PSALM 36

Wickedness of Men and Lovingkindness of God.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord.

1 Transgression speaks to the ungodly within 1his heart;

There is ano fear of God before his eyes.

2 For 1it aflatters him in his own eyes

Concerning the discovery of his iniquity and the hatred of it.

3 The awords of his mouth are wickedness and deceit;

He has bceased to 1be wise and to do good.

4 He aplans wickedness upon his bed;

He sets himself on a bpath that is not good;

He cdoes not despise evil.

5 Your alovingkindness, O Lord, 1extends to the heavens,

Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

6 Your arighteousness is like the 1mountains of God;

Your bjudgments are like a great deep.

O Lord, You cpreserve man and beast.

7 How aprecious is Your lovingkindness, O God!

And the children of men btake refuge in the shadow of Your wings.

8 They adrink their fill of the 1abundance of Your house;

And You give them to drink of the briver of Your delights.

9 For with You is the afountain of life;

In Your light we see light.

10 O continue Your lovingkindness to athose who know You,

And Your brighteousness to the upright in heart.

11 Let not the foot of pride come upon me,

And let not the hand of the wicked drive me away.

12 There the doers of iniquity have fallen;

They have been thrust down and acannot rise.

PSALM 37

Security of Those Who Trust in the Lord, and Insecurity of the Wicked.

A Psalm of David.

1 aDo not fret because of evildoers,

Be not benvious toward wrongdoers.

2 For they will awither quickly like the grass

And bfade like the green herb.

3 aTrust in the Lord and do good;

bDwell in the land and 1ccultivate faithfulness.

4 aDelight yourself in the Lord;

And He will bgive you the desires of your heart.

5 aCommit your way to the Lord,

Trust also in Him, and He will do it.

6 He will bring forth ayour righteousness as the light

And your judgment bas the noonday.

7 1Rest in the Lord and await 2patiently for Him;

bDo not fret because of him who cprospers in his way,

Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.

8 Cease from anger and aforsake wrath;

Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.

9 For aevildoers will be cut off,

But those who wait for the Lord, they will binherit the land.

10 Yet aa little while and the wicked man will be no more;

And you will look carefully for bhis place and he will not be there.

11 But athe humble will inherit the land

And will delight themselves in babundant prosperity.

12 The wicked aplots against the righteous

And bgnashes at him with his teeth.

13 The Lord alaughs at him,

For He sees bhis day is coming.

14 The wicked have drawn the sword and abent their bow

To cast down the bafflicted and the needy,

To cslay those who are upright in conduct.

15 Their sword will enter their own heart,

And their abows will be broken.

16 aBetter is the little of the righteous

Than the abundance of many wicked.

17 For the aarms of the wicked will be broken,

But the Lord bsustains the righteous.

18 The Lord aknows the days of the 1blameless,

And their binheritance will be forever.

19 They will not be ashamed in the time of evil,

And ain the days of famine they will have abundance.

20 But the awicked will perish;

And the enemies of the Lord will be like the 1glory of the pastures,

They vanish—blike smoke they vanish away.

21 The wicked borrows and does not pay back,

But the righteous ais gracious and gives.

22 For athose blessed by Him will binherit the land,

But those ccursed by Him will be cut off.

23 aThe steps of a man are established by the Lord,

And He bdelights in his way.

24 When ahe falls, he will not be hurled headlong,

Because bthe Lord is the One 1who holds his hand.

25 I have been young and now I am old,

Yet aI have not seen the righteous forsaken

Or bhis 1descendants begging bread.

26 All day long ahe is gracious and lends,

And bhis 1descendants are a blessing.

27 aDepart from evil and do good,

1So you will abide bforever.

28 For the Lord aloves 1justice

And bdoes not forsake His godly ones;

They are cpreserved forever,

But the 2ddescendants of the wicked will be cut off.

29 The righteous will ainherit the land

And bdwell in it forever.

30 The mouth of the righteous autters wisdom,

And his tongue bspeaks justice.

31 The alaw of his God is in his heart;

His bsteps do not slip.

32 The awicked spies upon the righteous

And bseeks to kill him.

33 The Lord will anot leave him in his hand

Or blet him be condemned when he is judged.

34 aWait for the Lord and keep His way,

And He will exalt you to inherit the land;

When the bwicked are cut off, you will see it.

35 I have aseen a wicked, violent man

Spreading himself like a bluxuriant 1tree in its native soil.

36 Then 1he passed away, and lo, he awas no more;

I sought for him, but he could not be found.

37 Mark the 1ablameless man, and behold the bupright;

For the man of peace will have a 2cposterity.

38 But transgressors will be altogether adestroyed;

The 1posterity of the wicked will be bcut off.

39 But the asalvation of the righteous is from the Lord;

He is their strength bin time of trouble.

40 aThe Lord helps them and delivers them;

He bdelivers them from the wicked and saves them,

Because they ctake refuge in Him.

PSALM 38

Prayer of a Suffering Penitent.

A Psalm of David, for a memorial.

1 O Lord, arebuke me not in Your wrath,

And chasten me not in Your burning anger.

2 For Your aarrows have sunk deep into me,

And bYour hand has pressed down on me.

3 There is ano soundness in my flesh bbecause of Your indignation;

There is no health cin my bones because of my sin.

4 For my ainiquities are gone over my head;

As a heavy burden they weigh too much for me.

5 My 1wounds grow foul and fester

Because of amy folly.

6 I am bent over and agreatly bowed down;

I bgo mourning all day long.

7 For my loins are filled with aburning,

And there is bno soundness in my flesh.

8 I am abenumbed and 1badly crushed;

I 2bgroan because of the 3agitation of my heart.

9 Lord, all amy desire is 1before You;

And my bsighing is not hidden from You.

10 My heart throbs, amy strength fails me;

And the blight of my eyes, even 1that 2has gone from me.

11 My 1aloved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague;

And my kinsmen bstand afar off.

12 Those who aseek my life blay snares for me;

And those who cseek to injure me have 1threatened destruction,

And they ddevise treachery all day long.

13 But I, like a deaf man, do not hear;

And I am like a amute man who does not open his mouth.

14 Yes, I am like a man who does not hear,

And in whose mouth are no arguments.

15 For aI 1hope in You, O Lord;

You bwill answer, O Lord my God.

16 For I said, “May they not rejoice over me,

Who, when my foot slips, awould magnify themselves against me.”

17 For I am aready to fall,

And bmy 1sorrow is continually before me.

18 For I 1aconfess my iniquity;

I am full of banxiety because of my sin.

19 But my aenemies are vigorous and 1strong,

And many are those who bhate me wrongfully.

20 And those who arepay evil for good,

They boppose me, because I follow what is good.

21 Do not forsake me, O Lord;

O my God, ado not be far from me!

22 Make ahaste to help me,

O Lord, bmy salvation!