Psalm 21 | |||
1
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The king shall rejoice in your strength, O Lord; • | ||
how greatly shall he rejoice in your salvation! | |||
2
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You have given him his heart's desire • | ||
and have not denied the request of his lips. | |||
3
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For you come to meet him with blessings of goodness • | ||
and set a crown of pure gold upon his head. | |||
4
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He asked of you life and you gave it him, • | ||
length of days, for ever and ever. | |||
5
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His honour is great because of your salvation; • | ||
glory and majesty have you laid upon him. | |||
6
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You have granted him everlasting felicity • | ||
and will make him glad with joy in your presence. | |||
7
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For the king puts his trust in the Lord; • | ||
because of the
loving-kindness of the Most High, he shall not be overthrown. |
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8
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Your hand shall mark down all your enemies; • | ||
your right hand will find out those who hate you. | |||
9
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You will make them like a
fiery oven in the time of your wrath; • |
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the Lord will swallow them
up in his anger and the fire will consume them. |
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10
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Their fruit you will root out of the land • | ||
and their seed from among its inhabitants. | |||
11
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Because they intend evil against you • | ||
and devise wicked
schemes which they cannot perform, |
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12
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You will put them to flight • | ||
when you aim your bow at their faces. | |||
13
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Be exalted, O Lord, in your own might; • | ||
we will make music and sing of your power. | |||
Psalm 22 | |||
1
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My God, my God, why have you forsaken me, • | ||
and are so far from my
salvation, from the words of my distress? |
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2
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O my God, I cry in the
daytime, but you do not answer; • |
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and by night also, but I find no rest. | |||
3
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Yet you are the Holy One, • | ||
enthroned upon the praises of Israel. | |||
4
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Our forebears trusted in you; • | ||
they trusted, and you delivered them. | |||
5
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They cried out to you and were delivered; • | ||
they put their trust in you and were not confounded. | |||
6
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But as for me, I am a worm and no man, • | ||
scorned by all and despised by the people. | |||
7
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All who see me laugh me to scorn; • | ||
they curl their lips and wag their heads, saying, | |||
8
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'He trusted in the Lord; let him deliver him; • | ||
let him deliver him, if he delights in him.' | |||
9
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But it is you that took me out of the womb • | ||
and laid me safe upon my mother's breast. | |||
10
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On you was I cast ever since I was born; • | ||
you are my God even from my mother's womb. | |||
11
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Be not far from me, for trouble is near at hand • | ||
and there is none to help. | |||
12
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Mighty oxen come around me; • | ||
fat bulls of Bashan close me in on every side. | |||
13
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They gape upon me with their mouths, • | ||
as it were a ramping and a roaring lion. | |||
14
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I am poured out like
water; all my bones are out of joint; • |
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my heart has become like
wax melting in the depths of my body. |
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15
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My mouth is dried up like
a potsherd; my tongue cleaves to my gums; • |
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you have laid me in the dust of death. | |||
16
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For the hounds are all
about me, the pack of evildoers close in on me; • |
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they pierce my hands and my feet. | |||
17
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I can count all my bones; • | ||
they stand staring and looking upon me. | |||
18
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They divide my garments among them; • | ||
they cast lots for my clothing. | |||
19
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Be not far from me, O Lord; • | ||
you are my strength; hasten to help me. | |||
20
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Deliver my soul from the sword, • | ||
my poor life from the power of the dog. | |||
21
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Save me from the lion's
mouth, from the horns of wild oxen. • |
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You have answered me! | |||
22
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I will tell of your name to my people; • | ||
in the midst of the congregation will I praise you. | |||
23
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Praise the Lord, you that fear him; • | ||
O seed of Jacob, glorify
him; stand in awe of him, O seed of Israel. |
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24
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For he has not despised
nor abhorred the suffering of the poor; neither has he hidden his face from them; • |
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but when they cried to him he heard them. | |||
25
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From you comes my praise in the great congregation; • | ||
I will perform my
vows in the presence of those that fear you. |
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26
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The poor shall eat and be satisfied; • | ||
those who seek the Lord
shall praise him; their hearts shall live for ever. |
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27
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All the ends of the
earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, • |
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and all the families of the nations shall bow before him. | |||
28
