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Psalms 18; Psalms 19; Psalms 20; Psalms 21; Psalms 22; Psalms 23; Psalms 24; Psalms 25; Psalms 26; Psalms 27; Psalms 28; Psalms 29; Psalms 30; Psalms 31; Psalms 32; Psalms 33; Psalms 34; Psalms 35; Psalms 36; Psalms 37; Psalms 38; Psalms 39; Psalms 40; Psalms 41; Psalms 42; Psalms 43; Psalms 44; Psalms 45; Psalms 46; Psalms 47; Psalms 48; Psalms 49; Psalms 50; Psalms 51; Psalms 52; Psalms 53; Psalms 54; Psalms 55; Psalms 56; Psalms 57; Psalms 58; Psalms 59; Psalms 60; Psalms 61; Psalms 62; Psalms 63; Psalms 64; Psalms 65; Psalms 66; Psalms 67; Psalms 68; Psalms 69; Psalms 70; Psalms 71; Psalms 72; Psalms 73; Psalms 74; Psalms 75; Psalms 76; Psalms 77; Psalms 78; Psalms 79; Psalms 80; Psalms 81; Psalms 82; Psalms 83; Psalms 84; Psalms 85; Psalms 86; Psalms 87; Psalms 88; Psalms 89; Psalms 90; Psalms 91; Psalms 92; Psalms 93; Psalms 94; Psalms 95; Psalms 96; Psalms 97; Psalms 98; Psalms 99; Psalms 100; Psalms 101; Psalms 102; Psalms 103; Psalms 104; Psalms 105; Psalms 106; Psalms 107; Psalms 108; Psalms 109; Psalms 110; Psalms 111; Psalms 112; Psalms 113
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Psalms 18
1
I love you, O Lord, my strength.
2
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3
I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, so I shall be saved from my enemies.
4
The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of perdition assailed me;
5
the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.
6
In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.
7
Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations also of the mountains trembled and quaked, because he was angry.
8
Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him.
9
He bowed the heavens, and came down; thick darkness was under his feet.
10
He rode on a cherub, and flew; he came swiftly upon the wings of the wind.
11
He made darkness his covering around him, his canopy thick clouds dark with water.
12
Out of the brightness before him there broke through his clouds hailstones and coals of fire.
13
The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice.
14
And he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; he flashed forth lightnings, and routed them.
15
Then the channels of the sea were seen, and the foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.
16
He reached down from on high, he took me; he drew me out of mighty waters.
17
He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from those who hated me; for they were too mighty for me.
18
They confronted me in the day of my calamity; but the Lord was my support.
19
He brought me out into a broad place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.
20
The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he recompensed me.
21
For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22
For all his ordinances were before me, and his statutes I did not put away from me.
23
I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from guilt.
24
Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
25
With the loyal you show yourself loyal; with the blameless you show yourself blameless;
26
with the pure you show yourself pure; and with the crooked you show yourself perverse.
27
For you deliver a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down.
28
It is you who light my lamp; the Lord, my God, lights up my darkness.
29
By you I can crush a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.
30
This God—his way is perfect; the promise of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all who take refuge in him.
31
For who is God except the Lord? And who is a rock besides our God?—
32
the God who girded me with strength, and made my way safe.
33
He made my feet like the feet of a deer, and set me secure on the heights.
34
He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35
You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand has supported me; your help has made me great.
36
You gave me a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip.
37
I pursued my enemies and overtook them; and did not turn back until they were consumed.
38
I struck them down, so that they were not able to rise; they fell under my feet.
39
For you girded me with strength for the battle; you made my assailants sink under me.
40
You made my enemies turn their backs to me, and those who hated me I destroyed.
41
They cried for help, but there was no one to save them; they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
42
I beat them fine, like dust before the wind; I cast them out like the mire of the streets.
43
You delivered me from strife with the peoples; you made me head of the nations; people whom I had not known served me.
44
As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me; foreigners came cringing to me.
45
Foreigners lost heart, and came trembling out of their strongholds.
46
The Lord lives! Blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation,
47
the God who gave me vengeance and subdued peoples under me;
48
who delivered me from my enemies; indeed, you exalted me above my adversaries; you delivered me from the violent.
49
For this I will extol you, O Lord, among the nations, and sing praises to your name.
50
Great triumphs he gives to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 19
1
The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
2
Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge.
