Chapter 3

24:13. His soul shall dwell in good things: and his seed shall inherit the land.

24:14. The Lord is a firmament to them that fear him: and his covenant shall be made manifest to them.

24:15. My eyes are ever towards the Lord: for he shall pluck my feet out of the snare.

24:16. Look thou upon me, and have mercy on me; for I am alone and poor.

24:17. The troubles of my heart are multiplied: deliver me from my necessities.

24:18. See my abjection and my labour; and forgive me all my sins.

24:19. Consider my enemies for they are multiplied, and have hated me with an unjust hatred.

24:20. Deep thou my soul, and deliver me: I shall not be ashamed, for I have hoped in thee.

24:21. The innocent and the upright have adhered to me: because I have waited on thee.

24:22. Deliver Israel, O God, from all his tribulations.

Psalms Chapter 25

Judica me, Domine.

David's prayer to God in his distress, to be delivered, that he may come to worship him in his tabernacle.

25:1. Unto the end, a psalm for David. Judge me, O Lord, for I have walked in my innocence: and I have put my trust in the Lord, and shall not be weakened.

25:2. Prove me, O Lord, and try me; burn my reins and my heart.

25:3. For thy mercy is before my eyes; and I am well pleased with thy truth.

25:4. I have not sat with the council of vanity: neither will I go in with the doers of unjust things.

25:5. I have hated the assembly of the malignant; and with the wicked I will not sit.

25:6. I will wash my hands among the innocent; and will compass thy altar, O Lord:

25:7. That I may hear the voice of thy praise: and tell of all thy wondrous works.

25:8. I have loved, O Lord, the beauty of thy house; and the place where thy glory dwelleth.

25:9. Take not away my soul, O God, with the wicked: nor my life with bloody men:

25:10. In whose hands are iniquities: their right hand is filled with gifts.

25:11. But as for me, I have walked in my innocence: redeem me, and have mercy on me.

25:12. My foot hath stood in the direct way: in the churches I will bless thee, O Lord.

Psalms Chapter 26

Dominus illuminatio.

David's faith and hope in God.

26:1. The psalm of David before he was anointed. The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life: of whom shall I be afraid?

26:2. Whilst the wicked draw near against me, to eat my flesh. My enemies that trouble me, have themselves been weakened, and have fallen.

26:3. If armies in camp should stand together against me, my heart shall not fear. If a battle should rise up against me, in this will I be confident.

26:4. One thing I have asked of the Lord, this will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. That I may see the delight of the Lord, and may visit his temple.

26:5. For he hath hidden me in his tabernacle; in the day of evils, he hath protected me in the secret place of his tabernacle.

26:6. He hath exalted me upon a rock: and now he hath lifted up my head above my enemies. I have gone round, and have offered up in his tabernacle a sacrifice of jubilation: I will sing, and recite a psalm to the Lord.

26:7. Hear, O Lord, my voice, with which I have cried to thee: have mercy on me and hear me.

26:8. My heart hath said to thee: My face hath sought thee: thy face, O Lord, will I still seek.

26:9. Turn not away thy face from me; decline not in thy wrath from thy servant. Be thou my helper, forsake me not; do not thou despise me, O God my Saviour.

26:10. For my father and my mother have left me: but the Lord hath taken me up.

26:11. Set me, O Lord, a law in thy way, and guide me in the right path, because of my enemies.

26:12. Deliver me not over to the will of them that trouble me; for unjust witnesses have risen up against me; and iniquity hath lied to itself.

26:13. I believe to see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.

26:14. Expect the Lord, do manfully, and let thy heart take courage, and wait thou for the Lord.

Psalms Chapter 27

Ad te, Domine, clamabo.

David's prayer that his enemies may not prevail over him.

27:1. A psalm for David himself. Unto thee will I cry, O Lord: O my God, be not thou silent to me: lest if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.

27:2. Hear, O Lord, the voice of my supplication, when I pray to thee; when I lift up my hands to thy holy temple.

27:3. Draw me not away together with the wicked; and with the workers of iniquity destroy me not: Who speak peace with their neighbour, but evils are in their hearts.

