1. O thou the God of all my praise,do thou not hold thy peace;
2. For mouths of wicked men to speakagainst me do not cease:The mouths of vile deceitful menagainst me open'd be;And with a false and lying tonguethey have accused me.
3. They did beset me round aboutwith words of hateful spight:And though to them no cause I gave,against me they did fight.
4. They for my love became my foes,but I me set to pray.
5. Evil for good, hatred for love,to me they did repay.
6. Set thou the wicked over him;and upon his right handGive thou his greatest enemy,ev'n Satan, leave to stand.
7. And when by thee he shall be judg'd,let him condemned be;And let his pray'r be turn'd to sin,when he shall call on thee.
8. Few be his days, and in his roomhis charge another take.
9. His children let be fatherless,his wife a widow make.
10. His children let be vagabonds,and beg continually;And from their places desolateseek bread for their supply.
11. Let covetous extortionerscatch all he hath away:Of all for which he labour'd hathlet strangers make a prey.
12. Let there be none to pity him,let there be none at allThat on his children fatherlesswill let his mercy fall.
13. Let his posterity from earthcut off for ever be,And in the foll'wing age their namebe blotted out by thee.
14. Let God his father's wickednessstill to remembrance call;And never let his mother's sinbe blotted out at all.
15. But let them all before the Lordappear continually,That he may wholly from the earthcut off their memory.
16. Because he mercy minded not,but persecuted stillThe poor and needy, that he mightthe broken-hearted kill.
17. As he in cursing pleasure took,so let it to him fall;As he delighted not to bless,so bless him not at all.
18. As cursing he like clothes put on,into his bowels so,Like water, and into his bones,like oil, down let it go.
19. Like to the garment let it bewhich doth himself array,And for a girdle, wherewith heis girt about alway.
20. From God let this be their rewardthat en'mies are to me,And their reward that speak againstmy soul maliciously.
21. But do thou, for thine own name's sake,O God the Lord, for me:Sith good and sweet thy mercy is,from trouble set me free.
22. For I am poor and indigent,afflicted sore am I,My heart within me also iswounded exceedingly.
23. I pass like a declining shade,am like the locust tost:
24. My knees through fasting weaken'd are,my flesh hath fatness lost.
25. I also am a vile reproachunto them made to be;And they that did upon me lookdid shake their heads at me.
26. O do thou help and succour me,who art my God and Lord:And, for thy tender mercy's sake,safety to me afford:
27. That thereby they may know that thisis thy almighty hand;And that thou, Lord, hast done the same,they may well understand.
28. Although they curse with spite, yet, Lord,bless thou with loving voice:Let them asham'd be when they rise;thy servant let rejoice.
29. Let thou mine adversaries allwith shame be clothed over;And let their own confusionthem, as a mantle, cover.
30. But as for me, I with my mouthwill greatly praise the Lord;And I among the multitudehis praises will record.
31. For he shall stand at his right handwho is in poverty,To save him from all those that wouldcondemn his soul to die.