The Psalter

[Colin]

Psalm 40 ( Thanksgiving and further plea for help)


2 I waited, I waited for the Lord
and he stooped down to me;
he heard my cry.

.3 He drew me from the deadly pit,
from the miry clay.
He set my feet upon a rock
and made my footsteps firm.

.4 He put a new song into my mouth,
praise of our God.
Many shall see and fear
and shall trust in the Lord.

.5 Happy the man who has placed
his trust in the Lord
and has not gone over to the rebels
who follow false gods.

.6 How many, O Lord my God,
are the wonders and designs
that you have worked for us;
you have no equal.
Should I proclaim and speak of them,
they are more than I can tell!

.7 You do not ask for sacrifice and offerings,
but an open ear.
You do not ask for holocaust and victim.
.8 Instead, here am I.

In the scroll of the book it stands written
.9 that I should do your will.
My God, I delight in your law
in the depth of my heart.

.10 Your justice I have proclaimed
in the great assembly.
My lips I have not sealed;
you know it, O Lord.

.11 I have not hidden your justice in my heart
but declared your faithful help.
I have not hidden your love and your truth
from the great assembly.

.12 O Lord, you will not withhold
your compassion from me.
Your merciful love and your truth
will always guard me.

.13 For I am beset with evils
too many to be counted.
My sins have fallen upon me
and my sight fails me.
They are more than the hairs of my head
and my heart sinks.

.14 O Lord, come to my rescue;
Lord, come to my aid.
.15 O let there be shame and confusion
on those who seek my life.

O let them turn back in confusion,
who delight in my harm.
.16 Let them be appalled, covered with shame,
who jeer at my lot.

.17 O let there be rejoicing and gladness
for all who seek you.
Let them ever say: "The Lord is great",
who love your saving help.

.18 As for me, wretched and poor,
the Lord thinks of me.
You are my rescuer, my help,
O God, do not delay.

 

[Colin]

Psalm 41 ( Prayer in sickness and betrayal )



.2 Happy the man who considers the poor and the weak.
The Lord will save him in the day of evil,
.3 will guard him, give him life, make him happy in the land
and will not give him up to the will of his foes.
.4 The Lord will help him on his bed of pain,
he will bring him back from sickness to health.

.5 As for me, I said: "Lord, have mercy on me,
heal my soul for I have sinned against you."
.6 My foes are speaking evil against me.
"how long before he dies and his name be forgotten?"
.7 They come to visit me and speak empty words,
their hearts full of malice, they spread it abroad.

.8 My enemies whisper together against me.
They all weigh up the evil which is on me.
.9 "Some deadly thing has fastened upon him,
he will not rise again from where he lies."
.10 Thus even my friend, in whom I trusted,
who ate my bread, has turned against me.

.11 But you, O Lord, have mercy on me.
Let me rise once more and I will repay them.
.12 By this I shall know that you are my friend,
if my foes do not shout in triumph over me.
.13 If you uphold me I shall be unharmed
and set in your presence for ever more.

 

[Colin]

Psalm 42 ( The exile's nostalgia for God's temple )



.2 Like the deer that yearns
for running streams,
so my soul is yearning
for you, my God.

.3 My soul is thirsting for God,
the God of my life;
when can I enter and see
the face of God?

.4 My tears have become my bread,
by night, by day,
as I hear it said all the day long:
"Where is your God?"

.5 These things will I remember
as I pour out my soul:
how I would lead the rejoicing crowd
into the house of God,
amid cries of gladness and thanksgiving,
the throng wild with joy.

.6 Why are you cast down, my soul,
why groan within me?
Hope in God; I will praise him still,
my savior and my God.

.7 My soul is cast down within me
as I think of you,
from the country of Jordan and Mount Hermon,
from the Hill of Mizar.

.8 Deep is calling on deep,
in the roar of waters;
your torrents and all your waves
swept over me.

.9 By day the Lord will send
his loving kindness;
by night I will sing to him,
praise the God of my life.

.10 I will say to God, my rock:
"Why have your forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning
oppressed by the foe?"

.11 With cries that pierce me to the heart,
my enemies revile me,
saying to me all day long:
"Where is your God?"

.12 Why are you cast down, my soul,
why groan within me?
Hope in God; I will praise him still,
my savior and my God.

