PSALM VI
至其他聖詠
|
PSALM ¤61 {60} °2 Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. °3 I call to you from the ends of the earth; my heart grows faint. Set me high upon a rock; °4 be my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy. °5 Let me dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in your wings’ shelter. °6 Indeed you have heard my vows, O God, and the wish of those who fear your name. °7 Increase the days of the king’s life; prolong his years for many generations. °8 May he ever be enthroned in God’s presence; let your love and loyalty watch over him. °9 So I will sing praises to your name and fulfill my vows day after day. PSALM ¤62 {61} {My soul rests in God alone.— God has revealed two of his dominant qualities: power and goodness. Would we like them to be active? Let us believe and open our hearts.} °2 My soul finds rest in God alone; from him comes my salvation. °3 He alone is my rock and salvation; with him as my stronghold, I shall not be overcome. °4 How long will you assail with your threats, all of you, to bring someone down – as you would pull a wall or smash a fence? °5 Indeed they plan to topple me. They take pleasure in telling lies; with their mouths they bless, but in their hearts they curse. °6 Find rest in God alone, O my soul; from him comes my hope. °7 He alone is my rock and my salvation; with him as my stronghold, I shall not be overcome. °8 On God rests my salvation and my honor; he is my refuge, my mighty rock. °9 Trust in him at all times, my people; pour out your hearts before him; God is our refuge. °10 People of low rank are only a breath, important people, merely an illusion. If weighed together they are nothing, even lighter than a puff of wind. °11 Do not set your heart on extortion, nor your hopes upon corrupt gain. Even if wealth accumulates, keep your heart detached. °12 God has spoken one word, and I have heard two things: that power belongs to God, °13 and yours, O God, is also mercy: you reward each one according to his deeds. PSALM ¤63 {62} {My soul thirsts for you.— Contrast between daily life, so often tedious, and the experience of God discovered in solitude.} °2 O God, you are my God, it is you I seek; for you my body longs and my soul thirsts, as a dry and weary land without water. °3 Thus have I gazed upon you in the sanctuary, to see your power and your glory. °4 Your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. °5 I will bless you as long as I live, lift up my hands and call on your name. °6 As with the richest food my soul will feast; my mouth will praise you with joyful lips. °7 When I remember you on my bed I think of you all through the night, °8 for you have been my help; I sing in the shadow of your wings. °9 My soul clings to you, your right hand upholds me. °10 In vain they are after my life, they will go down to the depths of the earth; °11 they will be delivered to the sword, and become the prey of jackals. °12 The king will rejoice in God. All who swear by God’s name will boast: “At last slanderers’ tongues have been silenced.” PSALM ¤64 {63} § Punishment for those who slander.°2 Hear, O God, my voice as I plead, protect my life from the enemy’s threat. °3 Hide me from the scheming of the wicked, from the designs of the evil-plotters, °4 who sharpen their tongues like swords and aim bitter words like arrows, °5 shooting at the innocent from cover, shooting suddenly without fear. °6 They invite each other to evil-doing, they conspire to lay snares, saying, “No one will see us, °7 who will uncover our scheme?” Who peers into man will uncover them. °8 And now God fires his arrows at them and suddenly they are struck down. °9 Their own tongue brought them to ruin and all who see them shake their heads. °10 Everyone will stand in awe; they proclaim the works of God and ponder on his deeds. °11 The upright will rejoice and take refuge in the Lord; the upright of heart will glory in him. PSALM ¤65 {64} {You visit the earth and fill it with abundance.— Thanksgiving for the harvest of a fertile year.