Add parallel Print Page Options

Psalm 63

Comfort and Assurance in God’s Presence

A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah.

O God, you are my God; I seek you;
    my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
    as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.(A)
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
    beholding your power and glory.(B)
Because your steadfast love is better than life,
    my lips will praise you.(C)
So I will bless you as long as I live;
    I will lift up my hands and call on your name.(D)

My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,[a]
    and my mouth praises you with joyful lips(E)
when I think of you on my bed
    and meditate on you in the watches of the night,(F)
for you have been my help,
    and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.(G)
My soul clings to you;
    your right hand upholds me.(H)

But those who seek to destroy my life
    shall go down into the depths of the earth;(I)
10 they shall be given over to the power of the sword;
    they shall be prey for jackals.
11 But the king shall rejoice in God;
    all who swear by him shall exult,
    for the mouths of liars will be stopped.(J)

Psalm 64

Prayer for Protection from Enemies

To the leader. A Psalm of David.

Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;
    preserve my life from the dread enemy.(K)
Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,
    from the scheming of evildoers,(L)
who whet their tongues like swords,
    who aim bitter words like arrows,(M)
shooting from ambush at the blameless;
    they shoot suddenly and without fear.(N)
They hold fast to their evil purpose;
    they talk of laying snares secretly,
thinking, “Who can see us?[b](O)
    Who can search out our crimes?[c]
We have thought out a cunningly conceived plot.”
    For the human heart and mind are deep.(P)

But God will shoot his arrow at them;
    they will be wounded suddenly.
Because of their tongue he will bring them to ruin;[d]
    all who see them will shake with horror.(Q)
Then everyone will fear;
    they will tell what God has brought about
    and ponder what he has done.(R)

10 Let the righteous rejoice in the Lord
    and take refuge in him.
Let all the upright in heart glory.(S)

Psalm 65

Thanksgiving for Earth’s Bounty

To the leader. A Psalm of David. A Song.

Praise is due to you,
    O God, in Zion,
and to you shall vows be performed,(T)
    O you who answer prayer!
To you all flesh shall come.(U)
When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us,
    you forgive our transgressions.(V)
Happy are those whom you choose and bring near
    to live in your courts.
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
    your holy temple.(W)

By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance,
    O God of our salvation;
you are the hope of all the ends of the earth
    and of the farthest seas.(X)
By your[e] strength you established the mountains;
    you are girded with might.(Y)
You silence the roaring of the seas,
    the roaring of their waves,
    the tumult of the peoples.(Z)
Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs;
you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.

You visit the earth and water it;
    you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
    you provide the people with grain,
    for so you have prepared it.(AA)
10 You water its furrows abundantly,
    settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
    and blessing its growth.
11 You crown the year with your bounty;
    your wagon tracks overflow with richness.
12 The pastures of the wilderness overflow;
    the hills gird themselves with joy;(AB)
13 the meadows clothe themselves with flocks;
    the valleys deck themselves with grain;
    they shout and sing together for joy.(AC)

Footnotes

  1. 63.5 Heb with fat and fatness
  2. 64.5 Syr Jerome: Heb them
  3. 64.6 Cn: Heb They search out crimes
  4. 64.8 Cn: Heb They will bring him to ruin, their tongue being against them
  5. 65.6 Gk Jerome: Heb his

Psalm 63[a]

A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah.

You, God, are my God,
    earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,(A)
    my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
    where there is no water.(B)

I have seen you in the sanctuary(C)
    and beheld your power and your glory.(D)
Because your love is better than life,(E)
    my lips will glorify you.
I will praise you as long as I live,(F)
    and in your name I will lift up my hands.(G)
I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;(H)
    with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

On my bed I remember you;
    I think of you through the watches of the night.(I)
Because you are my help,(J)
    I sing in the shadow of your wings.(K)
I cling to you;(L)
    your right hand upholds me.(M)

Those who want to kill me will be destroyed;(N)
    they will go down to the depths of the earth.(O)
10 They will be given over to the sword(P)
    and become food for jackals.(Q)

11 But the king will rejoice in God;
    all who swear by God will glory in him,(R)
    while the mouths of liars will be silenced.(S)

Psalm 64[b]

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

Hear me, my God, as I voice my complaint;(T)
    protect my life from the threat of the enemy.(U)

Hide me from the conspiracy(V) of the wicked,(W)
    from the plots of evildoers.
They sharpen their tongues like swords(X)
    and aim cruel words like deadly arrows.(Y)
They shoot from ambush at the innocent;(Z)
    they shoot suddenly, without fear.(AA)

They encourage each other in evil plans,
    they talk about hiding their snares;(AB)
    they say, “Who will see it[c]?”(AC)
They plot injustice and say,
    “We have devised a perfect plan!”
    Surely the human mind and heart are cunning.