 

[Colin]

Psalm 43 ( Longing for God's dwelling place )


1 Defend me, O God, and plead my cause
against a godless nation.
From deceitful and cunning men
rescue me, O God.

2 Since you, O God, are my stronghold,
why have you rejected me?
Why do I go mourning
oppressed by the foe?

3 O send forth your light and your truth;
let these be my guide.
Let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.

4 And I will come to the altar of God,
the God of my joy.
My redeemer, I will thank you on the harp,
O God, my God.

5 Why are you cast down my soul,
why groan within me?
Hope in God; I will praise him still,
my savior and my God.

 

[Colin]

Psalm 44 ( God's people in time of disaster : a national lament )


2 We heard with our own ears, O God,
our fathers have told us the story
of the things you did in their days,
you yourself, in days long ago.

.3 To plant them you uprooted the nations;
to let them spread you laid peoples low.
.4 No sword of their own won the land;
no arm of their own brought them victory.
It was your right hand, your arm
and the light of your face; for you loved them.

.5 It is you, my king, my God,
who granted victories to Jacob.
.6 Through you we beat down our foes;
in your name we trampled down our aggressors.

.7 For it was not in my bow that I trusted
nor yet was I saved by my sword:
.8 it was you who saved us from our foes,
it was you who put our foes to shame.
.9 All day long our boast was in God
and we praised your name without ceasing.

.10 Yet now you have rejected us, disgraced us;
you no longer go forth with our armies.
.11 You make us retreat from the foe
and our enemies plunder us at will.

.12 You make us like sheep for the slaughter
and scatter us among the nations.
.13 You sell your own people for nothing
and make no profit by the sale.

.14 You make us the taunt of our neighbors,
the laughing stock of all who are near.
.15 Among the nations, you make us a byword,
among the peoples a thing of derision.

.16 All day long my disgrace is before me;
my face is covered with shame
.17 at the voice of the taunter, the scoffer,
at the sight of the foe and avenger.

* * *

.18 This befell us though we had not forgotten you,
though we had not been false to your covenant,
.19 though we had not withdrawn our hearts;
though our feet had not strayed from your path.
.20 Yet you have crushed us in a place of sorrows
and covered us with the shadow of death.

.21 Had we forgotten the name of our God,
or stretched out our hands to another god
.22 would not God have found this out,
he who knows the secrets of the heart?
.23 It is for you that we face death all day long
and are counted as sheep for the slaughter.

.24 Awake, O Lord, why do you sleep?
Arise, do not reject us for ever!
.25 Why do you hide your face
and forget our oppression and misery?

.26 For we are brought down low to the dust;
our body lies prostrate on the earth.
.27 Stand up and come to our help!
Redeem us because of your love!

 

[Colin]

Psalm 45 ( Royal wedding song )


2 My heart overflows with noble words.
To the king I must speak the song I have made,
my tongue as nimble as the pen of a scribe.

.3 You are the fairest of the children of men
and graciousness is poured upon your lips:
because God has blessed you for evermore.

.4 O mighty one, gird your sword upon your thigh;
/.5 in splendor and state, ride on in triumph
for the cause of truth and goodness and right.

Take aim with your bow in your dread right hand.
.6 Your arrows are sharp, peoples fall beneath you.
The foes of the king fall down and lose heart.

.7 Your throne, O God, shall endure for ever.
A scepter of justice is the scepter of your kingdom.
.8 Your love is for justice; your hatred for evil.

Therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness above other kings:
.9 your robes are fragrant with aloes and myrrh.

From the ivory palace you are greeted with music.
.10 The daughters of kings are among your loved ones.
On your right stands the queen in gold of Ophir.

* * *

.11 Listen, O daughter, give ear to my words:
forget your own people and your father's house.
.12 So will the king desire your beauty:
He is your lord, pay homage to him.

.13 And the people of Tyre shall come with gifts,
the richest of the people shall seek your favor.
.14 The daughter of the king is clothed with splendor,
her robes embroidered with pearls set in gold.

.15 She is led to the king with her maiden companions.
.16 They are escorted amid gladness and joy;
they pass within the palace of the king.

* * *

.17 Sons shall be yours in place of your fathers:
you will make them rulers over all the earth.

