• The Blessing and Suffering of the Godly

  • 1 Blessed is he who considers the poor; The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.
  • 2 The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive, And he will be blessed on the earth; You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies.
  • 3 The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness; You will sustain him on his sickbed.
  • 4 I said, “Lord, be merciful to me; Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.”
  • 5 My enemies speak evil of me: “When will he die, and his name perish?”
  • 6 And if he comes to see me, he speaks lies; His heart gathers iniquity to itself; When he goes out, he tells it.
  • 7 All who hate me whisper together against me; Against me they devise my hurt.
  • 8 “An evil disease,” they say, “clings to him. And now that he lies down, he will rise up no more.”
  • 9 Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, Has lifted up his heel against me.
  • 10 But You, O Lord, be merciful to me, and raise me up, That I may repay them.
  • 11 By this I know that You are well pleased with me, Because my enemy does not triumph over me.
  • 12 As for me, You uphold me in my integrity, And set me before Your face forever.
  • 13 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel From everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen.