NAS - Psalms 70 to 72

Psalm 70

Prayer for Help against Persecutors.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David; for a memorial.

¹O God, hasten to deliver me; O LORD, hasten to my help! ²Let those be ashamed and humiliated Who seek my life; Let those be turned back and dishonored Who delight in my hurt. ³Let those be turned back because of their shame Who say, "Aha, aha!"

⁴Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; And let those who love Your salvation say continually, "Let God be magnified." ⁵But I am afflicted and needy; Hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay.

Psalm 71

Prayer of an Old Man for Deliverance.

¹In You, O LORD, I have taken refuge; Let me never be ashamed. ²In Your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; Incline Your ear to me and save me. ³ Be to me a rock of habitation to which I may continually come; You have given commandment to save me, For You are my rock and my fortress. ⁴ Rescue me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, Out of the grasp of the wrongdoer and ruthless man, ⁵ For You are my hope; O Lord GOD, You are my confidence from my youth. ⁶ By You I have been sustained from my birth; You are He who took me from my mother's womb; My praise is continually of You.

⁷I have become a marvel to many, For You are my strong refuge. ⁸My mouth is filled with Your praise And with Your glory all day long. ⁹Do not cast me off in the time of old age; Do not forsake me when my strength fails. ¹⁰ For my enemies have spoken against me; And those who watch for my life have consulted together, ¹¹ Saying, "God has forsaken him; Pursue and seize him, for there is no one to deliver."

¹²O God, do not be far from me; O my God, hasten to my help! ¹³Let those who are adversaries of my soul be ashamed and consumed; Let them be covered with reproach and dishonor, who seek to injure me. ¹⁴But as for me, I will hope continually, And will praise You yet more and more. ¹⁵My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness And of Your salvation all day long; For I do not know the sum of them. ¹⁶ I will come with the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD; I will make mention of Your righteousness, Yours alone.

¹⁷O God, You have taught me from my youth, And I still declare Your wondrous deeds. ¹⁸ And even when I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me, Until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to all who are to come. ¹⁹ For Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the heavens, You who have done great things; O God, who is like You? ²⁰You who have shown me many troubles and distresses Will revive me again, And will bring me up again from the depths of the earth. ²¹May You increase my greatness And turn to comfort me.

²²I will also praise You with a harp, Even Your truth, O my God; To You I will sing praises with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel. ²³ My lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to You; And my soul, which You have redeemed. ²⁴ My tongue also will utter Your righteousness all day long; For they are ashamed, for they are humiliated who seek my hurt.

Psalm 72

The Reign of the Righteous King.

Psalm of Solomon.

¹Give the king Your judgments, O God, And Your righteousness to the king's son. ²May he judge Your people with righteousness And Your afflicted with justice. ³ Let the mountains bring peace to the people, And the hills, in righteousness. ⁴ May he vindicate the afflicted of the people, Save the children of the needy And crush the oppressor.

⁵Let them fear You while the sun endures, And as long as the moon, throughout all generations. ⁶ May he come down like rain upon the mown grass, Like showers that water the earth. ⁷ In his days may the righteous flourish, And abundance of peace till the moon is no more.

⁸May he also rule from sea to sea And from the River to the ends of the earth. ⁹Let the nomads of the desert bow before him, And his enemies lick the dust. ¹⁰ Let the kings of Tarshish and of the islands bring presents; The kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts. ¹¹ And let all kings bow down before him, All nations serve him.

¹²For he will deliver the needy when he cries for help, The afflicted also, and him who has no helper. ¹³ He will have compassion on the poor and needy, And the lives of the needy he will save. ¹⁴ He will rescue their life from oppression and violence, And their blood will be precious in his sight; ¹⁵ So may he live, and may the gold of Sheba be given to him; And let them pray for him continually; Let them bless him all day long.

¹⁶May there be abundance of grain in the earth on top of the mountains; Its fruit will wave like the cedars of Lebanon; And may those from the city flourish like vegetation of the earth. ¹⁷May his name endure forever; May his name increase as long as the sun shines; And let men bless themselves by him; Let all nations call him blessed.

¹⁸Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, Who alone works wonders. ¹⁹And blessed be His glorious name forever; And may the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen, and Amen.

²⁰The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.