And washed my hands in innocency; 14 For all the day have I been plagued, And my chastisement came every morning.

15 If I had said: 'I will speak thus',

Behold, I had been faithless to the generation of Thy children.

16 And when I pondered how I might know this,

It was wearisome in mine eyes;

17 Until I entered into the sanctuary of God, And considered their end.

18 Surely Thou settest them in slippery places; Thou hurlest them down to utter ruin.

19 How are they become a desolation in a moment!

They are wholly consumed by terrors.

20 As a dream when one awaketh,

So, O Lord, when Thou arousest Thyself,
Thou wilt despise their semblance.

21 For my heart was in a ferment,
And I was pricked in my reins.
22 But I was brutish, and ignorant;
I was as a beast before Thee.

23 Nevertheless I am continually with Thee; Thou holdest my right hand.

24 Thou wilt guide me with Thy counsel, And afterward receive me with glory. 25 Whom have I in heaven but Thee?

And beside Thee I desire none upon earth.

26 My flesh and my heart faileth;

But God is the rock of my heart and my portion for ever.

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27 For, lo, they that go far from Thee shall perish;

Thou dost destroy all them that go astray from Thee.

28 But as for me, the nearness of God is my
good;

I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,
That I may tell of all Thy works.

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Thanksgiving

For the Leader; Al-tashheth. A Psalm of
Asaph, a Song.

2 We give thanks unto Thee, O God,

We give thanks, and Thy name is near;
Men tell of Thy wondrous works.

3 'When I take the appointed time,
I Myself will judge with equity.

4 When the earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved,

I Myself establish the pillars of it.'

Selah

5 I say unto the arrogant: 'Deal not arrogantly';

And to the wicked: 'Lift not up the horn.' 6 Lift not up your horn on high;

Speak not insolence with a haughty neck. 7 For neither from the east, nor from the west, Nor yet from the wilderness, cometh lifting up.

8 For God is judge;

He putteth down one, and lifteth up another.

9 For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup, with foaming wine, full of mixture,

And He poureth out of the same;

Surely the dregs thereof, all the wicked of
the earth shall drain them, and drink them.

10 But as for me, I will declare for ever,

I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
11 All the horns of the wicked also will I cut
off;

But the horns of the righteous shall be
lifted up.

God standeth in the congregation of God; In the midst of the judges He judgeth: 2 'How long will ye judge unjustly,

And respect the persons of the wicked? Selah 3 Judge the poor and fatherless;

Do justice to the afflicted and destitute. 4 Rescue the poor and needy;

Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked. 5 They know not, neither do they understand; They go about in darkness;

All the foundations of the earth are moved. 6 I said: Ye are godlike beings,

And all of you sons of the Most High. 7 Nevertheless ye shall die like men, And fall like one of the princes.'

8 Arise, O God, judge the earth;
For Thou shalt possess all the nations.

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In His Temple

For the Leader; upon the Gittith. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

2 How lovely are Thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!

3 My soul yearneth, yea, even pineth for the courts of the LORD;

My heart and my flesh sing for joy unto the living God.

4 Yea, the sparrow hath found a house, and the
swallow a nest for herself,

Where she may lay her young;
Thine altars, O LORD of hosts,
My King, and my God—.

5 Happy are they that dwell in Thy house,
They are ever praising Thee.

Selah

6 Happy is the man whose strength is in Thee; In whose heart are the highways.

7 Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a place of springs;

Yea, the early rain clotheth it with blessings. 8 They go from strength to strength,

Every one of them appeareth before God in
Zion.

9 O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; Give ear, O God of Jacob.

10 Behold, O God our shield,

Selah

And look upon the face of Thine anointed. 11 For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand;

I had rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God,

Than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. 12 For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; The LORD giveth grace and glory;

No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.

13 O LORD of hosts,

Happy is the man that trusteth in Thee.

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A Plea for God's Help

A Prayer of David.

Incline Thine ear, O LORD, and answer me;
For I am poor and needy.

2 Keep my soul, for I am godly;

O Thou my God, save Thy servant that trusteth in Thee.

3 Be gracious unto me, O Lord;

For unto Thee do I cry all the day. 4 Rejoice the soul of Thy servant;

For unto Thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. 5 For Thou, Lord, art good, and ready to pardon,

And plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon Thee.

6 Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer;

And attend unto the voice of my supplications.

7 In the day of my trouble I call upon Thee; For Thou wilt answer me.

8 There is none like unto Thee among the gods, O LORD;

And there are no works like Thine