Day 29 of the 30-day Psalter: Morning and Evening

LORD, you have searched me out and known me; *

you know my sitting down and my rising up;

you discern my thoughts from afar.

You trace my journeys and my resting-places *

and are acquainted with all my ways.

Indeed, there is not a word on my lips, *

but you, O LORD, know it altogether.

You press upon me behind and before *

and lay your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; *

it is so high that I cannot attain to it.

Where can I go then from your Spirit? *

where can I flee from your presence?

If I climb up to heaven, you are there; *

if I make the grave my bed, you are there also.

If I take the wings of the morning *

and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

Even there your hand will lead me *

and your right hand hold me fast.

If I say, "Surely the darkness will cover me, *

and the light around me turn to night,"

Darkness is not dark to you;

the night is as bright as the day; *

darkness and light to you are both alike.

For you yourself created my inmost parts; *

you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I will thank you because I am marvelously made; *

your works are wonderful, and I know it well.

My body was not hidden from you, *

while I was being made in secret

and woven in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes beheld my limbs, yet unfinished in the womb;

all of them were written in your book; *

they were fashioned day by day,

when as yet there was none of them.

How deep I find your thoughts, O God! *

how great is the sum of them!

If I were to count them, they would be more in number than the sand; *

to count them all, my life span would need to be like yours.

Oh, that you would slay the wicked, O God! *

You that thirst for blood, depart from me.

They speak despitefully against you; *

your enemies take your Name in vain.

Do I not hate those, O LORD, who hate you? *

and do I not loathe those who rise up against you?

I hate them with a perfect hatred; *

they have become my own enemies.

Search me out, O God, and know my heart; *

try me and know my restless thoughts.

Look well whether there be any wickedness in me *

and lead me in the way that is everlasting.

Deliver me, O LORD, from evildoers; *

protect me from the violent,

Who devise evil in their hearts *

and stir up strife all day long.

They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; *

adder's poison is under their lips.

Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; *

protect me from the violent,

who are determined to trip me up.

The proud have hidden a snare for me

and stretched out a net of cords; *

they have set traps for me along the path.

I have said to the LORD, "You are my God; *

listen, O LORD, to my supplication.

O Lord GOD, the strength of my salvation, *

you have covered my head in the day of battle.

Do not grant the desires of the wicked, O LORD, *

nor let their evil plans prosper.

Let not those who surround me lift up their heads; *

let the evil of their lips overwhelm them.

Let hot burning coals fall upon them; *

let them be cast into the mire, never to rise up again."

A slanderer shall not be established on the earth, *

and evil shall hunt down the lawless.

I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the poor *

and render justice to the needy.

Surely, the righteous will give thanks to your Name, *

and the upright shall continue in your sight.

O LORD, I call to you; come to me quickly; *

hear my voice when I cry to you.

Let my prayer be set forth in your sight as incense, *

the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

Set a watch before my mouth, O LORD,

and guard the door of my lips; *

let not my heart incline to any evil thing.

Let me not be occupied in wickedness with evildoers, *

nor eat of their choice foods.

Let the righteous smite me in friendly rebuke;

let not the oil of the unrighteous anoint my head; *

for my prayer is continually against their wicked deeds.

Let their rulers be overthrown in stony places, *

that they may know my words are true.

As when a plowman turns over the earth in furrows, *

let their bones be scattered at the mouth of the grave.

But my eyes are turned to you, Lord GOD; *

in you I take refuge;

do not strip me of my life.

Protect me from the snare which they have laid for me *

and from the traps of the evildoers.

Let the wicked fall into their own nets, *

while I myself escape.

I cry to the LORD with my voice; *

to the LORD I make loud supplication.

I pour out my complaint before him *

and tell him all my trouble.

When my spirit languishes within me, you know my path; *

in the way wherein I walk they have hidden a trap for me.

I look to my right hand and find no one who knows me; *

I have no place to flee to, and no one cares for me.

I cry out to you, O LORD; *

I say, "You are my refuge,

my portion in the land of the living."

Listen to my cry for help, for I have been brought very low; *

save me from those who pursue me,

for they are too strong for me.

Bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to your Name; *

when you have dealt bountifully with me,

the righteous will gather around me.

LORD, hear my prayer,

and in your faithfulness heed my supplications; *

answer me in your righteousness.

Enter not into judgment with your servant, *

for in your sight shall no one living be justified.

For my enemy has sought my life;

he has crushed me to the ground; *

he has made me live in dark places like those who are long dead.

My spirit faints within me; *

my heart within me is desolate.

I remember the time past;

I muse upon all your deeds; *

I consider the works of your hands.

I spread out my hands to you; *

my soul gasps to you like a thirsty land.

O LORD, make haste to answer me; my spirit fails me; *

do not hide your face from me

or I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.

Let me hear of your loving-kindness in the morning,

for I put my trust in you; *

show me the road that I must walk,

for I lift up my soul to you.

Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD, *

for I flee to you for refuge.

Teach me to do what pleases you, for you are my God; *

let your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

Revive me, O LORD, for your Name's sake; *

for your righteousness' sake, bring me out of trouble.

Of your goodness, destroy my enemies

and bring all my foes to naught, *

for truly I am your servant.