That together prospered in powerful Metiboris.
Gilead is mine and shrewd Manasseh.
Ephraim is my stronghold, the strength of my head
Here in this land. Judah is acclaimed as my king.
Moab is the vessel of my hope and trust. 25
Into Edom I will stretch my fierce foot—
They will feel my shoe. All the foreigners
Of Allophilas will be under my thumb.”
Who will lead me into a dearer city
Surrounded by walls? Who will bring me into Edom? 30
But are you not the same God who drove us away?
Do not move your full force against us, Lord,
But bring us your backing in our hour of need,
For all earthly aid is idle and vain,
Worldly safety is a shelter of woe. 35
Surely our mighty and steadfast Lord
Will lend us his strength, a measure of his power,
Leaving our enemies useless and undone,
Reduced to nothing in utter shame.
60
Hasten to hear my prayer, holy God.
Grant me your favor with a generous spirit.
I am calling to you from the ends of the earth.
The cares of the world press down on my heart.
Help me now, Lord. Lift me up from distress 5
To that firm rock, your secure stronghold.
Your love has led me to steadfast hope,
A tower of strength against my enemies.
I will dwell now and forever in your tabernacle,
Safe in the shelter of your protecting wings, 10
For you have heard my prayer ascending to you
And brought each person a precious gift,
The inheritance of those who fear your name.
The time is coming of the rightful king,
When one day will flow peacefully into the next. 15
You will increase his days, year after year,
Supporting his strength, sustaining his joy,
Until the day when he is destined to journey
To your kingdom and stand safe in your sight,
To dwell in your presence forevermore. 20
Who shall seek the Lord’s steadfast truth?
So I fervently sing in praise of your name,
Fulfilling my promise, keeping my vows
From day to day as is only fitting.
61
I will fervently subject my soul to God.
My surety and salvation depend on the Lord.
He is my God, my steadfast Savior—
In his unwavering protection, I shall not fear.
You sinners have savagely attacked others, 5
Bent on destruction, putting people to death
Without delay, as if you would knock down
A wall, toppling it from its firm foundation.
You brood on how to destroy my honor,
Darting here and there with your devious tongues, 10
Your malicious mouths, sucking up truth,
Spitting out slander. You offer a blessing
With warped words, concealing a curse
In your cruel hearts. But I have subjected
My soul to God, who governs my patience 15
With a guiding hand. He is my God,
My knowing Savior, my way to salvation.
I cannot flee from my steadfast Lord.
In God is my glory and all my joy—
He is my truth, my sacred trust. 20
Remember the Lord, you holy believers,
For he is your hope, your help and salvation.
Let your thoughts be pure, your hearts whole,
For God is your strength, your firm foundation.
Yet you children of men wander in darkness, 25
Embracing evil with your wicked ways.
You are liars and boasters who deceive yourselves,
Proud of your passions, violent and vain.
Do not put your trust in illicit wealth,
Riches or robberies, thriving by theft. 30
When you steal from people to become prosperous,
You beggar your soul and bedevil your heart.
Once I heard God speaking and understood
This truth that is only occasionally revealed—
The might of the Lord extends over middle-earth. 35
Power and glory, compassion and mercy,
Abide in God now and forever,
So he will judge each and every one of us
According to our individual merits
And the works we do each day of our lives. 40
62
O God, my God, I long to greet you
Each day at dawn. My soul thirsts,
My body hungers, for your trust and truth.
In the dry desert, in the wide wasteland,
On road and river, field and flood, 5
I earnestly hope I can gaze on your glory,
Appear before you among the holy ones.
Your mercy is mightier than this brief life,
So I will sing your praise with joyful lips,
Bless you, Lord, all my living days, 10
And purify my hands frequently with the faithful
In your holy name. My soul is filled
With the sweetest marrow, the richest fat.
Let my lips sing out the glory of God,
Let me gladly praise your name, O Lord. 15
I am mindful of you in my nightly rest
And my morning meditations. I bless you in bed
And rise to greet you with expectant joy
Each day at dawn. You have always been
My steadfast strength, my unfailing aid. 20
This is my heart’s hope—that one day soon
I shall be gently nestled, safe in your feathers,
Under the protection of your shielding wings,
Because my soul rests truly in your trust.
Your right hand sustains me in my time of need, 25
For the sinful have often sought my soul,
Pursued me in vain to the ends of the earth
In the darkest of dwellings, those old earth-caves.
