Who do I have in heaven but You?
And I desire nothing on earth but You.

BOOK III
(Psalms 73–89)A psalm of Asaph. God is indeed good to Israel,
to the pure in heart.

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

You guide me with Your counsel,
and afterward You will take me up in glory.

Yet I am always with You;
You hold my right hand.

But as for me, God’s presence is my good.
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
so I can tell about all You do.

For I envied the arrogant;
I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

When I became embittered
and my innermost being was wounded,

When I tried to understand all this,
it seemed hopeless

But as for me, my feet almost slipped;
my steps nearly went astray.

Indeed, You put them in slippery places;
You make them fall into ruin.

until I entered God’s sanctuary.
Then I understood their destiny.

Did I purify my heart
and wash my hands in innocence for nothing?

Look at them—the wicked!
They are always at ease,
and they increase their wealth.

The wicked say, “How can God know?
Does the Most High know everything?”

If I had decided to say these things aloud,
I would have betrayed Your people.

Their eyes bulge out from fatness;
the imaginations of their hearts run wild.

I was stupid and didn’t understand;
I was an unthinking animal toward You.

They have an easy time until they die,
and their bodies are well fed.

They set their mouths against heaven,
and their tongues strut across the earth.

Therefore, pride is their necklace,
and violence covers them like a garment.

They mock, and they speak maliciously;
they arrogantly threaten oppression.

Those far from You will certainly perish;
You destroy all who are unfaithful to You.

Like one waking from a dream,
Lord, when arising, You will despise their image.

For I am afflicted all day long
and punished every morning.

They are not in trouble like others;
they are not afflicted like most people.

Therefore His people turn to them
and drink in their overflowing words.

How suddenly they become a desolation!
They come to an end, swept away by terrors.