Psalms 69
1 For the music director, to the tune “Lilies.” Of David.
2 Save me, God, for the waters have reached my neck.
3 I have sunk into deep mud, with nowhere to set my foot; I have entered deep waters, and the current sweeps me away.
4 I am worn out from crying; my throat is dry. My eyes fail as I wait for my God.
5 Those who hate me without cause are more numerous than the hairs on my head. Those who want to destroy me are mighty—my enemies without reason. I must give back what I did not steal.
6 God, you know my foolishness, and my guilt is not hidden from you.
7 May those who hope in you not be put to shame because of me, Lord GOD of Armies; may those who seek you not be disgraced because of me, God of Israel.
8 For it is for your sake that I have borne humiliation, and shame has covered my face.
9 I have become a stranger to my brothers, a foreigner to my mother’s children.
10 For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.
11 I wept and humbled myself with fasting, and that became an insult against me.
12 I put on sackcloth, and I became a saying among them.
13 Those who sit at the gate talk about me, and I am the song of those who drink strong drink.
14 But I pray to you, LORD, at a favorable time. God, in the greatness of your loyal love, answer me with the truth of your salvation.
15 Rescue me from the mud, so I will not sink; deliver me from those who hate me and from the deep waters.
16 May the floodwaters not sweep me away, may the deep not swallow me, and may the pit not shut its mouth over me.
17 Answer me, LORD, for your loyal love is good; turn toward me in the greatness of your compassion.
18 Do not hide your face from your servant, for I am in distress; answer me quickly.
19 Come near to me and redeem me; because of my enemies, set me free.
20 You know the humiliation I have suffered, my shame and disgrace; all my adversaries are before you.
21 Humiliation has broken my heart, and I am sick. I looked for compassion, but there was none; for comforters, but found none.
22 They put poison in my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
23 May their table before them become a trap, and their security a snare.
24 May their eyes grow dark so they cannot see; make their hips tremble continually.
25 Pour out your indignation on them, and let the heat of your anger overtake them.
26 May their camp become desolate; may no one live in their tents.
27 For they pursue the one you have struck, and recount the pain of those you have pierced.
28 Add guilt to their guilt, and do not let them enter your righteousness.
29 May they be erased from the book of life and not be written among the righteous.
30 But I am afflicted and in pain; your salvation, God, will lift me up.
31 I will praise God’s name with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.
32 This will please the LORD more than an ox, more than a young bull with horns and hooves.
33 The humble see this and rejoice; you who seek God, may your hearts come alive.
34 For the LORD hears the needy and does not despise his own who are imprisoned.
35 Let the heavens and the earth praise him, the seas and everything that moves in them.
36 For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah; they will live there and possess it.
37 The descendants of his servants will inherit it, and those who love his name will live in it.
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