Book of Common Prayer (ECUSA)/The Psalter/Book Three
Book Three
Fourteenth Day: Evening Prayer
73Quam bonus Israel!
1Truly, God is good to Israel, *
to those who are pure in heart.
2But as for me, my feet had nearly slipped; *
I had almost tripped and fallen;
3Because I envied the proud *
and saw the prosperity of the wicked:
4For they suffer no pain, *
and their bodies are sleek and sound;
5In the misfortunes of others they have no share; *
they are not afflicted as others are;
6Therefore they wear their pride like a necklace *
and wrap their violence about them like a cloak.
7Their iniquity comes from gross minds, *
and their hearts overflow with wicked thoughts.
8They scoff and speak maliciously; *
out of their haughtiness they plan oppression.
9They set their mouths against the heavens, *
and their evil speech runs through the world.
10And so the people turn to them *
and find in them no fault.
11They say, “How should God know? *
is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12So then, these are the wicked; *
always at ease, they increase their wealth.
13In vain have I kept my heart clean, *
and washed my hands in innocence.
14I have been afflicted all day long, *
and punished every morning.
15Had I gone on speaking this way, *
I should have betrayed the generation of your children.
16When I tried to understand these things, *
it was too hard for me;
17Until I entered the sanctuary of God *
and discerned the end of the wicked.
18Surely, you set them in slippery places; *
you cast them down in ruin.
19Oh, how suddenly do they come to destruction, *
come to an end, and perish from terror!
20Like a dream when one awakens, O Lord, *
when you arise you will make their image vanish.
21When my mind became embittered, *
I was sorely wounded in my heart.
22I was stupid and had no understanding; *
I was like a brute beast in your presence.
23Yet I am always with you; *
you hold me by my right hand.
24You will guide me by your counsel, *
and afterwards receive me with glory.
25Whom have I in heaven but you? *
and having you I desire nothing upon earth.
26Though my flesh and my heart should waste away, *
God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever.
27Truly, those who forsake you will perish; *
you destroy all who are unfaithful.
28But it is good for me to be near God; *
I have made the Lord God my refuge.
29I will speak of all your works *
in the gates of the city of Zion.
74Ut quid, Deus?
1O God, why have you utterly cast us off? *
why is your wrath so hot against the sheep of your pasture?
2Remember your congregation that you purchased long ago, *
the tribe you redeemed to be your inheritance,
and Mount Zion where you dwell.
3Turn your steps toward the endless ruins; *
the enemy has laid waste everything in your sanctuary.
4Your adversaries roared in your holy place; *
they set up their banners as tokens of victory.
5They were like men coming up with axes to a grove of trees; *
they broke down all your carved work with hatchets and hammers.
6They set fire to your holy place; *
they defiled the dwelling‑place of your Name
and razed it to the ground.
7They said to themselves, “Let us destroy them altogether.” *
They burned down all the meeting‑places of God in the land.
8There are no signs for us to see;
there is no prophet left; *
there is not one among us who knows how long.
9How long, O God, will the adversary scoff? *
will the enemy blaspheme your Name for ever?
10Why do you draw back your hand? *
why is your right hand hidden in your bosom?
11Yet God is my King from ancient times, *
victorious in the midst of the earth.
12You divided the sea by your might *
and shattered the heads of the dragons upon the waters;
13You crushed the heads of Leviathan *
and gave him to the people of the desert for food.
14You split open spring and torrent; *
you dried up ever‑flowing rivers.
15Yours is the day, yours also the night; *
you established the moon and the sun.
16You fixed all the boundaries of the earth; *
you made both summer and winter.
17Remember, O Lord, how the enemy scoffed, *
how a foolish people despised your Name.
18Do not hand over the life of your dove to wild beasts; *
never forget the lives of your poor.
19Look upon your covenant; *
the dark places of the earth are haunts of violence.
20Let not the oppressed turn away ashamed; *
let the poor and needy praise your Name.
21Arise, O God, maintain your cause; *
remember how fools revile you all day long.
22Forget not the clamor of your adversaries, *
the unending tumult of those who rise up against you.
