Amplified Bible (AMP)

God Sustains His Servant.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

1 I waited patientlyandexpectantly for the Lord;

And He inclined to me and heard my cry.

2 He brought me up out of a horrible pit [of tumult and of destruction], out of the miry clay,

And He set my feet upon a rock, steadying my footstepsandestablishing my path.

3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;

Many will see and fear [with great reverence]

And will trust confidently in the Lord.

4 Blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] is the man who makes the Lordhis trust,

And does not regard the proud nor those who lapse into lies.

5 Many, O Lordmy God, are the wonderful works which You have done,

And Your thoughts toward us;

There is none to compare with You.

If I would declare and speak ofyour wonders,

They would be too many to count.

6 Sacrifice and meal offering You do not desire,nordo You delight in them;

You have opened my earsandgiven me the capacity to hear [and obey Your word];

Burnt offerings and sin offerings You do not require.

7 Then I said, “Behold, I come [to the throne];

In the scroll of the book it is written of me.

8 “I delight to do Your will, O my God;

Your law is within my heart.”

9 I have proclaimed good news of righteousness [and the joy that comes from obedience to You] in the great assembly;

Behold, I will not restrain my lips [from proclaiming Your righteousness],

As You know, O Lord.

10 I have not concealed Your righteousness within my heart;

I have proclaimed Your faithfulness and Your salvation.

I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great assembly.

11 Do not withhold Your compassionandtender mercy from me, O Lord;

Your lovingkindness and Your truth will continually preserve me.

12 For innumerable evils have encompassed me;

My sins have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see.

They are more numerous than the hairs of my head,

And my heart has failed me.

13 Be pleased, O Lord, to save me;

O Lord, make haste to help me.

14 Let those be ashamed and humiliated together

Who seek my life to destroy it;

Let those be turned back [in defeat] and dishonored

Who delight in my hurt.

15 Let those be appalledanddesolate because of their shame

Who say to me, “Aha, aha [rejoicing in my misfortune]!”

16 Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;

Let those who love Your salvation say continually,

“The Lordbe magnified!”

17 Even though I am afflicted and needy,

Still the Lord takes thoughtandis mindful of me.

You are my help and my rescuer.

O my God, do not delay.

The Psalmist in Sickness Complains of Enemies and False Friends.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

1 Blessed [by God’s grace and compassion] is he who considers the helpless;

The Lordwill save him in the day of trouble.

2 The Lordwill protect him and keep him alive;

And he will be called blessed in the land;

You do not hand him over to the desire of his enemies.

3 The Lordwill sustainandstrengthen him on his sickbed;

In his illness, You will restore him to health.

4 As for me, I said, “O Lord, be gracious to me;

Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.”

5 My enemies speak evil of me,saying,

“When will he die and his name perish?”

6 And when one comes to see me, he speaks empty words,

While his heart gathers malicious gossip [against me];

When he goes away, he tells it [everywhere].

7 All who hate me whisper together about me;

Against me they devise my hurt [imagining the worst for me],saying,

8 “A wicked thing is poured out upon himandholds him;

And when he lies down, he will not rise up again.”

9 Even my own close friend in whom I trusted,

Who ate my bread,

Has lifted up his heel against me [betraying me].

10 But You, O Lord, be gracious to me andrestore me [to health],

So that I may repay them.

11 By this I know that You favoranddelight in me,

Because my enemy does not shout in triumph over me.

12 As for me, You uphold me in my integrity,

And You set me in Your presence forever.

13 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

From everlasting to everlasting [from this age to the next, and forever].

Amen and Amen (so be it).

Thirsting for God in Trouble and Exile.

To the Chief Musician. A skillful song,

or

a didactic

or

reflective poem, of the sons of Korah.

1 As the deer pants [longingly] for the water brooks,

So mysoul pants [longingly] for You, O God.

2 My soul (my life, my inner self) thirsts for God, for the living God.

When will I come and see the face of God?

3 My tears have been my food day and night,

While they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”

4 These things I [vividly] remember as I pour out my soul;

How I used to go along before the great crowd of people and lead them in procession to the house of God [like a choirmaster before his singers, timing the steps to the music and the chant of the song],

With the voice of joy and thanksgiving, a great crowd keeping a festival.

5 Why are you in despair, O my soul?

And why have you become restlessanddisturbed within me?

Hope in Godandwait expectantly for Him, for I shall again praise Him

For the help of His presence.

6 O my God, my soul is in despair within me [the burden more than I can bear];

Therefore I will [fervently] remember You from the land of the Jordan

And the peaks of [Mount] Hermon, from Mount Mizar.

7 Deep calls to deep at the [thundering] sound of Your waterfalls;

All Your breakers and Your waves have rolled over me.

8 Yet the Lordwill command His lovingkindness in the daytime,

And in the night His song will be with me,

A prayer to the God of my life.

9 I will say to God my rock, “Why have You forgotten me?

Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”

10 As a crushing of my bones [with a sword], my adversaries taunt me,

While they say continually to me, “Where is your God?”

11 Why are you in despair, O my soul?

Why have you become restlessanddisquieted within me?

