May 30 Psalms 1-8

Psalm 1
The Two Ways
1Happy are those
who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
or sit in the seat of scoffers;
2but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law they meditate day and night.
3They are like trees
planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.


4The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgement,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
Psalm 2
God’s Promise to His Anointed
1Why do the nations conspire,
and the peoples plot in vain?
2The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and his anointed, saying,
3‘Let us burst their bonds asunder,
and cast their cords from us.’


4He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord has them in derision.
5Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6‘I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.’


7I will tell of the decree of the Lord:
He said to me, ‘You are my son;
today I have begotten you.
8Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
9You shall break them with a rod of iron,
and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.’


10Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11Serve the Lord with fear,
with trembling 12kiss his feet,*
or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way;
for his wrath is quickly kindled.


Happy are all who take refuge in him.
Psalm 3
Trust in God under AdversityA Psalm of David, when he fled from his son Absalom.
1O Lord, how many are my foes!
Many are rising against me;
2many are saying to me,
‘There is no help for you* in God.’
Selah


3But you, O Lord, are a shield around me,
my glory, and the one who lifts up my head.
4I cry aloud to the Lord,
and he answers me from his holy hill.
Selah


5I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, for the Lord sustains me.
6I am not afraid of tens of thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.


7Rise up, O Lord!
Deliver me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you break the teeth of the wicked.


8Deliverance belongs to the Lord;
may your blessing be on your people!
Selah
Psalm 4
Confident Plea for Deliverance from EnemiesTo the leader: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.
1Answer me when I call, O God of my right!
You gave me room when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer.


2How long, you people, shall my honour suffer shame?
How long will you love vain words, and seek after lies?
Selah
3But know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for himself;
the Lord hears when I call to him.


4When you are disturbed,* do not sin;
ponder it on your beds, and be silent.
Selah
5Offer right sacrifices,
and put your trust in the Lord.


6There are many who say, ‘O that we might see some good!
Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord!’
7You have put gladness in my heart
more than when their grain and wine abound.


8I will both lie down and sleep in peace;
for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety.
Psalm 5
Trust in God for Deliverance from EnemiesTo the leader: for the flutes. A Psalm of David.
1Give ear to my words, O Lord;
give heed to my sighing.
2Listen to the sound of my cry,
my King and my God,
for to you I pray.
3O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;
in the morning I plead my case to you, and watch.


4For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
evil will not sojourn with you.
5The boastful will not stand before your eyes;
you hate all evildoers.
6You destroy those who speak lies;
the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful.


7But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,
will enter your house,
I will bow down towards your holy temple
in awe of you.
8Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness
because of my enemies;
make your way straight before me.


9For there is no truth in their mouths;
their hearts are destruction;
their throats are open graves;
they flatter with their tongues.
10Make them bear their guilt, O God;
let them fall by their own counsels;
because of their many transgressions cast them out,
for they have rebelled against you.


11But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
let them ever sing for joy.
Spread your protection over them,
so that those who love your name may exult in you.
12For you bless the righteous, O Lord;
you cover them with favour as with a shield.
Psalm 6
Prayer for Recovery from Grave IllnessTo the leader: with stringed instruments; according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.
1O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger,
or discipline me in your wrath.
2Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;
O Lord, heal me, for my bones are shaking with terror.
3My soul also is struck with terror,
while you, O Lord—how long?


4Turn, O Lord, save my life;
deliver me for the sake of your steadfast love.
5For in death there is no remembrance of you;
in Sheol who can give you praise?


6I am weary with my moaning;
every night I flood my bed with tears;
I drench my couch with my weeping.
7My eyes waste away because of grief;
they grow weak because of all my foes.


8Depart from me, all you workers of evil,
for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.
9The Lord has heard my supplication;
the Lord accepts my prayer.
10All my enemies shall be ashamed and struck with terror;
they shall turn back, and in a moment be put to shame.
Psalm 7
Plea for Help against PersecutorsA Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush, a Benjaminite.
1O Lord my God, in you I take refuge;
save me from all my pursuers, and deliver me,
2or like a lion they will tear me apart;
they will drag me away, with no one to rescue.


3O Lord my God, if I have done this,
if there is wrong in my hands,
4if I have repaid my ally with harm
or plundered my foe without cause,
5then let the enemy pursue and overtake me,
trample my life to the ground,
and lay my soul in the dust.
Selah


6Rise up, O Lord, in your anger;
lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies;
awake, O my God;* you have appointed a judgement.
7Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered around you,
and over it take your seat* on high.
8The Lord judges the peoples;
judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness
and according to the integrity that is in me.


9O let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
but establish the righteous,
you who test the minds and hearts,
O righteous God.
10God is my shield,
who saves the upright in heart.
11God is a righteous judge,
and a God who has indignation every day.


12If one does not repent, God* will whet his sword;
he has bent and strung his bow;
13he has prepared his deadly weapons,
making his arrows fiery shafts.
14See how they conceive evil,
and are pregnant with mischief,
and bring forth lies.
15They make a pit, digging it out,
and fall into the hole that they have made.
16Their mischief returns upon their own heads,
and on their own heads their violence descends.


17I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness,
and sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.
Psalm 8
Divine Majesty and Human DignityTo the leader: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of David.
1O Lord, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!


You have set your glory above the heavens.
2 Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
to silence the enemy and the avenger.


3When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you have established;
4what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
mortals* that you care for them?


5Yet you have made them a little lower than God,*
and crowned them with glory and honour.
6You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under their feet,
7all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
8the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.


9O Lord, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!