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Psalm 39-41

Psalms 39:0 <To the chief music-maker. Of Jeduthun. A Psalm. Of David.>  1 I said, I will give attention to my ways, so that my tongue may do no wrong; I will keep my mouth under control, while the sinner is before me.  2 I made no sound, I said no word, even of good; and I was moved with sorrow.  3 My heart was burning in my breast; while I was deep in thought the fire was lighted; then I said with my tongue,  4 Lord, give me knowledge of my end, and of the measure of my days, so that I may see how feeble I am.  5 You have made my days no longer than a hand’s measure; and my years are nothing in your eyes; truly, every man is but a breath. (Selah.)  6 Truly, every man goes on his way like an image; he is troubled for no purpose: he makes a great store of wealth, and has no knowledge of who will get it.  7 And now, Lord, what am I waiting for? my hope is in you.  8 Make me free from all my sins; do not let me be shamed by the man of evil behaviour.  9 I was quiet, and kept my mouth shut; because you had done it.  10 No longer let your hand be hard on me; I am wasted by the blows of your hand.  11 By the weight of your wrath against man’s sin, the glory of his form is wasted away; truly every man is but a breath. Selah.)  12 Let my prayer come to your ears, O Lord, and give attention to my cry, make an answer to my weeping: for my time here is short before you, and in a little time I will be gone, like all my fathers.  13 Let your wrath be turned away from me, so that I may be comforted, before I go away from here, and become nothing.

Psalms 40:0 <To the chief music-maker. Of David. A Psalm.>  1 When I was waiting quietly for the Lord, his heart was turned to me, and he gave ear to my cry.  2 He took me up out of a deep waste place, out of the soft and sticky earth; he put my feet on a rock, and made my steps certain.  3 And he put a new song in my mouth, even praise to our God; numbers have seen it with fear, and put their faith in the Lord.  4 Happy is the man who has faith in the Lord, and does not give honour to the men of pride or to those who are turned away to deceit.  5 O Lord my God, great are the wonders which you have done in your thought for us; it is not possible to put them out in order before you; when I would give an account of them, their number is greater than I may say.  6 You had no desire for offerings of beasts or fruits of the earth; ears you made for me: for burned offerings and sin offerings you made no request.  7 Then I said, See, I come; it is recorded of me in the roll of the book,  8 My delight is to do your pleasure, O my God; truly, your law is in my heart.  9 I have given news of righteousness in the great meeting; O Lord, you have knowledge that I have not kept back my words.  10 Your righteousness has not been folded away in my heart; I have made clear your true word and your salvation; I have not kept secret your mercy or your faith from the great meeting.  11 Take not away your gentle mercies from me, O Lord; let your mercy and your faith keep me safe for ever.  12 For unnumbered evils are round about me; my sins have overtaken me, so that I am bent down with their weight; they are more than the hairs of my head, my strength is gone because of them.  13 Be pleased, O Lord, to take me out of danger; O Lord, come quickly and give me help.  14 Let those who go after my soul for its destruction have shame and trouble together; let them be turned back and made foolish who take pleasure in my trouble.  15 Let those who say to me, Aha, aha! be surprised because of their shame.  16 Let all those who are looking for you be glad and have joy in you; let the lovers of your salvation ever say, May the Lord be great.  17 Though I am poor and in need, the Lord has me in mind; you are my help and my saviour; let there be no waiting, O my God.

Psalms 41:0 <To the chief music-maker. A Psalm. Of David.>  1 Happy is the man who gives thought to the poor; the Lord will be his saviour in the time of trouble.  2 The Lord will keep him safe, and give him life; the Lord will let him be a blessing on the earth, and will not give him into the hand of his haters.  3 The Lord will be his support on his bed of pain: by you will all his grief be turned to strength.  4 I said, Lord, have mercy on me; make my soul well, because my faith is in you.  5 My haters say evil against me, When will he be dead, and his name come to an end?  6 If one comes to see me, deceit is in his heart; he keeps a store of evil, which he makes public in every place.  7 All my haters are talking secretly together against me; they are designing my downfall.  8 They say, He has an evil disease, which will not let him go: and now that he is down he will not get up again.  9 Even my dearest friend, in whom I had faith, who took bread with me, is turned against me.  10 But you, O Lord, have mercy on me, lifting me up, so that I may give them their punishment.  11 By this I see that you have pleasure in me, because my hater does not overcome me.  12 And as for me, you are my support in my righteousness, giving me a place before your face for ever.  13 May the Lord God of Israel be praised, through eternal days and for ever. So be it. So be it.

