MAN'S PLACE IN GOD'S WORLD
O Lord, our God, how glorious
Is thy name in all the earth!
Thou hast spread thy splendor over the heavens;
At the cry of babes and infants
Thou hast set up a bulwark, because of thine enemies,
To silence the foe and avenger.
When I see thy heavens, the work of thy fingers,
The moon and stars which thou hast made;
What is man that thou art mindful of him;
Or the son of man that thou visitest him?
Yet thou hast made him little less than divine,
And hast crowned him with glory and honor,
Making him lord of creation,
So that all things are subject to him.
The sheep and the oxen, all of them,
Yes, and the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air and the fish,
That dart through the paths of the sea.
O Lord, our God, how glorious
Is thy name in all the earth!
THE REWARD OF DOING RIGHT
Happy is the man
Who follows not the counsel of the wicked,
Nor takes his stand with sinners,
Nor sits among the scoffers,
But delights in the law of the Lord,
And day and night meditates on it.
For he is like a tree planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in due season,
Whose leaf never withers,
And all that he does prospers.
Not so the wicked!
They are like the chaff driven by the wind.
So the wicked shall not rise up at the judgment,
Nor sinners where the righteous are gathered;
For the Lord directs the way of the righteous,
But the way of the wicked leads to ruin.
A PRAYER FOR FORGIVENESS
Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to thy loving-kindness,
According to the multitude of thy tender mercies,
Blot out all my transgressions,
Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin.
For well do I know my misdeeds,
And my sin is always before me.
Against thee, thee only have I sinned,
And done what is wrong in thy sight;
Therefore thou art right when thou speakest,
And just when thou pronouncest thy judgment.
Verily I was born in iniquity,
And in sin did my mother conceive me.
Yet thou desirest truth in the heart,
In my inner soul thou wouldst teach me wisdom.
Cleanse me with hyssop that I may be clean,
Wash me whiter than snow.
Fill me with joy and gladness,
That the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
Hide thy face from my sins,
And blot out all mine iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from thy presence,
Withdraw not thy holy spirit from me.
Give me back the glad sense of thy help,
And with a willing spirit sustain me.
Then I will teach sinners thy ways,
And wrong-doers shall turn unto thee.
Save me from bloodshed, O God,
That my tongue may sing of thy righteousness.
O Lord, open thou my lips,
That my mouth may declare thy praise!
For thou takest no pleasure in sacrifice,
No delight in gifts of burnt-offering.
The sacrifices pleasing to thee
Are a broken and a contrite spirit.