Fifteenth Day: Morning Prayer
75Confitebimur tibi
1We give you thanks, O God, we give you thanks, *
calling upon your Name and declaring all your wonderful deeds.
2“I will appoint a time,” says God; *
“I will judge with equity.
3Though the earth and all its inhabitants are quaking, *
I will make its pillars fast.
4I will say to the boasters, ‘Boast no more,’ *
and to the wicked, ‘Do not toss your horns;
5Do not toss your horns so high, *
nor speak with a proud neck.’”
6For judgment is neither from the east nor from the west, *
nor yet from the wilderness or the mountains.
7It is God who judges; *
he puts down one and lifts up another.
8For in the Lord’s hand there is a cup,
full of spiced and foaming wine, which he pours out, *
and all the wicked of the earth shall drink and drain the dregs.
9But I will rejoice for ever; *
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10He shall break off all the horns of the wicked; *
but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.
76 Notus in Judæa
1 In Judah is God known; *
his Name is great in Israel.
2 At Salem is his tabernacle, *
and his dwelling is in Zion.
3 There he broke the flashing arrows, *
the shield, the sword, and the weapons of battle.
4 How glorious you are! *
more splendid than the everlasting mountains!
5 The strong of heart have been despoiled; they sink into sleep; *
none of the warriors can lift a hand.
6 At your rebuke, O God of Jacob, *
both horse and rider lie stunned.
7 What terror you inspire! *
who can stand before you when you are angry?
8 From heaven you pronounced judgment; *
the earth was afraid and was still;
9 When God rose up to judgment *
and to save all the oppressed of the earth.
10 Truly, wrathful Edom will give you thanks, *
and the remnant of Hamath will keep your feasts.
11 Make a vow to the Lord your God and keep it; *
let all around him bring gifts to him who is worthy to be feared.
12 He breaks the spirit of princes, *
and strikes terror in the kings of the earth.
77Voce mea ad Dominum
1I will cry aloud to God; *
I will cry aloud, and he will hear me.
2In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; *
my hands were stretched out by night and did not tire;
I refused to be comforted.
3I think of God, I am restless, *
I ponder, and my spirit faints.
4You will not let my eyelids close; *
I am troubled and I cannot speak.
5I consider the days of old; *
I remember the years long past;
6I commune with my heart in the night; *
I ponder and search my mind.
7Will the Lord cast me off for ever? *
will he no more show his favor?
8Has his loving‑kindness come to an end for ever? *
has his promise failed for evermore?
9Has God forgotten to be gracious? *
has he, in his anger, withheld his compassion?
10And I said, “My grief is this: *
the right hand of the Most High has lost its power.”
11I will remember the works of the Lord, *
and call to mind your wonders of old time.
12I will meditate on all your acts *
and ponder your mighty deeds.
13Your way, O God, is holy; *
who is so great a god as our God?
14You are the God who works wonders *
and have declared your power among the peoples.
15By your strength you have redeemed your people, *
the children of Jacob and Joseph.
16The waters saw you, O God;
the waters saw you and trembled; *
the very depths were shaken.
17The clouds poured out water;
the skies thundered; *
your arrows flashed to and fro;
18The sound of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
your lightnings lit up the world; *
the earth trembled and shook.
19Your way was in the sea,
and your paths in the great waters, *
yet your footsteps were not seen.
20You led your people like a flock *
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Fifteenth Day: Evening Prayer
78
Part IAttendite, popule
1Hear my teaching, O my people; *
incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2I will open my mouth in a parable; *
I will declare the mysteries of ancient times.
3That which we have heard and known,
and what our forefathers have told us, *
we will not hide from their children.
4We will recount to generations to come
the praiseworthy deeds and the power of the Lord, *
and the wonderful works he has done.
5He gave his decrees to Jacob
and established a law for Israel, *
which he commanded them to teach their children;
6That the generations to come might know,
and the children yet unborn; *
that they in their turn might tell it to their children;
7So that they might put their trust in God, *
and not forget the deeds of God,
but keep his commandments;
8And not be like their forefathers,
a stubborn and rebellious generation, *
a generation whose heart was not steadfast,
and whose spirit was not faithful to God.
