Day 7 of the 30-day Psalter: Morning and Evening

Fight those who fight me, O LORD; *

attack those who are attacking me.

Take up shield and armor *

and rise up to help me.

Draw the sword and bar the way against those who pursue me; *

say to my soul, "I am your salvation."

Let those who seek after my life be shamed and humbled; *

let those who plot my ruin fall back and be dismayed.

Let them be like chaff before the wind, *

and let the angel of the LORD drive them away.

Let their way be dark and slippery, *

and let the angel of the LORD pursue them.

For they have secretly spread a net for me without a cause; *

without a cause they have dug a pit to take me alive.

Let ruin come upon them unawares; *

let them be caught in the net they hid;

let them fall into the pit they dug.

Then I will be joyful in the LORD; *

I will glory in his victory.

My very bones will say, "LORD, who is like you? *

You deliver the poor from those who are too strong for them,

the poor and needy from those who rob them."

Malicious witnesses rise up against me; *

they charge me with matters I know nothing about.

They pay me evil in exchange for good; *

my soul is full of despair.

But when they were sick I dressed in sack-cloth *

and humbled myself by fasting.

I prayed with my whole heart,

as one would for a friend or a brother; *

I behaved like one who mourns for his mother,

bowed down and grieving.

But when I stumbled, they were glad and gathered together;

they gathered against me; *

strangers whom I did not know tore me to pieces and would not stop.

They put me to the test and mocked me; *

they gnashed at me with their teeth.

O Lord, how long will you look on? *

rescue me from the roaring beasts,

and my life from the young lions.

I will give you thanks in the great congregation; *

I will praise you in the mighty throng.

Do not let my treacherous foes rejoice over me, *

nor let those who hate me without a cause wink at each other.

For they do not plan for peace, *

but invent deceitful schemes against the quiet in the land.

They opened their mouths at me and said, *

"Aha! we saw it with our own eyes."

You saw it, O LORD; do not be silent; *

O Lord, be not far from me.

Awake, arise, to my cause! *

to my defense, my God and my Lord!

Give me justice, O LORD my God,

according to your righteousness; *

do not let them triumph over me.

Do not let them say in their hearts,

"Aha! just what we want!" *

Do not let them say, "We have swallowed him up."

Let all who rejoice at my ruin be ashamed and disgraced; *

let those who boast against me be clothed with dismay and shame.

Let those who favor my cause sing out with joy and be glad; *

let them say always, "Great is the LORD,

who desires the prosperity of his servant."

And my tongue shall be talking of your righteousness *

and of your praise all the day long.

There is a voice of rebellion deep in the heart of the wicked; *

there is no fear of God before his eyes.

He flatters himself in his own eyes *

that his hateful sin will not be found out.

The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful; *

he has left off acting wisely and doing good.

He thinks up wickedness upon his bed

and has set himself in no good way; *

he does not abhor that which is evil.

Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, *

and your faithfulness to the clouds.

Your righteousness is like the strong mountains,

your justice like the great deep; *

you save both man and beast, O LORD.

How priceless is your love, O God! *

your people take refuge under the shadow of your wings.

They feast upon the abundance of your house; *

you give them drink from the river of your delights.

For with you is the well of life, *

and in your light we see light.

Continue your loving-kindness to those who know you, *

and your favor to those who are true of heart.

Let not the foot of the proud come near me, *

nor the hand of the wicked push me aside.

See how they are fallen, those who work wickedness! *

they are cast down and shall not be able to rise.

Do not fret yourself because of evildoers; *

do not be jealous of those who do wrong.

For they shall soon wither like the grass, *

and like the green grass fade away.

Put your trust in the LORD and do good; *

dwell in the land and feed on its riches.

Take delight in the LORD, *

and he shall give you your heart's desire.

Commit your way to the LORD and put your trust in him, *

and he will bring it to pass.

He will make your righteousness as clear as the light *

and your just dealing as the noonday.

Be still before the LORD *

and wait patiently for him.

Do not fret yourself over the one who prospers, *

the one who succeeds in evil schemes.

Refrain from anger, leave rage alone; *

do not fret yourself; it leads only to evil.

For evildoers shall be cut off, *

but those who wait upon the LORD shall possess the land.

In a little while the wicked shall be no more; *

you shall search out their place, but they will not be there.

But the lowly shall possess the land; *

they will delight in abundance of peace.

The wicked plot against the righteous *

and gnash at them with their teeth.

The Lord laughs at the wicked, *

because he sees that their day will come.

The wicked draw their sword and bend their bow

to strike down the poor and needy, *

to slaughter those who are upright in their ways.

Their sword shall go through their own heart, *

and their bow shall be broken.

The little that the righteous has *

is better than great riches of the wicked.

For the power of the wicked shall be broken, *

but the LORD upholds the righteous.

The LORD cares for the lives of the godly, *

and their inheritance shall last for ever.

They shall not be ashamed in bad times, *

and in days of famine they shall have enough.

As for the wicked, they shall perish, *

and the enemies of the LORD, like the glory of the meadows, shall vanish;

they shall vanish like smoke.

The wicked borrow and do not repay, *

but the righteous are generous in giving.

Those who are blessed by God shall possess the land, *

but those who are cursed by him shall be destroyed.

Our steps are directed by the LORD; *

he strengthens those in whose way he delights.

If they stumble, they shall not fall headlong, *

for the LORD holds them by the hand.

I have been young and now I am old, *

but never have I seen the righteous forsaken,

or their children begging bread.

The righteous are always generous in their lending, *

and their children shall be a blessing.

Turn from evil, and do good, *

and dwell in the land for ever.

For the LORD loves justice; *

he does not forsake his faithful ones.

They shall be kept safe for ever, *

but the offspring of the wicked shall be destroyed.

The righteous shall possess the land *

and dwell in it for ever.

The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, *

and their tongue speaks what is right.

The law of their God is in their heart, *

and their footsteps shall not falter.

The wicked spy on the righteous *

and seek occasion to kill them.

The LORD will not abandon them to their hand, *

nor let them be found guilty when brought to trial.

Wait upon the LORD and keep his way; *

he will raise you up to possess the land,

and when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

I have seen the wicked in their arrogance, *

flourishing like a tree in full leaf.

I went by, and behold, they were not there; *

I searched for them, but they could not be found.

Mark those who are honest;

observe the upright; *

for there is a future for the peaceable.

Transgressors shall be destroyed, one and all; *

the future of the wicked is cut off.

But the deliverance of the righteous comes from the LORD; *

he is their stronghold in time of trouble.

The LORD will help them and rescue them; *

he will rescue them from the wicked and deliver them,

because they seek refuge in him.