PSALMS 35-37

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Prayer for Rescue from Enemies.A Psalm of David.
35:1 Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me;

Fight against those who fight against me.

2 Take hold of buckler and shield

And rise up for my help.

3 Draw also the spear and the battle-axe to meet those who pursue me;

Say to my soul, “I am your salvation.”

4 Let those be ashamed and dishonored who seek my life;

Let those be turned back and humiliated who devise evil against me.

5 Let them be like chaff before the wind,

With the angel of the LORD driving them on.

6 Let their way be dark and slippery,

With the angel of the LORD pursuing them.

7 For without cause they hid their net for me;

Without cause they dug a pit for my soul.

8 Let destruction come upon him unawares,

And let the net which he hid catch himself;

Into that very destruction let him fall.

9 And my soul shall rejoice in the LORD;

It shall exult in His salvation.

10 All my bones will say, “LORD, who is like You,

Who delivers the afflicted from him who is too strong for him,

And the afflicted and the needy from him who robs him?”

11 Malicious witnesses rise up;

They ask me of things that I do not know.

12 They repay me evil for good,

To the bereavement of my soul.

13 But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth;

I humbled my soul with fasting,

And my prayer kept returning to my bosom.

14 I went about as though it were my friend or brother;

I bowed down mourning, as one who sorrows for a mother.

15 But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered themselves together;

The smiters whom I did not know gathered together against me,

They slandered me without ceasing.

16 Like godless jesters at a feast,

They gnashed at me with their teeth.

17 Lord, how long will You look on?

Rescue my soul from their ravages,

My only life from the lions.

18 I will give You thanks in the great congregation;

I will praise You among a mighty throng.

19 Do not let those who are wrongfully my enemies rejoice over me;

Nor let those who hate me without cause wink maliciously.

20 For they do not speak peace,

But they devise deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land.

21 They opened their mouth wide against me;

They said, “Aha, aha, our eyes have seen it!”

22 You have seen it, O LORD, do not keep silent;

O Lord, do not be far from me.

23 Stir up Yourself, and awake to my right

And to my cause, my God and my Lord.

24 Judge me, O LORD my God, according to Your righteousness,

And do not let them rejoice over me.

25 Do not let them say in their heart, “Aha, our desire!”

Do not let them say, “We have swallowed him up!”

26 Let those be ashamed and humiliated altogether who rejoice at my distress;

Let those be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves over me.

27 Let them shout for joy and rejoice, who favor my vindication;

And let them say continually, “The LORD be magnified,

Who delights in the prosperity of His servant.”

28 And my tongue shall declare Your righteousness

And Your praise all day long.

Wickedness of Men and Lovingkindness of God.For the choir director. A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD.
36:1 Transgression speaks to the ungodly within his heart;

There is no fear of God before his eyes.

2 For it flatters him in his own eyes

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

3 The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit;

He has ceased to be wise and to do good.

4 He plans wickedness upon his bed;

He sets himself on a path that is not good;

He does not despise evil.

5 Your lovingkindness, O LORD, extends to the heavens,

Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

6 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;

Your judgments are like a great deep.

O LORD, You preserve man and beast.

7 How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!

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

8 They drink their fill of the abundance of Your house;

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

9 For with You is the fountain of life;

In Your light we see light.

10 O continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You,

And Your righteousness 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 cannot rise.

Security of Those Who Trust in the LORD, and Insecurity of the Wicked.A Psalm of David.
37:1 Do not fret because of evildoers,

Be not envious toward wrongdoers.

2 For they will wither quickly like the grass

And fade like the green herb.

3 Trust in the LORD and do good;

Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

4 Delight yourself in the LORD;

And He will give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the LORD,

Trust also in Him, and He will do it.

6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light

And your judgment as the noonday.

7 Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him;

Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,

Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.

8 Cease from anger and forsake wrath;

Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.

9 For evildoers will be cut off,

But those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land.

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

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

11 But the humble will inherit the land

And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.

12 The wicked plots against the righteous

And gnashes at him with his teeth.

13 The Lord laughs at him,

For He sees his day is coming.

14 The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bow

To cast down the afflicted and the needy,

To slay those who are upright in conduct.

15 Their sword will enter their own heart,

And their bows will be broken.

16 Better is the little of the righteous

Than the abundance of many wicked.

17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken,

But the LORD sustains the righteous.

18 The LORD knows the days of the blameless,

And their inheritance will be forever.

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

And in the days of famine they will have abundance.

20 But the wicked will perish;

And the enemies of the LORD will be like the glory of the pastures,

They vanish--like smoke they vanish away.

21 The wicked borrows and does not pay back,

But the righteous is gracious and gives.

22 For those blessed by Him will inherit the land,

But those cursed by Him will be cut off.

23 The steps of a man are established by the LORD,

And He delights in his way.

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

Because the LORD is the One who holds his hand.

25 I have been young and now I am old,

Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken

Or his descendants begging bread.

26 All day long he is gracious and lends,

And his descendants are a blessing.

27 Depart from evil and do good,

So you will abide forever.

28 For the LORD loves justice

And does not forsake His godly ones;

They are preserved forever,

But the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.

29 The righteous will inherit the land

And dwell in it forever.

30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,

And his tongue speaks justice.

31 The law of his God is in his heart;

His steps do not slip.

32 The wicked spies upon the righteous

And seeks to kill him.

33 The LORD will not leave him in his hand

Or let him be condemned when he is judged.

34 Wait for the LORD and keep His way,

And He will exalt you to inherit the land;

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

35 I have seen a wicked, violent man

Spreading himself like a luxuriant tree in its native soil.

36 Then he passed away, and lo, he was no more;

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

37 Mark the blameless man, and behold the upright;

For the man of peace will have a posterity.

38 But transgressors will be altogether destroyed;

The posterity of the wicked will be cut off.

39 But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD;

He is their strength in time of trouble.

40 The LORD helps them and delivers them;

He delivers them from the wicked and saves them,

Because they take refuge in Him.

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