3
There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard;
4
yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun,
5
which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy, and like a strong man runs its course with joy.
6
Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them; and nothing is hid from its heat.
7
The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the decrees of the Lord are sure, making wise the simple;
8
the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes;
9
the fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
10
More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey, and drippings of the honeycomb.
11
Moreover by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
12
But who can detect their errors? Clear me from hidden faults.
13
Keep back your servant also from the insolent; do not let them have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression.
14
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 20
1
The Lord answer you in the day of trouble! The name of the God of Jacob protect you!
2
May he send you help from the sanctuary, and give you support from Zion.
3
May he remember all your offerings, and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices. (Selah)
4
May he grant you your heart's desire, and fulfill all your plans.
5
May we shout for joy over your victory, and in the name of our God set up our banners. May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.
6
Now I know that the Lord will help his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with mighty victories by his right hand.
7
Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses, but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God.
8
They will collapse and fall, but we shall rise and stand upright.
9
Give victory to the king, O Lord; answer us when we call.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 21
1
In your strength the king rejoices, O Lord, and in your help how greatly he exults!
2
You have given him his heart's desire, and have not withheld the request of his lips. (Selah)
3
For you meet him with rich blessings; you set a crown of fine gold on his head.
4
He asked you for life; you gave it to him— length of days forever and ever.
5
His glory is great through your help; splendor and majesty you bestow on him.
6
You bestow on him blessings forever; you make him glad with the joy of your presence.
7
For the king trusts in the Lord, and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.
8
Your hand will find out all your enemies; your right hand will find out those who hate you.
9
You will make them like a fiery furnace when you appear. The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath, and fire will consume them.
10
You will destroy their offspring from the earth, and their children from among humankind.
11
If they plan evil against you, if they devise mischief, they will not succeed.
12
For you will put them to flight; you will aim at their faces with your bows.
13
Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 22
1
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?
2
O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but find no rest.
3
Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4
In you our ancestors trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them.
5
To you they cried, and were saved; in you they trusted, and were not put to shame.
6
But I am a worm, and not human; scorned by others, and despised by the people.
7
All who see me mock at me; they make mouths at me, they shake their heads;
8
"Commit your cause to the Lord; let him deliver— let him rescue the one in whom he delights!"
9
Yet it was you who took me from the womb; you kept me safe on my mother's breast.
10
On you I was cast from my birth, and since my mother bore me you have been my God.
11
Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.
12
Many bulls encircle me, strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
13
they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion.
14
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast;
15
my mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.
16
For dogs are all around me; a company of evildoers encircles me. My hands and feet have shriveled;
17
I can count all my bones. They stare and gloat over me;
18
they divide my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.
19
But you, O Lord, do not be far away! O my help, come quickly to my aid!
20
Deliver my soul from the sword, my life from the power of the dog!
21
Save me from the mouth of the lion! From the horns of the wild oxen you have rescued me.
22
I will tell of your name to my brothers and sisters; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
23
You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him; stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
24
For he did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted; he did not hide his face from me, but heard when I cried to him.
25
From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will pay before those who fear him.
26
The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord. May your hearts live forever!
27
All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; and all the families of the nations shall worship before him.
28
For dominion belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations.
29
To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, and I shall live for him.
30
Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord,
31
and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn, saying that he has done it.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 23
1
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
2
He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters;
3
he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name's sake.
4
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me
5
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
6
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 24
1
The earth is the Lord's and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it;
2
for he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the rivers.
3
Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place?
4
Those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to what is false, and do not swear deceitfully.
5
They will receive blessing from the Lord, and vindication from the God of their salvation.
6
Such is the company of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. (Selah)
7
Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in.
8
Who is the King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle.
9
Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in.
10
Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. (Selah)
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 25
1
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
2
O my God, in you I trust; do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me.
3
Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame; let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.
4
Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.
5
Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long.
6
Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.
7
Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for your goodness' sake, O Lord!
8
Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
9
He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.
10
All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
11
For your name's sake, O Lord, pardon my guilt, for it is great.
12
Who are they that fear the Lord? He will teach them the way that they should choose.
13
They will abide in prosperity, and their children shall possess the land.
14
The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes his covenant known to them.
15
My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for he will pluck my feet out of the net.
16
Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.
17
Relieve the troubles of my heart, and bring me out of my distress.
18
Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins.
19
Consider how many are my foes, and with what violent hatred they hate me.
