The Psalter or Psalms of David
BOOK III.
Evening Prayer.
Psalm 73. Quam bonus Israel!
TRULY God is loving unto Israel: * even unto such as are of a clean heart.
2 Nevertheless, my feet were almost gone, * my treadings had well-nigh slipt.
3 And why? I was grieved at the wicked: * I do also see the ungodly in such
prosperity.
4 For they are in no peril of death; * but are lusty and strong.
5 They come in no misfortune like other folk; * neither are they plagued
like other men.
6 And this is the cause that they are so holden with pride, * and cruelty
covereth them as a garment.
7 Their eyes swell with fatness, * and they do even what they lust.
8 They corrupt other, and speak of wicked blasphemy; * their talking is
against the Most High.
9 For they stretch forth their mouth unto the heaven, * and their tongue
goeth through the world.
10 Therefore fall the people unto them, * and thereout suck they no small
advantage.
11 Tush, say they, how should God perceive it? * is there knowledge in the
Most High?
12 Lo, these are the ungodly, * these prosper in the world, and these have
riches in possession:
13 And I said, Then have I cleansed my heart in vain, * and washed my hands
in innocency.
14 All the day long have I been punished, * and chastened every morning.
15 Yea, and I had almost said even as they; * but lo, then I should have
condemned the generation of thy children.
16 Then thought I to understand this; * but it was too hard for me,
17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God: * then understood I the end of
these men;
18 Namely, how thou dost set them in slippery places, * and castest them
down, and destroyest them.
19 O how suddenly do they consume, * perish, and come to a fearful end!
20 Yea, even like as a dream when one awaketh; * so shalt thou make their
image to vanish out of the city.
21 Thus my heart was grieved, * and it went even through my reins.
22 So foolish was I, and ignorant, * even as it were a beast before thee.
23 Nevertheless, I am alway by thee; * for thou hast holden me by my right
hand.
24 Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, * and after that receive me with
glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but thee? * and there is none upon earth that I
desire in comparison of thee.
26 My flesh and my heart faileth; * but God is the strength of my heart,
and my portion for ever.
27 For lo, they that forsake thee shall perish; * thou hast destroyed all
them that are unfaithful unto thee.
28 But it is good for me to hold me fast by God, to put my trust in the
Lord GOD, * and to speak of all thy works in the gates of the daughter of
Sion.
Psalm 74. Ut quid, Deus?
O GOD, wherefore art thou absent from us so long? * why is thy wrath so
hot against the sheep of thy pasture?
2 O think upon thy congregation, * whom thou hast purchased, and redeemed
of old.
3 Think upon the tribe of thine inheritance, * and Mount Sion, wherein thou
hast dwelt.
4 Lift up thy feet, that thou mayest utterly destroy every enemy, * which
hath done evil in thy sanctuary.
5 Thine adversaries roar in the midst of thy congregations, * and set up
their banners for tokens.
6 He that hewed timber afore out of the thick trees, * was known to bring
it to an excellent work.
7 But now they break down all the carved work thereof * with axes and hammers.
8 They have set fire upon thy holy places, * and have defiled the dwelling-place
of thy Name, even unto the ground.
9 Yea, they said in their hearts, Let us make havoc of them altogether:
* thus have they burnt up all the houses of God in the land.
10 We see not our tokens; there is not one prophet more; * no, not one is
there among us, that understandeth any more.
11 O God, how long shall the adversary do this dishonour? * shall the enemy
blaspheme thy Name for ever?
12 Why withdrawest thou thy hand? * why pluckest thou not thy right hand
out of thy bosom to consume the enemy?
13 For God is my King of old; * the help that is done upon earth, he doeth
it himself.
14 Thou didst divide the sea through thy power; * thou brakest the heads
of the dragons in the waters.
15 Thou smotest the heads of leviathan in pieces, * and gavest him to be
meat for the people of the wilderness.
16 Thou broughtest out fountains and waters out of the hard rocks; * thou
driedst up mighty waters.
