Psalm 40-41
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 40
Thanksgiving for Deliverance and Prayer for Help
To the leader. Of David. A Psalm.
1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.(A)
2 He drew me up from the desolate pit,[a]
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.(B)
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the Lord.(C)
4 Happy are those who make
the Lord their trust,
who do not turn to the proud,
to those who go astray after false gods.(D)
5 You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
none can compare with you.
Were I to proclaim and tell of them,
they would be more than can be counted.(E)
6 Sacrifice and offering you do not desire,
but you have given me an open ear.[b]
Burnt offering and sin offering
you have not required.(F)
7 Then I said, “Here I am;
in the scroll of the book it is written of me.[c]
8 I delight to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart.”(G)
9 I have told the glad news of deliverance
in the great congregation;
see, I have not restrained my lips,
as you know, O Lord.(H)
10 I have not hidden your saving help within my heart;
I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
from the great congregation.(I)
11 Do not, O Lord, withhold
your mercy from me;
let your steadfast love and your faithfulness
keep me safe forever.(J)
12 For evils have encompassed me
without number;
my iniquities have overtaken me
until I cannot see;
they are more than the hairs of my head,
and my heart fails me.(K)
13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me;
O Lord, make haste to help me.(L)
14 Let all those be put to shame and confusion
who seek to snatch away my life;
let those be turned back and brought to dishonor
who desire my hurt.(M)
15 Let those be appalled because of their shame
who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”(N)
16 But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
say continually, “Great is the Lord!”(O)
17 As for me, I am poor and needy,
but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
do not delay, O my God.(P)
Psalm 41
Assurance of God’s Help and a Plea for Healing
To the leader. A Psalm of David.
1 Happy are those who consider the poor;[d]
the Lord delivers them in the day of trouble.(Q)
2 The Lord protects them and keeps them alive;
they are called happy in the land.
You do not give them up to the will of their enemies.(R)
3 The Lord sustains them on their sickbed;
in their illness you heal all their infirmities.[e](S)
4 As for me, I said, “O Lord, be gracious to me;
heal me, for I have sinned against you.”(T)
5 My enemies wonder in malice
when I will die and my name perish.(U)
6 And when they come to see me, they utter empty words
while their hearts gather mischief;
when they go out, they tell it abroad.(V)
7 All who hate me whisper together about me;
they imagine the worst for me.(W)
8 They think that a deadly thing has fastened on me,
that I will not rise again from where I lie.(X)
9 Even my close friend in whom I trusted,
who ate of my bread, has lifted the heel against me.(Y)
10 But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,
and raise me up, that I may repay them.(Z)
11 By this I know that you are pleased with me:
because my enemy has not triumphed over me.(AA)
12 But you have upheld me because of my integrity
and set me in your presence forever.(AB)
13 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Amen and Amen.(AC)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.