May 30 - Psalms 22-27

¹Unto the end. For the tasks of early morning. A Psalm of David. O God, my God, look upon me. Why have you forsaken me? Far from my salvation are the words of my offenses²My God, I will cry out by day, and you will not heed, and by night, and it will not be foolishness for me³But you dwell in holiness, O Praise of Israel⁴In you, our fathers have hoped. They hoped, and you freed them⁵They cried out to you, and they were saved. In you, they hoped and were not confounded⁶But I am a worm and not a man: a disgrace among men, and an outcast of the people⁷All those who saw me have derided me. They have spoken with the lips and shook the head⁸He has hoped in the Lord, let him rescue him. Let him save him because he chooses him⁹For you are the one who has drawn me out of the womb, my hope from the breasts of my mother¹⁰I have been thrown upon you from the womb; from the womb of my mother, you are my God¹¹Do not depart from me. For tribulation is near, since there is no one who may help me¹²Many calves have surrounded me; fat bulls have besieged me¹³They have opened their mouths over me, just like a lion seizing and roaring¹⁴And so, I have been poured out like water, and all my bones have been scattered. My heart has become like wax, melting in the midst of my chest¹⁵My strength has dried up like clay, and my tongue has adhered to my jaws. And you have pulled me down, into the dust of death¹⁶For many dogs have surrounded me. The council of the malicious has besieged me. They have pierced my hands and feet¹⁷They have numbered all my bones. And they have examined me and stared at me¹⁸They divided my garments among them, and over my vestment, they cast lots¹⁹But you, O Lord, do not take your help far from me; be attentive to my defense²⁰O God, rescue my soul from the spear, and my only one from the hand of the dog²¹Save me from the mouth of the lion, and my humility from the horns of the single-horned beast²²I will declare your name to my brothers. In the midst of the Church, I will praise you²³You who fear the Lord, praise him. All the offspring of Jacob, glorify him²⁴May all the offspring of Israel fear him. For he has neither spurned nor despised the pleas of the poor. Neither has he turned his face away from me. And when I cried out to him, he heeded me²⁵My praise is with you, within a great church. I will pay my vows in the sight of those who fear him²⁶The poor will eat and be satisfied, and those who yearn for the Lord will praise him. Their hearts will live forever and ever²⁷All the ends of the earth will remember, and they will be converted to the Lord. And all the families of the Gentiles will adore in his sight²⁸For the kingdom belongs to the Lord, and he will have dominion over the Gentiles²⁹All the fat of the earth have gnashed their teeth, and they have adored. In his sight, they will fall down, all those who descend to the ground³⁰And my soul will live for him, and my offspring will serve him³¹There will be announced for the Lord a future generation, and the heavens will announce his justice to a people who will be born, whom the Lord has made

Chapter 23

¹A Psalm of David. The Lord directs me, and nothing will be lacking to me²He has settled me here, in a place of pasture. He has led me out to the water of refreshment³He has converted my soul. He has led me away on the paths of justice, for the sake of his name⁴For, even if I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evils. For you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they have given me consolation⁵You have prepared a table in my sight, opposite those who trouble me. You have anointed my head with oil, and my cup, which inebriates me, how brilliant it is⁶And your mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and so may I dwell in the house of the Lord for length of days

Chapter 24

¹For the First Sabbath. A Psalm of David. The earth and all its fullness belong to the Lord: the whole world and all that dwells in it²For he has founded it upon the seas, and he has prepared it upon the rivers³Who will ascend to the mountain of the Lord? And who will stand in his holy place⁴The innocent of hands and the clean of heart, who has not received his soul in vain, nor sworn deceitfully to his neighbor⁵He will receive a blessing from the Lord, and mercy from God, his Saviour⁶This is the generation that seeks him, that seeks the face of the God of Jacob⁷Lift up your gates, you princes, and be lifted up, eternal gates. And the King of Glory shall enter⁸Who is this King of Glory? The Lord who is strong and powerful; the Lord powerful in battle⁹Lift up your gates, you princes, and be lifted up, eternal gates. And the King of Glory shall enter¹⁰Who is this King of Glory? The Lord of virtue. He himself is the King of Glory