9The people of Ephraim, armed with the bow, *
turned back in the day of battle;
10They did not keep the covenant of God, *
and refused to walk in his law;
11They forgot what he had done, *
and the wonders he had shown them.
12He worked marvels in the sight of their forefathers, *
in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
13He split open the sea and let them pass through; *
he made the waters stand up like walls.
14He led them with a cloud by day, *
and all the night through with a glow of fire.
15He split the hard rocks in the wilderness *
and gave them drink as from the great deep.
16He brought streams out of the cliff, *
and the waters gushed out like rivers.
17But they went on sinning against him, *
rebelling in the desert against the Most High.
18They tested God in their hearts, *
demanding food for their craving.
19They railed against God and said, *
“Can God set a table in the wilderness?
20True, he struck the rock, the waters gushed out, and the gullies overflowed; *
but is he able to give bread
or to provide meat for his people?”
21When the Lord heard this, he was full of wrath; *
a fire was kindled against Jacob,
and his anger mounted against Israel;
22For they had no faith in God, *
nor did they put their trust in his saving power.
23So he commanded the clouds above *
and opened the doors of heaven.
24He rained down manna upon them to eat *
and gave them grain from heaven.
25So mortals ate the bread of angels; *
he provided for them food enough.
26He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens *
and led out the south wind by his might.
27He rained down flesh upon them like dust *
and wingèd birds like the sand of the sea.
28He let it fall in the midst of their camp *
and round about their dwellings.
29So they ate and were well filled, *
for he gave them what they craved.
30But they did not stop their craving, *
though the food was still in their mouths.
31So God’s anger mounted against them; *
he slew their strongest men
and laid low the youth of Israel.
32In spite of all this, they went on sinning *
and had no faith in his wonderful works.
33So he brought their days to an end like a breath *
and their years in sudden terror.
34Whenever he slew them, they would seek him, *
and repent, and diligently search for God.
35They would remember that God was their rock, *
and the Most High God their redeemer.
36But they flattered him with their mouths *
and lied to him with their tongues.
37Their heart was not steadfast toward him, *
and they were not faithful to his covenant.
38But he was so merciful that he forgave their sins
and did not destroy them; *
many times he held back his anger
and did not permit his wrath to be roused.
39For he remembered that they were but flesh, *
a breath that goes forth and does not return.
Psalm 78: Part IIQuoties exacerbaverunt
40How often the people disobeyed him in the wilderness *
and offended him in the desert!
41Again and again they tempted God *
and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
42They did not remember his power *
in the day when he ransomed them from the enemy;
43How he wrought his signs in Egypt *
and his omens in the field of Zoan.
44He turned their rivers into blood, *
so that they could not drink of their streams.
45He sent swarms of flies among them, which ate them up, *
and frogs, which destroyed them.
46He gave their crops to the caterpillar, *
the fruit of their toil to the locust.
47He killed their vines with hail *
and their sycamores with frost.
48He delivered their cattle to hailstones *
and their livestock to hot thunderbolts.
49He poured out upon them his blazing anger: *
fury, indignation, and distress,
a troop of destroying angels.
50He gave full rein to his anger;
he did not spare their souls from death; *
but delivered their lives to the plague.
51He struck down all the firstborn of Egypt, *
the flower of manhood in the dwellings of Ham.
52He led out his people like sheep *
and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
53He led them to safety, and they were not afraid; *
but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54He brought them to his holy land, *
the mountain his right hand had won.
55He drove out the Canaanites before them
and apportioned an inheritance to them by lot; *
he made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.
56But they tested the Most High God, and defied him, *
and did not keep his commandments.
57They turned away and were disloyal like their fathers; *
they were undependable like a warped bow.
58They grieved him with their hill‑altars *
and provoked his displeasure with their idols.
59When God heard this, he was angry *
and utterly rejected Israel.
60He forsook the shrine at Shiloh, *
the tabernacle where he had lived among his people.
