My offences truly I know them.
What is evil in your sight I have done.

But in my defence please don't forget that sinfulness is part of the human condition, part of our DNA.

A pure heart create for me, O God.
Put a steadfast spirit within me.

Give me again the joy of your help.
With a spirit of fervor sustain me.

Lord,  you will not spurn a humbled, contrite heart

Thank you for so often rescuing me from trouble.
You uphold my life.

Sometimes I have so many troubles and cares
that I can't get to sleep.

Sometimes I wish I was a bird 
and could fly away to a safe place.

When I fear, I will trust in you,
in you whose word I praise.

My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready.
I will sing, I will sing your praise.

Each morning I will sing of your strength,
and each morning acclaim your love.

O God, please help me to praise and love you every day

In you alone is my soul at rest. 
My help comes from you.

Take refuge in God, everyone in trouble.
Trust him at all times.

O God, you are my God, for you I long.
My body and soul thirst for you
like a dry, weary land without water.

Your love is better than life,
my lips will speak your praise.

On my bed I remember you.
On you I muse through the night.

You are the Creator of the world.
You care for the earth, you give it water.

To you our praise is due,
wherever we are on earth.

Lord, my soul clings to you. Your right hand holds me fast

O God, be gracious and bless us
and let your face shine its light upon us.

Let all the peoples praise you, O God.
Let all the peoples praise you.

O sing to the Lord, make music to his name.
Rejoice in the Lord, exult at his presence.

Father of the orphan, defender of the widow,
God provides a shelter for the homeless.

God gives his people strength.

May all the peoples of the earth know you 
and praise you, O God

So many people hate me without cause.
I have no more strength to resist them.

May my situation not cause anyone to lose faith in you.
May people realize that it is for your sake that I am taunted.

Taunts have broken my heart.
No one shows me any compassion.

For food they give me poison.
In my thirst they give me vinegar to drink.

Lord, do not hide your face from your servant.
Answer quickly for I am in distress.

You are my rescuer, my help, O God.
O Lord, do not delay to help me.

O God come to our  assistance. Lord make haste to help us

Be a rock where I can take refuge.
Rescue me from people who want to hurt me.

It is you, O Lord, who are my hope.
In you I have trusted since I was young.

From my mother's womb you have been my help.
My hope has always been in you.

Now that I am old, please do not forget me.
Now that my strength fails, do not abandon me.

Now that I am old and grey-headed,
may I continue to trust in you   and proclaim your help.

To you I will sing with the harp.
All day long my tongue will tell of your goodness to me.

Lord, may all elderly people put their trust and hope in you

May the mountains bring forth peace for the people
and the hills, justice.

The kings of Sheba and Seba bring him gifts.
All nations will serve him.

He will save the poor when they cry for help
and the needy who are helpless.

He will have pity on the weak
and save the lives of the poor.

May every tribe be blessed in him.
May every nation bless his name.

May all the nations know and love you, Lord

But then I realize that everyone someday has to pay the bill
for all the evil they have bought in the world.

Sometimes when I see our world  and religion in ruins,
I wonder why has God abandoned us?

Then I remember that God has promised to break the power
of the wicked. He has promised to give strength to good people.

So may all people honor the Lord our God and judge.
May the Lord give us his loving help.

Lord, you are goodness itself. Please help us to be good
and to trust you always

The things  our parents have told us,
we will not hide from our children,
but will pass them on to the next generation.

We want the next generation to know 
all that the Lord has done for us in the past.

May the next generation in turn
pass on this knowledge to their own children,
so that they too will put their hope in God
and never forget all that God has done for us.

May future generations not be like our ancestors
who so often were unfaithful to God.

Even though our ancestors had seen God part the sea,
even though they had seen him provide food and water for them
in the desert, still they went on sinning.

Yet he who is full of compassion forgave and spared them.
He remembered they were only weak humans.

Eventually he brought them to the promised land
and gave a home to each of Israel's tribes.

But still they sinned by building mountain shrines
and serving idols.

Then God raised up David to be their leader. 
God called him from looking after sheep 
to be the shepherd of his people.

Lord, help us not to forget all you have done for us

We have become the taunt of our neighbours,
the mockery and scorn of those who surround us.

How long, O Lord, will all this last?
How long will this sorrow keep going?

Do not hold the guilt of our ancestors against us.
If their guilt is somehow influencing our situation now
please give peace and healing to everyone and everything
in our  history.

Let the groans of the prisoners come before you.
Let your strong arm reprieve those condemned to die.

O Lord, our God, help us and save us.
Let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.

Lord, please heal any problems in my family tree

"I am the Lord your God
who brought you out from the land of Egypt.

Let there be no foreign god among you,
no worship of a false god.

O that my people would heed me,
that Israel would walk in my ways.

At once I would subdue their foes.
But Israel I would feed with finest wheat and honey".

Lord, please help us to walk in your ways

O God, please protect your people from corruption and injustice.
Save us also from attack by other nations.

Let everyone know that you are the Lord of all the earth.

Lord, please stop corrupt officials from hurting people

Even sparrows  and swallows are your temple guests.
They build homes for their young near your altar.

Blessed are the people who live and work in your temple.
And blessed, too, are people who keep  the memory of your temple in their hearts.

As they go through the troubles of life,
you give them strength to face the trials of each day.

Lord, one day within your temple
is better than a thousand anywhere else.