} °2 Praise belongs to you, O God, in Zion; here people come to fulfill their vows. °3 All mortals bring to you their evil deeds, to you, who answer prayers. °4 Though our faults prevail over us, you forgive our sins. °5 Blessed is the one you choose to approach you and take to dwell in your courts. In your house we are satisfied with the good things of your holy temple. °6 With awesome deeds of righteousness you answer us, O God our savior, hope of all the ends of the earth and of distant islands. °7 By your power you set up the mountains. °8 By your strength the seas were calmed; you lull their roaring waves and the turmoil of the nations. °9 Those who dwell at the ends of the earth stand in awe of your marvelous deeds. You make joyful the dawn and the coming of dusk. °10 You water the land and care for it, enriching it with natural resources. God’s stream is filled with water; so you prepare the earth to give us its fruits. °11 You drench the furrows in the land and level the ridges, you soften the soil with showers and bless its crops. °12 You crown the year with your goodness; abundance flows everywhere. °13 The deserts have become pasture land, the hills are clothed with gladness, °14 the meadows covered with flocks, the valleys decked with grain – they shout and sing for joy. PSALM ¤66 {65} {Thanksgiving after a struggle.— The leader of the community is at the head of the procession: he thanks God who has freed his people of their trials. } °1 Shout with joy to God, all you on earth; °2 sing to the glory of his name; proclaim his glorious praise. °3 Say to God, “How great are your deeds! How formidable your power that makes your enemies cower! °4 All the earth bows down to you, making music in praise of you, singing in honor of your name.” °5 Come and see God’s wonders, his deeds awesome for humans. °6 He has turned the sea into dry land, and the river was crossed on foot. Let us, therefore, rejoice in him. °7 He rules by his might forever, his eyes keeping watch on the peoples, his arm holding the rebels in check. °8 Praise our God, O nations, let the sound of his praise be heard, °9 for he has preserved us among the living and kept our feet from stumbling. °10 Why did you test us, O God; and refine us like silver? °11 You let us fall into the snare; you burdened us with disgrace. °12 You allowed a nobody to rule over us, and we have gone through fire and water, but you have brought us to safety at last. °13 I will bring offerings to your house in fulfillment of my vows – °14 Those I made when assailed with troubles. °15 I will offer holocausts of fatlings, sending up smoke of burning rams, and a sacrifice of goats and bulls. °16 All you who fear God, come and listen; let me tell you what he has done. °17 I cried aloud to him, extolling him with my tongue. °18 If I had nurtured wickedness in my heart, then he would not have heard. °19 But God has listened; he gave heed to my prayer. °20 May God be blessed! He has not rejected my prayer; nor withheld his love from me. PSALM ¤67 {66} § All the nations will know you.°2 May God be gracious and bless us; may he let his face shine upon us, °3 that your way be known on earth and your salvation among the nations. °4 May the peoples praise you, O God, may all the peoples praise you! °5 May the countries be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples with justice and guide the nations of the world. °6 May the peoples praise you, O God, may all the peoples praise you! °7 The land has given its harvest; God, our God, has blessed us. °8 May God bless us and be revered, to the very ends of the earth. PSALM ¤68 {67} {Triumphal procession of the God of victories.— To the eyes of the believer, the history of the Church is a new triumphal march. The risen Christ present through his Spirit leads her to heaven, where he has prepared a place for her.} °2 Arise, O God, scatter your enemies; let your foes flee before you. °3 As smoke is blown by the wind, so blow them away; as wax melts before the fire, so let the wicked perish before you. °4 But let the righteous be glad and exult before God; let them sing to God and shout for joy. °5 Sing to God, sing praises to his name; open the way to him who rides upon the clouds; the Lord is his name. Rejoice in his presence. °6 Father of orphans and protector of widows – such is our God in his holy dwelling. °7 He gives shelter to the homeless, sets the prisoners free, but keeps the rebels in their jail. °8 O God, when you went forth, when you led your people through the desert, °9 the earth trembled, the heavens poured down rain, at the presence of God, the God of Israel. °10 Then you gave a rain of blessings to comfort your weary children. °11 Your people found a dwelling and in your mercy, O God, you provided for the needy. °12 The Lord has dispatched messengers: “The Lord has shattered an army!” °13 The kings and their armies flee, yes, they flee, they flee! °14 A woman at home divides the spoils: wings of dove covered with silver, their pinions with shining gold. °15 When the Lord routed the kings, snow fell on