He Will Not Forsake His Saints
1 Of David.
1 uFret not yourself because of evildoers;
be not venvious of wrongdoers!
2 For they will soon wfade like xthe grass
and wither ylike the green herb.
3 zTrust in the Lord, and do good;
adwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.2
4 bDelight yourself in the Lord,
and he will cgive you the desires of your heart.
5 dCommit your way to the Lord;
ztrust in him, and he will act.
6 eHe will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as fthe noonday.
7 gBe still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
hfret not yourself over the one who iprospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!
8 jRefrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
hFret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
9 kFor the evildoers shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the Lord shall linherit the land.
10 In mjust a little while, the wicked will be no more;
though you look carefully at nhis place, he will not be there.
11 But othe meek shall inherit the land
and delight themselves in pabundant peace.
12 The wicked qplots against the righteous
and rgnashes his teeth at him,
13 but the Lord slaughs at the wicked,
for he sees that his tday is coming.
14 The wicked draw the sword and ubend their bows
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose vway is upright;
15 their sword shall enter their own heart,
and their wbows shall be broken.
16 xBetter is the little that the righteous has
than the abundance of many wicked.
17 For ythe arms of the wicked shall be broken,
but the Lord zupholds the righteous.
18 The Lord aknows the days of the blameless,
and their bheritage will remain forever;
19 they are not put to shame in evil times;
in cthe days of famine they have abundance.
20 But the wicked will perish;
the enemies of the Lord are like dthe glory of the pastures;
they vanish—like esmoke they vanish away.
21 The wicked borrows but does not pay back,
but the righteous fis generous and gives;
22 for those blessed by the Lord3 shall ginherit the land,
but those cursed by him hshall be cut off.
23 The isteps of a man are jestablished by the Lord,
when he delights in his way;
24 kthough he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
for the Lord lupholds his hand.
25 I have been young, and now am old,
yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
or his children mbegging for bread.
26 He is ever nlending generously,
and his children become a blessing.
27 oTurn away from evil and do good;
so shall you pdwell forever.
28 For the Lord qloves justice;
he will not forsake his rsaints.
They are preserved forever,
but the children of the wicked shall be scut off.
29 The righteous shall inherit the land
and pdwell upon it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks justice.
31 tThe law of his God is in his heart;
his usteps do not slip.
32 The wicked vwatches for the righteous
and seeks to put him to death.
33 The Lord will not wabandon him to his power
or let him xbe condemned when he is brought to trial.
34 yWait for the Lord and keep his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
you will look on zwhen the wicked are cut off.
35 aI have seen a wicked, ruthless man,
spreading himself like ba green laurel tree.4
36 But he passed away,5 and behold, che was no more;
though I sought him, he could not be found.
37 Mark the blameless and behold the upright,
for there is a future for the man of dpeace.
38 But etransgressors shall be altogether destroyed;
the future of the wicked fshall be cut off.
39 gThe salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
he is their stronghold in hthe time of trouble.
40 The Lord helps them and idelivers them;
jhe delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they ktake refuge in him.
Giving to the Needy
1 “Beware of rpracticing your righteousness before other people in order sto be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
2 t“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may ube praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have vreceived their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. wAnd your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
The Lord’s Prayer
5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love xto stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. yTruly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, zgo into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. aAnd your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as bthe Gentiles do, for cthey think that they will be heard dfor their many words. 8 Do not be like them, efor your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 fPray then like this:
g“Our Father in heaven,
10 jYour kingdom come,
lon earth as it is in heaven.
11 mGive us nthis day our daily bread,3
12 and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And olead us not into temptation,
14 rFor if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 sbut if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Fasting
16 “And twhen you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. uTruly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, vanoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. wAnd your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Lay Up Treasures in Heaven
19 x“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where ymoth and rust5 destroy and where thieves zbreak in and steal, 20 xbut lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 a“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 abut if byour eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
24 c“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and dmoney.6
Do Not Be Anxious
25 e“Therefore I tell you, fdo not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 gLook at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. hAre you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his ispan of life?7 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, jeven Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, kO you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For lthe Gentiles seek after all these things, and myour heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But nseek first othe kingdom of God and his righteousness, pand all these things will be added to you.
34 q“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
