Book of Common Prayer

Psalm 37

[A Psalm] of David.

¹ Fret not yourself because of evildoers, neither be envious against those who work unrighteousness (that which is not upright or in right standing with God).

² For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

³ Trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) in the Lord and do good; so shall you dwell in the land and feed surely on His faithfulness, and truly you shall be fed.

⁴ Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart.

⁵ Commit your way to the Lord [roll and repose each care of your load on Him]; trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass.

⁶ And He will make your uprightness and right standing with God go forth as the light, and your justice and right as [the shining sun of] the noonday.

⁷ Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him; fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass.

⁸ Cease from anger and forsake wrath; fret not yourself—it tends only to evildoing.

⁹ For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait and hope and look for the Lord [in the end] shall inherit the earth.^(A)

¹⁰ For yet a little while, and the evildoers will be no more; though you look with care where they used to be, they will not be found.^(B)

¹¹ But the meek [in the end] shall inherit the earth and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.^(C)

¹² The wicked plot against the [uncompromisingly] righteous (the upright in right standing with God); they gnash at them with their teeth.

¹³ The Lord laughs at [the wicked], for He sees that their own day [of defeat] is coming.

¹⁴ The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to cast down the poor and needy, to slay those who walk uprightly (blameless in conduct and in conversation).

¹⁵ The swords [of the wicked] shall enter their own hearts, and their bows shall be broken.

¹⁶ Better is the little that the [uncompromisingly] righteous have than the abundance [of possessions] of many who are wrong and wicked.^(D)

¹⁷ For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the Lord upholds the [consistently] righteous.

¹⁸ The Lord knows the days of the upright and blameless, and their heritage will abide forever.

¹⁹ They shall not be put to shame in the time of evil; and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

²⁰ But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs [that is consumed in smoke] and as the glory of the pastures. They shall vanish; like smoke shall they consume away.

²¹ The wicked borrow and pay not again [for they may be unable], but the [uncompromisingly] righteous deal kindly and give [for they are able].

²² For such as are blessed of God shall [in the end] inherit the earth, but they that are cursed of Him shall be cut off.^(E)

²³ The steps of a [good] man are directed and established by the Lord when He delights in his way [and He busies Himself with his every step].

²⁴ Though he falls, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord grasps his hand in support and upholds him.

²⁵ I have been young and now am old, yet have I not seen the [uncompromisingly] righteous forsaken or their seed begging bread.

²⁶ All day long they are merciful and deal graciously; they lend, and their offspring are blessed.

²⁷ Depart from evil and do good; and you will dwell forever [securely].

²⁸ For the Lord delights in justice and forsakes not His saints; they are preserved forever, but the offspring of the wicked [in time] shall be cut off.

²⁹ [Then] the [consistently] righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever.

³⁰ The mouth of the [uncompromisingly] righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks with justice.

³¹ The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.

³² The wicked lie in wait for the [uncompromisingly] righteous and seek to put them to death.

³³ The Lord will not leave them in their hands, or [suffer them to] condemn them when they are judged.

³⁴ Wait for and expect the Lord and keep and heed His way, and He will exalt you to inherit the land; [in the end] when the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.

³⁵ I have seen a wicked man in great power and spreading himself like a green tree in its native soil,

³⁶ Yet he passed away, and behold, he was not; yes, I sought and inquired for him, but he could not be found.

³⁷ Mark the blameless man and behold the upright, for there is a happy end for the man of peace.

³⁸ As for transgressors, they shall be destroyed together; in the end the wicked shall be cut off.

³⁹ But the salvation of the [consistently] righteous is of the Lord; He is their Refuge and secure Stronghold in the time of trouble.

⁴⁰ And the Lord helps them and delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they trust and take refuge in Him.

3 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, set to wild, enthusiastic, and triumphal music.

² O Lord, I have heard the report of You and was afraid. O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make [Yourself] known! In wrath [earnestly] remember love, pity, and mercy.

³ God [approaching from Sinai] came from Teman [which represents Edom] and the Holy One from Mount Paran [in the Sinai region]. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]! His glory covered the heavens and the earth was full of His praise.

⁴ And His brightness was like the sunlight; rays streamed from His hand, and there [in the sunlike splendor] was the hiding place of His power.

