Psalms for Refreshing

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.   I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.    Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.    I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.   My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.    On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.   Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.    My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.   They who seek my life will be destroyed; they will go down to the depths of the earth.    They will be given over to the sword and become food for jackals.   But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by God's name will praise him, while the mouths of liars will be silenced.    Psalms 63

My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.    He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.   How long will you assault a man? Would all of you throw him down-- this leaning wall, this tottering fence?   They fully intend to topple him from his lofty place; they take delight in lies. With their mouths they bless, but in their hearts they curse. Selah   Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.  He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.   My salvation and my honor depend on God ; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.    Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Selah    Lowborn men are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie; if weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are only a breath.  Do not trust in extortion or take pride in stolen goods; though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them.    One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong,   and that you, O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done.    Psalm 62

Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.   But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold.  For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.  They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong.  They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills.   Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence.    From their callous hearts comes iniquity ; the evil conceits of their minds know no limits. They scoff, and speak with malice; in their arrogance they threaten oppression.  Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth.    Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance.    They say, "How can God know?  Does the Most High have knowledge?"   This is what the wicked are like-- always carefree, they increase in wealth.    Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence.   All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every  morning.   If I had said, "I will speak thus," I would have betrayed your children.    When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me    till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.    Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin.  How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors!    As a dream when one awakes, so when you arise, O Lord, you will despise them as fantasies.    When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered,   I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you.    Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.    You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.   Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.    My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.  Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.  But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.    Psalm 73