Psalm 37 (Noli æmulari)

Fret not thy self if thou do see
That wicked men do seeme to flourish;
Nor envy in thy bosome nourish,
Though ill deedes well succeeding be.

They soon shall be cut down like grasse,
And wither like green hearb or flower;
Do well, and trust on heav'nly power,
Thou shalt have both good foot and place.

Delight in God, and he shall breede
The fullnesse of thy own hartes lusting;
Guide thee by him, lay all thy trusting
On hym, and he will make it speed.

For, like the light, he shall display
Thy justice in most shining lustre:
And of thy judgment make a muster
Like to the glory of noone day.

Waite on the Lord with patient hope,
Chafe not at some mans great good fortune,
Though all his plotts, without misfortune,
Attaine unto their wished scope.

Fume not, rage not, frett not, I say,
Lest such thinges synne in thy self cherish;
For those bad folks at last shall perish.
Who stay for God, in blisse shall stay.

Watch but a while, and thou shalt see
The wicked by his own pride banisht;
Looke after him, he shall be vanisht,
And never found againe shall be.

But meeke men shall the earth possesse,
In quiet home they shall be planted:
And this delight to them is granted,
They shall have peace in plenteousnesse.

Evill men work ill to uttmost might,
Gnashing their teeth full of disdayning:
But God shall scorne their moody meaning,
For their short time is in his sight.

The ev'll bent bowes and swords they drew,
To have their heat on good soules wroken;
But lo, their bowes they shall be broken,
Their swordes shall their own hartes imbrew.

Small goodes in good men better is,
Then of bad folkes the wealthy wonder;
For wicked armes shall breake asunder,
But God upholdes the just in blisse.

God keepes accompt of good menns daies,
Their heritage shall last for ever:
In perill they shall perish never,
Nor want in dearth their want to ease.

Bad folkes shall fall, and fall for aye;
Who to make warre with God presumed,
Like fatt of lambes shall be consumed,
Ev'n with the smoke shall wast away.

The naughty borrowes, payeng not:
The good is kind and freely giveth:
Whom God doth bless, he blessed liveth:
Whom he doth curse, to naught shall rott.

The man whom God directs, doth stand
Firme in his way, his way God loveth;
Though he doth fall, no wrack he proveth,
He is upheld by heav'nly hand.

I have beene yong, now old I am,
Yet I, the man that was betaken
To justice, never saw forsaken:
Nor that his seede to begging came.

He lendes, he gives, more he doth spend,
The more his seede in blessing flourish;
Then fly all ill, and goodnesse nourish;
And thy good state shall never end.

God loving right doth not forsake
His holy ones, they are preserved
From tyme to tyme, but who be swarved
To ill, both they and theirs shall wrack.

I say, I say, the righteous mindes
Shall have the land in their possessing,
Shall dwell thereon, and this their blessing
No time within his limitts bindes.

The good mouth will in wisdome bide,
His tongue of heav'nly judgments telleth;
For God's high law in his hart dwelleth,
What comes thereof? he shall not slide.

The wicked watch the righteous much,
And seeke of life for to bereave him;
But in their hand God will not leave him,
Nor lett him be condemn'd by such.

Waite thou on God, and keepe his way,
He will exalt thee unto honor:
And of the earth make thee an owner,
Yea, thou shalt see the ev'll decay.

I have the wicked seene full sound,
Like lawrell fresh him self out-spreading:
Lo, he was gone, print of his treading,
Though I did seeke, I never found.

Marke the upright, the just attend,
His end shall be in peace enjoyed;
But strayers vile shall be destroied,
And quite cut of with helplesse end,

Still, still the godly shall be staid
By God's most sure and sweete salvation:
In time of greatest tribulation
He shall be their true strength and aid.

He shall be their true strength and aid,
He shall save them from all the fetches
Against them used by wicked wretches;
Because on him their trust is laid.