the Dark Mountain. °16 O mighty mountain of Bashan, high and rugged mountain, °17 why look with envy upon the mountain where God chooses to reign, where the Lord will dwell forever? °18 With myriads of powerful chariots, the Lord came from Sinai into his sanctuary. °19 He ascended the high mountain, leading captives in his train, taking people as tributes, even rebels, to his dwelling. °20 Blessed be the Lord, God our savior, who daily bears our burdens! °21 Ours is a God who saves; our Lord lets us escape from death. °22 But he crushes the heads of his enemies, the hairy crowns of the criminals. °23 The Lord said, “I will bring them back from Bashan, back from the depths of the sea, °24 that you may bathe your feet in blood, and the tongues of your dogs may have their share of your foes.” °25 I remember the procession of the King, of my God, as they came into the sanctuary: °26 the singers in front, the musicians last, between them maidens playing tambourines. °27 Praise God in the great congregation, praise the Lord in the feasts of Israel. °28 There in the lead is the least of them, the tribe of Benjamin; the princes of Judah in a body; the princes of Naphtali, and of Zebulun. °29 Summon your power, O God, with the strength you have wielded for us. °30 To your temple in Jerusalem, kings will come with gifts. °31 Rebuke the beast that dwell in the reeds, and the herd of bulls. Humble them; let them bring gold and silver. Scatter the nations who delight in war. °32 Let wealth come from Egypt; let Ethiopia extend its hands to God. °33 Sing to God, O kingdoms of the world; sing praises to the Lord, °34 to him who rides the ancient heavens and speaks in the voice of thunder. °35 Proclaim the might of God; he is great in Israel, powerful in heavens. °36 Awesome in his sanctuary is the God of Israel. He gives his people power and strength. Blessed be God! PSALM ¤69 {68} {The waters reach up to my neck.— God’s servant almost submerged by the waters of suffering and death calls to the Lord for help. Christ has applied to himself several terms of this prayer. After having been saved from death, he will be the happiness of all who seek God.} °2 Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. °3 I am sunk in the miry depths where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, swept and engulfed by the flood. °4 I am weary from calling for help; my throat is hoarse and parched. My eyes have grown dim looking for my God. °5 More than the hairs of my head are those who hate me for no reason; mighty are those who attack me, many are my enemies without cause. What I did not steal I am forced to restore. °6 Had I done wrong, O God, you would know it; my faults would not be hidden from you. °7 Let me not bring disgrace to those who hope in you, O Lord God of hosts; may I cause no dishonor to those who seek you, O God of Israel – °8 since I am held in contempt for your sake, and shame has covered my face. °9 I have become a stranger to my kindred, an alien to my mother’s sons. °10 Zeal for your house consumes me as fire and those who insult you insult me as well. °11 When I humbled myself with fasting, I was scorned for it. °12 When I put on sackcloth, I was made a laughingstock. °13 I have become the talk of those who sit at the gates, the topic of the drunkards’ songs. °14 But I pray to you, O Lord, at a time most favorable to you. In your great love, O God, answer me with your unfailing help. °15 Rescue me, lest I sink in the mire; deliver me from the storm and the deep waters. °16 Let not the flood engulf me, nor the deep suck me in, let not the pit close its mouth upon me. °17 In your mercy, O Lord, give me a good answer; in your great compassion, turn to me. °18 Hide not your face from your servant; answer me at once for I am in distress. °19 Come and rescue me; set me free from my enemies. °20 You know the disgrace I suffer, and you know my oppressors and my humiliations. °21 Dishonor has driven me to despair; I looked for sympathy and there was none, for comforters and there was no one. °22 They gave me poison for food and vinegar to drink. °23 May snares be set for them in their banquets and traps in their sacred feasts. °24 May their eyes grow dim, so that they will not see; may their loins be stricken with palsy. °25 Pour out your fury upon them, and let your burning anger overtake them. °26 Make their camp desolate; may no one dwell in their tents, °27 for they persecute the one you have wounded, and increased the pain of the one you have struck. °28 Charge them with crime upon crime, and