Orthodox River

kathisma 4

THE FOURTH KATHISMA

Psalm 24

A Psalm of David.

Unto Thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul.
O my God, I have trusted in Thee, let me never be ashamed; neither let my enemies laugh me to scorn.
Yea, let none that wait on Thee be ashamed; let them be ashamed which transgress without cause.
Make Thy ways known to me, O Lord, and teach me Thy paths.
Guide me in Thy truth, and teach me, for Thou art God my Saviour; for on Thee have I waited all the day.
Remember, O Lord, Thy tender mercies, and Thy lovingkindnesses; for they are from everlasting.
Remember not the sins of my youth, nor mine ignorance; according to Thy mercy remember Thou me for Thy goodness’ sake, O Lord.
Good and upright is the Lord; therefore He will give a law to sinners in the way.
The meek will He guide in judgment, and the meek will He teach his ways.
All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, unto such as seek His covenant and His testimonies.
For Thy name’s sake, O Lord, be gracious unto my sin; for it is great.
What man is he that feareth the Lord? him shall He give a law in the way that He hath chosen.


His soul shall dwell among good things, and his seed shall inherit the earth.
The Lord is the strength of them that fear Him, and His covenant shall reveal it to them.
Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord; for He shall pluck my feet out of the snare.
Look Thou upon me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and poor.
The troubles of my heart are multiplied; O bring Thou me out of my necessities.
Look upon my lowliness and my toil; and forgive all my sins.
Consider mine enemies, for they are multiplied; and they have hated me with unjust hatred.
O keep my soul, and deliver me; let me not be ashamed, for I have put my hope in Thee.
The innocent and the upright have cleaved to me; for I have waited on Thee, O Lord.
Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.

Psalm 25

Psalm Of David.

Judge me, O Lord, for I have walked in mine innocency; I have hoped also in the Lord, and shall not be weakened.
Prove me, Lord, and try me; try my reins and my heart with fire.
For Thy mercy is before mine eyes, and I have been well pleasing in Thy truth.
I have not sat with the council of vanity, neither will I go in with transgressors.
I have hated the congregation of evil doers, and will not sit with the ungodly.
I will wash my hands in innocency, and compass Thine altar, O Lord; that I may hear the voice of Thy praise, and tell of all Thy wondrous works.
Lord, I have loved the beauty of Thy house, and the place where Thy glory dwelleth.

Destroy not my soul with the ungodly, nor my life with men of blood, in whose hands are iniquities; their right hand is full of bribes.
But as for me, I have walked in mine innocency; redeem me, O Lord, and be merciful unto me.
My foot hath stood in uprightness; in the congregations will I bless Thee, O Lord.

Psalm 26

Of David, before he was anointed.

The Lord is my light and my saviour; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defender of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked drew nigh against me to eat up my flesh, even they that trouble me and are mine enemies, they were weakened, and fell.
Though an host should array itself against me, my heart shall not fear; though war should rise against me, in this have I hoped.
One thing have I desired of the Lord, this will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the delight of the Lord, and to visit His holy temple.
For in the day of my troubles He hid me in His tabernacle; in the secret of His tabernacle He sheltered me; He set me up upon a rock.
And now, behold, He hath lifted up my head above mine enemies.
I went round about, and offered in His tabernacle a sacrifice of praise and jubilation; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord.
Hear, O Lord, my voice, wherewith I have cried; have mercy upon me, and hear Thou me.
My heart hath said unto Thee, I will seek the Lord. My face hath sought Thee; Thy face, Lord, will I seek.
Turn not away Thy face from me, and turn not Thou away in anger from Thy servant.
Be Thou my help; cast me not away, neither forsake me, O God my Saviour.
For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord hath taken me to Himself.

Teach me Thy way, O Lord, and guide me in the right path, because of mine enemies.
Deliver me not over to the souls of them that trouble me; for unjust witnesses are risen up against me, and unrighteousness hath lied within itself.
I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and let thine heart be strengthened; and wait on the Lord.


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 27

Of David.

Unto Thee will I cry, O Lord; O my God, be not silent to me, lest if Thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.
Hear the voice of my supplication, O Lord, when I pray unto Thee, when I lift up my hands toward Thy holy temple.
Draw me not in with sinners, and destroy me not with the workers of unrighteousness, Which speak peace to their neighbours; but mischief is in their hearts.
Give them, O Lord, according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavours. Give them after the works of their hands; render to them their reward.
Because they have not hearkened to the works of the Lord, and the operations of His hands. Thou shalt destroy them, and not build them up.
Blessed be the Lord, because He hath heard the voice of my supplication.

The Lord is my help and my defender; my heart hoped in Him, and I am helped; and my flesh hath flourished anew, and willingly shall I praise Him.
The Lord is the strength of His people, and the defender of the salvation of His anointed.
Save Thy people, and bless Thine inheritance; shepherd them, and lift them up for ever.

Psalm 28

A Psalm of David: of the going forth of the tabernacle.

