They are immune to the trouble common to men; they do not suffer as other men do.

But as for me, God's presence is all I need. I have made the sovereign Lord my shelter, as I declare all the things you have done.

We do not see any signs of God's presence; there are no longer any prophets and we have no one to tell us how long this will last.

You established the cycle of day and night; you put the moon and sun in place.

Do not hand the life of your dove over to a wild animal! Do not continue to disregard the lives of your oppressed people!

Do not let the afflicted be turned back in shame! Let the oppressed and poor praise your name!

Do not disregard what your enemies say, or the unceasing shouts of those who defy you.

I say to the proud, "Do not be proud," and to the wicked, "Do not be so confident of victory!

Do not be so certain you have won! Do not speak with your head held so high!

For victory does not come from the east or west, or from the wilderness.

In my time of trouble I sought the Lord. I kept my hand raised in prayer throughout the night. I refused to be comforted.

You held my eyelids open; I was troubled and could not speak.

I said, "During the night I will remember the song I once sang; I will think very carefully." I tried to make sense of what was happening.

we will not hide from their descendants. We will tell the next generation about the Lord's praiseworthy acts, about his strength and the amazing things he has done.

Then they will place their confidence in God. They will not forget the works of God, and they will obey his commands.

Then they will not be like their ancestors, who were a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that was not committed and faithful to God.

They did not keep their covenant with God, and they refused to obey his law.

He led them with a cloud by day, and with the light of a fire all night long.

because they did not have faith in God, and did not trust his ability to deliver them.

They were not yet filled up, their food was still in their mouths,

Despite all this, they continued to sin, and did not trust him to do amazing things.

They were not really committed to him, and they were unfaithful to his covenant.

Yet he is compassionate. He forgives sin and does not destroy. He often holds back his anger, and does not stir up his fury.

He remembered that they were made of flesh, and were like a wind that blows past and does not return.

They did not remember what he had done, how he delivered them from the enemy,

He turned their rivers into blood, and they could not drink from their streams.

He sent his anger in full force; he did not spare them from death; he handed their lives over to destruction.

Yet they challenged and defied the sovereign God, and did not obey his commands.

Their priests fell by the sword, but their widows did not weep.

He rejected the tent of Joseph; he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.

Pour out your anger on the nations that do not acknowledge you, on the kingdoms that do not pray to you!

Do not hold us accountable for the sins of earlier generations! Quickly send your compassion our way, for we are in serious trouble!

Then we will not turn away from you. Revive us and we will pray to you!

He decreed it as a regulation in Joseph, when he attacked the land of Egypt. I heard a voice I did not recognize.

There must be no other god among you. You must not worship a foreign god.

But my people did not obey me; Israel did not submit to me.

A song, a psalm of Asaph. O God, do not be silent! Do not ignore us! Do not be inactive, O God!

Restore us, O God our deliverer! Do not be displeased with us!

Will you not revive us once more? Then your people will rejoice in you!

I will listen to what God the Lord says. For he will make peace with his people, his faithful followers. Yet they must not return to their foolish ways.

O God, arrogant men attack me; a gang of ruthless men, who do not respect you, seek my life.

A song, a psalm written by the Korahites; for the music director; according to the machalath-leannoth style; a well-written song by Heman the Ezrachite. O Lord God who delivers me! By day I cry out and at night I pray before you.

No enemy will be able to exact tribute from him; a violent oppressor will not be able to humiliate him.

if they break my rules and do not keep my commandments,

But I will not remove my loyal love from him, nor be unfaithful to my promise.

I will not break my covenant or go back on what I promised.

You turn back his sword from the adversary, and have not sustained him in battle.

Take note of my brief lifespan! Why do you make all people so mortal?

Take note, O Lord, of the way your servants are taunted, and of how I must bear so many insults from people!

You need not fear the terrors of the night, the arrow that flies by day,

Though a thousand may fall beside you, and a multitude on your right side, it will not reach you.

They will lift you up in their hands, so you will not slip and fall on a stone.

It is fitting to proclaim your loyal love in the morning, and your faithfulness during the night,

The spiritually insensitive do not recognize this; the fool does not understand this.

Then they say, "The Lord does not see this; the God of Jacob does not take notice of it."

Does the one who makes the human ear not hear? Does the one who forms the human eye not see?

Does the one who disciplines the nations not punish? He is the one who imparts knowledge to human beings!

Certainly the Lord does not forsake his people; he does not abandon the nation that belongs to him.

If the Lord had not helped me, I would have laid down in the silence of death.

Cruel rulers are not your allies, those who make oppressive laws.

He says, "Do not be stubborn like they were at Meribah, like they were that day at Massah in the wilderness,

For forty years I was continually disgusted with that generation, and I said, 'These people desire to go astray; they do not obey my commands.'

I will not even consider doing what is dishonest. I hate doing evil; I will have no part of it.

I will have nothing to do with a perverse person; I will not permit evil.

I will destroy anyone who slanders his neighbor in secret. I will not tolerate anyone who has a cocky demeanor and an arrogant attitude.

Deceitful people will not live in my palace. Liars will not be welcome in my presence.

Do not ignore me in my time of trouble! Listen to me! When I call out to you, quickly answer me!

when he responds to the prayer of the destitute, and does not reject their request.

I say, "O my God, please do not take me away in the middle of my life! You endure through all generations.

But you remain; your years do not come to an end.

Praise the Lord, O my soul! Do not forget all his kind deeds!

He does not always accuse, and does not stay angry.

He does not deal with us as our sins deserve; he does not repay us as our misdeeds deserve.

You set up a boundary for them that they could not cross, so that they would not cover the earth again.

The trees of the Lord receive all the rain they need, the cedars of Lebanon which he planted,

You make it dark and night comes, during which all the beasts of the forest prowl around.

He made it dark; they did not disobey his orders.

He spread out a cloud for a cover, and provided a fire to light up the night.

The water covered their enemies; not even one of them survived.

They quickly forgot what he had done; they did not wait for his instructions.

They rejected the fruitful land; they did not believe his promise.

They grumbled in their tents; they did not obey the Lord.

They did not destroy the nations, as the Lord had commanded them to do.

He blessed them so that they became very numerous. He would not allow their cattle to decrease in number.

Whoever is wise, let him take note of these things! Let them consider the Lord's acts of loyal love!

Have you not rejected us, O God? O God, you do not go into battle with our armies.

For the music director, a psalm of David. O God whom I praise, do not ignore me!

May his ancestors' sins be remembered by the Lord! May his mother's sin not be forgotten!

The Lord makes this promise on oath and will not revoke it: "You are an eternal priest after the pattern of Melchizedek."

He does not fear bad news. He is confident; he trusts in the Lord.

His resolve is firm; he will not succumb to fear before he looks in triumph on his enemies.

Not to us, O Lord, not to us! But to your name bring honor, for the sake of your loyal love and faithfulness.

The dead do not praise the Lord, nor do any of those who descend into the silence of death.

and listened to me. As long as I live, I will call to him when I need help.

The Lord is on my side, I am not afraid! What can people do to me?

I will not die, but live, and I will proclaim what the Lord has done.

The Lord severely punished me, but he did not hand me over to death.

Then I would not be ashamed, if I were focused on all your commands.

I will keep your statutes. Do not completely abandon me!

With all my heart I seek you. Do not allow me to stray from your commands!