1 I said, "I will guard my ways That I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth as with a muzzle While the wicked are in my presence."
2 I was mute and silent, I refrained even from good, And my sorrow grew worse.
3 My heart was hot within me, While I was musing the fire burned; Then I spoke with my tongue:
4 "LORD, make me to know my end And what is the extent of my days; Let me know how transient I am.
5 "Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my lifetime as nothing in Your sight; Surely every man at his best is a mere breath. Selah.
6 "Surely every man walks about as a phantom; Surely they make an uproar for nothing; He amasses riches and does not know who will gather them.
7 "And now, Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You.
8 "Deliver me from all my transgressions; Make me not the reproach of the foolish.
9 "I have become mute, I do not open my mouth, Because it is You who have done it.
10 "Remove Your plague from me; Because of the opposition of Your hand I am perishing.
11 "With reproofs You chasten a man for iniquity; You consume as a moth what is precious to him; Surely every man is a mere breath. Selah.
12 "Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; Do not be silent at my tears; For I am a stranger with You, A sojourner like all my fathers.
13 "Turn Your gaze away from me, that I may smile again Before I depart and am no more."
Book Summary
Psalms is the Bible's songbook: one hundred fifty prayers and hymns of praise, lament, thanksgiving, and trust, many attributed to David. From the depths of despair to the heights of worship, it has voiced the prayers of God's people for millennia.
New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved.
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