20
O guard my life, and deliver me; do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.
21
May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you.
22
Redeem Israel, O God, out of all its troubles.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 26
1
Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
2
Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and mind.
3
For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in faithfulness to you.
4
I do not sit with the worthless, nor do I consort with hypocrites;
5
I hate the company of evildoers, and will not sit with the wicked.
6
I wash my hands in innocence, and go around your altar, O Lord,
7
singing aloud a song of thanksgiving, and telling all your wondrous deeds.
8
O Lord, I love the house in which you dwell, and the place where your glory abides.
9
Do not sweep me away with sinners, nor my life with the bloodthirsty,
10
those in whose hands are evil devices, and whose right hands are full of bribes.
11
But as for me, I walk in my integrity; redeem me, and be gracious to me.
12
My foot stands on level ground; in the great congregation I will bless the Lord.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 27
1
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
2
When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh— my adversaries and foes— they shall stumble and fall.
3
Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident.
4
One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.
5
For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will set me high on a rock.
6
Now my head is lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the Lord.
7
Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me!
8
"Come," my heart says, "seek his face!" Your face, Lord, do I seek.
9
Do not hide your face from me. Do not turn your servant away in anger, you who have been my help. Do not cast me off, do not forsake me, O God of my salvation!
10
If my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will take me up.
11
Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.
12
Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen against me, and they are breathing out violence.
13
I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
14
Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 28
1
To you, O Lord, I call; my rock, do not refuse to hear me, for if you are silent to me, I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.
2
Hear the voice of my supplication, as I cry to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary.
3
Do not drag me away with the wicked, with those who are workers of evil, who speak peace with their neighbors, while mischief is in their hearts.
4
Repay them according to their work, and according to the evil of their deeds; repay them according to the work of their hands; render them their due reward.
5
Because they do not regard the works of the Lord, or the work of his hands, he will break them down and build them up no more.
6
Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard the sound of my pleadings.
7
The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts; so I am helped, and my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.
8
The Lord is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
9
O save your people, and bless your heritage; be their shepherd, and carry them forever.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 29
1
Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2
Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name; worship the Lord in holy splendor.
3
The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord, over mighty waters.
4
The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
5
The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
6
He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox.
7
The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.
8
The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9
The voice of the Lord causes the oaks to whirl, and strips the forest bare; and in his temple all say, "Glory!"
10
The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
11
May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace!
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 30
1
I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up, and did not let my foes rejoice over me.
2
O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me.
3
O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol, restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.
4
Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones, and give thanks to his holy name.
5
For his anger is but for a moment; his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.
6
As for me, I said in my prosperity, "I shall never be moved."
7
By your favor, O Lord, you had established me as a strong mountain; you hid your face; I was dismayed.
8
To you, O Lord, I cried, and to the Lord I made supplication:
9
"What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the Pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness?
10
Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me! O Lord, be my helper!"
11
You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
12
so that my soul may praise you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 31
1
In you, O Lord, I seek refuge; do not let me ever be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me.
2
Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily. Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me.
3
You are indeed my rock and my fortress; for your name's sake lead me and guide me,
4
take me out of the net that is hidden for me, for you are my refuge.
5
Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.
6
You hate those who pay regard to worthless idols, but I trust in the Lord.
7
I will exult and rejoice in your steadfast love, because you have seen my affliction; you have taken heed of my adversities,
8
and have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy; you have set my feet in a broad place.
9
Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eye wastes away from grief, my soul and body also.
10
For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my misery, and my bones waste away.
11
I am the scorn of all my adversaries, a horror to my neighbors, an object of dread to my acquaintances; those who see me in the street flee from me.
12
I have passed out of mind like one who is dead; I have become like a broken vessel.
13
For I hear the whispering of many— terror all around!— as they scheme together against me, as they plot to take my life.
14
But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, "You are my God."
15
My times are in your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors.
16
Let your face shine upon your servant; save me in your steadfast love.
17
Do not let me be put to shame, O Lord, for I call on you; let the wicked be put to shame; let them go dumbfounded to Sheol.
18
Let the lying lips be stilled that speak insolently against the righteous with pride and contempt.
19
O how abundant is your goodness that you have laid up for those who fear you, and accomplished for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of everyone!
20
In the shelter of your presence you hide them from human plots; you hold them safe under your shelter from contentious tongues.
