PSALM 8 (revised)

 

O Lord, our Lord,

how great is your name

throughout the earth,

you who have spread

your majesty

above the heavens.

Out of the mouths of infants

and suckling babies,

you have brought forth praise

for quelling the punishing foe.

When I look at the heavens,

the work of your hands,

the moon and stars

that you established,

what is man,

that you remember him,

or the son of man,

that you visit him?

You have made him

a little less than God,

with honor and glory

you have crowned him.

You have given him power

over the works of your hands,

you have laid all things

under his feet:

all sheep and cattle,

and all beasts of the field,

the birds of the sky

and the fish of the sea

that travel the watery paths.

O Lord, our Lord,

how great is your name

in all the earth!

Translation Copyright © 2023 by Donald C. Traxler.

Aging Project XXVI

 

Text and image Copyright © 2023 by Donald C. Traxler.

PSALM 7

 

O Lord my God,

I take refuge in you.

Save me from all those

who persecute me,

and free me,

lest they seize me

as would a lion, 

tearing me apart,

with no one 

to rescue me.

O Lord my God.

if I did this,

if there is injustice

on my hands,

if I repaid my allies

with evil,

and sent my enemies away with nothing;

then may my enemy pursue and

overtake me, trample

my life to the ground,

and lay my honor

in the dust.

Rise up, O Lord, in your wrath,

raise yourself up, indignant,

over my oppressors.

Stand up for me in the

judgment you've decreed,

let the assembly of nations

surround you, and you sit

on high above them.

The Lord will judge

the peoples.

Judge me, O Lord,

according to my righteousness,

according to the integrity

that is in me.

Let the evil of sinners be destroyed,

let justice be confirmed:

inspector of hearts and minds,

O righteous God.

My shield is in God,

who saves the upright

in heart.

God is a just and severe judge,

daily pronouncing doom.

If one does not turn back,

He will sharpen his sword;

He has bent his bow,

and aimed it.

In it He has prepared missiles of death;

He has made his arrows fiery.

Behold, the wicked one

conceives injustice,

is pregnant with evil,

and brings forth deceit.

He has dug a pit, but

he has fallen into it.

His malice falls back

on his own head,

his violence returns

there, too.

But I will praise the Lord

on account of his justice,

and will sing

to the name

of the most high Lord.

Translation Copyright © 2023 by Donald C. Traxler.

PSALM 6

 

Do not rebuke me,

O Lord,

in your fury,

nor sweep me away

in your anger.

Have mercy on me,

O Lord,

for I am weak.

Heal me, O Lord,

for my bones are troubled

and my soul is greatly

distressed.

But you, O Lord--

how long?

Turn, O Lord,

snatch up my soul,

save me in your mercy,

for in death there is no remembrance

of you;

who will acknowledge you

in Sheol?

I have labored in my groaning;

nightly I make my bed swim

with my weeping;

I water my couch

with my tears.

My eye has grown dark

from bitterness,

I am worn out by all my enemies.

Away from me,

all who work injustice;

for the Lord has heard

the sound of my weeping.

The Lord has heard

my petition,

the Lord has accepted

my prayer.

May all my enemies be ashamed

and very much troubled,

may they quickly retreat

in their shame.

Translation Copyright © 2023 by Donald C. Traxler.

Aging Project XXV

 

Text and image Copyright © 2023 by Donald C. Traxler aka Yablom.

PSALM 5

 

Hear my words, O Lord,

consider the sound of my prayer,

my King and my God,

for to you I pray.

In the morning you will hear

my voice, O Lord,

at daybreak I will plead

my case, and wait.

For you are not a God

who desires iniquity,

nor can evildoers

dwell with you.

The wicked shall not stand

in your sight.

You have hated all

who practice injustice,

you destroy those who lie.

The Lord will abhor

the bloodthirsty and

the deceitful.

But I, by your great mercy,

will enter into your house,

I will worship

in your holy temple

in awe of you, O Lord.

Lead me in your righteousness

on account of those who lie in wait for me,

and make straight your way

before me.

For in the mouth of these

there is no sincerity,

their heart is full of malice,

their throat is an open grave,

their tongue smooth.

Condemn them, O God,

let them fall by their own counsels.

Drive them out for their many crimes,

for they have provoked you.

But let all those rejoice

who take refuge in you,

may they forever give praise,

and protect them.

May all those rejoice in you

who love your name.

For you bless the just, O Lord,

you surround them

with your favor

like a shield.

Translation Copyright © 2023 by Donald C. Traxler.

PSALM 4

 

Hear me when I call upon you,

O God of my righteousness,

who raised me up

in my anguish.

Have mercy on me

and hear my prayer.

People, how long

will you turn my glory

into shame?

Why do you love vanity

and follow lies?

But know that the Lord

has set apart

his devout ones.

The Lord will hear me

when I call upon him.

Tremble, and do not sin,

commune with your own hearts,

upon your beds,

and be silent.

Make offerings

of righteousness,

and trust

in the Lord.

Many say,

"Who has shown us good things?"

Raise over us the light

of your face, O Lord!

You have given joy

to my heart;

in their time,

grain and wine

have multiplied.

In peace I will lie down

and sleep,

for you, O Lord,

have made me safe.

Translation Copyright © 2023 by Donald C. Traxler.