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Sinful Men—Loving God

36 Sin speaks to the sinful man within his heart. There is no fear of God in his eyes. For he makes much of himself in his own eyes. So his sin is not known and hated. The words of his mouth are sinful and false. He has stopped being wise and doing good. He plans wrong-doing upon his bed. He sets himself on a path that is not good. He does not hate what is bad.

O Lord, Your loving-kindness goes to the heavens. You are as faithful as the sky is high. You are as right and good as mountains are big. You are as fair when You judge as a sea is deep. O Lord, You keep safe both man and animal. Of what great worth is Your loving-kindness, O God! The children of men come and are safe in the shadow of Your wings. They are filled with the riches of Your house. And You give them a drink from Your river of joy. All life came from You. In Your light we see light.

10 Keep on giving Your loving-kindness to those who know You. Keep on being right and good to the pure in heart. 11 Do not let the foot of pride come near me. Do not let the hand of the sinful push me away. 12 There have the wrong-doers fallen. They have been thrown down, and cannot rise.

A Safe Place for Those Who Trust in the Lord

37 Do not trouble yourself because of sinful men. Do not want to be like those who do wrong. For they will soon dry up like the grass. Like the green plant they will soon die. Trust in the Lord, and do good. So you will live in the land and will be fed. Be happy in the Lord. And He will give you the desires of your heart. Give your way over to the Lord. Trust in Him also. And He will do it. He will make your being right and good show as the light, and your wise actions as the noon day.

Rest in the Lord and be willing to wait for Him. Do not trouble yourself when all goes well with the one who carries out his sinful plans. Stop being angry. Turn away from fighting. Do not trouble yourself. It leads only to wrong-doing. For those who do wrong will be cut off. But those who wait for the Lord will be given the earth. 10 A little while, and the sinful man will be no more. You will look for his place, and he will not be there. 11 But those who have no pride will be given the earth. And they will be happy and have much more than they need.

12 The sinful man plans against him who is right with God. And he grinds his teeth at him. 13 The Lord laughs at him because He sees his day is coming. 14 The sinful have taken up their sword and their bow, to bring down the poor and those in need, and to kill those whose ways are right. 15 Their sword will cut into their own heart, and their bows will be broken.

16 The few things that the man right with God has is better than the riches of many sinful men. 17 For the arms of the sinful will be broken. But the Lord holds up those who are right with Him. 18 The Lord knows the days of those who are without blame. And what is theirs will last forever. 19 They will not be ashamed in the time of trouble. And in days when there is no food they will have enough. 20 But the sinful will be lost forever. Those who hate the Lord will be like the beauty of the fields. They will be gone. Like smoke they will be gone. 21 The sinful ask for something, but do not return it. But those who are right with God are kind and give. 22 For those who are made happy by Him will be given the land. But those who are being punished by Him will be cut off.

23 The steps of a good man are led by the Lord. And He is happy in his way. 24 When he falls, he will not be thrown down, because the Lord holds his hand. 25 I have been young, and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the man who is right with God left alone, or his children begging for bread. 26 All day long he is kind and lets others use what he has. And his children make him happy.

27 Turn from sin, and do good, so you will live forever. 28 For the Lord loves what is fair and right. He does not leave the people alone who belong to Him. They are kept forever. But the children of the sinful will be cut off. 29 Those who are right with God will be given the land, and live on it forever. 30 The mouth of the man who is right with God speaks wisdom. And his tongue speaks what is fair and right. 31 The Law of his God is in his heart. His steps do not leave it. 32 The sinful lie in wait for the man who is right with God, and want to kill him. 33 The Lord will not leave him in his power. He will not let him be found guilty when he is judged. 34 Wait for the Lord. Keep His way. And He will give you a high place to receive the land. When the sinful are cut off, you will see it.

35 I have seen a very sinful man spreading himself like a green tree in its home land. 36 Then he passed away and was no more. I looked for him. But he could not be found. 37 Look at the man without blame. And watch the man who is right and good. For the man of peace will have much family to follow him. 38 But all the sinners will be destroyed. The family of the sinful will be cut off. 39 But the saving of those who are right with God is from the Lord. He is their strength in time of trouble. 40 The Lord helps them and takes them out of trouble. He takes them away from the sinful, and saves them, because they go to Him for a safe place.

Prayer of a Suffering Man

38 O Lord, do not speak sharp words to me when You are angry. Do not punish me in Your burning anger. For Your arrows have cut deep into me. And Your hand has come down upon me. My body is in pain because of Your anger. There is no strength in my bones because of my sin. For my sins are gone over my head. Like a heavy load, they weigh too much for me. My sores smell and grow bigger because I do foolish things. I cannot stand straight but keep my head down. I have sorrow all day long for my body is filled with burning pain. There is no strength in my body. I am weak and broken. I cry because of the pain in my heart. Lord, all my desire is before You. And my breathing deep within is not hidden from You. 10 My heart beats fast. My strength leaves me. Even the light of my eyes has gone from me. 11 My loved ones and my friends stay away from me because of my sickness. My family stands far away. 12 Those who want to take my life set their traps. And those who want to destroy me talk about ways to do it. They make their sinful plans all day long.

