A Psalm of Asaph.

     1Surely God is good to Israel,
            To those who are pure in heart!

     2But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling;
            My steps had almost slipped.

     3For I was envious of the arrogant,
            As I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

     4For there are no pains in their death;
            And their body is fat.

     5They are not in trouble as other men;
            Nor are they plagued like mankind.

     6Therefore pride is their necklace;
            The garment of violence covers them.

     7Their eye bulges from fatness;
            The imaginations of their heart run riot.

     8They mock, and wickedly speak of oppression;
            They speak from on high.

     9They have set their mouth against the heavens,
            And their tongue parades through the earth.

     10Therefore his people return to this place;
            And waters of abundance are drunk by them.

     11And they say, “How does God know?
            And is there knowledge with the Most High?”

     12Behold, these are the wicked;
            And always at ease, they have increased in wealth.

     13Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure,
            And washed my hands in innocence;

     14For I have been stricken all day long,
            And chastened every morning.

     15If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
            Behold, I should have betrayed the generation of Thy children.

     16When I pondered to understand this,
            It was troublesome in my sight

     17Until I came into the sanctuary of God;
            Then I perceived their end.

     18Surely Thou dost set them in slippery places;
            Thou dost cast them down to destruction.

     19How they are destroyed in a moment!
            They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors!

     20Like a dream when one awakes,
            O Lord, when aroused, Thou wilt despise their form.

     21When my heart was embittered,
            And I was pierced within,

     22Then I was senseless and ignorant;
            I was like a beast before Thee.

     23Nevertheless I am continually with Thee;
            Thou hast taken hold of my right hand.

     24With Thy counsel Thou wilt guide me,
            And afterward receive me to glory.

     25Whom have I in heaven but Thee?
            And besides Thee, I desire nothing on earth.

     26My flesh and my heart may fail,
            But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

     27For, behold, those who are far from Thee will perish;
            Thou hast destroyed all those who are unfaithful to Thee.

     28But as for me, the nearness of God is my good;
            I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,
            That I may tell of all Thy works.