27:4. Give them according to their works, and according to the wickedness of their inventions. According to the works of their hands give thou to them: render to them their reward.

27:5. Because they have not understood the works of the Lord, and the operations of his hands: thou shalt destroy them, and shalt not build them up.

27:6. Blessed be the Lord, for he hath heard the voice of my supplication.

27:7. The Lord is my helper and my protector: in him hath my heart confided, and I have been helped. And my flesh hath flourished again, and with my will I will give praise to him.

27:8. The Lord is the strength of his people, and the protector of the salvation of his anointed.

27:9. Save, O Lord, thy people, and bless thy inheritance: and rule them and exalt them for ever.

Psalms Chapter 28

Afferte Domino.

An invitation to glorify God, with a commemoration of his mighty works.

28:1. A psalm for David, at the finishing of the tabernacle. Bring to the Lord, O ye children of God: bring to the Lord the offspring of rams.

28:2. Bring to the Lord glory and honour: bring to the Lord glory to his name: adore ye the Lord in his holy court.

28:3. The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of majesty hath thundered, The Lord is upon many waters.

28:4. The voice of the Lord is in power; the voice of the Lord in magnificence.

28:5. The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars: yea, the Lord shall break the cedars of Libanus.

28:6. And shall reduce them to pieces, as a calf of Libanus, and as the beloved son of unicorns.

Shall reduce them to pieces, etc. . .In Hebrew, shall make them to skip like a calf. The psalmist here describes the effects of thunder (which he calls the voice of the Lord) which sometimes breaks down the tallest and strongest trees; and makes their broken branches skip, etc. All this is to be understood mystically of the powerful voice of God's word in his church; which has broken the pride of the great ones of this world, and brought many of them meekly and joyfully to submit their necks to the sweet yoke of Christ.

28:7. The voice of the Lord divideth the flame of fire:

28:8. The voice of the Lord shaketh the desert: and the Lord shall shake the desert of Cades.

28:9. The voice of the Lord prepareth the stags: and he will discover the thick woods: and in his temple all shall speak his glory.

28:10. The Lord maketh the flood to dwell: and the Lord shall sit king for ever. The Lord will give strength to his people: the Lord will bless his people with peace.

Psalms Chapter 29

Exaltabo te, Domine.

David praiseth God for his deliverance, and his merciful dealings with him.

29:1. A psalm of a canticle, at the dedication of David's house.

29:2. I will extol thee, O Lord, for thou hast upheld me: and hast not made my enemies to rejoice over me.

29:3. O Lord my God, I have cried to thee, and thou hast healed me.

29:4. Thou hast brought forth, O Lord, my soul from hell: thou hast saved me from them that go down into the pit.

29:5. Sing to the Lord, O ye his saints: and give praise to the memory of his holiness.

29:6. For wrath is in his indignation; and life in his good will. In the evening weeping shall have place, and in the morning gladness.

29:7. And in my abundance I said: I shall never be moved.

29:8. O Lord, in thy favour, thou gavest strength to my beauty. Thou turnedst away thy face from me, and I became troubled.

29:9. To thee, O Lord, will I cry: and I will make supplication to my God.

29:10. What profit is there in my blood, whilst I go down to corruption? Shall dust confess to thee, or declare thy truth?

29:11. The Lord hath heard, and hath had mercy on me: the Lord became my helper.

29:12. Thou hast turned for me my mourning into joy: thou hast cut my sackcloth, and hast compassed me with gladness:

29:13. To the end that my glory may sing to thee, and I may not regret: O Lord my God, I will give praise to thee for ever.

Psalms Chapter 30

In te, Domine, speravi.

A prayer of a just man under affliction.

30:1. Unto the end, a psalm for David, in an ecstasy.

30:2. In thee, O Lord, have I hoped, let me never be confounded: deliver me in thy justice.

30:3. Bow down thy ear to me: make haste to deliver me. Be thou unto me a God, a protector, and a house of refuge, to save me.

30:4. For thou art my strength and my refuge; and for thy name's sake thou wilt lead me, and nourish me.

30:5. Thou wilt bring me out of this snare, which they have hidden for me: for thou art my protector.

30:6. Into thy hands I commend my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, the God of truth.

