New International Version (NIV)

A psalm of Asaph.

1 O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance;

they have defiled your holy temple,

they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble.

2 They have left the dead bodies of your servants

as food for the birds of the sky,

the flesh of your own people for the animals of the wild.

3 They have poured out blood like water

all around Jerusalem,

and there is no one to bury the dead.

4 We are objects of contempt to our neighbors,

of scorn and derision to those around us.

5 How long,Lord? Will you be angry forever?

How long will your jealousy burn like fire?

6 Pour out your wrath on the nations

that do not acknowledge you,

on the kingdoms

that do not call on your name;

7 for they have devoured Jacob

and devastated his homeland.

8 Do not hold against us the sins of past generations;

may your mercy come quickly to meet us,

for we are in desperate need.

9 Help us, God our Savior,

for the glory of your name;

deliver us and forgive our sins

for your name’s sake.

10 Why should the nations say,

“Where is their God?”

Before our eyes, make known among the nations

that you avenge the outpoured blood of your servants.

11 May the groans of the prisoners come before you;

with your strong arm preserve those condemned to die.

12 Pay back into the laps of our neighbors seven times

the contempt they have hurled at you, Lord.

13 Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture,

will praise you forever;

from generation to generation

we will proclaim your praise.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/3/32k/PSA/79-2c0e65380697e07e95485a002967f297.mp3?version_id=111—

For the director of music. To the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant.” Of Asaph. A psalm.

1 Hear us, Shepherd of Israel,

you who lead Joseph like a flock.

You who sit enthroned between the cherubim,

shine forth

2 before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.

Awaken your might;

come and save us.

3 Restore us, O God;

make your face shine on us,

that we may be saved.

4 How long,LordGod Almighty,

will your anger smolder

against the prayers of your people?

5 You have fed them with the bread of tears;

you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.

6 You have made us an object of derisionto our neighbors,

and our enemies mock us.

7 Restore us, God Almighty;

make your face shine on us,

that we may be saved.

8 You transplanted a vine from Egypt;

you drove out the nations and planted it.

9 You cleared the ground for it,

and it took root and filled the land.

10 The mountains were covered with its shade,

the mighty cedars with its branches.

11 Its branches reached as far as the Sea,

# its shoots as far as the River.

12 Why have you broken down its walls

so that all who pass by pick its grapes?

13 Boars from the forest ravage it,

and insects from the fields feed on it.

14 Return to us, God Almighty!

Look down from heaven and see!

Watch over this vine,

15 the root your right hand has planted,

# the sonyou have raised up for yourself.

16 Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire;

at your rebuke your people perish.

17 Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand,

the son of man you have raised up for yourself.

18 Then we will not turn away from you;

revive us, and we will call on your name.

19 Restore us,LordGod Almighty;

make your face shine on us,

that we may be saved.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/3/32k/PSA/80-759b10aa96110682943abfc2519619e4.mp3?version_id=111—

For the director of music. According to

gittith.

#

Of Asaph.

1 Sing for joy to God our strength;

shout aloud to the God of Jacob!

2 Begin the music, strike the timbrel,

play the melodious harp and lyre.

3 Sound the ram’s horn at the New Moon,

and when the moon is full, on the day of our festival;

4 this is a decree for Israel,

an ordinance of the God of Jacob.

5 When God went out against Egypt,

he established it as a statute for Joseph.

I heard an unknown voice say:

6 “I removed the burden from their shoulders;

their hands were set free from the basket.

7 In your distress you called and I rescued you,

I answered you out of a thundercloud;

# I tested you at the waters of Meribah.

8 Hear me, my people, and I will warn you—

if you would only listen to me, Israel!

9 You shall have no foreign god among you;

you shall not worship any god other than me.

10 I am theLordyour God,

who brought you up out of Egypt.

Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.

11 “But my people would not listen to me;

Israel would not submit to me.

12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts

to follow their own devices.

13 “If my people would only listen to me,

if Israel would only follow my ways,

14 how quickly I would subdue their enemies

and turn my hand against their foes!