Bring unto the Lord, O ye sons of God, bring unto the Lord young rams; bring unto the Lord glory and honour.
Bring unto the Lord the glory due unto His name; worship the Lord in His holy court.
The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of glory hath thundered; the Lord is upon many waters.
The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
The voice of the Lord Which breaketh the cedars; yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.
And He shall break them as small as a calf of Lebanon, and His beloved is like a young unicorn.
The voice of the Lord Which divideth the flame of fire.
The voice of the Lord Which shaketh the wilderness; yea, the Lord shall shake the wilderness of Kaddes.
The voice of the Lord gathereth the hinds, and will discover the thickets; and in His temple doth every one speak of His glory.
The Lord dwelleth in the flood; yea, the Lord shall sit as King for ever.
The Lord will give strength unto His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace.

Psalm 29

Unto the end: a Psalm of an Ode at the dedication of the house of David.

I will exalt Thee, O Lord, for Thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.
O Lord my God, I cried unto Thee; and Thou hast healed me.
O Lord, Thou hast brought up my soul from Hades; Thou hast saved me from them that go down to the pit.
Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness.
For wrath is in His anger, but in His will is life; weeping may endure in the evening, but rejoicing cometh in the morning.
And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved.
Lord, by Thy favour Thou hast given strength unto my beauty; but Thou didst turn away Thy face, and I was troubled.
I will cry to Thee, O Lord, and unto my God will I make supplication.
What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to corruption?
Shall the dust praise Thee, or shall it declare Thy truth?
The Lord heard, and had mercy upon me; the Lord is become my helper.
Thou hast turned for me my mourning into joy; Thou hast rent off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; To the end that my glory may sing praise to Thee, and that I be not pierced with sorrow. O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto Thee for ever.


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 Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, O Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, O Lord.
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 30

Unto the end: a Psalm of David in a time of sudden fear.

In Thee, O Lord, have I put my hope, let me never be ashamed; deliver me in Thy righteousness, and rescue me.
Bow down Thine ear to me; rescue me speedily.

Be Thou unto me a defending God, and a house of refuge to save me.
For Thou art my strength and my refuge, and for Thy name’s sake shalt Thou guide and nourish me.
Thou shalt bring me out of this snare that they have laid privily for me; for Thou, O Lord, art my defender.
Into Thy hands I will commit my spirit; Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.
Thou hast hated them that idly hold to vanities; but I have hoped in the Lord.
I will rejoice and be glad in Thy mercy, for Thou hast considered my lowliness, Thou hast saved my soul out of adversities, And hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy; Thou hast set my feet in a large room.
Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am in trouble; mine eye is troubled with wrath, yea, my soul and my belly.
For my life is spent with grief, and my years with groanings; my strength is weakened through poverty, and my bones are troubled.
I am become a reproach among all mine enemies, but especially among my neighbours, and a fear to mine acquaintance. They that did see me without fled from me.
I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind; I am become like a broken vessel.
For I have heard the slander of many that dwell on every side; when they were assembled together against me, they devised to take away my life.
But I hoped in Thee, O Lord; I said, Thou art my God, my lots are in Thy hands.
Deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me.
Make Thy face to shine upon Thy servant; save me in Thy mercy.
Let me not be ashamed, O Lord, for I have called upon Thee; let the ungodly be ashamed, and brought down into Hades.
Let the lying lips be put to silence, which speak iniquity proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.
Oh how great is the multitude of Thy goodness, O Lord, which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee; which Thou hast wrought for them that hope in Thee before the sons of men!

Thou shalt hide them in the secret of Thy presence from the disturbance of men; Thou shalt shelter them in Thy tabernacle from the gainsaying of tongues.
Blessed be the Lord, for He hath marvellously shewed His mercy in a fortified city.
But I said in mine alarm, I am cut off from before Thine eyes; wherefore Thou heardest the voice of my supplication when I cried unto Thee.
O love the Lord, all ye His saints, for the Lord requireth truth, and rewardeth them that do exceeding proudly.
Be of good courage, and let your heart be strengthened, all ye that hope in the Lord.

Psalm 31

Of David: understanding.

Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not sin, and in whose mouth there is no guile.
Because I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my crying all the day long.
For day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me; I was in misery while a thorn was stuck fast in me.
I acknowledged mine iniquity, and my sin have I not hid. I said, I will confess against myself mine iniquity unto the Lord; and Thou forgavest the ungodliness of my heart.
For this shall every one that is godly pray unto Thee in a seasonable time; and in the flood of many waters they shall not come nigh unto Him.
Thou art my refuge from the trouble that surroundeth me; deliver me, O my joy, from them that have compassed me about.
I will instruct thee and guide thee in the way which thou shalt go; I will fix Mine eyes upon thee.
Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding, whose jaws thou must hold in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.
Many are the scourges of the sinner, but he that hopeth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about.

Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous; and glory, all ye that are upright in heart.


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.
O Lord our Hope, glory to Thee.