30:7. Thou hast hated them that regard vanities, to no purpose. But I have hoped in the Lord:

30:8. I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy. For thou hast regarded my humility, thou hast saved my soul out of distresses.

30:9. And thou hast not shut me up in the hands of the enemy: thou hast set my feet in a spacious place.

30:10. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am afflicted: my eye is troubled with wrath, my soul, and my belly:

30:11. For my life is wasted with grief: and my years in sighs. My strength is weakened through poverty and my bones are disturbed.

30:12. I am become a reproach among all my enemies, and very much to my neighbours; and a fear to my acquaintance. They that saw me without fled from me.

30:13. I am forgotten as one dead from the heart. I am become as a vessel that is destroyed.

30:14. For I have heard the blame of many that dwell round about. While they assembled together against me, they consulted to take away my life.

30:15. But I have put my trust in thee, O Lord: I said: Thou art my God.

30:16. My lots are in thy hands. Deliver me out of the hands of my enemies; and from them that persecute me.

30:17. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; save me in thy mercy.

30:18. Let me not be confounded, O Lord, for I have called upon thee. Let the wicked be ashamed, and be brought down to hell.

30:19. Let deceitful lips be made dumb. Which speak iniquity against the just, with pride and abuse.

30:20. O how great is the multitude of thy sweetness, O Lord, which thou hast hidden for them that fear thee! Which thou hast wrought for them that hope in thee, in the sight of the sons of men.

30:21. Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy face, from the disturbance of men. Thou shalt protect them in thy tabernacle from the contradiction of tongues.

30:22. Blessed be the Lord, for he hath shewn his wonderful mercy to me in a fortified city.

30:23. But I said in the excess of my mind: I am cast away from before thy eyes. Therefore thou hast heard the voice of my prayer, when I cried to thee.

30:24. O love the Lord, all ye his saints: for the Lord will require truth, and will repay them abundantly that act proudly.

30:25. Do ye manfully, and let your heart be strengthened, all ye that hope in the Lord.

Psalms Chapter 31

Beati quorum.

The second penitential psalm.

31:1. To David himself, understanding. Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.

31:2. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord hath not imputed sin, and in whose spirit there is no guile.

31:3. Because I was silent my bones grew old; whilst I cried out all the day long.

Because I was silent, etc. . .That is, whilst I kept silence, by concealing, or refusing to confess my sins, thy hand was heavy upon me, etc.

31:4. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: I am turned in my anguish, whilst the thorn is fastened.

I am turned, etc. . .That is, I turn and roll about in my bed to seek for ease in my pain whilst the thorn of thy justice pierces my flesh, and sticks fast in me. Or, I am turned: that is, I am converted to thee, my God, by being brought to a better understanding by thy chastisements. In the Hebrew it is, my moisture is turned into the droughts of the summer.

31:5. I have acknowledged my sin to thee, and my injustice I have not concealed. I said I will confess against my self my injustice to the Lord: and thou hast forgiven the wickedness of my sin.

31:6. For this shall every one that is holy pray to thee in a seasonable time. And yet in a flood of many waters, they shall not come nigh unto him.

31:7. Thou art my refuge from the trouble which hath encompassed me: my joy, deliver me from them that surround me.

31:8. I will give thee understanding, and I will instruct thee in this way, in which thou shalt go: I will fix my eyes upon thee.

31:9. Do not become like the horse and the mule, who have no understanding. With bit and bridle bind fast their jaws, who come not near unto thee.

31:10. Many are the scourges of the sinner, but mercy shall encompass him that hopeth in the Lord.

31:11. Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye just, and glory, all ye right of heart.

Psalms Chapter 32

Exultate, justi.

An exhortation to praise God, and to trust in him.

32:1. A psalm for David. Rejoice in the Lord, O ye just: praise becometh the upright.

32:2. Give praise to the Lord on the harp; sing to him with the psaltery, the instrument of ten strings.

32:3. Sing to him a new canticle, sing well unto him with a loud noise.

32:4. For the word of the Lord is right, and all his works are done with faithfulness.

32:5. He loveth mercy and judgment; the earth is full of the mercy of the Lord.