61He delivered the ark into captivity, *
his glory into the adversary’s hand.
62He gave his people to the sword *
and was angered against his inheritance.
63The fire consumed their young men; *
there were no wedding songs for their maidens.
64Their priests fell by the sword, *
and their widows made no lamentation.
65Then the Lord woke as though from sleep, *
like a warrior refreshed with wine.
66He struck his enemies on the backside *
and put them to perpetual shame.
67He rejected the tent of Joseph *
and did not choose the tribe of Ephraim;
68He chose instead the tribe of Judah *
and Mount Zion, which he loved.
69He built his sanctuary like the heights of heaven, *
like the earth which he founded for ever.
70He chose David his servant, *
and took him away from the sheepfolds.
71He brought him from following the ewes, *
to be a shepherd over Jacob his people
and over Israel his inheritance.
72So he shepherded them with a faithful and true heart *
and guided them with the skillfulness of his hands.
Sixteenth Day: Morning Prayer
79Deus, venerunt
1O God, the heathen have come into your inheritance;
they have profaned your holy temple; *
they have made Jerusalem a heap of rubble.
2They have given the bodies of your servants as food for the birds of the air, *
and the flesh of your faithful ones to the beasts of the field.
3They have shed their blood like water on every side of Jerusalem, *
and there was no one to bury them.
4We have become a reproach to our neighbors, *
an object of scorn and derision to those around us.
5How long will you be angry, O Lord? *
will your fury blaze like fire for ever?
6Pour out your wrath upon the heathen who have not known you *
and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon your Name.
7For they have devoured Jacob *
and made his dwelling a ruin.
8Remember not our past sins;
let your compassion be swift to meet us; *
for we have been brought very low.
9Help us, O God our Savior, for the glory of your Name; *
deliver us and forgive us our sins, for your Name’s sake.
10Why should the heathen say, “Where is their God?” *
Let it be known among the heathen and in our sight
that you avenge the shedding of your servants’ blood.
11Let the sorrowful sighing of the prisoners come before you, *
and by your great might spare those who are condemned to die.
12May the revilings with which they reviled you, O Lord, *
return seven‑fold into their bosoms.
13For we are your people and the sheep of your pasture; *
we will give you thanks for ever
and show forth your praise from age to age.
80Qui regis Israel
1Hear, O Shepherd of Israel, leading Joseph like a flock; *
shine forth, you that are enthroned upon the cherubim.
2In the presence of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, *
stir up your strength and come to help us.
3Restore us, O God of hosts; *
show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.
4O Lord God of hosts, *
how long will you be angered
despite the prayers of your people?
5You have fed them with the bread of tears; *
you have given them bowls of tears to drink.
6You have made us the derision of our neighbors, *
and our enemies laugh us to scorn.
7Restore us, O God of hosts; *
show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.
8You have brought a vine out of Egypt; *
you cast out the nations and planted it.
9You prepared the ground for it; *
it took root and filled the land.
10The mountains were covered by its shadow *
and the towering cedar trees by its boughs.
11You stretched out its tendrils to the Sea *
and its branches to the River.
12Why have you broken down its wall, *
so that all who pass by pluck off its grapes?
13The wild boar of the forest has ravaged it, *
and the beasts of the field have grazed upon it.
14Turn now, O God of hosts, look down from heaven;
behold and tend this vine; *
preserve what your right hand has planted.
15They burn it with fire like rubbish; *
at the rebuke of your countenance let them perish.
16Let your hand be upon the man of your right hand, *
the son of man you have made so strong for yourself.
17And so will we never turn away from you; *
give us life, that we may call upon your Name.
18Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; *
show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.
81Exultate Deo
1Sing with joy to God our strength *
and raise a loud shout to the God of Jacob.
2Raise a song and sound the timbrel, *
the merry harp, and the lyre.
3Blow the ram’s‑horn at the new moon, *
and at the full moon, the day of our feast.
4For this is a statute for Israel, *
a law of the God of Jacob.
5He laid it as a solemn charge upon Joseph, *
when he came out of the land of Egypt.
