Holde not thy toge, o God of my prayse. For the mouth of the vngodly, yee and the mouth of the disceatfull is opened vpon me,

and speake agaynst me with false toges. They compase me aboute with wordes of hatred, & fight agaynst me without a cause.

For the loue that I had vnto them, they take now my contrary parte, but I geue my self vnto prayer.

Thus they rewarde me euell for good, & hatred for my good will.

Set an vngodly man to be ruler ouer him, & let Satan stonde at his right hande.

When sentence is geuen vpon him, let him be codempned, and let his prayer be turned in to synne.

Let his dayes be fewe, and his bishopricke another take.

Let his children be fatherlesse, & his wife a wyddowe.

Let his children be vagabundes, and begg their bred: let them seke it, as they that be destroyed.

Let the extorcioner cosume all that he hath, and let straungers spoyle his laboure.

Let there be no man to petie, ner to haue compassion vpon his fatherlesse children.

Let his ende be destruccion, and in the nexte generacion let his name be clene put out.

Let the wickednesse of his fathers be had in remembraunce in the sight of the LORDE, and let not the synne of his mother be done awaye.

Let them be allwaye before the LORDE, but as for the memoriall of them selues, let it perish from out of the earth.

And that because his mynde was not to do good, but persecuted the poore helplesse, and him that was vexed at the herte, to slaye him.

His delite was in cursynge, and therfore shall it happe vnto him: he loued not blessynge, and that shall be farre fro him.

He clothed him self with cursynge like as with a rayment: yee it wente in to his bowels like water, and like oyle in to his bones.

Let it be vnto him as the cloke that he hath vpon him, and as the gyrdle that he is gyrded withall.

Let it thus happen from the LORDE vnto myne enemies, and to those that speake euell agaynst my soule.

But deale thou with me (o LORDE God) acordinge vnto thy name, for swete is thy mercy.

O delyuer me, for I am helplesse & poore, & my herte is wounded within me,

I go hence like ye shadowe that departeth, and am dryuen awaye as ye greshoppers.

My knees are weake thorow fastinge, my flesh is dried vp for want of fatnesse.

I am become a rebuke vnto them, they loke vpo me and shake their heades.

Helpe me o LORDE my God, oh saue me for thy mercies sake.

That they maye knowe, how that this is thy hande, and that thou hast done it.

Though they curse, yet blesse thou:

and let them be cofounded, that ryse vp agaynst me, but let thy seruaunt reioyse.

Let myne aduersaries be clothed with their owne shame, as with a cloake.

As for me, I wil geue thankes vnto the LORDE with my mouth, and prayse him amonge the multitude.

For he stondeth at the right hande of the poore, to saue him from soch as condempne his soule.