PSALM 1

1 Blessed is the man

who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in the way of sinners,

nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,

and on his law he meditates day and night.

3 He is like a tree

planted by streams of water,

that yields its fruit in its season,

and its leaf does not wither.

In all that he does, he prospers.

4 The wicked are not so,

but are like chaff which the wind drives away.

5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,

nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;

6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked will perish.

PSALM 2

1 Why do the nations conspire,

and the peoples plot in vain?

2 The kings of the earth set themselves,

and the rulers take counsel together,

against the Lord and his anointed, saying,

3 “Let us burst their bonds asunder,

and cast their cords from us.”

4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;

the Lord has them in derision.

5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath,

and terrify them in his fury, saying,

6 “I have set my king

on Zion, my holy hill.”

7 I will tell of the decree of the Lord:

He said to me, “You are my son,

today I have begotten you.

8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,

and the ends of the earth your possession.

9 You shall break them with a rod of iron,

and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;

be warned, O rulers of the earth.

11 Serve the Lord with fear,

with trembling 12 kiss his feet,*

lest he be angry, and you perish in the way;

for his wrath is quickly kindled.

Blessed are all who take refuge in him.