Dear God, thank you for special places of prayer

His help is near for those who fear him
and his glory will dwell in our land.

Mercy and faithfulness have met.
Justice and peace have embraced.

Faithfulness shall spring from the earth
and justice shall look down from heaven.

The Lord will make us prosper
and our earth shall yield its fruit.

Justice shall march before him
and peace shall follow his steps

Lord, please give more peace to our world

All the nations shall come to adore you
and glorify your name, O Lord,
you who alone are God.

Show me, Lord, your way, and guide my heart
so that I may walk in your truth.

I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart
for your love to me has been great.

O give your strength to your servant
and save your handmaid's son.

Dear Lord, thank you for all  your love

Of you are told glorious things, O city of God.

All nations are called to serve and love the Lord.
And Jerusalem shall be called their spiritual mother,
for all shall be her children.

In Jerusalem everyone will be welcome and find a home.

Lord, may Jerusalem be a place of peace and prayer 
for all peoples

For my soul is filled with evils.
My life is on the brink of the grave.

I am reckoned as one in the tomb.
I have reached the end of my strength.

Will your love be told in the grave?
Will your wonders be known in the dark?

Fear surrounds  me like a flood.
They keep on assailing me.

All my friends have deserted me.
My only companion is darkness.

Lord, please help people who are in despair

Blessed the people who find joy in you,
who walk, O Lord, in the light of your face.

Thank you, Lord, for our beautiful world

Psalm 90

O Lord you have been our refuge 
from one generation to the next.

Before the earth or the world existed,
you are God, without beginning or end.

For you, a thousand years are like yesterday, 
come and gone so quickly.

We humans have a short life,
our life is over like a sigh.

Our span is 70 years,
or 80 for those who are strong.

Make us know the shortness of our life,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.

In the morning, fill us with your love.
Give success to the work of our hands.

Lord, help us realize the shortness of our life,
 that we may live our lives more wisely

The Lord will hide you and protect you.
Under his wings you will find refuge.

You will not fear any night time terror,
nor any attack during the day.

Upon you no evil shall fall,
no plague approach where you dwell.

For you has he commanded his angels
to keep you safe in all your ways.

Dear God, thank you for your protection day and night

to proclaim your love in the morning,
and your truth right through the night.

Your deeds, O Lord, have made me glad.
For the work of your hands, I shout with joy.

To me you give the wild ox's strength.
You anoint me with the purest oil.

May we love and praise you right through our lives,
right till the end of our days.

May we keep on proclaiming your goodness,
proclaiming that in you, our rock, there is only goodness.

Lord, it is right and fitting to love and praise you

The world you made firm, not to be moved.
From all eternity, O Lord, you are.

The oceans and coastlines of the world
are majestic and powerful.

But greater than the roar of mighty waters,
more glorious than the surging of the sea
is the Lord on high.

Such a Lord, such a Creator, such a God.
Truly your decrees are to be trusted.

Holiness is fitting to your house
O Lord, always and everywhere.

We praise you, Lord, our Creator and Lord

The wicked say "God does not hear".
But can he who made the ear, not hear?

Blessed are those whom the Lord teaches.
The Lord gives them peace in troubled times.

When cares increase in my heart,
God's consolation calms my soul.

Lord, when cares and troubles increase, 
please  help us to trust in you.

Let us come before him giving thanks.
With songs let us praise the Lord.

A mighty God is the Lord,
a great king above all gods.

In his hand are the depths of the earth.
The heights of the mountains are his.

To him belongs the sea, for he made it,
and the dry land shaped by his hands.

Come in, let us bow and bend low.
Let us kneel before the God who made us.

For he is our God 
and we are the people who belong to his pasture.

Lord, you are our Creator. Our life comes from you. 
We praise and love you, Lord

Proclaim his help day by day.
Tell among the nations his glory,
and his wonders among all the peoples.

It was the Lord who made the heavens.
Give the Lord, you families of peoples,
give the Lord glory and honor.

Bring an offering and enter his temple.
Worship the Lord in his sacred place.

Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad.
Let the sea and all within it thunder praise.

Let the land and all it bears rejoice,
all the trees of the forest shout for joy.

Everyone and everything,
give the Lord glory and honor.

Lord, you are our Creator. We love and praise you

The skies proclaim his goodness.
All peoples see his glory.

Let those who serve idols be ashamed.
Let all creation worship  the Creator.

Light shines forth for good people
and joy for the upright of heart.

Rejoice in the Lord, all good people.
Give glory to his holy name.

Lord, you indeed are God of the universe

The Lord has made known his salvation.
He has shown his justice to the nations.

He has remembered his truth and love 
for the house of Israel.

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Shout to the Lord all the earth, ring out your joy.

Sing psalms to the Lord with the harp,
with the sound of music.

Let the sea, the world and all peoples
acclaim the King, the Lord.

Let the rivers clap their hands
and the hills ring out their joy

at the presence of the Lord, 
for he comes to rule the earth.

He will rule the world with justice
and the peoples with fairness.

Lord, may all peoples in all countries 
know your love and goodness

The Lord is king.  He is great in Sion.
His power is seen throughout the world.

Among his priests were Aaron, Moses and Samuel.
They prayed to the Lord and he answered their call.

Let peoples everywhere praise his name.
He is holy, full of power.

 Lord, may all peoples know and love you