Psalms 37-41

Psalm 37

¹Of David. Do not fret over those who do evil; do not envy those who do wrong.

²For they wither quickly like grass and wilt like tender plants.

³Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

⁴Delight yourself 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 do it.

⁶He will bring forth your righteousness like the dawn, your justice like the noonday sun.

⁷Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men prosper in their ways, when they carry out wicked schemes.

⁸Refrain from anger and abandon wrath; do not fret—it can only bring harm.

⁹For the evildoers will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.

¹⁰Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found.

¹¹But the meek will inherit the land and delight in abundant prosperity.

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

¹³but the Lord laughs, seeing that their day is coming.

¹⁴The wicked have drawn the sword and bent the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright.

¹⁵But their swords will pierce their own hearts, and their bows will be broken.

¹⁶Better is the little of the righteous than the abundance of many who are wicked.

¹⁷For the arms of the wicked will be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous.

¹⁸The LORD knows the days of the blameless, and their inheritance will last forever.

¹⁹In the time of evil they will not be ashamed, and in the days of famine they will be satisfied.

²⁰But the wicked and enemies of the LORD will perish like the glory of the fields. They will vanish; like smoke they will fade away.

²¹The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous are gracious and giving.

²²Surely those He blesses will inherit the land, but the cursed will be destroyed.

²³The steps of a man are ordered by the LORD who takes delight in his journey.

²⁴Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, for the LORD is holding his hand.

²⁵I once was young and now am old, yet never have I seen the righteous abandoned or their children begging for bread.

²⁶They are ever generous and quick to lend, and their children are a blessing.

²⁷Turn away from evil and do good, so that you will abide forever.

²⁸For the LORD loves justice and will not forsake His saints. They are preserved forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off.

²⁹The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever.

³⁰The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice.

³¹The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not falter.

³²Though the wicked lie in wait for the righteous, and seek to slay them,

³³the LORD will not leave them in their power or let them be condemned under judgment.

³⁴Wait for the LORD and keep His way, and He will raise you up to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

³⁵I have seen a wicked, ruthless man flourishing like a well-rooted native tree,

³⁶yet he passed away and was no more; though I searched, he could not be found.

³⁷Consider the blameless and observe the upright, for posterity awaits the man of peace.

³⁸But the transgressors will all be destroyed; the future of the wicked will be cut off.

³⁹The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their stronghold in time of trouble.

⁴⁰The LORD helps and delivers them; He rescues and saves them from the wicked, because they take refuge in Him.

Psalm 38

¹A Psalm of David, for remembrance. O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger or discipline me in Your wrath.

²For Your arrows have pierced me deeply, and Your hand has pressed down on me.

³There is no soundness in my body because of Your anger; there is no rest in my bones because of my sin.

⁴For my iniquities have overwhelmed me; they are a burden too heavy to bear.

⁵My wounds are foul and festering because of my sinful folly.

⁶I am bent and brought low; all day long I go about mourning.

⁷For my loins are full of burning pain, and no soundness remains in my body.

⁸I am numb and badly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart.

⁹O Lord, my every desire is before You; my groaning is not hidden from You.

¹⁰My heart pounds, my strength fails, and even the light of my eyes has faded.

¹¹My beloved and friends shun my disease, and my kinsmen stand at a distance.

¹²Those who seek my life lay snares; those who wish me harm speak destruction, plotting deceit all day long.

¹³But like a deaf man, I do not hear; and like a mute man, I do not open my mouth.

¹⁴I am like a man who cannot hear, whose mouth offers no reply.

¹⁵I wait for You, O LORD; You will answer, O Lord my God.

¹⁶For I said, “Let them not gloat over me— those who taunt me when my foot slips.”

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

¹⁸Yes, I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin.

¹⁹Many are my enemies without cause, and many hate me without reason.

²⁰Those who repay my good with evil attack me for pursuing the good.

²¹Do not forsake me, O LORD; be not far from me, O my God.

²²Come quickly to help me, O Lord my Savior.

Psalm 39

¹For the choirmaster. For Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. I said, “I will watch my ways so that I will not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle as long as the wicked are present.”

²I was speechless and still; I remained silent, even from speaking good, and my sorrow was stirred.

³My heart grew hot within me; as I mused, the fire burned. Then I spoke with my tongue:

⁴“Show me, O LORD, my end and the measure of my days. Let me know how fleeting my life is.

⁵You, indeed, have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing before You. Truly each man at his best exists as but a breath. Selah

⁶Surely every man goes about like a phantom; surely he bustles in vain; he heaps up riches not knowing who will haul them away.

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

⁸Deliver me from all my transgressions; do not make me the reproach of fools.

⁹I have become mute; I do not open my mouth because of what You have done.

¹⁰Remove Your scourge from me; I am perishing by the force of Your hand.

¹¹You discipline and correct a man for his iniquity, consuming like a moth what he holds dear; surely each man is but a vapor. Selah

¹²Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping. For I am a foreigner dwelling with You, a stranger like all my fathers.

¹³Turn Your gaze away from me, that I may again be cheered before I depart and am no more.”

Psalm 40

¹For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; He inclined to me and heard my cry.

²He lifted me up from the pit of despair, out of the miry clay; He set my feet upon a rock, and made my footsteps firm.

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

⁴Blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, who has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.

⁵Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders You have done, and the plans You have for us— none can compare to You— if I proclaim and declare them, they are more than I can count.

⁶Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but my ears You have opened. Burnt offerings and sin offerings You did not require.

⁷Then I said, “Here I am, I have come— it is written about me in the scroll:

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

⁹I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly; behold, I do not seal my lips, as You, O LORD, do know.

¹⁰I have not covered up Your righteousness in my heart; I have declared Your faithfulness and salvation; I have not concealed Your loving devotion and faithfulness from the great assembly.

¹¹O LORD, do not withhold Your mercy from me; Your loving devotion and faithfulness will always guard me.

¹²For evils without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, so that I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart has failed within me.

¹³Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me; hurry, O LORD, to help me.

¹⁴May those who seek my life be ashamed and confounded; may those who wish me harm be repelled and humiliated.

¹⁵May those who say to me, “Aha, aha!” be appalled at their own shame.

¹⁶May all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; may those who love Your salvation always say, “The LORD be magnified!”

¹⁷But I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my helper and deliverer; O my God, do not delay.

Psalm 41

¹For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. Blessed is the one who cares for the poor; the LORD will deliver him in the day of trouble.

²The LORD will protect and preserve him; He will bless him in the land and refuse to surrender him to the will of his foes.

³The LORD will sustain him on his bed of illness and restore him from his bed of sickness.

⁴I said, “O LORD, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against You.”

⁵My enemies say with malice: “When will he die and be forgotten?”

⁶My visitor speaks falsehood; he gathers slander in his heart; he goes out and spreads it abroad.

⁷All who hate me whisper against me; they imagine the worst for me:

⁸“A vile disease has been poured into him; he will never get up from where he lies!”

⁹Even my close friend whom I trusted, the one who shared my bread, has lifted up his 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 delight in me, for my enemy does not triumph over me.

¹²In my integrity You uphold me and set me in Your presence forever.

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