O Lord, I call on you,
hurry to my help:
listen to my voice when I call.
When I make my prayer, let it rise like incense before you;
when I raise my hands, let it be like the evening sacrifice.
Set a guard on my mouth, Lord,
a watch upon my lips.
Do not let my heart turn to evil thoughts,
to the planning of wicked deeds,
to alliance with wrongdoers.
Let me not share in their delights.
Let the just man strike and rebuke me out of kindness;
but sinners shall never anoint me with oil,
or I would be an ally in their plans.
When they fall into the hands of harsh judges,
they will see how kind my words were.
Like fragments of spoil after digging,
their bones will lie scattered round the mouth of the underworld.
To you, Lord, to you my eyes are turned.
I take refuge in you –
preserve my life.
Protect me from the trap they have laid for me,
save me from the snares of the wicked.
Let them be caught in their own nets, all of them,
while I pass by in safety.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
