The Living Bible (177 page)
Authors: Inc. Tyndale House Publishers
Tags: #BIBLES / Other Translations / Text
Dismiss all the charges against me, Lord, for I have tried to keep your laws and have trusted you without wavering.
2
Cross-examine me, O Lord, and see that this is so; test my motives and affections too.
3
For I have taken your loving-kindness and your truth as my ideals.
4
I do not have fellowship with tricky, two-faced men; they are false and hypocritical.
5
I hate the sinners’ hangouts and refuse to enter them.
6
I wash my hands to prove my innocence and come before your altar,
7
singing a song of thanksgiving and telling about your miracles.
8
Lord, I love your home, this shrine where the brilliant, dazzling splendor of your presence lives.
9-10
Don’t treat me as a common sinner or murderer who plots against the innocent and demands bribes.
11
No, I am not like that, O Lord; I try to walk a straight and narrow path of doing what is right; therefore in mercy save me.
12
I publicly praise the Lord for keeping me from slipping and falling.
The Lord is my light and my salvation; he protects me from danger—whom shall I fear?
2
When evil men come to destroy me, they will stumble and fall!
3
Yes, though a mighty army marches against me, my heart shall know no fear! I am confident that God will save me.
4
The one thing I want from God, the thing I seek most of all, is the privilege of meditating in his Temple, living in his presence every day of my life, delighting in his incomparable perfections and glory.
5
There I’ll be when troubles come. He will hide me. He will set me on a high rock
6
out of reach of all my enemies. Then I will bring him sacrifices and sing his praises with much joy.
7
Listen to my pleading, Lord! Be merciful and send the help I need.
8
My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me, O my people.” And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”
9
Oh, do not hide yourself when I am trying to find you. Do not angrily reject your servant. You have been my help in all my trials before; don’t leave me now. Don’t forsake me, O God of my salvation.
10
For if my father and mother should abandon me, you would welcome and comfort me.
11
Tell me what to do, O Lord, and make it plain because I am surrounded by waiting enemies.
12
Don’t let them get me, Lord! Don’t let me fall into their hands! For they accuse me of things I never did, and all the while are plotting cruelty.
13
I am expecting the Lord to rescue me again, so that once again I will see his goodness to me here in the land of the living.
14
Don’t be impatient. Wait for the Lord, and he will come and save you! Be brave, stouthearted, and courageous. Yes, wait and he will help you.
I plead with you to help me, Lord, for you are my Rock of safety. If you refuse to answer me, I might as well give up and die.
2
Lord, I lift my hands to heaven
*
and implore your help. Oh, listen to my cry.
3
Don’t punish me with all the wicked ones who speak so sweetly to their neighbors while planning to murder them.
4
Give them the punishment they so richly deserve! Measure it out to them in proportion to their wickedness; paythem back for all their evil deeds.
5
They care nothing for God or what he has done or what he has made; therefore God will dismantle them like old buildings, never to be rebuilt again.
6
Oh, praise the Lord, for he has listened to my pleadings!
7
He is my strength, my shield from every danger. I trusted in him, and he helped me. Joy rises in my heart until I burst out in songs of praise to him.
8
The Lord protects his people and gives victory to his anointed king.
9
Defend your people, Lord; defend and bless your chosen ones. Lead them like a shepherd and carry them forever in your arms.
Praise the Lord, you angels of his; praise his glory and his strength.
2
Praise him for his majestic glory, the glory of his name. Come before him clothed in sacred garments.
3
The voice of the Lord echoes from the clouds. The God of glory thunders through the skies.
4
So powerful is his voice; so full of majesty.
5-6
It breaks down the cedars. It splits the giant trees of Lebanon. It shakes Mount Lebanon and Mount Sirion. They leap and skip before him like young calves!
7
The voice of the Lord thunders through the lightning.
8
It resounds through the deserts and shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9
The voice of the Lord spins and topples the mighty oaks.
*
It strips the forests bare. They whirl and sway beneath the blast. But in his Temple all are praising, “Glory, glory to the Lord.”
10
At the Flood the Lord showed his control of all creation. Now he continues to unveil his power.
11
He will give his people strength. He will bless them with peace.
I will praise you, Lord, for you have saved me from my enemies. You refuse to let them triumph over me.
2
O Lord my God, I pleaded with you, and you gave me my health again.
3
You brought me back from the brink of the grave, from death itself, and here I am alive!
4
Oh, sing to him you saints of his; give thanks to his holy name.
5
His anger lasts a moment; his favor lasts for life! Weeping may go on all night, but in the morning there is joy.
6-7
In my prosperity I said, “This is forever; nothing can stop me now! The Lord has shown me his favor. He has made me steady as a mountain.” Then, Lord, you turned your face away from me and cut off your river of blessings.
*
Suddenly my courage was gone; I was terrified and panic-stricken.
8
I cried to you, O Lord; oh, how I pled:
9
“What will you gain, O Lord, from killing me? How can I praise you then to all my friends? How can my dust in the grave speak out and tell the world about your faithfulness?
10
Hear me, Lord; oh, have pity and help me.”
11
Then he turned my sorrow into joy! He took away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy
12
so that I might sing glad praises to the Lord instead of lying in silence in the grave. O Lord my God, I will keep on thanking you forever!
Lord, I trust in you alone. Don’t let my enemies defeat me. Rescue me because you are the God who always does what is right.
2
Answer quickly when I cry to you; bend low and hear my whispered plea.
*
Be for me a great Rock of safety from my foes.
3
Yes, you are my Rock and my fortress; honor your name by leading me out of this peril.
4
Pull me from the trap my enemies have set for me. For you alone are strong enough.
*
5-6
Into your hand I commit my spirit.
You have rescued me, O God who keeps his promises. I worship only you; how you hate all those who worship idols, those imitation gods.
7
I am radiant with joy because of your mercy, for you have listened to my troubles and have seen the crisis in my soul.
8
You have not handed me over to my enemy but have given me open ground in which to maneuver.
9-10
O Lord, have mercy on me in my anguish. My eyes are red from weeping; my health is broken from sorrow. I am pining away with grief; my years are shortened, drained away because of sadness. My sins have sapped my strength; I stoop with sorrow and with shame.
*
11
I am scorned by all my enemies and even more by my neighbors and friends. They dread meeting me and look the other way when I go by.
12
I am forgotten like a dead man, like a broken and discarded pot.
13
I heard the lies about me, the slanders of my enemies. Everywhere I looked I was afraid, for they were plotting against my life.
14-15
But I am trusting you, O Lord. I said, “You alone are my God; my times are in your hands. Rescue me from those who hunt me down relentlessly.
16
Let your favor shine again upon your servant; save me just because you are so kind!
17
Don’t disgrace me, Lord, by not replying when I call to you for aid. But let the wicked be shamed by what they trust in; let them lie silently in their graves,
18
their lying lips quieted at last—the lips of these arrogant men who are accusing honest men of evil deeds.”
19
Oh, how great is your goodness to those who publicly declare that you will rescue them. For you have stored up great blessings for those who trust and reverence you.
20
Hide your loved ones in the shelter of your presence, safe beneath your hand, safe from all conspiring men.
21
Blessed is the Lord, for he has shown me that his never-failing love protects me like the walls of a fort!
22
I spoke too hastily when I said, “The Lord has deserted me,” for you listened to my plea and answered me.
23
Oh, love the Lord, all of you who are his people; for the Lord protects those who are loyal to him, but harshly punishes all who haughtily reject him.
24
So cheer up! Take courage if you are depending on the Lord.