Wednesday

Tenth Kathisma

David's. A Psalm of the Sons of Jonadab and the First That Were Taken Away Captive. Without Superscription among the Hebrews, 70.

In Thee, O Lord, have I hoped, let me not be put to shame in the age to come; in Thy righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline Thine ear unto me and save me. Be Thou unto me a God that is my defender and a place of strength that Thou mayest save me, for Thou art my foundation and refuge. O my God, deliver me out of the hand of the sinner, out of the hand of the transgressor and the unrighteous man. For Thou art my patience, O Lord; O Lord, Thou art my hope from my youth. On Thee have I been made fast from the womb; from my mother’s womb Thou art my protector. In Thee continually is my singing of praise; I am become as a wonder to many, and Thou art my strong helper. Let my mouth be filled with praise, that I may hymn Thy glory and Thy majesty all the day long. Cast me not away in the time of mine old age; when my strength faileth, forsake me not. For mine enemies have spoken against me, and they that watch my soul took counsel together, saying: God hath forsaken him; pursue him and take him for there is none to deliver him. My God, be not far off from me; my God, be attentive unto helping me. Let them be put to shame and brought to nought that falsely accuse my soul; let them be covered with shame and confusion, they that seek evils for me. But as for me, I will ever hope in Thee, and I will add to all Thy praise. My mouth shall declare Thy righteousness, all the day long Thy salvation; for I know not the reckoning thereof. I will commence in the might of the Lord; O Lord, I will make mention of the righteousness which is Thine alone. O my God, Thou hast taught me from my youth, and till now will I declare Thy wondrous works. Yea, even unto old age and the dignity of years, my God, forsake me not, Until I declare Thy mighty arm to every generation that is to come, Yea, Thy sovereignty and Thy righteousness, O God, and declare even to the heights the great things which Thou hast done for me. O God, who is like unto Thee? How great are the many and evil afflictions which Thou hast showed unto me; yet, having returned, Thou madest me to live, and out of the depths of the earth Thou broughtest me up. Thou hast multiplied Thy magnificence over me; and having returned, Thou hast comforted me, and out of the depths of the earth Thou broughtest me up. Thou hast multiplied Thy magnificence over me; and having returned, Thou hast comforted me, and out of the depths of the earth again Thou broughtest me up. Therefore also will I confess Thee among the peoples, O Lord, with instruments of psalmody; with the harp I will chant of Thy truth unto Thee, O God, O Holy One of Israel. My lips shall rejoice when I chant unto Thee, yea, even my soul which Thou hast redeemed. Moreover my tongue will meditate on Thy righteousness all the day long, when they be put to shame and confounded which seek evils for me.

For the End: A Psalm of David, for Solomon, 71.

O God, give Thy judgement to the king, and Thy righteousness to the son of the king, That he may judge Thy people with righteousness, and Thy poor with judgement. Let the mountains receive peace for the people, and let the hills receive righteousness. He shall judge the beggars among the people, and shall save the sons of the poor, and shall humble the false accuser. And He shall continue as long as the sun, and before the moon from generation to generation. He shall come down like rain upon a fleece, and like rain-drops that fall upon the earth. In His days shall righteousness dawn forth an abundance of peace, until the moon be taken away. And He shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the rivers even unto the ends of the inhabited earth. Before Him shall the Ethiopians fall down, and His enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tharsis and the islands shall bring gifts, kings of the Arabians and of Saba shall bring presents. And all the kings of the earth shall worship Him, all the nations shall serve Him, For He hath delivered the beggar from the oppressor, and the poor man for whom there was no helper. He shall spare the poor man and the pauper, and the souls of the poor shall He save. From usury and from injustices shall He redeem their souls, and precious shall be His name before them. And He shall live, and there shall be given unto Him of the gold of Arabia, and they shall make prayer concerning Him always; all the day long shall they bless Him. He shall be a support in the earth on the summits of the mountains; exalted more than Lebanon shall be His fruit, and they of the city shall flourish like the grass of the earth. His name shall be blessed unto the ages, before the sun doth His name continue. And in Him shall be blessed all the tribes of the earth, all the nations shall call Him blessed. Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, Who alone doeth wonders. And blessed is the name of His glory for ever, and unto the ages of ages. And all the earth shall be filled with His glory. So be it. So be it.

Glory.

A Psalm for Asaph; an Ode to the Assyrian, 72.

