Psalms 36-38

Psalm 36

¹To the chief music-maker. Of the servant of the Lord. Of David. The sin of the evil-doer says in his heart, There is no fear of the Lord before his eyes.

²For he takes comfort in the thought that his sin will not be uncovered and hated.

³In the words of his mouth are evil and deceit; he has given up being wise and doing good.

⁴He gives thought to evil on his bed; he takes a way which is not good; he is not a hater of evil.

⁵Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens, and your strong purpose is as high as the clouds.

⁶Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; your judging is like the great deep; O Lord, you give life to man and beast.

⁷How good is your loving mercy, O God! the children of men take cover under the shade of your wings.

⁸The delights of your house will be showered on them; you will give them drink from the river of your pleasures.

⁹For with you is the fountain of life: in your light we will see light.

¹⁰O let there be no end to your loving mercy to those who have knowledge of you, or of your righteousness to the upright in heart.

¹¹Let not the foot of pride come against me, or the hand of the evil-doers put me out of my place.

¹²There the workers of evil have come down: they have been made low, and will not be lifted up.

Psalm 37

¹Of David. Do not be angry because of the wrongdoers, or have envy of the workers of evil.

²For they will quickly be cut down like grass, and become dry like the green plants.

³Have faith in the Lord, and do good; be at rest in the land, and go after righteousness.

⁴So will your delight be in the Lord, and he will give you your heart's desires.

⁵Put your life in the hands of the Lord; have faith in him and he will do it.

⁶And he will make your righteousness be seen like the light, and your cause like the shining of the sun.

⁷Take your rest in the Lord, waiting quietly for him; do not be angry because of the man who does well in his evil ways, and gives effect to his bad designs.

⁸Put an end to your wrath and be no longer bitter; do not give way to angry feeling which is a cause of sin.

⁹For the evil-doers will be cut off: but those who have faith in the Lord will have the earth for their heritage.

¹⁰For in a short time the evil-doer will be gone: you will go searching for his place, and it will not be there.

¹¹But the gentle will have the earth for their heritage; they will take their delight in peace without measure.

¹²The sinner has evil designs against the upright, lifting up the voice of wrath against him.

¹³He will be laughed at by the Lord, who sees that his day is coming.

¹⁴The evil-doers have taken out their swords, their bows are bent; for crushing the poor, and to put to death those who are upright in their ways.

¹⁵But their swords will be turned into their hearts, and their bows will be broken.

¹⁶The little which the good man has is better than the wealth of evil-doers.

¹⁷For the arms of the evil-doers will be broken: but the Lord is the support of the good.

¹⁸The days of the upright are numbered by the Lord, and their heritage will be for ever.

¹⁹They will not be shamed in the evil time, and in the days when all are in need of food they will have enough.

²⁰But the wrongdoers will come to destruction, and the haters of the Lord will be like the fat of lambs, they will be burned up; they will go up in smoke, and never again be seen.

²¹The sinner takes money and does not give it back; but the upright man has mercy, and gives to others.

²²Those who have his blessing will have the earth for their heritage; but those who are cursed by him will be cut off.

²³The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he takes delight in his way.

²⁴Even if he has a fall he will not be without help: for the hand of the Lord is supporting him.

²⁵I have been young, and now am old, but I have not seen the good man without help, or his children looking for bread.

²⁶All the day he is ready to have mercy and to give; his children are a blessing.

²⁷Be turned from evil, and do good; and your place will be for ever.

²⁸For the Lord is a lover of righteousness, and takes care of his saints; they will be kept safe for ever; but the seed of the evil-doers will be cut off.

²⁹The upright will have the earth for their heritage, and will go on living there for ever.

³⁰The mouth of the good man says words of wisdom; the talk of his tongue is of righteousness.

³¹The law of his God is in his heart; he will never make a false step.

³²The sinners are watching the upright man, desiring to put him to death.

³³The Lord will not give him into their hands, or be against him when he is judged.

³⁴Be waiting for the Lord, and keep his way; and you will be lifted up, and have the land for your heritage: when the evil-doers are cut off, you will see it.

³⁵I have seen the evil-doer in great power, covering the earth like a great tree.

³⁶But he came to an end, and there was no sign of him; I made a search for him and he was not there.

³⁷Give attention to the good man, and take note of the upright; because the end of that man is peace.

³⁸But as for the sinners, they will be cut off together; the end of the wrongdoers is destruction.

³⁹But the Lord is the saviour of the upright: he is their strength in the time of trouble.

⁴⁰And the Lord will be their help, and keep them safe: he will take them out of the hands of the evil-doers, and be their saviour, because they had faith in him.

Psalm 38

¹A Psalm. Of David. To keep in memory. O Lord, be not bitter with me in your wrath; let not your hand be on me in the heat of your passion.

²For your arrows have gone into my flesh, and I am crushed under the weight of your hand.

³My flesh is wasted because of your wrath; and there is no peace in my bones because of my sin.

⁴For my crimes have gone over my head; they are like a great weight which is more than my strength.

⁵My wounds are poisoned and evil-smelling, because of my foolish behaviour.

⁶I am troubled, I am made low; I go weeping all the day.

⁷For my body is full of burning; all my flesh is unhealthy.

⁸I am feeble and crushed down; I gave a cry like a lion because of the grief in my heart.

⁹Lord, all my desire is before you; my sorrow is not kept secret from you.

¹⁰My heart goes out in pain, my strength is wasting away; as for the light of my eyes, it is gone from me.

¹¹My lovers and my friends keep away from my disease; my relations keep far away.

¹²Those who have a desire to take my life put nets for me; those who are designing my destruction say evil things against me, all the day their minds are full of deceit.

¹³But I kept my ears shut like a man without hearing; like a man without a voice, never opening his mouth.

¹⁴So I was like a man whose ears are shut, and in whose mouth there are no sharp words.

¹⁵In you, O Lord, is my hope: you will give me an answer, O Lord, my God.

¹⁶I said, Let them not be glad over me; when my foot is moved, let them not be lifted up with pride against me.

¹⁷My feet are near to falling, and my sorrow is ever before me.

¹⁸I will make clear my wrongdoing, with sorrow in my heart for my sin.

¹⁹But they are strong who have hate for me without cause: those who are against me falsely are increased in numbers.

²⁰They give me back evil for good; they are my haters because I go after the thing which is right.

²¹Do not give me up, O Lord; O my God, be near to me.

²²Come quickly to give me help, O Lord, my salvation.