Eighth Kathisma

Psalm 55

Have mercy on me, O God, for man trampled upon me: making war all the day long he afflicted me. Mine ene mies trampled upon me all the day, for many are they who war against me from the heights. In the day I will not fear, for I will hope on thee. In God will I praise my words: I will hope on God, and not fear what flesh may do to me. All the day long they abhorred my words; their thoughts were against me for evil. They shall dwell and hide themselves; they shall keep watch upon my steps, as they have waited for my soul. But thou shalt not save them for ought, in anger shalt thou cast them down. O God, I have declared my life to thee: thou hast set my tears before thee, as in thy promise. Let mine enemies be turned back, in what day soever I shall call upon thee: behold, I know that thou art my God. In God will I praise his saying, in the Lord I will praise his word. I will hope on God; shall I not fear what man may do to me? Within me, O God, are supplications, which I will pay in praise to thee: for thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from slipping: that I may be well-pleasing before the Lord in the light of the living.

Psalm 56

Have mercy upon me, O God, have mercy upon me: for in thee my soul hath trusted, and in the shadow of thy wings will I hope, till iniquity pass away. I will cry unto the Lord Most High, unto God who hath done good unto me. He sent forth from heaven and delivered me, He made a reproach of them that trampled upon me: He sent forth his mercy and his truth. And He delivered my soul from the midst of young lions: I slept in disquiet. As for the sons of men, their teeth are weapons and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword. Be thou exalted above the heavens, O God, and above all the earth thy glory. They prepared a snare for my feet, and they bowed down my soul: they dug a pit before my face, and they fell down therein. Ready is my heart, O God, ready is my heart; I will sing, yea, I will sing palms in my glory. Arise, O my glory; arise, psaltery and harp: I will arise early in the morning. I will confess thee among the peoples, O Lord; I will sing psalms to thee among the nations: for magnified unto the heavens is thy mercy, and unto the clouds thy truth. Be thou exalted above the heavens, O God, and above all the earth thy glory.

Psalm 57

If in truth you speak righteousness, then judge right things, ye sons of men: for in your heart you work iniquity upon the earth; your hands weave unrighteousness. The sinners alienated themselves from the womb, they went astray from the bosom, the spake false things. Their wrath is in the likeness of a ser pent, like the deaf asp that stoppeth its ears, that will not hear the voice of charmers, drugged by the drugs of a wise man. God shall break their teeth in their mouth: the Lord hath broken the jaws of lions. They shall come to nothing, like water run ning down: He shall bend his bow, till they be weakened. As wax melteth shall they be taken away: fire fell upon them, and they saw not the sun. Before your thorns could know the brier, as living things, as in wrath shall He swallow them up. The righteous man shall rejoice, when he shall see the revenge; he shall wash his hands in the blood of the sinner. And man shall say: If indeed there be fruit to the righteous, there is indeed a God that judgeth them upon the earth.

Psalm 58

Redeem me from mine enemies, O God; from them that rise up against me, deliver me. Deliver me from them that work iniquity, and from the man of blood, save me. For behold, they caught my soul, the mighty fell upon me: it is neither mine iniquity, nor my sin, O Lord. Without iniquity I ran, and directed my steps: rise up to meet me, and behold. And thou, O Lord God of Powers, O God of Israel, attend to visit all the nations: show no mercy upon them that work iniquity. They shall return at evening, and hunger like dogs, and go round about the city. Behold, they shall speak out of their mouths, and a sword is in their lips, for who heard? And thou, O Lord, shalt laugh at them, and shalt bring all the nations to nothing. My might will I keep to thee: for thou, O God, art my succor. My God, his mercy shall go before me: my God, he shall set me over mine enemies. Slay them not, lest at any time they forget thy Law: scatter them by thy power, and cast them down, O Lord, my Protector. The sin of their mouth, the word of their lips, and let them be taken even in their pride, and for cursing and lying shall destruction be pronounced. In wrath is their destruction, and they shall not be: and they shall know that God ruleth Jacob, and the ends of the earth. They shall return at evening, and hunger like dogs, and go round about the city. They shall be scattered abroad, and if they be not filled, they shall murmur. But I will sing thy power, and in the morning I will rejoice in thy mercy: for thou art become my succor, and my refuge in the day of my tribulation. Thou art my Helper; to thee shall I sing psalms, for thou art my succor, O my God, my mercy.

