Yet God Is Good to Israel

Yet God is good to Is­ra­el

To each pure-heart­ed one.

With me

my steps had near­ly slipped

My feet were al­most gone.

For I was en­vi­ous

and grudged

The fool­ish ones to see

When I per­ceived the wick­ed men

Enjoyed pros­per­ity.

Because their strength con­tin­ues firm;

Their death from bands is free.

They are not toiled like oth­er men

Nor plagued

as oth­ers be.

Their pride doth there­fore like a chain

Encompass them about;

And

as a gar­ment

vio­lence

Doth cov­er them through­out.

Their eyes stand out with fat

they have

More than their hearts could wish.

They are cor­rupt; their talk of wrong

Both lewd and lof­ty is.

They set their mouth against the heav’ns

In their blas­phem­ing talk;

And their re­proach­ing tongue at large

Throughout the earth doth walk.

His people

there­fore

oft­en­times

Look back

and turn about;

And in abun­dance un­to them

The wa­ters are poured out.

And thus they say

How can it be

That God these things doth know?

Or

Can there in the High­est be

Knowledge of things be­low?

Behold

how these

the wick­ed ones

Do pros­per at their will

In world­ly things; how they in­crease

In wealth and rich­es still!

I ver­ily have sought in vain

My heart to pur­ify;

And vain­ly al­so washed my hands

In in­no­cence have I.

For dai­ly

and all day through­out

Great plagues I suf­fered have;

Yea

ev­ery morning I anew

Did chas­tise­ment re­ceive.

If in this man­ner fool­ish­ly

To speak I would in­tend

Thy child­ren’s ge­ne­ra­tion then

Behold I should of­fend.

When I this thought to know

it was

Too hard a thing for me;

Till to God’s ho­ly place I went

Then I their end did see.

Them set upon a slip­pe­ry place

Assuredly Thou hast;

And sud­denly didst Thou

O Lord

Them to de­struct­ion cast.

How in a mo­ment sud­den­ly

To ruin brought are they!

With fear­ful ter­rors ut­ter­ly

They are con­sumed away.

E’en like an emp­ty dream when one

From sleep­ing doth arise;

So Thou

when Thou awak­est

Lord

Their im­age shalt des­pise.

Thus grieved with­in me was my heart

And me my reins op­pressed:

So rude was I

and ig­norant

And in Thy sight a beast.

Yet not with­stand­ing this

O Lord

I ev­er am with Thee:

Thou hast me held by my right hand

And still up­hold­est me.

With Thy good coun­sel while I live

Thou wilt me safe­ly guide;

And in­to glo­ry af­ter­ward

Receive me to ab­ide.

O whom have I in heav­ens high

But Thee

O Lord

alone?

And in the earth whom I de­sire

Besides Thee there is none.

My flesh and heart do faint and fail

But God my heart sus­tains;

The strength and por­tion of my heart

He ev­er­more remains.

For

lo

they that are far from Thee

Forever per­ish shall;

And as for those who from Thee stray

Thou hast de­stroyed them all.

But sure­ly it is good for me

That I draw near to God:

In God I trust

that all Thy works

I may de­clare abroad.