Day 11 of the 30-day Psalter: Morning and Evening

Have mercy on me, O God,

for my enemies are hounding me; *

all day long they assault and oppress me.

They hound me all the day long; *

truly there are many who fight against me, O Most High.

Whenever I am afraid, *

I will put my trust in you.

In God, whose word I praise,

in God I trust and will not be afraid, *

for what can flesh do to me?

All day long they damage my cause; *

their only thought is to do me evil.

They band together; they lie in wait; *

they spy upon my footsteps;

because they seek my life.

Shall they escape despite their wickedness? *

O God, in your anger, cast down the peoples.

You have noted my lamentation;

put my tears into your bottle; *

are they not recorded in your book?

Whenever I call upon you, my enemies will be put to flight; *

this I know, for God is on my side.

In God the LORD, whose word I praise,

in God I trust and will not be afraid, *

for what can mortals do to me?

I am bound by the vow I made to you, O God; *

I will present to you thank-offerings;

For you have rescued my soul from death and my feet

from stumbling, *

that I may walk before God in the light of the living.

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful,

for I have taken refuge in you; *

in the shadow of your wings will I take refuge

until this time of trouble has gone by.

I will call upon the Most High God, *

the God who maintains my cause.

He will send from heaven and save me;

he will confound those who trample upon me; *

God will send forth his love and his faithfulness.

I lie in the midst of lions that devour the people; *

their teeth are spears and arrows,

their tongue a sharp sword.

They have laid a net for my feet,

and I am bowed low; *

they have dug a pit before me,

but have fallen into it themselves.

Exalt yourself above the heavens, O God, *

and your glory over all the earth.

My heart is firmly fixed, O God, my heart is fixed; *

I will sing and make melody.

Wake up, my spirit;

awake, lute and harp; *

I myself will waken the dawn.

I will confess you among the peoples, O LORD; *

I will sing praise to you among the nations.

For your loving-kindness is greater than the heavens, *

and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

Exalt yourself above the heavens, O God, *

and your glory over all the earth.

Do you indeed decree righteousness, you rulers? *

do you judge the peoples with equity?

No; you devise evil in your hearts, *

and your hands deal out violence in the land.

The wicked are perverse from the womb; *

liars go astray from their birth.

They are as venomous as a serpent, *

they are like the deaf adder which stops its ears,

Which does not heed the voice of the charmer, *

no matter how skillful his charming.

O God, break their teeth in their mouths; *

pull the fangs of the young lions, O LORD.

Let them vanish like water that runs off; *

let them wither like trodden grass.

Let them be like the snail that melts away, *

like a stillborn child that never sees the sun.

Before they bear fruit, let them be cut down like a brier; *

like thorns and thistles let them be swept away.

The righteous will be glad when they see the vengeance; *

they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.

And they will say,

"Surely, there is a reward for the righteous; *

surely, there is a God who rules in the earth."

Rescue me from my enemies, O God; *

protect me from those who rise up against me.

Rescue me from evildoers *

and save me from those who thirst for my blood.

See how they lie in wait for my life,

how the mighty gather together against me; *

not for any offense or fault of mine, O LORD.

Not because of any guilt of mine *

they run and prepare themselves for battle.

Rouse yourself, come to my side, and see; *

for you, LORD God of hosts, are Israel's God.

Awake, and punish all the ungodly; *

show no mercy to those who are faithless and evil.

They go to and fro in the evening; *

they snarl like dogs and run about the city.

Behold, they boast with their mouths,

and taunts are on their lips; *

"For who," they say, "will hear us?"

But you, O LORD, you laugh at them; *

you laugh all the ungodly to scorn.

My eyes are fixed on you, O my Strength; *

for you, O God, are my stronghold.

My merciful God comes to meet me; *

God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.

Slay them, O God, lest my people forget; *

send them reeling by your might

and put them down, O Lord our shield.

For the sins of their mouths, for the words of their lips,

for the cursing and lies that they utter, *

let them be caught in their pride.

Make an end of them in your wrath; *

make an end of them, and they shall be no more.

Let everyone know that God rules in Jacob, *

and to the ends of the earth.

They go to and fro in the evening; *

they snarl like dogs and run about the city.

They forage for food, *

and if they are not filled, they howl.

For my part, I will sing of your strength; *

I will celebrate your love in the morning;

For you have become my stronghold, *

a refuge in the day of my trouble.

To you, O my Strength, will I sing; *

for you, O God, are my stronghold and my merciful God.

O God, you have cast us off and broken us; *

you have been angry;

oh, take us back to you again.

You have shaken the earth and split it open; *

repair the cracks in it, for it totters.

You have made your people know hardship; *

you have given us wine that makes us stagger.

You have set up a banner for those who fear you, *

to be a refuge from the power of the bow.

Save us by your right hand and answer us, *

that those who are dear to you may be delivered.

God spoke from his holy place and said: *

"I will exult and parcel out Shechem;

I will divide the valley of Succoth.

Gilead is mine and Manasseh is mine; *

Ephraim is my helmet and Judah my scepter.

Moab is my wash-basin,

on Edom I throw down my sandal to claim it, *

and over Philistia will I shout in triumph."

Who will lead me into the strong city? *

who will bring me to Edom?

Have you not cast us off, O God? *

you no longer go out, O God, with our armies.

Grant us your help against the enemy, *

for vain is the help of man.

With God we will do valiant deeds, *

and he shall tread our enemies under foot.

Hear my cry, O God, *

and listen to my prayer.

I call upon you from the ends of the earth

with heaviness in my heart; *

set me upon the rock that is higher than I.

For you have been my refuge, *

a strong tower against the enemy.

I will dwell in your house for ever; *

I will take refuge under the cover of your wings.

For you, O God, have heard my vows; *

you have granted me the heritage of those who fear your Name.

Add length of days to the king's life; *

let his years extend over many generations.

Let him sit enthroned before God for ever; *

bid love and faithfulness watch over him.

So will I always sing the praise of your Name, *

and day by day I will fulfill my vows.