Third Kathisma

Psalm 17

I will love thee, O Lord, my might; the Lord is my foundation, my refuge, and my Deliverer, my God, my Helper, and I shall hope in him: my Defender, and the horn of my salvation, and my Succorer. Praising, I will call upon the Lord, and from mine enemies shall I be saved. The pangs of death have over whelmed me, and torrents of transgression have troubled me; the pangs of hell have encompassed me, and snares of death have come before me. And in my tribulation I called upon the Lord, and I cried to my God: He heard my voice out of his holy temple, and my crying before him came in to his ears. The earth was moved and trembled, and the foundations of the mountains were disquieted and shaken, for God was wroth with them. A smoke went up in his wrath, and a fire flamed from his face, and by it were coals kindled. And He bowed down the heavens, and came down, and darkness was under his feet. And He mounted upon the Cherubim and flew; He flew upon the wings of the wind. And He made the darkness his hiding-place; round about him was his tabernacle, dark water in the clouds of the air. At the brilliance that was before him passed clouds, hail and coals of fire. And the Lord thundered from heaven, and the Most High gave forth his voice. He sent forth arrows and scattered them, and He multiplied lightnings and troubled them. And the fountains of waters appeared, and the foundations of the universe were revealed, at thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blasting of the spirit of thy wrath. He sent forth from on high, and took me, and drew me out of many waters. He shall deliver me from my powerful enemies, and from them that hate me, for they are become stronger than I. They came before me in the day of my distress, and the Lord is become my stay. And He hath led me out into a wide place; He shall deliver me, for He was pleased with me. And the Lord shall reward me according to my righteousness, and according to the cleanness of my hands shall He reward me. For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not acted impiously against my God. For all his judgments are before me, and his statutes have not departed from me. And I will be blameless with him, and will keep myself from my transgression. And the Lord shall reward me according to my righteousness, and according to the cleanness of my hands, which is before his eyes. With the holy shalt thou be holy, and with the innocent man shalt thou be innocent. And with the elect shalt thou be elect, and with the perverse shalt thou turn aside. For thou shalt save a humble people, and thou shalt humble the eyes of the proud. For thou shalt light my lamp, O Lord my God, thou shalt lighten my darkness. For in thee shall I be delivered from an ordeal, and in thee, O my God, I will cross over a wall. As for my God, his way is blameless; the words of the Lord are tried by fire; He is the Defender of all them that hope in him. For who is God save the Lord? or who is God except our God? God who girdeth me with power, and hath made my path blameless; who hath guided my feet like those of a hart, and hath set me in high places, teaching my hands for war, and making of mine arm a brazen bow. And thou hast given me a defense of salvation, and thy right hand hath succored me; and thy discipline hath corrected me to the end; and thy very discipline shall teach me. Thou hast broad ened my steps under me, and my footsteps are not weakened. I will pursue mine enemies and overtake them, and will not turn back till they are consumed; I will crush them, and they shall not be able to stand; they shall fall under my feet. And thou hast made mine enemies turn their backs to me, and thou hast destroyed all them that hated me. They cried, but there was none to save them: unto the Lord, but He heard them not. I will thrash them like chaff in the face of the wind; like the mud of the streets will I pound them. Deliver me from the gain saying of people; thou shalt appoint me the head of nations, a people which I have not known hath served me: at the hearing of the ear, they obeyed me. Children that were strangers lied to me: children that were strangers grew old, and have limped upon their paths. The Lord liveth, and blessed is my God, and let the God of my salvation be exalted. It is God who giveth me vengeance and hath subjected peoples under me: my Deliverer from my wrathful enemies; from them that rise up against me shalt thou exalt me, from an unrighteous man shalt thou deliver me. Therefore I will confess among the nations, O Lord, and unto thy name will I sing psalms: who magnifieth the salvation of the king, and showeth mercy to David his annointed, and to his seed for ever.

Psalm 18

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaimeth his handiwork. Day to day uttereth speech, and night to night proclaimeth knowledge. There are no speeches nor words in which their voices are not heard. Their sound is gone forth into all the earth, and their sayings to the ends of the world. In the sun hath He set his tabernacle: and He is like a bridegroom coming forth from his bridal cham ber, He shall rejoice as a giant to run his course. From the peak of heaven is his going forth, and his circuit even to the peak of heaven: and there is no one that can hide himself from his heat. The law of the Lord is blameless, converting souls; the testimony of the Lord is faithful, giving wisdom to babes. The statutes of the Lord are upright, gladdening the heart; the commandment of the Lord is shining, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, abiding unto ages of ages; the judgments of the Lord are true, justified in themselves: to be desired more than gold and much precious stone; and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb. For thy servant keepeth them; in keeping them, there is great reward. Who will understand his trespasses? From my secret ones purify thou me, and from those of strangers, spare thy servant: if they have not dominion over me, then I shall be blameless, and shall be purged from great sin. And the words of my mouth shall be well-pleasing, and the meditation of my heart continually before thee, O Lord, my Helper and my Deliverer.

