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    Psalm 6  
     
1
  O Lord, rebuke me not in your wrath; •
    neither chasten me in your fierce anger.
     
2
  Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am weak; •
    Lord, heal me, for my bones are racked.
     
3
  My soul also shakes with terror; •
    how long, O Lord, how long?
     
4
  Turn again, O Lord, and deliver my soul; •
    save me for your loving mercy's sake.
     
5
  For in death no one remembers you; •
    and who can give you thanks in the grave?
     
6
  I am weary with my groaning; •
    every night I drench my pillow
and flood my bed with my tears.
     
7
  My eyes are wasted with grief •
    and worn away because of all my enemies.
     
     
8
  Depart from me, all you that do evil, •
    for the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping.
     
9
  The Lord has heard my supplication; •
    the Lord will receive my prayer.
     
10
  All my enemies shall be put to shame and confusion; •
    they shall suddenly turn back in their shame.
     
    Psalm 7  
     
1
  O Lord my God, in you I take refuge; •
    save me from all who pursue me, and deliver me,
     
2
  Lest they rend me like a lion and tear me in pieces •
    while there is no one to help me.
     
3
  O Lord my God, if I have done these things: •
    if there is any wickedness in my hands,
     
4
  If I have repaid my friend with evil, •
    or plundered my enemy without a cause,
     
5
  Then let my enemy pursue me and overtake me, •
    trample my life to the ground,
and lay my honour in the dust.
     
     
6
  Rise up, O Lord, in your wrath;
lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies. •
    Awaken, my God, the judgement that you have commanded.
     
7
  Let the assembly of the peoples gather round you; •
    be seated high above them: O Lord, judge the nations.
     
8
  Give judgement for me
according to my righteousness, O Lord, •
    and according to the innocence that is in me.
     
9
  Let the malice of the wicked come to an end,
but establish the righteous; •
    for you test the mind and heart, O righteous God.
     
10
  God is my shield that is over me; •
    he saves the true of heart.
     
11
  God is a righteous judge; •
    he is provoked all day long.
     
12
  If they will not repent, God will whet his sword; •
    he has bent his bow and made it ready.
     
13
  He has prepared the weapons of death; •
    he makes his arrows shafts of fire.
     
14
  Behold those who are in labour with wickedness, •
    who conceive evil and give birth to lies.
     
15
  They dig a pit and make it deep •
    and fall into the hole that they have made for others.
     
16
  Their mischief rebounds on their own head; •
    their violence falls on their own scalp.
     
17
  I will give thanks to the Lord for his righteousness, •
    and I will make music to the name of the Lord Most High.
     