How good is God to Israel, to them that are upright of heart! But as for me, my feet were all but shaken; my steps well nigh had slipped. For I was jealous of the transgressors, when I beheld the peace of sinners. For they make no sign of refusal in the time of their death, and they have steadfastness in the time of their scourging. They are not in such toils as other men, nor with other men shall they be scourged. Wherefore, their pride hath utterly mastered them, they have wrapped themselves in their injustice and ungodliness. Their injustice shall go forth as out of fatness, they have passed through to their heart’s intent. They have thought and spoken in wickedness, they have spoken unrighteousness in arrogance. They have set their mouth against heaven, and their tongue roveth in the earth. Therefore shall my people return hither, and full days shall be found in them. And they said: How doth God know? And is there knowledge in the Most High? Behold, these are the sinners; they prosper in this age and have obtained riches. And I said: Surely in vain have I kept justice in my heart and washed my hands among the innocent. And I became a man scourged all the day long, and reproof was mine in every morning. And I said: I shall speak thus: Lo, I should have broken covenant with the generation of Thy sons. And I sought to understand, but this was toilsome in my sight, until I come into the sanctuary of God and understand their end. Surely, for their crafty dealings Thou hast appointed evils for them; Thou hast cast them down in their exaltation. How are they come unto desolation in a moment! They have ceased to be; they have perished because of their iniquity. As a dream of one who waketh, O Lord, in Thy city Thou shalt bring their image to nought. For my heart was fired and my reins have been changed; and I was brought to nought and knew it not. I became as a beast before Thee, and I am ever with Thee. Thou hast held me by my right hand, and by Thy counsel Thou hast guided me, and with glory hast Thou taken me to Thyself. For what have I in heaven? And besides Thee, what have I desired upon earth? My heart and my flesh have failed, O God of my heart; and God is my portion for ever. For behold, they that remove themselves from Thee shall perish; Thou hast destroyed all that go a whoring from Thee. But it is good for me to cleave unto God, to put my hope in the Lord, that I may declare all Thy praises in the gates of the daughter of Sion.

Asaph's. Concerning Instruction, 73.

O God, why hast Thou cast us off unto the end? Why hath Thine anger raged against the sheep of Thy pasture? Remember Thy congregation which Thou hast purchased from the beginning. Thou hast redeemed the rod of Thine inheritance, this Mount Sion wherein Thou hast dwelt. Lift up Thy hands against their pride at the end, against the things which the enemy hath wickedly done in Thy holy place. And they that hate Thee have boasted in the midst of Thy feast. They set up their ensigns, yea, signs (though they knew it not) as it were for the departing on high. As in a forest of trees, with axes they cut down the doors thereof together, with two-edged axe and mason’s hammer have they broken it down. With fire have they burned down Thy sanctuary, they have profaned even unto the ground the habitation of Thy name. They said in their heart, even the whole kindred of them together: Come, let us abolish all the feasts of God from the earth. Our signs have we not seen; there is no more any prophet, and he will know us no more. How long, O God, shall the enemy utter reproaches? Shall the adversary provoke Thy name to the end? Wherefore turnest away Thy hand, and Thy right hand out of the midst of Thy bosom for ever? But God is our king before the ages, He hath wrought salvation in the midst of the earth. Thou didst establish the sea by Thy might, Thou didst break the heads of the dragons in the water. Thou didst crush the head of the dragon, Thou gavest him as food to the Ethiopian peoples. Thou hast cloven fountains and torrents, Thou hast dried up the rivers of Etham. Thine is the day and Thine is the night; Thou hast perfected the light and the sun. Thou hast made all the borders of the earth; summer and spring hast Thou fashioned. Be mindful of this Thy creation. The enemy hath reproached the Lord, and a mindless people hath provoked Thy name. O deliver not unto beasts the soul which doth confess Thee; of the souls of Thy paupers be not forgetful unto the end. Look Thou upon Thy covenant, for the dark places of the earth are filled with the houses of iniquity. Let not the humbled and shamed man be turned away; the beggar and the poor man shall praise Thy name. Arise, O God, judge Thine own cause; remember the reproach made against Thee by the mindless man all the day long. Forget not the voice of Thy suppliants; the pride of them that hate Thee ascendeth continually.

Glory.

For the End: Destroy not. A Canticle Psalm for Asaph, 74.

