Psalm 37-40

New King James Version

The Heritage of the Righteous and the Calamity of the Wicked

A Psalm of David.

37 Do^(A) not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
²For they shall soon be cut down ^(B)like the grass,
And wither as the green herb.

³Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
⁴^(C)Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your ^(D)heart.

⁵^(E)Commit^[a] your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
⁶^(F)He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.

⁷Rest in the Lord, ^(G)and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who ^(H)prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
⁸^(I)Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
^(J)Do not fret—it only causes harm.

⁹For evildoers shall be ^[b]cut off;
But those who wait on the Lord,
They shall ^(K)inherit the earth.
¹⁰For ^(L)yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more;
Indeed, ^(M)you will look carefully for his place,
But it shall be no more.
¹¹^(N)But the meek shall inherit the earth,
And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

¹²The wicked plots against the just,
^(O)And gnashes at him with his teeth.
¹³^(P)The Lord laughs at him,
For He sees that ^(Q)his day is coming.
¹⁴The wicked have drawn the sword
And have bent their bow,
To cast down the poor and needy,
To slay those who are of upright conduct.
¹⁵Their sword shall enter their own heart,
And their bows shall be broken.

¹⁶^(R)A little that a righteous man has
Is better than the riches 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 upright,
And their inheritance shall be forever.
¹⁹They shall not be ashamed in the evil time,
And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
²⁰But the wicked shall perish;
And the enemies of the Lord,
Like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish.
Into smoke they shall vanish away.

²¹The wicked borrows and does not repay,
But ^(S)the righteous shows mercy and gives.
²²^(T)For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth,
But those cursed by Him shall be ^[c]cut off.

²³^(U)The steps of a good man are ^[d]ordered by the Lord,
And He delights in his way.
²⁴^(V)Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;
For the Lord upholds him with His hand.

²⁵I have been young, and now am old;
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
Nor his descendants begging bread.
²⁶^(W)He is ^[e]ever merciful, and lends;
And his descendants are blessed.

²⁷Depart from evil, and do good;
And dwell forevermore.
²⁸For the Lord loves justice,
And does not forsake His saints;
They are preserved forever,
But the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off.
²⁹^(X)The righteous shall inherit the land,
And dwell in it forever.

³⁰^(Y)The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom,
And his tongue talks of justice.
³¹The law of his God is in his heart;
None of his steps shall ^[f]slide.

³²The wicked ^(Z)watches the righteous,
And seeks to slay him.
³³The Lord ^(AA)will not leave him in his hand,
Nor condemn him when he is judged.

³⁴^(AB)Wait on the Lord,
And keep His way,
And He shall exalt you to inherit the land;
When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.
³⁵I have seen the wicked in great power,
And spreading himself like a native green tree.
³⁶Yet ^[g]he passed away, and behold, he was no more;
Indeed I sought him, but he could not be found.

³⁷Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright;
For the future of that man is peace.
³⁸^(AC)But the transgressors shall be destroyed together;
The future of the wicked shall be cut off.

³⁹But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
He is their strength ^(AD)in the time of trouble.
⁴⁰And ^(AE)the Lord shall help them and deliver them;
He shall deliver them from the wicked,
And save them,
^(AF)Because they trust in Him.

Prayer in Time of Chastening

A Psalm of David. ^(AG)To bring to remembrance.

38 O Lord, do not ^(AH)rebuke me in Your wrath,
Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure!
²For Your arrows pierce me deeply,
And Your hand presses me down.

³There is no soundness in my flesh
Because of Your anger,
Nor any health in my bones
Because of my sin.
⁴For my iniquities have gone over my head;
Like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
⁵My wounds are foul and festering
Because of my foolishness.

⁶I am ^[h]troubled, I am bowed down greatly;
I go mourning all the day long.
⁷For my loins are full of inflammation,
And there is no soundness in my flesh.
⁸I am feeble and severely broken;
I groan because of the turmoil of my heart.

⁹Lord, all my desire is before You;
And my sighing is not hidden from You.
¹⁰My heart pants, my strength fails me;
As for the light of my eyes, it also has gone from me.

¹¹My loved ones and my friends ^(AI)stand aloof from my plague,
And my relatives stand afar off.
¹²Those also who seek my life lay snares for me;
Those who seek my hurt speak of destruction,
And plan deception all the day long.