15 Those who hate theLordwould cringe before him,

and their punishment would last forever.

16 But you would be fed with the finest of wheat;

with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/3/32k/PSA/81-3ffca511a402845f43a8cbfe0f98ddd8.mp3?version_id=111—

A psalm of Asaph.

1 God presides in the great assembly;

he renders judgment among the “gods”:

2 “How long will youdefend the unjust

# and show partiality to the wicked?

3 Defend the weak and the fatherless;

uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.

4 Rescue the weak and the needy;

deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

5 “The ‘gods’ know nothing, they understand nothing.

They walk about in darkness;

all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

6 “I said, ‘You are “gods”;

you are all sons of the Most High.’

7 But you will die like mere mortals;

you will fall like every other ruler.”

8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth,

for all the nations are your inheritance.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/3/32k/PSA/82-a42abc2cf0131d6c297efe534af85103.mp3?version_id=111—

A song. A psalm of Asaph.

1 O God, do not remain silent;

do not turn a deaf ear,

do not stand aloof, O God.

2 See how your enemies growl,

how your foes rear their heads.

3 With cunning they conspire against your people;

they plot against those you cherish.

4 “Come,” they say, “let us destroy them as a nation,

so that Israel’s name is remembered no more.”

5 With one mind they plot together;

they form an alliance against you—

6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,

of Moab and the Hagrites,

7 Byblos, Ammon and Amalek,

Philistia, with the people of Tyre.

8 Even Assyria has joined them

# to reinforce Lot’s descendants.

9 Do to them as you did to Midian,

as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon,

10 who perished at Endor

and became like dung on the ground.

11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,

all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,

12 who said, “Let us take possession

of the pasturelands of God.”

13 Make them like tumbleweed, my God,

like chaff before the wind.

14 As fire consumes the forest

or a flame sets the mountains ablaze,

15 so pursue them with your tempest

and terrify them with your storm.

16 Cover their faces with shame,Lord,

so that they will seek your name.

17 May they ever be ashamed and dismayed;

may they perish in disgrace.

18 Let them know that you, whose name is theLord—

that you alone are the Most High over all the earth.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/3/32k/PSA/83-47bf240c79ad1aebf4b624aabb17ad2e.mp3?version_id=111—

For the director of music. According to

gittith.

#

Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.

1 How lovely is your dwelling place,

LordAlmighty!

2 My soul yearns, even faints,

for the courts of theLord;

my heart and my flesh cry out

for the living God.

3 Even the sparrow has found a home,

and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may have her young—

a place near your altar,

LordAlmighty, my King and my God.

4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house;

# they are ever praising you.

5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.

6 As they pass through the Valley of Baka,

they make it a place of springs;

# the autumn rains also cover it with pools.

7 They go from strength to strength,

till each appears before God in Zion.

8 Hear my prayer,LordGod Almighty;

listen to me, God of Jacob.

9 Look on our shield,O God;

look with favor on your anointed one.

10 Better is one day in your courts

than a thousand elsewhere;

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God

than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

11 For theLordGod is a sun and shield;

theLordbestows favor and honor;

no good thing does he withhold

from those whose walk is blameless.

12 LordAlmighty,

blessed is the one who trusts in you.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/3/32k/PSA/84-23fe8ec9d048fa83abd093e2696e4c51.mp3?version_id=111—

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.

1 You,Lord, showed favor to your land;

you restored the fortunes of Jacob.

2 You forgave the iniquity of your people

# and covered all their sins.

3 You set aside all your wrath

and turned from your fierce anger.

4 Restore us again, God our Savior,

and put away your displeasure toward us.

5 Will you be angry with us forever?

Will you prolong your anger through all generations?

6 Will you not revive us again,

that your people may rejoice in you?

7 Show us your unfailing love,Lord,

and grant us your salvation.

8 I will listen to what God theLordsays;

he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants—

but let them not turn to folly.

9 Surely his salvation is near those who fear him,

that his glory may dwell in our land.

