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¹O LORD, don’t rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your rage!

²Your arrows have struck deep, and your blows are crushing me.

³Because of your anger, my whole body is sick; my health is broken because of my sins.

⁴My guilt overwhelms me — it is a burden too heavy to bear.

⁵My wounds fester and stink because of my foolish sins.

⁶I am bent over and racked with pain. All day long I walk around filled with grief.

⁷A raging fever burns within me, and my health is broken.

⁸I am exhausted and completely crushed. My groans come from an anguished heart.

⁹You know what I long for, Lord; you hear my every sigh.

¹⁰My heart beats wildly, my strength fails, and I am going blind.

¹¹My loved ones and friends stay away, fearing my disease. Even my own family stands at a distance.

¹²Meanwhile, my enemies lay traps to kill me. Those who wish me harm make plans to ruin me. All day long they plan their treachery.

¹³But I am deaf to all their threats. I am silent before them as one who cannot speak.

¹⁴I choose to hear nothing, and I make no reply.

¹⁵For I am waiting for you, O LORD. You must answer for me, O Lord my God.

¹⁶I prayed, “Don’t let my enemies gloat over me or rejoice at my downfall.”

¹⁷I am on the verge of collapse, facing constant pain.

¹⁸But I confess my sins; I am deeply sorry for what I have done.

¹⁹I have many aggressive enemies; they hate me without reason.

²⁰They repay me evil for good and oppose me for pursuing good.

²¹Do not abandon me, O LORD. Do not stand at a distance, my God.

²²Come quickly to help me, O Lord my savior.

¹I said to myself, “I will watch what I do and not sin in what I say. I will hold my tongue when the ungodly are around me.”

²But as I stood there in silence — not even speaking of good things — the turmoil within me grew worse.

³The more I thought about it, the hotter I got, igniting a fire of words:

⁴“LORD, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered — how fleeting my life is.

⁵You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath.” Interlude

⁶We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing. We heap up wealth, not knowing who will spend it.

⁷And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you.

⁸Rescue me from my rebellion. Do not let fools mock me.

⁹I am silent before you; I won’t say a word, for my punishment is from you.

¹⁰But please stop striking me! I am exhausted by the blows from your hand.

¹¹When you discipline us for our sins, you consume like a moth what is precious to us. Each of us is but a breath. Interlude

¹²Hear my prayer, O LORD! Listen to my cries for help! Don’t ignore my tears. For I am your guest — a traveler passing through, as my ancestors were before me.

¹³Leave me alone so I can smile again before I am gone and exist no more.

¹I waited patiently for the LORD to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry.

²He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.

³He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the LORD.

⁴Oh, the joys of those who trust the LORD, who have no confidence in the proud or in those who worship idols.

⁵O LORD my God, you have performed many wonders for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. You have no equal. If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them.

⁶You take no delight in sacrifices or offerings. Now that you have made me listen, I finally understand — you don’t require burnt offerings or sin offerings.

⁷Then I said, “Look, I have come. As is written about me in the Scriptures:

⁸I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart.”

⁹I have told all your people about your justice. I have not been afraid to speak out, as you, O LORD, well know.

¹⁰I have not kept the good news of your justice hidden in my heart; I have talked about your faithfulness and saving power. I have told everyone in the great assembly of your unfailing love and faithfulness.

¹¹LORD, don’t hold back your tender mercies from me. Let your unfailing love and faithfulness always protect me.

¹²For troubles surround me — too many to count! My sins pile up so high I can’t see my way out. They outnumber the hairs on my head. I have lost all courage.

¹³Please, LORD, rescue me! Come quickly, LORD, and help me.

¹⁴May those who try to destroy me be humiliated and put to shame. May those who take delight in my trouble be turned back in disgrace.

¹⁵Let them be horrified by their shame, for they said, “Aha! We’ve got him now!”

¹⁶But may all who search for you be filled with joy and gladness in you. May those who love your salvation repeatedly shout, “The LORD is great!”

¹⁷As for me, since I am poor and needy, let the Lord keep me in his thoughts. You are my helper and my savior. O my God, do not delay.

¹Oh, the joys of those who are kind to the poor! The LORD rescues them when they are in trouble.

²The LORD protects them and keeps them alive. He gives them prosperity in the land and rescues them from their enemies.

³The LORD nurses them when they are sick and restores them to health.

⁴“O LORD,” I prayed, “have mercy on me. Heal me, for I have sinned against you.”

⁵But my enemies say nothing but evil about me. “How soon will he die and be forgotten?” they ask.

⁶They visit me as if they were my friends, but all the while they gather gossip, and when they leave, they spread it everywhere.

⁷All who hate me whisper about me, imagining the worst.

⁸“He has some fatal disease,” they say. “He will never get out of that bed!”

⁹Even my best friend, the one I trusted completely, the one who shared my food, has turned against me.

¹⁰LORD, have mercy on me. Make me well again, so I can pay them back!

¹¹I know you are pleased with me, for you have not let my enemies triumph over me.

¹²You have preserved my life because I am innocent; you have brought me into your presence forever.

¹³Praise the LORD, the God of Israel, who lives from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and amen!

¹As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God.

²I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him?

³Day and night I have only tears for food, while my enemies continually taunt me, saying, “Where is this God of yours?”

⁴My heart is breaking as I remember how it used to be: I walked among the crowds of worshipers, leading a great procession to the house of God, singing for joy and giving thanks amid the sound of a great celebration!

⁵Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again — my Savior and

⁶my God! Now I am deeply discouraged, but I will remember you — even from distant Mount Hermon, the source of the Jordan, from the land of Mount Mizar.

⁷I hear the tumult of the raging seas as your waves and surging tides sweep over me.

⁸But each day the LORD pours his unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who gives me life.

⁹“O God my rock,” I cry, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I wander around in grief, oppressed by my enemies?”

¹⁰Their taunts break my bones. They scoff, “Where is this God of yours?”

¹¹Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again — my Savior and my God!