32:6. By the word of the Lord the heavens were established; and all the power of them by the spirit of his mouth:

32:7. Gathering together the waters of the sea, as in a vessel; laying up the depths in storehouses.

32:8. Let all the earth fear the Lord, and let all the inhabitants of the world be in awe of him.

32:9. For he spoke and they were made: he commanded and they were created.

32:10. The Lord bringeth to nought the counsels of nations; and he rejecteth the devices of people, and casteth away the counsels of princes.

32:11. But the counsel of the Lord standeth for ever: the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

32:12. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord: the people whom he hath chosen for his inheritance.

32:13. The Lord hath looked from heaven: he hath beheld all the sons of men.

32:14. From his habitation which he hath prepared, he hath looked upon all that dwell on the earth.

32:15. He who hath made the hearts of every one of them: who understandeth all their works.

32:16. The king is not saved by a great army: nor shall the giant be saved by his own great strength.

32:17. Vain is the horse for safety: neither shall he be saved by the abundance of his strength.

32:18. Behold the eyes of the Lord are on them that fear him: and on them that hope in his mercy.

32:19. To deliver their souls from death; and feed them in famine.

32:20. Our soul waiteth for the Lord: for he is our helper and protector.

32:21. For in him our heart shall rejoice: and in his holy name we have trusted.

32:22. Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, as we have hooped in thee.

Psalms Chapter 33

Benedicam Dominum.

An exhortation to the praise, and service of God.

33:1. For David, when he changed his countenance before Achimelech, who dismissed him, and he went his way. [1 Kings 21.]

33:2. I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise shall be always in my mouth.

33:3. In the Lord shall my soul be praised: let the meek hear and rejoice.

33:4. O magnify the Lord with me; and let us extol his name together.

33:5. I sought the Lord, and he heard me; and he delivered me from all my troubles.

33:6. Come ye to him and be enlightened: and your faces shall not be confounded.

33:7. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him: and saved him out of all his troubles.

33:8. The angel of the Lord shall encamp round about them that fear him: and shall deliver them.

33:9. O taste, and see that the Lord is sweet: blessed is the man that hopeth in him.

33:10. Fear the Lord, all ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.

33:11. The rich have wanted, and have suffered hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not be deprived of any good.

33:12. Come, children, hearken to me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

33:13. Who is the man that desireth life: who liveth to see good days?

33:14. Keep thy tongue form evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.

33:15. Turn away from evil and do good: seek after peace and pursue it.

33:16. The eyes of the Lord are upon the just: and his ears unto their prayers.

33:17. But the countenance of the Lord is against them that do evil things: to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

33:18. The just cried, and the Lord heard them: and delivered them out of all their troubles.

33:19. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a contrite heart: and he will save the humble of spirit.

33:20. Many are the afflictions of the just; but out of them all will the Lord deliver them.

33:21. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a contrite heart: and he will save the humble of spirit.

33:22. The death of the wicked is very evil: and they that hate the just shall be guilty.

33:23. The Lord will redeem the souls of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall offend.

Psalms Chapter 34

Judica, Domine, nocentes me.

David, in the person of Christ, prayeth against his persecutors: prophetically foreshewing the punishments that shall fall upon them.

34:1. For David himself. Judge thou, O Lord, them that wrong me: overthrow them that fight against me.

34:2. Take hold of arms and shield: and rise up to help me.

34:3. Bring out the sword, and shut up the way against them that persecute me: say to my soul: I am thy salvation.

34:4. Let them be confounded and ashamed that seek after my soul. Let them be turned back and be confounded that devise evil against me.

34:5. Let them become as dust before the wind: and let the angel of the Lord straiten them.

34:6. Let their way become dark and slippery; and let the angel of the Lord pursue them.

34:7. For without cause they have hidden their net for me unto destruction: without cause they have upbraided my soul.

34:8. Let the snare which he knoweth not come upon him: and let the net which he hath hidden catch him: and into that very snare let them fall.

34:9. But my soul shall rejoice in the Lord; and shall be delighted in his salvation.

34:10. All my bones shall say: Lord, who is like to thee? Who deliverest the poor from the hand of them that are stronger than he; the needy and the poor from them that strip him.

