Second Kathisma

Psalm 9

I will confess thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will declare all thy wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in thee, I will sing psalms unto thy name, O Most High. When mine enemy is turned back, they shall grow weak and shall perish before thy face. For thou hast wrought my judgment and my cause, thou that judgest righteousness hast sat upon a throne. Thou hast rebuked the nations, and the impious hath perished: thou hast blotted out their name for ever, and unto ages of ages. The enemy’s sword hath failed utterly, their cities hast thou destroyed: their memorial is blotted out with a resounding noise. And the Lord remaineth for ever; He hath prepared his throne for judgment: and He will judge the world in righteousness, He will judge the peoples in uprightness. And the Lord is become a refuge for the needy, a helper in good times and in tribulation. And let them that know thy name hope in thee, for thou hast not forsaken them that seek thee out, O Lord. Sing psalms unto the Lord that dwelleth in Zion; proclaim his doings among the nations: for in seeking out their blood He remembereth; He hath not forgotten the prayer of the needy. Have mercy on me, O Lord, see my humiliation from mine enemies, O thou that liftest me up from the gates of death: that I may declare all thy praises, in the gates of the daughter of Zion; we will rejoice in thy salvation. The nations are caught in the destruction which they have wrought: in the very snare which they have hid, their foot is caught. The Lord is known in the judgments which He doth execute; the sinner is caught in the works of his own hands. Let the sinner be turned back into hell, all the nations that forget God. For the poor shall not be forgotten till the end, the patience of the needy shall not perish before the end. Arise, O Lord, let not man become mightier, let nations be judged before thee. O Lord, set a lawgiver over them, let the nations know that they are men. Why, O Lord, hast thou stood afar off, and disregarded us in good times and in tribulation? While the impious indulgeth in pride, the poor burneth within himself: they are caught in the devices that they have imagined. For the sinner praiseth himself in the desires of his soul, and he that doeth wrong blesseth himself. The sinner hath vexed the Lord; not according to the magnitude of his wrath shall he seek him out; God is not before him. Profane are his ways at all times; thy judgments are removed from before his face; he shall gain lordship over all his enemies. For he hath said in his heart, I shall not be shaken, nor suffer harm from generation to generation. His mouth is full of cursing, and bitterness and deceit; and under his tongue are labor and toil. He sitteth in ambush in secret places with the rich, in order to slay the innocent; his eyes keep watch for the needy. He lieth in wait in secret places like a lion in his den; he lieth in wait to seize the needy, to seize the needy as he draweth him into his snare. He shall humiliate him; he shall stoop and fall when he gaineth lordship over the poor. For he hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten, He hath turned away his face, that He may not see till the end. Arise, O Lord my God, let thy hand be lifted up; forget not thy needy ones till the end. Wherefore hath the impious provoked God? for he hath said in his heart, He will not inquire. Thou seest, for thou dost behold toil and wrath, that he may be delivered into thy hands; to thee hath the poor been forsaken, to the orphan hast thou been a helper. Break thou the arm of the sinner and the evil one: his sin shall be sought out, and shall be found no more. The Lord is King for ever, and unto ages of ages; ye nations shall perish from his earth. Thou hast heard the desire of the needy, O Lord, to the preparation of their heart hast thou inclined thine ear. To judge for the orphan and the humble, that no man shall again boast upon the earth.

Psalm 10

In the Lord have I trusted; how will ye say to my soul, fly to the mountains like a sparrow? For the sinners have made ready their bow, and have prepared arrows for the quiver, to shoot the upright in heart upon a moonless night. For what thou hast perfected, they have destroyed; what hath a righteous man done? The Lord is in his holy temple. The Lord, his throne is in heaven; his eyes look upon the needy, his eyelids try the sons of men. The Lord trieth the righteous and the impious; he that loveth unrighteousness hateth his own soul. Upon sinners shall he rain snares, fire and brimstone; a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup. For the Lord is righteous, and loveth righteousness, and his face beholdeth uprightness.

