Believe that the Lord will lead you
This is a Psalm of David.
1Do not be upset
because of what bad people do,
and do not be jealous of people
who do wrong,
2because they are like grass
that will not last long.
They are like a plant that dies quickly.
3You must trust in the Lord
and do things that are good,
and then you will live in this land
and you will be safe.
4You must enjoy serving the Lord,
and then He will give you what you want.
5You must follow the way
the Lord leads you.
Trust in Him and He will take care of you.
He will do what You ask Him
6and He will show everyone
that you are innocent.
He will tell everyone that you are fair.
7You must keep quiet and
wait patiently for the Lord
to do what you ask Him.
Do not get angry
when sinful people become rich.
8Do not become angry
and do not get upset.
Forget the wrong that people
have done to you. If you don't,
it will only bring you trouble.
9Because all bad people will disappear,
but people who believe
in the Lord and wait for Him
will inherit the land.
10Bad people will soon disappear.
You will look for them but
you won't find them. They will be gone.
11Humble people who are not proud
will inherit the land and enjoy
peace and the good things
which God wants to give them.
12Bad people make plans
against good people.
They hate people who are righteous,
and they want to destroy them.
13But the Lord laughs at sinners
because He knows
what will happen to them
on the day of judgement.
14Bad people take their swords
and prepare their bows_and_arrows
to shoot poor people,
who can not protect themselves.
They want to bring down people
who are honest.
15But their swords will pierce
their own hearts and the Lord
will break their bows_and_arrows.
16It is better to have only a little
and to be righteous than to have
a lot and be sinful,
17because the Lord will
punish bad people.
He will take away their power,
but He will protect
the people who live in the right way.
18The Lord cares for people
who live in the right way.
He will give them blessings
that will last forever.
19When trouble comes,
they will know what to do.
They will not be ashamed,
and they will have enough food
when other people have nothing to eat.
20But bad people will die.
The enemies of the Lord
are like flowers in the field.
They will disappear
like smoke in the sky.
21Bad people borrow things
from other people
but they never give them back.
People who are righteous are
good to other people and always give.
22If the Lord blesses people,
they will get the land,
but if He curses them,
they will lose their land,
and people will chase them away.
23If the Lord is pleased with someone,
He leads and protects him.
24When a good man stumbles,
he doesn't fall
because the Lord holds his hand.
25I am old and I have seen a lot of things,
but I have never seen the Lord
leaving someone who lives in the right way
or seen that his children go without food.
26People who live in the right way give
and lend a lot to other people
and their children are a blessing.
27Turn away from doing wrong
and do things which are good, and
the Lord will be with you forever.
28The Lord loves people
who do what is right.
He will never leave people
who believe in Him.
He will be with them forever
and protect them,
but He will destroy bad people
and their descendants.
29The people who live in the right way
will inherit the land and
they will always live in it.
30Good and righteous people
always say wise things,
and they speak of things
that are fair to other people.
31They know what the Lord wants,
they do what his laws say and
they don't do what is wrong.
32Bad people are always looking
for ways to trap people who are righteous.
They try to destroy them.
33But the Lord will not leave
righteous people alone
or stop protecting them.
God will not say they are guilty
when He judges them.
34You must trust in the Lord
and live as He wants.
He will honour you in the land
that He gives you and
you will see how
the bad people disappear.
35I have seen an evil man,
who oppressed people.
He looked as strong as a big green tree,
36but he died and was gone.
I looked all over for him
but I could not find him.
37Look at the lives of
good and honest people.
They have peace in their hearts
when they think about
their future and their descendants.
38But bad people,
who rebel_against the Lord,
will be destroyed and die.
There is only a dark future
for them and their descendants.
39It is the Lord who
saves people who live in the right way,
and He protects them when they have trouble.
40The Lord helps them and saves them.
He frees them
from people who do wrong.
He saves them because
they ask Him for protection.
