Psalm 69:1-36 GW

[1] Save me, O God! The water is already up to my neck! [2] I am sinking in deep mud. There is nothing to stand on. I am in deep water. A flood is sweeping me away. [3] I am exhausted from crying for help. My throat is hoarse. My eyes are strained from looking for my God. [4] Those who hate me for no reason outnumber the hairs on my head. Those who want to destroy me are mighty. They have no reason to be my enemies. I am forced to pay back what I did not steal. [5] O God, you know my stupidity, and the things of which I am guilty are not hidden from you. [6] Do not let those who wait with hope for you be put to shame because of me, O Almighty LORD of Armies. Do not let those who come to you for help be humiliated because of me, O God of Israel. [7] Indeed, for your sake I have endured insults. Humiliation has covered my face. [8] I have become a stranger to my own brothers, a foreigner to my mother's sons. [9] Indeed, devotion for your house has consumed me, and the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me. [10] I cried and fasted, but I was insulted for it. [11] I dressed myself in sackcloth, but I became the object of ridicule. [12] Those who sit at the gate gossip about me, and drunkards make up songs about me. [13] May my prayer come to you at an acceptable time, O LORD. O God, out of the greatness of your mercy, answer me with the truth of your salvation. [14] Rescue me from the mud. Do not let me sink into it. I want to be rescued from those who hate me and from the deep water. [15] Do not let floodwaters sweep me away. Do not let the ocean swallow me up, or the pit close its mouth over me. [16] Answer me, O LORD, because your mercy is good. Out of your unlimited compassion, turn to me. [17] I am in trouble, so do not hide your face from me. Answer me quickly! [18] Come close, and defend my soul. Set me free because of my enemies. [19] You know that I have been insulted, put to shame, and humiliated. All my opponents are in front of you. [20] Insults have broken my heart, and I am sick. I looked for sympathy, but there was none. I looked for people to comfort me, but I found no one. [21] They poisoned my food, and when I was thirsty, they gave me vinegar to drink. [22] Let the table set for them become a trap and a snare for their friends. [23] Let their vision become clouded so that they cannot see. Let their thighs continually shake. [24] Pour your rage on them. Let your burning anger catch up with them. [25] Let their camp be deserted and their tents empty. [26] They persecute the one you have struck, and they talk about the pain of those you have wounded. [27] Charge them with one crime after another. Do not let them be found innocent. [28] Let their names be erased from the Book of Life. Do not let them be listed with righteous people. [29] I am suffering and in pain. Let your saving power protect me, O God. [30] I want to praise the name of God with a song. I want to praise its greatness with a song of thanksgiving. [31] This will please the LORD more than sacrificing an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs. [32] Oppressed people will see this and rejoice. May the hearts of those who look to God for help be refreshed. [33] The LORD listens to needy people. He does not despise his own who are in prison. [34] Let heaven and earth, the seas, and everything that moves in them, praise him. [35] When God saves Zion, he will rebuild the cities of Judah. His servants will live there and take possession of it. [36] The descendants of his servants will inherit it. Those who love him will live there.