Day 14 of the 30-day Psalter: Morning and Evening

In you, O LORD, have I taken refuge; *

let me never be ashamed.

In your righteousness, deliver me and set me free; *

incline your ear to me and save me.

Be my strong rock, a castle to keep me safe; *

you are my crag and my stronghold.

Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked, *

from the clutches of the evildoer and the oppressor.

For you are my hope, O LORD God, *

my confidence since I was young.

I have been sustained by you ever since I was born;

from my mother's womb you have been my strength; *

my praise shall be always of you.

I have become a portent to many; *

but you are my refuge and my strength.

Let my mouth be full of your praise *

and your glory all the day long.

Do not cast me off in my old age; *

forsake me not when my strength fails.

For my enemies are talking against me, *

and those who lie in wait for my life take counsel together.

They say, "God has forsaken him;

go after him and seize him; *

because there is none who will save."

O God, be not far from me; *

come quickly to help me, O my God.

Let those who set themselves against me be put to shame and be disgraced; *

let those who seek to do me evil be covered with scorn and reproach.

But I shall always wait in patience, *

and shall praise you more and more.

My mouth shall recount your mighty acts

and saving deeds all day long; *

though I cannot know the number of them.

I will begin with the mighty works of the Lord GOD; *

I will recall your righteousness, yours alone.

O God, you have taught me since I was young, *

and to this day I tell of your wonderful works.

And now that I am old and gray-headed, O God, do not forsake me, *

till I make known your strength to this generation

and your power to all who are to come.

Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the heavens; *

you have done great things;

who is like you, O God?

You have showed me great troubles and adversities, *

but you will restore my life

and bring me up again from the deep places of the earth.

You strengthen me more and more; *

you enfold and comfort me,

Therefore I will praise you upon the lyre for your faithfulness, O my God; *

I will sing to you with the harp, O Holy One of Israel.

My lips will sing with joy when I play to you, *

and so will my soul, which you have redeemed.

My tongue will proclaim your righteousness all day long, *

for they are ashamed and disgraced who sought to do me harm.

Give the King your justice, O God, *

and your righteousness to the King's son;

That he may rule your people righteously *

and the poor with justice;

That the mountains may bring prosperity to the people, *

and the little hills bring righteousness.

He shall defend the needy among the people; *

he shall rescue the poor and crush the oppressor.

He shall live as long as the sun and moon endure, *

from one generation to another.

He shall come down like rain upon the mown field, *

like showers that water the earth.

In his time shall the righteous flourish; *

there shall be abundance of peace till the moon shall be no more.

He shall rule from sea to sea, *

and from the River to the ends of the earth.

His foes shall bow down before him, *

and his enemies lick the dust.

The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall pay tribute, *

and the kings of Arabia and Saba offer gifts.

All kings shall bow down before him, *

and all the nations do him service.

For he shall deliver the poor who cries out in distress, *

and the oppressed who has no helper.

He shall have pity on the lowly and poor; *

he shall preserve the lives of the needy.

He shall redeem their lives from oppression and violence, *

and dear shall their blood be in his sight.

Long may he live!

and may there be given to him gold from Arabia; *

may prayer be made for him always,

and may they bless him all the day long.

May there be abundance of grain on the earth,

growing thick even on the hilltops; *

may its fruit flourish like Lebanon,

and its grain like grass upon the earth.

May his Name remain for ever

and be established as long as the sun endures; *

may all the nations bless themselves in him and call him blessed.

Blessed be the Lord GOD, the God of Israel, *

who alone does wondrous deeds!

And blessed be his glorious Name for ever! *

and may all the earth be filled with his glory.

Amen. Amen.

Truly, God is good to Israel, *

to those who are pure in heart.

But as for me, my feet had nearly slipped; *

I had almost tripped and fallen;

Because I envied the proud *

and saw the prosperity of the wicked:

For they suffer no pain, *

and their bodies are sleek and sound;

In the misfortunes of others they have no share; *

they are not afflicted as others are;

Therefore they wear their pride like a necklace *

and wrap their violence about them like a cloak.

Their iniquity comes from gross minds, *

and their hearts overflow with wicked thoughts.

They scoff and speak maliciously; *

out of their haughtiness they plan oppression.

They set their mouths against the heavens, *

and their evil speech runs through the world.

And so the people turn to them *

and find in them no fault.

They say, "How should God know? *

is there knowledge in the Most High?"

So then, these are the wicked; *

always at ease, they increase their wealth.

In vain have I kept my heart clean, *

and washed my hands in innocence.

I have been afflicted all day long, *

and punished every morning.

Had I gone on speaking this way, *

I should have betrayed the generation of your children.

When I tried to understand these things, *

it was too hard for me;

Until I entered the sanctuary of God *

and discerned the end of the wicked.

Surely, you set them in slippery places; *

you cast them down in ruin.

Oh, how suddenly do they come to destruction, *

come to an end, and perish from terror!

Like a dream when one awakens, O Lord, *

when you arise you will make their image vanish.

When my mind became embittered, *

I was sorely wounded in my heart.

I was stupid and had no understanding; *

I was like a brute beast in your presence.

Yet I am always with you; *

you hold me by my right hand.

You will guide me by your counsel, *

and afterwards receive me with glory.

Whom have I in heaven but you? *

and having you I desire nothing upon earth.

Though my flesh and my heart should waste away, *

God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever.

Truly, those who forsake you will perish; *

you destroy all who are unfaithful.

But it is good for me to be near God; *

I have made the Lord GOD my refuge.

I will speak of all your works *

in the gates of the city of Zion.

O God, why have you utterly cast us off? *

why is your wrath so hot against the sheep of your pasture?

Remember your congregation that you purchased long ago, *

the tribe you redeemed to be your inheritance,

and Mount Zion where you dwell.

Turn your steps toward the endless ruins; *

the enemy has laid waste everything in your sanctuary.

Your adversaries roared in your holy place; *

they set up their banners as tokens of victory.

They were like men coming up with axes to a grove of trees; *

they broke down all your carved work with hatchets and hammers.

They set fire to your holy place; *

they defiled the dwelling-place of your Name

and razed it to the ground.

They said to themselves, "Let us destroy them altogether." *

They burned down all the meeting-places of God in the land.

There are no signs for us to see;

there is no prophet left; *

there is not one among us who knows how long.

How long, O God, will the adversary scoff? *

will the enemy blaspheme your Name for ever?

Why do you draw back your hand? *

why is your right hand hidden in your bosom?

Yet God is my King from ancient times, *

victorious in the midst of the earth.

You divided the sea by your might *

and shattered the heads of the dragons upon the waters;

You crushed the heads of Leviathan *

and gave him to the people of the desert for food.

You split open spring and torrent; *

you dried up ever-flowing rivers.

Yours is the day, yours also the night; *

you established the moon and the sun.

You fixed all the boundaries of the earth; *

you made both summer and winter.

Remember, O LORD, how the enemy scoffed, *

how a foolish people despised your Name.

Do not hand over the life of your dove to wild beasts; *

never forget the lives of your poor.

Look upon your covenant; *

the dark places of the earth are haunts of violence.

Let not the oppressed turn away ashamed; *

let the poor and needy praise your Name.

Arise, O God, maintain your cause; *

remember how fools revile you all day long.

Forget not the clamor of your adversaries, *

the unending tumult of those who rise up against you.