[A Psalm of Asaph]. Surely God is good to Israel, [Even] to such as are pure in heart.
But as for me, my feet were almost gone; My steps had well nigh slipped.
For I was envious at the arrogant, When I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
For there are no pangs in their death; But their strength is firm.
They are not in trouble as [other] men; Neither are they plagued like [other] men.
Therefore pride is as a chain about their neck; Violence covereth them as a garment.
Their eyes stand out with fatness: They have more than heart could wish.
They scoff, and in wickedness utter oppression: They speak loftily.
They have set their mouth in the heavens, And their tongue walketh through the earth.
Therefore his people return hither: And waters of a full [cup] are drained by them.
And they say, How doth God know? And is there knowledge in the Most High?
Behold, these are the wicked; And, being alway at ease, they increase in riches.
Surely in vain have I cleansed my heart, And washed my hands in innocency;
For all the day long have I been plagued, And chastened every morning.
If I had said, I will speak thus; Behold, I had dealt treacherously with the generation of thy children.
When I thought how I might know this, It was too painful for me;
Until I went into the sanctuary of God, And considered their latter end.
Surely thou settest them in slippery places: Thou castest them down to destruction.
How are they become a desolation in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors.
As a dream when one awaketh, So, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou wilt despise their image.
For my soul was grieved, And I was pricked in my heart:
So brutish was I, and ignorant; I was [as] a beast before thee.
Nevertheless I am continually with thee: Thou hast holden my right hand.
Thou wilt guide me with thy counsel, And afterward receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven [but thee] ? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee.
My flesh and my heart faileth; [But] God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever.
For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: Thou hast destroyed all them that play the harlot, [departing] from thee.
But it is good for me to draw near unto God: I have made the Lord Jehovah my refuge, That I may tell of all thy works.