.18 May this song make your name for ever remembered.
May the peoples praise you from age to age

 

[Colin]

Psalm 46 ( Boundless trust in God's power )


.2 God is for us a refuge and strength,
a helper close at hand, in time of distress,
.3 so we shall not fear though the earth should rock,
though the mountains fall into the depths of the sea;
.4 even though its waters rage and foam,
even though the mountains be shaken by its waves.

The Lord of hosts is with us:
the God of Jacob is our stronghold.

.5 The waters of a river give joy to God's city,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
.6 God is within, it cannot be shaken;
God will help it at the dawning of the day.
.7 Nations are in tumult, kingdoms are shaken:
he lifts his voice, the earth shrinks away.

.8 The Lord of hosts is with us:
the God of Jacob is our stronghold.

.9 Come, consider the works of the Lord,
the redoubtable deeds he has done on the earth.
.10 He puts an end to wars over all the earth;
the bow he breaks, the spear he snaps.
(He burns the shields with fire.)
.11 "Be still and know that I am God,
supreme among the nations, supreme on the earth!"

.12 The Lord of hosts is with us:
the God of Jacob is our stronghold.

 

[Colin]

Psalm 47 ( To God , king of the world )



.2 All peoples, clap your hands,
cry to God with shouts of joy!
.3 For the Lord, the Most High, we must fear,
great king over all the earth.

.4 He subdues peoples under us
and nations under our feet.
.5 Our inheritance, our glory, is from him,
given to Jacob out of love.

.6 God goes up with shouts of joy;
the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.
.7 Sing praise for God, sing praise,
sing praise to our king, sing praise.

.8 God is king of all the earth,
sing praise with all your skill.
.9 God is king over the nations;
God reigns on his holy throne.

.10 The princes of the people are assembled
with the people of Abraham's God.
The rulers of the earth belong to God,
to God who reigns over all.

 

[Colin]

Psalm 48 ( The invincible city of God )



.2 The Lord is great and worthy to be praised
in the city of our God.
.3 His holy mountain rises in beauty,
the joy of all the earth.

Mount Zion, true pole of the earth,
the Great King's city!
.4 God, in the midst of its citadels,
has shown himself its stronghold.

.5 For the kings assembled together,
together they advanced.
.6 They saw; at once they were astounded;
dismayed, they fled in fear.

.7 A trembling seized them there,
like the pangs of birth.
.8 By the east wind you have destroyed
the ships of Tarshish.

.9 As we have heard, so we have seen
in the city of our God,
in the city of the Lord of hosts
which God upholds for ever.

.10 O God, we ponder your love
within your temple.
.11 Your praise, O God, like your name
reaches the ends of the earth.

With justice your right hand is filled.
.12 Mount Zion rejoices;
the people of Judah rejoice
at the sight of your judgments.

.13 Walk through Zion, walk all round it;
count the number of its towers.
.14 Review all its ramparts,
examine its castles,

that you may tell the next generation
.15 that such is our God,
our God for ever and always.
It is he who leads us.

 

[Colin]

Psalm 49 ( The problem of justice , pain and death )


.2 Hear this, all you peoples,
give heed, all who dwell in the world,
.3 men both high and low,
rich and poor alike!

.4 My lips will speak words of wisdom.
My heart is full of insight.
.5 I will turn my mind to a parable,
with the harp I will solve my problem.

* * *

.6 Why should I fear in evil days
the malice of the foes who surround me,
.7 men who trust in their wealth,
and boast of the vastness of their riches?

.8 For no man buy his own ransom,
or pay a price to God for his life.
.9 The ransom of his soul is beyond him.
.10 He cannot buy life without end,
nor avoid coming to the grave.

.11 He knows that wise men and fools must both perish
and must leave their wealth to others.
.12 Their graves are their homes for ever,
their dwelling place from age to age,
though their names spread wide through the land.

.13 In his riches, man lacks wisdom;
he is like the beasts that are destroyed.

* * *

.14 This is the lot of those who trust in themselves,
who have others in their beck and call.
.15 Like sheep they are driven to the grave,
where death shall be their shepherd
and the just shall become their rulers.

With the morning their outward show vanishes
and the grave becomes their home.
.16 But God will ransom me from death
and take my soul to himself.