Hope in Godandwait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him,

Thehelp of my countenance and my God.

Prayer for Rescue.

1 Judgeandvindicate me, O God; plead my case against an ungodly nation.

O rescue me from the deceitful and unjust man!

2 For You are the God of my strength [my stronghold–in whom I take refuge]; why have You rejected me?

Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

3 O send out Your light and Your truth, let them lead me;

Let them bring me to Your holy hill

And to Your dwelling places.

4 Then I will go to the altar of God,

To God, my exceeding joy;

With the lyre I will praise You, O God, my God!

5 Why are you in despair, O my soul?

And why are you restlessanddisturbed within me?

Hope in Godandwait expectantly for Him, for I shall again praise Him,

Thehelp of my [sad] countenance and my God.

Former Times of Help and Present Troubles.

To the Chief Musician.

A Psalm

of the sons of Korah. A skillful song,

or

a didactic

or

reflective poem.

1 We have heard with our ears, O God,

Our fathers have told us

The work You did in their days,

In the days of old.

2 You drove out the [pagan] nations with Your own hand;

Then you plantedandestablished them (Israel);

[It was by Your power that] You uprooted the [pagan] peoples,

Then You spread them abroad.

3 For our fathers did not possess the land [of Canaan] by their own sword,

Nor did their own arm save them,

But Your right hand and Your arm and the light of Your presence,

Because You favoredanddelighted in them.

4 You are my King, O God;

Command victoriesanddeliverance for Jacob (Israel).

5 Through You we will gore our enemies [like a bull];

Through Your name we will trample down those who rise up against us.

6 For I will not trust in my bow,

Nor will my sword save me.

7 But You have saved us from our enemies,

And You have put them to shameandhumiliated those who hate us.

8 In God we have boasted all the day long,

And we will praiseandgive thanks to Your name forever. Selah.

9 But now You have rejected us and brought us to dishonor,

And You do not go out with our armies [to lead us to victory].

10 You make us turn back from the enemy,

And those who hate us have taken spoil for themselves.

11 You have made us like sheep to be eaten [as mutton]

And have scattered us [in exile] among the nations.

12 You sell Your people cheaply,

And have not increased Your wealth by their sale.

13 You have made us the reproachandtaunt of our neighbors,

A scoffing and a derision to those around us.

14 You make us a byword among the nations,

Alaughingstock among the people.

15 My dishonor is before me all day long,

And humiliation has covered my face,

16 Because of the voice of the taunter and reviler,

Because of the presence of the enemy and the avenger.

17 All this has come upon us, yet we have not forgotten You,

Nor have we been false to Your covenant [which You made with our fathers].

18 Our heart has not turned back,

Nor have our steps wandered from Your path,

19 Yet You have [distressingly] crushed us in the place of jackals

And covered us with [the deep darkness of] the shadow of death.

20 If we had forgotten the name of our God

Or stretched out our hands to a strange god,

21 Would not God discover this?

For He knows the secrets of the heart.

22 But for Your sake we are killed all the day long;

We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

23 Awake! Why do You sleep, O Lord?

Awaken, do not reject us forever.

24 Why do You hide Your face

And forget our affliction and our oppression?

25 For our life has melted away into the dust;

Our body clings to the ground.

26 Rise up! Come be our help,

And ransom us for the sake of Your steadfast love.

A Song Celebrating the King’s Marriage.

To the Chief Musician; set to the [tune of] “Lilies.” A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A skillful song,

or

a didactic

or

reflective poem. A Song of Love.

1 My heart overflows with a good theme;

I address my psalm to the King.

My tongue is like the pen of a skillful writer.

2 You are fairer than the sons of men;

Graciousness is poured upon Your lips;

Therefore God has blessed You forever.

3 Strap Your sword onYourthigh, O mighty One,

In Your splendor and Your majesty!

4 And in Your majesty ride on triumphantly

For the cause of truth and humility and righteousness;

Let Your right hand guide You to awesome things.

5 Your arrows are sharp;

The peoples (nations) fall under You;

Your arrowspierce the hearts of the King’s enemies.

6 Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;

The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom.

7 You have loved righteousness (virtue, morality, justice) and hated wickedness;

Therefore God, your God, has anointed You

Above Your companions with the oil of jubilation.

8 All Your garments arefragrant withmyrrh, aloesandcassia;

From ivory palaces stringed instruments have made You glad.

9 Kings’ daughters are among Your noble ladies;

At Your right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir.

10 Hear, O daughter, consider and incline your ear [to my instruction]:

Forget your people and your father’s house;

11 Then the King will desire your beauty;

Because He is your Lord, bow downandhonor Him.

12 The daughter of Tyre will come with a gift;

The rich among the people will seek your favor.

13 Glorious is the King’s daughter within [the palace];

Her robe is interwoven with gold.

14 She will be brought to the King in embroidered garments;

The virgins, her companions who follow her,

Will be brought to You.

15 With gladness and rejoicing will they be led;

They will enter into the King’s palace.

16 In place of your fathers will beyour sons;

You shall make princes in all the land.

17 I will make Your name to be remembered in all generations;

Therefore the peoples will praiseandgive You thanks forever and ever.

