56 Miserere mei, Deus

1 Have mercy on me, O God,
for my enemies are hounding me; *
all day long they assault and oppress me.

2 They hound me all the day long; *
truly there are many who fight against me, O Most High.

3 Whenever I am afraid, *
I will put my trust in you.

4 In God, whose word I praise,
In God I trust and will not be afraid, *
for what can flesh do to me?

5 All day long they damage my cause; *
their only thought is to do me evil.

6 They band together; they lie in wait; *
they spy upon my footsteps;
because they seek my life.

7 Shall they escape despite their wickedness? *
O God, in your anger, cast down the peoples.

8 You have noted my lamentation;
put my tears into your bottle; *
are they not recorded in your book?

9 Whenever I call upon you, my enemies will be put to flight; *
this I know, for God is on my side.

10 In God the Lord, whose word I praise,
in God I trust and will not be afraid, *
for what can mortals do to me?

11 I am bound by the vow I made to you, O God; *
I will present to you thank-offerings;

12 For you have rescued my soul from death and my feet from stumbling, *
that I may walk before God in the light of the living.


57 Miserere mei, Deus

1 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful,
for I have taken refuge in you; *
in the shadow of your wings will I take refuge
until this time of trouble has gone by.

2 I will call upon the Most High God, *
the God who maintains my cause.

3 He will send from heaven and save me;
he will confound those who trample upon me; *
God will send forth his love and his faithfulness.

4 I lie in the midst of lions that devour the people; *
their teeth are spears and arrows,
their tongue a sharp sword.

5 They have laid a net for my feet,
and I am bowed low; *
they have dug a pit before me,
but have fallen into it themselves.

6 Exalt yourself above the heavens, O God, *
and your glory over all the earth.

7 My heart is firmly fixed, O God, my heart is fixed; *
I will sing and make melody.

8 Wake up, my spirit;
awake, lute and harp; *
I myself will waken the dawn.

9 I will confess you among the peoples, O Lord; *
I will sing praise to you among the nations.

10 For your loving-kindness is greater than the heavens, *
and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

11 Exalt yourself above the heavens, O God, *
and your glory over all the earth.
 

58 Si vere utique

1 Do you indeed decree righteousness, you rulers? *
do you judge the peoples with equity?

2 No; you devise evil in your hearts, *
and your hands deal out violence in the land.

3 The wicked are perverse from the womb; *
liars go astray from their birth.

4 They are as venomous as a serpent, *
they are like the deaf adder which stops its ears,

5 Which does not heed the voice of the charmer, *
no matter how skillful his charming.

6 O God, break their teeth in their mouths; *
pull the fangs of the young lions, O Lord.

7 Let them vanish like water that runs off; *
let them wither like trodden grass.

8 Let them be like the snail that melts away, *
like a stillborn child that never sees the sun.

9 Before they bear fruit, let them be cut down like a brier; *
like thorns and thistles let them be swept away.

10 The righteous will be glad when they see the vengeance; *
they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.

11 And they will say,
"Surely, there is a reward for the righteous; *
surely, there is a God who rules in the earth."

Web Author: Charles Wohlers
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