PSALM 70
David's. A Psalm of the Sons of Jonadab and the First That Were Taken Away Captive. Without Superscription among the Hebrews.

In Thee, O Lord, have I hoped, let me not be put to shame in the age to come; in Thy righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline Thine ear unto me and save me. Be Thou unto me a God that is my defender and a place of strength that Thou mayest save me, for Thou art my foundation and refuge. O my God, deliver me out of the hand of the sinner, out of the hand of the transgressor and the unrighteous man. For Thou art my patience, O Lord; O Lord, Thou art my hope from my youth. On Thee have I been made fast from the womb; from my mother's womb Thou art my protector. In Thee continually is my singing of praise; I am become as a wonder to many, and Thou art my strong helper. Let my mouth be filled with praise, that I may hymn Thy glory and Thy majesty all the day long. Cast me not away in the time of mine old age; when my strength faileth, forsake me not. For mine enemies have spoken against me, and they that watch my soul took counsel together, saying: God hath forsaken him; pursue him and take him for there is none to deliver him. My God, be not far off from me; my God, be attentive unto helping me. Let them be put to shame and brought to nought that falsely accuse my soul; let them be covered with shame and confusion, they that seek evils for me. But as for me, I will ever hope in Thee, and I will add to all Thy praise. My mouth shall declare Thy righteousness, all the day long Thy salvation; for I know not the reckoning thereof. I will commence in the might of the Lord; O Lord, I will make mention of the righteousness which is Thine alone. O my God, Thou hast taught me from my youth, and till now will I declare Thy wondrous works. Yea, even unto old age and the dignity of years, my God, forsake me not, Until I declare Thy mighty arm to every generation that is to come, Yea, Thy sovereignty and Thy righteousness, O God, and declare even to the heights the great things which Thou hast done for me. O God, who is like unto Thee? How great are the many and evil afflictions which Thou hast showed unto me; yet, having returned, Thou madest me to live, and out of the depths of the earth Thou broughtest me up. Thou hast multiplied Thy magnificence over me; and having returned, Thou hast comforted me, and out of the depths of the earth again Thou broughtest me up. Therefore also will I confess Thee among the peoples, O Lord, with instruments of psalmody; with the harp I will chant of Thy truth unto Thee, O God, O Holy One of Israel. My lips shall rejoice when I chant unto Thee, yea, even my soul which Thou hast redeemed. Moreover my tongue will meditate on Thy righteousness all the day long, when they be put to shame and confounded which seek evils for me.

PSALM 71
For the End: A Psalm of David, for Solomon.

O God, give Thy judgement to the king, and Thy righteousness to the son of the king, That he may judge Thy people with righteousness, and Thy poor with judgement. Let the mountains receive peace for the people, and let the hills receive righteousness. He shall judge the beggars among the people, and shall save the sons of the poor, and shall humble the false accuser. And He shall continue as long as the sun, and before the moon from generation to generation. He shall come down like rain upon a fleece, and like rain-drops that fall upon the earth. In His days shall righteousness dawn forth an abundance of peace, until the moon be taken away. And He shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the rivers even unto the ends of the inhabited earth. Before Him shall the Ethiopians fall down, and His enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tharsis and the islands shall bring gifts, kings of the Arabians and of Saba shall bring presents. And all the kings of the earth shall worship Him, all the nations shall serve Him, For He hath delivered the beggar from the oppressor, and the poor man for whom there was no helper. He shall spare the poor man and the pauper, and the souls of the poor shall He save. From usury and from injustices shall He redeem their souls, and precious shall be His name before them. And He shall live, and there shall be given unto Him of the gold of Arabia, and they shall make prayer concerning Him always; all the day long shall they bless Him. He shall be a support in the earth on the summits of the mountains; exalted more than Lebanon shall be His fruit, and they of the city shall flourish like the grass of the earth. His name shall be blessed unto the ages, before the sun doth His name continue. And in Him shall be blessed all the tribes of the earth, all the nations shall call Him blessed. Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, Who alone doeth wonders. And blessed is the name of His glory for ever, and unto the ages of ages. And all the earth shall be filled with His glory. So be it. So be it.