21
Blessed be the Lord, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me when I was beset as a city under siege.
22
I had said in my alarm, "I am driven far from your sight." But you heard my supplications when I cried out to you for help.
23
Love the Lord, all you his saints. The Lord preserves the faithful, but abundantly repays the one who acts haughtily.
24
Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 32
1
Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
2
Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3
While I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.
4
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. (Selah)
5
Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord," and you forgave the guilt of my sin. (Selah)
6
Therefore let all who are faithful offer prayer to you; at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters shall not reach them.
7
You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with glad cries of deliverance. (Selah)
8
I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
9
Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding, whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle, else it will not stay near you.
10
Many are the torments of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord.
11
Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 33
1
Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous. Praise befits the upright.
2
Praise the Lord with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings.
3
Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.
4
For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness.
5
He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.
6
By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of his mouth.
7
He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle; he put the deeps in storehouses.
8
Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
9
For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.
10
The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
11
The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
12
Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage.
13
The Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all humankind.
14
From where he sits enthroned he watches all the inhabitants of the earth—
15
he who fashions the hearts of them all, and observes all their deeds.
16
A king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
17
The war horse is a vain hope for victory, and by its great might it cannot save.
18
Truly the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love,
19
to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.
20
Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and shield.
21
Our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.
22
Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 34
1
I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2
My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad.
3
O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.
4
I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.
5
Look to him, and be radiant; so your faces shall never be ashamed.
6
This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord, and was saved from every trouble.
7
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.
8
O taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who take refuge in him.
9
O fear the Lord, you his holy ones, for those who fear him have no want.
10
The young lions suffer want and hunger, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
11
Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12
Which of you desires life, and covets many days to enjoy good?
13
Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit.
14
Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
15
The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry.
16
The face of the Lord is against evildoers, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17
When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and rescues them from all their troubles.
18
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.
19
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord rescues them from them all.
20
He keeps all their bones; not one of them will be broken.
21
Evil brings death to the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
22
The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 35
1
Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me!
2
Take hold of shield and buckler, and rise up to help me!
3
Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers; say to my soul, "I am your salvation."
4
Let them be put to shame and dishonor who seek after my life. Let them be turned back and confounded who devise evil against me.
5
Let them be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the Lord driving them on.
6
Let their way be dark and slippery, with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.
7
For without cause they hid their net for me; without cause they dug a pit for my life.
8
Let ruin come on them unawares. And let the net that they hid ensnare them; let them fall in it—to their ruin.
9
Then my soul shall rejoice in the Lord, exulting in his deliverance.
10
All my bones shall say, "O Lord, who is like you? You deliver the weak from those too strong for them, the weak and needy from those who despoil them."
11
Malicious witnesses rise up; they ask me about things I do not know.
12
They repay me evil for good; my soul is forlorn.
13
But as for me, when they were sick, I wore sackcloth; I afflicted myself with fasting. I prayed with head bowed on my bosom,
14
as though I grieved for a friend or a brother; I went about as one who laments for a mother, bowed down and in mourning.
15
But at my stumbling they gathered in glee, they gathered together against me; ruffians whom I did not know tore at me without ceasing;
16
they impiously mocked more and more, gnashing at me with their teeth.
17
How long, O Lord, will you look on? Rescue me from their ravages, my life from the lions!
18
Then I will thank you in the great congregation; in the mighty throng I will praise you.
19
Do not let my treacherous enemies rejoice over me, or those who hate me without cause wink the eye.
20
For they do not speak peace, but they conceive deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land.
21
They open wide their mouths against me; they say, "Aha, Aha, our eyes have seen it."
22
You have seen, O Lord; do not be silent! O Lord, do not be far from me!
23
Wake up! Bestir yourself for my defense, for my cause, my God and my Lord!
24
Vindicate me, O Lord, my God, according to your righteousness, and do not let them rejoice over me.
25
Do not let them say to themselves, "Aha, we have our heart's desire." Do not let them say, "We have swallowed you up."
26
Let all those who rejoice at my calamity be put to shame and confusion; let those who exalt themselves against me be clothed with shame and dishonor.
27
Let those who desire my vindication shout for joy and be glad, and say evermore, "Great is the Lord, who delights in the welfare of his servant."
28
Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness and of your praise all day long.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 36
1
Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in their hearts; there is no fear of God before their eyes.
