Psalms: The Two Ways, and the First Cries (Psalms 1–10)
Scripture: Berean Standard Bible
Psalm 1
Blessed is the manwho does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,or set foot on the path of sinners,or sit in the seat of mockers.But his delight is in the Law of the LORD,and on his law he meditates day and night.He is like a tree planted by streams of water,yielding its fruit in season,whose leaf does not wither,and who prospers in all he does.
Not so the wicked!For they are like chaff driven off by the wind.Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the LORD guards the path of the righteous,but the way of the wicked will perish.
Psalm 2
Why do the nations rageand the peoples plot in vain?The kings of the earth take their standand the rulers gather together,against the LORDand against his Anointed One:“Let us break Their chainsand cast away Their cords.”
The One enthroned in heaven laughs;the Lord taunts them.Then he rebukes them in his anger,and terrifies them in his fury:“I have installed my King on Zion,upon my holy mountain.”
I will proclaim the decreespoken to me by the LORD:“You are my Son;today I have become your Father.Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance,the ends of the earth your possession.You will break them with an iron scepter;you will shatter them like pottery.”
Therefore be wise, O kings;be admonished, O judges of the earth.Serve the LORD with fear,and rejoice with trembling.Kiss the Son, lest he be angryand you perish in your rebellion,when his wrath ignites in an instant.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
Psalm 3
A Psalm of David, when he fled from his son Absalom.
O LORD, how my foes have increased!How many rise up against me!Many say of me,“God will not deliver him.”SelahBut you, O LORD, are a shield around me,my glory, and the One who lifts my head.To the LORD I cry aloud,and he answers me from his holy mountain.SelahI lie down and sleep;I wake again, for the LORD sustains me.I will not fear the myriadsset against me on every side.
Arise, O LORD!Save me, O my God!Strike all my enemies on the jaw;break the teeth of the wicked.Salvation belongs to the LORD;may your blessing be on your people.Selah
Psalm 4
For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.
Answer me when I call,O God of my righteousness!You have relieved my distress;show me grace and hear my prayer.
How long, O men, will my honor be maligned?How long will you love vanity and seek after lies?SelahKnow that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself;the LORD hears when I call to him.
Be angry, yet do not sin;on your bed, search your heart and be still.SelahOffer the sacrifices of the righteousand trust in the LORD.
Many ask, “Who can show us the good?”Shine the light of your face upon us, O LORD.You have filled my heart with more joythan when grain and new wine abound.I will lie down and sleep in peace,for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.
Psalm 5
For the choirmaster, to be accompanied by flutes. A Psalm of David.
Give ear to my words, O LORD;consider my groaning.Attend to the sound of my cry,my King and my God,for to you I pray.
In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice;at daybreak I lay my plea before youand wait in expectation.
For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;no evil can dwell with you.The boastful cannot stand in your presence;you hate all workers of iniquity.You destroy those who tell lies;the LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.
But I will enter your houseby the abundance of your loving devotion;in reverence I will bow downtoward your holy temple.
Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousnessbecause of my enemies;make straight your way before me.For not a word they speak can be trusted;destruction lies within them.Their throats are open graves;their tongues practice deceit.
Declare them guilty, O God;let them fall by their own devices.Drive them out for their many transgressions,for they have rebelled against you.
But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;let them ever shout for joy.May you shelter them,that those who love your name may rejoice in you.For surely you, O LORD, bless the righteous;you surround them with the shield of your favor.
Psalm 6
For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments, according to Sheminith. A Psalm of David.
O LORD, do not rebuke me in your angeror discipline me in your wrath.Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am frail;heal me, O LORD, for my bones are in agony.My soul is deeply distressed.How long, O LORD, how long?
Turn, O LORD, and deliver my soul;save me because of your loving devotion.For there is no mention of you in death;who can praise you from Sheol?
I am weary from groaning;all night I flood my bed with weepingand drench my couch with tears.My eyes fail from grief;they grow dim because of all my foes.
Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity,for the LORD has heard my weeping.The LORD has heard my cry for mercy;the LORD accepts my prayer.All my enemies will be ashamed and dismayed;they will turn back in sudden disgrace.
Psalm 7
A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning the words of Cush, a Benjamite.
