I Waited Patiently for the LORD
(Psalm 70:1–5; Hebrews 10:1–18)

1Unto the end. A Psalm of David himself. I have waited expectantly for the Lord, and he was attentive to me.

2And he heard my prayers and he led me out of the pit of misery and the quagmire. And he stationed my feet upon a rock, and he directed my steps.

3And he sent a new canticle into my mouth, a song to our God. Many will see, and they will fear; and they will hope in the Lord.

4Blessed is the man whose hope is in the name of the Lord, and who has no respect for vanities and absurd falsehoods.

5You have accomplished your many wonders, O Lord my God, and there is no one similar to you in your thoughts. I have announced and I have spoken: they are multiplied beyond number.

6Sacrifice and oblation, you did not want. But you have perfected ears for me. Holocaust and sin offering, you did not require.

7Then I said, “Behold, I draw near.” At the head of the book, it has been written of me:

8that I should do your will. My God, I have willed it. And your law is in the midst of my heart.

9I have announced your justice in a great Church: behold, I will not restrain my lips. O Lord, you have known it.

10I have not concealed your justice within my heart. I have spoken your truth and your salvation. I have not concealed your mercy and your truth from a great assembly.

11O Lord, do not take your tender mercies far from me. Your mercy and your truth ever sustain me.

12For evils without number have surrounded me. My iniquities have taken hold of me, and I was not able to see. They have been multiplied beyond the hairs of my head. And my heart has forsaken me.

13Be pleased, O Lord, to rescue me. Look down, O Lord, to help me.

14Let them together be confounded and awed, who seek after my soul to steal it away. Let them be turned back and be in awe, who wish evils upon me.

15Let them bear their confusion all at once, who say to me, “Well, well.”

16Let all who seek you exult and rejoice over you. And let those who love your salvation always say, “May the Lord be magnified.”

17But I am a beggar and poor. The Lord has been concerned about me. You are my helper and my protector. My God, do not delay.