Kathisma 11

THE ELEVENTH KATHISMA

Psalm 77

A Psalm of instruction for Asaph.

Give heed, O my people, to my law; incline your ear to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter dark sayings of old; Which we have heard and have known, and our fathers have told us.
They were not hid from their children in another generation; they declared the praises of the Lord, and His mighty acts, and His wonderful works that He hath done.
And He raised up a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, Even those things which He commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children; That another generation might know them, even the children which should be born; that they should arise, and declare them to their children.
That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God; but seek His commandments.
That they might not be as their fathers, a perverse and provoking generation,

A generation that set not their heart aright, and kept not their spirit stedfast with God.
The children of Ephraim, bending and shooting the bow, turned back in the day of battle.
They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in His law.
They forgat His benefits, and His wonders that He had shewed them, Marvellous things that He did in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Tanis.
He divided the sea, and brought them through; He made the waters stand as in a wineskin.
In the daytime also He led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire.
He clave the rock in the wilderness, and gave them to drink as out of a great deep.
He brought water also out of the rock, and brought down waters as rivers.
And they sinned yet more against Him; they provoked the Most High in the place without water.
And they tempted God in their hearts, by asking meat for their souls.
Yea, they spake against God, and said, Can God not furnish a table in the wilderness? Because He smote a rock, and waters gushed out, and the torrents overflowed: can not He give bread also, or furnish a table for His people? Therefore the Lord heard this, and was provoked; and a fire was kindled in Jacob, and wrath also came up against Israel.
Because they believed not in God, and hoped not in His salvation.
And He commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven, And He rained down manna upon them to eat, and gave them bread of heaven.
Man ate the bread of angels; He sent them provision to the full.
He removed the south wind from heaven, and by His power brought in the south west wind.
He rained flesh also upon them as dust, and feathered fowls like as the sands of the sea,

Which fell in the midst of their camp, round about their habitations.
And they did eat, and were well filled, and He gave them their own desire; and they were not disappointed of their lust.
But while the meat was yet in their mouths, the wrath of God rose up against them, and He slew the fat among them, and fettered the chosen men of Israel.
In all these things they sinned yet more, and believed not for His wondrous works.
And their days were consumed in vanity, and their years in haste.
When He slew them, then they sought Him, and they returned and called early unto God.
And they remembered that God was their helper, and the Most High God their redeemer.
Yet they did love Him only with their mouth, and they lied to Him with their tongue.
For their heart was not right with Him, neither were they stedfast in His covenant.
But He is full of compassion, and will forgive their sins, and will destroy them not.
And many a time will He turn His anger away, and not kindle all His wrath.
And He remembered that they were but flesh, a breath that passeth away, and cometh not again.
How oft did they provoke Him in the wilderness, and anger Him in the land without water! They turned back and tempted God, and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
They remembered not His hand, nor the day when He redeemed them from the hand of the oppressor.
How He had wrought His signs in Egypt, and His wonders in the field of Tanis.
And He turned their rivers into blood; and their showers, that they might not drink.
He sent the dog fly against them, which devoured them; and the frog, which destroyed them.
He gave also their fruits unto the cankerworm, and their labours unto the locust.
And He destroyed their vineyards with hail, and their mulberry trees with frost.

And He gave up their cattle also to the hail, and their substance to the fire.
And He sent against them the wrath of His anger; anger, and wrath, and trouble, a mission of evil angels.
He made a way to His wrath, and spared not their souls from death, but shut up their cattle in death, And smote all the firstborn in Egypt, the firstfruits of all their labour in the tabernacles of Ham.
And He took away His people like sheep, and led them in the wilderness like a flock.
And He guided them in hope, and they feared not; and the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
And He brought them into the mountain of His sanctuary, even to this mountain which His right hand had purchased.
He cast out the heathen also before them, and divided them an inheritance by lot, And made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.
Yet they tempted and provoked the Most High God, and kept not His testimonies, But turned back, and brake covenant, like their fathers; they became like a crooked bow.
And they provoked Him to anger among their hills, and moved Him to jealousy with their graven images.
God heard, and regarded them no more, and greatly abhorred Israel.
And He forsook His tabernacle at Shiloh, His dwelling where He dwelt among men.
And delivered their strength into captivity, and their beauty into the enemy’s hands.
He shut up his people also with a sword, and regarded His inheritance no more.
Fire consumed their young men, and their maidens made no lamentation.
Their priests fell by the sword, and none shall weep for their widows.
Then the Lord awaked as one out of sleep, and like a mighty man that hath been heated with wine.
And He smote His enemies on their hinder parts; He put them to a perpetual reproach.
Moreover, He refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim;

