We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks! For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near.
“When I choose the proper time, I will judge uprightly.
The earth and all its inhabitants are dissolved; I set up its pillars firmly.”“I said to the boastful, ‘Do not deal boastfully,’
Thy foes have roared in the midst of Thy holy place; they set up their own signs for signs.
At the upper entrance they hacked the wooden trellis with axes and then all its carved wood they broke down with hatchets and hammers.
They set Thy sanctuary on fire; to the ground they desecrated the dwelling place of Thy name.
Truly God is good to the upright, to those who are pure in heart.
But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had well nigh slipped.
For I was envious of the arrogant…
(Psalm 73:1-3)
One of the reasons the Psalms have endured is their realistic honesty about the spiritual life. So in Psalm 73 we have the confession of a…
May He have dominion from sea to sea…
(Psalm 72:8 )
This Psalm has a special place in Canadian history. In 1864, Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley read Psalm 72 during his morning prayers as he and members of Parliament met to decide upon a name for the country. Based on Psalm 72:8 he proposed “the Dominion of Canada”. Canadian leaders…
For thou, O Lord, art my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth.
Upon Thee I have leaned from my birth; Thou art He who took me from my mother’s womb. My praise is continually of Thee…O God, from my youth Thou hast taught me,
and I still proclaim Thy wondrous deeds.
So even to old age and gray hairs,…
Make haste, O God to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O Lord!Let them be ashamed and confounded who seek my life;
let them be turned back and confused who seek my life;
Let them be turned back who and confused who desire my hurt.
Let them be turned back because of their shame, who jeer,
saying, “Well done! Well done!”Let all…
This is a psalm of one who is enduring affliction, enemies and being abandoned by friends and by God. The New Testament, the Fathers and Christians of East and West understand this as anticipating Christ’s Passion.
They gave me gall for food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink (69:21) is quoted in all four Passion…
Paschal verses
Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered; let those who hate him flee from before his face!
As smoke vanishes, so let them vanish; as wax melts before the fire,
So the sinners will perish before the face of God; but let the righteous be glad.
(Psalm 68:1-3)Paschal Entrance Verse
Bless God in…
God be bountiful to us and bless us! Show the light of Thy countenance upon us and have mercy on us!
That we may know Thy way upon the earth, and thy salvation among all nations!
Let all the people give thanks to Thee, O God! let all the people give thanks to thee!
—Psalm 67:1-3 (LXX), 2nd Antiphon of Pascha
Anyone who sings in the choir…
Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth! Sing of His Name, give to Him glorious praise!
Say to God: how awesome are Thy deeds! So great is thy power that Thy enemies cringe before Thee!
Let all the earth worship Thee and praise Thee! Let it praise Thy name, O Most High!
(Psalm 66:1-3, First Antiphon of Pascha )
The Latin Vulgate and…
Blessed is he whom thou dost choose and bring near, to dwell in thy courts!
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, thy holy temple!
(Psalm 65:4)
This psalm is a prayer of thanksgiving for the bounties of God’s creation. But it comes out of a heart that is shaped by being in God’s house and filled with the love of…
Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer; preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
The righteous shall be glad in the Lord and trust in Him.
—Psalm 64(63):1,11 (LXX)
These verses are used in services for St John the Baptist and the martyrs. St Augustine in commenting on this psalm says, “The voice of the martyrs prays for this, ‘rescue my…
A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah.
O God, Thou art my God, I seek Thee [LXX: I rise early at dawn for Thee],
my soul thirsts for Thee; my flesh faints for Thee, as in a dry and weary land where no water is.
(Psalm 63:1)
This is one of the six matins psalms, and Saint Basil says it is the perfect prayer for…
For God alone my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation.
He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly moved.
(Psalm 62:1-2)
One of the constant affirmations in the psalms is that in times…
1 For the director; upon a stringed instrument. Of David.
2 Hear, O God, my cry,
listen to my prayer!
3 From the brink of the nether world
I call to you as my heart grows faint;
From it lead me to the Lofty Mountain.
4 O that you would be my refuge,
a towered fortress against the Foe!
5 That I might dwell in your eternal…
O God, thou hast rejected us, broken our defenses;
Thou hast given a sign [raised a flag], for those who fear [revere] thee;
With God we shall do valiantly; it is he who will tread down our foes.
(Psalm 60:1,4,12)
The Jerusalem Bible calls this psalm a “national prayer after defeat.” There are times when God sees that we need to be…
When Saul had sent men to watch David’s house in order to kill him.
Deliver me from my enemies, O my God, protect me from those who rise up against me,
deliver me from those who work evil, and save me from bloodthirsty men.
(Psalm 59: heading, 1-2)
These verses of Psalm 59 are sung on Holy Thursday as we commemorate our Lord’s…
1-2
Is this any way to run a country?
Is there an honest politician in the house?
Behind the scenes you brew cauldrons of evil,
behind closed doors you make deals with demons.3-5
The wicked crawl from the wrong side of the cradle;
their first words out of the womb are lies.
Poison, lethal rattlesnake poison,
drips from…
…in the shadow of thy wings I will take refuge,
till the storms of destruction pass by.
I cry to God Most High, to God who fulfils his purpose for me.
(Psalm 57: 1b-2)
The title says the psalm is from the time “when David fled from Saul, in the cave.” 1 Samuel 24 is both instructive and humorous. David was hiding with his small…
For the director of music. To the tune of “A Dove on Distant Oaks.” Of David. A miktam. When the Philistines had seized him in Gath.
Thou hast kept count of my tossings; put thou my tears in thy bottle!
Are they not in thy book?
Then my enemies will be turned back in the day when I call.
This I know, that God is for…