51  Miserere mei, Deus
   
1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your
                             loving-kindness; *
    in your great compassion blot out my offenses.
   
2 Wash me through and through from my wickedness *
    and cleanse me from my sin.
   
3 For I know my transgressions, *
    and my sin is ever before me.
   
4 Against you only have I sinned *
    and done what is evil in your sight.
   
5 And so you are justified when you speak *
    and upright in your judgment.
   
6 Indeed, I have been wicked from my birth, *
    a sinner from my mother's womb.
   
7 For behold, you look for truth deep within me, *
    and will make me understand wisdom secretly
   
8 Purge me from my sin, and I shall be pure; *
    wash me, and I shall be clean indeed.
   
9 Make me hear of joy and gladness, *
    that the body you have broken may rejoice.
   
10 Hide your face from my sins *
    and blot out all my iniquities.

 

 

656    Psalm 51

 
11 Create in me a clean heart, O God, *
    and renew a right spirit within me.
   
12 Cast me not away from your presence *
    and take not your holy Spirit from me.
   
13 Give me the joy of your saving help again *
    and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit.
   
14 I shall teach your ways to the wicked, *
    and sinners shall return to you.
   
15 Deliver me from death, O God, *
    and my tongue shall sing of your righteousness,
    O God of my salvation.
   
16 Open my lips, O Lord, *
    and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
   
17 Had you desired it, I would have offered sacrifice, *
    but you take no delight in burnt-offerings.
   
18 The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit; *
    a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
   
19 Be favorable and gracious to Zion, *
    and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
   
20 Then you will be pleased with the appointed sacrifices,
with burnt-offerings and oblations; *
    then shall they offer young bullocks upon your altar.
   
  52  Quid gloriaris?
   
1 You tyrant, why do you boast of wickedness *
    against the godly all day long?

 

 

Psalm 52     657

 

2 You plot ruin;
your tongue is like a sharpened razor, *
    O worker of deception.
   
3 You love evil more than good *
    and lying more than speaking the truth.
   
4 You love all words that hurt, *
    O you deceitful tongue.
   
5 Oh, that God would demolish you utterly, *
    topple you, and snatch you from your dwelling,
    and root you out of the land of the living!
   
6 The righteous shall see and tremble, *
    and they shall laugh at him, saying,
   
7 "This is the one who did not take God for a refuge, *
    but trusted in great wealth
    and relied upon wickedness."
   
8 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; *
    I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.
   
9 I will give you thanks for what you have done *
    and declare the goodness of your Name in the presence
                             of the godly.
   
  Tenth Day: Evening Prayer
   
  53  Dixit insipiens
   
1 The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." *
    All are corrupt and commit abominable acts;
    there is none who does any good.

 

 

658    Psalm 53

 
2 God looks down from heaven upon us all, *
    to see if there is any who is wise,
    if there is one who seeks after God.
   
3 Every one has proved faithless;
all alike have turned bad; *
    there is none who does good; no, not one.
   
4 Have they no knowledge, those evildoers *
    who eat up my people like bread
    and do not call upon God?
   
5 See how greatly they tremble,
such trembling as never was; *
    for God has scattered the bones of the enemy;
    they are put to shame, because God has rejected them.
   
6 Oh, that Israel's deliverance would come out of Zion! *
    when God restores the fortunes of his people
    Jacob will rejoice and Israel be glad.
   
  54  Deus, in nomine
   
1 Save me, O God, by your Name; *
    in your might, defend my cause.
   
2 Hear my prayer, O God; *
    give ear to the words of my mouth.
   
3 For the arrogant have risen up against me,
and the ruthless have sought my life, *
    those who have no regard for God.
   