17 The day is thine, and the night is thine; * thou hast prepared the light
and the sun.
18 Thou hast set all the borders of the earth; * thou hast made summer and
winter.
19 Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy hath rebuked; * and how the foolish
people hath blasphemed thy Name.
20 O deliver not the soul of thy turtle-dove unto the multitude of the enemies;
* and forget not the congregation of the poor for ever.
21 Look upon the covenant; * for all the earth is full of darkness and cruel
habitations.
22 O let not the simple go away ashamed; * but let the poor and needy give
praise unto thy Name.
23 Arise, O God, maintain thine own cause; * remember how the foolish man
blasphemeth thee daily.
24 Forget not the voice of thine enemies: * the presumption of them that
hate thee increaseth ever more and more.
The Fifteenth Day.
Morning Prayer.
Psalm 75. Confitebimur tibi.
UNTO thee, O God, do we give thanks; * yea, unto thee do we give thanks.
2 Thy Name also is so nigh; * and that do thy wondrous works declare.
3 In the appointed time, saith God, * I shall judge according unto right.
4 The earth is weak, and all the inhabiters thereof: * I bear up the pillars
of it.
5 I said unto the fools, Deal not so madly; * and to the ungodly, Set not
up your horn.
6 Set not up your horn on high, * and speak not with a stiff neck.
7 For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, * nor yet
from the south.
8 And why? God is the Judge; * he putteth down one, and setteth up another.
9 For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red; * it
is full mixt, and he poureth out of the same.
10 As for the dregs thereof, * all the ungodly of the earth shall drink
them, and suck them out.
11 But I will talk of the God of Jacob, * and praise him for ever.
12 All the horns of the ungodly also will I break, * and the horns of the
righteous shall be exalted.
Psalm 76. Notus in Judaea.
IN Judah is God known; * his Name is great in Israel.
2 At Salem is his tabernacle, * and his dwelling in Sion.
3 There brake he the arrows of the bow, * the shield, the sword, and the
battle.
4 Thou art glorious in might, * when thou comest from the hills of the robbers.
5 The proud are robbed, they have slept their sleep; * and all the men whose
hands were mighty have found nothing.
6 At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, * both the chariot and horse are fallen.
7 Thou, even thou art to be feared; * and who may stand in thy sight when
thou art angry?
8 Thou didst cause thy judgment to be heard from heaven; * the earth trembled,
and was still,
9 When God arose to judgment, * and to help all the meek upon earth.
10 The fierceness of man shall turn to thy praise; * and the fierceness
of them shalt thou refrain.
11 Promise unto the Lord your God, and keep it, all ye that are round about
him; * bring presents unto him that ought to be feared.
12 He shall refrain the spirit of princes, * and is wonderful among the
kings of the earth.
Psalm 77. Voce mea ad Dominum.
I WILL cry unto God with my voice; * even unto God will I cry with my voice,
and he shall hearken unto me.
2 In the time of my trouble I sought the Lord: * I stretched forth my hands
unto him, and ceased not in the night season; my soul refused comfort.
3 When I am in heaviness, I will think upon God; * when my heart is vexed,
I will complain.
4 Thou holdest mine eyes waking: * I am so feeble that I cannot speak.
5 I have considered the days of old, * and the years that are past.
6 I call to remembrance my song, * and in the night I commune with mine
own heart, and search out my spirit.
7 Will the Lord absent himself for ever? * and will he be no more intreated?
8 Is his mercy clean gone for ever? * and is his promise come utterly to
an end for evermore?
9 Hath God forgotten to be gracious? * and will he shut up his loving-kindness
in displeasure?
10 And I said, It is mine own infirmity; * but I will remember the years
of the right hand of the Most Highest.
11 I will remember the works of the Lord, * and call to mind thy wonders
of old time.
12 I will think also of all thy works, * and my talking shall be of thy
doings.
13 Thy way, O God, is holy: * who is so great a God as our God?
14 Thou art the God that doest wonders, * and hast declared thy power among
the peoples.
