Psalm XXXVII

Fret not thy self at wicked men,
For their [present] prosperity:
Not be thou envious at those
That [now do] work iniquity.

For like the grass which flourished,
Quickly cut down [and gone] are they;
And like the green and tender herb
[They] wither and [must] die away.

Trust in the Lord, and set thy self
[Wholly] to please him and do good
And so thou shalt dwell in the land,
And [surely] have sufficient food.

Make thou the Lord thy chief delight,
(To know and do his [holy] will)
And thy (thus guided) just desires,
Be sure [that then] he will fulfill.

Commit thy way unto the Lord;
[Wholly] by trust on him depend,
And he shall bring thy just designs
[In time] unto a happy end.

And like the shining light he shall
Thy righteousness [to men] display;
And he thy judgment shall bring forth,
Clear like the noon-tide [of the] day.

In silence rest thou on the Lord,
Waint patiently [on him] and stay:
Fret not thy self because of them
Who prosper in their [evil] way.
Because of wicked men, who bring
Their [plots and] ill designs to pass

Shun wrath and anger: To do ill
Fret not [thy self] in any case:

For those that evil doers be,
God will cut off in [his just] wrath;
But those that trust and wait on God,
[Their time] inherit shall the earth.

For yet wait but a little while,
The wicked [on earth] shall not be;
His place thou shalt observe and view,
But him [therein] thou shalt not see.

But meek and humble men the earth
Shall quietly [their time] possess,
And they shall here delight themselves
In plenty and in [holy] peace.

The wicked plots against the just,
And at him grinds his [bloody] teeth.

The Lord derideth him, because
His [dreadful] day he coming seeth.

The wicked have drawn out the sword,
And bent their bow to [wound] and slay
The poor and weak; and to cast down
Men [that are] upright in their way.

But their own sword which they have drawn,
Shall enter their own [guilty] hearts;
And their strong bow which they have bent,
Shall broak-[en in-] to pieces part.

A little that the righteous hath
[With grace] is better to him far
Then unto many wicked men
Their [worldly] wealth and riches are.

The wicked's arms shall broken be,
But God the just [by grace] sustains:

God knows the upright's days, and still
Their heritage [surely] remains.

They shall not need to be asham'd
When evil times [the land] betide,
And in the days of scarcity
They shall [with food] be satisfy'd.

But wicked men shall perish all,
[Even all] God's foes that him provoke,
As fat of Lambs they shall consume,
And [away] vanish into smoak.

The wicked borroweth in need,
But payeth not [again] his debt;
The righteous giveth to the poor,
His heart's on [works of] mercy set.

For such as blessed be of him,
[Good on] the earth inherit shall;
And they that cursed be of him,
[Cut off] shall be destroyed all.

The steps of good men by the Lord
Are [fixt and] ordered aright;
And in their good and upright way
He pleased [is, and] doth delight.

And though he fall, yet shall he not
[Sink and] be utterly cast down,
For God by his Almighty hand
[Keeps and] upholds him as his own.

I have been young, and now am old,
Yet have I [hereto] never seen
The just forsaken, nor his seed,
[That they] for bread have beggars been.

He's always merciful, and lends;
His seed is blest [of God] therefore

Depart from evil, and do good,
And [you shall] dwell for evermore.

For God loves judgment, and his Saints
[Though low] forsakes not utterly;
They are preserv'd, but he cuts off
Sinner's [unblest] posterity.

The just inherit shall the land,
And [they shall] ever in it dwell.

The just man's mouth doth wisdom speak,
His tongue doth [truth and] judgment tell.

The Law of God is in his heart,
None of his goings [slide and] stray.

wicked man doth watch the just,
seeketh him to [hurt and] slay.
ut the Lord will not him forsake,
or leave him in their [cruel] hands;

righteous he will not condemn
When he [with him] in judgment stands

Wait on the Lord, and keep his way,
Thou shalt [by him] exalted be
To dwell on earth, when as cut off
The wicked [doers] thou shalt see.

I saw the wicked in great power,
Spread like a [prospering] green bay-tree:

He past and was not; Him I sought,
But found [on earth] he could not be.

Mark well the perfect, and observe
The man of [sincere] uprightness,
And thou shalt see that of this man
The [later] end is blessed peace.

But the transgressors in (in God's time)
Shall [surely] be destroy'd together;
This is the end of wicked men,
To be cut off [and lost] for ever.

But the salvation of the just
Is of the [righteous] Lord alway;
In time of trouble and distress
He is their [present] strength and stay.

The Lord shall help and save them still
From [all the] wicked and unjust;
He surely shall deliver them,
Because in him they [put their] trust.