Psalm 11

Save me, O Lord, for there is not one holy man left; for truth hath decreased among the sons of men. Every man hath spoken vanity to his neighbor; deceitful lips are in his heart, and in his heart hath he spoken evil. Let the Lord destroy all deceitful lips, the tongue that speaketh proudly, which have said, our tongue let us magnify, our lips are ours, who is our Lord? Because of the misery of the poor, and the sighing of the needy, Now will I arise, saith the Lord; I will set myself for salvation, I will speak boldly thereof. The words of the Lord are pure words, as silver tried in fire, in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou, O Lord, shalt keep us, and guard us from this generation and for evermore. The impious walk round about; according to thy greatness thou hast increased the sons of men.

Psalm 12

How long, O Lord, wilt thou forget me? till the end? How long wilt thou turn away thy face from me? Until when shall I take counsel in my soul, sorrows in my heart day and night? How long, O Lord, will mine enemy be exalted over me? Look upon me, hearken unto me, O Lord my God: enlighten mine eyes, lest at any time I sleep unto death. Let not mine enemy say, I have power over him. Those that afflict me will rejoice, if I shall be moved. But I have hoped in thy mercy: my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. I will sing unto the Lord, who hath been my benefactor, and I will sing psalms to the name of the Lord Most High.

Psalm 13

The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They have corrupted themselves, and become abominable in iniquities; there is none that doeth good. God looked down from heaven upon the sons of men, to see if there be any that understand, or seek after God. They have all gone astray, they are altogether become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, not even one. Will not all the workers of iniquity know, those who devour my people as they would eat bread? They have not called upon the Lord. There they feared fear, where there was no fear; for the Lord is in the generation of the righteous. Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, but the Lord is his hope. Who will give salvation to Israel out of Zion? When the Lord turneth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.

Psalm 14

O Lord, who shall dwell in thy tabernacle? and who shall abide in thy holy mountain? He that walketh blameless, and worketh righteousness, who speaketh truth in his heart; who hath not deceived with his tongue, neither hath done evil to his fellow, nor taken up a reproach against his neighbors. In his sight is the evildoer set at nought, but he glorifieth them that fear the Lord; he sweareth to his neighbor and disavoweth it not. He hath not lent his money on usury, and hath not received bribes against the innocent; he that doeth these things shall never be shaken.

Psalm 15

Keep me, O Lord, for in thee have I trusted. I said to the Lord, Thou art my Lord, for of my goodness thou hast no need. To the saints who are in his earth, the Lord hath revealed the wonders of all his will in them. Their infirmities increased, afterwards they hastened; I will not gather their assemblies of blood, nor remember their names with my lips. The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance, and my cup; thou art He that restoreth to me mine inheritance. Courses have fallen to me in excellent places; yea, mine inheritance is good to me. I will bless the Lord who hath instructed me; my reins also have chastened me till the night. I saw the Lord continually before me; for He is at my right hand, that I not be moved. Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue hath rejoiced; moreover my flesh shall rest in hope. For thou hast not forsaken my soul in hell, neither dost thou permit thy holy one to see corruption. Thou hast declared to me the way of life; thou shalt fill me with the joy of thy countenance, delights are at thy right hand till the end.

Psalm 16

Hearken, O Lord, to my righteousness; attend to my supplication; give heed to my prayer, not on deceitful lips. From thy face my judgment shall come; let mine eyes behold uprightness. Thou hast proved my heart, thou hast looked upon me by night; thou hast tried me by fire, and unrighteousness hath not been found in me. That my mouth speak not the works of men, for the sake of the words of thy lips have I kept to hard ways. Guide my footsteps in thy paths, that my steps not be moved. I cried, for thou hast heard me, O God; incline thine ear unto me and hearken unto my sayings. Reveal the wonders of thy mercies, thou that savest them that hope in thee. From them that have resisted thy right hand, keep me, O Lord, as the apple of an eye. Under the shelter of thy wings, give me shelter, from the face of the impious that have made me grow weary. Mine enemies have surrounded my soul; they are shut up in their own fatness: their mouths have spoken proud things. They have cast me out and now have encompassed me; their eyes have they set down to the earth. They have seized me as a lion ready for the prey, as a young lion dwelling in secret places. Arise, O Lord, come before them and overthrow them; deliver my soul from the impious, thy sword from the enemies of thy hand. O Lord, give them a part of the small things from the earth in their life; from thy hidden stores is their belly filled. They have satisfied themselves with swine, and they have left the remnants for their babes. But I will appear before thy face with righteousness; I will be satisfied when I appear before thy glory.