⁵ Before Him went the pestilence [as in Egypt], and burning plague followed His feet [as in Sennacherib’s army].^(A)

⁶ He stood and measured the earth; He looked and shook the nations, and the eternal mountains were scattered and the perpetual hills bowed low. His ways are everlasting and His goings are of old.

⁷ I [Habakkuk, in vision] saw the tents of Cushan [probably Ethiopia] in affliction; the [tent] curtains of the land of Midian trembled.

⁸ Were You displeased with the rivers, O Lord? Or was Your anger against the rivers [You divided]? Was Your wrath against the [Red] Sea, that You rode [before] upon Your horses and Your chariots of victory and deliverance?

⁹ Your bow was made quite bare; sworn to the tribes [of Israel] by Your sure word were the rods of chastisement, scourges, and calamities. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]! With rivers You cleaved the earth [bringing forth waters in dry places].^(B)

¹⁰ The mountains saw You; they trembled and writhed [as if in pain]. The overflowing of the water passed by [as at the deluge]; the deep uttered its voice and lifted its hands on high.

¹¹ The sun and moon stood back [as before Joshua] in their habitation at the light of Your arrows as they sped, at the flash of Your glittering spear.^(C)

¹² You marched through the land in indignation; You trampled and threshed the nations in anger.

¹³ You went forth and have come for the salvation of Your people, for the deliverance and victory of Your anointed [people Israel]; You smote the head of the house of the wicked, laying bare the foundation even to the neck. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

¹⁴ You pierced with his own arrows the head of [the enemy’s] hordes; they came out as a whirlwind to scatter me [the people], rejoicing as if to devour the poor [Israel] secretly.

¹⁵ You have trodden the sea with Your horses, [beside] the heap of great and surging waters.^(D)

¹⁶ I heard and my [whole inner self] trembled; my lips quivered at the sound. Rottenness enters into my bones and under me [down to my feet]; I tremble. I will wait quietly for the day of trouble and distress when there shall come up against [my] people him who is about to invade and oppress them.

¹⁷ Though the fig tree does not blossom and there is no fruit on the vines, [though] the product of the olive fails and the fields yield no food, though the flock is cut off from the fold and there are no cattle in the stalls,

¹⁸ Yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the [victorious] God of my salvation!^(E)

¹² Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own.

¹³ I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,

¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.

¹⁵ So let those [of us] who are spiritually mature and full-grown have this mind and hold these convictions; and if in any respect you have a different attitude of mind, God will make that clear to you also.

¹⁶ Only let us hold true to what we have already attained and walk and order our lives by that.

¹⁷ Brethren, together follow my example and observe those who live after the pattern we have set for you.

¹⁸ For there are many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, who walk (live) as enemies of the cross of Christ (the Anointed One).

¹⁹ They are doomed and their ^[a]fate is eternal misery (perdition); their god is their stomach (their appetites, their sensuality) and they glory in their shame, ^[b]siding with earthly things and being of their party.

²⁰ But we are citizens of the state (commonwealth, homeland) which is in heaven, and from it also we ^[c]earnestly and patiently await [the coming of] the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) [as] Savior,

²¹ Who will ^[d]transform and fashion anew the body of our humiliation to conform to and be like the body of His glory and majesty, by exerting that power which enables Him even to subject everything to Himself.

17 When Jesus had spoken these things, He lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify and exalt and honor and magnify Your Son, so that Your Son may glorify and extol and honor and magnify You.

² [Just as] You have granted Him power and authority over all flesh (all humankind), [now glorify Him] so that He may give eternal life to all whom You have given Him.

³ And this is eternal life: [it means] to know (to perceive, recognize, become acquainted with, and understand) You, the only true and real God, and [likewise] to know Him, Jesus [as the] Christ (the Anointed One, the Messiah), Whom You have sent.

⁴ I have glorified You down here on the earth by completing the work that You gave Me to do.

⁵ And now, Father, glorify Me along with Yourself and restore Me to such majesty and honor in Your presence as I had with You before the world existed.

⁶ I have manifested Your Name [I have revealed Your very Self, Your real Self] to the people whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, and You gave them to Me, and they have obeyed and kept Your word.

⁷ Now [at last] they know and understand that all You have given Me belongs to You [is really and truly Yours].

⁸ For the [uttered] words that You gave Me I have given them; and they have received and accepted [them] and have come to know positively and in reality [to believe with absolute assurance] that I came forth from Your presence, and they have believed and are convinced that You did send Me.