The Psalms – in Verse

Psalm 1

Now ever blessèd is the man

Who in his daily walk,

Takes heed to separate himself

From base and evil talk

Of wicked men who by their words

Seek only to corrupt,

And would his faithful walk with God

And fellowship disrupt.

Nor does he stand within the way

Of sinners anywhere,

Their lives to study and perhaps

To imitate and share.

He does not sit at any time

Where mockers may be found,

For, one with them, he soon would be

Quite by their habits bound.

A different path, instead, he takes.

His pleasure and delight

Are wholly found in God’s pure law,

And on it, day and night

He meditates and ponders well

That in his deepest thought,

God’s word he might revere o’er all

And follow as he ought.

For like a tree is such a man,

By streams of water grown,

That shall its broad and verdant leaves

In every season own,

Whose fruit, so lush and succulent,

Each passing year provides

Its owner with fresh, sweet delights,

And welcome shade, besides.

And further blest, this prudent man

Will find prosperity

In all to which he puts his hand,

Whatever it may be.

But things shall turn out otherwise

For those who follow not

The just and holy law of God,

Nor by his ways are taught.

For they are like the desert chaff

That, driven night and day,

Is blown about till broken or

Is carried far away.

These sinners will not stand when they

In judgment at God’s throne

Appear and give account to him

Whose law they would disown.

And thus in the assembly of

The righteous gathered there,

Quite sadly they’ll not find themselves,

Nor in their blessings share.

For God o’er all the chosen ways

Of those who follow well,

Keeps watch assuring safety and

That they with him might dwell.

But those who fail to hear their God

Will rue their lives one day.

Apart from all the saints for e’er,

They’ll perish in their way.

Psalm 2

The nations now conspire and

The peoples plot in vain

Against the Lord’s Anointed One.

They seek to end his reign.

The kings as one rise up to take

Their stand against the Lord,

Joined fiercely by earth’s rulers, who

Have gathered in accord.

Their fetters let us break, they say,

"Throw off these binding chains,

And let us of their yoke be free

And of all that restrains."

The One enthroned in heaven laughs,

He scoffs at all they say.

He terrifies them with his wrath,

Their protest turns away.

My King have I installed, he says,

"Upon the holy hill

Of Zion, David’s sacred mount,

Jerus’lem’s treasure still."

And this I will proclaim, the Lord

Has spoken a decree,

"I have become your Father and

You are a Son to me.

"Now ask and your inheritance

All nations then shall be,

And your possession all the ends

Of earth in full degree.

"A scepter wrought of iron shall

You wield in your right hand,

And dash to pieces as of clay

The rebels in the land."

And now be wise, O kings, be warned

You rulers of the earth.

In fear resolve to serve the Lord

And tremble in your mirth.

Lest he be angry kiss the Son.

Destruction of your way

Shall be your portion otherwise,

The reck’ning you will pay.

For in a moment does his wrath

Flare as consuming fire,

But those who refuge seek in him

Are blest in their desire.

Psalm 3

How many are my foes, O Lord,

Who rise against me in accord,

And many chant this byword grim,

His God will not deliver him.

But you, a shield around me e’er,

Now from your holy hill, my prayer

Attend most kindly, nor forget,

And on my head your glory set.

Arise, O Lord! Deliver me,

And on the jaw, my enemy

Now strike, and break the teeth of those

Whose wickedness stirs all my woes.

Deliv’rance from the Lord springs nigh,

And from your citadel most high.

Your goodness shall forever rest

On all your people richly blest.

Psalm 4

My prayer, O righteous God, now hear,

And answer when I call.

Let not distress o’erwhelm my soul,

Or my fate befall.

In mercy let your ear inclined

To my petitions be,

Attending well to each appeal

Made on bended knee.

How long, O men, will you desire

My glory to abase?

How long will you delusions seek,

Gods of clay embrace?

And for himself the Lord has set

The godly quite apart,

And know he hears the faintest call

From my yielded heart.

Though anger come upon you yet,

Let not your sin arise.

Be silent on your beds, your heart,

Study and advise.

Your sacrifices, let them be

Acceptable and right,

And off’ring each, be careful you

Trust whate’er your plight.

And many ask, "What good is found

That one to us may show?"

Yet light, O Lord, from your kind face

Cancels every woe.

My heart with greater joy is filled,

With more contentment crowned,

Than when their stores of grain and wine

Plenteously abound.

And thus in peace I take my sleep,

Most confident and well,

For you alone, O Lord my God,

Safely make me dwell

Psalm 5

Now hear my plea for help, O Lord,

Consider well my every cry.

Give ear, my God and King, attend

Each sad and mournful sigh.

For early do I raise my voice

And all my pleas before you lay.

In expectation then, I wait,

Some answer to survey.

For you are not a God who takes

Delight in evil ways, nor less

May wicked men abide with you,

Who from your paths digress.

The proud with you shall never stand,

And those who choose the wrong you hate.

Deceitful men who thirst for blood

Shall meet their proper fate.

But by your mercy I shall come

Into your sacred house with prayer.

In rev’rence bowing low within

Your holy temple there.

Now lead me in your righteousness,

For many are my foes, O Lord.

Make straight your paths before my face,

That mine with yours accord.

For not a word that they may speak

Shall trust or confidence inspire.

Their heart seeks to destroy, their throat,

A grave where men expire.

Deceit proceeds from every tongue,

But you, O Lord, their guilt will know.

May their intrigues their fall bring on,

You banish every foe.

