Lord, how many adversaries I have!
how many there are who rise up against me!
how many there are who say of me,
“There is no help for him in his God.”
But you, O Lord, are a shield about me;
you are my glory, the one who lifts up my head.

I call aloud upon the Lord,
and he answers me from his holy hill;
I lie down and go to sleep;
I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.
I do not fear the multitudes of people
who set themselves against me all around.

Rise up, O Lord; set me free, O my God;
surely, you will strike all my enemies across the face,
you will break the teeth of the wicked.
Deliverance belongs to the Lord.
Your blessing be upon your people!

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.

O Christ, Redeemer of us all,
the Father’s sole-begotten Son,
alone before all time began,
beyond all telling, born from him,

O Light, O Father’s splendor bright,
O everlasting hope for all,
bend low to hear your servants’ prayers,
poured out by them throughout the earth.

O Author of all saving grace,
recall that once you took our flesh
and from the Virgin pure and chaste
assumed by birth our human form.

This feast today now testifies,
within the cycle of the year,
that you as Savior of the world
alone came from the Father’s throne.

The sky above, the earth, the sea,
and all creation held therein
extol with joyous hymns of praise
the Author of your advent here.

We also, whom you came to save
and by your holy blood redeem,
all sing a new and joyful hymn
to celebrate your day of birth.

To you, Lord Jesus, glory be,
the Virgin Mother’s newborn Son,
with God the Father, ever blest,
and loving Spirit, ever one. Amen.

Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous;
it is good for the just to sing praises.
Praise the Lord with the harp;
play to him upon the psaltery and lyre.
Sing for him a new song;
sound a fanfare with all your skill upon the trumpet.

For the word of the Lord is right,
and all his works are sure.
He loves righteousness and justice;
the loving-kindness of the Lord fills the whole earth.

By the word of the Lord were the heavens made,
by the breath of his mouth all the heavenly hosts.
He gathers up the waters of the ocean as in a water-skin
and stores up the depths of the sea.

Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all who dwell in the world stand in awe of him.
For he spoke, and it came to pass;
he commanded, and it stood fast.

The Lord brings the will of the nations to naught;
he thwarts the designs of the peoples.
But the Lord’s will stands fast for ever,
and the designs of his heart from age to age.

Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord!
happy the people he has chosen to be his own!
The Lord looks down from heaven,
and beholds all the people in the world.

From where he sits enthroned he turns his gaze
on all who dwell on the earth.
He fashions all the hearts of them
and understands all their works.

There is no king that can be saved by a mighty army;
a strong man is not delivered by his great strength.
The horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
for all its strength it cannot save.

Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon those who fear him,
on those who wait upon his love,
to pluck their lives from death,
and to feed them in time of famine.

Our soul waits for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.
Indeed, our heart rejoices in him,
for in his holy Name we put our trust.
Let your loving-kindness, O Lord, be upon us,
as we have put our trust in you.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.

I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall ever be in my mouth.
I will glory in the Lord;
let the humble hear and rejoice.

Proclaim with me the greatness of the Lord;
let us exalt his Name together.
I sought the Lord, and he answered me
and delivered me out of all my terror.

Look upon him and be radiant,
and let not your faces be ashamed.
I called in my affliction and the Lord heard me
and saved me from all my troubles.

The angel of the Lord encompasses those who fear him,
and he will deliver them.
Taste and see that the Lord is good;
happy are they who trust in him!

Fear the Lord, you that are his saints,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
The young lions lack and suffer hunger,
but those who seek the Lord lack nothing good.

Come, children, and listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Who among you loves life
and desires long life to enjoy prosperity?

Keep your tongue from evil-speaking
and your lips from lying words.
Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.

The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous,
and his ears are open to their cry.
The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
to root out the remembrance of them from the earth.

The righteous cry, and the Lord hears them
and delivers them from all their troubles.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
and will save those whose spirits are crushed.

Many are the troubles of the righteous,
but the Lord will deliver him out of them all.
He will keep safe all his bones;
not one of them shall be broken.

Evil shall slay the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be punished.
The Lord ransoms the life of his servants,
and none will be punished who trust in him.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.

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 covered 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.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.

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.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.

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.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.

O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger;
do not punish me in your wrath.
For your arrows have already pierced me,
and your hand presses hard upon me.

There is no health in my flesh,
because of your indignation;
there is no soundness in my body, because of my sin.

For my iniquities overwhelm me;
like a heavy burden they are too much for me to bear.
My wounds stink and fester
by reason of my foolishness.
I am utterly bowed down and prostrate;
I go about in mourning all the day long.

My loins are filled with searing pain;
there is no health in my body.
I am utterly numb and crushed;
I wail, because of the groaning of my heart.