do not acquit them. °29 Blot them out of the book of life, and do not enroll them among the upright. °30 But I myself am humbled and wounded; your salvation, O God, will lift me up. °31 I will praise the name of God in song; I will glorify him with thanksgiving. °32 This will please the Lord more than an ox or a bull with horns and divided hoofs. °33 Let the lowly witness this and be glad. You who seek God, may your hearts be revived. °34 For the Lord hears the needy and does not despise those in captivity. °35 Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and whatever moves in them. °36 For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah. His people shall dwell in the land and possess it; °37 the children of his servants shall inherit it, and those who love his name will dwell in it. PSALM ¤70 {69} § The cry of the persecuted.°2 Be pleased, O God, to rescue me! Make haste to help me! °3 Let those who seek my life be put to shame and disgrace. Let those who want me destroyed be turned back in confusion. °4 Let those who say, “Aha, Aha!” to me feel consternation. °5 May all who seek you be glad and rejoice in you. May all who love your saving power say evermore, “Great is the Lord!” °6 But I am afflicted and needy; come to me quickly, O God, my help and my Savior. O God, do not delay! PSALM ¤71
{70} § Prayer of an elderly.°1 In you, O Lord, I seek refuge; let me not be disgraced. °2 In your justice help me and deliver me, turn your ear to me and save me! °3 Be my rock of refuge, a stronghold to give me safety, for you are my rock and my fortress. °4 Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of cruel and violent people. °5 For you, O Lord, have been my hope, my trust, O God, from my youth. °6 I have relied on you from birth: from my mother’s womb you brought me forth. My praise is of you continually. °7 I have become like a portent to many, but you are my strong refuge. °8 My mouth is filled with your praise, announcing your glory day by day. °9 Do not cast me off in my old age, do not desert me when my strength fails. °10 For my enemies speak ill of me; awaiting my death they set plans. °11 They say, “God has forsaken him; let us pursue and seize him, for no one will rescue him.” °12 O God, be not far from me; my God, make haste to help me! °13 Let my accusers be destroyed in shame; let those who seek my ruin be covered with disgrace and scorn. °14 Then I may trust in you and praise you. °15 My lips will proclaim your intervention and tell of your salvation all day, little though it is what I can understand. °16 I will come to your strength, O Lord, and announce your justice, yours alone. °17 You have taught me from my youth and until now I proclaim your marvels. °18 When I grow old and gray, do not leave me, O God; give me time to declare your might, your power to all generations to come. °19 Your justice, O God, reaches to heaven; you have done great things. Who is like you, O God? °20 Many have been my hardships and misery, but once more you come to revive me; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again. °21 You will restore me and comfort me again. °22 I will praise you with the harp, for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing your praise with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel. °23 My lips will rejoice, and my soul, too, which you have rescued. °24 I will recall your intervention the whole day long, “Yes, those who sought to do me harm have been confused and put to shame.” PSALM ¤72
{71} {The King of Peace.— Waiting for the King of Peace, he who will do justice for the humble. The expectation of universal peace after so much obstinacy in murdering one another.} °1 O God, endow the king with your justice, the royal son with your righteousness. °2 May he rule your people justly and defend the rights of the lowly. °3 Let the mountains bring peace to the people, and the hills justice. °4 He will defend the cause of the poor, deliver the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor. °5 He will endure as the sun and as the moon through all generations. °6 He will be like rain falling on the fields, or showers watering the earth. °7 Justice will flower in his days, and peace abound till the moon be no more. °8 For he reigns from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth; °9 his foes are crushed before him, and his enemies lick the dust. °10 The kings of Tarshish and the islands render him tribute, the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts, °11 all kings bow down to him, and all nations