, O Lord, how deep are Your thoughts!

⁵He is secure in his ways at all times; Your lofty judgments are far from him; he sneers at all his foes.

²¹Blessed be the Lord, for He has shown me His loving devotion in a city under siege.

²²In my alarm I said, “I am cut off from Your sight!” But You heard my plea for mercy when I called to You for help.

¹⁹Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress.

²⁰He sent forth His word and healed them; He rescued them from the Pit.

⁵In my distress I called to the Lord, and He answered and set me free.

¹⁹But God has surely heard; He has attended to the sound of my prayer.

²⁰Blessed be God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld from me His loving devotion!

³³For the Lord listens to the needy and does not despise His captive people.

³⁴Let heaven and earth praise Him, the seas and everything that moves in them.

¹I love the Lord, for He has heard my voice—my appeal for mercy.

²Because He has inclined His ear to me, I will call on Him as long as I live.

¹¹You turned my mourning into dancing; You peeled off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

¹²that my heart may sing Your praises and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks forever.

³When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.

⁴In God, whose word I praise—in God I trust. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?

¹⁰Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.

¹⁰I will rejoice greatly in the Lord, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom wears a priestly headdress, as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

²Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. For the Lord God is my strength and my song, and He also has become my salvation.”

³He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.

⁶Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed; He answers him from His holy heaven with the saving power of His right hand.

⁷O God the Lord, the strength of my salvation, You shield my head in the day of battle.

¹The Spirit of the Lord God is on Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners,

¹³So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and went to Ramah.

²The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together, against the Lord and against His Anointed One:

¹¹He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes.

⁷¹from tending the ewes He brought him to be shepherd of His people Jacob, of Israel His inheritance.

²⁹But they are Your people, Your inheritance, whom You brought out by Your great power and outstretched arm.”

⁹In all their distress, He too was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saved them. In His love and compassion He redeemed them; He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

⁶‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of My people Israel.’”

⁵¹For they are Your people and Your inheritance; You brought them out of Egypt, out of the furnace for iron.