13 But like a deaf man, I do not hear. I am like one who cannot speak and does not open his mouth. 14 Yes, I am like a man who does not hear, and whose mouth does not argue. 15 For I hope in You, O Lord. You will answer, O Lord my God. 16 For I said, “Do not let them be happy and raise themselves up against me when my foot trips.” 17 For I am ready to fall. And my sorrow is always with me. 18 For I tell my wrong-doings. I am full of sorrow because of my sin. 19 But those who fight against me are full of action and strength. There are many who hate me without reason. 20 They pay what is bad for what is good. They are against me because I follow what is good. 21 Do not leave me alone, O Lord! O my God, do not be far from me! 22 Hurry to help me, O Lord, Who saves me!

Prayer of a Suffering Man

39 I said, “I will watch my ways so I may not sin with my tongue. I will keep my mouth shut as if it were tied with ropes, while the sinful are near me.” I stayed quiet, not even saying anything good. And my sorrow grew worse. My heart was hot within me. As I thought about things, the fire burned. Then I spoke with my tongue, “O Lord, let me know my end and how many days I have to live. Let me know that I do not have long to stay here. You have made each of my days as long as a hand is wide. My whole life is nothing in Your eyes. Every man at his best is only a breath. Every man walks here and there like a shadow. He makes a noise about nothing. He stores up riches, not knowing who will gather them.

And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You. Save me from all my sins. Do not let me be put to shame by the foolish. I cannot speak. I do not open my mouth because it is You Who has done it. 10 Do not punish me any more. I am growing weak by the beatings of Your hand. 11 With sharp words You punish a man for sin. You destroy like a moth what is of worth to him. For sure, every man is only a breath.

12 O Lord, hear my prayer, and listen to my cry. Do not be quiet when You see my tears. For I am a stranger with You, a visitor like all my fathers. 13 Look away from me, so I may have joy again before I go and am no more.”

God Keeps His Own

40 I did not give up waiting for the Lord. And He turned to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the hole of danger, out of the mud and clay. He set my feet on a rock, making my feet sure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and will put their trust in the Lord.

How happy is the man who has made the Lord his trust, and has not turned to the proud or to the followers of lies. O Lord my God, many are the great works You have done, and Your thoughts toward us. No one can compare with You! If I were to speak and tell of them, there would be too many to number.

You have not wanted gifts given on the altar in worship. You have opened my ears. You have not wanted burnt gifts or gifts to cover sins. Then I said, “Look, I have come. It is written about me in the book. I am happy to do Your will, O my God. Your Law is within my heart.”

I have told the good news about what is right and good in the big meeting with many people. You know I will not close my lips, O Lord. 10 I have not hidden what is right and good with You in my heart. I have spoken about how faithful You are and about Your saving power. I have not hidden Your loving-kindness and Your truth from the big meeting.

11 O Lord, You will not keep Your loving-pity from me. Your loving-kindness and Your truth will always keep me safe. 12 Too many troubles gather around me. My sins have taken such a hold on me that I am not able to see. There are more of them than there are hairs on my head. And the strength of my heart has left me.

13 Be pleased to save me, O Lord. Hurry, O Lord, to help me. 14 Let all who want to destroy my life be ashamed and troubled. Let those who want to hurt me be turned away without honor. 15 Let those who say to me, “O! O!” be filled with fear because of their shame. 16 But let all who look for You have joy and be glad in You. Let those who love Your saving power always say, “The Lord be honored!” 17 Because I suffer and am in need, let the Lord think of me. You are my help and the One Who sets me free. O my God, do not wait.

Prayer of a Sick Man about False Friends

41 Happy is the man who cares for the poor. The Lord will save him in times of trouble. The Lord will keep him alive and safe. And he will be happy upon the earth. You will not give him over to the desire of those who hate him. The Lord will give him strength on his bed of sickness. When he is sick, You will make him well again.

As for me, I said, “O Lord, have loving-kindness for me. Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.” Those who hate me speak bad words against me, saying, “When will he die, and his name be forgotten?” When one comes to see me, he speaks lies. His heart gathers up bad stories. Then he goes outside and tells them. All who hate me speak in secret together against me. They make plans to hurt me, saying, “A bad thing has come over him. When he lies down, he will not rise again.” Even a friend of mine whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has turned against me.

10 Have loving-kindness for me, O Lord. Raise me up, so that I may pay them back. 11 Then I will know that You are pleased with me, because he who hates me does not win over me. 12 As for me, You hold me up in my honesty. And You set me beside You forever.

13 Honor be to the Lord, the God of Israel, forever and ever! Let it be so!