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¹I will praise the LORD at all times. I will constantly speak his praises.

²I will boast only in the LORD; let all who are helpless take heart.

³Come, let us tell of the LORD’s greatness; let us exalt his name together.

⁴I prayed to the LORD, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears.

⁵Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces.

⁶In my desperation I prayed, and the LORD listened; he saved me from all my troubles.

⁷For the angel of the LORD is a guard; he surrounds and defends all who fear him.

⁸Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!

⁹Fear the LORD, you his godly people, for those who fear him will have all they need.

¹⁰Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the LORD will lack no good thing.

¹¹Come, my children, and listen to me, and I will teach you to fear the LORD.

¹²Does anyone want to live a life that is long and prosperous?

¹³Then keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies!

¹⁴Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it.

¹⁵The eyes of the LORD watch over those who do right; his ears are open to their cries for help.

¹⁶But the LORD turns his face against those who do evil; he will erase their memory from the earth.

¹⁷The LORD hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles.

¹⁸The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.

¹⁹The righteous person faces many troubles, but the LORD comes to the rescue each time.

²⁰For the LORD protects the bones of the righteous; not one of them is broken!

²¹Calamity will surely destroy the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be punished.

²²But the LORD will redeem those who serve him. No one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.

¹O LORD, oppose those who oppose me. Fight those who fight against me.

²Put on your armor, and take up your shield. Prepare for battle, and come to my aid.

³Lift up your spear and javelin against those who pursue me. Let me hear you say, “I will give you victory!”

⁴Bring shame and disgrace on those trying to kill me; turn them back and humiliate those who want to harm me.

⁵Blow them away like chaff in the wind — a wind sent by the angel of the LORD.

⁶Make their path dark and slippery, with the angel of the LORD pursuing them.

⁷I did them no wrong, but they laid a trap for me. I did them no wrong, but they dug a pit to catch me.

⁸So let sudden ruin come upon them! Let them be caught in the trap they set for me! Let them be destroyed in the pit they dug for me.

⁹Then I will rejoice in the LORD. I will be glad because he rescues me.

¹⁰With every bone in my body I will praise him: “LORD, who can compare with you? Who else rescues the helpless from the strong? Who else protects the helpless and poor from those who rob them?”

¹¹Malicious witnesses testify against me. They accuse me of crimes I know nothing about.

¹²They repay me evil for good. I am sick with despair.

¹³Yet when they were ill, I grieved for them. I denied myself by fasting for them, but my prayers returned unanswered.

¹⁴I was sad, as though they were my friends or family, as if I were grieving for my own mother.

¹⁵But they are glad now that I am in trouble; they gleefully join together against me. I am attacked by people I don’t even know; they slander me constantly.

¹⁶They mock me and call me names; they snarl at me.

¹⁷How long, O Lord, will you look on and do nothing? Rescue me from their fierce attacks. Protect my life from these lions!

¹⁸Then I will thank you in front of the great assembly. I will praise you before all the people.

¹⁹Don’t let my treacherous enemies rejoice over my defeat. Don’t let those who hate me without cause gloat over my sorrow.

²⁰They don’t talk of peace; they plot against innocent people who mind their own business.

²¹They shout, “Aha! Aha! With our own eyes we saw him do it!”

²²O LORD, you know all about this. Do not stay silent. Do not abandon me now, O Lord.

²³Wake up! Rise to my defense! Take up my case, my God and my Lord.

²⁴Declare me not guilty, O LORD my God, for you give justice. Don’t let my enemies laugh about me in my troubles.

²⁵Don’t let them say, “Look, we got what we wanted! Now we will eat him alive!”

²⁶May those who rejoice at my troubles be humiliated and disgraced. May those who triumph over me be covered with shame and dishonor.

²⁷But give great joy to those who came to my defense. Let them continually say, “Great is the LORD, who delights in blessing his servant with peace!”

²⁸Then I will proclaim your justice, and I will praise you all day long.

¹Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts. They have no fear of God at all.

²In their blind conceit, they cannot see how wicked they really are.

³Everything they say is crooked and deceitful. They refuse to act wisely or do good.

⁴They lie awake at night, hatching sinful plots. Their actions are never good. They make no attempt to turn from evil.

⁵Your unfailing love, O LORD, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.

⁶Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O LORD.

⁷How precious is your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings.

⁸You feed them from the abundance of your own house, letting them drink from your river of delights.

⁹For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see.

¹⁰Pour out your unfailing love on those who love you; give justice to those with honest hearts.

¹¹Don’t let the proud trample me or the wicked push me around.

¹²Look! Those who do evil have fallen! They are thrown down, never to rise again.

¹Don’t worry about the wicked or envy those who do wrong.

²For like grass, they soon fade away. Like spring flowers, they soon wither.

³Trust in the LORD and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.

⁴Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart’s desires.

⁵Commit everything you do to the LORD. Trust him, and he will help you.

⁶He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.

⁷Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.

⁸Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper — it only leads to harm.

⁹For the wicked will be destroyed, but those who trust in the LORD will possess the land.

¹⁰Soon the wicked will disappear. Though you look for them, they will be gone.

¹¹The lowly will possess the land and will live in peace and prosperity.

¹²The wicked plot against the godly; they snarl at them in defiance.

¹³But the Lord just laughs, for he sees their day of judgment coming.

¹⁴The wicked draw their swords and string their bows to kill the poor and the oppressed, to slaughter those who do right.

¹⁵But their swords will stab their own hearts, and their bows will be broken.

¹⁶It is better to be godly and have little than to be evil and rich.

¹⁷For the strength of the wicked will be shattered, but the LORD takes care of the godly.

¹⁸Day by day the LORD takes care of the innocent, and they will receive an inheritance that lasts forever.

¹⁹They will not be disgraced in hard times; even in famine they will have more than enough.

²⁰But the wicked will die. The LORD’s enemies are like flowers in a field — they will disappear like smoke.

²¹The wicked borrow and never repay, but the godly are generous givers.

²²Those the LORD blesses will possess the land, but those he curses will die.

²³The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.

²⁴Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand.

²⁵Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread.

²⁶The godly always give generous loans to others, and their children are a blessing.

²⁷Turn from evil and do good, and you will live in the land forever.

²⁸For the LORD loves justice, and he will never abandon the godly. He will keep them safe forever, but the children of the wicked will die.

²⁹The godly will possess the land and will live there forever.

³⁰The godly offer good counsel; they teach right from wrong.

³¹They have made God’s law their own, so they will never slip from his path.

³²The wicked wait in ambush for the godly, looking for an excuse to kill them.

³³But the LORD will not let the wicked succeed or let the godly be condemned when they are put on trial.

³⁴Put your hope in the LORD. Travel steadily along his path. He will honor you by giving you the land. You will see the wicked destroyed.

³⁵I have seen wicked and ruthless people flourishing like a tree in its native soil.

³⁶But when I looked again, they were gone! Though I searched for them, I could not find them!

³⁷Look at those who are honest and good, for a wonderful future awaits those who love peace.

³⁸But the rebellious will be destroyed; they have no future.

³⁹The LORD rescues the godly; he is their fortress in times of trouble.

⁴⁰The LORD helps them, rescuing them from the wicked. He saves them, and they find shelter in him.