Fourth Kathisma

Psalm 24

Unto thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul. O my God, in thee have I trusted; let me not be ashamed for ever. Neither let mine enemies laugh at me, for all those that wait upon thee shall not be ashamed. Let those who transgress in vain be put to shame. Make thy ways known to me, O Lord, and teach me thy paths. Guide me to thy truth and teach me; for thou art God my Saviour, and I have waited upon thee all the day. Remember thy compassions, O Lord, and thy mercies, for thou art from everlasting. The sins of my youth and mine ignorance remember not. According to thy mercy, remember thou me, for thy goodness’ sake, O Lord. Good and upright is the Lord; therefore He shall lay down a law for them that sin in the way. He shall guide the meek in judgment; He shall teach the meek his ways. All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth to them that seek after his covenant and his testimonies. For thy name’s sake, O Lord, cleanse my sins, for they are many. Who is the man that feareth the Lord? He shall lay down a law for him in the way which he hath chosen. His soul shall abide amid good things; and his seed shall inherit the earth. The Lord is strength to them that fear him, and He shall manifest his covenant unto them. Mine eyes are continually toward the Lord, for He shall pluck my feet out of the snare. Look upon me and have mercy on me, for I am an only-begotten child and poor. The tribulations of my heart are multiplied: from my necessi ties lead me forth. See my humility and my labor, and forgive all my sins. See mine enemies, for they are multiplied, and have hated me with an unrighteous hatred. Keep thou my soul, and deliver me, that I be not ashamed, for I have hoped in thee. The guileless and the upright have cleaved unto me, for I have waited upon thee, O Lord. Redeem Israel, O God, from all his tribulations.

Psalm 25

Judge me, O Lord, for I have walked in mine innocence, and in the Lord have I hoped; let me not be weakened. Prove me, O Lord, and tempt me; try my reins and my heart. For thy mercy is before mine eyes, and I have been well-pleased in thy truth. I have not sat with the council of vanity, nor will I go in with them that transgress. I have hated the assembly of evildoers, and with the impious I will not sit. I will wash my hands among the innocent, and I will compass thine altar, O Lord: that I may hear the voice of thy praise and declare all thy wonders. O Lord, I have loved the beauty of thy house, and the place of the abode of thy glory. Destroy not my soul with the impious, nor my life with men of blood, in whose hands are transgressions, and their right hand is full of gifts. But I have walked in mine innocence; redeem me, O Lord, and have mercy on me. My foot hath stood in uprightness; in the churches will I bless thee, O Lord.

Psalm 26

The Lord is mine enlightenment and my Saviour; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defender of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When evildoers draw nigh to me, to eat my flesh, those that afflict me and mine enemies, they have weakened and fallen. If an army in camp array itself against me, my heart shall not fear; if war rise up against me, in this shall I hope. One thing have I asked of the Lord, this will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, that I may see the delight of the Lord, that I may behold his holy temple. For He hath hidden me in his tabernacle in my day of evils; He hath sheltered me in the secret place of his tabernacle; upon a rock hath He exalted me. And now behold, He hath exalted my head above mine enemies. I went round about and offered a sacrifice of praise and of jubilation in his tabernacle; I will sing and chant psalms to the Lord. Hearken, O Lord, to my voice, with which I have cried; have mercy on me and hearken unto me. To thee my heart said, I shall seek the Lord. My face hath sought thee; thy face, O Lord, will I seek. Turn not away thy face from me, and in thy wrath shun not thy servant. Be thou my Helper, reject me not and forsake me not, O God my Saviour. For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord hath taken me up. Lay down a law for me, O Lord, in thy way, and guide me in the path of uprightness because of mine enemies. Deliver me not to the spirit of them that afflict me, for unjust witnesses have risen up against me, and unrighteousness hath lied to itself. I believe that I may see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait upon the Lord, do manfully, and let thy heart be strengthened, and wait upon the Lord.

Psalm 27

To thee, O Lord, will I cry; O my God, keep thou not silent toward me, lest, if thou be silent toward me, I become like them that go down into the pit. Hearken, O Lord, to the voice of my prayer, when I pray unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy temple. Draw me not away with sinners, and with them that do unrighteously destroy me not, with them that speak peace with their neighbors, but have evils in their hearts. Grant unto them, O Lord, according to their works, and according to the wickedness of their inventions; accord ing to the works of their hands, grant unto them; reward them with their reward. For they have not understood the works of the Lord, and the works of his hands; thou shalt put an end to them, and thou shalt not build them up. Blessed be the Lord, for He hath heard the voice of my prayer. The Lord is my Helper, and my Defender; in him my heart hath hoped, and I have been helped, and my flesh hath flourished, and with my will I will confess him. The Lord is the strength of his people, and He is the Defender of the salvation of his anointed. Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance, and shepherd and exalt them unto the ages.