We will confess Thee, O God, we will confess Thee, and we will call upon Thy name. I will tell of all Thy wonders. When I am given the appointed time, I will judge uprightly. The earth is melted and all that dwell therein; it is I that made steadfast the pillars thereof. I said to the transgressors: Do not transgress; and to the sinners: Lift not up the horn. Lift not up your horn on high, and speak not unrighteousness against God. For judgement cometh not from the byways, nor from the west, nor from the desert mountains; for God is judge. This man He humbleth, and another He exalteth; for in the hand of the Lord there is a brimming cup of unmingled wine. And He hath inclined it from side to side, but the dregs thereof were not fully emptied out; all the sinners of the earth shall drink of them. But as for me, I will rejoice for ever; I will chant unto the God of Jacob. And all the horns of the sinners will I break, but the horn of the righteous man shall be exalted.

For the End: Among the Hymns. A Psalm for Asaph, an Ode to the Assyrian, 75.

In Judea is God known, His name is great in Israel. And His place hath been made in peace, and His dwelling in Sion. There did He break the power of the bow, the weapon and the sword and the battle. Thou shinest wondrously from the everlasting mountains; all the foolish of heart were troubled. They have slept their sleep, and all the men of wealth have found nothing in their hands. At Thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, they that had mounted upon horses fell aslumber. Thou art to be feared, and who shall withstand Thee? From thenceforth is Thy wrath; Thou didst cause judgement to be heard from heaven. The earth feared and was still, when God rose to judgement to save all the meek of the earth. For the inward thought of man shall give praise unto Thee, and the remainder of his inward thought shall keep a feast to Thee. Make your vows and pay them to the Lord our God; all that are round about Him shall bring gifts, To Him that is to be feared and taketh away the spirits of princes, to Him that is to be feared among the kings of the earth.

For the End: A Psalm for Asaph Concerning Idithum, 76.

With my voice unto the Lord have I cried, with my voice unto God, and He was attentive unto me. In the day of mine affliction I sought out God, with my hands upraised by night before Him, and I was not deceived. My soul refused to be comforted; I remembered God and I was gladdened; I spake in idleness and my spirit became faint-hearted. Mine eyes were wakeful before the watches; I was troubled and spake not. I thought upon the days of old, and the years of ages past I called to mind, and I meditated. By night I pondered in my heart, and my spirit searched diligently. Will the Lord then cast me off unto the ages, and will He be favourable no more? Or will He cut off His mercy unto the end? Hath He brought to an end His word from generation to generation? Or will the Lord forget to be merciful? Or in His wrath will He shut up His compassions for ever? And I said: Now have I made a beginning; this change hath been wrought by the right hand of the Most High. I remembered the works of the Lord; for I will remember Thy wonders from the beginning. And I will meditate on all Thy works, and I shall ponder upon Thy ways. O God, in the sanctuary is Thy way. What God is as great as our God? Thou art God Who workest wonders. Thou hast made Thy power among the peoples; with Thine arm hast Thou redeemed Thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. The waters saw Thee, O God, the waters saw Thee and were afraid; the abysses were troubled. Great was the resounding sound of the waters, the clouds gave forth a voice. Yea, for thine arrows passed abroad; the voice of Thy thunder is in their rolling. And Thy lightnings have lightened the world; the earth was shaken and it trembled. In the sea are Thy byways, and Thy paths in many waters; and Thy footsteps shall not be known. Thou leddest Thy people as sheep by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Glory.

Eleventh Kathisma

Concerning Instruction. For Asaph, 77.