O LORD my God, I take refuge in you;save me and deliver me from all my pursuers,or they will shred my soul like a lionand tear me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
O LORD my God, if I have done this,if injustice is on my hands,if I have rewarded my ally with evil,if I have plundered my foe without cause,then may my enemy pursue me and overtake me;may he trample me to the groundand leave my honor in the dust.SelahArise, O LORD, in your anger;rise up against the fury of my enemies.Awake, my God, and ordain judgment.Let the assembled peoples gather around you;take your seat over them on high.The LORD judges the peoples;vindicate me, O LORD,according to my righteousness and integrity.Put an end to the evil of the wicked,but establish the righteous,O righteous God who searches hearts and minds.
My shield is with God,who saves the upright in heart.God is a righteous judgeand a God who feels indignation each day.If one does not repent,God will sharpen his sword;he has bent and strung his bow.He has prepared his deadly weapons;he ordains his arrows with fire.
Behold, the wicked man travails with evil;he conceives trouble and births falsehood.He has dug a hole and hollowed it out;he has fallen into a pit of his own making.His trouble recoils on himself,and his violence falls on his own head.
I will thank the LORD for his righteousnessand sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.
Psalm 8
For the choirmaster. According to Gittith. A Psalm of David.
O LORD, our Lord,how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your gloryabove the heavens.From the mouths of children and infantsyou have ordained praiseon account of your adversaries,to silence the enemy and avenger.
When I behold your heavens,the work of your fingers,the moon and the stars,which you have set in place—
what is man that you are mindful of him,or the son of man that you care for him?You made him a little lower than the angels;you crowned him with glory and honor.You made him ruler of the works of your hands;you have placed everything under his feet:all sheep and oxen,and even the beasts of the field,the birds of the air and the fish of the sea,all that swim the paths of the seas.
O LORD, our Lord,how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Psalm 9
For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Death of the Son.” A Psalm of David.
I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart;I will recount all your wonders.I will be glad and rejoice in you;I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
When my enemies retreat,they stumble and perish before you.For you have upheld my just cause;you sit on your throne judging righteously.You have rebuked the nations;you have destroyed the wicked;you have erased their name forever and ever.The enemy has come to eternal ruin,and you have uprooted their cities;the very memory of them has vanished.
But the LORD abides forever;he has established his throne for judgment.He judges the world with justice;he governs the people with equity.The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed,a stronghold in times of trouble.Those who know your name trust in you,for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.
Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion;proclaim his deeds among the nations.For the Avenger of bloodshed remembers;he does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.
Be merciful to me, O LORD;see how my enemies afflict me!Lift me up from the gates of death,that I may declare all your praises—that within the gates of Daughter ZionI may rejoice in your salvation.
The nations have fallen into a pit of their making;their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.The LORD is known by the justice he brings;the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.Higgaion SelahThe wicked will return to Sheol—all the nations who forget God.For the needy will not always be forgotten;nor the hope of the oppressed forever dashed.
Rise up, O LORD, do not let man prevail;let the nations be judged in your presence.Lay terror upon them, O LORD;let the nations know they are but men.Selah
Psalm 10
Why, O LORD, do you stand far off?Why do you hide in times of trouble?In pride the wicked pursue the needy;let them be caught in the schemes they devise.
For the wicked man boasts in the cravings of his heart;he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;in all his schemes there is no God.He is secure in his ways at all times;your lofty judgments are far from him;he sneers at all his foes.He says to himself, “I will not be moved;from age to age I am free of distress.”
His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and violence;trouble and malice are under his tongue.He lies in wait near the villages;in ambush he slays the innocent;his eyes watch in stealth for the helpless.He lies in wait like a lion in a thicket;he lurks to seize the oppressed;he catches the lowly in his net.They are crushed and beaten down;the hapless fall prey to his strength.He says to himself, “God has forgotten;he hides his face and never sees.”
Arise, O LORD! Lift up your hand, O God!Do not forget the helpless.Why has the wicked man renounced God?He says to himself, “You will never call me to account.”But you have regarded trouble and grief;you see to repay it by your hand.The victim entrusts himself to you;you are the helper of the fatherless.Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer;call him to account for his wickednessuntil none is left to be found.
The LORD is King forever and ever;the nations perish from his land.You have heard, O LORD, the desire of the humble;you will strengthen their hearts.You will incline your ear,to vindicate the fatherless and oppressed,that the men of the earthmay strike terror no more.