4 Behold, God is my helper; *
    it is the Lord who sustains my life.
   
5 Render evil to those who spy on me; *
    in your faithfulness, destroy them.

 

 

Psalm 54     659

 

6 I will offer you a freewill sacrifice *
    and praise your Name, O LORD, for it is good.
   
7 For you have rescued me from every trouble, *
    and my eye has seen the ruin of my foes.
   
  55  Exaudi, Deus
   
1 Hear my prayer,O God; *
    do not hide yourself from my petition.
   
2 Listen to me and answer me; *
    I have no peace, because of my cares.
   
3 I am shaken by the noise of the enemy *
    and by the pressure of the wicked;
   
4 For they have cast an evil spell upon me *
    and are set against me in fury.
   
5 My heart quakes within me, *
    and the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
   
6 Fear and trembling have come over me, *
    and horror overwhelms me.
   
7 And I said, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove! *
    I would fly away and be at rest.
   
8 I would flee to a far-off place *
    and make my lodging in the wilderness.
   
9 I would hasten to escape *
    from the stormy wind and tempest."
   
10 Swallow them up, O Lord;
confound their speech; *
    for I have seen violence and strife in the city.

 

 

660    Psalm 55

 
11 Day and night the watchmen make their rounds
                             upon her walls, *
    but trouble and misery are in the midst of her.
   
12 There is corruption at her heart; *
    her streets are never free of oppression and deceit.
   
13 For had it been an adversary who taunted me,
then I could have borne it; *
    or had it been an enemy who vaunted himself against me,
    then I could have hidden from him.
   
14 But it was you, a man after my own heart, *
    my companion, my own familiar friend.
   
15 We took sweet counsel together, *
    and walked with the throng in the house of God.
   
16 Let death come upon them suddenly;
let them go down alive to the grave; *
    for wickedness is in their dwellings, in their very midst.
   
17 But I will call upon God, *
    and the LORD will deliver me.
   
18 In the evening, in the morning, and at noonday,
I will complain and lament, *
    and he will hear my voice.
   
19 He will bring me safely back from the battle
                             waged against me; *
    for there are many who fight me.
   
20 God, who is enthroned of old, will hear me and
                             bring them down; *
    they never change; they do not fear God.
   
21 My companion stretched forth his hand against his comrade; *
    he has broken his covenant.

 

 

Psalm 55     661

 

22 His speech is softer than butter, *
    but war is in his heart.
   
23 His words are smoother than oil, *
    but they are drawn swords.
   
24 Cast your burden upon the LORD,
and he will sustain you; *
    he will never let the righteous stumble.
   
25 For you will bring the bloodthirsty and deceitful *
    down to the pit of destruction, O God.
   
26 They shall not live out half their days, *
    but I will put my trust in you.
   
  Eleventh Day: Morning Prayer
   
  56  Miserere mei, Deus
   
1 Have mercy on me, O God,
for my enemies are hounding me; *
    all day long they assault and oppress me.
   
2 They hound me all the day long; *
    truly there are many who fight against me, O Most High.
   
3 Whenever I am afraid, *
    I will put my trust in you.
   
4 In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust and will not be afraid, *
    for what can flesh do to me?
   
5 All day long they damage my cause; *
    their only thought is to do me evil.

 

 

662    Psalm 56

 
6 They band together; they lie in wait; *
    they spy upon my footsteps;
    because they seek my life.
   
7 Shall they escape despite their wickedness? *
    O God, in your anger, cast down the peoples.
   
8 You have noted my lamentation;
put my tears into your bottle; *
    are they not recorded in your book?
   
9 Whenever I call upon you, my enemies will be put to flight; *
    this I know, for God is on my side.
   
10 In God the LORD, whose word I praise,
in God I trust and will not be afraid, *
    for what can mortals do to me?
   
11 I am bound by the vow I made to you, O God; *
    I will present to you thank-offerings;
   
12 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.
   
  57  Miserere mei, Deus
   
1 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.
   
2 I will call upon the Most High God, *
    the God who maintains my cause.
   
3 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.

 

 

Psalm 57     663

 

4 I lie in the midst of lions that devour the people; *
    their teeth are spears and arrows,
    their tongue a sharp sword.
   
5 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.
   