15 Thou hast mightily delivered thy people, * even the sons of Jacob and
Joseph.
16 The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee, and were afraid; * the
depths also were troubled.
17 The clouds poured out water, the air thundered, * and thine arrows went
abroad.
18 The voice of thy thunder was heard round about: * the lightnings shone
upon the ground; the earth was moved, and shook withal.
19 Thy way is in the sea, and thy paths in the great waters, * and thy footsteps
are not known.
20 Thou leddest thy people like sheep, * by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Evening Prayer.
Psalm 78. Attendite, popule.
HEAR my law, O my people; * incline your ears unto the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in a parable; * I will declare hard sentences of
old;
3 Which we have heard and known, * and such as our fathers have told us;
4 That we should not hide them from the children of the generations to come;
* but to show the honour of the Lord, his mighty and wonderful works that
he hath done.
5 He made a covenant with Jacob, and gave Israel a law, * which he commanded
our forefathers to teach their children;
6 That their posterity might know it, * and the children which were yet
unborn;
7 To the intent that when they came up, * they might show their children
the same;
8 That they might put their trust in God; * and not to forget the works
of God, but to keep his commandments;
9 And not to be as their forefathers, a faithless and stubborn generation;
* a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit clave not
stedfastly unto God;
10 Like as the children of Ephraim; * who being harnessed, and carrying
bows, turned themselves back in the day of battle.
11 They kept not the covenant of God, * and would not walk in his law;
12 But forgat what he had done, * and the wonderful works that he had showed
for them.
13 Marvellous things did he in the sight of our forefathers, in the land
of Egypt, * even in the field of Zoan.
14 He divided the sea, and let them go through; * he made the waters to
stand on an heap.
15 In the day-time also he led them with a cloud, * and all the night through
with a light of fire.
16 He clave the hard rocks in the wilderness, * and gave them drink thereof,
as it had been out of the great depth.
17 He brought waters out of the stony rock, * so that it gushed out like
the rivers.
18 Yet for all this they sinned more against him, * and provoked the Most
Highest in the wilderness.
19 They tempted God in their hearts, * and required meat for their lust.
20 They spake against God also, saying, * Shall God prepare a table in the
wilderness?
21 He smote the stony rock indeed, that the water gushed out, and the streams
flowed withal; * but can he give bread also, or provide flesh for his people?
22 When the Lord heard this, he was wroth; * so the fire was kindled in
Jacob, and there came up heavy displeasure against Israel;
23 Because they believed not in God, * and put not their trust in his help.
24 So he commanded the clouds above, * and opened the doors of heaven.
25 He rained down manna also upon them for to eat, * and gave them food
from heaven.
26 So man did eat angels' food; * for he sent them meat enough.
27 He caused the east-wind to blow under heaven; * and through his power
he brought in the southwest-wind.
28 He rained flesh upon them as thick as dust, * and feathered fowls like
as the sand of the sea.
29 He let it fall among their tents, * even round about their habitation.
30 So they did eat, and were well filled; for he gave them their own desire:
* they were not disappointed of their lust.
31 But while the meat was yet in their mouths, the heavy wrath of God came
upon them, and slew the wealthiest of them; * yea, and smote down the chosen
men that were in Israel.
32 But for all this they sinned yet more, * and believed not his wondrous
works.
33 Therefore their days did he consume in vanity, * and their years in trouble.
34 When he slew them, they sought him, * and turned them early, and inquired
after God.
35 And they remembered that God was their strength, * and that the High
God was their redeemer.
36 Nevertheless, they did but flatter him with their mouth, * and dissembled
with him in their tongue.
37 For their heart was not whole with him, * neither continued they stedfast
in his covenant.
38 But he was so merciful, that he forgave their misdeeds, * and destroyed
them not.
39 Yea, many a time turned he his wrath away, * and would not suffer his
whole displeasure to arise.
40 For he considered that they were but flesh, * and that they were even
a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again.