6I heard an unfamiliar voice saying, *
“I eased his shoulder from the burden;
his hands were set free from bearing the load.”
7You called on me in trouble, and I saved you; *
I answered you from the secret place of thunder
and tested you at the waters of Meribah.
8Hear, O my people, and I will admonish you: *
O Israel, if you would but listen to me!
9There shall be no strange god among you; *
you shall not worship a foreign god.
10I am the Lord your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt and said, *
“Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.”
11And yet my people did not hear my voice, *
and Israel would not obey me.
12So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their hearts, *
to follow their own devices.
13Oh, that my people would listen to me! *
that Israel would walk in my ways!
14I should soon subdue their enemies *
and turn my hand against their foes.
15Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him, *
and their punishment would last for ever.
16But Israel would I feed with the finest wheat *
and satisfy him with honey from the rock.
Sixteenth Day: Evening Prayer
82Deus stetit
1God takes his stand in the council of heaven; *
he gives judgment in the midst of the gods:
2“How long will you judge unjustly, *
and show favor to the wicked?
3Save the weak and the orphan; *
defend the humble and needy;
4Rescue the weak and the poor; *
deliver them from the power of the wicked.
5They do not know, neither do they understand;
they go about in darkness; *
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6Now I say to you, ‘You are gods, *
and all of you children of the Most High;
7Nevertheless, you shall die like mortals, *
and fall like any prince.’”
8Arise, O God, and rule the earth, *
for you shall take all nations for your own.
83Deus, quis similis?
1O God, do not be silent; *
do not keep still nor hold your peace, O God;
2For your enemies are in tumult, *
and those who hate you have lifted up their heads.
3They take secret counsel against your people *
and plot against those whom you protect.
4They have said, “Come, let us wipe them out from among the nations; *
let the name of Israel be remembered no more.”
5They have conspired together; *
they have made an alliance against you:
6The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; *
the Moabites and the Hagarenes;
7Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; *
the Philistines and those who dwell in Tyre.
8The Assyrians also have joined them, *
and have come to help the people of Lot.
9Do to them as you did to Midian, *
to Sisera, and to Jabin at the river of Kishon:
10They were destroyed at Endor; *
they became like dung upon the ground.
11Make their leaders like Oreb and Zeëb, *
and all their commanders like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12Who said, “Let us take for ourselves *
the fields of God as our possession.”
13O my God, make them like whirling dust *
and like chaff before the wind;
14Like fire that burns down a forest, *
like the flame that sets mountains ablaze.
15Drive them with your tempest *
and terrify them with your storm;
16Cover their faces with shame, O Lord, *
that they may seek your Name.
17Let them be disgraced and terrified for ever; *
let them be put to confusion and perish.
18Let them know that you, whose Name is Yahweh, *
you alone are the Most High over all the earth.
84Quam dilecta!
1How dear to me is your dwelling, O Lord of hosts! *
My soul has a desire and longing for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.
2The sparrow has found her a house
and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young; *
by the side of your altars, O Lord of hosts,
my King and my God.
3Happy are they who dwell in your house! *
they will always be praising you.
4Happy are the people whose strength is in you! *
whose hearts are set on the pilgrims’ way.
5Those who go through the desolate valley will find it a place of springs, *
for the early rains have covered it with pools of water.
6They will climb from height to height, *
and the God of gods will reveal himself in Zion.
7Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; *
hearken, O God of Jacob.
8Behold our defender, O God; *
and look upon the face of your Anointed.
9For one day in your courts is better than a thousand in my own room, *
and to stand at the threshold of the house of my God
than to dwell in the tents of the wicked.
10For the Lord God is both sun and shield; *
he will give grace and glory;
11No good thing will the Lord withhold *
from those who walk with integrity.
12O Lord of hosts, *
happy are they who put their trust in you!
85Benedixisti, Domine
1You have been gracious to your land, O Lord, *
you have restored the good fortune of Jacob.
2You have forgiven the iniquity of your people *
and blotted out all their sins.
3You have withdrawn all your fury *
and turned yourself from your wrathful indignation.
4Restore us then, O God our Savior; *
let your anger depart from us.
