Psalms for the Days of the Week

The Standard Prayer Book, tr. by Simeon Singer, [1915], at sacred-texts.com

Psalm for the First Day of the Week.

This is the First Day of the Week on which the Levites in the Temple used to say:—

Psalm xxiv.

A Psalm of David: The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For it is he that hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.

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[paragraph continues] Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? And who may stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart; who hath not set his desire upon vanity, and hath not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of them that seek after him, that seek thy face, (O God of) Jacob! (Selah.) Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who, then, is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; yea, lift them up, ye everlasting doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who, then, is the King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. (Selah.)

Psalm for the Second Day of the Week.

This is the Second Day of the Week on which the Levites in the Temple used to say:—

(Psalm xlviii.)

A Song; a Psalm of the Sons of Korah. Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised, in the city of our God, in his holy mountain. Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth is mount Zion,—at the sides of the north,—the city of the great king. God hath made himself known in her palaces as a stronghold. For, lo, the kings met each other, they passed on together. They saw it; then were they amazed; they were confounded, they hasted away. Trembling took hold of them there; pangs

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as of a woman in travail. With an east wind thou didst break the ships of Tarshish. As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever. (Selah.) We thought of thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple. As is thy name, O God, so is thy renown unto the ends of the earth; thy right hand is full of righteousness. Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments. Compass ye Zion and go round about her: count the towers thereof. Mark ye well her rampart, traverse her palaces; that ye may tell a later generation, that this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.

Psalm for the Third Day of the Week.

This is the Third Day of the Week, on which the Levites in the Temple used to say:—

(Psalm lxxxii.)

A Psalm of Asaph. God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the judges. How long will ye judge unjustly, and respect the persons of the wicked? (Selah.) Judge the lowly and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and destitute. Rescue the lowly and needy: deliver them out of the hand of the wicked. They know not, neither do they understand; they walk about in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are moved. I said, Ye are gods, and all of you sons

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of the Most High. Nevertheless ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes. Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt possess all the nations.

Psalm for the Fourth Day of the Week.

This is the Fourth Day of the Week, on which the Levites in the Temple used to say:—

(Psalm xciv.)

O God of vengeance, Lord, O God of vengeance, shine forth. Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render to the proud their desert. Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph? They prate, they speak arrogantly: all the workers of iniquity are boastful. They crush thy people, O Lord, and afflict thine heritage. They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless. And they say, The Lord will not see, neither will the God of Jacob give heed. Give heed, ye brutish among the people: and ye fools, when will ye be wise? He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? He that formed the eye, shall he not see? He that chasteneth the nations, shall not he punish, even he that teacheth man knowledge? The Lord knoweth the thoughts of men, that they are vanity. Happy is the man whom thou chastenest, O Lord, and teachest out of thy Law; that thou mayest give him rest from the days of evil, until the pit be digged for the wicked. For the Lord will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance. For judgment shall return unto righteousness: and all the. upright in heart shall follow it. Who will rise up for me against

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the evil-doers, who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity? Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had soon dwelt in silence. When I say, My foot slippeth, thy lovingkindness, O Lord, holdeth me up. In the multitude of my thoughts within me, thy comforts delight my soul. Hath the tribunal of destruction fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by statute? They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood. But the Lord is become my stronghold; and my God the rock of my refuge. And he bringeth back upon them their own iniquity, and for their evil shall cut them off; the Lord our God shall cut them off.

O come, let us exult before the Lord: let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation.

Psalm for the Fifth Day of the Week.

This is the Fifth Day of the Week, on which the Levites in the Temple used to say:—

(Psalm lxxxi.)

To the Chief Musician. Set to the Gittith. A Psalm of Asaph. Exult aloud unto God our strength: shout for joy unto the God of Jacob. Raise the song, and strike the timbrel, the pleasant lyre with the harp. Blow the horn on the new moon, at the beginning of the month, for our day of festival. For it is a statute of Israel, a decree of the God of Jacob. He appointed it in Joseph for a testimony, when he went forth over the land of Egypt: where I heard a language that I knew not. I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were freed from the basket. Thou calledst in

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trouble and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder, I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. (Selah.) Hear, O my people, and I will testify against thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me. There shall be no strange god in thee; neither shalt thou worship any foreign god. I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open wide thy mouth, and I will fill it. But my people hearkened not to my voice; and Israel was not willing towards me. So I let them go in the stubbornness of their heart, that they might walk in their own counsels. O that my people would hearken unto me, that Israel would walk in my ways. I would soon subdue their enemies, and turn my hand against their adversaries. The haters of the Lord should submit themselves unto him; so that their time might endure for ever. He would feed them also with the fat of wheat: and with honey out of the rock would I satisfy thee.