God the Refuge of His People.

To the Chief Musician.

A Psalm

of the sons of Korah, set to soprano voices. A Song.

1 God is our refuge and strength [mighty and impenetrable],

A very presentandwell-proved help in trouble.

2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change

And though the mountains be shakenandslip into the heart of the seas,

3 Though its waters roar and foam,

Though the mountains tremble at its roaring. Selah.

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

The holy dwelling places of the Most High.

5 God is in the midst of her [His city], she will not be moved;

God will help her when the morning dawns.

6 The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms totteredandwere moved;

He raised His voice, the earth melted.

7 The Lordof hosts is with us;

The God of Jacob is our stronghold [our refuge, our high tower]. Selah.

8 Come, behold the works of the Lord,

Who has wrought desolationsandwonders in the earth.

9 He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth;

He breaks the bow into pieces and snaps the spear in two;

He burns the chariots with fire.

10 “Be still and know (recognize, understand) that I am God.

I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth.”

11 The Lordof hosts is with us;

The God of Jacob is our stronghold [our refuge, our high tower]. Selah.

God the King of the Earth.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

1 O clap your hands, all you people;

Shout to God with the voice of triumphandsongs of joy.

2 For the LordMost High is to be feared [and worshiped with awe-inspired reverence and obedience];

He is a great King over all the earth.

3 He subdues peoples under us

And nations under our feet.

4 He chooses our inheritance for us,

The gloryandexcellence of Jacob whom He loves. Selah.

5 God has ascended amid shouting,

The Lordwith the sound of a trumpet.

6 Sing praises to God, sing praises;

Sing praises to our King, sing praises.

7 For God is the King of all the earth;

Sing praises in a skillful psalmandwith understanding.

8 God reigns over the nations;

God sits on His holy throne.

9 The princes of the people have gathered together as the people of the God of Abraham,

For the shields of the earth belong to God;

He is highly exalted.

The Beauty and Glory of Zion.

A Song; a Psalm of the sons of Korah.

1 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,

In the city of our God, His holy mountain.

2 Fairandbeautiful in elevation, the joy of all the earth,

Is Mount Zion [the City of David] in the far north,

The city of the great King.

3 God, in her palaces,

Has made Himself known as a stronghold.

4 For, lo, the kings assembled themselves,

They [came and] passed by together.

5 They saw it, then they were amazed;

They were stricken with terror, they fled in alarm.

6 Panic seized them there,

And pain, as that of a woman in childbirth.

7 With the east wind

You shattered the ships of Tarshish.

8 As we have heard, so have we seen

In the city of the Lordof hosts, in the city of our God:

God will establish her forever. Selah.

9 We have thought of Your lovingkindness, O God,

In the midst of Your temple.

10 As is Your name, O God,

So is Your praise to the ends of the earth;

Your right hand is full of righteousness (rightness, justice).

11 Let Mount Zion be glad,

Let the daughters of Judah rejoice

Because of Your [righteous] judgments.

12 Walk about Zion, go all around her;

Count her towers,

13 Consider her ramparts,

Go through her palaces,

That you may tell the next generation [about her glory].

14 For this is God,

Our God forever and ever;

He will be our guide even until death.

The Folly of Trusting in Riches.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

1 Hear this, all peoples;

Listen carefully, all inhabitants of the world,

2 Both low and high,

Rich and poor together:

3 My mouth will speak wisdom,

And the meditation of my heart will be understanding.

4 I will incline my earandconsent to a proverb;

On the lyre I will unfold my riddle.

5 Why should I fear in the days of evil,

When the wickedness of those who would betray me surrounds me [on every side],

6 Even those who trust inandrely on their wealth

And boast of the abundance of their riches?

7 None of them can by any means redeem [either himself or] his brother,

Nor give to God a ransom for him–

8 For the ransom of his soul is too costly,

And he should ceasetryingforever–

9 So that he should live on eternally,

That he should never see the pit (grave)andundergo decay.

10 For he seesthat evenwise men die;

The fool and the stupid alike perish

And leave their wealth to others.

11 Their inward thought is that their houses will continue forever,

And their dwelling places to all generations;

They have named their lands after their own names [ignoring God].

12 But man, with all his [self] honorandpomp, will not endure;

He is like the beasts that perish.

13 This is the fate of those who are foolishly confident,

And of those after them who approve [and are influenced by] their words. Selah.

14 Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead);

Death will be their shepherd;

And the upright shall rule over them in the morning,

And their formandbeauty shallbe for Sheol to consume,

So that they have no dwelling [on earth].

15 But God will redeem my life from the power of Sheol,

For He will receive me. Selah.

16 Be not afraid when [an ungodly] man becomes rich,

When the wealthandglory of his house are increased;

17 For when he dies he will carry nothing away;

His glory will not descend after him.

18 Though while he lives he counts himself happyandprosperous–

And though people praise you when you do well for yourself–

19 He shall go to the generation of his fathers;

They shall never again see the light.

20 A man [who is held] in honor,

Yet who lacks [spiritual] understandinganda teachable heart, is like the beasts that perish.