Stasis

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, Both now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia: Glory to Thee, O God. (Three times). Lord, have mercy. (Three times). Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, Both now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

PSALM 72
A Psalm for Asaph; an Ode to the Assyrian.

How good is God to Israel, to them that are upright of heart! But as for me, my feet were all but shaken; my steps well nigh had slipped. For I was jealous of the transgressors, when I beheld the peace of sinners. For they make no sign of refusal in the time of their death, and they have steadfastness in the time of their scourging. They are not in such toils as other men, nor with other men shall they be scourged. Wherefore, their pride hath utterly mastered them, they have wrapped themselves in their injustice and ungodliness. Their injustice shall go forth as out of fatness, they have passed through to their heart's intent. They have thought and spoken in wickedness, they have spoken unrighteousness in arrogance. They have set their mouth against heaven, and their tongue roveth in the earth. Therefore shall my people return hither, and full days shall be found in them. And they said: How doth God know? And is there knowledge in the Most High? Behold, these are the sinners; they prosper in this age and have obtained riches. And I said: Surely in vain have I kept justice in my heart and washed my hands among the innocent. And I became a man scourged all the day long, and reproof was mine in every morning. And I said: I shall speak thus: Lo, I should have broken covenant with the generation of Thy sons. And I sought to understand, but this was toilsome in my sight, until I come into the sanctuary of God and understand their end. Surely, for their crafty dealings Thou hast appointed evils for them; Thou hast cast them down in their exaltation. How are they come unto desolation in a moment! They have ceased to be; they have perished because of their iniquity. As a dream of one who waketh, O Lord, in Thy city Thou shalt bring their image to nought. For my heart was fired and my reins have been changed; and I was brought to nought and knew it not. I became as a beast before Thee, and I am ever with Thee. Thou hast held me by my right hand, and by Thy counsel Thou hast guided me, and with glory hast Thou taken me to Thyself. For what have I in heaven? And besides Thee, what have I desired upon earth? My heart and my flesh have failed, O God of my heart; and God is my portion for ever. For behold, they that remove themselves from Thee shall perish; Thou hast destroyed all that go a whoring from Thee. But it is good for me to cleave unto God, to put my hope in the Lord, that I may declare all Thy praises in the gates of the daughter of Sion.

PSALM 73
Asaph's. Concerning Instruction

O God, why hast Thou cast us off unto the end? Why hath Thine anger raged against the sheep of Thy pasture? Remember Thy congregation which Thou hast purchased from the beginning. Thou hast redeemed the rod of Thine inheritance, this Mount Sion wherein Thou hast dwelt. Lift up Thy hands against their pride at the end, against the things which the enemy hath wickedly done in Thy holy place. And they that hate Thee have boasted in the midst of Thy feast. They set up their ensigns, yea, signs (though they knew it not) as it were for the departing on high. As in a forest of trees, with axes they cut down the doors thereof together, with two-edged axe and mason's hammer have they broken it down. With fire have they burned down Thy sanctuary, they have profaned even unto the ground the habitation of Thy name. They said in their heart, even the whole kindred of them together: Come, let us abolish all the feasts of God from the earth. Our signs have we not seen; there is no more any prophet, and he will know us no more. How long, O God, shall the enemy utter reproaches? Shall the adversary provoke Thy name to the end? Wherefore turnest away Thy hand, and Thy right hand out of the midst of Thy bosom for ever? But God is our king before the ages, He hath wrought salvation in the midst of the earth. Thou didst establish the sea by Thy might, Thou didst break the heads of the dragons in the water. Thou didst crush the head of the dragon, Thou gavest him as food to the Ethiopian peoples. Thou hast cloven fountains and torrents, Thou hast dried up the rivers of Etham. Thine is the day and Thine is the night; Thou hast perfected the light and the sun. Thou hast made all the borders of the earth; summer and spring hast Thou fashioned. Be mindful of this Thy creation. The enemy hath reproached the Lord, and a mindless people hath provoked Thy name. O deliver not unto beasts the soul which doth confess Thee; of the souls of Thy paupers be not forgetful unto the end. Look Thou upon Thy covenant, for the dark places of the earth are filled with the houses of iniquity. Let not the humbled and shamed man be turned away; the beggar and the poor man shall praise Thy name. Arise, O God, judge Thine own cause; remember the reproach made against Thee by the mindless man all the day long. Forget not the voice of Thy suppliants; the pride of them that hate Thee ascendeth continually.