2
For they flatter themselves in their own eyes that their iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
3
The words of their mouths are mischief and deceit; they have ceased to act wisely and do good.
4
They plot mischief while on their beds; they are set on a way that is not good; they do not reject evil.
5
Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.
6
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your judgments are like the great deep; you save humans and animals alike, O Lord.
7
How precious is your steadfast love, O God! All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8
They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
9
For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.
10
O continue your steadfast love to those who know you, and your salvation to the upright of heart!
11
Do not let the foot of the arrogant tread on me, or the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12
There the evildoers lie prostrate; they are thrust down, unable to rise.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 37
1
Do not fret because of the wicked; do not be envious of wrongdoers,
2
for they will soon fade like the grass, and wither like the green herb.
3
Trust in the Lord, and do good; so you will live in the land, and enjoy security.
4
Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5
Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.
6
He will make your vindication shine like the light, and the justice of your cause like the noonday.
7
Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices.
8
Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret—it leads only to evil.
9
For the wicked shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.
10
Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there.
11
But the meek shall inherit the land, and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.
12
The wicked plot against the righteous, and gnash their teeth at them;
13
but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that their day is coming.
14
The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to kill those who walk uprightly;
15
their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.
16
Better is a little that the righteous person has than the abundance of many wicked.
17
For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous.
18
The Lord knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will abide forever;
19
they are not put to shame in evil times, in the days of famine they have abundance.
20
But the wicked perish, and the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.
21
The wicked borrow, and do not pay back, but the righteous are generous and keep giving;
22
for those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off.
23
Our steps are made firm by the Lord, when he delights in our way;
24
though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong, for the Lord holds us by the hand.
25
I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.
26
They are ever giving liberally and lending, and their children become a blessing.
27
Depart from evil, and do good; so you shall abide forever.
28
For the Lord loves justice; he will not forsake his faithful ones. The righteous shall be kept safe forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
29
The righteous shall inherit the land, and live in it forever.
30
The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom, and their tongues speak justice.
31
The law of their God is in their hearts; their steps do not slip.
32
The wicked watch for the righteous, and seek to kill them.
33
The Lord will not abandon them to their power, or let them be condemned when they are brought to trial.
34
Wait for the Lord, and keep to his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on the destruction of the wicked.
35
I have seen the wicked oppressing, and towering like a cedar of Lebanon.
36
Again I passed by, and they were no more; though I sought them, they could not be found.
37
Mark the blameless, and behold the upright, for there is posterity for the peaceable.
38
But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the posterity of the wicked shall be cut off.
39
The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their refuge in the time of trouble.
40
The Lord helps them and rescues them; he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them, because they take refuge in him.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 38
1
O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger, or discipline me in your wrath.
2
For your arrows have sunk into me, and your hand has come down on me.
3
There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin.
4
For my iniquities have gone over my head; they weigh like a burden too heavy for me.
5
My wounds grow foul and fester because of my foolishness;
6
I am utterly bowed down and prostrate; all day long I go around mourning.
7
For my loins are filled with burning, and there is no soundness in my flesh.
8
I am utterly spent and crushed; I groan because of the tumult of my heart.
9
O Lord, all my longing is known to you; my sighing is not hidden from you.
10
My heart throbs, my strength fails me; as for the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me.
11
My friends and companions stand aloof from my affliction, and my neighbors stand far off.
12
Those who seek my life lay their snares; those who seek to hurt me speak of ruin, and meditate treachery all day long.
13
But I am like the deaf, I do not hear; like the mute, who cannot speak.
14
Truly, I am like one who does not hear, and in whose mouth is no retort.
15
But it is for you, O Lord, that I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.
16
For I pray, "Only do not let them rejoice over me, those who boast against me when my foot slips."
17
For I am ready to fall, and my pain is ever with me.
18
I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin.
19
Those who are my foes without cause are mighty, and many are those who hate me wrongfully.
20
Those who render me evil for good are my adversaries because I follow after good.
21
Do not forsake me, O Lord; O my God, do not be far from me;
22
make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 39
1
I said, "I will guard my ways that I may not sin with my tongue; I will keep a muzzle on my mouth as long as the wicked are in my presence."
2
I was silent and still; I held my peace to no avail; my distress grew worse,
3
my heart became hot within me. While I mused, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue:
4
"Lord, let me know my end, and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.