O Lord, you know all my desires,
and my sighing is not hidden from you.
My heart is pounding, my strength has failed me,
and the brightness of my eyes is gone from me.

My friends and companions draw back from my affliction;
my neighbors stand afar off.
Those who seek after my life lay snares for me;
those who strive to hurt me speak of my ruin
and plot treachery all the day long.

But I am like the deaf who do not hear,
like those who are mute and do not open their mouth.
I have become like one who does not hear
and from whose mouth comes no defense.

For in you, O Lord, have I fixed my hope;
you will answer me, O Lord my God.
For I said, “Do not let them rejoice at my expense,
those who gloat over me when my foot slips.”

Truly, I am on the verge of falling,
and my pain is always with me.
I will confess my iniquity
and be sorry for my sin.

Those who are my enemies without cause are mighty,
and many in number are those who wrongfully hate me.
Those who repay evil for good slander me,
because I follow the course that is right.

O Lord, do not forsake me;
be not far from me, O my God.
Make haste to help me,
O Lord of my salvation.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.

I said, “I will keep watch upon my ways,
so that I do not offend with my tongue.
I will put a muzzle on my mouth
while the wicked are in my presence.”
So, I held my tongue and said nothing;
I refrained from rash words;
but my pain became unbearable.

My heart was hot within me;
while I pondered, the fire burst into flame;
I spoke out with my tongue:
Lord, let me know my end and the number of my days,
so that I may know how short my life is.

You have given me a mere handful of days,
and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight;
truly, even those who stand erect are but a puff of wind.
We walk about like a shadow,
and in vain we are in turmoil;
we heap up riches and cannot tell who will gather them.

And now, what is my hope?
O Lord, my hope is in you.
Deliver me from all my transgressions
and do not make me the taunt of the fool.
I fell silent and did not open my mouth,
for surely it was you that did it.

Take your affliction from me;
I am worn down by the blows of your hand.
With rebukes for sin you punish us;
like a moth you eat away all that is dear to us;
truly, everyone is but a puff of wind.

Hear my prayer, O Lord,
and give ear to my cry;
hold not your peace at my tears.
For I am but a sojourner with you,
a wayfarer, as all my forebears were.

Turn your gaze from me, that I may be glad again,
before I go my way and am no more.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.

I waited patiently upon the Lord;
he stooped to me and heard my cry.

He lifted me out of the desolate pit, out of the mire and clay;
he set my feet upon a high cliff and made my footing sure.

He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God;
many shall see, and stand in awe,
and put their trust in the Lord.

Happy are they who trust in the Lord!
they do not resort to evil spirits or turn to false gods.

Great things are they that you have done, O Lord my God!
how great your wonders and your plans for us!
there is none who can be compared with you.
Oh, that I could make them known and tell them!
but they are more than I can count.

In sacrifice and offering you take no pleasure
(you have given me ears to hear you);
Burnt-offering and sin-offering you have not required,
And so I said, “Behold, I come.

In the roll of the book it is written concerning me:
‘I love to do your will, O my God;
your law is deep in my heart.’”

I proclaimed righteousness in the great congregation;
behold, I did not restrain my lips;
and that, O Lord, you know.

Your righteousness have I not hidden in my heart;
I have spoken of your faithfulness and your deliverance;
I have not concealed your love and faithfulness from the great congregation.

You are the Lord;
do not withhold your compassion from me;
let your love and your faithfulness keep me safe for ever.

For innumerable troubles have crowded upon me;
my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see;
they are more in number than the hairs of my head,
and my heart fails me.

Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me;
O Lord, make haste to help me.

Let them be ashamed and altogether dismayed
who seek after my life to destroy it;
let them draw back and be disgraced
who take pleasure in my misfortune.
Let those who say “Aha!” and gloat over me be confounded,
because they are ashamed.

Let all who seek you rejoice in you and be glad;
let those who love your salvation continually say,
“Great is the Lord!”

Though I am poor and afflicted,
the Lord will have regard for me.
You are my helper and my deliverer;
do not tarry, O my God.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.

Happy are they who consider the poor and needy!
the Lord will deliver them in the time of trouble.

The Lord preserves them and keeps them alive,
so that they may be happy in the land;
he does not hand them over to the will of their enemies.

The Lord sustains them on their sickbed
and ministers to them in their illness.

I said, “Lord, be merciful to me;
heal me, for I have sinned against you.”
My enemies are saying wicked things about me:
“When will he die, and his name perish?”
Even if they come to see me, they speak empty words;
their heart collects false rumors;
they go outside and spread them.

All my enemies whisper together about me
and devise evil against me.
“A deadly thing,” they say, “has fastened on him;
he has taken to his bed and will never get up again.”

Even my best friend, whom I trusted,
who broke bread with me,
has lifted up his heel and turned against me.