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For the kingdom is the Lord's • | ||
and he rules over the nations. | |||
29
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How can those who sleep in
the earth bow down in worship, • |
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or those who go down to the dust kneel before him? | |||
30
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He has saved my life for
himself; my descendants shall serve him; • |
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this shall be told of the Lord for generations to come. | |||
31
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They shall come and make
known his salvation, to a people yet unborn, • |
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declaring that he, the Lord, has done it. | |||
Psalm 23 | |||
1
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The Lord is my shepherd; • | ||
therefore can I lack nothing. | |||
2
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He makes me lie down in green pastures • | ||
and leads me beside still waters. | |||
3
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He shall refresh my soul • | ||
and guide me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. | |||
4
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Though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; • |
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for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. |
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5
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You spread a table before
me in the presence of those who trouble me; • |
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you have anointed my head
with oil and my cup shall be full. |
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6
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Surely goodness and loving
mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, • |
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and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. | |||
Psalm 24 | |||
1
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The earth is the Lord's and all that fills it, • | ||
the compass of the world and all who dwell therein. | |||
2
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For he has founded it upon the seas • | ||
and set it firm upon the rivers of the deep. | |||
3
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'Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord, • | ||
or who can rise up in his holy place?' | |||
4
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'Those who have clean hands and a pure heart, • | ||
who have not lifted up
their soul to an idol, nor sworn an oath to a lie; |
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5
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'They shall receive a blessing from the Lord, • | ||
a just reward from the God of their salvation.' | |||
6
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Such is the company of those who seek him, • | ||
of those who seek your face, O God of Jacob. | |||
7
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Lift up your heads, O
gates; be lifted up, you everlasting doors; • |
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and the King of glory shall come in. | |||
8
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'Who is the King of glory?' • | ||
'The Lord, strong and
mighty, the Lord who is mighty in battle.' |
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9
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Lift up your heads, O
gates; be lifted up, you everlasting doors; • |
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and the King of glory shall come in. | |||
10
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'Who is this King of glory?' • | ||
'The Lord of hosts,
he is the King of glory.' |
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Psalm 25 | |||
1
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To you, O Lord, I lift up
my soul; O my God, in you I trust; • |
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let me not be put to
shame; let not my enemies triumph over me. |
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2
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Let none who look to you be put to shame, • | ||
but let the treacherous be shamed and frustrated. | |||
3
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Make me to know your ways, O Lord, • | ||
and teach me your paths. | |||
4
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Lead me in your truth and teach me, • | ||
for you are the God of my
salvation; for you have I hoped all the day long. |
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5
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Remember, Lord, your compassion and love, • | ||
for they are from everlasting. | |||
6
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Remember not the sins of
my youth or my transgressions, • |
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but think on me in your
goodness, O Lord, according to your steadfast love. |
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7
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Gracious and upright is the Lord; • | ||
therefore shall he teach sinners in the way. | |||
8
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He will guide the humble in doing right • | ||
and teach his way to the lowly. | |||
9
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All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth • | ||
to those who keep his covenant and his testimonies. | |||
10
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For your name's sake, O Lord, • | ||
be merciful to my sin, for it is great. | |||
11
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Who are those who fear the Lord? • | ||
Them will he teach in the way that they should choose. | |||
12
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Their soul shall dwell at ease • | ||
and their offspring shall inherit the land. | |||
13
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The hidden purpose of the Lord is for those who fear him • | ||
and he will show them his covenant. | |||
14
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My eyes are ever looking to the Lord, • | ||
for he shall pluck my feet out of the net. | |||
15
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Turn to me and be gracious to me, • | ||
for I am alone and brought very low. | |||
16
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The sorrows of my heart have increased; • | ||
O bring me out of my distress. | |||
17
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Look upon my adversity and misery • | ||
and forgive me all my sin. | |||
18
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Look upon my enemies, for they are many • | ||
and they bear a violent hatred against me. | |||
19
|
O keep my soul and deliver me; • | ||
let me not be put to shame, for I have put my trust in you. | |||
20
|
Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, • | ||
for my hope has been in you. | |||
21
|
Deliver Israel, O God, • | ||
out of all his troubles. | |||