Since they have been given the taste of the sword,
They will soon serve as a gross feast for foxes. 30
A good king shall rejoice in the Lord,
Knowing pure bliss in his perfect power.
Those who swear by him will praise him,
And the malicious mouths of all who speak evil
Will be muzzled at last everywhere on earth. 35
63
Hear my prayer, holy Lord—
These trials and temptations often overwhelm me.
Shield my soul in my hour of need
Against the terror of my evil enemy.
You have often defended me against dread forces, 5
The devious plotters and wicked deceivers
Who pursue evil and injustice everywhere.
They hone their tongues like sharp swords
And bend their minds like menacing bows,
Determined to strike down the innocent ones. 10
They shoot their sharp arrows without warning,
Let loose their lies without shame or fear.
They arm themselves with angry words,
Saying, “Who can see us or know our purpose?”
They brood and plot the most terrible crimes, 15
Only to discover they are destroying themselves,
For the Lord turns their power into peril.
Many a man strides with an arrogant heart
Till the righteous Savior raises him up.
Their malicious barbs are like children’s darts, 20
Their slanderous tongues make small mischief,
Their wicked ways cannot continue.
All who see them are deeply troubled.
Everyone on earth ought to fear evil,
Revere the Lord
, widely proclaim 25
And wisely understand, the wonder of his works.
The just rejoice in the righteousness of God.
They live in hope of relief and deliverance.
The pure of heart will also praise him.
64
It is fitting to raise a praise-song to the Lord.
Let his greatness and glory be celebrated in Zion,
Let him be worshipped with vows made in Jerusalem.
Holy Lord, hear my prayer, my supplication,
For each living body, all earthly flesh, 5
Is finally commanded to come home to you.
The words of the wicked have swept over us,
Putting us in peril, snaring us in sin.
Look on our misdeeds with mercy, Lord.
Blessed is the one generously chosen 10
And deeply cherished by our eternal God.
Afterwards he shall enter the dwelling places
Of the Lord. We will all arrive at the temple
With befitting gifts to replenish your house
With goodness and virtue. Steadfast and strong, 15
It will stand secure, a wonder forever.
Hear us now, our God and Savior.
You are the hope of the ends of the earth,
Of everyone at home and across the seas.
The mighty mountains are subject to you, 20
The fathomless oceans obey your rule.
You disturb the deep and drive the waves,
Whose roar and rage are hard to endure.
People abroad shall fear and revere you,
Nations stand in awe of your great wonders. 25
You rule the world, its princes and powers,
From the light of morning to the shade of evening.
You fill the earth with fruit and grain,
An abiding harvest for the human race,
A generous gift for endless generations. 30
God’s rivers are filled with the sweetest water,
So earth-dwellers will be nourished and sustained,
As the living Lord provides for us all.
The running waters of rain and river
Bring forth produce, fruit and grain. 35
People flourish through procreation;
Mankind prospers, generations rejoice,
Sustained by water in the dew and rain.
Lord, when you bless the year’s cycle,
The ring of seasons, with the gift of growth, 40
You offer us all your kind beneficence
As your fields are filled with rich grain,
Your groves are heavy with ripe fruit,
And your hills are covered with woolly sheep.
The fields will be ripe with flowing wheat, 45
The plains will be rich and rejoice with grain.
The living world will sing praise-songs to you
And thank you, Lord, for your abundant grace.
65
Let all earth-dwellers far and wide
Praise the eternal Lord with wise words,
Celebrate his name with psalms of joy,
Passing on praise of his grace and glory,
Declaring to God how his wondrous works, 5
His splendid creations, are spread over earth.
Yet Lord, in the face of your overwhelming power,
Your deceitful enemies still lie to you.
Let all the earth worship the Prince of glory,
Singing praise-songs to you, eternal Lord, 10
Affirming among the children of men
That your name is exalted over the human race.
Come now and see what marvelous works
The Lord has made. See how his judgments
On the children of men can instill terror. 15
He holds the power to transform waters
So that the deepest seas will dry up.
He can bind the force of mighty rivers
So you can walk across as if on dry land.
He rules mankind now and forever, 20
He watches over us with eternal eyes.
Those who anger him will not endure,
Those who provoke him will discover peril—
They will not be raised up and exalted in themselves.
Let earth-dwellers bless the eternal Lord, 25
Singing bold praise-songs to him
With jubilant voices and devoted hearts.
The Lord has breathed life into my soul.
He will not let my feet be savagely snared.
He has tested and tried us with a pure fire, 30
With wise discretion and true judgment,
As silver is tested and refined in the furnace.
