Psalm 39:1-13

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Yahweh, Make Me Know My End

For the choir director. For ¹Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

I said, “I will ^akeep watch over my ways

That I ^bmay not sin with my tongue;

I will keep watch over ^cmy mouth as with a muzzle

While the wicked are in my presence.”

I was ^amute with silence,

I even kept silent from speaking good,

And my anguish grew worse.

My ^aheart was hot within me,

While I meditated the fire was burning;

Then I spoke with my tongue:

“Yahweh, cause me to know ^amy end

And what is the extent of my days;

Let me know how ^btransient I am.

Behold, You have made ^amy days as ¹handbreadths,

And my ^blifetime as nothing before You;

Surely every man, even standing firm, is ²altogether ^cvanity. ³Selah.

Surely every man ^awalks about as ¹a shadow;

Surely they make an ^buproar in vain;

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

“And now, Lord, what do I hope in?

My ^aexpectation is in You.

^aDeliver me from all my transgressions;

Make me not the ^breproach of the wicked fool.

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

Because it is ^bYou who have done it.

^aRemove Your plague from me;

Because of ^bthe opposition of Your hand I am wasting away.

With ^areproofs You chasten a man for iniquity;

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

Surely ^cevery man is vanity. Selah.

“^aHear my prayer, O Yahweh, and give ear to my cry for help;

Do not be silent ^bat my tears;

For I am ^ca sojourner with You,

A ^dforeign resident like all my fathers.

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

Before I go and am no more.”

Psalm 73:1-28

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The Nearness of God Is My Good

A Psalm of Asaph.

Surely God is ^agood to Israel,

To those who are ^bpure in heart!

But as for me, ^amy feet had almost stumbled,

My steps ¹had almost slipped.

For I was ^aenvious of the boastful,

I saw the ^bpeace of the wicked.

For there are no pains in their death,

And their ¹body is fat.

They are ^anot ¹in trouble as other ²men,

And they are not ^bstricken along with the rest of mankind.

Therefore lofty pride is ^atheir necklace;

The ^bgarment of violence covers them.

Their eye ¹bulges from ^afatness;

The delusions of their heart overflow.

They ^ascoff and ¹wickedly speak of oppression;

They ^bspeak from on high.

They have ^aset their mouth ¹against the heavens,

And their tongue goes through the earth.

Therefore ¹his people return here, to his place,

And waters of ^afullness are ²drunk by them.

They say, “^aHow does God know?

And is there knowledge with the Most High?”

Behold, ^athese are the wicked;

And always ^bat ease, they have increased in wealth.

Surely ^ain vain I have ¹kept my heart pure

And ^bwashed my hands in innocence;

For I have been stricken ^aall day long

And ¹^breproved every morning.

If I had said, “I will recount thus,”

Behold, I would have betrayed the ^ageneration of Your children.

When I ^agave thought to know this,

It was trouble in my sight

Until I came into the ¹^asanctuary of God;

Then I understood their ^bend.

Surely You set them in ^aslippery places;

You cause them to fall to ¹^bdestruction.

How they become ^adesolate in a moment!

They are completely swept away by ^bterrors!

Like a ^adream when one awakes,

O Lord, when ^baroused, You will ^cdespise their ¹form.

When my ^aheart was embittered

And I was ^bpierced ¹within,

Then I was ^asenseless and ignorant;

I was like ¹an ^banimal ²before You.

Nevertheless ^aI am continually with You;

You have taken hold of my right hand.

With Your counsel You will ^alead me,

And afterward ^btake me ¹in glory.

^aWhom have I in heaven but You?

And ¹besides You, I desire nothing on earth.

My ^aflesh and my heart fail,

But God is the rock of my heart and my ^bportion forever.

For, behold, ^athose who are far from You will ^bperish;

You have ¹destroyed everyone who ²^cis unfaithful to You.

But as for me, ^athe nearness of God is my good;

I have set Lord Yahweh as my ^brefuge,

That I may ^crecount all Your works.