41 Many a time did they provoke him in the wilderness, * and grieved him
in the desert.
42 They turned back, and tempted God, * and provoked the Holy One in Israel.
43 They thought not of his hand, * and of the day when he delivered them
from the hand of the enemy;
44 How he had wrought his miracles in Egypt, * and his wonders in the field
of Zoan.
45 He turned their waters into blood, * so that they might not drink of
the rivers.
46 He sent flies among them, and devoured them up; * and frogs to destroy
them.
47 He gave their fruit unto the caterpillar, * and their labour unto the
grasshopper.
48 He destroyed their vines with hailstones, * and their mulberry-trees
with the frost.
49 He smote their cattle also with hailstones, * and their flocks with hot
thunderbolts.
50 He cast upon them the furiousness of his wrath, anger, displeasure, and
trouble: * and sent evil angels among them.
51 He made a way to his indignation, and spared not their soul from death;
* but gave their life over to the pestilence;
52 And smote all the firstborn in Egypt, * the most principal and mightiest
in the dwellings of Ham.
53 But as for his own people, he led them forth like sheep, * and carried
them in the wilderness like a flock.
54 He brought them out safely, that they should not fear, * and overwhelmed
their enemies with the sea.
55 And brought them within the borders of his sanctuary, * even to this
mountain, which he purchased with his right hand.
56 He cast out the heathen also before them, * caused their land to be divided
among them for an heritage, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their
tents.
57 Yet they tempted and displeased the Most High God, * and kept not his
testimonies.
58 They turned their backs, and fell away like their forefathers; * starting
aside like a broken bow.
59 For they grieved him with their hill-altars, * and provoked him to displeasure
with their images.
60 When God heard this, he was wroth, * and took sore displeasure at Israel;
61 So that he forsook the tabernacle in Shiloh, * even the tent that he
had pitched among men.
62 He delivered their power into captivity, * and their beauty into the
enemy's hand.
63 He gave his people over also unto the sword, * and was wroth with his
inheritance.
64 The fire consumed their young men, * and their maidens were not given
in marriage.
65 Their priests were slain with the sword, * and there were no widows to
make lamentation.
66 So the Lord awaked as one out of sleep, * and like a giant refreshed
with wine.
67 He drave his enemies backward, * and put them to a perpetual shame.
68 He refused the tabernacle of Joseph, * and chose not the tribe of Ephraim;
69 But chose the tribe of Judah, * even the hill of Sion which he loved.
70 And there he built his temple on high, * and laid the foundation of it
like the ground which he hath made continually.
71 He chose David also his servant, * and took him away from the sheep-folds:
72 As he was following the ewes with their young he took him, * that he
might feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance.
73 So he fed them with a faithful and true heart, * and ruled them prudently
with all his power.
The Sixteenth Day.
Morning Prayer.
Psalm 79. Deus, venerunt.
O GOD, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; * thy holy temple have
they defiled, and made Jerusalem an heap of stones.
2 The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be meat unto the fowls
of the air, * and the flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the land.
3 Their blood have they shed like water on every side of Jerusalem, * and
there was no man to bury them.
4 We are become an open shame to our enemies, * a very scorn and derision
unto them that are round about us.
5 Lord, how long wilt thou be angry? * shall thy jealousy burn like fire
for ever?
6 Pour out thine indignation upon the heathen that have not known thee;
* and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy Name.
7 For they have devoured Jacob, * and laid waste his dwelling-place.
8 O remember not our old sins, but have mercy upon us, and that soon; *
for we are come to great misery.
9 Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy Name: * O deliver
us, and be merciful unto our sins, for thy Name's sake.
10 Wherefore do the heathen say, * Where is now their God?
11 O let the vengeance of thy servants' blood that is shed, * be openly
showed upon the heathen, in our sight.
12 O let the sorrowful sighing of the prisoners come before thee; * according
to the greatness of thy power, preserve thou those that are appointed to
die.