5Will you be displeased with us for ever? *
will you prolong your anger from age to age?
6Will you not give us life again, *
that your people may rejoice in you?
7Show us your mercy, O Lord, *
and grant us your salvation.
8I will listen to what the Lord God is saying, *
for he is speaking peace to his faithful people
and to those who turn their hearts to him.
9Truly, his salvation is very near to those who fear him, *
that his glory may dwell in our land.
10Mercy and truth have met together; *
righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
11Truth shall spring up from the earth, *
and righteousness shall look down from heaven.
12The Lord will indeed grant prosperity, *
and our land will yield its increase.
13Righteousness shall go before him, *
and peace shall be a pathway for his feet.
Seventeenth Day: Morning Prayer
86Inclina, Domine
1Bow down your ear, O Lord, and answer me, *
for I am poor and in misery.
2Keep watch over my life, for I am faithful; *
save your servant who puts his trust in you.
3Be merciful to me, O Lord, for you are my God; *
I call upon you all the day long.
4Gladden the soul of your servant, *
for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
5For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, *
and great is your love toward all who call upon you.
6Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer, *
and attend to the voice of my supplications.
7In the time of my trouble I will call upon you, *
for you will answer me.
8Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord, *
nor anything like your works.
9All nations you have made will come and worship you, O Lord, *
and glorify your Name.
10For you are great;
you do wondrous things; *
and you alone are God.
11Teach me your way, O Lord,
and I will walk in your truth; *
knit my heart to you that I may fear your Name.
12I will thank you, O Lord my God, with all my heart, *
and glorify your Name for evermore.
13For great is your love toward me; *
you have delivered me from the nethermost Pit.
14The arrogant rise up against me, O God, and a band of violent men seeks my life; *
they have not set you before their eyes.
15But you, O Lord, are gracious and full of compassion, *
slow to anger, and full of kindness and truth.
16Turn to me and have mercy upon me; *
give your strength to your servant;
and save the child of your handmaid.
17Show me a sign of your favor, so that those who hate me may see it and be ashamed; *
because you, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me.
87Fundamenta ejus
1On the holy mountain stands the city he has founded; *
the Lord loves the gates of Zion
more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
2Glorious things are spoken of you, *
O city of our God.
3I count Egypt and Babylon among those who know me; *
behold Philistia, Tyre, and Ethiopia:
in Zion were they born.
4Of Zion it shall be said, “Everyone was born in her, *
and the Most High himself shall sustain her.”
5The Lord will record as he enrolls the peoples, *
“These also were born there.”
6The singers and the dancers will say, *
“All my fresh springs are in you.”
88Domine, Deus
1O Lord, my God, my Savior, *
by day and night I cry to you.
2Let my prayer enter into your presence; *
incline your ear to my lamentation.
3For I am full of trouble; *
my life is at the brink of the grave.
4I am counted among those who go down to the Pit; *
I have become like one who has no strength;
5Lost among the dead, *
like the slain who lie in the grave,
6Whom you remember no more, *
for they are cut off from your hand.
7You have laid me in the depths of the Pit, *
in dark places, and in the abyss.
8Your anger weighs upon me heavily, *
and all your great waves overwhelm me.
9You have put my friends far from me;
you have made me to be abhorred by them; *
I am in prison and cannot get free.
10My sight has failed me because of trouble; *
Lord, I have called upon you daily;
I have stretched out my hands to you.
11Do you work wonders for the dead? *
will those who have died stand up and give you thanks?
12Will your loving‑kindness be declared in the grave? *
your faithfulness in the land of destruction?
13Will your wonders be known in the dark? *
or your righteousness in the country where all is forgotten?
14But as for me, O Lord, I cry to you for help; *
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
15Lord, why have you rejected me? *
why have you hidden your face from me?
16Ever since my youth, I have been wretched and at the
point of death; *
I have borne your terrors with a troubled mind.
17Your blazing anger has swept over me; *
your terrors have destroyed me;
18They surround me all day long like a flood; *
they encompass me on every side.
19My friend and my neighbor you have put away from me, *
and darkness is my only companion.