Give heed, O my people, to my law; incline your ear unto the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter dark sayings which have been from the beginning, Even those things that we have heard and have known and which our fathers have told us. They were not hid from their children in another generation. They declared the praises of the Lord and His mighty acts and His wonders which He wrought. And He raised up a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, Even those things He had commanded our fathers, to make the same known unto their children, that another generation might know, Even the sons about to be born, that they in turn might arise and declare them unto their sons, That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but seek after His commandments, That they might not be as their fathers, a generation perverse and provoking, A generation that set not their heart aright, and which kept not their spirit steadfast with God. The sons of Ephraim that bend and shoot with bows turned back in the day of battle. They kept not the covenant of God, and in His law they were not fain to walk. They forgot His benefits and His wonders that He had showed to them, even the wonders that He had showed to them, even the wonders He had done in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, and in the plains of Tanis. He divided the sea, and brought them through; He made the waters to stand as in a wineskin. He guided them with a cloud by day, and all the night with a light of fire. He divided the rock in the wilderness, and gave them to drink as in a great deep. He led forth water out of the rock, and brought down waters like rivers. And they added yet more sin against Him, they embittered the Most High in the waterless place. And they made trial of God in their hearts, by asking food for their souls. And they spake against God, and they said: Cannot God prepare a table in the wilderness? Because He smote a rock, and waters streamed forth, and the torrents overflowed, Cannot He give bread also, or prepare a table for His people? Wherefore, the Lord heard and was stirred up, and a fire was kindled in Jacob, and wrath rose up against Israel, Because they believed not in God, nor hoped in His salvation. And He commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven, And rained manna on them to eat, and bread of heaven did He give unto them. Man ate the bread of angels; provision He sent them to the full. He removed the south wind from heaven, and brought in by His might the southwest wind. And He rained on them flesh as it were dust, and feathered birds like the sands of the sea, Which fell in the midst of their camp, round about their tents. And they ate and were filled exceedingly, and their desire did He give unto them; nor were they deprived of their desire. But while their food was yet in their mouth, the wrath of God rose up against them. And He slew their stout ones, and shackled the choice men of Israel. In all these things they sinned the more, and believed not in His wonders. And their days were consumed in vanity, and their years with haste. When He slew them, then they sought after Him, and they turned back and enquired early after God. And they remembered that God is their helper, and that God the Most High is their redeemer. And they loved Him with their mouth, and with their tongue they lied to Him, For their heart was not right with Him, nor were they faithful in His covenant. But He is compassionate and will be gracious unto their sins, and He will not destroy. And many a time will He turn His anger away, and will not kindle all His wrath. And He remembered that they are but flesh, breath which passeth away and cometh not back again. How often did they embitter Him in the wilderness, and move Him to wrath in the waterless land! They turned back and made trial of God and provoked the Holy One of Israel. They remembered not His hand, nor the day wherein He redeemed them from the hand of the oppressor, How He had wrought in Egypt His signs, and His marvels in the plain of Tanis. Yea, He had turned into blood their rivers and their rainfalls, that they might not drink. He had sent against them the dog-fly, and it devoured them; and the frog, and it destroyed them. And He had given to the cankerworm their fruits, and their labours to the locust. And He destroyed with hail their vine, and their mulberry trees with frost. And He had given over to the hail their cattle, and their substance to the fire. And He sent forth against them the wrath of His anger, anger and wrath and affliction, a mission performed by evil angels. He had made a path for His wrath, and He spared not from death their souls, and their cattle He shut up in death. And He had smitten every firstborn in the land of Egypt, the firstlings of all their labour, in the tabernacles of Ham. And He took away His people as sheep, and He led them forth as a flock in the wilderness. And He guided them in hope and they feared not, and the sea covered up their enemies. And He brought them unto the mountain of His sanctuary, this mountain which His right hand had gained as a possession. He cast out the heathen from before their face, and apportioned them an inheritance by lot. And He settled in their tents the tribes of Israel. But they tempted and embittered God the Most High, and His testimonies they did not keep. And they turned back and brake covenant, even as their fathers did; they became like unto a crooked bow. And they provoked Him to wrath among their hills, and with their graven images they moved Him to jealousy. God heard and regarded them no more, and set Israel utterly at nought. And He rejected His dwelling at Silom, His dwelling where He had dwelt among men. And He gave over to captivity their strength, and their beauty into the hands of enemies. And with a sword He enclosed His people, and His inheritance did He regard no more. Fire consumed their young men, and their virgins lamented not. Their priests fell by the sword, and none shall weep for their widows. And the Lord awoke as one that sleepeth, like a mighty man grown cloyed with wine. And He smote His enemies upon their backs, reproach everlasting He gave to them. And He rejected the dwelling of Joseph, and He chose not the tribe of Ephraim. And He chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Sion which He loved. And He built His sanctuary like that of a unicorn, on the earth He established it for ever. And He chose out David His servant, and took him up from the flocks of sheep, from following the ewes great with young He took him, To shepherd Jacob His servant, and Israel His inheritance. And he did shepherd them in the innocence of his heart, and by the skillfulness of his hands he guided them.

Glory.

A Psalm for Asaph, 78.

O God, the heathen are come into Thine inheritance, they have defiled Thy holy temple; they have made Jerusalem as it were the hut of an orchard-keeper. They have made the dead bodies of Thy servants to be food for the birds of heaven, the flesh of Thy saints for the beasts of the earth. They have poured out their blood like water round about Jerusalem, and there was none to bury them. We are become a reproach among our neighbours, a scorn and derision to them that are round about us. How long, O Lord, wilt Thou be wroth unto the end? Shall Thy jealousy be kindled like fire? Pour out Thy wrath upon the nations that know Thee not, and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon Thy name; For they have devoured Jacob, and his place have they made desolate. O remember not our iniquities of old; let Thy compassions quickly go before us, O Lord, for we are become exceedingly poor. Help us, O God our Saviour, for the sake of the glory of Thy name; O Lord, deliver us and be gracious unto our sins for Thy name's sake, Lest haply the nations say: Where is their God? Yea, make known among the nations before our eyes the vengeance for Thy servant's blood which hath been shed. Let there come before Thee the groaning of them that be in fetters. According to the greatness of Thine arm, show Thy care for the sons of the slain. And render to our neighbours sevenfold into their bosom their reproach, wherewith they have reproached Thee, O Lord; For we are Thy people and the sheep of Thy pasture. We will confess Thee, O God, for ever; unto generation and generation we will declare Thy praise.