Psalm 28

Bring unto the Lord, ye sons of God; bring young rams unto the Lord; bring unto the Lord glory and honor. Bring unto the Lord glory to his name; worship the Lord in his holy court. The voice of the Lord is upon the waters, the God of glory hath thundered: the Lord is upon many waters. The voice of the Lord in might, the voice of the Lord in magnificence. The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars, and the Lord shall break the cedars of Lebanon. And He shall thrash them like the calf of Lebanon, and the beloved is like a son of unicorns. The voice of the Lord breaking through a flame of fire. The voice of the Lord maketh the desert to quiver, and the Lord shall make the desert of Kadesh to quiver. The voice of the Lord guideth the hart, and He shall reveal the forests, and in his temple everything shall declare his glory. The Lord dwell eth in the flood, the Lord sitteth as King unto the ages. The Lord shall give strength to his people; the Lord shall bless his people with peace.

Psalm 29

I will exalt thee, O Lord, for thou hast upholden me, and hast not made mine enemies to rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I have cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. O Lord, thou hast brought forth my soul from hell, thou hast saved me from them that go down into the pit. Sing psalms unto the Lord, O ye his Saints, and confess the memory of his holiness. For wrath is in his anger, and life in his will: weeping abideth in the evening, and in the morning gladness. I said in mine abundance, I shall never be shaken. O Lord, in thy will thou hast granted my goodness power; thou didst turn away thy face, and I became troubled. Unto thee, O Lord, will I cry, and unto my God will I pray. What profit is there in my blood, whilst I go down to corruption? Will dust confess thee? or declare thy truth? The Lord hath heard, and had mercy on me: the Lord is become my Helper. Thou hast turned my mourning into joy for me; thou hast torn my sackcloth, and hast girded me with gladness. That my glory may sing psalms to thee, and that I may not fall silent, O Lord my God, I will confess thee for ever.

Psalm 30

In thee, O Lord, have I hoped, let me never be put to shame; in thy righteousness deliver me and redeem me. Incline thine ear unto me, make haste to rescue me; be thou unto me for a defending God, and for a house of refuge to save me. For thou art my strength and my refuge, and for thy name’s sake shalt thou guide me and sustain me. Thou shalt lead me out of this snare which they have hidden for me, for thou art my Defender, O Lord. Into thy hands will I commend my spirit; thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth. Thou hast hated them that keep empty vanities; but I have hoped in the Lord. I will rejoice and be glad in thy mercy, for thou hast looked upon my humility; thou hast saved my soul from necessity. And thou hast not shut me up in the hands of the enemy; in a wide place hast thou set my feet. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am afflicted; mine eye is disquieted with displeasure, and my soul and my belly. For my life hath vanished in agony, and my years in sighing; my strength is weakened through poverty, and my bones are disquieted. Among all mine enemies I am become a reproach, and greatly to my neighbors, and a fear to mine acquaintances; those who beheld me without fled from me. I am heartlessly forgotten as one dead; I am become as a broken vessel. For I heard the censure of many that dwelt round about; when they gathered together against me, they took counsel to take away my soul. But I have hoped in thee, O Lord; I have said, Thou art my God. In thy hands are my lots: deliver me from the hands of mine enemies, and from them that pursue me. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; save me in thy mercy. O Lord, let me not be put to shame, for I have called upon thee; let the impious be put to shame, and be brought down to hell. Let deceitful lips become dumb, which speak transgression against the righteous with pride and with scorn. How great is the multitude of thy goodness, O Lord, which thou hast hidden for them that fear thee, which thou hast wrought for them that hope in thee, before the sons of men. From turmoil of men shalt thou keep them hidden in the secret of thy face; from strife of tongues shalt thou shelter them in the tabernacle. Blessed is the Lord, for He hath made wondrous his mercy in a fortified city. But I said in mine ecstasy, I am cast off from the presence of thine eyes: therefore thou hast heard the voice of my prayer when I cried unto thee. Love the Lord, all ye his Saints, for the Lord will seek out truth and will reward plentifully them that deal proudly. Do manfully, and let your heart be strengthened, all ye that hope in the Lord.

Psalm 31

Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord counts no sin; neither in his mouth is there deceit. Because I kept silence, my bones grew old from my crying out all the day. Because by day and by night thy hand was heavy upon me, I was turned to misery, while the thorn stuck fast in me. My transgression have I made known, and my sin I did not cover up; I said, I shall declare against me my transgression to the Lord, and thou forgavest the impiety of my heart. For this all the Saints shall pray unto thee in convenient time; yet in the flood of many waters they shall not come nigh to him. Thou art my refuge from tribulation surrounding me: my Joy, redeem me from them that encompass me. I will give thee understanding and reconcile thee in that way which thou goest; I will fix upon thee mine eyes. Be ye not as a horse or a mule, which have no understanding, whose jaws are restrained with bridle and muzzle, those not coming nigh to thee. Many are the scourges of the sinner, but mercy shall encompass him that hopeth in the Lord. Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O ye righteous, and boast, all ye upright in heart.