Day 1 of the 30-day Psalter: Morning and Evening

Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked, *

nor lingered in the way of sinners,

nor sat in the seats of the scornful!

Their delight is in the law of the LORD, *

and they meditate on his law day and night.

They are like trees planted by streams of water,

bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither; *

everything they do shall prosper.

It is not so with the wicked; *

they are like chaff which the wind blows away.

Therefore the wicked shall not stand upright when judgment comes, *

nor the sinner in the council of the righteous.

For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, *

but the way of the wicked is doomed.

Why are the nations in an uproar? *

Why do the peoples mutter empty threats?

Why do the kings of the earth rise up in revolt,

and the princes plot together, *

against the LORD and against his Anointed?

"Let us break their yoke," they say; *

"let us cast off their bonds from us."

He whose throne is in heaven is laughing; *

the Lord has them in derision.

Then he speaks to them in his wrath, *

and his rage fills them with terror.

"I myself have set my king *

upon my holy hill of Zion."

Let me announce the decree of the LORD: *

he said to me, "You are my Son;

this day have I begotten you.

Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance *

and the ends of the earth for your possession.

You shall crush them with an iron rod *

and shatter them like a piece of pottery."

And now, you kings, be wise; *

be warned, you rulers of the earth.

Submit to the LORD with fear, *

and with trembling bow before him;

Lest he be angry and you perish; *

for his wrath is quickly kindled.

Happy are they all *

who take refuge in him!

LORD, how many adversaries I have! *

how many there are who rise up against me!

How many there are who say of me, *

"There is no help for him in his God."

But you, O LORD, are a shield about me; *

you are my glory, the one who lifts up my head.

I call aloud upon the LORD, *

and he answers me from his holy hill;

I lie down and go to sleep; *

I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.

I do not fear the multitudes of people *

who set themselves against me all around.

Rise up, O LORD; set me free, O my God; *

surely, you will strike all my enemies across the face,

you will break the teeth of the wicked.

Deliverance belongs to the LORD. *

Your blessing be upon your people!

Answer me when I call, O God, defender of my cause; *

you set me free when I am hard-pressed;

have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

"You mortals, how long will you dishonor my glory; *

how long will you worship dumb idols

and run after false gods?"

Know that the LORD does wonders for the faithful; *

when I call upon the LORD, he will hear me.

Tremble, then, and do not sin; *

speak to your heart in silence upon your bed.

Offer the appointed sacrifices *

and put your trust in the LORD.

Many are saying,

"Oh, that we might see better times!" *

Lift up the light of your countenance upon us, O LORD.

You have put gladness in my heart, *

more than when grain and wine and oil increase.

I lie down in peace; at once I fall asleep; *

for only you, LORD, make me dwell in safety.

Give ear to my words, O LORD; *

consider my meditation.

Hearken to my cry for help, my King and my God, *

for I make my prayer to you.

In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; *

early in the morning I make my appeal and watch for you.

For you are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, *

and evil cannot dwell with you.

Braggarts cannot stand in your sight; *

you hate all those who work wickedness.

You destroy those who speak lies; *

the bloodthirsty and deceitful, O LORD, you abhor.

But as for me, through the greatness of your mercy I will go into your house; *

I will bow down toward your holy temple in awe of you.

Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness,

because of those who lie in wait for me; *

make your way straight before me.

For there is no truth in their mouth; *

there is destruction in their heart;

Their throat is an open grave; *

they flatter with their tongue.

Declare them guilty, O God; *

let them fall, because of their schemes.

Because of their many transgressions cast them out, *

for they have rebelled against you.

But all who take refuge in you will be glad; *

they will sing out their joy for ever.

You will shelter them, *

so that those who love your Name may exult in you.

For you, O LORD, will bless the righteous; *

you will defend them with your favor as with a shield.

LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger; *

do not punish me in your wrath.

Have pity on me, LORD, for I am weak; *

heal me, LORD, for my bones are racked.

My spirit shakes with terror; *

how long, O LORD, how long?

Turn, O LORD, and deliver me; *

save me for your mercy's sake.

For in death no one remembers you; *

and who will give you thanks in the grave?

I grow weary because of my groaning; *

every night I drench my bed

and flood my couch with tears.

My eyes are wasted with grief *

and worn away because of all my enemies.

Depart from me, all evildoers, *

for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.

The LORD has heard my supplication; *

the LORD accepts my prayer.

All my enemies shall be confounded and quake with fear; *

they shall turn back and suddenly be put to shame.

O LORD my God, I take refuge in you; *

save and deliver me from all who pursue me;

Lest like a lion they tear me in pieces *

and snatch me away with none to deliver me.

O LORD my God, if I have done these things: *

if there is any wickedness in my hands,

If I have repaid my friend with evil, *

or plundered him who without cause is my enemy;

Then let my enemy pursue and overtake me, *

trample my life into the ground,

and lay my honor in the dust.

Stand up, O LORD, in your wrath; *

rise up against the fury of my enemies.

Awake, O my God, decree justice; *

let the assembly of the peoples gather round you.

Be seated on your lofty throne, O Most High; *

O LORD, judge the nations.

Give judgment for me according to my righteousness, O LORD, *

and according to my innocence, O Most High.

Let the malice of the wicked come to an end,

but establish the righteous; *

for you test the mind and heart, O righteous God.

God is my shield and defense; *

he is the savior of the true in heart.

God is a righteous judge; *

God sits in judgment every day.

If they will not repent, God will whet his sword; *

he will bend his bow and make it ready.

He has prepared his weapons of death; *

he makes his arrows shafts of fire.

Look at those who are in labor with wickedness, *

who conceive evil, and give birth to a lie.

They dig a pit and make it deep *

and fall into the hole that they have made.

Their malice turns back upon their own head; *

their violence falls on their own scalp.

I will bear witness that the LORD is righteous; *

I will praise the Name of the LORD Most High.

O LORD our Governor, *

how exalted is your Name in all the world!

Out of the mouths of infants and children *

your majesty is praised above the heavens.

You have set up a stronghold against your adversaries, *

to quell the enemy and the avenger.

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, *

the moon and the stars you have set in their courses,

What is man that you should be mindful of him? *

the son of man that you should seek him out?

You have made him but little lower than the angels; *

you adorn him with glory and honor;

You give him mastery over the works of your hands; *

you put all things under his feet:

All sheep and oxen, *

even the wild beasts of the field,

The birds of the air, the fish of the sea, *

and whatsoever walks in the paths of the sea.

O LORD our Governor, *

how exalted is your Name in all the world!