Lord, you have led us into terrible traps,
The nets of our enemies. We are stalked by malice.
You have set dangerous men to dominate us. 35
They bear down upon us to break our spirits,
Yet Lord, you led us through fire and flood
At last to a cool, refreshing place.
I will humbly enter your holy house
To offer a sacrifice and repeat the vow 40
That my lips have wisely uttered before,
When trials and tribulations oppressed me,
That I would fulfill all my promises to you,
All the sacred oaths I have made on earth.
Let everyone come and listen to me, 45
If you earnestly fear and revere God,
And I will tell you truthfully now
How much the Lord has done for my soul.
Through his might, I call out with my mouth—
Through his power, I rejoice with my tongue. 50
If I have seen iniquity in my heart,
Do not reproach me for that, my Lord.
My Lord and Savior has listened to me
And heard the plea in my fervent prayer.
May the Lord be blessed for listening to me 55
And looking upon me with such compassion
That he never harbored unkindness in his heart
Or allowed himself to be estranged from me.
66
Mighty Lord, have mercy on us,
Bless us now in our hearts and minds.
Let the light of your countenance shine upon us,
And our hearts will be gladdened, our minds gentled
Through your perfect power, your great glory. 5
Then we will understand that here on earth
Through your saving grace, we may find a way
To practice our traditions among other peoples.
Let everyone acknowledge you, O Lord,
For you are a good and faithful God. 10
Let all the nations acknowledge you.
May peoples everywhere experience joy
When you judge them all with just deliberations
And direct the steps of all earth-dwellers.
O faithful Lord, let people acknowledge you, 15
Let nations acclaim you across the land,
For the earth offers everyone a fertile bounty.
Bless us, dear Lord, and bless us, O God—
Let the Lord God bestow a blessing on us.
May we all fear and revere the Lord 20
Everywhere even to the ends of the earth.
67
Let God arise. Let his enemies be overthrown.
Let those who despise him be destroyed.
Let those who hate him flee from his face.
His foes will vanish more swiftly than smoke,
Melt away like wax flowing by the fire, 5
So the wicked shall perish in the fierce flames.
The just will enjoy a never-ending feast,
Looking on the face of their eternal Lord,
Like a family together in joy and peace.
Sing frequent psalms to the one true God, 10
Sing heartfelt hymns and praise his name.
Follow the gentle and true pat
h
Of the one who ascended above the sun,
The one who is known by the name of the Lord.
Take pleasure in his presence, and in his sight 15
Let those be troubled, deeply afflicted,
Who cruelly pass judgment on widows
Or are severe fathers to their stepchildren.
The Lord abides in his holy house,
A revered father, a righteous judge. 20
He makes his family of one mind
Live in perfect joy in a peaceful home.
He guides his people with great power,
So he rescues those who were once captives
And the angry ones dwelling in caves. 25
Then God goes forth for his good people
Into the deserts. In the sight of the Lord
The earth will shudder, the foundations shake,
The clouds crack, the skies rain down,
As the world wakes up in awe and wonder, 30
Discovering the fear of Israel’s God.
The sky will willingly provide its rain,
And God will offer each individual
A separate inheritance. You will achieve this,
Almighty Lord, through your steadfast strength. 35
Your creatures will live and thrive in these joys—
You gave your gifts to those in need.
God offers wise words to those who preach
Good tidings, bestowing on them
A power of mind and strength of purpose. 40
He is a mighty King, the Lord of light.
Often the spoils of a house are divided.
If you sleep together among the clergy,
The wings of the dove will shine like silver,
And its back will gleam like sparkling gold. 45
When the heavenly King scatters them on earth,
They will then be whitened with snow in Zalmon.
The mountain of God bears fruit and grain
In a great abundance to sustain mankind.
Receive these gifts with proper respect 50
As you receive the mountain in all its grandeur,
For this is pleasing to the Lord, your God,
Who will abide on that land until the end.
The chariots of God number ten thousand,
And those who rejoice number thousands more. 55
The Lord is powerful in all his actions.
Rising up, he ascended on high.
He captured those who lived long in captivity
And was a great gift-giver to the children of men
All over middle-earth, but the unbelievers 60
Could not seize the land to settle there.
May the Lord our God be blessed each day,
May he grant us a safe and prosperous journey.
May the Lord, our Savior, shield and sustain us
At the hour of death on the day of dread. 65
The Lord will shatter the hairy heads
Of his scornful enemies who walk in sin.
The Complete Old English Poems Page 83
