Showing posts with label Enemies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Enemies. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Psalm 143

Hear my prayer, O LORD,
Give ear to my supplications!
Answer me in Thy faithfulness, in Thy righteousness!
And do not enter into judgment with Thy servant,
For in Thy sight no man living is righteous.
For the enemy has persecuted my soul;
He has crushed my life to the ground;
He has made me dwell in dark places, like those who have long been dead.
Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me;
My heart is appalled within me.

I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all Thy doings;
I muse on the work of Thy hands.
I stretch out my hands to Thee;
My soul longs for Thee, as a parched land. Selah.
Answer me quickly, O LORD, my spirit fails;
Do not hide Thy face from me,
Or I will become like those who go down to the pit.
Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning;
For I trust in Thee;
Teach me the way in which I should walk;
For to Thee I lift up my soul.
Deliver me, O LORD, from my enemies;
I take refuge in Thee.
Teach me to do Thy will,
For Thou art my God;
Let Thy good Spirit lead me on level ground.
For the sake of Thy name, O LORD, revive me
In Thy righteousness bring my soul out of trouble.
And in Thy lovingkindness, cut off my enemies
And destroy all those who afflict my soul,
For I am Thy servant.

~Psalm 143 (NASB 1977)

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Psalm 139

O Lord, Thou hast searched me and known me.
Thou dost know when I sit down and when I rise up;
Thou dost understand my thought from afar.
Thou dost scrutinize my path and my lying down,
And art intimately acquainted with all my ways.
Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O Lord, Thou dost know it all.
Thou hast enclosed me behind and before,
And laid Thy hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot attain to it.

Where can I go from Thy Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Thy presence?
If I ascend to heaven, Thou art there;
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, Thou art there.
If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
Even there Thy hand will lead me,
And Thy right hand will lay hold of me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,”
Even the darkness is not dark to Thee,
And the night is as bright as the day.
Darkness and light are alike to Thee.

For Thou didst form my inward parts;
Thou didst weave me in my mother’s womb.
I will give thanks to Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Thy works,
And my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from Thee,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;
Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Thy book were all written
The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.

How precious also are Thy thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.
When I awake, I am still with Thee.

O that Thou wouldst slay the wicked, O God;
Depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed.
For they speak against Thee wickedly,
And Thine enemies take Thy name in vain.
Do I not hate those who hate Thee, O Lord?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against Thee?
I hate them with the utmost hatred;
They have become my enemies.

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
And see if there be any hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way.

~Psalm 139 (NASB 1977)

Friday, June 7, 2013

Psalm 138

I will give Thee thanks with all my heart;
I will sing praises to Thee before the gods.
I will bow down toward Thy holy temple
And give thanks to Thy name for Thy lovingkindness and Thy truth;
For Thou hast magnified Thy word according to all Thy name.
On the day I called, Thou didst answer me;
Thou didst make me bold with strength in my soul.

All the kings of the earth will give thanks to Thee, O LORD,
When they have heard the words of Thy mouth.
And they will sing of the ways of the LORD,
For great is the glory of the LORD.
For though the LORD is exalted,
Yet He regards the lowly,
But the haughty He knows from afar.

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, Thou wilt revive me;
Thou wilt stretch forth Thy hand against the wrath of my enemies,
And Thy right hand will save me.
The LORD will accomplish what concerns me;
Thy lovingkindness, O LORD, is everlasting;
Do not forsake the works of Thy hands.

~Psalm 138 (NASB 1977)

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Psalm 132

Remember, O LORD, on David’s behalf,
All his affliction;
How he swore to the LORD
And vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,
“Surely I will not enter my house,
Nor lie on my bed;
I will not give sleep to my eyes
Or slumber to my eyelids,
Until I find a place for the LORD,
A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah,
We found it in the field of Jaar.
Let us go into His dwelling place;
Let us worship at His footstool.
Arise, O LORD, to Thy resting place,
Thou and the ark of Thy strength.
Let Thy priests be clothed with righteousness,
And let Thy godly ones sing for joy.

