Psalm 40-41

New King James Version

Faith Persevering in Trial^(A)

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

40 I ^(B)waited patiently for the Lord;
And He inclined to me,
And heard my cry.
²He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
Out of ^(C)the miry clay,
And ^(D)set my feet upon a rock,
And established my steps.
³^(E)He has put a new song in my mouth—
Praise to our God;
Many will see it and fear,
And will trust in the Lord.

⁴^(F)Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust,
And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
⁵^(G)Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works
Which You have done;
^(H)And Your thoughts toward us
Cannot be recounted to You in order;
If I would declare and speak of them,
They are more than can be numbered.

⁶^(I)Sacrifice and offering You did not desire;
My ears You have opened.
Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require.
⁷Then I said, “Behold, I come;
In the scroll of the book it is written of me.
⁸^(J)I delight to do Your will, O my God,
And Your law is ^(K)within my heart.”

⁹^(L)I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness
In the great assembly;
Indeed, ^(M)I do not restrain my lips,
O Lord, You Yourself know.
¹⁰^(N)I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart;
I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation;
I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth
From the great assembly.

¹¹Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O Lord;
^(O)Let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually preserve me.
¹²For innumerable evils have surrounded me;
^(P)My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up;
They are more than the hairs of my head;
Therefore my heart fails me.

¹³^(Q)Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me;
O Lord, make haste to help me!
¹⁴^(R)Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion
Who seek to destroy my ^[a]life;
Let them be driven backward and brought to dishonor
Who wish me evil.
¹⁵Let them be ^(S)confounded because of their shame,
Who say to me, “Aha, aha!”

¹⁶^(T)Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
Let such as love Your salvation ^(U)say continually,
“The Lord be magnified!”
¹⁷^(V)But I am poor and needy;
^(W)Yet the Lord thinks upon me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
Do not delay, O my God.

The Blessing and Suffering of the Godly

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

41 Blessed is he who considers the ^[b]poor;
The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.
²The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive,
And he will be blessed on the earth;
^(X)You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies.
³The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness;
You will ^[c]sustain him on his sickbed.

⁴I said, “Lord, be merciful to me;
^(Y)Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.”
⁵My enemies speak evil of me:
“When will he die, and his name perish?”
⁶And if he comes to see me, he speaks ^[d]lies;
His heart gathers iniquity to itself;
When he goes out, he tells it.

⁷All who hate me whisper together against me;
Against me they ^[e]devise my hurt.
⁸“An^[f] evil disease,” they say, “clings to him.
And now that he lies down, he will rise up no more.”
⁹^(Z)Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted,
^(AA)Who ate my bread,
Has ^[g]lifted up his heel against me.

¹⁰But You, O Lord, be merciful to me, and raise me up,
That I may repay them.
¹¹By this I know that You are well pleased with me,
Because my enemy does not triumph over me.
¹²As for me, You uphold me in my integrity,
And ^(AB)set me before Your face forever.

¹³^(AC)Blessed be the Lord God of Israel
From everlasting to everlasting!
Amen and Amen.