Psalms 71

Forsake Me Not When My Strength Is Spent

1 ^aIn you, O Lord, do I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame!
2In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;
incline your ear to me, and save me!
3Be to me a rock of ^brefuge,
to which I may continually come;
you have ^cgiven the command to save me,
for you are my ^drock and my fortress.
4 ^eRescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.
5For you, O Lord, are my ^fhope,
my trust, O Lord, from my youth.
6Upon you I have leaned ^gfrom before my birth;
you are he who ^htook me from my mother’s womb.
My praise is continually of you.
7 I have been as ⁱa portent to many,
but you are my strong refuge.
8My ^jmouth is filled with your praise,
and with your glory all the day.
9 ^kDo not cast me off in the time of old age;
forsake me not when my strength is spent.
10For my enemies speak concerning me;
those who ^lwatch for my life ^mconsult together
11and say, “God has forsaken him;
pursue and seize him,
for there is none to deliver him.”
12 O God, be not ⁿfar from me;
O my God, ^omake haste to help me!
13May my accusers be ^pput to shame and consumed;
^qwith scorn and disgrace may they be covered
who ^rseek my hurt.
14But I will ^shope continually
and will ^tpraise you yet more and more.
15My ^umouth will tell of your righteous acts,
of your deeds of salvation all the day,
for ^vtheir number is past my knowledge.
16With the mighty deeds of the Lord God I will come;
I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.
17 O God, from my youth you have taught me,
and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.
18So even to ^wold age and gray hairs,
O God, ^xdo not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might to another generation,
your power to all those to come.
19Your ^yrighteousness, O God,
reaches the high heavens.
You who have done ^zgreat things,
O God, ^aawho is like you?
20You who have ^abmade me see many troubles and calamities
will ^acrevive me again;
from the depths of the earth
you will bring me up again.
21You will increase my greatness
and comfort me again.
22 I will also praise you with ^adthe harp
for your faithfulness, O my God;
I will sing praises to you with the lyre,
O ^aeHoly One of Israel.
23My lips will shout for joy,
when I sing praises to you;
my soul also, which you have ^afredeemed.
24And my ^agtongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long,
for they have been ^ahput to shame and disappointed
who sought to do me hurt.

Psalms 72

Give the King Your Justice

Of ^aiSolomon.

1 Give the king your ^ajjustice, O God,
and your righteousness to the royal son!
2May he ^akjudge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice!
3Let the mountains bear ^alprosperity for the people,
and the hills, in righteousness!
4May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
give deliverance to the children of the needy,
and crush the oppressor!
5 May they fear you ▼

▼Septuagint He shall endure

while ^anthe sun endures,
and as long as the moon, ^aothroughout all generations!
6May he be like ^aprain that falls on ^aqthe mown grass,
like ^arshowers that water the earth!
7In his days may ^asthe righteous flourish,
and ^atpeace abound, till the moon be no more!
8 May he have dominion from ^ausea to sea,
and from ^avthe River ▼

▼That is,  the Euphrates

to the ^axends of the earth!
9May desert tribes ^aybow down before him,
and his enemies ^azlick the dust!
10May the kings of ^baTarshish and of ^bbthe coastlands
render him ^bctribute;
may the kings of ^bdSheba and ^beSeba
bring gifts!
11May all kings ^bffall down before him,
all nations serve him!
12 For he delivers ^bgthe needy when he calls,
the poor and him who has no helper.
13He has pity on the weak and the needy,
and saves the lives of the needy.
14From oppression and violence he redeems their life,
and ^bhprecious is their blood in his sight.
15 Long may he live;
may ^bigold of Sheba be given to him!
May prayer be made ^bjfor him continually,
and blessings invoked for him all the day!
16May there be abundance of grain in the land;
on the tops of the mountains may it wave;
may its fruit be like Lebanon;
and may people ^bkblossom in the cities
like the ^blgrass of the field!
17 ^bmMay his name endure forever,
his fame continue as long as the sun!
^bnMay people be blessed in him,
^boall nations call him blessed!
18 ^bpBlessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
who alone does ^bqwondrous things.
19Blessed be his ^brglorious name forever;
may ^bsthe whole earth be filled with his glory!

^btAmen and Amen!
20 ^buThe prayers of ^bvDavid, the son of Jesse, are ended.

Book Three