Stasis

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, Both now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia: Glory to Thee, O God. (Three times). Lord, have mercy. (Three times). Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, Both now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

PSALM 74
For the End: Destroy not. A Canticle Psalm for Asaph.

We will confess Thee, O God, we will confess Thee, and we will call upon Thy name. I will tell of all Thy wonders. When I am given the appointed time, I will judge uprightly. The earth is melted and all that dwell therein; it is I that made steadfast the pillars thereof. I said to the transgressors: Do not transgress; and to the sinners: Lift not up the horn. Lift not up your horn on high, and speak not unrighteousness against God. For judgement cometh not from the byways, nor from the west, nor from the desert mountains; for God is judge. This man He humbleth, and another He exalteth; for in the hand of the Lord there is a brimming cup of unmingled wine. And He hath inclined it from side to side, but the dregs thereof were not fully emptied out; all the sinners of the earth shall drink of them. But as for me, I will rejoice for ever; I will chant unto the God of Jacob. And all the horns of the sinners will I break, but the horn of the righteous man shall be exalted.

PSALM 75
For the End: Among the Hymns. A Psalm for Asaph, an Ode to the Assyrian.

In Judea is God known, His name is great in Israel. And His place hath been made in peace, and His dwelling in Sion. There did He break the power of the bow, the weapon and the sword and the battle. Thou shinest wondrously from the everlasting mountains; all the foolish of heart were troubled. They have slept their sleep, and all the men of wealth have found nothing in their hands. At Thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, they that had mounted upon horses fell aslumber. Thou art to be feared, and who shall withstand Thee? From thenceforth is Thy wrath; Thou didst cause judgement to be heard from heaven. The earth feared and was still, when God rose to judgement to save all the meek of the earth. For the inward thought of man shall give praise unto Thee, and the remainder of his inward thought shall keep a feast to Thee. Make your vows and pay them to the Lord our God; all that are round about Him shall bring gifts, To Him that is to be feared and taketh away the spirits of princes, to Him that is to be feared among the kings of the earth.

PSALM 76
For the End: A Psalm for Asaph Concerning Idithum.

With my voice unto the Lord have I cried, with my voice unto God, and He was attentive unto me. In the day of mine affliction I sought out God, with my hands upraised by night before Him, and I was not deceived. My soul refused to be comforted; I remembered God and I was gladdened; I spake in idleness and my spirit became faint-hearted. Mine eyes were wakeful before the watches; I was troubled and spake not. I thought upon the days of old, and the years of ages past I called to mind, and I meditated. By night I pondered in my heart, and my spirit searched diligently. Will the Lord then cast me off unto the ages, and will He be favourable no more? Or will He cut off His mercy unto the end? Hath He brought to an end His word from generation to generation? Or will the Lord forget to be merciful? Or in His wrath will He shut up His compassions for ever? And I said: Now have I made a beginning; this change hath been wrought by the right hand of the Most High. I remembered the works of the Lord; for I will remember Thy wonders from the beginning. And I will meditate on all Thy works, and I shall ponder upon Thy ways. O God, in the sanctuary is Thy way. What God is as great as our God? Thou art God Who workest wonders. Thou hast made Thy power among the peoples; with Thine arm hast Thou redeemed Thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. The waters saw Thee, O God, the waters saw Thee and were afraid; the abysses were troubled. Great was the resounding sound of the waters, the clouds gave forth a voice. Yea, for thine arrows passed abroad; the voice of Thy thunder is in their rolling. And Thy lightnings have lightened the world; the earth was shaken and it trembled. In the sea are Thy byways, and Thy paths in many waters; and Thy footsteps shall not be known. Thou leddest Thy people as sheep by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Final Stasis

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, Both now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia: Glory to Thee, O God. (Two times). Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia: Glory to Thee, O God our Hope, O Lord, glory be to Thee. Lord, have mercy. (Three times). Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, Both now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Psalter copyright 1974 Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Boston, MA