Seventeenth Day: Evening Prayer
89
Part IMisericordias Domini
1Your love, O Lord, for ever will I sing; *
from age to age my mouth will proclaim your faithfulness.
2For I am persuaded that your love is established for ever; *
you have set your faithfulness firmly in the heavens.
3“I have made a covenant with my chosen one; *
I have sworn an oath to David my servant:
4‘I will establish your line for ever, *
and preserve your throne for all generations.’”
5The heavens bear witness to your wonders, O Lord, *
and to your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones;
6For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord? *
who is like the Lord among the gods?
7God is much to be feared in the council of the holy ones, *
great and terrible to all those round about him.
8Who is like you, Lord God of hosts? *
O mighty Lord, your faithfulness is all around you.
9You rule the raging of the sea *
and still the surging of its waves.
10You have crushed Rahab of the deep with a deadly wound; *
you have scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
11Yours are the heavens; the earth also is yours; *
you laid the foundations of the world and all that is in it.
12You have made the north and the south; *
Tabor and Hermon rejoice in your Name.
13You have a mighty arm; *
strong is your hand and high is your right hand.
14Righteousness and justice are the foundations of your throne; *
love and truth go before your face.
15Happy are the people who know the festal shout! *
they walk, O Lord, in the light of your presence.
16They rejoice daily in your Name; *
they are jubilant in your righteousness.
17For you are the glory of their strength, *
and by your favor our might is exalted.
18Truly, the Lord is our ruler; *
the Holy One of Israel is our King.
Psalm 89: Part IITunc locutus es
19You spoke once in a vision and said to your faithful people: *
“I have set the crown upon a warrior
and have exalted one chosen out of the people.
20I have found David my servant; *
with my holy oil have I anointed him.
21My hand will hold him fast *
and my arm will make him strong.
22No enemy shall deceive him, *
nor any wicked man bring him down.
23I will crush his foes before him *
and strike down those who hate him.
24My faithfulness and love shall be with him, *
and he shall be victorious through my Name.
25I shall make his dominion extend *
from the Great Sea to the River.
26He will say to me, ‘You are my Father, *
my God, and the rock of my salvation.’
27I will make him my firstborn *
and higher than the kings of the earth.
28I will keep my love for him for ever, *
and my covenant will stand firm for him.
29I will establish his line for ever *
and his throne as the days of heaven.”
30“If his children forsake my law *
and do not walk according to my judgments;
31If they break my statutes *
and do not keep my commandments;
32I will punish their transgressions with a rod *
and their iniquities with the lash;
33But I will not take my love from him, *
nor let my faithfulness prove false.
34I will not break my covenant, *
nor change what has gone out of my lips.
35Once for all I have sworn by my holiness: *
‘I will not lie to David.
36His line shall endure for ever *
and his throne as the sun before me;
37It shall stand fast for evermore like the moon, *
the abiding witness in the sky.’”
38But you have cast off and rejected your anointed; *
you have become enraged at him.
39You have broken your covenant with your servant, *
defiled his crown, and hurled it to the ground.
40You have breached all his walls *
and laid his strongholds in ruins.
41All who pass by despoil him; *
he has become the scorn of his neighbors.
42You have exalted the right hand of his foes *
and made all his enemies rejoice.
43You have turned back the edge of his sword *
and have not sustained him in battle.
44You have put an end to his splendor *
and cast his throne to the ground.
45You have cut short the days of his youth *
and have covered him with shame.
46How long will you hide yourself, O Lord?
will you hide yourself for ever? *
how long will your anger burn like fire?
47Remember, Lord, how short life is, *
how frail you have made all flesh.
48Who can live and not see death? *
who can save himself from the power of the grave?
49Where, Lord, are your loving‑kindnesses of old, *
which you promised David in your faithfulness?
50Remember, Lord, how your servant is mocked, *
how I carry in my bosom the taunts of many peoples,
51The taunts your enemies have hurled, O Lord, *
which they hurled at the heels of your anointed.
52Blessed be the Lord for evermore! *
Amen, I say, Amen.