For the End: Concerning Those Verses That Are to be Alternated. A Testimony for Asaph; a Psalm Concerning the Assyrian, 79.

O Shepherd of Israel, attend, Thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep. Thou that sittest on the cherubim, manifest Thyself before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasses. Stir up Thy might and come to save us. O God, make us to return and cause Thy face to shine, and we shall be saved. O Lord God of hosts, how long wilt Thou be wroth against the prayer of Thy servants? Wilt Thou feed us with the bread of tears, and wilt Thou give us for drink tears in measure? Thou hast made us a gainsaying among our neighbours, and our enemies have scoffed at us. O Lord of hosts, make us to return and cause Thy face to shine, and we shall be saved. A vine hast Thou brought out of Egypt, Thou hast cast out the heathen and planted it. Thou hast prepared the way before it, and Thou hast planted the roots thereof, and it filled the earth. The shadows thereof covered the mountains, and the boughs thereof the cedars of God. It stretched forth its shoots unto the sea, and its branches unto the rivers. Why hast Thou broken down the hedge thereof, and all that pass along the way do pluck the fruit? The boar of the forest hath laid it to waste, and the wild beast hath devoured it. O God of hosts, return again; and look down from heaven and behold, and visit this vine, And perfect that which Thy right hand hath planted, and look upon the son of man whom Thou madest strong for Thyself. It is burned with fire and is dug up; at the rebuke of Thy face they shall perish. Let Thy hand be upon the man of Thy right hand, and upon the son of man whom Thou madest strong for Thyself. And we will not depart from Thee; Thou shalt quicken us, and we will call upon Thy name. O Lord God of hosts, make us to return and cause Thy face to shine, and we shall be saved.

For the End: A Canticle Psalm for Asaph Concerning the Winepresses, 80.

Rejoice in God our helper, shout with joy to the God of Jacob. Take up a psalm, and bring the timbrel, the pleasant psaltery with the harp. Sound the trumpet at the new moon, in the notable day of our feast. For this is an ordinance for Israel and a judgement of the God of Jacob. He ordained it for a testimony in Joseph when he went out from the land of Egypt; a tongue which he knew not did he hear. He removed his back from burdens; his hands had slaved at the basket. Thou didst call upon Me in affliction, and I delivered thee; I heard thee in the secret place of the tempest, I made trial of thee at the water of gainsaying. Hear, O My people, and I will speak unto thee, O Israel, and I will testify unto thee; if thou hearest Me, there shall be in thee no new god, nor shalt thou worship an alien god, For I am the Lord thy God Who led thee out of the land of Egypt. Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. But My people heard not My voice, and Israel gave no heed unto Me. And I let them go according to the ways of their hearts; they shall walk in their own ways. If My people had heard of Me, if Israel had walked in My ways, Quickly would I have humbled their enemies, and upon their oppressors would I have laid My hand. The enemies of the Lord have lied unto Him, but in that age their time shall come. And He fed them with the fat of the wheat, and with honey out of the rock He satisfied them.

Glory.

A Psalm for Asaph, 81.

God stood in the congregation of the gods, and in the midst He shall stand out among gods. How long will ye judge unrighteously and accept the person of sinners? Judge for the orphan and the poor man, do justice to the humble and the pauper. Rescue the poor man and the needy, from the hand of the sinner deliver him. They have not known, nor understood; they walk in darkness. Let all the foundations of the earth be shaken. I said: Ye are gods, and all of you the sons of the Most High. But like men ye die, and like one of the rulers do ye fall. Arise, O God, judge the earth, for Thou shalt have an inheritance among all the nations.

A Psalmic Ode for Asaph, 82.

