Psalm 39–41

PSALM 39

The Vanity of Life.

For the choir director, for ^†Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

¹I said, “I will ^aguard my ways

That I ^bmay not sin with my tongue;

I will guard ^cmy mouth as with a muzzle

While the wicked are in my presence.”

²I was ^amute ¹and silent,

I ²refrained even from good,

And my ³sorrow grew worse.

³My ^aheart was hot within me,

While I was musing the fire burned;

Then I spoke with my tongue:

⁴“Lord, make me to know ^amy end

And what is the extent of my days;

Let me know how ^btransient I am.

⁵“Behold, You have made ^amy days as handbreadths,

And my ^blifetime as nothing in Your sight;

Surely every man ¹at his best is ²a mere ^cbreath.

³Selah.

⁶“Surely every man ^awalks about as ¹a phantom;

Surely they make an ^buproar for nothing;

He ^camasses riches and does not know who will gather them.

⁷“And now, Lord, for what do I wait?

My ^ahope is in You.

⁸“^aDeliver me from all my transgressions;

Make me not the ^breproach of the foolish.

⁹“I have become ^amute, I do not open my mouth,

Because it is ^bYou who have done it.

¹⁰“^aRemove Your plague from me;

Because of ^bthe opposition of Your hand I am ¹perishing.

¹¹“With ^areproofs You chasten a man for iniquity;

You ^bconsume as a moth what is precious to him;

Surely ^cevery man is a mere breath.

Selah.

¹²“^aHear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry;

Do not be silent ^bat my tears;

For I am ^ca stranger with You,

A ^dsojourner like all my fathers.

¹³“^aTurn Your gaze away from me, that I may ¹smile again

Before I depart and am no more.”

PSALM 40

God Sustains His Servant.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

¹I ^awaited ¹patiently for the Lord;

And He inclined to me and ^bheard my cry.

²He brought me up out of the ^apit of destruction, out of the ¹miry clay,

And ^bHe set my feet upon a rock ^cmaking my footsteps firm.

³He put a ^anew song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;

Many will ^bsee and fear

And will trust in the Lord.

⁴How ^ablessed is the man who has made the Lord his trust,

And ^bhas not ¹turned to the proud, nor to those who ^clapse into falsehood.

⁵Many, O Lord my God, are ^athe wonders which You have done,

And Your ^bthoughts toward us;

There is none to compare with You.

If I would declare and speak of them,

They ^cwould be too numerous to count.

^61aSacrifice and meal offering You have not desired;

My ears You have ²opened;

Burnt offering and sin offering You have not required.

⁷Then I said, “Behold, I come;

In the scroll of the book it is ¹written of me.

^8aI delight to do Your will, O my God;

^bYour Law is within my heart.”

⁹I have ^aproclaimed glad tidings of righteousness in the great congregation;

Behold, I will ^bnot restrain my lips,

O Lord, ^cYou know.

¹⁰I have ^anot hidden Your righteousness within my heart;

I have ^bspoken of Your faithfulness and Your salvation;

I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great congregation.

¹¹You, O Lord, will not withhold Your compassion from me;

¹Your ^alovingkindness and Your truth will continually preserve me.

¹²For evils beyond number have ^asurrounded me;

My ^biniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see;

They are ^cmore numerous than the hairs of my head,

And my ^dheart has ¹failed me.

^13aBe pleased, O Lord, to deliver me;

Make ^bhaste, O Lord, to help me.

¹⁴Let those be ^aashamed and humiliated together

Who ^bseek my ¹life to destroy it;

Let those be turned back and dishonored

Who delight ²in my hurt.

¹⁵Let those ^abe ¹appalled because of their shame

Who ^bsay to me, “Aha, aha!”

^16aLet all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;

Let those who love Your salvation ^bsay continually,

“The Lord be magnified!”

¹⁷Since ^aI am afflicted and needy,

^1bLet the Lord be mindful of me.

You are my help and my deliverer;

Do not delay, O my God.

PSALM 41

The Psalmist in Sickness Complains of Enemies and False Friends.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

¹How blessed is he who ^aconsiders the ¹helpless;

The Lord will deliver him ^bin a day of ²trouble.

²The Lord will ^aprotect him and keep him alive,

And he shall ¹be called ^bblessed upon the earth;

And ^cdo not give him over to the desire of his enemies.

³The Lord will sustain him upon his sickbed;

In his illness, You ¹restore him to health.

⁴As for me, I said, “O Lord, be gracious to me;

^aHeal my soul, for ^bI have sinned against You.”

⁵My enemies ^aspeak evil against me,

“When will he die, and his name perish?”

⁶And ¹when he comes to see me, he ^aspeaks ²falsehood;

His heart gathers wickedness to itself;

When he goes outside, he tells it.

⁷All who hate me whisper together against me;

Against me they ^adevise my hurt, saying,

⁸“A wicked thing is poured out ¹upon him,

That when he lies down, he will ^anot rise up again.”

⁹Even my ^aclose friend in whom I trusted,

Who ate my bread,

Has lifted up his heel against me.

¹⁰But You, O Lord, be gracious to me and ^araise me up,

That I may repay them.

¹¹By this I know that ^aYou are pleased with me,

Because ^bmy enemy does not shout in triumph over me.

¹²As for me, ^aYou uphold me in my integrity,

And You set me ^bin Your presence forever.

^13aBlessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

From everlasting to everlasting.

Amen and Amen.