For the sake of David Thy servant,
Do not turn away the face of Thine anointed.
The LORD has sworn to David
A truth from which He will not turn back:
“Of the fruit of your body I will set upon your throne.
“If your sons will keep My covenant
And My testimony which I will teach them,
Their sons also shall sit upon your throne forever.”

For the LORD has chosen Zion;
He has desired it for His habitation.
“This is My resting place forever;
Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.
“I will abundantly bless her provision;
I will satisfy her needy with bread.
“Her priests also I will clothe with salvation,
And her godly ones will sing aloud for joy.
“There I will cause the horn of David to spring forth;
I have prepared a lamp for Mine anointed.
“His enemies I will clothe with shame,
But upon himself his crown shall shine.”

~Psalm 132 (1977)

Monday, May 27, 2013

Psalm 127

Unless the LORD builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the LORD guards the city,
The watchman keeps awake in vain.
It is vain for you to rise up early,
To retire late,
To eat the bread of painful labors;
For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.

Behold, children are a gift of the LORD;
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;
They shall not be ashamed,
When they speak with their enemies in the gate.

~Psalm 127 (NASB 1977)

Friday, May 10, 2013

Psalm 110

The LORD says to my Lord;
“Sit at My right hand,
Until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet.”
The LORD will stretch forth Thy strong scepter from Zion, saying,
“Rule in the midst of Thine enemies.”
Thy people will volunteer freely in the day of Thy power;
In holy array, from the womb of the dawn,
Thy youth are to Thee as the dew.

The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind,
“Thou art a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.”
The Lord is at Thy right hand;
He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath.
He will judge among the nations,
He will fill them with corpses,
He will shatter the chief men over a broad country.
He will drink from the brook by the wayside;
Therefore He will lift up His head.

~Psalm 110 (NASB 1977)

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Psalm 102

Hear my prayer, O LORD!
And let my cry for help come to Thee.
Do not hide Thy face from me in the day of my distress;
Incline Thine ear to me;
In the day when I call answer me quickly.
For my days have been consumed in smoke,
And my bones have been scorched like a hearth.
My heart has been smitten like grass and has withered away,
Indeed, I forget to eat my bread.
Because of the loudness of my groaning
My bones cling to my flesh.
I resemble a pelican of the wilderness;
I have become like an owl of the waste places.
I lie awake,
I have become like a lonely bird on a housetop.

My enemies have reproached me all day long;
Those who deride me have used my name as a curse.
For I have eaten ashes like bread
And mingled my drink with weeping
Because of Thine indignation and Thy wrath,
For Thou hast lifted me up and cast me away.
My days are like a lengthened shadow,
And I wither away like grass.

But Thou, O LORD, dost abide forever,
And Thy name to all generations.
Thou wilt arise and have compassion on Zion;
For it is time to be gracious to her,
For the appointed time has come.
Surely Thy servants find pleasure in her stones
And feel pity for her dust.
So the nations will fear the name of the LORD
And all the kings of the earth Thy glory.
For the LORD has built up Zion;
He has appeared in His glory.
He has regarded the prayer of the destitute
And has not despised their prayer.

This will be written for the generation to come,
That a people yet to be created may praise the LORD.
For He looked down from His holy height;
From heaven the LORD gazed upon the earth,
To hear the groaning of the prisoner,
To set free those who were doomed to death,
That men may tell of the name of the LORD in Zion
And His praise in Jerusalem,
When the peoples are gathered together,
And the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.

He has weakened my strength in the way;
He has shortened my days.
I say, "O my God, do not take me away in the midst of my days,
Your years are throughout all generations.
"Of old Thou didst found the earth,
And the heavens are the work of Thy hands.
"Even they will perish, but Thou dost endure;
And all of them will wear out like a garment;
Like clothing Thou wilt change them and they will be changed.
"But Thou art the same,
And Thy years will not come to an end.
"The children of Thy servants will continue,
And their descendants will be established before Thee."