Chapter 25

¹Unto the end. A Psalm of David. To you, Lord, I have lifted up my soul²In you, my God, I trust. Let me not be put to shame³And do not let my enemies laugh at me. For all who remain with you will not be confounded⁴May all those who act unjustly over nothing be confounded. O Lord, demonstrate your ways to me, and teach me your paths⁵Direct me in your truth, and teach me. For you are God, my Saviour, and I remain with you all day long⁶O Lord, remember your compassion and your mercies, which are from ages past⁷Do not remember the offenses of my youth and my ignorances. Remember me according to your mercy, because of your goodness, O Lord⁸The Lord is sweet and righteous. Because of this, he will grant a law to those who fall short in the way⁹He will direct the mild in judgment. He will teach the meek his ways¹⁰All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth, to those who yearn for his covenant and his testimonies¹¹Because of your name, O Lord, you will pardon my sin, for it is great¹²Which is the man who fears the Lord? He has established a law for him, on the way that he has chosen¹³His soul will dwell upon good things, and his offspring will inherit the earth¹⁴The Lord is a firmament to those who fear him, and his covenant will be made manifest to them¹⁵My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for he will pull my feet from the snare¹⁶Look upon me and have mercy on me; for I am alone and poor¹⁷The troubles of my heart have been multiplied. Deliver me from my needfulness¹⁸See my lowliness and my hardship, and release all my offenses¹⁹Consider my enemies, for they have been multiplied, and they have hated me with an unjust hatred²⁰Preserve my soul and rescue me. I will not be ashamed, for I have hoped in you²¹The innocent and the righteous have adhered to me, because I have remained with you²²Free Israel, O God, from all his tribulations

Chapter 26

¹Unto the end. A Psalm of David. Judge me, Lord, for I have been walking in my innocence, and by hoping in the Lord, I will not be weakened²Examine me, Lord, and test me: enkindle my temperament and my heart³For your mercy is before my eyes, and I am serene in your truth⁴I have not sat with the council of emptiness, and I will not enter with those who carry out injustice⁵I have hated the assembly of the malicious; and I will not sit with the impious⁶I will wash my hands among the innocent, and I will surround your altar, O Lord⁷so that I may hear the voice of your praise and describe all your wonders⁸O Lord, I have loved the beauty of your house and the dwelling place of your glory⁹O God, do not let my soul perish with the impious, nor my life with the men of blood¹⁰in whose hands are iniquities: their right hand has been filled by bribes¹¹But as for me, I have been walking in my innocence. Redeem me, and have mercy on me¹²My foot has stood firm in the straight path. In the churches, I will bless you, O Lord

Chapter 27

¹A Psalm of David, before he was sealed. The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life, of whom shall I be afraid²Meanwhile, the guilty draw near to me, so as to eat my flesh. Those who trouble me, my enemies, have themselves been weakened and have fallen³If entrenched armies were to stand together against me, my heart would not fear. If a battle were to rise up against me, I would have hope in this⁴One thing I have asked of the Lord, this I will seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, so that I may behold the delight of the Lord, and may visit his temple⁵For he has hidden me in his tabernacle. In the day of evils, he has protected me in the hidden place of his tabernacle⁶He has exalted me upon the rock, and now he has exalted my head above my enemies. I have circled around and offered a sacrifice of loud exclamation in his tabernacle. I will sing, and I will compose a psalm, to the Lord⁷Hear my voice, O Lord, with which I have cried out to you. Have mercy on me, and hear me⁸My heart has spoken to you; my face has sought you. I yearn for your face, O Lord⁹Do not turn your face away from me. In your wrath, do not turn aside from your servant. Be my helper. Do not abandon me, and do not despise me, O God, my Saviour¹⁰For my father and my mother have left me behind, but the Lord has taken me up¹¹O Lord, establish a law for me in your way, and direct me in the right path, because of my enemies¹²Do not surrender me to the souls of those who trouble me. For unjust witnesses have risen up against me, and iniquity has lied to itself¹³I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living¹⁴Wait for the Lord, act manfully; and let your heart be strengthened, and remain with the Lord