Psalm 59

O God, thou hast cast us off, and hast overthrown us; thou hast been angry, and hast had mercy on us. Thou hast shaken the earth, and hast troubled it: heal its breaches, for it hath moved. Thou hast shown thy people hard things: thou hast made us drink the wine of contrition. Thou hast given a sign to them that fear thee, that they might flee from before the bow. That thy beloved ones may be delivered, save with thy right hand and hearken unto me. God hath spoken in his sanctuary, I will be exalted and will divide Shechem, and I will parcel out the vale of tabernacles. Mine is Galaad and mine is Manasses, and Ephraim is the succor of my head; Judah is my king. Moab is the kettle of my hope; upon Edom will I impose my boot; foreigners are subject unto me. Who will lead me to the fortified city? or who will guide me to Edom? Wilt not thou, O God, who hast cast us off? and wilt thou not go forth with our forces? Grant us help from tribulation, for vain is the salvation of man. In God will we do mighty works, and He shall set at nought our enemies.

Psalm 60

Hearken, O God, to my supplication, attend to my prayer: from the ends of the earth have I cried unto thee; when my heart was dejected, thou hast exalted me upon a rock, thou hast guided me. For thou hast been my hope, a tower of strength against the face of the enemy. In thy tabernacle will I dwell for ever; I will be sheltered under the shelter of thy wing. For thou, O God, hast heard my prayer; thou hast given an inheritance to them that fear thy name. Days shalt thou add to the days of the king, his years as days unto generation and generation. He shall abide for ever before God; who shall search out his mercy and his truth? So will I sing psalms to thy name for ever, that I may render my vows from day to day.

Psalm 61

Shall not my soul submit unto God? for from him is my salvation. He is indeed my God, my Saviour and my Helper; I will be moved no more. How long will you assault a man? you kill, all of you, like a leaning wall, and a tottering fence. But my price they thought to cast away; they ran in thirst: with their mouths, they blessed, but with their hearts, they cursed. But do thou, O my soul, be subject unto God: for from him is my patience. He is indeed my God, my Saviour and my Helper; I will not wander. In God is my salvation and my glory; the God of my help, and my hope is in God. Hope on him, all you congregation of peoples: pour out your hearts before him, for God is our Helper. But vain are the sons of men; the sons of men lie in the balance, to be unjust: they are altogether of vanity. Put not your trust in iniquity, and yearn not after robbery; if riches flow in, set not your hearts upon them. Once hath God spoken; these two things have I heard: that might is God’s, and mercy is thine, O Lord: for thou shalt render unto every man according to his works.

Psalm 62

O God, my God, unto thee do I rise up early; for thee my soul hath thirsted, how often my flesh hath thirsted for thee, in a desert land, untrodden and waterless. Thus in the sanctuary have I appeared before thee, that I might see thy power and thy glory. For better is thy mercy than life; my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee in my life, and in thy name will I lift up my hands. As with marrow and fat ness let my soul be satisfied; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips. Whilst I remembered thee in my bed, in the mornings have I meditated upon thee: for thou art become my Helper, and under the shelter of thy wings will I rejoice. My soul hath cleaved unto thee; thy right hand hath upholden me. But in vain have they sought my soul; they shall go into the nether regions of the earth; they shall be delivered into the hands of the sword; they shall be a portion for foxes. But the king shall be glad in God; all they that swear by him shall be praised, for the mouth of them that speak unrighteousness hath been stopped.

Psalm 63

Hearken, O God, to my voice, when I pray unto thee; from fear of the enemy deliver my soul. Protect me from the congregation of evildoers, from the multitude of the workers of iniquity: who have whetted their tongues like a sword, who have bent their bow, a bitter thing, to shoot the blameless in secret: they shall shoot him suddenly, and shall not fear. They resolved themselves upon an evil word; they declared they would hide snares, saying, Who will see them? They searched after iniquity: they grew weary of searching in their searches. A man shall draw nigh, and a deep heart, and God shall be exalted. As the arrows of a babe were their blows, and their tongues became weak against them; all that saw them were troubled. And every man feared: and they declared the works of God, and understood the things He had done. The righ teous shall rejoice in the Lord, and he shall hope in him: and all the upright in heart shall be praised.