But you, O Lord, be merciful to me and raise me up,
and I shall repay them.
By this I know you are pleased with me,
that my enemy does not triumph over me.
In my integrity you hold me fast,
and shall set me before your face for ever.

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
from age to age. Amen. Amen.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.

As the deer longs for the water-brooks,
so longs my soul for you, O God.

My soul is athirst for God, athirst for the living God;
when shall I come to appear before the presence of God?

My tears have been my food day and night,
while all day long they say to me,
“Where now is your God?”

I pour out my soul when I think on these things:
how I went with the multitude and led them into the house of God,
with the voice of praise and thanksgiving,
among those who keep holy-day.

Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul?
and why are you so disquieted within me?
Put your trust in God;
for I will yet give thanks to him,
who is the help of my countenance, and my God.

My soul is heavy within me;
therefore I will remember you from the land of Jordan
and from the peak of Mizar among the heights of Hermon.

One deep calls to another in the noise of your cataracts;
all your rapids and floods have gone over me.

The Lord grants his loving-kindness in the daytime;
in the night season his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.

I will say to the God of my strength,
“Why have you forgotten me?
and why do I go so heavily while the enemy oppresses me?”

While my bones are being broken,
my enemies mock me to my face;
All day long they mock me
and say to me, “Where now is your God?”

Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul?
and why are you so disquieted within me?
Put your trust in God;
for I will yet give thanks to him,
who is the help of my countenance, and my God.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.

We have heard with our ears, O God,
our forefathers have told us,
the deeds you did in their days,
in the days of old.

How with your hand you drove the peoples out
and planted our forefathers in the land;
how you destroyed nations and made your people flourish.

For they did not take the land by their sword,
nor did their arm win the victory for them;
but your right hand, your arm, and the light of your countenance,
because you favored them.

You are my King and my God;
you command victories for Jacob.
Through you we pushed back our adversaries;
through your Name we trampled on those who rose up against us.

For I do not rely on my bow,
and my sword does not give me the victory.
Surely you gave us victory over our adversaries
and put those who hate us to shame.
Every day we gloried in God,
and we will praise your Name for ever.

Nevertheless, you have rejected and humbled us
and do not go forth with our armies.
You have made us fall back before our adversary,
and our enemies have plundered us.

You have made us like sheep to be eaten
and have scattered us among the nations.
You are selling your people for a trifle
and are making no profit on the sale of them.

You have made us the scorn of our neighbors,
a mockery and derision to those around us.
You have made us a byword among the nations,
a laughing-stock among the peoples.

My humiliation is daily before me,
and shame has covered my face;
because of the taunts of the mockers and blasphemers,
because of the enemy and avenger.

All this has come upon us;
yet we have not forgotten you,
nor have we betrayed your covenant.
Our heart never turned back,
nor did our footsteps stray from your path;
Though you thrust us down into a place of misery,
and covered us over with deep darkness.

If we have forgotten the Name of our God,
or stretched out our hands to some strange god,
Will not God find it out?
for he knows the secrets of the heart.
Indeed, for your sake we are killed all the day long;
we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

Awake, O Lord! why are you sleeping?
Arise! do not reject us for ever.
Why have you hidden your face
and forgotten our affliction and oppression?

We sink down into the dust;
our body cleaves to the ground.
Rise up, and help us,
and save us, for the sake of your steadfast love.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.

My heart is stirring with a noble song;
let me recite what I have fashioned for the king;
my tongue shall be the pen of a skilled writer.

You are the fairest of men;
grace flows from your lips,
because God has blessed you for ever.

Strap your sword upon your thigh, O mighty warrior,
in your pride and in your majesty.
Ride out and conquer in the cause of truth
and for the sake of justice.

Your right hand will show you marvelous things;
your arrows are very sharp, O mighty warrior.
The peoples are falling at your feet,
and the king’s enemies are losing heart.

Your throne, O God, endures for ever and ever,
a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom;
you love righteousness and hate iniquity.

Therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness above your fellows.
All your garments are fragrant with myrrh, aloes, and cassia,
and the music of strings from ivory palaces makes you glad.

Kings’ daughters stand among the ladies of the court;
on your right hand is the queen,
adorned with the gold of Ophir.

“Hear, O daughter; consider and listen closely;
forget your people and your father’s house.
The king will have pleasure in your beauty;
he is your master; therefore do him honor.

“The people of Tyre are here with a gift;
the rich among the people seek your favor.”
All glorious is the princess as she enters;
her gown is cloth-of-gold.

In embroidered apparel she is brought to the king;
after her the bridesmaids follow in procession.
With joy and gladness they are brought,
and enter into the palace of the king.

“In place of fathers, O king, you shall have sons;
you shall make them princes over all the earth.
I will make your name to be remembered
from one generation to another;
therefore nations will praise you for ever and ever.”

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.