THE PSALMS OF DAVID

[Dawn Marie]

PSALM I

The happiness of the just and the evil state of the wicked.

Blessed is the man who hath not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the chair of pestilence. But his will is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he shall meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree which is planted near the running waters, which shall bring forth its fruit, in due season. And his leaf shall not fall off: and all whatsoever he shall do shall prosper. Not so the wicked, not so: but like the dust, which the wind driveth from the face of the earth. Therefore the wicked shall not rise again in judgment: nor sinners in the council of the just.

For the Lord knoweth the way of the just: and the way of the wicked shall perish.

[Dawn Marie]

PSALM IX

The church praiseth God for his protection against her enemies.

I will give praise to thee, O Lord, with my whole heart: I will relate all thy wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing to thy name, O thou most high. When my enemy shall be turned back: they shall be weakened and perish before thy face. For thou hast maintained my judgment and my cause: thou hast sat on the throne, who judgest justice.

Thou hast rebuked the Gentiles, and the wicked one hath perished: thou hast blotted out their name for ever and ever. The swords of the enemy have failed unto the end: and their cities thou hast destroyed. Their memory hath perished with a noise. But the Lord remaineth for ever. He hath prepared his throne in judgment: And he shall judge the world in equity, he shall judge the people in justice. And the Lord is become a refuge for the poor: a helper in due time in tribulation.

And let them trust in thee who know thy name: for thou hast not forsaken them that seek thee, O Lord. Sing ye to the Lord, who dwelleth in Sion: declare his ways among the Gentiles: For requiring their blood he hath remembered the: he hath not forgotten the cry of the poor. Have mercy on me, O Lord: see my humiliation which I suffer from my enemies. Thou that liftest me up from the gates of death, that I may declare all thy praises in the gates of the daughter of Sion.

I will rejoice in thy salvation: the Gentiles have stuck fast in the destruction which they have prepared. Their foot hath been taken in the very snare which they hid. The Lord shall be known when he executeth judgments: the sinner hath been caught in the works of his own hands. The wicked shall be turned into hell, all the nations that forget God. For the poor man shall not be forgotten to the end: the patience of the poor shall not perish for ever. Arise, O Lord, let not man be strengthened: let the Gentiles be judged in thy sight.

Appoint, O Lord, a lawgiver over them: that the Gentiles may know themselves to be but men. Why, O Lord, hast thou retired afar off? why dost thou slight us in our wants, in the time of trouble? Whilst the wicked man is proud, the poor is set on fire: they are caught in the counsels which they devise. For the sinner is praised in the desires of his soul: and the unjust man is blessed. The sinner hath provoked the Lord according to the multitude of his wrath he will not seek him:

God is not before his eyes: his ways are filthy at all times. Thy judgments are removed from his sight: he shall rule over all his enemies. For he hath said in his heart: I shall not be moved from generation to generation, and shall be without evil. His mouth is full of cursing, and of bitterness, and of deceit: under his tongue are labour and sorrow. He sitteth in ambush with the rich in private places, that he may kill the innocent. His eyes are upon the poor man: He lieth in wait in secret like a lion in his den. He lieth in ambush that he may catch the poor man: to catch the poor, whilst he draweth him to him.

In his net he will bring him down, he will crouch and fall, when he shall have power over the poor. For he hath said in his heart: God hath forgotten, he hath turned away his face not to see to the end. Arise, O Lord God, let thy hand be exalted: forget not the poor. Wherefore hath the wicked provoked God? for he hath said in his heart: He will not require it. Thou seest it, for thou considerest labour and sorrow: that thou mayst deliver them into thy hands. To thee is the poor man left: thou wilt be a helper to the orphan.

Break thou the arm of the sinner and of the malignant: his sin shall be sought, and shall not be found. The Lord shall reign to eternity, yea, for ever and ever: ye Gentiles shall perish from his land. The Lord hath heard the desire of the poor: thy ear hath heard the preparation of their heart. To judge for the fatherless and for the humble, that man may no more presume to magnify himself upon earth.

[Dawn Marie]

PSALM VIII

God is wonderful in his works; especially in mankind, singularly exalted by the incarnation of Christ.

O Lord our Lord, how admirable is thy name in the whole earth! For thy magnificence is elevated above the heavens. Out of the mouth of infants and of sucklings thou hast perfected praise, because of thy enemies, that thou mayst destroy the enemy and the avenger. For I will behold thy heavens, the works of thy fingers: the moon and the stars which thou hast founded. What is man that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man that thou visitest him?

Thou hast made him a little less than the angels, thou hast crowned him with glory and honour: And hast set him over the works of thy hands. Thou hast subjected all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen: moreover the beasts also of the fields. The birds of the air, and the fishes of the sea, that pass through the paths of the sea. O Lord our Lord, how admirable is thy name in all the earth!

[Dawn Marie]

PSALM VII

David, trusting in the justice of his cause, prayeth for God's help against his enemies.

O Lord my God, in thee have I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me. Lest at any time he seize upon my soul like a lion, while there is no one to redeem me, nor to save. O Lord my God, if I have done this thing, if there be iniquity in my hands: If I have rendered to them that repaid me evils, let me deservedly fall empty before my enemies.