~Psalm 102 (NASB 1977)

Monday, April 22, 2013

Psalm 92

It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
And to sing praises to Thy name, O Most High;
To declare Thy lovingkindness in the morning,
And Thy faithfulness by night.
With the ten-stringed lute, and with the harp;
With resounding music upon the lyre.
For Thou, O LORD, hast made me glad by what Thou hast done,
I will sing for joy at the works of Thy hands.

How great are Thy works, O LORD!
Thy thoughts are very deep.
A senseless man has no knowledge;
Nor does a stupid man understand this:
That when the wicked sprouted up like grass,
And all who did iniquity flourished,
It was only that they might be destroyed forevermore,
But Thou, O LORD, art on high forever.
For, behold, Thine enemies, O LORD,
For, behold, Thine enemies will perish;
All who do iniquity will be scattered.

But Thou hast exalted my horn like that of the wild ox;
I have been anointed with fresh oil.
And my eye has looked exultantly upon my foes,
My ears hear of the evildoers who rise up against me.
The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree,
Planted in the house of the LORD.
They will flourish in the courts of our God.
They will still yield fruit in old age;
They shall be full of sap and very green,
To declare that the LORD is upright;
He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

~Psalm 92 (NASB 1977)

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Psalm 83

O God, do not remain quiet;
Do not be silent and, O God, do not be still.
For behold, Thine enemies make an uproar,
And those who hate Thee have exalted themselves.
They make shrewd plans against Thy people,
And conspire together against Thy treasured ones.
They have said, "Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation,
That the name of Israel be remembered no more."
For they have conspired together with one mind;
Against Thee they make a covenant:
The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites;
Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,
Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
Assyria also has joined with them;
They have become a help to the children of Lot. Selah.

Deal with them as with Midian,
As with Sisera and Jabin at the torrent of Kishon,
Who were destroyed at En-dor,
Who became as dung for the ground.
Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb
And all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
Who said, "Let us possess for ourselves
The pastures of God."

O my God, make them like the whirling dust,
Like chaff before the wind.
Like fire that burns the forest
And like a flame that sets the mountains on fire,
So pursue them with Thy tempest
And terrify them with Thy storm.
Fill their faces with dishonor,
That they may seek Thy name, O LORD.
Let them be ashamed and dismayed forever,
And let them be humiliated and perish,
That they may know that Thee alone, whose name is the LORD,
Are the Most High over all the earth.

~Psalm 83 (NASB 1977)

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Psalm 81

Sing for joy to God our strength;
Shout joyfully to the God of Jacob.
Raise a song, strike the timbrel,
The sweet sounding lyre with the harp.
Blow the trumpet at the new moon,
At the full moon, on our feast day.
For it is a statute for Israel,
An ordinance of the God of Jacob.
He established it for a testimony in Joseph
When he went throughout the land of Egypt
I heard a language that I did not know:

"I relieved his shoulder of the burden,
His hands were freed from the basket.
"You called in trouble and I rescued you;
I answered you in the hiding place of thunder;
I proved you at the waters of Meribah. Selah.
"Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you;
O Israel, if you would listen to Me!
"Let there be no strange god among you;
Nor shall you worship any foreign god.
"I, the LORD, am your God,
Who brought you up from the land of Egypt;
Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.

"But My people did not listen to My voice,
And Israel did not obey Me.
"So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart,
To walk in their own devices.
"Oh that My people would listen to Me,
That Israel would walk in My ways!
"I would quickly subdue their enemies
And turn My hand against their adversaries.
"Those who hate the LORD would pretend obedience to Him,
And their time of punishment would be forever.
"But I would feed you with the finest of the wheat,
And with honey from the rock I would satisfy you."

~Psalm 81 (NASB 1977)

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Psalm 80

Oh, give ear, Shepherd of Israel,
Thou who dost lead Joseph like a flock;
You who are enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth!
Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up Thy power
And come to save us!
O God, restore us
And cause Thy face to shine upon us, and we will be saved. 

