Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
The third part of the psalm is a terse, powerful couplet, giving the reason for the different ending of the two paths.
For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous:
But the way of the ungodly shall perish.
The thought-rhyme here is one of contrast.
A poem of very different character from this brief, serious, impersonal sonnet is found in the Forty-sixth Psalm, which might be called a National Anthem. Here again the poem is divided into three parts.
The first part (verses first to third) expresses a sense of joyful confidence in the Eternal, amid the tempests and confusions of earth. The thought-rhymes are in couplets; and the second phrase, in each case, emphasizes and enlarges the idea of the first phrase.
God is our refuge and strength:
A very present help in trouble.
The second part (verses fourth to seventh) describes the peace and security of the city of God, surrounded by furious enemies, but rejoicing in the Eternal Presence. The parallel phrases here follow the same rule as in the first part. The concluding phrase is the stronger, the more emphatic. The seventh verse gives the refrain or chorus of the anthem.