13 And for the blasphemy wherewith our neighbours have blasphemed thee,
* reward thou them, O Lord, sevenfold into their bosom.
14 So we, that are thy people, and sheep of thy pasture, shall give thee
thanks for ever, * and will alway be showing forth thy praise from generation
to generation.
Psalm 80. Qui regis Israel.
HEAR, O thou Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock;
* show thyself also, thou that sittest upon the Cherubim.
2 Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, * stir up thy strength, and come
and help us.
3 Turn us again, O God; * show the light of thy countenance, and we shall
be whole.
4 O Lord God of hosts, * how long wilt thou be angry with thy people that
prayeth?
5 Thou feedest them with the bread of tears, * and givest them plenteousness
of tears to drink.
6 Thou hast made us a very strife unto our neighbours, * and our enemies
laugh us to scorn.
7 Turn us again, thou God of hosts; * show the light of thy countenance,
and we shall be whole.
8 Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt; * thou hast cast out the heathen,
and planted it.
9 Thou madest room for it; * and when it had taken root, it filled the land.
10 The hills were covered with the shadow of it, * and the boughs thereof
were like the goodly cedar-trees.
11 She stretched out her branches unto the sea, * and her boughs unto the
River.
12 Why hast thou then broken down her hedge, * that all they that go by
pluck off her grapes?
13 The wild boar out of the wood doth root it up, * and the wild beasts
of the field devour it.
14 Turn thee again, thou God of hosts, look down from heaven, * behold,
and visit this vine;
15 And the place of the vineyard that thy right hand hath planted, * and
the branch that thou madest so strong for thyself.
16 It is burnt with fire, and cut down; * and they shall perish at the rebuke
of thy countenance.
17 Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, * and upon the son of
man, whom thou madest so strong for thine own self.
18 And so will not we go back from thee: * O let us live, and we shall call
upon thy Name.
19 Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts; * show the light of thy countenance,
and we shall be whole.
Psalm 81. Exultate Deo.
SING we merrily unto God our strength; * make a cheerful noise unto the
God of Jacob.
2 Take the psalm, bring hither the tabret, * the merry harp with the lute.
3 Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, * even in the time appointed, and
upon our solemn feast-day.
4 For this was made a statute for Israel, * and a law of the God of Jacob.
5 This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony, * when he came out of the
land of Egypt, and had heard a strange language.
6 I eased his shoulder from the burden, * and his hands were delivered from
making the pots.
7 Thou calledst upon me in troubles, and I delivered thee; * and heard thee
what time as the storm fell upon thee.
8 I proved thee also * at the waters of strife.
9 Hear, O my people; and I will assure thee, O Israel, * if thou wilt hearken
unto me,
10 There shall no strange god be in thee, * neither shalt thou worship any
other god.
11 I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt: * open
thy mouth wide, and I shall fill it.
12 But my people would not hear my voice; * and Israel would not obey me;
13 So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lusts, * and let them follow
their own imaginations.
14 O that my people would have hearkened unto me! * for if Israel had walked
in my ways,
15 I should soon have put down their enemies, * and turned my hand against
their adversaries.
16 The haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves unto him; * but
their time should have endured for ever.
17 I would have fed them also with the finest wheatflour; * and with honey
out of the stony rock would I have satisfied thee.
Evening Prayer.
Psalm 82. Deus stetit.
GOD standeth in the congregation of princes; * he is a Judge among gods.
2 How long will ye give wrong judgment, * and accept the persons of the
ungodly?
3 Defend the poor and fatherless; * see that such as are in need and necessity
have right.
4 Deliver the outcast and poor; * save them from the hand of the ungodly.
5 They know not, neither do they understand, but walk on still in darkness:
* all the foundations of the earth are out of course.
6 I have said, Ye are gods, * and ye are all the children of the Most Highest.
7 But ye shall die like men, * and fall like one of the princes.
8 Arise, O God, and judge thou the earth; * for thou shalt take all nations
to thine inheritance.