Let the enemy pursue my soul, and take it, and tread down my life on the earth, and bring down my glory to the dust. Rise up, O Lord, in thy anger: and be thou exalted in the borders of my enemies. And arise, O Lord my God, in the precept which thou hast commanded: And a congregation of people shall surround thee. And for their sakes return thou on high. The Lord judgeth the people. Judge me, O Lord, according to my justice, and according to my innocence in me. The wickedness of sinners shall be brought to nought: and thou shalt direct the just: the searcher of hearts and reins is God.

Just is my help from the Lord: who saveth the upright of heart. God is a just judge, strong and patient: is he angry every day? Except you will be converted, he will brandish his sword: he hath bent his bow and made it ready. And in it he hath prepared the instruments of death, he hath made ready his arrows for them that burn. Behold he hath been in labour with injustice; he hath conceived sorrow, and brought forth iniquity.

He hath opened a pit and dug it; and he is fallen into the hole he made. His sorrow shall be turned on his own head: and his iniquity shall comedown upon his crown. I will give glory to the Lord according to his justice: and will sing to the name of the Lord the most high.

[Dawn Marie]

PSALM VI

A prayer of a penitent sinner, under the scourge of God. The first penitential psalm.

O Lord, rebuke me not in thy indignation, nor chastise me in thy wrath. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak: heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled. And my soul is troubled exceedingly: but thou, O Lord, how long? Turn to me, O Lord, and deliver my soul: O save me for thy mercy' s sake.

For there is no one in death, that is mindful of thee: and who shall confess to thee in hell? I have laboured in my groanings, every night I will wash my bed: I will water my couch with my tears. My eye is troubled through indignation: I have grown old amongst all my enemies. Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity: for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping. The Lord hath heard my supplication: the Lord hath received my prayer.

Let all my enemies be ashamed, and be very much troubled: let them be turned back, and be ashamed very speedily.

[Dawn Marie]

PSALM V

A prayer to God against the iniquities of men

Give ear, O Lord, to my words, understand my cry. Hearken to the voice of my prayer, O my King and my God. For to thee will I pray: O Lord, in the morning thou shalt hear my voice. In the morning I will stand before thee, and will see: because thou art not a God that willest iniquity. Neither shall the wicked dwell near thee: nor shall the unjust abide before thy eyes. Thou hatest all the workers of iniquity: Thou wilt destroy all that speak a lie. The bloody and the deceitful man the Lord will abhor. But as for me in the multitude of thy mercy, I will come into thy house; I will worship towards thy holy temple, in thy fear. Conduct me, O Lord, in thy justice: because of my enemies, direct my way in thy sight. For there is no truth in their mouth; their heart is vain.

Their throat is an open sepulchre: they dealt deceitfully with their tongues: judge them, O God. Let them fall from their devices: according to the multitude of their wickedness cast them out: for they have provoked thee, O Lord. But let all them be glad that hope in thee: they shall rejoice for ever, and thou shalt dwell in them. And all they that love thy name shall glory in thee: For thou wilt bless the just.

O Lord, thou hast crowned us, as with a shield of thy good will.

[Dawn Marie]

PSALM IV

The prophet teacheth us to flee to God in tribulation, with confidence in him.

When I called upon him, the God of my justice heard me: when I was in distress, thou hast enlarged me. Have mercy on me: and hear my prayer. O ye sons of men, how long will you be dull of heart? why do you love vanity, and seek after lying? Know ye also that the Lord hath made his holy one wonderful: the Lord will hear me when I shall cry unto him. Be angry, and sin not: the things you say in your hearts, be sorry for them upon your beds.

Offer up the sacrifice of justice, and trust in the Lord: many say, Who sheweth us good things? The light of thy countenance O Lord, is signed upon us: thou hast given gladness in my heart. By the fruit of their corn, their wine and oil, they are multiplied. In peace in the selfsame I will sleep, and I will rest: For thou, O Lord, singularly hast settled me in hope.

[Dawn Marie]

PSALM III

The prophet's danger and delivery from his son Absalom: mystically, the passion and resurrection of Christ.

The psalm of David when he fled from the face of his son Absalom. Why, O Lord, are they multiplied that afflict me? many are they who rise up against me. Many say to my soul: There is no salvation for him in his God. But thou, O Lord art my protector, my glory, and the lifter up of my head. I have cried to the Lord with my voice: and he hath heard me from his holy hill.

 

I have slept and taken my rest: and I have risen up, because the Lord hath protected me. I will not fear thousands of the people, surrounding me: arise, O Lord; save me, O my God. For thou hast struck all them who are my adversaries without cause: thou hast broken the teeth of sinners. Salvation is of the Lord: and thy blessing is upon thy people.

[Dawn Marie]

PSALM II

The vain efforts of persecutors against Christ and his church.

Why have the Gentiles raged, and the people devised vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the princes met together, against the Lord and against his Christ. Let us break their bonds asunder: and let us cast away their yoke from us. He that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh at them: and the Lord shall deride them. Then shall he speak to them in his anger, and trouble them in his rage.

But I am appointed king by him over Sion his holy mountain, preaching his commandment. The Lord hath said to me: Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I will give thee the Gentiles for thy inheritance, and the utmost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt rule them with a rod of iron, and shalt break them in pieces like a potter' s vessel. And now, O ye kings, understand: receive instruction, you that judge the earth.

Serve ye the Lord with fear: and rejoice unto him with trembling. Embrace discipline, lest at any time the Lord be angry, and you perish from the just way. When his wrath shall be kindled in a short time, blessed are all they that trust in him.