O God, who shall be likened unto Thee? Be Thou not silent, neither be still, O God. For behold, Thine enemies have made a noise, and they that hate Thee have lifted up their heads. Against Thy people have they taken wicked counsel, and have conspired against Thy saints. They said: Come, let us utterly destroy them that they may be no more a nation, and let the name of Israel be remembered no more. For they have conspired with oneness of mind together, against Thee have they made a covenant; even the tents of the Idumeans and the Ismaelites, Moab and the Hagarenes, Gebal and Ammon and Amalek, and foreigners with them that dwell at Tyre. Yea, for even Assur is come with them; they are become a help for the sons of Lot. Do unto them as Thou didst unto Madiam and Sisara, as unto Jabin at the brook of Kisson. They were utterly destroyed in Endor, they became as dung for the earth. Make their princes like Oreb and Zeb and Zebee and Salmana. Yea, all their princes who said: Let us take to ourselves for an inheritance the sanctuary of God. O my God, make them like a wheel, as stubble before the face of the wind, As fire which shall burn the forest, as a flame which shall consume the mountains. So shalt Thou pursue them with Thy tempest, and in Thy wrath shalt Thou trouble them. Fill their faces with dishonour, and they shall seek Thy name, O Lord. Let them be shamed and troubled unto ages of ages, and let them be confounded and destroyed. And let them know that Thy name is Lord; Thou alone art Most High over all the earth.

For the End: Concerning the Winepresses; For the Sons of Kore, 83.

How beloved are Thy dwellings, O Lord of hosts; my soul longeth and fainteth for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the living God. For the sparrow hath found herself a house, and the turtledove a nest for herself where she may lay her young, Even Thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are they that dwell in Thy house; unto ages of ages shall they praise Thee. Blessed is the man whose help is from Thee; he hath made ascents in his heart, in the vale of weeping, in the place which he hath appointed. Yea, for the lawgiver will give blessings; they shall go from strength to strength, the God of gods shall be seen in Sion. O Lord of hosts, hearken unto my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob. O God, our defender, behold, and look upon the face of Thine anointed one. For better is one day in Thy courts than thousands elsewhere. I have chosen rather to be an outcast in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of sinners. For the Lord loveth mercy and truth, God will give grace and glory; the Lord will not withhold good things from them that walk in innocence. O Lord God of hosts, blessed is the man that hopeth in Thee.

For the End: A Psalm for the Sons of Kore, 84.

Thou hast been gracious, O Lord, unto Thy land; Thou hast turned back the captivity of Jacob. Thou hast forgiven the iniquities of Thy people, Thou hast covered all their sins. Thou hast made all Thy wrath to cease, Thou hast turned back from the wrath of Thine anger. Turn us back, O God of our salvation, and turn away Thine anger from us. Wilt Thou be wroth with us unto the ages? Or wilt Thou draw out Thy wrath from generation to generation? O God, Thou wilt turn and quicken us, and Thy people shall be glad in Thee. Show us, O Lord, Thy mercy, and Thy salvation do Thou give unto us. I will hear what the Lord God will speak in me; for He will speak peace to His people and to His saints and to them that turn their heart unto Him. Surely nigh unto them that fear Him is His salvation, that glory may dwell in our land. Mercy and truth are met together, righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth is sprung up out of the earth, and righteousness hath looked down from heaven. Yea, for the Lord will give goodness, and our land shall yield her fruit. Righteousness shall go before Him and shall set His footsteps in the way.

Glory.

Twelfth Kathisma

A Prayer of David, 85.

Bow down Thine ear, O Lord, and hearken unto me, for poor and needy am I. Preserve my soul, for I am holy; save Thy servant, O my God, that hopeth in Thee. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for unto Thee will I cry all the day long; make glad the soul of Thy servant, for unto Thee have I lifted up my soul. For Thou, O Lord, art good and gentle, and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon Thee. Give ear, O Lord, unto my prayer, and attend unto the voice of my supplication. In the day of mine affliction have I cried unto Thee, for Thou hast heard me. There is none like unto Thee among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like unto Thy works. All the nations whom Thou hast made shall come and shall worship before Thee, O Lord, and shall glorify Thy name. For Thou art great and workest wonders; Thou alone art God. Guide me, O Lord, in Thy way, and I will walk in Thy truth; let my heart rejoice that I may fear Thy name. I will confess Thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Thy name for ever. For great is Thy mercy upon me, and Thou hast delivered my soul from the nethermost hades. O God, transgressors have risen up against me, and the assembly of the mighty hath sought after my soul, and they have not set Thee before them. But Thou, O Lord my God, art compassionate and merciful, long-suffering and plenteous in mercy, and true. Look upon me and have mercy upon me; give Thy strength unto Thy servant, and save the son of Thy handmaiden. Work in me a sign unto good, and let them that hate me behold and be put to shame; for Thou, O Lord, hast holpen me and comforted me.

