For evils have encompassed me beyond number; my iniquities have overtaken me, and I cannot see; they are more than the hairs of my head; my heart fails me.

And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words, while his heart gathers iniquity; when he goes out, he tells it abroad.

Our heart has not turned back, nor have our steps departed from your way;

would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart.

Your Throne, O God, Is Forever

To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah; a love song.

My heart overflows with a pleasing theme; I address my verses to the king; my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.

Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; the peoples fall under you.

Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,

My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.

Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.

Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

There Is None Who Does Good

To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath. A Maskil of David.

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good.

My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen upon me.

Let death steal over them; let them go down to Sheol alive; for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.

His speech was smooth as butter, yet war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords.

My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast! I will sing and make melody!

No, in your hearts you devise wrongs; your hands deal out violence on earth.

from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I,

Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah

Put no trust in extortion; set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, set not your heart on them.

They search out injustice, saying, “We have accomplished a diligent search.” For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep.

Let the righteous one rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in him! Let all the upright in heart exult!

If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

Reproaches have broken my heart, so that I am in despair. I looked for pity, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none.

When the humble see it they will be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive.

Book Three

God Is My Strength and Portion Forever

A Psalm of Asaph.

Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.

Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies.

All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence.

When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart,

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

I said, “Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart.” Then my spirit made a diligent search:

and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.

They tested God in their heart by demanding the food they craved.

Their heart was not steadfast toward him; they were not faithful to his covenant.

With upright heart he shepherded them and guided them with his skillful hand.

So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels.

My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.

Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.

Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.

I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.

Remember, O Lord, how your servants are mocked, and how I bear in my heart the insults of all the many nations,

So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

for justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.

When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.

do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,

For forty years I loathed that generation and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways.”

Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart.

I will ponder the way that is blameless. Oh when will you come to me? I will walk with integrity of heart within my house;

A perverse heart shall be far from me; I will know nothing of evil.