Psalm 34

Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he left.

 ² My soul will boast in the LORD;
       let the afflicted hear and rejoice.

 ³ Glorify the LORD with me;
       let us exalt his name together.

 ⁴ I sought the LORD, and he answered me;
       he delivered me from all my fears.

 ⁵ Those who look to him are radiant;
       their faces are never covered with shame.

 ⁶ This poor man called, and the LORD heard him;
       he saved him out of all his troubles.

 ⁷ The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him,
       and he delivers them.

 ⁸ Taste and see that the LORD is good;
       blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

 ⁹ Fear the LORD, you his saints,
       for those who fear him lack nothing.

 ¹⁰ The lions may grow weak and hungry,
       but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

 ¹¹ Come, my children, listen to me;
       I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

 ¹² Whoever of you loves life
       and desires to see many good days,

 ¹³ keep your tongue from evil
       and your lips from speaking lies.

 ¹⁴ Turn from evil and do good;
       seek peace and pursue it.

 ¹⁵ The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous
       and his ears are attentive to their cry;

 ¹⁶ the face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
       to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

 ¹⁷ The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them;
       he delivers them from all their troubles.

 ¹⁸ The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
       and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

 ¹⁹ A righteous man may have many troubles,
       but the LORD delivers him from them all;

 ²⁰ he protects all his bones,
       not one of them will be broken.

 ²¹ Evil will slay the wicked;
       the foes of the righteous will be condemned.

 ²² The LORD redeems his servants;
       no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.

Psalm 33

 ¹ Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous;
       it is fitting for the upright to praise him.

 ² Praise the LORD with the harp;
       make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.

 ³ Sing to him a new song;
       play skillfully, and shout for joy.

 ⁴ For the word of the LORD is right and true;
       he is faithful in all he does.

 ⁵ The LORD loves righteousness and justice;
       the earth is full of his unfailing love.

 ⁶ By the word of the LORD were the heavens made,
       their starry host by the breath of his mouth.

 ⁷ He gathers the waters of the sea into jars ^[a] ;
       he puts the deep into storehouses.

 ⁸ Let all the earth fear the LORD;
       let all the people of the world revere him.

 ⁹ For he spoke, and it came to be;
       he commanded, and it stood firm.

 ¹⁰ The LORD foils the plans of the nations;
       he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.

 ¹¹ But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever,
       the purposes of his heart through all generations.

 ¹² Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,
       the people he chose for his inheritance.

 ¹³ From heaven the LORD looks down
       and sees all mankind;

 ¹⁴ from his dwelling place he watches
       all who live on earth-

 ¹⁵ he who forms the hearts of all,
       who considers everything they do.

 ¹⁶ No king is saved by the size of his army;
       no warrior escapes by his great strength.

 ¹⁷ A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
       despite all its great strength it cannot save.

 ¹⁸ But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,
       on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,

 ¹⁹ to deliver them from death
       and keep them alive in famine.

 ²⁰ We wait in hope for the LORD;
       he is our help and our shield.

 ²¹ In him our hearts rejoice,
       for we trust in his holy name.

 ²² May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD,
       even as we put our hope in you.

Psalm 32

Of David. A maskil. ^[a]

 ² Blessed is the man
       whose sin the LORD does not count against him
       and in whose spirit is no deceit.

 ³ When I kept silent,
       my bones wasted away
       through my groaning all day long.

 ⁴ For day and night
       your hand was heavy upon me;
       my strength was sapped
       as in the heat of summer.
       Selah

 ⁵ Then I acknowledged my sin to you
       and did not cover up my iniquity.
       I said, "I will confess
       my transgressions to the LORD "—
       and you forgave
       the guilt of my sin.
       Selah

 ⁶ Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you
       while you may be found;
       surely when the mighty waters rise,
       they will not reach him.

 ⁷ You are my hiding place;
       you will protect me from trouble
       and surround me with songs of deliverance.
       Selah

 ⁸ I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
       I will counsel you and watch over you.