But God will shoot them with his arrows;
    they will suddenly be struck down.
He will turn their own tongues against them(AD)
    and bring them to ruin;
    all who see them will shake their heads(AE) in scorn.(AF)
All people will fear;(AG)
    they will proclaim the works of God
    and ponder what he has done.(AH)

10 The righteous will rejoice in the Lord(AI)
    and take refuge in him;(AJ)
    all the upright in heart will glory in him!(AK)

Psalm 65[d]

For the director of music. A psalm of David. A song.

Praise awaits[e] you, our God, in Zion;(AL)
    to you our vows will be fulfilled.(AM)
You who answer prayer,
    to you all people will come.(AN)
When we were overwhelmed by sins,(AO)
    you forgave[f] our transgressions.(AP)
Blessed are those you choose(AQ)
    and bring near(AR) to live in your courts!
We are filled with the good things of your house,(AS)
    of your holy temple.

You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds,(AT)
    God our Savior,(AU)
the hope of all the ends of the earth(AV)
    and of the farthest seas,(AW)
who formed the mountains(AX) by your power,
    having armed yourself with strength,(AY)
who stilled the roaring of the seas,(AZ)
    the roaring of their waves,
    and the turmoil of the nations.(BA)
The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;
    where morning dawns, where evening fades,
    you call forth songs of joy.(BB)

You care for the land and water it;(BC)
    you enrich it abundantly.(BD)
The streams of God are filled with water
    to provide the people with grain,(BE)
    for so you have ordained it.[g]
10 You drench its furrows and level its ridges;
    you soften it with showers(BF) and bless its crops.
11 You crown the year with your bounty,(BG)
    and your carts overflow with abundance.(BH)
12 The grasslands of the wilderness overflow;(BI)
    the hills are clothed with gladness.(BJ)
13 The meadows are covered with flocks(BK)
    and the valleys are mantled with grain;(BL)
    they shout for joy and sing.(BM)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 63:1 In Hebrew texts 63:1-11 is numbered 63:2-12.
  2. Psalm 64:1 In Hebrew texts 64:1-10 is numbered 64:2-11.
  3. Psalm 64:5 Or us
  4. Psalm 65:1 In Hebrew texts 65:1-13 is numbered 65:2-14.
  5. Psalm 65:1 Or befits; the meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  6. Psalm 65:3 Or made atonement for
  7. Psalm 65:9 Or for that is how you prepare the land

Dying and Rising with Christ

What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may increase?(A) By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it?(B) Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?(C) Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.(D)

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, so we might no longer be enslaved to sin.(E) For whoever has died is freed[a] from sin. But if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.(F) 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God.(G) 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.(H)

12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal bodies, so that you obey their desires.(I) 13 No longer present your members to sin as instruments[b] of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments[c] of righteousness.(J) 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.(K)

Slaves of Righteousness

15 What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not know that, if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?(L) 17 But thanks be to God that you who were slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted(M) 18 and that you, having been set free from sin, have become enslaved to righteousness.(N) 19 I am speaking in human terms because of your limitations.[d] For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and lawlessness, leading to even more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, leading to sanctification.(O)

20 When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.(P) 21 So what fruit did you then gain from the things of which you now are ashamed? The end of those things is death.(Q) 22 But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the fruit you have leads to sanctification, and the end is eternal life.(R) 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.(S)

Footnotes

  1. 6.7 Or justified
  2. 6.13 Or weapons
  3. 6.13 Or weapons
  4. 6.19 Gk the weakness of your flesh

Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ

What shall we say, then?(A) Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?(B) By no means! We are those who have died to sin;(C) how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized(D) into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death(E) in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead(F) through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.(G)

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.(H) For we know that our old self(I) was crucified with him(J) so that the body ruled by sin(K) might be done away with,[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin(L) because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.(M)

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.(N) For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead,(O) he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.(P) 10 The death he died, he died to sin(Q) once for all;(R) but the life he lives, he lives to God.

11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin(S) but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign(T) in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness,(U) but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.(V) 14 For sin shall no longer be your master,(W) because you are not under the law,(X) but under grace.(Y)

Slaves to Righteousness

15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace?(Z) By no means! 16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey(AA)—whether you are slaves to sin,(AB) which leads to death,(AC) or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God(AD) that, though you used to be slaves to sin,(AE) you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching(AF) that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin(AG) and have become slaves to righteousness.(AH)

19 I am using an example from everyday life(AI) because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness(AJ) leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin,(AK) you were free from the control of righteousness.(AL) 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!(AM) 22 But now that you have been set free from sin(AN) and have become slaves of God,(AO) the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.(AP) 23 For the wages of sin is death,(AQ) but the gift of God is eternal life(AR) in[b] Christ Jesus our Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Romans 6:6 Or be rendered powerless
  2. Romans 6:23 Or through