serve him. °12 He delivers the needy who call on him, the afflicted with no one to help them. °13 His mercy is upon the weak and the poor, he saves the life of the poor. °14 He rescues them from oppression and strife, for their life is precious to him. °15 May he live long, may gold from Sheba be given him. May people always pray for him, and blessings be invoked for him all day. °16 May grain abound throughout the land, waving and rustling as in Lebanon; may cities teem with people, as fields with grass. °17 May his name endure forever; may his name be as lasting as the sun. All the races will boast about him, and he will be blessed by all nations. °18 Praised be the Lord, God of Israel, who alone works so marvelously. °19 Praised be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen. Amen. °20 This concludes the prayers of David, son of Jesse. PSALM ¤73 {72} {Why are the wicked successful?— It is more a scandal than a temptation when the believer sees the wicked succeed in everything: the violent, the unscrupulous, those who have money and can corrupt, masters of deceit. “Wait for the end,” says the psalmist.} °1 Surely God is good to Israel, I mean, to the clean of heart. °2 But, as for me, I almost stumbled, I nearly lost my foothold, °3 for I was envious of the arrogant, when I saw the wicked prosper. °4 For they suffer no pain; they are strong and sound of body, °5 free from troubles common to mortals; they are not stricken by human ills. °6 That is why pride becomes their necklace, and violence the robe that covers them. °7 Evil comes from their callous hearts, boundless evil from their corrupt minds. °8 They scoff and speak with malice, and they threaten arrogantly. °9 Their mouths defy the heavens and their tongues dictate on earth. °10 People, therefore, look up to them because they are well-watered. °11 “Does God see?” they say. “Has the Most High some knowledge of this? °12 Such are the wicked – always carefree while they rake in riches. °13 In vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence °14 if all day long I am stricken and punished every morning.” °15 Had I spoken like this, I would not be acting as one of your children. °16 Although I tried to understand this, it was difficult for me, °17 until I entered the secrets of God. Then I perceived their approaching doom. °18 You place them on slippery ground and make them fall into the pit. °19 How suddenly they are destroyed, completely swept away in terror! °20 As one awakes from a nightmare, so when you arise, O Lord, you shake them off like a dream. °21 When my heart was embittered, and my spirit distraught °22 it was folly, not wisdom; I did not know you better than the beasts. °23 Yet I am always with you; you hold my right hand, °24 you guide me on the way you chose and your Glory brings me along. °25 I have no one in heaven but you; on earth I desire nothing but you. °26 My flesh and my heart waste away for you, O God, O my rock, you are mine forever. °27 Those who abandon you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. °28 But as for me, my joy is to be near God; I have made the Lord my refuge, and I will proclaim all his works. {Arise, Lord and defend your cause!— What a mystery for our faith: the silence of God in face of our follies!} O God, have you rejected us forever? Why vent your anger on the sheep of your own fold? °2 Remember the people you have formed of old, the tribe you have redeemed as your inheritance. Remember Mount Zion where you once lived. °3 Climb and visit these hopeless ruins, the enemy has ravaged everything in the sanctuary. °4 Your foes have roared triumphantly in the holy place, and set up their banner of victory. °5 Like lumbermen felling trees, °6 they smashed the carved paneling with hatchets, hammers and axes. °7 They defiled your sanctuary and set aflame the dwelling place of your name. °8 They said in fury, “Let us destroy them all.” They razed to the ground all the shrines of God in the land. °9 With no signs and no prophets, no one can tell how long this will last. °10 How long, O God, will the foe blaspheme? How long will the enemy revile your name? °11 Why do you hold back your right hand? Why keep your hand hidden? °12 Are you not O God, my king since birth, you who bring salvation to the land? °13 You split the sea in two by your power; you broke the monsters’ heads in the water; °14 you crushed the heads of Leviathan and fed him to the dolphins. °15 You opened up rivers and springs and dried up ever-flowing streams. °16 You own the day as well as the night; you have set the course of the sun and the light. °17 You fixed the earth’s borders, you created summer and winter. °18 Remember, O Lord, how the lawless scoff at your name, a party of fools cast you off. °19 Do not betray your turtledove to the beast, do not forget forever the life of your poor. °20 See how they keep your covenant in the dark caves of the land. °21 Do not let the oppressed be put to shame; may the poor and needy praise your name. °22 Arise, O God, and defend your cause, see how the thoughtless laugh at you all day long. °23 Do not forget the clamor of your foes, the continuous uproar of your enemies. PSALM ¤75 {74} {God will come to judge.