Psalm 83. Deus, quis similis?
HOLD not thy tongue, O God, keep not still silence: * refrain not thyself,
O God.
2 For lo, thine enemies make a murmuring; * and they that hate thee have
lift up their head.
3 They have imagined craftily against thy people, * and taken counsel against
thy secret ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us root them out, that they be no more a
people, * and that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they have cast their heads together with one consent, * and are confederate
against thee:
6 The tabernacles of the Edomites, and the Ishmaelites; * the Moabites,
and Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; * the Philistines, with them that dwell
at Tyre.
8 Assyria also is joined with them; * they have holpen the children of Lot.
9 But do thou to them as unto the Midianites; * unto Sisera, and unto Jabin
at the brook of Kishon;
10 Who perished at Endor, * and became as the dung of the earth.
11 Make them and their princes like Oreb and Zeëb; * yea, make all their
princes like as Zebah and Zalmunna;
12 Who say, Let us take to ourselves * the houses of God in possession.
13 O my God, make them like unto the whirling dust, * and as the stubble
before the wind;
14 Like as the fire that burneth up the forest, * and as the flame that
consumeth the mountains;
15 Pursue them even so with thy tempest, * and make them afraid with thy
storm.
16 Make their faces ashamed, O Lord, * that they may seek thy Name.
17 Let them be confounded and vexed ever more and more; * let them be put
to shame, and perish.
18 And they shall know that thou, whose Name is JEHOVAH, * art only the
Most Highest over all the earth.
Psalm 84. Quam dilecta!
O HOW amiable are thy dwellings, * thou Lord of hosts!
2 My soul hath a desire and longing to enter into the courts of the Lord;
* my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.
3 Yea, the sparrow hath found her an house, and the swallow a nest, where
she may lay her young; * even thy altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my
God.
4 Blessed are they that dwell in thy house; * they will be alway praising
thee.
5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; * in whose heart are thy
ways.
6 Who going through the vale of misery use it for a well; * and the pools
are filled with water.
7 They will go from strength to strength, * and unto the God of gods appeareth
every one of them in Sion.
8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; * hearken, O God of Jacob.
9 Behold, O God our defender, * and look upon the face of thine anointed.
10 For one day in thy courts * is better than a thousand.
11 I had rather be a door-keeper in the house of my God, * than to dwell
in the tents of ungodliness.
12 For the Lord God is a light and defence; * the Lord will give grace and
worship; and no good thing shall he withhold from them that live a godly
life.
13 O Lord God of hosts, * blessed is the man that putteth his trust in thee.
Psalm 85. Benedixisti, Domine.
LORD, thou art become gracious unto thy land; * thou hast turned away the
captivity of Jacob.
2 Thou hast forgiven the offence of thy people, * and covered all their
sins.
3 Thou hast taken away all thy displeasure, * and turned thyself from thy
wrathful indignation.
4 Turn us then, O God our Saviour, * and let thine anger cease from us.
5 Wilt thou be displeased at us for ever? * and wilt thou stretch out thy
wrath from one generation to another?
6 Wilt thou not turn again, and quicken us, * that thy people may rejoice
in thee?
7 Show us thy mercy, O Lord, * and grant us thy salvation.
8 I will hearken what the Lord God will say; * for he shall speak peace
unto his people, and to his saints, that they turn not again unto foolishness.
9 For his salvation is nigh them that fear him; * that glory may dwell in
our land.
10 Mercy and truth are met together: * righteousness and peace have kissed
each other.
11 Truth shall flourish out of the earth, * and righteousness hath looked
down from heaven.
12 Yea, the Lord shall show loving-kindness; * and our land shall give her
increase.
13 Righteousness shall go before him, * and shall direct his going in the
way.
The Seventeenth Day.
Morning Prayer.
Psalm 86. Inclina, Domine.
BOW down thine ear, O Lord, and hear me; * for I am poor, and in misery.
2 Preserve thou my soul, for I am holy: * my God, save thy servant that
putteth his trust in thee.