A Canticle Psalm, for the Sons of Kore, 86.

His foundations are in the holy mountains; the Lord loveth the gates of Sion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. I will make mention of Raab and Babylon to them that know me. And lo, the foreigners and Tyre and the people of the Ethiopians, these were born there. A man will say: Mother Sion; and: That man was born in her; and: The Most High Himself hath founded her. The Lord shall tell it in the writ of the peoples and the princes, even these that were born in her. How joyous are all they that have their habitation in Thee.

A Psalmic Ode for the Sons of Kore. For the End: Concerning the Response of Maeleth. Concerning the Giving of a Wise Instruction to Aemon the Israelite, 87.

O Lord God of my salvation, by day have I cried and by night before Thee. Let my prayer come before Thee, bow down Thine ear unto my supplication, For filled with evils is my soul, and my life unto hades hath drawn nigh. I am counted with them that go down into the pit; I am become as a man without help, free among the dead, Like the bodies of the slain that sleep in the grave, whom Thou rememberest no more, and they are cut off from Thy hand. They laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness and in the shadow of death. Against me is Thine anger made strong, and all Thy billows hast Thou brought upon me. Thou hast removed my friends afar from me; they have made me an abomination unto themselves. I have been delivered up, and have not come forth; mine eyes are grown weak from poverty. I have cried unto Thee, O Lord, the whole day long; I have stretched out my hands unto Thee. Nay, for the dead wilt Thou work wonders? Or shall physicians raise them up that they may give thanks unto Thee? Nay, shall any in the grave tell of Thy mercy, and of Thy truth in that destruction? Nay, shall Thy wonders be known in that darkness, and Thy righteousness in that land that is forgotten? But as for me, unto Thee, O Lord, have I cried; and in the morning shall my prayer come before Thee. Wherefore, O Lord, dost Thou cast off my soul and turnest Thy face away from me? A poor man am I, and in troubles from my youth; yea, having been exalted, I was humbled and brought to distress. Thy furies have passed upon me, and Thy terrors have sorely troubled me. They came round about me like water, all the day long they compassed me about together. Thou hast removed afar from me friend and neighbour, and mine acquaintances because of my misery.

Glory.

Concerning Instruction; for Etham the Israelite, 88

Of Thy mercies, O Lord, will I sing for ever. Unto generation and generation will I declare Thy truth with my mouth. For Thou hast said: Mercy shall be built up for ever. In the heavens shall Thy truth be established. I have made a covenant with My chosen ones, I have sworn unto David My servant: I will establish thy seed until eternity, and build up thy throne unto generation and generation. The heavens shall confess Thy wonders, O Lord, and Thy truth in the congregation of saints. For who in the clouds shall be compared unto the Lord? And who shall be likened to the Lord among the sons of God? God Who is glorified in the council of the saints is great and terrible towards all that are round about Him. O Lord God of hosts, who is like unto Thee? Mighty art Thou, O Lord, and Thy truth is round about Thee. Thou art sovereign over the strength of the sea, and the tumult of her waves Thou makest calm. Thou hast brought the proud man low as the corpse of one slain, and with the arm of Thy power hast Thou scattered Thine enemies. Thine are the heavens, and Thine is the earth; the world and the fullness thereof hast Thou founded; the north and the sea hast Thou created. Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in Thy name. Thine is the arm that hath might. Let Thy hand be strengthened, let Thy right hand be lifted up on high; righteousness and judgement are the establishment of Thy throne. Mercy and truth shall go before Thy face. Blessed is the people that knoweth jubilation. O Lord, in the light of Thy face shall they walk, and in Thy name shall they rejoice all the day long, and in Thy righteousness shall they be exalted. For the boast of their strength art Thou, and in Thy good pleasure shall our horn be lifted high. For from the Lord is our defense, yea, from the Holy One of Israel, our King. At that time Thou spakest in a vision to Thy sons, and Thou didst say: I have bestowed help on one that is mighty, I have raised up one chosen out of My people. I have found David My servant, with My holy oil have I anointed him. For My hand shall be unto him an ally, and Mine arm shall strengthen him. No advantage shall his enemy have over him, nor shall the son of iniquity avail to hurt him any more. And I will hew down his enemies before his face, and them that hate him shall I put to flight. And My truth and My mercy shall be with him, and in My name shall his horn be lifted high. And I will set his hand in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers. He shall call upon Me and shall say: My Father art Thou, my God, and the helper of my salvation. And as for Me, I will make him My firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth. For ever shall I keep for him My mercy, and My covenant shall be faithful unto him. And I will establish his seed unto ages of ages, and his throne shall be as the days of heaven. If his sons forsake My law, and if they walk not in My judgements, If My statutes they profane, and keep not My commandments, I will visit their iniquities with a rod, and their injustices with scourges. But My mercy will I not disperse away from them, nor will I wrong them in My truth. Nor will I profane My covenant, nor the things that proceed from My lips will I make void. Once have I sworn by My holiness that to David I will not lie; his seed for ever shall abide. And his throne shall be as the sun before Me, and as the moon that is established for ever, and is a faithful witness in the sky.

