¹ (An Aleph-Bet song) Of David.
Yah! To You I raise my soul.
² My God, I trust You.
Let me not be shamed.
Let not my detractors mock me.

³ All who place their hope in You
Will not be disgraced,
But shame will cling to those
who riot without cause.

⁴ Get me to know your ways.
Teach me your way.

⁵ Guide me in Your Truth.
Teach me to know
That You are the God of my salvation.
All day long I set my trust on You.

⁶ Recall Your compassion, Yah
And Your kindness,
They precede all Creation.

⁷ To the failings of my youth
And my rebellions, don’t pay heed.
Remember Your good will for me, Yah!
for Your goodness’ sake.

⁸ Because You are good and fair,
You can gently show the way
to the neglectful.

⁹ You guide the modest
in their judgments,
Teaching the unassuming Your way.

¹⁰ Those who respect Your covenant
And witness You,
Find that Your ways, Yah,
Are kind and real.
¹¹ For Your sake, Yah,
Pardon my flaw –- though it is great.

¹² When a person so minds You, Yah,
You will teach him the path to choose.

¹³ Such one can sleep easy at night,
Knowing that her children
will inherit the Earth.

¹⁴ You, Yah, impart Your secrets
To Your awakened ones.
Your mysteries You share with them.

¹⁵ My eyes are focused on You, Yah.
You untangle my feet from the trap.

¹⁶ Turn to me with kindness,
For I am lonely and wretched.

¹⁷ My troubles have opened my heart
And made space in it for others.
Do extricate me from my despair.

¹⁸ See my struggle,
my heavy burden.
Forgive then all my failings.

¹⁹ See how much I suffer,
How I am hated for no reason.

²⁰ Keep my soul safe and free me.
Let me not be reviled
for my trust in You.

²¹ Because I trust You–
Let simple directness protect me.
²² God! Free all of Israel
from all their distress.

Prayer before mingling with the world.

O Mighty Father, may it please Thee
to pour Thy blessing upon me,
now that I am about to enter into
a scene of more temptation
than when I remain in my own home.

Thou hast not commanded us to live entirely alone;
Thou hast, in Thine infinite mercy, ordained
that the happiness of this life
should not be entirely centred in ourselves.
Thou hast permitted a bond of brotherhood
to unite Thy creatures;
then in Thy mercy, O Lord,
be with me this night.
Let me feel that Thou art with me,
that Thy spirit dwelleth within me,
and permitteth me to pass this evening
as innocently as if I were alone with Thee.

Let me not, in thoughtless gaiety,
forget myself,
and do or say that
to which hereafter I may look back
with self-reproach and regret.
Guard me from temptation and from sin.
Permit me to behave in such a manner
as will be acceptable to Thee,
and pleasing to my fellow-creatures.
O let my conduct shew forth Thy Glory O Lord,
and raise my beloved and ancient Faith
in the estimation of the strangers
amongst whom it may be my lot to mingle;
but O guard me in Thine infinite goodness
from pride or self-conceit;
make me humble, O Lord,
that words of flattery may fall harmless on my ear,
and that I may not feel pained or disappointed
at any neglect or unkindness I may receive.

O Mighty Father,
do not forsake me now!
Let my cry come up before Thee,
and deign to shed Thy Holy Grace,
Thy blessing on my soul.

Let me but feel that Thou art with me, O my God,
that Thy spirit dwelleth within me,
and that virtue may be mine,
whether alone with my God,
or mingling with my fellow creatures.

O my Heavenly Father, hear me,
and vouchsafe to answer me.
Let Thy wing encircle me,
Thy blessing be upon me
this night and evermore!
Amen.

Courage to Withstand the Ridicule of the Worldly
Suggested by Psalms 4

O God,
when I strive to live
in accord with your will,
to deal honestly,
to act kindly,
to pursue justice and peace,
I find but few to hearten me.

Many are they
who deride me
and mock my ways.

Grant me, O YHVH,
the strength to resist
the swirling eddy of worldly ambition
that would suck me into the vortex
of envy,
struggle,
and hate.

Give me the courage
to withstand the derision
of those who sneer at virtue,
lest my spirit be cowed.

To those who,
in their unbridled greed,
take joy in hoarding riches
and wielding dominion
I would retort:
O, ye fools,
in vain ye seek
to slake your thirst
for wealth and power.

Your discontent must grow with each new draft.

All your scheming
and all your lying
will bring you naught but failure.

You will yearn in vain
for a moment of inner peace
and for a sign of God’s approval.

Not such is my lot;
though my means be slender,
and they who befriend me few,
yet my cup overflows with happiness.

The zest I have in life
all your wealth can never yield.

Peacefully I lay me down at night to sleep,
in calm reliance on God’s blessed love.