   
6 Exalt yourself above the heavens, O God, *
    and your glory over all the earth.
   
7 My heart is firmly fixed, O God, my heart is fixed; *
    I will sing and make melody.
   
8 Wake up, my spirit;
awake, lute and harp; *
    I myself will waken the dawn.
   
9 I will confess you among the peoples, O LORD; *
    I will sing praise to you among the nations.
   
10 For your loving-kindness is greater than the heavens, *
    and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
   
11 Exalt yourself above the heavens, O God, *
    and your glory over all the earth.
   
  58  Si vere utique
   
1 Do you indeed decree righteousness, you rulers? *
    do you judge the peoples with equity?
   
2 No; you devise evil in your hearts, *
    and your hands deal out violence in the land.
   
3 The wicked are perverse from the womb; *
    liars go astray from their birth.

 

 

664    Psalm 58

 
4 They are as venomous as a serpent, *
    they are like the deaf adder which stops its ears,
   
5 Which does not heed the voice of the charmer, *
    no matter how skillful his charming.
   
6 O God, break their teeth in their mouths; *
    pull the fangs of the young lions, O LORD.
   
7 Let them vanish like water that runs off; *
    let them wither like trodden grass.
   
8 Let them be like the snail that melts away, *
    like a stillborn child that never sees the sun.
   
9 Before they bear fruit, let them be cut down like a brier; *
    like thorns and thistles let them be swept away.
   
10 The righteous will be glad when they see the vengeance; *
    they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.
   
11 And they will say,
"Surely, there is a reward for the righteous; *
    surely, there is a God who rules in the earth."
   
  Eleventh Day: Evening Prayer
   
  59  Eripe me de inimicis
   
1 Rescue me from my enemies, O God; *
    protect me from those who rise up against me.
   
2 Rescue me from evildoers *
    and save me from those who thirst for my blood.
   
3 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.

 

 

Psalm 59     665

 

4 Not because of any guilt of mine *
    they run and prepare themselves for battle.
   
5 Rouse yourself, come to my side, and see; *
    for you, LORD God of hosts, are Israel's God.
   
6 Awake, and punish all the ungodly; *
    show no mercy to those who are faithless and evil.
   
7 They go to and fro in the evening; *
    they snarl like dogs and run about the city.
   
8 Behold, they boast with their mouths,
and taunts are on their lips; *
    "For who," they say, "will hear us?"
   
9 But you, O LORD, you laugh at them; *
    you laugh all the ungodly to scorn.
   
10 My eyes are fixed on you, O my Strength; *
    for you, O God, are my stronghold.
   
11 My merciful God comes to meet me; *
    God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.
   
12 Slay them, O God, lest my people forget; *
    send them reeling by your might
    and put them down, O Lord our shield.
   
13 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.
   
14 Make an end of them in your wrath; *
    make an end of them, and they shall be no more.
   
15 Let everyone know that God rules in Jacob, *
    and to the ends of the earth.
   
16 They go to and fro in the evening; *
    they snarl like dogs and run about the city.

 

 

666    Psalm 59

 
17  They forage for food, *
    and if they are not filled, they howl.
   
18 For my part, I will sing of your strength; *
    I will celebrate your love in the morning;
   
19 For you have become my stronghold, *
    a refuge in the day of my trouble.
   
20 To you, O my Strength, will I sing; *
    for you, O God, are my stronghold and my merciful God.
   
  60  Deus, repulisti nos
   
1 O God, you have cast us off and broken us; *
    you have been angry;
    oh, take us back to you again.
   
2 You have shaken the earth and split it open; *
    repair the cracks in it, for it totters.
   
3 You have made your people know hardship; *
    you have given us wine that makes us stagger.
   
4 You have set up a banner for those who fear you, *
    to be a refuge from the power of the bow.
   
5 Save us by your right hand and answer us, *
    that those who are dear to you may be delivered.
   
   
6 God spoke from his holy place and said: *
    "I will exult and parcel out Shechem;
     I will divide the valley of Succoth.
   
7 Gilead is mine and Manasseh is mine; *
    Ephraim is my helmet and Judah my scepter.

 

 

Psalm 60     667

 

8 Moab is my wash-basin,
on Edom I throw down my sandal to claim it, *
 and over Philistia will I shout in triumph."
   
9 Who will lead me into the strong city? *
 who will bring me to Edom?
   
10 Have you not cast us off, O God? *
 you no longer go out, O God, with our armies.
   
11 Grant us your help against the enemy, *
 for vain is the help of man.
   
12 With God we will do valiant deeds, *
 and he shall tread our enemies under foot.

 

 

668    Psalm 61