PSALM 64
For the End: A Canticle Psalm of David, an Ode Sung by Jeremias and Ezekiel and the Captive People When They Were About to Depart.
To Thee is due praise, O God, in Sion; and unto Thee shall a vow be rendered in Jerusalem. Hearken unto my prayer, for unto Thee shall all flesh come. The words of lawless men have overpowered us, but to our ungodliness shalt Thou be merciful. Blessed is he whom Thou hast chosen and hast taken to Thyself; he shall dwell in Thy courts. We shall be filled with the good things of Thy house; holy is Thy temple, wonderful in righteousness. Hearken unto us, O God our Saviour, Thou hope of all the ends of the earth and of them that be far off at sea, Who settest fast the mountains by Thy strength, Who art girded round about with power, Who troublest the hollow of the sea; as for the roar of its waves, who shall withstand them? The heathen shall be troubled, and the dwellers of the farthest regions shall be afraid at Thy signs; Thou shalt make the outgoings of the morning and the evening to delight. Thou hast visited the earth and abundantly watered her; Thou hast multiplied the means of enriching her. The river of God is filled with waters; Thou hast prepared their food, for thus is the preparation thereof. Do Thou make her furrows drunk with water, multiply her fruits; in her showers will she be glad when she sprouteth forth. Thou shalt bless the crown of the year with Thy goodness, and Thy plains shall be filled with fatness. Enriched shall be the mountains of the wilderness, and the hills shall be girded with rejoicing. The rams of the flock have clothed themselves with fleece, and the valleys shall abound with wheat; they shall cry aloud, yea, they shall chant hymns unto Thee.
PSALM 65
For the End: A Psalmic Ode of Resurrection.
Shout with jubilation unto the Lord all the earth; chant ye unto His name, give glory in praise of Him. Say unto God: How awesome are Thy works! In the multitude of Thy power shall Thine enemies be proved false unto Thee. Let all the earth worship Thee and chant unto Thee; let them chant unto Thy name, O Most High. Come and see the works of the Lord, how awesome He is in His counsels, more than the sons of men. He turneth the sea into dry land; in the river shall they pass through on foot. There shall we rejoice in Him, in Him that is ruler in His sovereignty for ever. His eyes look upon the nations; let not them that embitter Him be exalted in themselves. O bless our God, ye nations, and make the voice of His praise to be heard, Who hath established my soul in life, and permitteth not my feet to be shaken. For Thou hast proved us, O God, and by fire hast Thou tried us even as silver is tried by fire. Thou hast brought us into the snare, Thou hast laid afflictions upon our back, Thou madest men to mount upon our heads. We went through fire and water, and Thou didst bring us out into refreshment. I will go into Thy house with a whole-burnt offering; to Thee will I pay my vows which my lips pronounced and which my mouth had spoken in mine affliction. Whole-burnt offerings full of marrow will I offer unto Thee, with incense and rams; oxen and goats will I offer unto Thee. Come and hear, and I will declare unto you, all ye that fear God, what things He hath done for my soul. Unto Him with my mouth have I cried, and I exalted Him with my tongue. If in my heart I regarded unrighteousness, let the Lord not hear me. Wherefore God hath hearkened unto me, He hath been attentive to the voice of my supplication. Blessed is God Who hath not turned away my prayer, nor His mercy away from me.
PSALM 66
For the End: Among the Hymns. A Canticle Psalm of David.
God be gracious unto us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us and have mercy on us, That we may know upon the earth Thy way, among all the nations Thy salvation. Let the peoples give Thee praise, O God, let all the peoples praise Thee. Let the nations be glad and rejoice, for Thou shalt judge peoples with uprightness; and nations shalt Thou guide upon the earth. Let the peoples give Thee praise, O God, let all the peoples praise Thee; the earth hath yielded her fruit. Let God, our God, bless us; let God bless us, and let all the ends of the earth fear Him.
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 67
For the End: A Canticle Psalm of David.
