Then observers will say, “Yes indeed, the godly are rewarded! Yes indeed, there is a God who judges in the earth!”

Surely you put them in slippery places; you bring them down to ruin.

Surely people go through life as mere ghosts. Surely they accumulate worthless wealth without knowing who will eventually haul it away.”

Do not be angry and frustrated! Do not fret! That only leads to trouble!

Patiently wait for God alone, my soul! For he is the one who gives me confidence.

He alone is my protector and deliverer. He is my refuge; I will not be upended.

A psalm by Asaph. Certainly God is good to Israel, and to those whose motives are pure!

I concluded, “Surely in vain I have kept my motives pure and maintained a pure lifestyle.

Certainly his loyal followers will soon experience his deliverance; then his splendor will again appear in our land.

If I were to say, “Certainly the darkness will cover me, and the light will turn to night all around me,”

Surely your goodness and faithfulness will pursue me all my days, and I will live in the Lord’s house for the rest of my life.

But God will rescue my life from the power of Sheol; certainly he will pull me to safety. (Selah)

For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of David. For God alone I patiently wait; he is the one who delivers me.

He alone is my protector and deliverer. He is my refuge; I will not be upended.

They spend all their time planning how to bring him down. They love to use deceit; they pronounce blessings with their mouths, but inwardly they utter curses. (Selah)

God settles those who have been deserted in their own homes; he frees prisoners and grants them prosperity. But sinful rebels live in the desert.

Indeed God strikes the heads of his enemies, the hairy foreheads of those who persist in rebellion.

Certainly the godly will give thanks to your name; the morally upright will live in your presence.

Look, you make my days short-lived, and my life span is nothing from your perspective. Surely all people, even those who seem secure, are nothing but vapor.

You severely discipline people for their sins; like a moth you slowly devour their strength. Surely all people are a mere vapor. (Selah)