(Diapsalm)

But Thou hast cast off and brought to nought, Thou hast been wroth with Thine anointed. Thou hast destroyed the covenant of Thy servant, Thou hast profaned his sanctuary unto the earth. Thou hast broken down all his hedges, Thou hast made his strongholds to be his terror. All have despoiled him that pass along the way, he is become a reproach unto his neighbours. Thou hast exalted the right hand of them that afflict him, Thou hast gladdened all his enemies. Thou hast turned away the help of his sword, and hast not helped him in the battle. Thou hast made an end of his purification, his throne unto the earth hast Thou cast down. Thou hast shortened the days of his time, Thou hast poured down shame upon him. How long, O Lord, dost Thou turn away unto the end? Shall Thy wrath burn like fire? Remember what my substance is. Nay, hast Thou created all the sons of man in vain? Who is the man that shall live and not see death? Can he deliver his soul out of the hand of hades? Where are Thine ancient mercies, O Lord, which Thou swarest unto David in Thy truth? Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Thy servants, which I have endured in my bosom from many nations, Wherewith Thine enemies have reproached, O Lord, wherewith they have reproached the recompense of Thine anointed. Blessed is the Lord for ever. So be it. So be it.

Glory.

A Prayer of Moses, the Man of God, 89.

Lord, Thou hast been our refuge in generation and generation. Before the mountains came to be and the earth was formed and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting Thou art. Turn not man away unto lowliness; yea, Thou hast said: Turn back, ye sons of men. For a thousand years in Thine eyes, O Lord, are but as yesterday that is past, and as a watch in the night. Things of no account shall their years be; in the morning like grass shall man pass away. In the morning shall he bloom and pass away, in the evening shall he fall and grow withered and dry. For we have fainted away in Thy wrath, and in Thine anger have we been troubled. Thou hast set our iniquities before Thee; our lifespan is in the light of Thy countenance. For all our days are faded away, and in Thy wrath are we fainted away; our years have, like a spider, spun out their tale. As for the days of our years, in their span they be threescore years and ten. And if we be in strength, mayhap fourscore years; and what is more than these is toil and travail. For mildness is come upon us, and we shall be chastened. Who knoweth the might of Thy wrath? And out of fear of Thee, who can recount Thine anger? So make Thy right hand known to me, and to them that in their heart are instructed in wisdom. Return, O Lord; how long? And be Thou entreated concerning Thy servants. We were filled in the morning with Thy mercy, O Lord, and we rejoiced and were glad. In all our days, let us be glad for the days wherein Thou didst humble us, for the years wherein we saw evils. And look upon Thy servants, and upon Thy works, and do Thou guide their sons. And let the brightness of the Lord our God be upon us, and the works of our hands do Thou guide aright upon us, yea, the work of our hands do Thou guide aright.

A Canticle Praise of David. Without Superscription among the Hebrews, 90.

He that dwelleth in the help of the Most High shall abide in the shelter of the God of heaven. He shall say unto the Lord: Thou art my helper and my refuge. He is my God, and I will hope in Him. For He shall deliver thee from the snare of the hunters and from every troubling word. With His shoulders will He overshadow thee, and under His wings shalt thou have hope. With a shield will His truth encompass thee; thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day, Nor for the thing that walketh in darkness, nor for the mishap and demon of noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand, but unto thee shall it not come nigh. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold, and thou shalt see the reward of sinners. For Thou, O Lord, art my hope. Thou madest the Most High thy refuge; No evils shall come nigh thee, and no scourge shall draw nigh unto thy dwelling. For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. On their hands shall they bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Upon the asp and basilisk shalt thou tread, and thou shalt trample upon the lion and dragon. For he hath set his hope on Me, and I will deliver him; I will shelter him because he hath known My name. He shall cry unto Me, and I will hearken unto him. I am with him in affliction, and I will rescue him and glorify him. With length of days will I satisfy him, and I will show him My salvation.

Glory.