O LORD God of hosts,
How long wilt Thou be angry with the prayer of Thy people?
Thou hast fed them with the bread of tears,
And Thou hast made them to drink tears in large measure.
Thou dost make us an object of contention to our neighbors,
And our enemies laugh among themselves.
O God of hosts, restore us
And cause Thy face to shine upon us, and we will be saved.

Thou didst removed a vine from Egypt;
Thou didst drive out the nations and planted it.
Thou didst clear the ground before it,
And it took deep root and filled the land.
The mountains were covered with its shadow,
And the cedars of God with its boughs.
It was sending out its branches to the sea
And its shoots to the River.
Why have Thou broken down its hedges,
So that all who pass that way pick its fruit?
A boar from the forest eats it away
And whatever moves in the field feeds on it.

O God of hosts, turn again now, we beseech Thee;
Look down from heaven and see, and take care of this vine,
Even the shoot which Thy right hand has planted,
And on the son whom Thou hast strengthened for Thyself.
It is burned with fire, it is cut down;
They perish at the rebuke of Thy countenance.
Let Thy hand be upon the man of Thy right hand,
Upon the son of man whom Thou made strong for Yourself.
Then we shall not turn back from You;
Revive us, and we will call upon Thy name.
O LORD God of hosts, restore us;
Cause Thy face to shine upon us, and we will be saved.

~Psalm 80 (NASB 1977)

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Psalm 74

O God, why hast Thou rejected us forever?
Why does Thine anger smoke against the sheep of Thy pasture?
Remember Thy congregation, which Thou hast purchased of old,
Which Thou hast redeemed to be the tribe of Thine inheritance;
And this Mount Zion, where Thou hast dwelt.
Turn Thy footsteps toward the perpetual ruins;
The enemy has damaged everything within the sanctuary.

Thine adversaries have roared in the midst of Thy meeting place;
They have set up their own standards for signs.
It seems as if one had lifted up
His axe in a forest of trees.
And now all its carved work
They smash with hatchet and hammers.
They have burned Thy sanctuary to the ground;
They have defiled the dwelling place of Thy name.
They said in their heart, "Let us completely subdue them."
They have burned all the meeting places of God in the land.
We do not see our signs;
There is no longer any prophet,
Nor is there any among us who knows how long.
How long, O God, will the adversary revile,
And the enemy spurn Thy name forever?
Why dost Thou withdraw Thy hand, even Thy right hand?
From within Thy bosom, destroy them!

Yet God is my king from of old,
Who works deeds of deliverance in the midst of the earth.
Thou didst divide the sea by Thy strength;
Thou broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters.
Thou didst crush the heads of Leviathan;
Thou didst him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
Thou didst break open springs and torrents;
Thou didst dry up ever-flowing streams.
Thine is the day, Thine also is the night;
Thou hast prepared the light and the sun.
Thou hast established all the boundaries of the earth;
Thou hast made summer and winter.

Remember this, O LORD, that the enemy has reviled,
And a foolish people has spurned Thy name.
Do not deliver the soul of Thy turtledove to the wild beast;
Do not forget the life of Thine afflicted forever.
Consider the covenant;
For the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.
Let not the oppressed return dishonored;
Let the afflicted and needy praise Thy name.

Do arise, O God, and plead Thine own cause;
Remember how the foolish man reproaches Thee all day long.
Do not forget the voice of Thine adversaries,
The uproar of those who rise against Thee which ascends continually.

~Psalm 74 (NASB 1977)

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Psalm 72

Give the king Thy judgments, O God,
And Thy righteousness to the king’s son.
May he judge Thy people with righteousness
And Thine afflicted with justice.
Let the mountains bring peace to the people,
And the hills, in righteousness.
May he vindicate the afflicted of the people,
Save the children of the needy
And crush the oppressor.