But He chose the tribe of Judah, the Mount Zion which He loved.
And He built His sanctuary like that of an unicorn; He established it upon the earth for ever.
He chose David also His servant, and took him from the flocks of sheep.
From following the ewes great with young He took him, to shepherd Jacob His servant, and Israel His inheritance.
So he shepherded them in the innocency of his heart, and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, O God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, O God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, O God.
Lord, have mercy; Lord, have mercy; Lord, have mercy.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Psalm 78

A Psalm of Asaph.

O God, the heathen are come into Thine inheritance, Thy holy temple have they defiled; they have made Jerusalem as an orchard watcher’s hut.
The dead bodies of Thy servants have they given to be meat unto the fowls of the air, the flesh of Thy saints unto the beasts of the earth.
Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem, and there was none to bury them.
We are become a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and derision to them that are round about us.
How long, Lord, wilt Thou be angry for ever? Shall Thy jealousy be kindled like fire? Pour out Thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known Thee, and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon Thy name.
For they have devoured Jacob, and laid waste his dwelling place.

O remember not our former iniquities; let Thy tender mercies speedily prevent us, O Lord, for we are become exceeding poor.
Help us, O God our Saviour, for the glory of Thy name; deliver us, O Lord, and be gracious unto our sins for Thy name’s sake.
Lest the heathen say, Where is their God? Yea, let there be known among the heathen in our sight the revenging of the blood of Thy servants which hath been shed.
Let the groaning of the prisoners come before Thee; according to the greatness of Thine arm show Thy care for the sons of the slain.
And render unto our neighbours sevenfold into their bosom the reproach wherewith they have reproached Thee, O Lord.
For we are Thy people, and the sheep of Thy pasture. We will give Thee thanks, O God, for ever; we will shew forth Thy praise from generation to generation.

Psalm 79

Unto the end: about the verses that are to be alternated. A testimony for Asaph, a Psalm about the Assyrian.

Give ear, O shepherd of Israel, Thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep.
Thou that sittest upon the Cherubim, shew Thyself before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.
Stir up Thy might, and come to save us.
Turn us again, O God, and cause Thy face to shine, and we shall be saved.
O Lord God of hosts, how long wilt Thou be angry against the prayer of Thy servants? Wilt Thou feed us with the bread of tears, and give us tears to drink in great measure? Thou hast made us a strife among our neighbours, and our enemies have scoffed at us.
Turn us again, O Lord of hosts, and cause Thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt; Thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it.
Thou preparedst the way before it, and Thou plantedst the roots thereof, and it filled the earth.

The shadows thereof covered the mountains, and the boughs thereof the cedars of God.
She stretched forth her shoots unto the sea, and her branches unto the rivers.
Why hast Thou broken down her hedge, and all they that pass by the way do pluck the fruit? The boar out of the wood hath wasted it, and the wild beast hath devoured it.
Turn again, O God of hosts; and look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine.
And perfect that which Thy right hand hath planted, and look upon the son of man, whom Thou hast made strong for Thyself.
It is burned with fire, and digged up; they shall perish at the rebuke of Thy countenance.
Let Thy hand be upon the man of Thy right hand, and upon the son of man whom Thou madest strong for Thyself.
And we will not depart from Thee; Thou shalt quicken us, and we will call upon Thy name.
Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts; and cause Thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.

Psalm 80

Unto the end: a Psalm for Asaph about the winepresses.

Rejoice in God our helper; shout with jubilation unto the God of Jacob.
Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant psaltery with the harp.
Sound the trumpet in the new moon, even in the notable day of our feast.
For this is a statute for Israel, and a judgment of the God of Jacob.
This He ordained in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out of the land of Egypt; he heard a language that he knew not.
He removed his back from the burdens; his hands had slaved at the basket.
Thou calledst upon Me in trouble, and I delivered Thee; I heard Thee in the secret place of the tempest, I proved Thee at the waters of strife.