5
You have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight. Surely everyone stands as a mere breath. (Selah)
6
Surely everyone goes about like a shadow. Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; they heap up, and do not know who will gather.
7
"And now, O Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you.
8
Deliver me from all my transgressions. Do not make me the scorn of the fool.
9
I am silent; I do not open my mouth, for it is you who have done it.
10
Remove your stroke from me; I am worn down by the blows of your hand.
11
"You chastise mortals in punishment for sin, consuming like a moth what is dear to them; surely everyone is a mere breath. (Selah)
12
"Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; do not hold your peace at my tears. For I am your passing guest, an alien, like all my forebears.
13
Turn your gaze away from me, that I may smile again, before I depart and am no more."
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 40
1
I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.
2
He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.
3
He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.
4
Happy are those who make the Lord their trust, who do not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after false gods.
5
You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you. Were I to proclaim and tell of them, they would be more than can be counted.
6
Sacrifice and offering you do not desire, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.
7
Then I said, "Here I am; in the scroll of the book it is written of me.
8
I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart."
9
I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; see, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O Lord.
10
I have not hidden your saving help within my heart, I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation.
11
Do not, O Lord, withhold your mercy from me; let your steadfast love and your faithfulness keep me safe forever.
12
For evils have encompassed me without number; my iniquities have overtaken me, until I cannot see; they are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails me.
13
Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me; O Lord, make haste to help me.
14
Let all those be put to shame and confusion who seek to snatch away my life; let those be turned back and brought to dishonor who desire my hurt.
15
Let those be appalled because of their shame who say to me, "Aha, Aha!"
16
But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation say continually, "Great is the Lord!"
17
As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 41
1
Happy are those who consider the poor; the Lord delivers them in the day of trouble.
2
The Lord protects them and keeps them alive; they are called happy in the land. You do not give them up to the will of their enemies.
3
The Lord sustains them on their sickbed; in their illness you heal all their infirmities.
4
As for me, I said, "O Lord, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against you."
5
My enemies wonder in malice when I will die, and my name perish.
6
And when they come to see me, they utter empty words, while their hearts gather mischief; when they go out, they tell it abroad.
7
All who hate me whisper together about me; they imagine the worst for me.
8
They think that a deadly thing has fastened on me, that I will not rise again from where I lie.
9
Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, has lifted the heel against me.
10
But you, O Lord, be gracious to me, and raise me up, that I may repay them.
11
By this I know that you are pleased with me; because my enemy has not triumphed over me.
12
But you have upheld me because of my integrity, and set me in your presence forever.
13
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 42
1
As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God.
2
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God?
3
My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me continually, "Where is your God?"
4
These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I went with the throng, and led them in procession to the house of God, with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival.
5
Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help
6
and my God. My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
7
Deep calls to deep at the thunder of your cataracts; all your waves and your billows have gone over me.
8
By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.
9
I say to God, my rock, "Why have you forgotten me? Why must I walk about mournfully because the enemy oppresses me?"
10
As with a deadly wound in my body, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me continually, "Where is your God?"
11
Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 43
1
Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people; from those who are deceitful and unjust deliver me!
2
For you are the God in whom I take refuge; why have you cast me off? Why must I walk about mournfully because of the oppression of the enemy?
3
O send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling.
4
Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy; and I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God.
5
Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 44
1
We have heard with our ears, O God, our ancestors have told us, what deeds you performed in their days, in the days of old:
2
you with your own hand drove out the nations, but them you planted; you afflicted the peoples, but them you set free;
3
for not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm give them victory; but your right hand, and your arm, and the light of your countenance, for you delighted in them.
4
You are my King and my God; you command victories for Jacob.
5
Through you we push down our foes; through your name we tread down our assailants.
6
For not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword save me.
7
But you have saved us from our foes, and have put to confusion those who hate us.
8
In God we have boasted continually, and we will give thanks to your name forever. (Selah)
9
Yet you have rejected us and abased us, and have not gone out with our armies.
10
You made us turn back from the foe, and our enemies have gotten spoil.
11
You have made us like sheep for slaughter, and have scattered us among the nations.
12
You have sold your people for a trifle, demanding no high price for them.
13
You have made us the taunt of our neighbors, the derision and scorn of those around us.
14
You have made us a byword among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples.
15
All day long my disgrace is before me, and shame has covered my face
16
at the words of the taunters and revilers, at the sight of the enemy and the avenger.
