<p class="poetry">See if there is any idolatrous tendency<n id="1" /> in me,p> <p class="poetry">and lead me in the reliable ancient path!<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">Instead<n id="1" /> he finds pleasure in obeying the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s commands;<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">he meditates on<n id="3" /> his commands<n id="4" /> day and night.p>

<p class="poetry">Not so with the wicked!p> <p class="poetry">Instead<n id="1" /> they are like wind-driven chaff.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">If a person<n id="1" /> does not repent, God sharpens his sword<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">and prepares to shoot his bow.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">If we had rejected our God,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">and spread out our hands in prayer to another god,<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">Even if I were hungry, I would not tell you,p> <p class="poetry">for the world and all it contains belong to me.p>

<p class="poetry">They wander around looking for something to eat;p> <p class="poetry">they refuse to sleep until they are full.<n id="1" />p>

<p class="poetry">When<n id="1" /> you lie down among the sheepfolds,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">the wings of the dove are covered with silverp> <p class="poetry">and with glittering gold.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">Has God forgotten to be merciful?p> <p class="poetry">Has his anger stifled his compassion?&#8221;p>

<p class="poetry">I said,<n id="1" /> &#8216;Listen, my people!p> <p class="poetry">I will warn<n id="2" /> you!p> <p class="poetry">O Israel, if only you would obey me!<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">Do you accomplish amazing things for the dead?p> <p class="poetry">Do the departed spirits<n id="1" /> rise up and give you thanks? (Selah)p>

<p class="poetry">Does the one who makes the human ear not hear?p> <p class="poetry">Does the one who forms the human eye not see?<n id="1" />p>

<p class="poetry">For he is our God;p> <p class="poetry">we are the people of his pasture,p> <p class="poetry">the sheep he owns.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">Today, if only you would obey him!<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">Indeed<n id="1" /> I am composed and quiet,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">like a young child carried by its mother;<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">I am content like the young child I carry.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">Even when I must walk in the midst of danger,<n id="1" /> you revive me.p> <p class="poetry">You oppose my angry enemies,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">and your right hand delivers me.p>

<t /><p class="psasuper">A song of ascents,<n id="2" /> by Solomon.p> <p class="poetry">If the <sc>Lordsc> does not build a house,<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">then those who build it work in vain.p> <p class="poetry">If the <sc>Lordsc> does not guard a city,<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">then the watchman stands guard in vain.p>

<p class="poetry">When someone comes to visit,<n id="1" /> he pretends to be friendly;<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">he thinks of ways to defame me,<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">and when he leaves he slanders me.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">Yes,<n id="1" /> he struck a rock and water flowed out,p> <p class="poetry">streams gushed forth.p> <p class="poetry">But can he also give us food?p> <p class="poetry">Will he provide meat for his people?&#8221;p>

<p class="poetry">The days of our lives add up to seventy years,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">or eighty, if one is especially strong.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">But even one&#8217;s best years are marred by trouble and oppression.<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">Yes,<n id="4" /> they pass quickly<n id="5" /> and we fly away.<n id="6" />p>

<p class="poetry">If your sons keep my covenantp> <p class="poetry">and the rules I teach them,p> <p class="poetry">their sons will also sit on your throne forever.&#8221;p>