Hear, O My people, and I will speak unto Thee, O Israel, and I will testify unto Thee.
If Thou wilt hearken unto Me, there shall no new God be in Thee, neither shalt Thou worship a strange god.
For I am the Lord Thy God, Who brought thee out of the land of Egypt; open Thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.
But my people would not hearken to My voice, and Israel gave no heed to Me.
So I let them go according to their hearts’ desires; they shall walk in their own ways.
If my people had hearkened unto Me, if Israel had walked in My ways, I should soon have humbled their enemies, and laid Mine hand on them that afflicted them.
The enemies of the Lord have lied unto Him, but in that age their time shall come.
He fed them also with the fat of wheat, and with honey out of the rock He satisfied them.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, O God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, O God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, O God.
Lord, have mercy; Lord, have mercy; Lord, have mercy.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Psalm 81

A Psalm for Asaph.

God stood in the congregation of the gods, and in their midst He shall judge gods.
How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the person of sinners? Judge for the fatherless and the poor; do justice to the humble and needy.
Rescue the poor and needy; deliver him out of the hand of the sinner.

They have not known, nor understood; they walk on in darkness.
Let all the foundations of the earth be moved.
I have said, Ye are gods, and all of you are the sons of the Most High.
But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.
Arise, O God, judge the earth, for Thou shalt inherit among all the nations.

Psalm 82

A song of a Psalm for Asaph.

O God, who shall be likened unto Thee? Hold not Thy peace, and be not still, O God.
For lo, Thine enemies have made a tumult, and they that hate Thee have lifted up the head.
They have taken wicked counsel against Thy people, and consulted against Thy holy ones.
They have said, Come, let us cut them off, that they be no more a nation; and let the name of Israel be no more in remembrance.
For they have consulted together with one consent; they have made a covenant against Thee, the tents of the Edomites and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagarenes, Gebal and Ammon and Amalek, and the strangers, with them that dwell at Tyre.
Assur also is come with them; they have holpen the children of Lot.
Do unto them as Thou didst unto Midian and Sisera, as to Jabin at the brook of Kison.
They were destroyed at Endor, they became as dung for the earth.
Make their princes like Oreb and Zeeb, and Zebah and Zalmunna, yea, all their princes who said, Let us take to ourselves the sanctuary of God for an inheritance.
O my God, make them like a wheel, as the stubble before the face of the wind, As the fire that shall burn the forest, as the flame that shall consume the mountains.

So shalt Thou pursue them with Thy tempest, and trouble them in Thy wrath.
Fill their faces with dishonour, and they shall seek Thy name, O Lord.
Let them be ashamed and troubled for ever and ever, and let them be confounded and destroyed.
And let them know that the Lord is Thy name; Thou alone art the Most High over all the earth.

Psalm 83

Unto the end: concerning the winepresses: a Psalm for the sons of Korah.

How beloved are Thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts.
My soul longeth and fainteth for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the living God.
Yea, the sparrow hath found her an house, and the turtledove a nest for herself, where she may lay her young; even Thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.
Blessed are they that dwell in Thy house; they shall praise Thee for ever and ever.
Blessed is the man whose help is from Thee; in his heart he hath disposed to ascend, in the vale of weeping, in the place which he hath appointed.
For the lawgiver shall give blessings, they shall go from strength to strength; the God of gods shall be seen in Zion.
O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob.
Behold, O God our defender, and look upon the face of Thine anointed.
For one day in Thy courts is better than thousands elsewhere.
I have chosen rather to be an outcast in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of sinners.
For the Lord loveth mercy and truth, God will give grace and glory; the Lord will not withhold good things from them that walk in innocency.
O Lord God of hosts, blessed is the man that hopeth in Thee.

Psalm 84

Unto the end: for the sons of Korah; a Psalm.

Lord, Thou hast been favourable unto Thy land; Thou hast turned back the captivity of Jacob.
Thou hast forgiven the iniquities of Thy people; Thou hast covered all their sins.
Thou hast made all Thy wrath to cease; Thou hast turned away from the wrath of Thine anger .
Turn us back, O God of our salvation, and turn away Thine anger from us.
Wilt Thou be angry with us for ever, or wilt Thou draw out Thy wrath from generation to generation? Thou shalt turn again, O God, and quicken us; and Thy people shall be glad in Thee.
Shew us Thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us Thy salvation.
I will hear what the Lord God will speak in me; for He will speak peace to His people, and to His saints, and to them that turn their heart unto Him.
Surely His salvation is nigh unto them that fear Him, that glory may dwell in our land.
Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
Truth is sprung out of the earth, and righteousness hath looked down from heaven.
For the Lord will give goodness, and our land shall yield her fruit.
Righteousness shall go before Him, and shall set His steps in the way.

O Lord, our Hope, glory to Thee.