Let them fear Thee while the sun endures,
And as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
May he come down like rain upon the mown grass,
Like showers that water the earth.
In his days may the righteous flourish,
And abundance of peace till the moon is no more.

May he also rule from sea to sea
And from the River to the ends of the earth.
Let the nomads of the desert bow before him,
And his enemies lick the dust.
Let the kings of Tarshish and of the islands bring presents;
The kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.
And let all kings bow down before him,
All nations serve him.

For he will deliver the needy when he cries for help,
The afflicted also, and him who has no helper.
He will have compassion on the poor and needy,
And the lives of the needy he will save.
He will rescue their life from oppression and violence,
And their blood will be precious in his sight;
So may he live, and may the gold of Sheba be given to him;
And let them pray for him continually;
Let them bless him all day long.

May there be abundance of grain in the earth on top of the mountains;
Its fruit will wave like the cedars of Lebanon;
And may those from the city flourish like vegetation of the earth.
May his name endure forever;
May his name increase as long as the sun shines;
And let men bless themselves by him;
Let all nations call him blessed.

Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel,
Who alone works wonders.
And blessed be His glorious name forever;
And may the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen, and Amen.

The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.

~Psalm 72 (NASB 1977)

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Psalm 70

Oh God, hasten to deliver me;
O LORD, hasten to my help!
Let those be ashamed and humiliated
Who seek my life;
Let those be turned back and dishonored
Who delight in my hurt.
Let those be turned back because of their shame
Who say, "Aha, aha!"

Let all who seek Thee rejoice and be glad in Thee;
And let those who love Thy salvation say continually,
"Let God be magnified."
But I am afflicted and needy;
Hasten to me, O God!
Thou art my help and my deliverer;
O LORD, do not delay.

~Psalm 70

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Psalm 69

Save me, O God,
For the waters have threatened my life.
I have sunk in deep mire, and there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters, and a flood overflows me.
I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched;
My eyes fail while I wait for my God.

Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head;
Those who would destroy me are powerful, being wrongfully my enemies;
What I did not steal, I then have to restore.
O God, it is Thou who dost know my folly,
And my wrongs are not hidden from Thee.

May those who wait for Thee not be ashamed through me, O Lord God of hosts;
May those who seek Thee not be dishonored through me, O God of Israel,
Because for Thy sake I have borne reproach;
Dishonor has covered my face.
I have become estranged from my brothers
And an alien to my mother's sons.

For zeal for Thy house has consumed me,
And the reproaches of those who reproach Thee have fallen on me. 
When I wept in my soul with fasting,
It became my reproach.
When I made sackcloth my clothing,
I became a byword to them.
Those who sit in the gate talk about me,
And I am the song of the drunkards.

But as for me, my prayer is to Thee, O LORD, at an acceptable time;
O God, in the greatness of Thy lovingkindness,
Answer me with Thy saving truth.
Deliver me from the mire and do not let me sink;
May I be delivered from my foes and from the deep waters.
May the flood of water not overflow me
Nor the deep swallow me up,
Nor the pit shut its mouth on me.

Answer me, O LORD, for Thy lovingkindness is good;
According to the greatness of Thy compassion, turn to me,
And do not hide Thy face from Your servant,
For I am in distress; answer me quickly.
Oh draw near to my soul and redeem it;
Ransom me because of my enemies!
Thou dost know my reproach and my shame and my dishonor;
All my adversaries are before Thee.
Reproach has broken my heart and I am so sick
And I looked for sympathy, but there was none,
And for comforters, but I found none.
They also gave me gall for my food
And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

May their table before them become a snare;
And when they are in peace, may it become a trap. 
May their eyes grow dim so that they cannot see,
And make their loins shake continually.
Pour out Thine indignation on them,
And may Thy burning anger overtake them.
May their camp be desolate;
May none dwell in their tents.
For they have persecuted him whom Thou Thyself have smitten,
And they tell of the pain of those whom Thou hast wounded.
Do Thou add iniquity to their iniquity,
And may they not come into Thy righteousness.
May they be blotted out of the book of life
And may they not be recorded with the righteous.

