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Psalm 17

¹Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry; give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit.

²From you let my vindication come; let your eyes see the right.

³If you try my heart, if you visit me by night, if you test me, you will find no wickedness in me; my mouth does not transgress.

⁴As for what others do, by the word of your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent.

⁵My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped.

⁶I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me, hear my words.

⁷Wondrously show your steadfast love, O savior of those who seek refuge from their adversaries at your right hand.

⁸Guard me as the apple of the eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings,

⁹from the wicked who despoil me, my deadly enemies who surround me.

¹⁰They close their hearts to pity; with their mouths they speak arrogantly.

¹¹They track me down; now they surround me; they set their eyes to cast me to the ground.

¹²They are like a lion eager to tear, like a young lion lurking in ambush.

¹³Rise up, O Lord, confront them, overthrow them! By your sword deliver my life from the wicked,

¹⁴from mortals—by your hand, O Lord— from mortals whose portion in life is in this world. May their bellies be filled with what you have stored up for them; may their children have more than enough; may they leave something over to their little ones.

¹⁵As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake I shall be satisfied, beholding your likeness.

Psalm 18

¹I love you, O Lord, my strength.

²The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

³I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, so I shall be saved from my enemies.

⁴The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of perdition assailed me;

⁵the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.

⁶In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.

⁷Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations also of the mountains trembled and quaked, because he was angry.

⁸Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him.

⁹He bowed the heavens, and came down; thick darkness was under his feet.

¹⁰He rode on a cherub, and flew; he came swiftly upon the wings of the wind.

¹¹He made darkness his covering around him, his canopy thick clouds dark with water.

¹²Out of the brightness before him there broke through his clouds hailstones and coals of fire.

¹³The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice.

¹⁴And he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; he flashed forth lightnings, and routed them.

¹⁵Then the channels of the sea were seen, and the foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.

¹⁶He reached down from on high, he took me; he drew me out of mighty waters.

¹⁷He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from those who hated me; for they were too mighty for me.

¹⁸They confronted me in the day of my calamity; but the Lord was my support.

¹⁹He brought me out into a broad place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.

²⁰The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he recompensed me.

²¹For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God.

²²For all his ordinances were before me, and his statutes I did not put away from me.

²³I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from guilt.

²⁴Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

²⁵With the loyal you show yourself loyal; with the blameless you show yourself blameless;

²⁶with the pure you show yourself pure; and with the crooked you show yourself perverse.

²⁷For you deliver a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down.

²⁸It is you who light my lamp; the Lord, my God, lights up my darkness.

²⁹By you I can crush a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.

³⁰This God—his way is perfect; the promise of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all who take refuge in him.

³¹For who is God except the Lord? And who is a rock besides our God?—

³²the God who girded me with strength, and made my way safe.

³³He made my feet like the feet of a deer, and set me secure on the heights.

³⁴He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

³⁵You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand has supported me; your help has made me great.

³⁶You gave me a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip.

³⁷I pursued my enemies and overtook them; and did not turn back until they were consumed.

³⁸I struck them down, so that they were not able to rise; they fell under my feet.

³⁹For you girded me with strength for the battle; you made my assailants sink under me.

⁴⁰You made my enemies turn their backs to me, and those who hated me I destroyed.

⁴¹They cried for help, but there was no one to save them; they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.

⁴²I beat them fine, like dust before the wind; I cast them out like the mire of the streets.

⁴³You delivered me from strife with the peoples; you made me head of the nations; people whom I had not known served me.

⁴⁴As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me; foreigners came cringing to me.

⁴⁵Foreigners lost heart, and came trembling out of their strongholds.

⁴⁶The Lord lives! Blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation,

⁴⁷the God who gave me vengeance and subdued peoples under me;

⁴⁸who delivered me from my enemies; indeed, you exalted me above my adversaries; you delivered me from the violent.

⁴⁹For this I will extol you, O Lord, among the nations, and sing praises to your name.

⁵⁰Great triumphs he gives to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.

Psalm 19

¹The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.

²Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge.

³There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard;

⁴yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun,

⁵which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy, and like a strong man runs its course with joy.

⁶Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them; and nothing is hid from its heat.

⁷The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the decrees of the Lord are sure, making wise the simple;

⁸the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes;

⁹the fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

¹⁰More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey, and drippings of the honeycomb.

¹¹Moreover by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

¹²But who can detect their errors? Clear me from hidden faults.

¹³Keep back your servant also from the insolent; do not let them have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression.

¹⁴Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Psalm 20

¹The Lord answer you in the day of trouble! The name of the God of Jacob protect you!

²May he send you help from the sanctuary, and give you support from Zion.

³May he remember all your offerings, and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices. Selah

⁴May he grant you your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your plans.

⁵May we shout for joy over your victory, and in the name of our God set up our banners. May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.

⁶Now I know that the Lord will help his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with mighty victories by his right hand.

⁷Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses, but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God.

⁸They will collapse and fall, but we shall rise and stand upright.

⁹Give victory to the king, O Lord; answer us when we call.