Let those who refuge find in you

Be glad and ever sing for joy.

And those who love in truth your name,

Your care o’er each employ.

The righteous, Lord, you doubtless bless,

Surrounding them with favor now,

And like a conquering warrior you

Their safety ever vow.

Psalm 6

Rebuke me not in anger, Lord,

Nor discipline in wrath.

Show mercy, for my way is dark

And faint my chosen path.

My bones in agony endure,

My flesh, O Lord, now heal.

My anguished soul cries, "Lord, how long

Ere kindness you reveal?"

Now turn, O Lord, deliver me

By your unfailing love,

For from the grave what man is there

Whose praises rise above?

From groaning I am wearied as

By night I flood my bed

With weeping, and my couch is drenched

With copious tears I’ve shed.

My eyes grow weak from sorrow and

Then fail for all my foes.

Depart, you men of evil, for

With God my prayers repose.

My weeping has come nigh his ear,

The Lord accepts my prayer.

My enemies, ashamed, disgraced,

Their plans will soon forswear.

Psalm 7

I take my refuge, Lord,

In you both now and aye.

Deliver me and save from men

Pursuing me this day.

Lest like a lion fierce,

They tear me limb from limb,

And none shall save me from this fate,

This certain prospect grim.

If I have done some wrong,

If guilt is on my hands,

Or evil paid to one at peace,

At home, in distant lands,

Or without cause have robbed

The things my foe possessed,

Then let my enemy pursue

And my ill bent arrest.

And may he trample well

My life into the ground,

And in the dust then make me sleep

Where darkness e’er is found.

Arise, O Lord, in wrath

Against my raving foe.

Awake, decree your justice and

Let all the people know,

Assembled round about,

You rule o’er men below,

And from on high you judge all men,

On each his due bestow.

According to my ways

In righteousness displayed,

Judge me, O Lord, and let your word

Defend me or upbraid.

For mind and heart you search,

And just revenge bestir

’Gainst violence of the wicked, and

The righteous make secure.

My shield is God Most High,

Who judges men aright,

He saves the upright, and his wrath

He daily shall recite.

And those who for their deeds

Choose not repentance yet,

His sharpened sword will surely know,

Nor soon his wrath forget.

His bow is bent and strung,

His weapons are prepared.

His flaming arrows but await

Some loos’ning word declared.

Now he who pregnant is

With evil and conceives

But trouble, shall give birth to naught,

And but himself deceives.

The man who digs a hole,

And duly scoops it out,

Shall fall into that very pit

With none to help about.

And thus the trouble he

Has brought to others shall

Upon his head descend at once,

And there, most fitting, dwell.

Now to the Lord my thanks

I offer up this day.

For all his righteousness I sing,

And praise his name for aye.

Psalm 8

O Lord, our Lord, in all the earth

Majestic is your name.

The heav’ns with glory spread abroad,

Unceasing praise exclaim.

To silence foe and enemy

Has been your righteous choice,

By lips of children, praise ordained,

And infants’ early voice.

And when your heavens I review,

The work your hands have wrought,

The moon, the stars all set in place

That from their paths stray not,

’Tis then I ask, Now what is man

That you should mindful be,

Or yet the son of man for whom

You care so faithfully?

For by your will he is this day

With glory, honor crowned,

And when compared with angel hosts

Is little lower found.

As ruler you have placed him o’er

The works your hands have made,

And all things ’neath his feet abide

In plain or sea or glade,

The flocks and herds and beasts where’er

They hunt the fleeing prey,

The birds that rend the sky, the fish

That wend their seaward way.

O Lord, our Lord, in all the earth

Majestic is your name.

May men and angels, bird and beast

Your glory now proclaim.

Psalm 9

I praise you, Lord, with all my heart,

And of your wonders tell,

Rejoicing in your name, Most High,

As all my songs compel.

For lo! My enemies turn back,

Before you they are slain,

And my just cause you have upheld

In your most righteous reign.

The nations are rebuked, destroyed.

Their name is blotted out.

The mem’ry of their cities gone

In all the land throughout.

The Lord shall reign forever and

His throne, established well,

Shall judge the world in righteousness

Where’er the people dwell.

A refuge for th’ oppressed is he

In arduous times most true,

But those who know your name will trust,

Nor e’er have cause to rue.

Enthroned in Zion, sing his praise

For all that he has done.

Proclaim among the nations now,

This glorious, noble One.

Yet he avenges blood nor shall

His memory decline.

The cry of the oppressed he hears

With clemency benign.

Behold, O Lord, my enemies,

Pursuing me this day,

Have mercy, now, and lift me from

The gates of death, I pray,

That I may then declare your praise

Within great Zion’s gate,

And there rejoice unceasing and

For your salvation wait.

The nations now have fallen in

The pit they dug for me,

Within their hidden net their feet

Are bound relentlessly.

The wicked to the grave return

On hearing death’s cold knell,

For choosing to forget the Lord,

As every nation shall.

But not for long shall be forgot

The needy in their ways,

Nor yet th’ afflicted’s hopes by him

Who ever justly pays.

Arise, O Lord, let nations not

Prevail in all their schemes.

Let not the one who more than man

In vain himself esteems.

And judge them in your presence, Lord,

Each one with terror strike,

That they may know they are but men,

And e’er shall be the like.

Psalm 10

And why, O Lord, in troubled times

Do you so oft your presence hide?

And why, when most in need I am,

Do you so far from me abide?