But I am afflicted and in pain;
May Thy salvation, O God, set me securely on high.
I will praise the name of God with song
And magnify Him with thanksgiving.
And it will please the LORD better than an ox
Or a young bull with horns and hoofs.
The humble have seen it and are glad;
You who seek God, let your heart revive.
For the LORD hears the needy
And does not despise His who are prisoners.

Let heaven and earth praise Him,
The seas and everything that moves in them.
For God will save Zion and build the cities of Judah,
That they may dwell there and possess it.
The descendants of His servants will inherit it,
And those who love His name will dwell in it.

~Psalm 69 (NASB 1977)

Friday, March 29, 2013

Psalm 68

Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered,
And let those who hate Him flee before Him.
As smoke is driven away, so drive them away;
As wax melts before the fire,
So let the wicked perish before God.
But let the righteous be glad; let them exult before God;
Yes, let them rejoice with gladness.
Sing to God, sing praises to His name;
Lift up a song for Him who rides through the deserts,
Whose name is the LORD, and exult before Him.

A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows,
Is God in His holy habitation.
God makes a home for the lonely;
He leads out the prisoners into prosperity,
Only the rebellious dwell in a parched land.

O God, when Thou didst go forth before Thy people,
When Thou didst march through the wilderness, Selah.
The earth quaked;
The heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God;
Sinai itself quaked at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
Thou didst shed abroad a plentiful rain, O God;
Thou didst confirm Thine inheritance when it was parched.
Thy creatures settled in it;
Thou didst provide in Thy goodness for the poor, O God.

The Lord gives the command;
The women who proclaim the good tidings are a great host:
"Kings of armies flee, they flee,
And she who remains at home will divide the spoil!"
When you lie down among the sheepfolds,
You are like the wings of a dove covered with silver,
And its pinions with glistening gold.
When the Almighty scattered the kings there,
It was snowing in Zalmon.

A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan;
A mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan.
Why do you look with envy, O mountains with many peaks,
At the mountain which God has desired for His abode?
Surely the LORD will dwell there forever.
The chariots of God are myriads, thousands upon thousands;
The Lord is among them as at Sinai, in holiness.
Thou hast ascended on high, Thou hast led captive Thy captives;
Thou hast received gifts among men,
Even among the rebellious also, that the LORD God may dwell there.

Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden,
The God who is our salvation. Selah.
God is to us a God of deliverances;
And to God the Lord belong escapes from death.
Surely God will shatter the head of His enemies,
The hairy crown of him who goes on in his guilty deeds.
The Lord said, "I will bring them back from Bashan.
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea;
That your foot may shatter them in blood,
The tongue of your dogs may have its portion from your enemies."

They have seen Thy procession, O God,
The procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary.
The singers went on, the musicians after them,
In the midst of the maidens beating tambourines.
Bless God in the congregations,
Even the LORD, you who are of the fountain of Israel.
There is Benjamin, the youngest, ruling them,
The princes of Judah in their throng,
The princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.

Your God has commanded your strength;
Show Thyself strong, O God, who have acted on our behalf.
Because of Thy temple at Jerusalem
Kings will bring gifts to Thee.
Rebuke the beasts in the reeds,
The herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples,
Trampling under foot the pieces of silver;
He has scattered the peoples who delight in war.
Envoys will come out of Egypt;
Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God.

Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth,
Sing praises to the Lord, Selah.
To Him who rides upon the highest heavens, which are from ancient times;
Behold, He speaks forth with His voice, a mighty voice.
Ascribe strength to God;
His majesty is over Israel
And His strength is in the skies.
O God, Thou art awesome from Thy sanctuary
The God of Israel Himself gives strength and power to the people
Blessed be God!

