2 In the Lord doth my soul boast ; Let the afflicted hear, and rejoice! 3 O magnify the Lord with me,

4

And let us exalt his name together!

I sought the Lord, and he heard me,
And delivered me from all my fears.

5 Look up to him, and ye shall have light;
Your faces shall never be ashamed.

6 This afflicted man cried, and Jehovah heard, And saved him from all his troubles.

7 The angels of Jehovah encamp around those who fear

him,

And deliver them.

8 O taste, and see, how good is the Lord! Happy the man, who trusteth in him!

9 O fear the Lord, ye his servants!

For to those, who fear him, there shall be no want.

10 Young lions want and suffer hunger;

11

But they who fear the Lord want no good thing.

Come, ye children, listen to me!

I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

12 Who is he that loveth life,

And desireth many days, in which he may see good? 13 Guard well thy tongue from evil,

And thy lips from speaking guile.

14 Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it.

15

The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous,
And his ears are open to their cry.

16 But the face of the Lord is against evil-doers,
To cut off their remembrance from the earth.

17 The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth,

And delivereth them from all their troubles.

18 The Lord is near to them, that are of a broken heart, And saveth such as are of a contrite spirit.

19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous; But the Lord delivereth him from them all. 20 He guardeth all his bones;

Not one of them shall be broken.

21 Adversity destroyeth the wicked,

And they who hate the righteous suffer for it.

22 Jehovah redeemeth the life of his servants,

And none that put their trust in him will repent of it.

V. 6. This afflicted man, i. e. I myself.

PSALM XXXV.

A prayer for help against enemies; commonly supposed to relate to the persecution of David by Saul and his courtiers.

1

A psalm of David.

CONTEND, O Lord, with them that contend with

me;

Fight against them that fight against me!

2 Take hold of the shield and buckler,

And stand up for my help!

3 Draw forth the spear and the axe against my perse

cutors;

Say to me, "I am thy salvation."

4 May they be confounded and put to shame, who seek my life;

May they be turned back with disgrace, who devise my hurt!

5 May they be like dust before the wind; May the angel of the Lord drive them! 6 May their way be dark and slippery,

And may the angel of the Lord pursue them! 7 For without cause they have laid for me a snare; Without cause they have digged for me a pit.

8 May unforeseen destruction come upon them! May the snare, which they have laid, lay hold on themselves,

And may they fall into destruction !

9 Then my soul shall rejoice in Jehovah ;

It shall exult in his protection.

10 All my bones shall say, Who, O Jehovah, is like thee, Who dost rescue the afflicted from the oppressor;

11

The afflicted and destitute from the spoiler ?

False witnesses have risen up;

They charge me with crimes, which never entered my mind.

12 They repay me evil for good;

They bereave me of my all.

13 And yet I, during their sickness, clothed myself with sackcloth,

And afflicted myself with fasting,

And my prayer was turned to my bosom.

14 I conducted myself, as if he had been a friend, or a brother;

I bowed down in sadness, as one mourning for his mother.

15 But at my fall they rejoice, and gather themselves together;

Unsuspected revilers assemble themselves against me; They tear me without ceasing.

16 With base men, who mock for their bread, They gnash at me with their teeth.

17

How long, O Lord, wilt thou look on?

O rescue my life from the destruction they plot for me My precious life from those young lions! 18 I will thank thee in the great assembly;

Before a numerous people I will praise thee.

;

19 Let not them, that without provocation are my enemies, triumph over me;

Let them not wink with the eye, who hate me without cause!

20 For they speak not peace;

They devise deceit against them that are quiet in the
land.

21 Yea, they open their mouths wide against me;
They say, "Aha, aha, our eye seeth it!"
22 Thou seest it, O Jehovah, be not silent!

O Lord, be not far from me!

23 Arouse thyself; awake for my defence!

My God and my Lord, awake to my cause

!

24 Judge me according to thy righteousness, O Jehovah, my God!

Let them not triumph over me!

25 Let them not say in their hearts, "Aha! we have

Let them not say, "We have swallowed him up!"

26 May they all be confounded, and brought to shame. Who rejoice at my calamity!

May they be clothed with ignominy and disgrace,
Who exalt themselves against me!

27 Let them shout for joy, and be glad, Who favor my righteous cause;

Let them ever say, "Exalted be Jehovah,

"Who delighteth in the prosperity of his servant! " 28 So shall my tongue speak of thy righteousness,

And daily repeat thy praise.

V. 13. My prayer, &c. i. e. I sat on the ground and prayed with my head bent toward my bosom. This was a posture in prayer common amongst the Orientals. V. 21. Our eye seeth it, i. e. what we have long wished

to see.

PSALM XXXVI.

Complaint of the wickedness of men; description of the goodness of God; prayer for help,

For the leader of the music. A psalm of David, the servant of the Lord.

1

FROM the heart of the wicked proceed impious

counsels;

He hath no fear of God before his eyes.

2 He flattereth himself in his own eyes,

That God will not discover and hate his iniquity. 3 The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit ; He neglecteth to be wise and to do good.

4 He deviseth mischief upon his bed;

He persevereth in an evil way;

He hath no abhorrence of sin.

5 Thy goodness, O Lord, reacheth to the heavens, And thy faithfulness to the clouds ;

6 Thy righteousness is like the high mountains ; Thy judgments are a great deep;

Thou, O Lord, preservest man and beast!