Book Three
God Is My Strength and Portion Forever
A Psalm of bAsaph.
1 Truly God is good to cIsrael,
to those who are dpure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
my steps had nearly slipped.
3 eFor I was fenvious of the arrogant
when I saw the gprosperity of the wicked.
4 For they have no pangs until death;
their bodies are fat and sleek.
5 They are not in trouble as others are;
they are not hstricken like the rest of mankind.
6 Therefore pride is itheir necklace;
violence covers them as ja garment.
7 Their keyes swell out through fatness;
their hearts overflow with follies.
8 They scoff and lspeak with malice;
loftily they threaten oppression.
9 They set their mouths against the heavens,
and their tongue struts through the earth.
10 Therefore his people turn back to them,
11 And they say, n“How can God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12 Behold, these are the wicked;
always at ease, they oincrease in riches.
13 All in vain have I pkept my heart clean
and qwashed my hands in innocence.
14 For all the day long I have been hstricken
15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
I would have betrayed tthe generation of your children.
16 But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me ua wearisome task,
17 until I went into vthe sanctuary of God;
then I discerned their wend.
18 Truly you set them in xslippery places;
you make them fall to ruin.
19 How they are destroyed yin a moment,
swept away utterly by zterrors!
20 Like aa dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when byou rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.
21 When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
22 I was cbrutish and ignorant;
I was like da beast toward you.
23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you ehold my right hand.
24 You fguide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will greceive me to glory.
25 hWhom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
26 iMy flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is jthe strength2 of my heart and my kportion lforever.
27 For behold, those who are mfar from you shall perish;
you put an end to everyone who is nunfaithful to you.
28 But for me it is good to obe near God;
I have made the Lord God my prefuge,
that I may qtell of all your works.
Revive Us Again
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of nthe Sons of Korah.
1 Lord, you were ofavorable to your land;
you prestored the fortunes of Jacob.
2 You qforgave the iniquity of your people;
you qcovered all their sin. Selah
3 You withdrew all your wrath;
you rturned from your hot anger.
4 sRestore us again, O God of our salvation,
and put away your indignation toward us!
5 tWill you be angry with us forever?
Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
6 Will you not urevive us again,
that your people may vrejoice in you?
7 Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,
and grant us your salvation.
8 wLet me hear what God the Lord will speak,
for he will xspeak peace to his people, to his ysaints;
but let them not zturn back to afolly.
9 Surely his bsalvation is near to those who fear him,
that cglory may dwell in our land.
10 dSteadfast love and faithfulness meet;
erighteousness and peace kiss each other.
11 Faithfulness springs up from the ground,
and righteousness looks down from the sky.
12 Yes, fthe Lord will give what is good,
and our land gwill yield its increase.
13 hRighteousness will go before him
and make his footsteps a way.