41
The Blessing and Suffering of the Godly
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
1Blessed is he who considers the 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;
⚓You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies.
3The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness;
You will sustain him on his sickbed.
4I said, “Lord, be merciful to me;
⚓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 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 devise my hurt.
8“An evil disease,” they say, “clings to him.
And now that he lies down, he will rise up no more.”
9⚓Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted,
⚓Who ate my bread,
Has 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 ⚓set me before Your face forever.
13⚓Blessed be the Lord God of Israel
From everlasting to everlasting!
Amen and Amen.