PSALM 103

A Psalm of David.

1 Bless the Lord, O my soul;

and all that is within me, bless his holy name!

2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and forget not all his benefits,

3 who forgives all your iniquity,

who heals all your diseases,

4 who redeems your life from the Pit,

who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,

5 who satisfies you with good as long as you live*

so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

6 The Lord works vindication

and justice for all who are oppressed.

7 He made known his ways to Moses,

his acts to the people of Israel.

8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

9 He will not always chide,

nor will he keep his anger for ever.

10 He does not deal with us according to our sins,

nor requite us according to our iniquities.

11 For as the heavens are high above the earth,

so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;

12 as far as the east is from the west,

so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

13 As a father pities his children,

so the Lord pities those who fear him.

14 For he knows our frame;

he remembers that we are dust.

15 As for man, his days are like grass;

he flourishes like a flower of the field;

16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,

and its place knows it no more.

17 But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting

upon those who fear him,

and his righteousness to children’s children,

18 to those who keep his covenant

and remember to do his commandments.

19 The Lord has established his throne in the heavens,

and his kingdom rules over all.

20 Bless the Lord, O you his angels,

you mighty ones who do his word,

hearkening to the voice of his word!

21 Bless the Lord, all his hosts,

his ministers that do his will!

22 Bless the Lord, all his works,

in all places of his dominion.

Bless the Lord, O my soul!

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.

PSALM 5

To the choirmaster: for the flutes. A Psalm of David.

1 Give ear to my words, O Lord;

give heed to my groaning.

2 Hearken to the sound of my cry,

my King and my God,

for to thee do I pray.

3 O Lord, in the morning thou dost hear my voice;

in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for thee, and watch.

4 For thou art not a God who delights in wickedness;

evil may not sojourn with thee.

5 The boastful may not stand before thy eyes;

thou hatest all evildoers.

6 Thou destroyest those who speak lies;

the Lord abhors bloodthirsty and deceitful men.

7 But I through the abundance of thy steadfast love

will enter thy house,

I will worship toward thy holy temple

in the fear of thee.

8 Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness

because of my enemies;

make thy way straight before me.

9 For there is no truth in their mouth;

their heart is destruction,

their throat is an open sepulchre,

they flatter with their tongue.

10 Make them bear their guilt, O God;

let them fall by their own counsels;

because of their many transgressions cast them out,

for they have rebelled against thee.

11 But let all who take refuge in thee rejoice,

let them ever sing for joy;

and do thou defend them,

that those who love thy name may exult in thee.

12 For thou dost bless the righteous, O Lord;

thou dost cover him with favor as with a shield.