Psalm 19

The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee. Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion. Remember all thy sacrifices, and accept thy whole-burnt offerings. Grant thee thy heart’s desire, and fulfil all thy counsels. We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God will we be exalted. The Lord fulfil all thy petitions. Now I know how the Lord hath saved his anointed: He shall hear him from his holy heaven, with the saving power of his right hand. Some trust in chari ots, and some in horses, but we will call upon the name of the Lord our God. They are entangled and are fallen, but we are risen and stand aright. O Lord, save the King, and hear us in the day when we shall call upon thee.

Psalm 20

O Lord, the king shall rejoice in thy power, and in thy salvation shall he rejoice exceedingly. Thou hast given him his heart’s desire, and hast not denied him the will of his lips. For thou shalt come before him with the blessings of goodness, and shalt set upon his head a crown of precious stone. He asked life of thee, and thou hast given him length of days unto ages of ages. His glory is great in thy salvation; glory and great beauty shalt thou lay upon him. For thou shalt give him to be a blessing unto ages of ages; thou shalt make him joyful in gladness with thy countenance. For the king hopeth in the Lord, and through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved. Let thy hand be found by all thine enemies; let thy right hand find out all them that hate thee. Thou shalt make them like a fiery oven in the time of thy wrath: the Lord in his wrath shall overthrow them, and fire shall devour them. Their fruit shalt thou root out of the earth, and their seed from among the children of men. For they have intended evils against thee; they have devised counsels which they have not been able to establish. For thou shalt set them back, among thy remnants shalt thou turn their face. Be thou exalted, O Lord, in thy power; we will sing, yea, we will sing psalms of thy powers.

Psalm 21

O God, my God, attend to me; why hast thou forsaken me? far from my salvation are the words of my transgressions. My God, by day I will cry unto thee, and thou shalt not hear; and in the night, but not unto folly for me. But thou, the praise of Israel, dwellest in a sanctuary; in thee have our fathers hoped; they hoped and thou didst deliver them. Unto thee did they cry, and they were saved; on thee did they hope, and were not put to shame. But I am a worm and not a man, a reproach of men, and an outcast of the people. All that beheld me have sneered at me, they have spoken with their lips, they have wagged their heads: He hoped in the Lord, let him deliver him; let him save him, for he delighteth in him. For thou art He that hast plucked me out of the womb: my hope from my mother’s breasts. From the womb was I cast upon thee; from my mother’s womb art thou my God. Turn not away from me, for tribulation is nigh, for there is none to help me. Many calves have encircled me; fat bulls have overwhelmed me; they have opened their mouth against me, as a ravening and a roaring lion. Like water am I poured out, and all my bones are scat tered abroad; my heart is become like melting wax in the midst of my belly. My strength is withered like a potsherd; and my tongue hath cleaved to my throat; and thou hast brought me down to the dust of death. For many dogs have encircled me; the assembly of evildoers hath overwhelmed me; they pierced my hands and my feet; they numbered all my bones; and they beheld and looked upon me. They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots. But thou, O Lord, remove not my help afar off; attend to mine aid. Deliver my soul from the sword; mine only-begotten from the hand of the dog. Save me from the lion’s mouth, and my humility from the horns of the unicorns. I will declare thy name to my brethren; in the midst of the church will I hymn thee. Ye that fear the Lord, praise him; all the seed of Jacob glorify him; let all the seed of Israel fear him: for He hath not despised nor been offended at the supplication of the poor, nor turned away his face from me; but when I cried to him, He heard me. Of thee is my praise; in a great church will I confess thee; I will pay my vows before them that fear him. The poor shall eat and be satisfied, and they that seek the Lord shall praise him; their heart shall live unto ages of ages. All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; and all the descendents of the nations shall worship before him. For the kingdom is of the Lord; and He is master of the nations. All the fat ones of the earth have eaten and worshipped; all that go down to the earth shall fall down before him, and my soul shall live unto him. And my seed shall serve him; the coming generation shall be proclaimed unto the Lord. And they shall proclaim his righ teousness to the people that shall be born, whom the Lord hath made.

Psalm 22

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, He leadeth me beside the still waters, He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Psalm 23

The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof, the world and all that dwell therein. He hath founded it upon the seas, and upon the rivers hath He prepared it. Who shall go up to the mountain of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that is innocent in hands and pure in heart, who hath not received his soul in vain, and hath not sworn deceitfully to his neighbor. He shall receive a blessing from the Lord, and mercy from God his Saviour. This is the generation of them that seek the Lord, of them that seek the face of the God of Jacob. Lift up your gates, O ye princes, and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting gates, and the King of Glory shall enter in. Who is this King of Glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in war. Lift up your gates, O ye princes; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting gates, and the King of Glory shall enter in. Who is this King of Glory? The Lord of Hosts, He is the King of Glory.