Psalm for the Sixth Day of the Week.

This is the Sixth Day of the Week, on which the Levites in the Temple used to say:—

Psalm xciii.

The Lord reigneth; he hath robed him in majesty; the Lord hath robed him, yea, he hath girded himself with strength: the world also is set firm, that it cannot be moved. Thy throne is set firm from of old: thou art from everlasting. The streams have lifted up, O Lord, the streams have lifted up their voice; the streams lift up their roaring. Than the voices of many waters, mighty waters, breakers of the sea, more mighty is the Lord on high. Thy testimonies are very

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faithful: holiness becometh thine house, O Lord, for evermore.

On the days when Tachanun (p. 76 to p. 80) is said, the following is added after the Psalm of the day:—

Psalm lxxxiii.

A Song: A Psalm of Asaph. O God, keep not thou silence: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God. For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. They take crafty counsel against thy people, and consult together against thy hidden ones. They have said, Come and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be remembered no more. For they have consulted together with one consent; against thee do they make a covenant. The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab and the Hagarenes; Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre: Assyria also is joined with them; they have been an arm of help to the children of Lot. (Selah.) Do thou unto them as unto Midian; as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook Kishon. They were destroyed at Endor; they became as dung for the earth. Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb; yea, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna: who said, Let us take to ourselves in possession the habitations of God. O my God, make them like the whirling dust, as stubble before the wind; as the fire that burneth the forest, and as the flame that setteth the mountains on fire: so pursue them with thy storm, and confound them with thy hurricane. Fill their faces with confusion; that they may seek thy name,

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[paragraph continues] O Lord. Let them be ashamed and confounded tor ever; yea, let them be abashed and perish. That they may know that thou, of whom alone the name is the Lord, art Most High over all the earth

On New Moon, Psalm civ. is read, p. 264.

From the beginning of the Month of Elul until Hoshana Rabba, the following Psalm is read every Morning and Evening:—

Psalm xxvii.

A Psalm of David. The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When evil-doers drew nigh against me to eat up my flesh, even my adversaries and my foes, they stumbled and fell. Though an host should encamp against me, my heart would not fear; though war should rise against me, even then would I be confident. One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the pleasantness of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will hide me in his pavilion: in the shelter of his tabernacle will be conceal me; he will lift me up upon a rock. And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me; and I will offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joyful shouting; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord. Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice; have pity upon me, and answer me. My heart saith unto thee, (since thou hast said), Seek ye my face, Thy face, Lord will I seek. Hide not thy face from me; thrust not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; cast me not off, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation. For nay father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me up. Teach me thy way, O Lord; and lead me on an even path, because of them that lie in wait for me Give me not up to the will of mine

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adversaries: for false witnesses have risen up against me, and such as breathe out violence. (I should despair), unless I believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and let thine heart take courage; yea, wait thou for the Lord.

In some Congregations the following Psalm is said daily before "Blessed be he," etc., p. 19.

Psalm xxx.

A Psalm; a Song at the Dedication of the House; a Psalm of David. I will extol thee, O Lord; for thou hast drawn me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. O Lord, my God, I cried unto thee, and thou didst heal me. O Lord, thou broughtest up my soul from the grave; thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. Sing praise unto the Lord, O ye his loving ones, and give thanks to his holy name. For his anger is but for a moment; his favor is for a lifetime: weeping may tarry for the night, but joy cometh in the morning. As for me, I said in my prosperity I shall never be moved. Thou, Lord, of thy favor hadst made my mountain to stand strong; thou didst hide thy face; I was confounded. I cried unto thee, O Lord; and unto the Lord I made supplication: What profit is there in my blood if I go down to the pit? Can the dust give thanks to thee? Can it declare thy truth? Hear, O Lord, and be gracious unto me; Lord, be thou my helper. Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing; thou hast loosed my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness: to the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent: O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.