3 Be merciful unto me, O Lord; * for I will call daily upon thee.
4 Comfort the soul of thy servant; * for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up
my soul.
5 For thou, Lord, art good and gracious, * and of great mercy unto all them
that call upon thee.
6 Give ear, Lord, unto my prayer, * and ponder the voice of my humble desires.
7 In the time of my trouble I will call upon thee; * for thou hearest me.
8 Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; * there is not one
that can do as thou doest.
9 All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship thee, O Lord; *
and shall glorify thy Name.
10 For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: * thou art God alone.
11 Teach me thy way, O Lord, and I will walk in thy truth: * O knit my heart
unto thee, that I may fear thy Name.
12 I will thank thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart; * and will praise
thy Name for evermore.
13 For great is thy mercy toward me; * and thou hast delivered my soul from
the nethermost hell.
14 O God, the proud are risen against me; * and the congregations of violent
men have sought after my soul, and have not set thee before their eyes.
15 But thou, O Lord God, art full of compassion and mercy, * long-suffering,
plenteous in goodness and truth.
16 O turn thee then unto me, and have mercy upon me; * give thy strength
unto thy servant, and help the son of thine handmaid.
17 Show some token upon me for good; that they who hate me may see it, and
be ashamed, * because thou, Lord, hast holpen me, and comforted me.
Psalm 87. Fundamenta ejus.
HER foundations are upon the holy hills: * the Lord loveth the gates of
Sion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
2 Very excellent things are spoken of thee, * thou city of God.
3 I will make mention of Egypt and Babylon, * among them that know me.
4 Behold, Philistia also; and Tyre, with Ethiopia; * lo, in Sion were they
born.
5 Yea, of Sion it shall be reported, this one and that one were born in
her; * and the Most High shall stablish her.
6 The Lord shall record it, when he writeth up the peoples; * lo, in Sion
were they born.
7 The singers also and trumpeters shall make answer: * All my fresh springs
are in thee.
Psalm 88. Domine, Deus.
O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee: * O
let my prayer enter into thy presence, incline thine ear unto my calling;
2 For my soul is full of trouble, * and my life draweth nigh unto the grave.
3 I am counted as one of them that go down into the pit, * and I am even
as a man that hath no strength;
4 Cast off among the dead, like unto them that are slain, and lie in the
grave, * who are out of remembrance, and are cut away from thy hand.
5 Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, * in a place of darkness, and in
the deep.
6 Thine indignation lieth hard upon me, * and thou hast vexed me with all
thy storms.
7 Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me, * and made me to be
abhorred of them.
8 I am so fast in prison * that I cannot get forth.
9 My sight faileth for very trouble; * Lord, I have called daily upon thee,
I have stretched forth my hands unto thee.
10 Dost thou show wonders among the dead? * or shall the dead rise up again,
and praise thee?
11 Shall thy loving-kindness be showed in the grave? * or thy faithfulness
in destruction?
12 Shall thy wondrous works be known in the dark? * and thy righteousness
in the land where all things are forgotten?
13 Unto thee have I cried, O Lord; * and early shall my prayer come before
thee.
14 Lord, why abhorrest thou my soul, * and hidest thou thy face from me?
15 I am in misery, and like unto him that is at the point to die; * even
from my youth up, thy terrors have I suffered with a troubled mind.
16 Thy wrathful displeasure goeth over me, * and the fear of thee hath undone
me.
17 They came round about me daily like water, * and compassed me together
on every side.
18 My lovers and friends hast thou put away from me, * and hid mine acquaintance
out of my sight.
Evening Prayer.
Psalm 89. Misericordias Domini.
MY song shall be alway of the loving-kindness of the Lord; * with my mouth
will I ever be showing thy truth from one generation to another.
2 For I have said, Mercy shall be set up for ever; * thy truth shalt thou
stablish in the heavens.
3 I have made a covenant with my chosen; * I have sworn unto David my servant:
4 Thy seed will I stablish for ever, * and set up thy throne from one generation
to another.