PSALM 53

Psalms 53:0 <To the chief music-maker; put to Mahalath. Maschil. Of David.>  1 The foolish man has said in his heart, God will not do anything. They are unclean, they have done evil works; there is not one who does good.  2 God was looking down from heaven on the children of men, to see if there were any who had wisdom, searching after God.  3 Every one of them has gone back; they are unclean: there is not one who does good, no, not one.  4 Have the workers of evil no knowledge? they take my people for food, as they would take bread; they make no prayer to God.  5 They were in great fear, where there was no cause for fear: for the bones of those who make war on you have been broken by God; you have put them to shame, because God has no desire for them.  6 May the salvation of Israel come out of Zion! When the fate of his people is changed by God, Jacob will have joy, and Israel will be glad.

PSALM 55

Psalms 55:0 <To the chief music-maker, on Neginoth. Maschil. Of David.>  1 Give hearing to my prayer, O God; and let not your ear be shut against my request.  2 Give thought to me, and let my prayer be answered: I have been made low in sorrow;  3 I am troubled because of the voice of the cruel ones, because of the loud cry of the evil-doers; for they put a weight of evil on me, and they are cruel in their hate for me.  4 My heart is deeply wounded, and the fear of death has come on me.  5 Fear and shaking have come over me, with deep fear I am covered.  6 And I said, If only I had wings like a dove! for then I would go in flight from here and be at rest.  7 I would go wandering far away, living in the waste land. Selah.)  8 I would quickly take cover from the driving storm and from the violent wind.  9 Send destruction on them, O Lord, make a division of tongues among them: for I have seen fighting and violent acts in the town.  10 By day and night they go round the town, on the walls; trouble and sorrow are in the heart of it.  11 Evil is there; cruel rule and deceit are ever in the streets.  12 For it was not my hater who said evil of me; that would have been no grief to me; it was not one outside the number of my friends who made himself strong against me, or I would have kept myself from him in a secret place;  13 But it was you, my equal, my guide, my well-loved friend.  14 We had loving talk together, and went to the house of God in company.  15 Let the hand of death come on them suddenly, and let them go down living into the underworld; because evil is in their houses and in their hearts.  16 As for me, I will make my prayer to God, and he will be my saviour.  17 In the evening and in the morning and in the middle of the day I will make my prayer with sounds of grief; and my voice will come to his ears.  18 He has taken my soul away from the attack which was made against me, and given it peace; for great numbers were against me.  19 God will give thought to me; he who from early times is strong will send pain and trouble on them. (Selah.) Because they are unchanged, they have no fear of God.  20 He has put out his hand against those who were at peace with him; he has not kept his agreement.  21 The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, but they were sharp swords.  22 Put your cares on the Lord, and he will be your support; he will not let the upright man be moved.  23 But you, O God, will send them down into the underworld; the cruel and the false will be cut off before half their days are ended; but I will have faith in you.

PSALM 58

Psalms 58:0 <To the chief music-maker; put to Al-tashheth. Michtam. Of David.>  1 Is there righteousness in your mouths, O you gods? are you upright judges, O you sons of men?  2 The purposes of your hearts are evil; your hands are full of cruel doings on the earth.  3 The evil-doers are strange from the first; from the hour of their birth they go out of the true way, saying false words.  4 Their poison is like the poison of a snake; they are like the adder, whose ears are shut;  5 Who will not be moved by the voice of the wonder-worker, however great are his powers.  6 O God, let their teeth be broken in their mouths; let the great teeth of the young lions be pulled out, O Lord.  7 Let them be turned to liquid like the ever-flowing waters; let them be cut off like the grass by the way.  8 Let them be like an after-birth which is turned to water and comes to an end; like the fruit of a woman who gives birth before her time, let them not see the sun.  9 Before they are conscious of it, let them be cut down like thorns; let a strong wind take them away like waste growth.  10 The upright man will be glad when he sees their punishment; his feet will be washed in the blood of the evil-doer.  11 So that men will say, Truly there is a reward for righteousness; truly there is a God who is judge on the earth.