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Psalm 37

¹Do not fret because of the wicked; do not be envious of wrongdoers,

²for they will soon fade like the grass, and wither like the green herb.

³Trust in the Lord, and do good; so you will live in the land, and enjoy security.

⁴Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

⁵Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.

⁶He will make your vindication shine like the light, and the justice of your cause like the noonday.

⁷Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices.

⁸Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret—it leads only to evil.

⁹For the wicked shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.

¹⁰Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there.

¹¹But the meek shall inherit the land, and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.

¹²The wicked plot against the righteous, and gnash their teeth at them;

¹³but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that their day is coming.

¹⁴The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to kill those who walk uprightly;

¹⁵their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.

¹⁶Better is a little that the righteous person has than the abundance of many wicked.

¹⁷For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous.

¹⁸The Lord knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will abide forever;

¹⁹they are not put to shame in evil times, in the days of famine they have abundance.

²⁰But the wicked perish, and the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.

²¹The wicked borrow, and do not pay back, but the righteous are generous and keep giving;

²²for those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off.

²³Our steps are made firm by the Lord, when he delights in our way;

²⁴though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong, for the Lord holds us by the hand.

²⁵I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.

²⁶They are ever giving liberally and lending, and their children become a blessing.

²⁷Depart from evil, and do good; so you shall abide forever.

²⁸For the Lord loves justice; he will not forsake his faithful ones. The righteous shall be kept safe forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.

²⁹The righteous shall inherit the land, and live in it forever.

³⁰The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom, and their tongues speak justice.

³¹The law of their God is in their hearts; their steps do not slip.

³²The wicked watch for the righteous, and seek to kill them.

³³The Lord will not abandon them to their power, or let them be condemned when they are brought to trial.

³⁴Wait for the Lord, and keep to his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on the destruction of the wicked.

³⁵I have seen the wicked oppressing, and towering like a cedar of Lebanon.

³⁶Again I passed by, and they were no more; though I sought them, they could not be found.

³⁷Mark the blameless, and behold the upright, for there is posterity for the peaceable.

³⁸But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the posterity of the wicked shall be cut off.

³⁹The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their refuge in the time of trouble.

⁴⁰The Lord helps them and rescues them; he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them, because they take refuge in him.

Psalm 38

¹O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger, or discipline me in your wrath.

²For your arrows have sunk into me, and your hand has come down on me.

³There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin.

⁴For my iniquities have gone over my head; they weigh like a burden too heavy for me.

⁵My wounds grow foul and fester because of my foolishness;

⁶I am utterly bowed down and prostrate; all day long I go around mourning.

⁷For my loins are filled with burning, and there is no soundness in my flesh.

⁸I am utterly spent and crushed; I groan because of the tumult of my heart.

⁹O Lord, all my longing is known to you; my sighing is not hidden from you.

¹⁰My heart throbs, my strength fails me; as for the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me.

¹¹My friends and companions stand aloof from my affliction, and my neighbors stand far off.

¹²Those who seek my life lay their snares; those who seek to hurt me speak of ruin, and meditate treachery all day long.

¹³But I am like the deaf, I do not hear; like the mute, who cannot speak.

¹⁴Truly, I am like one who does not hear, and in whose mouth is no retort.

¹⁵But it is for you, O Lord, that I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.

¹⁶For I pray, “Only do not let them rejoice over me, those who boast against me when my foot slips.”

¹⁷For I am ready to fall, and my pain is ever with me.

¹⁸I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin.

¹⁹Those who are my foes without cause are mighty, and many are those who hate me wrongfully.

²⁰Those who render me evil for good are my adversaries because I follow after good.

²¹Do not forsake me, O Lord; O my God, do not be far from me;

²²make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation.

Psalm 39

¹I said, “I will guard my ways that I may not sin with my tongue; I will keep a muzzle on my mouth as long as the wicked are in my presence.”

²I was silent and still; I held my peace to no avail; my distress grew worse,

³my heart became hot within me. While I mused, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue:

⁴“Lord, let me know my end, and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.

⁵You have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight. Surely everyone stands as a mere breath. Selah

⁶Surely everyone goes about like a shadow. Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; they heap up, and do not know who will gather.

⁷“And now, O Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you.

⁸Deliver me from all my transgressions. Do not make me the scorn of the fool.

⁹I am silent; I do not open my mouth, for it is you who have done it.

¹⁰Remove your stroke from me; I am worn down by the blows of your hand.

¹¹“You chastise mortals in punishment for sin, consuming like a moth what is dear to them; surely everyone is a mere breath. Selah

¹²“Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; do not hold your peace at my tears. For I am your passing guest, an alien, like all my forebears.

¹³Turn your gaze away from me, that I may smile again, before I depart and am no more.”

Psalm 40

¹I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.

²He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.

³He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.

⁴Happy are those who make the Lord their trust, who do not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after false gods.

⁵You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you. Were I to proclaim and tell of them, they would be more than can be counted.

⁶Sacrifice and offering you do not desire, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.

⁷Then I said, “Here I am; in the scroll of the book it is written of me.

⁸I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”

⁹I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; see, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O Lord.

¹⁰I have not hidden your saving help within my heart, I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation.

¹¹Do not, O Lord, withhold your mercy from me; let your steadfast love and your faithfulness keep me safe forever.

¹²For evils have encompassed me without number; my iniquities have overtaken me, until I cannot see; they are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails me.

¹³Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me; O Lord, make haste to help me.

¹⁴Let all those be put to shame and confusion who seek to snatch away my life; let those be turned back and brought to dishonor who desire my hurt.

¹⁵Let those be appalled because of their shame who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”

¹⁶But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation say continually, “Great is the Lord!”

¹⁷As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God.

Psalm 41

¹Happy are those who consider the poor; the Lord delivers them in the day of trouble.

²The Lord protects them and keeps them alive; they are called happy in the land. You do not give them up to the will of their enemies.

³The Lord sustains them on their sickbed; in their illness you heal all their infirmities.

⁴As for me, I said, “O Lord, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against you.”

⁵My enemies wonder in malice when I will die, and my name perish.

⁶And when they come to see me, they utter empty words, while their hearts gather mischief; when they go out, they tell it abroad.

⁷All who hate me whisper together about me; they imagine the worst for me.

⁸They think that a deadly thing has fastened on me, that I will not rise again from where I lie.

⁹Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, has lifted the heel against me.

¹⁰But you, O Lord, be gracious to me, and raise me up, that I may repay them.

¹¹By this I know that you are pleased with me; because my enemy has not triumphed over me.

¹²But you have upheld me because of my integrity, and set me in your presence forever.

¹³Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.