34:11. Unjust witnesses rising up have asked me things I knew not.

34:12. They repaid me evil for good: to the depriving me of my soul.

34:13. But as for me, when they were troublesome to me, I was clothed with haircloth. I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer shall be turned into my bosom.

34:14. As a neighbour and as an own brother, so did I please: as one mourning and sorrowful so was I humbled.

34:15. But they rejoiced against me, and came together: scourges were gathered together upon me, and I knew not.

34:16. They were separated, and repented not: they tempted me, they scoffed at me with scorn: they gnashed upon me with their teeth.

34:17. Lord, when wilt thou look upon me? rescue thou my soul from their malice: my only one from the lions.

34:18. I will give thanks to thee in a great church; I will praise thee in a strong people.

34:19. Let not them that are my enemies wrongfully rejoice over me: who have hated me without cause, and wink with the eyes.

34:20. For they spoke indeed peaceably to me; and speaking in the anger of the earth they devised guile.

34:21. And they opened their mouth wide against me; they said: Well done, well done, our eyes have seen it.

34:22. Thou hast seen, O Lord, be not thou silent: O Lord, depart not from me.

34:23. Arise, and be attentive to my judgment: to my cause, my God, and my Lord.

34:24. Judge me, O Lord my God according to thy justice, and let them not rejoice over me.

34:25. Let them not say in their hearts: It is well, it is well, to our mind: neither let them say: We have swallowed him up.

34:26. Let them blush: and be ashamed together, who rejoice at my evils. Let them be clothed with confusion and shame, who speak great things against me.

34:27. Let them rejoice and be glad, who are well pleased with my justice, and let them say always: The Lord be magnified, who delights in the peace of his servant.

34:28. And my tongue shall meditate thy justice, thy praise all the day long.

Psalms Chapter 35

Dixit injustus.

The malice of sinners, and the goodness of God.

35:1. Unto the end, for the servant of God, David himself.

35:2. The unjust hath said within himself, that he would sin: there is no fear of God before his eyes.

35:3. For in his sight he hath done deceitfully, that his iniquity may be found unto hatred.

Unto hatred. . .That is, hateful to God.

35:4. The words of his mouth are iniquity and guile: he would not understand that he might do well.

35:5. He hath devised iniquity on his bed, he hath set himself on every way that is not good: but evil he hath not hated.

35:6. O Lord, thy mercy is in heaven, and thy truth reacheth even to the clouds.

35:7. Thy justice is as the mountains of God, thy judgments are a great deep. Men and beasts thou wilt preserve, O Lord:

35:8. O how hast thou multiplied thy mercy, O God! But the children of men shall put their trust under the covert of thy wings.

35:9. They shall be inebriated with the plenty of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the torrent of thy pleasure.

35:10. For with thee is the fountain of life; and in thy light we shall see light.

35:11. Extend thy mercy to them that know thee, and thy justice to them that are right in heart.

35:12. Let not the foot of pride come to me, and let not the hand of the sinner move me.

35:13. There the workers of iniquity are fallen, they are cast out, and could not stand.

Psalms Chapter 36

Noli aemulari.

An exhortation to despise this world; and the short prosperity of the wicked; and to trust in Providence.

36:1. Be not emulous of evildoers; nor envy them that work iniquity.

36:2. For they shall shortly wither away as grass, and as the green herbs shall quickly fall.

36:3. Trust in the Lord, and do good, and dwell in the land, and thou shalt be fed with its riches.

36:4. Delight in the Lord, and he will give thee the requests of thy heart.

36:5. Commit thy way to the Lord, and trust in him, and he will do it.

36:6. And he will bring forth thy justice as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.

36:7. Be subject to the Lord and pray to him. Envy not the man who prospereth in his way; the man who doth unjust things.

36:8. Cease from anger, and leave rage; have no emulation to do evil.

36:9. For evildoers shall be cut off: but they that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the land.

36:10. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: and thou shalt seek his place, and shalt not find it.

36:11. But the meek shall inherit the land, and shall delight in abundance of peace.

36:12. The sinner shall watch the just man: and shall gnash upon him with his teeth.

36:13. But the Lord shall laugh at him: for he foreseeth that his day shall come.