.17 Then do not fear when a man grows rich,
when the glory of his house increases.
.18 He takes nothing with him when he dies,
his glory does not follow him below.

.19 Though he flattered himself while he lived:
"Men will praise me for all my success,"
.20 yet he will go to join his fathers,
and will never see the light any more.

.21 In his riches, man lacks wisdom;
he is like the beasts that are destroyed.

 

[Colin]

Psalm 50 ( God's judgement on formalism )


1 The God of gods, the Lord,
has spoken and summoned the earth,
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion's perfect beauty he shines.

3 (Our God comes, he keeps silence no longer.)

Before him fire devours,
around him tempest rages.
4 He calls on the heavens and the earth
to witness his judgment of his people.

5 "Summon before me my people
who made covenant with me by sacrifice."
6 The heavens proclaim his justice,
for he, God, is the judge.

7 "Listen, my people, I will speak;
Israel, I will testify against you,
for I am God, your God.
21c I accuse you, lay the charge before you.

8 I find no fault with your sacrifices,
your offerings are always before me.
9 I do not ask more bullocks from your farms,
nor goats from among your herds.

10 For I own all the beasts of the forest,
beasts in their thousands on my hills.
11 I know all the birds in the sky,
all that moves in the field belongs to me.

12 Were I hungry, I would not tell you,
for I own the world and all it holds.
13 Do you think I eat the flesh of bulls,
or drink the blood of goats?

14 Pay your sacrifice of thanksgiving to God
and render him your votive offerings.
15 Call on me in the day of distress.
I will free and you shall honor me."

16 (But God says to the wicked)

"But how can you recite my commandments
and take my covenant on your lips,
17 you who despise my law
and throw my words to the winds,

18 you who see a thief and go with him;
who throw in your lot with adulterers,
19 who unbridle your mouth for evil
and whose tongue is plotting crime,

20 you who sit and malign your brother
and slander your own mother's son.
21 You do this, and should I keep silence?
Do you think that I am like you?

22 Mark this, you who never think of God,
lest I seize you and you cannot escape;
23 a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors me
and I will show God's salvation to the upright."

 

[Colin]

Psalm 51 ( Prayer of contrition : fourth psalm of repentance )



.3 Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness.
In your compassion blot out my offense.
.4 O wash me more and more from my guilt
and cleanse me from my sin.

.5 My offenses truly I know them;
my sin is always before me
.6 Against you, you alone, have I sinned;
what is evil in your sight I have done.

That you may be justified when you give sentence
and be without reproach when you judge,
.7 O see, in guilt I was born,
a sinner was I conceived.

.8 Indeed you love truth in the heart;
then in the secret of my heart teach me wisdom.
.9 O purify me, then I shall be clean;
O wash me, I shall be whiter than snow.

.10 Make me hear rejoicing and gladness,
that the bones you have crushed may thrill.
.11 From my sins turn away your face
and blot out all my guilt.

.12 A pure heart create for me, O God,
put a steadfast spirit within me.
.13 Do not cast me away from your presence,
nor deprive me of your holy spirit.

.14 Give me again the joy of your help;
with a spirit of fervor sustain me,
.15 that I may teach transgressors your ways
and sinners may return to you.

.16 O rescue me, God, my helper,
and my tongue shall ring out your goodness.
.17 O Lord, open my lips
and my mouth shall declare your praise.

.18 For in sacrifice you take no delight,
burnt offering from me you would refuse,
.19 my sacrifice, a contrite spirit,
a humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn.

.20 In your goodness, show favor to Zion:
rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
.21 Then you will be pleased with lawful sacrifice,
(burnt offerings wholly consumed),
then you will be offered young bulls on your altar.

 

[Colin]

Psalm 52 ( The fate of the deceitful )



.3 Why do you boast of your wickedness,
you champion of evil,
.4 planning ruin all day long,
(your tongue like a sharpened razor),
you master of deceit?

.5 You love evil more than good,
lies more than truth.
.6 You love the destructive word,
you tongue of deceit.

.7 For this God will destroy you
and remove you for ever.
He will snatch you from your tent and uproot you
from the land of the living.

.8 The just shall see and fear.
They shall laugh and say:
.9 "So this is the man who refused
to take God as a stronghold,
but trusted in the greatness of his wealth
and grew powerful by his crimes."