 ⁹ Do not be like the horse or the mule,
       which have no understanding
       but must be controlled by bit and bridle
       or they will not come to you.

 ¹⁰ Many are the woes of the wicked,
       but the LORD's unfailing love
       surrounds the man who trusts in him.

 ¹¹ Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous;
       sing, all you who are upright in heart!

Psalm 31

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

 ² Turn your ear to me,
       come quickly to my rescue;
       be my rock of refuge,
       a strong fortress to save me.

 ³ Since you are my rock and my fortress,
       for the sake of your name lead and guide me.

 ⁴ Free me from the trap that is set for me,
       for you are my refuge.

 ⁵ Into your hands I commit my spirit;
       redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth.

 ⁶ I hate those who cling to worthless idols;
       I trust in the LORD.

 ⁷ I will be glad and rejoice in your love,
       for you saw my affliction
       and knew the anguish of my soul.

 ⁸ You have not handed me over to the enemy
       but have set my feet in a spacious place.

 ⁹ Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress;
       my eyes grow weak with sorrow,
       my soul and my body with grief.

 ¹⁰ My life is consumed by anguish
       and my years by groaning;
       my strength fails because of my affliction, ^[a]
       and my bones grow weak.

 ¹¹ Because of all my enemies,
       I am the utter contempt of my neighbors;
       I am a dread to my friends—
       those who see me on the street flee from me.

 ¹² I am forgotten by them as though I were dead;
       I have become like broken pottery.

 ¹³ For I hear the slander of many;
       there is terror on every side;
       they conspire against me
       and plot to take my life.

 ¹⁴ But I trust in you, O LORD;
       I say, "You are my God."

 ¹⁵ My times are in your hands;
       deliver me from my enemies
       and from those who pursue me.

 ¹⁶ Let your face shine on your servant;
       save me in your unfailing love.

 ¹⁷ Let me not be put to shame, O LORD,
       for I have cried out to you;
       but let the wicked be put to shame
       and lie silent in the grave. ^[b]

 ¹⁸ Let their lying lips be silenced,
       for with pride and contempt
       they speak arrogantly against the righteous.

 ¹⁹ How great is your goodness,
       which you have stored up for those who fear you,
       which you bestow in the sight of men
       on those who take refuge in you.

 ²⁰ In the shelter of your presence you hide them
       from the intrigues of men;
       in your dwelling you keep them safe
       from accusing tongues.

 ²¹ Praise be to the LORD,
       for he showed his wonderful love to me
       when I was in a besieged city.

 ²² In my alarm I said,
       "I am cut off from your sight!"
       Yet you heard my cry for mercy
       when I called to you for help.

 ²³ Love the LORD, all his saints!
       The LORD preserves the faithful,
       but the proud he pays back in full.

 ²⁴ Be strong and take heart,
       all you who hope in the LORD.

Psalm 30

A psalm. A song. For the dedication of the temple. Of David. ^[a]

 ² O LORD my God, I called to you for help
       and you healed me.

 ³ O LORD, you brought me up from the grave ^[b] ;
       you spared me from going down into the pit.

 ⁴ Sing to the LORD, you saints of his;
       praise his holy name.

 ⁵ For his anger lasts only a moment,
       but his favor lasts a lifetime;
       weeping may remain for a night,
       but rejoicing comes in the morning.

 ⁶ When I felt secure, I said,
       "I will never be shaken."

 ⁷ O LORD, when you favored me,
       you made my mountain ^[c] stand firm;
       but when you hid your face,
       I was dismayed.

 ⁸ To you, O LORD, I called;
       to the Lord I cried for mercy:

 ⁹ "What gain is there in my destruction, ^[d]
       in my going down into the pit?
       Will the dust praise you?
       Will it proclaim your faithfulness?

 ¹⁰ Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me;
       O LORD, be my help."

 ¹¹ You turned my wailing into dancing;
       you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

 ¹² that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.
       O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.