¹³But I, like a deaf man, do not hear;
And I am like a mute who does not open his mouth.
¹⁴Thus I am like a man who does not hear,
And in whose mouth is no response.

¹⁵For ^[i]in You, O Lord, ^(AJ)I hope;
You will ^[j]hear, O Lord my God.
¹⁶For I said, “Hear me, lest they rejoice over me,
Lest, when my foot slips, they exalt themselves against me.”

¹⁷^(AK)For I am ready to fall,
And my sorrow is continually before me.
¹⁸For I will ^(AL)declare my iniquity;
I will be ^(AM)in ^[k]anguish over my sin.
¹⁹But my enemies are vigorous, and they are strong;
And those who hate me wrongfully have multiplied.
²⁰Those also ^(AN)who render evil for good,
They are my adversaries, because I follow what is good.

²¹Do not forsake me, O Lord;
O my God, ^(AO)be not far from me!
²²Make haste to help me,
O Lord, my salvation!

Prayer for Wisdom and Forgiveness

To the Chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

39 I said, “I will guard my ways,
Lest I sin with my ^(AP)tongue;
I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle,
While the wicked are before me.”
²^(AQ)I was mute with silence,
I held my peace even from good;
And my sorrow was stirred up.
³My heart was hot within me;
While I was ^[l]musing, the fire burned.
Then I spoke with my tongue:

⁴“Lord, ^(AR)make me to know my end,
And what is the measure of my days,
That I may know how frail I am.
⁵Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths,
And my age is as nothing before You;
Certainly every man at his best state is but ^(AS)vapor. Selah
⁶Surely every man walks about like a shadow;
Surely they ^[m]busy themselves in vain;
He heaps up riches,
And does not know who will gather them.

⁷“And now, Lord, what do I wait for?
My ^(AT)hope is in You.
⁸Deliver me from all my transgressions;
Do not make me ^(AU)the reproach of the foolish.
⁹^(AV)I was mute, I did not open my mouth,
Because it was ^(AW)You who did it.
¹⁰^(AX)Remove Your plague from me;
I am consumed by the blow of Your hand.
¹¹When with rebukes You correct man for iniquity,
You make his beauty ^(AY)melt away like a moth;
Surely every man is vapor. Selah

¹²“Hear my prayer, O Lord,
And give ear to my cry;
Do not be silent at my tears;
For I am a stranger with You,
A sojourner, ^(AZ)as all my fathers were.
¹³^(BA)Remove Your gaze from me, that I may regain strength,
Before I go away and ^(BB)am no more.”

Faith Persevering in Trial^(BC)

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

40 I ^(BD)waited patiently for the Lord;
And He inclined to me,
And heard my cry.
²He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
Out of ^(BE)the miry clay,
And ^(BF)set my feet upon a rock,
And established my steps.
³^(BG)He has put a new song in my mouth—
Praise to our God;
Many will see it and fear,
And will trust in the Lord.

⁴^(BH)Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust,
And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
⁵^(BI)Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works
Which You have done;
^(BJ)And Your thoughts toward us
Cannot be recounted to You in order;
If I would declare and speak of them,
They are more than can be numbered.

⁶^(BK)Sacrifice and offering You did not desire;
My ears You have opened.
Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require.
⁷Then I said, “Behold, I come;
In the scroll of the book it is written of me.
⁸^(BL)I delight to do Your will, O my God,
And Your law is ^(BM)within my heart.”

⁹^(BN)I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness
In the great assembly;
Indeed, ^(BO)I do not restrain my lips,
O Lord, You Yourself know.
¹⁰^(BP)I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart;
I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation;
I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth
From the great assembly.

¹¹Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O Lord;
^(BQ)Let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually preserve me.
¹²For innumerable evils have surrounded me;
^(BR)My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up;
They are more than the hairs of my head;
Therefore my heart fails me.

¹³^(BS)Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me;
O Lord, make haste to help me!
¹⁴^(BT)Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion
Who seek to destroy my ^[n]life;
Let them be driven backward and brought to dishonor
Who wish me evil.
¹⁵Let them be ^(BU)confounded because of their shame,
Who say to me, “Aha, aha!”

¹⁶^(BV)Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
Let such as love Your salvation ^(BW)say continually,
“The Lord be magnified!”
¹⁷^(BX)But I am poor and needy;
^(BY)Yet the Lord thinks upon me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
Do not delay, O my God.