.10 But I am like a growing olive tree
in the house of God.
I trust in the goodness of God
for ever and ever.

.11 I will thank you for evermore;
for this is your doing.
I will proclaim that your name is good,
in the presence of your friends.

 

[Colin]

Psalm 53 ( The fools )


.2 The fool has said in his heart:
"There is no God above."
Their deeds are corrupt, depraved;
not a good man is left.

.3 God looks down from heaven
on the sons of men
to see if any are wise,
if any seek God.

.4 All have left the right path;
depraved, every one;
There is not a good man left,
no, not even one.

.5 Will the evil-doers not understand?
They eat up my people
as though they were eating bread;
they never pray to God.

.6 See how they tremble with fear
without cause for fear,
for God scatters the bones of the wicked.
They are shamed, God rejects them.

.7 O that Israel's salvation might come from Zion!
When God delivers his people from bondage,
then Jacob will be glad and Israel rejoice.

 

[Colin]

Psalm 54 ( Cry for God's help )


.3 O God, save me by your name;
by your power, uphold my cause.
.4 O God, hear my prayer;
listen to the words of my mouth.

.5 For proud men have risen against me,
ruthless men seek my life.
They have no regard for God.

.6 But I have God for my help.
The Lord upholds my life.
.7 Let the evil recoil upon my foes;
you who are faithful, destroy them.

.8 I will sacrifice to you with willing heart
and praise your name for it is good:
.9 for you have rescued me from all distress
and my eyes have seen the downfall of my foes.

 

[Colin]

Psalm 55 ( Distress of a man betrayed by his friend )



.2 O God, listen to my prayer,
do not hide from my pleading,
.3 attend to me and reply;
with my cares, I cannot rest.

.4 I tremble at the shouts of the foe,
at the cries of the wicked;
for they bring down evil upon me.
They assail me with fury.

.5 My heart is stricken within me,
death's terror is on me,
.6 trembling and fear fall upon me
and horror overwhelms me.

.7 O that I had wings like a dove
to fly away and be at rest.
.8 So I would escape far away
and take refuge in the desert.

.9 I would hasten to find a shelter
from the raging wind,
from the destructive storm, O Lord,
.10 and from their plotting tongues.

For I can see nothing
but violence and strife in the city.
.11 Night and day they patrol
high on the city walls.

It is full of wickedness and evil;
.12 it is full of sin.
Its streets are never free
from tyranny and deceit.

.13 If this had been done by an enemy
I could bear his taunts.
If a rival had risen against me,
I could hide from him.

.14 But it is you, my own companion,
my intimate friend!
.15 (How close was the friendship between us.)
We talked together in harmony
in the house of God.

.16 May death fall suddenly upon them!
Let them go to the grave;
for wickedness dwells in their homes
and deep in their hearts.

.17 As for me, I will cry to God
and the Lord will save me.
.18 Evening, morning and at noon
I will cry and lament.

.19 He will deliver my soul in peace
in the attack against me;
for those who fight me are many,
.18c but he hears my voice.

.20 God will hear and will humble them,
the eternal judge;
for they will not amend their ways.
They have no fear of God.

.21 The traitor has turned against his friends;
he has broken his word.
.22 His speech is softer than butter,
but war is in his heart,
His words are smoother than oil,
but they are naked swords.

.23 Entrust your cares to the Lord
and he will support you.
He will never allow
the just man to stumble.

.24 But you, O God, will bring them down
to the pit of death.
Deceitful and bloodthirsty men
shall not live half their days.

O Lord, I will trust in you.

 

[Colin]

Psalm 56 ( Unshakeable confidence in God )



.2 Have mercy on me, God, men crush me;
they fight me all day long and oppress me.
.3 My foes crush me all day long,
for many fight proudly against me.

.4 When I fear, I will trust in you,
.5 in God, whose word I praise.
In God I trust, I shall not fear;
what can mortal man do to me?

.6 All day long they distort my words,
all their thought is to harm me.
.7 They band together in ambush,
track me down and seek my life.

.8 Repay them, God, for their crimes;
in your anger, cast down the peoples.
.9 You have kept an account of my wanderings;
you have kept a record of my tears;
(are they not written in your book?)
.10 Then my foes will be put to flight
on the day that I call to you.