10 Love and faithfulness meet together;

righteousness and peace kiss each other.

11 Faithfulness springs forth from the earth,

and righteousness looks down from heaven.

12 TheLordwill indeed give what is good,

and our land will yield its harvest.

13 Righteousness goes before him

and prepares the way for his steps.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/3/32k/PSA/85-4443c1a08a302e6ecb548d2d106d76b3.mp3?version_id=111—

A prayer of David.

1 Hear me,Lord, and answer me,

for I am poor and needy.

2 Guard my life, for I am faithful to you;

save your servant who trusts in you.

You are my God;

3 have mercy on me, Lord,

for I call to you all day long.

4 Bring joy to your servant, Lord,

for I put my trust in you.

5 You, Lord, are forgiving and good,

abounding in love to all who call to you.

6 Hear my prayer,Lord;

listen to my cry for mercy.

7 When I am in distress, I call to you,

because you answer me.

8 Among the gods there is none like you, Lord;

no deeds can compare with yours.

9 All the nations you have made

will come and worship before you, Lord;

they will bring glory to your name.

10 For you are great and do marvelous deeds;

you alone are God.

11 Teach me your way,Lord,

that I may rely on your faithfulness;

give me an undivided heart,

that I may fear your name.

12 I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart;

I will glorify your name forever.

13 For great is your love toward me;

you have delivered me from the depths,

from the realm of the dead.

14 Arrogant foes are attacking me, O God;

ruthless people are trying to kill me—

they have no regard for you.

15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,

slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

16 Turn to me and have mercy on me;

show your strength in behalf of your servant;

save me, because I serve you

just as my mother did.

17 Give me a sign of your goodness,

that my enemies may see it and be put to shame,

for you,Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/3/32k/PSA/86-e82233f2b0f880d1e1aa41d5a1acf6c9.mp3?version_id=111—

Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm. A song.

1 He has founded his city on the holy mountain.

2 TheLordloves the gates of Zion

more than all the other dwellings of Jacob.

3 Glorious things are said of you,

# city of God:

4 “I will record Rahaband Babylon

among those who acknowledge me—

# Philistia too, and Tyre, along with Cush—

# and will say, ‘This one was born in Zion.’ ”

5 Indeed, of Zion it will be said,

“This one and that one were born in her,

and the Most High himself will establish her.”

6 TheLordwill write in the register of the peoples:

“This one was born in Zion.”

7 As they make music they will sing,

“All my fountains are in you.”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/3/32k/PSA/87-c113115689785096da1b31dae1446dbc.mp3?version_id=111—

A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah. For the director of music. According to

mahalath leannoth.

#

A

maskil

#

of Heman the Ezrahite.

1 Lord, you are the God who saves me;

day and night I cry out to you.

2 May my prayer come before you;

turn your ear to my cry.

3 I am overwhelmed with troubles

and my life draws near to death.

4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit;

I am like one without strength.

5 I am set apart with the dead,

like the slain who lie in the grave,

whom you remember no more,

who are cut off from your care.

6 You have put me in the lowest pit,

in the darkest depths.

7 Your wrath lies heavily on me;

# you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.

8 You have taken from me my closest friends

and have made me repulsive to them.

I am confined and cannot escape;

9 my eyes are dim with grief.

I call to you,Lord, every day;

I spread out my hands to you.

10 Do you show your wonders to the dead?

Do their spirits rise up and praise you?

11 Is your love declared in the grave,

# your faithfulness in Destruction?

12 Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,

or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?

13 But I cry to you for help,Lord;

in the morning my prayer comes before you.

14 Why,Lord, do you reject me

and hide your face from me?

15 From my youth I have suffered and been close to death;

I have borne your terrors and am in despair.

16 Your wrath has swept over me;

your terrors have destroyed me.

17 All day long they surround me like a flood;

they have completely engulfed me.

18 You have taken from me friend and neighbor—

darkness is my closest friend.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/3/32k/PSA/88-5606b3d031430c82839b86260f5f6edc.mp3?version_id=111—