    Psalm 8  
     
    First version
     
1
  O Lord our governor,  •
    how glorious is your name in all the world!
     
2
  Your majesty above the heavens is praised •
    out of the mouths of babes at the breast.
     
3
  You have founded a stronghold against your foes, •
    that you might still the enemy and the avenger.
     
     
4
  When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, •
    the moon and the stars that you have ordained,
     
5
  What is man, that you should be mindful of him; •
    the son of man, that you should seek him out?
     
6
  You have made him little lower than the angels •
    and crown him with glory and honour.
     
7
  You have given him dominion over the works of your hands •
    and put all things under his feet,
     
8
  All sheep and oxen, •
    even the wild beasts of the field,
     
9
  The birds of the air, the fish of the sea •
    and whatsoever moves in the paths of the sea.
     
10
  O Lord our governor,  •
    how glorious is your name in all the world!
     
    Psalm 8  
    Second version
     
1
  O Lord our governor, •
    how glorious is your name in all the world!
     
2
  Your majesty above the heavens is praised •
    out of the mouths of babes at the breast.
     
3
  You have founded a stronghold against your foes, •
    that you might still the enemy and the avenger.
     
     
4
  When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, •
    the moon and the stars that you have ordained,
     
5
  What are mortals, that you should be mindful of them; •
    mere human beings, that you should seek them out?
     
6
  You have made them little lower than the angels •
    and crown them with glory and honour.
     
7
  You have given them dominion over the works of your hands •
    and put all things under their feet,
     
8
  All sheep and oxen, •
    even the wild beasts of the field,
     
9
  The birds of the air, the fish of the sea •
    and whatsoever moves in the paths of the sea.
     
10
  O Lord our governor, •
    how glorious is your name in all the world!
     
    Psalm 9  
     
1
  I will give thanks to you, Lord, with my whole heart; •
    I will tell of all your marvellous works.
     
2
  I will be glad and rejoice in you; •
    I will make music to your name, O Most High.
     
     
3
  When my enemies are driven back, •
    they stumble and perish at your presence.
     
4
  For you have maintained my right and my cause; •
    you sat on your throne giving righteous judgement.
     
5
  You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked; •
    you have blotted out their name for ever and ever.
     
6
  The enemy was utterly laid waste. •
    You uprooted their cities;
their very memory has perished.
     
7
  But the Lord shall endure for ever; •
    he has made fast his throne for judgement.
     
8
  For he shall rule the world with righteousness •
    and govern the peoples with equity.
     
9
  Then will the Lord be a refuge for the oppressed, •
    a refuge in the time of trouble.
     
10
  And those who know your name will put their trust in you, •
    for you, Lord, have never failed those who seek you.
     
     
11
  Sing praises to the Lord who dwells in Zion; •
    declare among the peoples the things he has done.
     
12
  The avenger of blood has remembered them; •
    he did not forget the cry of the oppressed.
     
13
  Have mercy upon me, O Lord; •
    consider the trouble I suffer from those who hate me,
you that lift me up from the gates of death;
     
14
  That I may tell all your praises in the gates of the city of Zion •
    and rejoice in your salvation.
     
     
15
  The nations shall sink into the pit of their making •
    and in the snare which they set will their own foot be taken.
     
16
  The Lord makes himself known by his acts of justice; •
    the wicked are snared in the works of their own hands.
     
17
  They shall return to the land of darkness, •
    all the nations that forget God.
     
18
  For the needy shall not always be forgotten •
    and the hope of the poor shall not perish for ever.
     
19
  Arise, O Lord, and let not mortals have the upper hand; •
    let the nations be judged before your face.
     
20
  Put them in fear, O Lord, •
    that the nations may know themselves to be but mortal.
     
    Psalm 10  
     
1
  Why stand so far off, O Lord? •
    Why hide yourself in time of trouble?
     
2
  The wicked in their pride persecute the poor; •
    let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.
     
3
  The wicked boast of their heart's desire; •
    the covetous curse and revile the Lord.
     
4
  The wicked in their arrogance say, 'God will not avenge it'; •
    in all their scheming God counts for nothing.
     
5
  They are stubborn in all their ways,
for your judgements are far above out of their sight; •
    they scoff at all their adversaries.
     
6
  They say in their heart, 'I shall not be shaken; •
    no harm shall ever happen to me.'
     
7
  Their mouth is full of cursing, deceit and fraud; •
    under their tongue lie mischief and wrong.
     
8
  They lurk in the outskirts
and in dark alleys they murder the innocent; •
    their eyes are ever watching for the helpless.
     
9
  They lie in wait, like a lion in his den;
they lie in wait to seize the poor; •
    they seize the poor when they get them into their net.
     
10
  The innocent are broken and humbled before them; •
    the helpless fall before their power.
     
11
  They say in their heart, 'God has forgotten; •
    he hides his face away; he will never see it.'
     
     
12
  Arise, O Lord God, and lift up your hand; •
    forget not the poor.
     
13
  Why should the wicked be scornful of God? •
    Why should they say in their hearts, 'You will not avenge it'?
     
14
  Surely, you behold trouble and misery; •
    you see it and take it into your own hand.
     
15
  The helpless commit themselves to you, •
    for you are the helper of the orphan.
     
16
  Break the power of the wicked and malicious; •
    search out their wickedness until you find none.
     
     
17
  The Lord shall reign for ever and ever; •
    the nations shall perish from his land.
     
18
  Lord, you will hear the desire of the poor; •
    you will incline your ear to the fullness of their heart,
     
19
  To give justice to the orphan and oppressed, •
    so that people are no longer driven in terror from the land.
     
© The Archbishops' Council of the Church of England, 2000-2004
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