5 O Lord, the very heavens shall praise thy wondrous works; * and thy truth
in the congregation of the saints.
6 For who is he among the clouds, * that shall be compared unto the Lord?
7 And what is he among the gods, * that shall be like unto the Lord?
8 God is very greatly to be feared in the council of the saints, * and to
be had in reverence of all them that are round about him.
9 O Lord God of hosts, who is like unto thee? * thy truth, most mighty Lord,
is on every side.
10 Thou rulest the raging of the sea; * thou stillest the waves thereof
when they arise.
11 Thou hast subdued Egypt, and destroyed it; * thou hast scattered thine
enemies abroad with thy mighty arm.
12 The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine; * thou hast laid the
foundation of the round world, and all that therein is.
13 Thou hast made the north and the south; * Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice
in thy Name.
14 Thou hast a mighty arm; * strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand.
15 Righteousness and equity are the habitation of thy seat; * mercy and
truth shall go before thy face.
16 Blessed is the people, O Lord, that can rejoice in thee; * they shall
walk in the light of thy countenance.
17 Their delight shall be daily in thy Name; * and in thy righteousness
shall they make their boast.
18 For thou art the glory of their strength, * and in thy loving-kindness
thou shalt lift up our horns.
19 For the Lord is our defence; * the Holy One of Israel is our King.
20 Thou spakest sometime in visions unto thy saints, and saidst, * I have
laid help upon one that is mighty, I have exalted one chosen out of the
people.
21 I have found David my servant; * with my holy oil have I anointed him.
22 My hand shall hold him fast, * and my arm shall strengthen him.
23 The enemy shall not be able to do him violence; * the son of wickedness
shall not hurt him.
24 I will smite down his foes before his face, * and plague them that hate
him.
25 My truth also and my mercy shall be with him; * and in my Name shall
his horn be exalted.
26 I will set his dominion also in the sea, * and his right hand in the
floods.
27 He shall call me, Thou art my Father, * my God, and my strong salvation.
28 And I will make him my firstborn, * higher than the kings of the earth.
29 My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, * and my covenant shall stand
fast with him.
30 His seed also will I make to endure for ever, * and his throne as the
days of heaven.
31 But if his children forsake my law, * and walk not in my judgments;
32 If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; * I will visit
their offences with the rod, and their sin with scourges.
33 Nevertheless, my loving-kindness will I not utterly take from him, *
nor suffer my truth to fail.
34 My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of
my lips: * I have sworn once by my holiness, that I will not fail David.
35 His seed shall endure for ever, * and his throne is like as the sun before
me.
36 He shall stand fast for evermore as the moon, * and as the faithful witness
in heaven.
37 But thou hast abhorred and forsaken thine anointed, * and art displeased
at him.
38 Thou hast broken the covenant of thy servant, * and cast his crown to
the ground.
39 Thou hast overthrown all his hedges, * and broken down his strongholds.
40 All they that go by spoil him, * and he is become a reproach to his neighbours.
41 Thou hast set up the right hand of his enemies, * and made all his adversaries
to rejoice.
42 Thou hast taken away the edge of his sword, * and givest him not victory
in the battle.
43 Thou hast put out his glory, * and cast his throne down to the ground.
44 The days of his youth hast thou shortened, * and covered him with dishonour.
45 Lord, how long wilt thou hide thyself? for ever? * and shall thy wrath
burn like fire?
46 O remember how short my time is; * wherefore hast thou made all men for
nought?
47 What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? * and shall he deliver
his soul from the power of the grave?
48 Lord, where are thy old loving-kindnesses, * which thou swarest unto
David in thy truth?
49 Remember, Lord, the rebuke that thy servants have, * and how I do bear
in my bosom the rebukes of many people;
50 Wherewith thine enemies have blasphemed thee, * and slandered the footsteps
of thine anointed.
51 Praised be the Lord for evermore. * Amen, and Amen.
Book IV.