— Through the cross and resurrection of Christ, God has already judged the world; to the just he has given the assurance that they will triumph.} °2 We give you thanks, O God, we give thanks. Those who invoke your name will recount your wonderful deeds. °3 “At a set time I will judge fairly. °4 The earth wobbles with its inhabitants, but I will restore its foundations. °5 To the proud I say, ‘Boast no more.’ And to the wicked, ‘Raise not your head. °6 Do not lift yourself so high, do not insult God.’” °7 God comes, though not from the east or the west, nor from the mountains or desert; °8 God comes to judge, putting one down and lifting up another. °9 In the hand of the Lord is a cup of spiced and foaming wine; he pours it out for the wicked to drain to the dregs. °10 As for me, I will rejoice forever and sing praises to the God of Jacob. °11 He will break the power of the wicked, but the power of the virtuous will be exalted. {After a victory.— God has defeated the kings who were attacking Jerusalem, the Holy City. This victory prefigures another when in the end, the humble will be liberated.} °2 God is now famous in Judah, in Israel his name is great. °3 Salem is indeed his tent; he has made Zion his dwelling place. °4 There he broke the flashing arrow, the shield and sword, the spear and bow. °5 You are glorious and majestic, enthroned on everlasting mountains. °6 The stouthearted lie despoiled, sleeping their last sleep, not one able to lift a hand. °7 At your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both rider and horse lay stunned. °8 But you – how terrible you are! Who can oppose the fury of your onslaught? °9 You thundered judgment from the heavens; while the earth trembled and lay still, °10 as you, O God, arose to judge, to save all the humble of the earth. °11 Pagan nations will bring you praise, their survivors will celebrate your name. °12 Make vows to the Lord, your God, and fulfill them; let the peoples bring offerings to the Fearsome One, °13 who breaks the spirit of rulers, and is formidable to the kings of the earth. PSALM ¤77 {76} {I remember the deeds of the Lord.— We tend to see the past as more wonderful than it actually was. The passage of time will let us see that God is just as present and active in our own day.} °2 I cry aloud to God – aloud that he may hear me. °3 In the day of trouble I seek the Lord, and stretch out my hand untiringly, my soul refusing to be consoled. °4 When I think of God I sigh; when I meditate my spirit fails. °5 You keep my eyes watchful; I am so troubled I cannot speak, °6 I remember the days of old. I consider the years of long ago °7 and the whole night my soul remains disturbed, my spirit wonders, °8 “Will the Lord keep silent forever? Will he never show his favor again? °9 Has he locked his love and ended his promise for all time? °10 Is God forgetting his mercy? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?” °11 This is what makes me distraught – that the Most High no longer acts as before. °12 I remember the deeds of the Lord; I recall his marvels of old. °13 I meditate on all your work, and consider your mighty deeds. °14 Your way, O God, is most holy. Is there any god greater than you, our God? °15 You alone are the God who works wonders, who has made known his power to the nations. °16 With power you have redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. °17 When the waters saw you, O God, they were afraid, the depths of the sea trembled. °18 The clouds poured down rain; the skies resounded with thunder; your arrows flashed from every side. °19 Your thunder crashed in the midst of the whirlwind; your lightning lit up the world; the earth shook and trembled. °20 Your path led through the sea, your way through the great water, but your footprints were nowhere to be seen. °21 You led your
people as a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron. |
至其他聖詠