This I know, that God is on my side.
.11 In God, whose word I praise,
(in the Lord whose word I praise,)
.12 in God I trust; I shall not fear;
what can mortal man do to me?

.13 I am bound by the vows I have made you.
O God, I will offer you praise
.14 for you have rescued my soul from death,
you kept my feet from stumbling
that I may walk in the presence of God
and enjoy the light of the living.

 

[Colin]

Psalm 57 ( In time of danger : a national lament )



.2 Have mercy on me, God, have mercy
for in you my soul has taken refuge.
In the shadow of your wings I take refuge
till the storms of destruction pass by.

.3 I call to you God the Most High,
to you who have always been my help.
.4 May you send from heaven and save me
and shame those who assail me.

O God, send your truth and your love.

.5 My soul lies down among lions,
who would devour the sons of men.
Their teeth are spears and arrows,
their tongue a sharpened sword.

.6 O God, arise above the heavens;
may your glory shine on earth!

.7 They laid a snare for my steps
my soul was bowed down.
They dug a pit in my path
but fell in it themselves.

.8 My heart is ready, O God,
my heart is ready.
I will sing, I will sing your praise.
.9 Awake, my soul;
awake, lyre and harp,
I will awake the dawn.

.10 I will thank you, Lord, among the peoples,
among the nations I will praise you
.11 for your love reaches to the heavens
and your truth to the skies.

.12 O God, arise above the heavens;
may your glory shine on earth.

 

[Colin]

Psalm 58 ( Condemnation of injustice )



.2 Do you truly speak justice, you who hold divine power?
Do you mete out fair judgment to the sons of men?
.3 No, in your hearts you devise injustice;
your hands deal out violence to the land.

.4 In their wickedness they have gone astray from their birth;
they wandered among lies as soon as they were born.
.5 Their venom is like the venom of the snake;
they are heedless as the adder that turns a deaf ear
.6 lest it should catch the snake-charmer's voice,
the voice of the skillful dealer in spells.

.7 O God, break the teeth in their mouths,
tear out the fangs of these wild beasts, O Lord!
.8 Let them vanish like water that runs away;
let them wither like grass that is trodden under foot:
.9 let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime;
like a woman's miscarriage that never sees the sun.

.10 Before they put forth thorns, like a bramble,
let them be swept away, green wood or dry!
.11 The just shall rejoice at the sight of vengeance;
they shall bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.
.12 "Truly", men shall say, "the just are rewarded.
Truly there is a God who does justice on the earth."

 

[Colin]

Psalm 59 ( Appeal to God , the stronghold )



.2 Rescue me, God, from my foes;
protect me from those who attack me.
.3 O rescue me from those who do evil
and save me from blood-thirsty men.

.4 See, they lie in wait for my life;
powerful men together against me.
For no offense, no sin of mine, Lord,
.5 for no guilt of mine they rush to take their stand.

Awake, come to my aid and see!
.6 Lord of hosts, you are Israel's God.
Rouse yourself and punish the nations;
show no mercy to evil traitors.

.7 Each evening they come back like dogs.
They howl and roam about the city;
they prowl in search of food;
they snarl till they have their fill.

.8 See how they gabble open-mouthed;
their lips are filled with insults.
"For who," they say, "will hear us?"
.9 But you, Lord, will laugh them to scorn.
You make light of all the nations.

.10 O my Strength, it is you to whom I turn,
for you, O God, are my stronghold,
.11 the God who shows me love.

O God, come to my aid
and let me look in triumph on my foes.
.12 God, kill them lest my people be seduced;
rout them by your power, lay them low.

It is you, O Lord, who are our shield.
.13 For the sins of their mouths and their lips,
for the curses and lies that they speak
let them be caught in their pride.

.14 Destroy them, Lord, in your anger.
Destroy them till they are no more.
Let the world know that you are the ruler
over Jacob and the ends of the earth.

.15 Each evening they come back like dogs.
They howl and roam about the city;
.16 they prowl in search of food,
they snarl till they have their fill.

.17 As for me, I will sing of your strength
and each morning acclaim your love
for you have been my stronghold,
a refuge in the day of my distress.

.18 O my Strength, it is you to whom I turn,
for you, O God, are my stronghold,
the God who shows me love.