Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Selah

You have put gladness in my heart, More than in the season that their grain and wine increased.

Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, But establish the just; For the righteous God tests the hearts and minds.

My defense is of God, Who saves the upright in heart.

Prayer and Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Righteous Judgments

To the Chief Musician. To the tune of “Death of the Son.” A Psalm of David.

I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works.

For the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire; He blesses the greedy and renounces the Lord.

He has said in his heart, “I shall not be moved; I shall never be in adversity.”

He has said in his heart, “God has forgotten; He hides His face; He will never see.”

Why do the wicked renounce God? He has said in his heart, “You will not require an account.”

Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear,

For look! The wicked bend their bow, They make ready their arrow on the string, That they may shoot secretly at the upright in heart.

They speak idly everyone with his neighbor; With flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

How long shall I take counsel in my soul, Having sorrow in my heart daily? How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

But I have trusted in Your mercy; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.

Folly of the Godless, and God’s Final Triumph

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good.

He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart;

I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel; My heart also instructs me in the night seasons.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope.

You have tested my heart; You have visited me in the night; You have tried me and have found nothing; I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.

They have closed up their fat hearts; With their mouths they speak proudly.

The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.

May He grant you according to your heart’s desire, And fulfill all your purpose.

You have given him his heart’s desire, And have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah

I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me.

The poor shall eat and be satisfied; Those who seek Him will praise the Lord. Let your heart live forever!

He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully.

The troubles of my heart have enlarged; Bring me out of my distresses!

Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; Try my mind and my heart.

Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war may rise against me, In this I will be confident.

When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.”

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living.

Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!

Do not take me away with the wicked And with the workers of iniquity, Who speak peace to their neighbors, But evil is in their hearts.

The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him.

Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart, All you who hope in the Lord.

Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

The counsel of the Lord stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations.

He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works.

For our heart shall rejoice in Him, Because we have trusted in His holy name.

The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.

But as for me, when they were sick, My clothing was sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting; And my prayer would return to my own heart.

Let them not say in their hearts, “Ah, so we would have it!” Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up.”

Man’s Wickedness and God’s Perfections

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord.

An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked: There is no fear of God before his eyes.

Oh, continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You, And Your righteousness to the upright in heart.

Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Their sword shall enter their own heart, And their bows shall be broken.

The law of his God is in his heart; None of his steps shall slide.

I am feeble and severely broken; I groan because of the turmoil of my heart.

My heart pants, my strength fails me; As for the light of my eyes, it also has gone from me.

My heart was hot within me; While I was musing, the fire burned. Then I spoke with my tongue:

I delight to do Your will, O my God, And Your law is within my heart.”

I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth From the great assembly.

For innumerable evils have surrounded me; My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up; They are more than the hairs of my head; Therefore my heart fails me.

And if he comes to see me, he speaks lies; His heart gathers iniquity to itself; When he goes out, he tells it.

Our heart has not turned back, Nor have our steps departed from Your way;

Would not God search this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart.

The Glories of the Messiah and His Bride

To the Chief Musician. Set to “The Lilies.” A Contemplation of the sons of Korah. A Song of Love.

My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning the King; My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.

Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the King’s enemies; The peoples fall under You.

My mouth shall speak wisdom, And the meditation of my heart shall give understanding.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise.

Folly of the Godless, and the Restoration of Israel

To the Chief Musician. Set to “Mahalath.” A Contemplation of David.

The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity; There is none who does good.

My heart is severely pained within me, And the terrors of death have fallen upon me.

The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, But 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 give praise.

No, in heart you work wickedness; You weigh out the violence of your hands in the earth.

From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah

Do not trust in oppression, Nor vainly hope in robbery; If riches increase, Do not set your heart on them.

They devise iniquities: “We have perfected a shrewd scheme.” Both the inward thought and the heart of man are deep.

The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and trust in Him. And all the upright in heart shall glory.

If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear.

Reproach has broken my heart, And I am full of heaviness; I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none; And for comforters, but I found none.

The humble shall see this and be glad; And you who seek God, your hearts shall live.

BOOK THREE

Psalms 73–89

The Tragedy of the Wicked, and the Blessedness of Trust in God

A Psalm of Asaph.

Truly God is good to Israel, To such as are pure in heart.

Their eyes bulge with abundance; They have more than heart could wish.

Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain, And washed my hands in innocence.

Thus my heart was grieved, And I was vexed in my mind.

My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

They said in their hearts, “Let us destroy them altogether.” They have burned up all the meeting places of God in the land.

I call to remembrance my song in the night; I meditate within my heart, And my spirit makes diligent search.

And may not be like their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that did not set its heart aright, And whose spirit was not faithful to God.

And they tested God in their heart By asking for the food of their fancy.

For their heart was not steadfast with Him, Nor were they faithful in His covenant.

So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.

So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, To walk in their own counsels.

My soul longs, yes, even faints For the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.

Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name.

I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And I will glorify Your name forevermore.

So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.

But judgment will return to righteousness, And all the upright in heart will follow it.

“Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, As in the day of trial in the wilderness,

For forty years I was grieved with that generation, And said, ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts, And they do not know My ways.’

Light is sown for the righteous, And gladness for the upright in heart.

I will behave wisely in a perfect way. Oh, when will You come to me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.

A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will not know wickedness.

Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, Him I will destroy; The one who has a haughty look and a proud heart, Him I will not endure.

For my days are consumed like smoke, And my bones are burned like a hearth.