Taste and See That the Lord Is Good

34 1 Of David, when he nchanged his behavior before oAbimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.

1  I will bless the Lord pat all times;

his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

2  My soul qmakes its boast in the Lord;

let the humble hear and rbe glad.

3  Oh, smagnify the Lord with me,

and let us exalt his name together!

4  I tsought the Lord, and he answered me

and delivered me from all my fears.

5  Those who look to him are uradiant,

and their faces shall never be ashamed.

6  vThis poor man cried, and the Lord heard him

and wsaved him out of all his troubles.

7  xThe angel of the Lord yencamps

around those who fear him, and delivers them.

8  Oh, ztaste and see that athe Lord is good!

bBlessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

9  Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,

for those who fear him have no lack!

10  cThe young lions suffer want and hunger;

but those who dseek the Lord lack no good thing.

11  eCome, O children, listen to me;

fI will teach you the fear of the Lord.

12  gWhat man is there who desires life

and loves many days, that he may hsee good?

13  iKeep your tongue from evil

and your lips from jspeaking deceit.

14  kTurn away from evil and do good;

seek peace and lpursue it.

15  mThe eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous

nand his ears toward their cry.

16  oThe face of the Lord is against those who do evil,

to pcut off the memory of them from the earth.

17  nWhen the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears

and delivers them out of all their troubles.

18  The Lord is near to qthe brokenhearted

and saves rthe crushed in spirit.

19  sMany are the afflictions of the righteous,

tbut the Lord delivers him out of them all.

20  He keeps all his bones;

unot one of them is broken.

21  vAffliction will slay the wicked,

and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.

22  The Lord wredeems the life of his servants;

none of those who take refuge in him will be xcondemned.

Great Is the Lord

35 Of David.

1  Contend, O Lord, with those who ycontend with me;

zfight against those who fight against me!

2  Take hold of ashield and buckler

and rise for my help!

3  Draw the spear and javelin1

against my pursuers!

Say to my soul,

“I am your salvation!”

4  bLet them be cput to shame and dishonor

who seek after my life!

Let them be dturned back and disappointed

who devise evil against me!

5  Let them be like echaff before the wind,

with the angel of the Lord driving them away!

6  Let their way be dark and fslippery,

with the angel of the Lord pursuing them!

7  For gwithout cause hthey hid their net for me;

without cause they dug ia pit for my life.2

8  Let jdestruction come upon him kwhen he does not know it!

And let the net that he hid ensnare him;

let him fall into it—to his destruction!

9  Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord,

lexulting in his salvation.

10  All my mbones shall say,

“O Lord, nwho is like you,

delivering the poor

from him who is too strong for him,

the poor and needy from him who robs him?”

11  oMalicious3 witnesses rise up;

they ask me of things that I do not know.

12  pThey repay me evil for good;

my soul is bereft.4

13  But I, qwhen they were sick—

I rwore sackcloth;

I safflicted myself with fasting;

I prayed twith head bowed5 on my chest.

14  I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother;

as one who laments his mother,

I ubowed down in mourning.

15  But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered;

they gathered together against me;

vwretches whom I did not know

tore at me without ceasing;

16  like profane mockers at a feast,6

they wgnash at me with their teeth.

17  How long, O Lord, will you xlook on?

Rescue me from their destruction,

ymy precious life from the lions!

18  I will thank you in zthe great congregation;

in the mighty throng I will praise you.

19  aLet not those rejoice over me

who are bwrongfully my foes,

and let not those cwink the eye

who dhate me ewithout cause.

20  For they do not speak peace,

but against those who are quiet in the land

they devise words of deceit.

21  They fopen wide their mouths against me;

they say, g“Aha, Aha!

Our eyes have seen it!”

22  hYou have seen, O Lord; ibe not silent!

O Lord, jbe not far from me!

23  Awake and krouse yourself for lmy vindication,

for my cause, my God and my Lord!

24  mVindicate me, O Lord, my God,

according to your righteousness,

and nlet them not rejoice over me!

25  Let them not say in their hearts,

o“Aha, our heart’s desire!”

Let them not say, p“We have swallowed him up.”

26  Let them be qput to shame and disappointed altogether

who rejoice at my calamity!

Let them be rclothed with shame and dishonor

who smagnify themselves against me!

27  Let those who delight in my righteousness

shout for joy and be glad

tand say evermore,

u“Great is the Lord,

who vdelights in the welfare of his servant!”

28  Then my wtongue shall tell of your righteousness

and of your praise all the day long.

How Precious Is Your Steadfast Love

36 To the choirmaster. Of David, the xservant of the Lord.

1  Transgression speaks to the wicked

deep in his heart;1

ythere is no fear of God

before his eyes.

2  zFor he flatters himself in his own eyes

that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.

3  The words of his mouth are atrouble and deceit;

bhe has ceased to act wisely and do good.

4  He cplots dtrouble while on his bed;

he sets himself in ea way that is not good;

fhe does not reject evil.

5  Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,

your faithfulness to the clouds.

6  gYour righteousness is like the mountains of God;

hyour judgments are like the great deep;

man and beast you isave, O Lord.

7  jHow precious is your steadfast love, O God!

The children of mankind take refuge kin the shadow of your wings.

8  They feast on lthe abundance of your house,

and you give them drink from mthe river of nyour delights.

9  For with you is othe fountain of life;

pin your light do we see light.

10  Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who qknow you,

and your righteousness to rthe upright of heart!

11  Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me,

nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.

12  There sthe evildoers lie fallen;

they are thrust down, tunable to rise.