~Psalm 68 (NASB 1977)

Monday, March 25, 2013

Psalm 64

Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;
Preserve my life from dread of the enemy.
Hide me from the secret counsel of evildoers,
From the tumult of those who do iniquity,
Who have sharpened their tongue like a sword
They aimed bitter speech as their arrow,
To shoot from concealment at the blameless;
Suddenly they shoot at him, and do not fear. 
They hold fast to themselves an evil purpose;
They talk of laying snares secretly;
They say, "Who can see them?"
They devise injustices, saying,
"We are ready with a well-conceived plot";
For the inward thought and the heart of a man are deep.

But God will shoot at them with an arrow;
Suddenly they will be wounded.
So they will make him stumble;
Their own tongue is against them;
All who see them will shake the head.
Then all men will fear,
And they will declare the work of God,
And will consider what He has done.
The righteous man will be glad in the LORD and will take refuge in Him;
And all the upright in heart will glory.

~Psalm 64 (NASB 1977)

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Psalm 63

O God, Thou art my God; I shall seek Thee earnestly;
My soul thirsts for Thee, my flesh yearns for Thee,
In a dry and weary land where there is no water.
Thus I have beheld Thee in the sanctuary,
To see Thy power and Thy glory.
Because Thy lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips will praise Thee.
So I will bless Thee as long as I live;
I will lift up my hand in Thy name.
My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.

When I remember Thee on my bed,
I meditate on Thee in the night watches,
For Thou hast been my help,
And in the shadow of Thy wings I sing for joy.
My soul clings to Thee;
Thy right hand upholds me.

But those who seek my life, to destroy it,
Will go into the depths of the earth.
They will be delivered over to the power of the sword;
They will be a prey for foxes.
But the king will rejoice in God;
Everyone who swears by Him will glory,
For the mouths of those who speak lies will be stopped.

~Psalm 63 (NASB 1977)

Friday, March 22, 2013

Psalm 61

Hear my cry, O God;
Give heed to my prayer.
From the end of the earth I call to Thee, when my heart is faint;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
For Thou hast been a refuge for me,
A tower of strength against the enemy.
Let me dwell in Thy tent forever;
Let me take refuge in the shelter of Thy wings.

For Thou hast heard my vows, O God;
Thou hast given me the inheritance of those who fear Thy name.
Thou wilt prolong the king's life;
His years will be as many generations.
He will abide before God forever;
Appoint lovingkindness and truth, that they may preserve him.
So I will sing praise to Thy name forever,
That I may pay my vows day by day.

~Psalm 61 (NASB 1977)

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Psalm 59

Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
Set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me.
Deliver me from those who do iniquity,
And save me from men of bloodshed.
For behold, they have set an ambush for my life;
Fierce men launch an attack against me,
Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O LORD,
For no guilt of mine, they run and set themselves against me.
Arouse Thyself to help me, and see!
And Thou, O Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel,
Awake to punish all the nations;
Do not be gracious to any who are treacherous in iniquity, [Selah.]
They return at evening, they howl like a dog,
And go around the city.
Behold, they belch forth with their mouth;
Swords are in their lips,
For, they say, "Who hears?"
But Thou, O LORD, dost laugh at them;
Thou does scoff at all the nations.

Because of his strength I will watch for Thee,
For God is my stronghold.
My God in His lovingkindness will meet me;
God will let me look triumphantly upon my foes.
Do not slay them, lest my people forget;
Scatter them by Thy power, and bring them down,
O LORD, our shield.
On account of the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips,
Let them even be caught in their pride,
And on account of curses and lies which they utter.
Destroy them in weather, destroy them, that they may be no more;
That men may know that God rules in Jacob,
To the ends of the earth.  [Selah.]
And they return at evening, they howl like a dog,
And go around the city.
They wander about for food,
And growl if they are not satisfied.

But as for me, I shall sing of Thy strength
Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Thy lovingkindness in the morning,
For Thou hast been my stronghold,
And a refuge in the day of my distress.
O my strength, I will sing praised to Thee;
For God is my stronghold, the God who shows me lovingkindness.

~Psalm 59 (NASB 1977)