Let God arise and let His enemies be scattered, and let them that hate Him flee from before His face. As smoke vanisheth, so let them vanish; as wax melteth before the fire, so let sinners perish at the presence of God. And let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice in the presence of God, let them delight in gladness. Sing unto God, chant unto His name; prepare ye the way for Him that rideth upon the setting of the sun. Lord is His name; yea, rejoice before Him. Let them be troubled at His presence, Who is a father of orphans and a judge to the widows. God is in His holy place, God settleth the solitary in a house, Mightily leading forth them that were shackled, and likewise them that embitter Him, them that dwell in tombs. O God, when Thou wentest forth before Thy people, when Thou didst traverse the wilderness, The earth was shaken and the heavens dropped dew, at the presence of the God of Sinai, at the presence of the God of Israel. A rain freely given shalt Thou ordain, O God, for Thine inheritance; yea, it became weak, but Thou shalt restore it. Thy living creatures shall dwell therein; Thou hast prepared it in Thy goodness for the poor man, O God. The Lord shall give speech with great power to them that bring good tidings. He that is the King of the hosts of His beloved one shall divide the spoils for the beauty of the house. Even if ye sleep among the lots, ye shall have the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her pinions of sparkling gold. When He that is in the heavens ordaineth kings over her, they shall be made snow-white in Selmon. The mountain of God is a butter mountain, a curdled mountain, a butter mountain. Why suppose ye that there be other curdled mountains? This is the mountain wherein God is pleased to dwell, yea, for the Lord will dwell therein to the end. The chariot host of God is ten thousandfold, yea, thousands of them that abound in number; the Lord is among them at Sinai, in His holy place. Thou hast ascended on high, Thou leddest captivity captive, Thou didst receive gifts among men (yea, for they were disobedient) that Thou mightest dwell there. Blessed is the Lord God, blessed is the Lord day by day; the God of our salvation shall prosper us along the way. Our God is the God of salvation, and the pathways leading forth from death are those of the Lord's Lord. But God shall crush the heads of His enemies, the hairy crown of them that continue in their trespasses. The Lord said: I will return from Basan. I will return in the deeps of the sea, That thy foot may be dipped in blood, yea, the tongue of thy dogs in that of thine enemies. Thy processionals have been seen, O God, the processionals of my God, of my King Who is in His sanctuary. Princes went before, and after them the chanters, in the midst of timbrel-playing maidens. In congregations bless ye God, the Lord from the well-springs of Israel. Yonder is Benjamin the younger in rapture, the princes of Judah their rulers, the princes of Zabulon, the princes of Nephthalim. Give Thou command, O God, unto Thy hosts; strengthen, O God, this which Thou hast wrought in us. Because of Thy temple in Jerusalem, kings shall bring gifts unto Thee. Rebuke the wild beasts of the reed, that congregation of bulls among the heifers of the peoples, lest they exclude them that have been proved like silver. Scatter the nations that desire wars; ambassadors shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall hasten to stretch out her hand unto God. Ye kingdoms of the earth, sing unto God; chant ye unto the Lord, unto Him that rideth the heaven of heaven towards the dayspring. Lo, He will utter with His voice a voice of power. Give ye glory unto God; His magnificence is over Israel and His power is in the clouds. Wondrous is God in His saints; the God of Israel, He will give power and strength unto His people. Blessed is God.
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 68
For the End: Concerning Those Verses That Are to be Alternated. A Psalm of David.
Save me, O God, for the waters are come in unto my soul. I am stuck fast in the mire of the deep, and there is no sure standing. I am come into the deeps of the sea, and a tempest hath overwhelmed me. I am grown weary with crying, my throat is become hoarse; from my hoping in my God, mine eyes have failed me. They that hate me without a cause are multiplied more than the hairs of my head. Mine enemies are grown strong, they that persecute me unjustly; then did I restore that which I took not away. O God, Thou knowest my foolishness, and my transgressions are not hid from Thee. Let not them that wait on Thee be ashamed for my sake, O Lord, Thou Lord of hosts. Nor let them that seek after Thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel. Because for Thy sake I have borne reproach, shame hath covered my face. I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto the sons of my mother. For the zeal of Thy house hath eaten me up, and the reproaches of them that reproach Thee are fallen on me. Yea, with fasting I covered my soul, and it was turned into a reproach for me. And I made sackcloth my clothing, and I became a proverb to them. And they prated against me, they that sit in the gates; and they made a song about me, they that drink wine. But as for me, with my prayer I cry unto Thee, O Lord; it is time for Thy good pleasure. O God, in the multitude of Thy mercy hearken unto me, in the truth of Thy salvation. Save me from the mire, that I be not stuck therein; let me be delivered from them that hate me and from the deeps of the waters. Let not the tempest of water overwhelm me, nor let the deep swallow me up, nor let the pit shut its mouth upon me. Hearken unto me, O Lord, for Thy mercy is good; according to the multitude of Thy compassions, look upon me. Turn not Thy countenance away from Thy servant, for I am afflicted; quickly hearken unto me. Attend unto my soul and deliver it; because of mine enemies, rescue me. For Thou knowest my reproach, my shame and my humiliation. Before Thee are all that afflict me; my soul hath awaited reproach and misery. And I waited for one that would grieve with me, but there was no one; and for them that would comfort me, but I found none. And they gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. Let their table before them be for a snare, for a recompense and for a stumbling-block. Let their eyes be darkened that they may not see, and their back do Thou continually bow down. Pour out upon them Thy wrath, and let the fury of Thy wrath take hold upon them. Let their habitation be made desolate, and in their tents let there be none to dwell. For they persecuted him whom Thou hast smitten, and to the pain of my wounds have they added. Add iniquity to their iniquity, and let them not enter into Thy righteousness. Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and with the righteous let them not be written. Poor and in sorrow am I; may Thy salvation, O God, be quick to help me. I will praise the name of my God with an ode, I will magnify Him with praise. And this shall please God more than a young calf that hath horns and hooves. Let beggars behold it and be glad; seek after God, and your soul shall live. For the Lord hath hearkened unto the poor and hath not despised them that are fettered for His sake. Let the heavens and the earth praise Him, the sea and all the creeping things therein. For God will save Sion, and the cities of Judea shall be builded; and they shall dwell therein and inherit it. And the seed of Thy servants shall possess it, and they that love Thy name shall dwell therein.
PSALM 69
For the End: David's. In Remembrance. That the Lord May Save Me.
O God, be attentive unto helping me; O Lord, make haste to help me. Let them be shamed and confounded that seek after my soul. Let them be turned back and brought to shame that desire evils against me. Let them be turned back straightway in shame that say unto me: Well done! Well done! Let them be glad and rejoice in Thee all that seek after Thee, O God, and let them that love Thy salvation say continually: The Lord be magnified. But as for me, I am poor and needy; O God, come unto mine aid. My helper and my deliverer art Thou, O Lord; make no long tarrying.
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