17
All this has come upon us, yet we have not forgotten you, or been false to your covenant.
18
Our heart has not turned back, nor have our steps departed from your way,
19
yet you have broken us in the haunt of jackals, and covered us with deep darkness.
20
If we had forgotten the name of our God, or spread out our hands to a strange god,
21
would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart.
22
Because of you we are being killed all day long, and accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
23
Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O Lord? Awake, do not cast us off forever!
24
Why do you hide your face? Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?
25
For we sink down to the dust; our bodies cling to the ground.
26
Rise up, come to our help. Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 45
1
My heart overflows with a goodly theme; I address my verses to the king; my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.
2
You are the most handsome of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever.
3
Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one, in your glory and majesty.
4
In your majesty ride on victoriously for the cause of truth and to defend the right; let your right hand teach you dread deeds.
5
Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; the peoples fall under you.
6
Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever. Your royal scepter is a scepter of equity;
7
you love righteousness and hate wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;
8
your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia. From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad;
9
daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor; at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.
10
Hear, O daughter, consider and incline your ear; forget your people and your father's house,
11
and the king will desire your beauty. Since he is your lord, bow to him;
12
the people of Tyre will seek your favor with gifts, the richest of the people
13
with all kinds of wealth. The princess is decked in her chamber with gold-woven robes;
14
in many-colored robes she is led to the king; behind her the virgins, her companions, follow.
15
With joy and gladness they are led along as they enter the palace of the king.
16
In the place of ancestors you, O king, shall have sons; you will make them princes in all the earth.
17
I will cause your name to be celebrated in all generations; therefore the peoples will praise you forever and ever.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 46
1
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
2
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
3
though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. (Selah)
4
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.
5
God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved; God will help it when the morning dawns.
6
The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.
7
The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. (Selah)
8
Come, behold the works of the Lord; see what desolations he has brought on the earth.
9
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.
10
"Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth."
11
The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. (Selah)
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 47
1
Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to God with loud songs of joy.
2
For the Lord, the Most High, is awesome, a great king over all the earth.
3
He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet.
4
He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. (Selah)
5
God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
6
Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.
7
For God is the king of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm.
8
God is king over the nations; God sits on his holy throne.
9
The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; he is highly exalted.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 48
1
Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God. His holy mountain,
2
beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great King.
3
Within its citadels God has shown himself a sure defense.
4
Then the kings assembled, they came on together.
5
As soon as they saw it, they were astounded; they were in panic, they took to flight;
6
trembling took hold of them there, pains as of a woman in labor,
7
as when an east wind shatters the ships of Tarshish.
8
As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God, which God establishes forever. (Selah)
9
We ponder your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple.
10
Your name, O God, like your praise, reaches to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is filled with victory.
11
Let Mount Zion be glad, let the towns of Judah rejoice because of your judgments.
12
Walk about Zion, go all around it, count its towers,
13
consider well its ramparts; go through its citadels, that you may tell the next generation
14
that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will be our guide forever.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 49
1
Hear this, all you peoples; give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
2
both low and high, rich and poor together.
3
My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
4
I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will solve my riddle to the music of the harp.
5
Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me,
6
those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches?
7
Truly, no ransom avails for one's life, there is no price one can give to God for it.
8
For the ransom of life is costly, and can never suffice,
9
that one should live on forever and never see the grave.
10
When we look at the wise, they die; fool and dolt perish together and leave their wealth to others.
11
Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they named lands their own.
12
Mortals cannot abide in their pomp; they are like the animals that perish.
13
Such is the fate of the foolhardy, the end of those who are pleased with their lot. (Selah)
14
Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol; Death shall be their shepherd; straight to the grave they descend, and their form shall waste away; Sheol shall be their home.
15
But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. (Selah)
16
Do not be afraid when some become rich, when the wealth of their houses increases.
17
For when they die they will carry nothing away; their wealth will not go down after them.
18
Though in their lifetime they count themselves happy —for you are praised when you do well for yourself—
19
they will go to the company of their ancestors, who will never again see the light.
20
Mortals cannot abide in their pomp; they are like the animals that perish.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 50
1
The mighty one, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.
3
Our God comes and does not keep silence, before him is a devouring fire, and a mighty tempest all around him.
4
He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
5
"Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!"
6
The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge. (Selah)
7
"Hear, O my people, and I will speak, O Israel, I will testify against you. I am God, your God.
8
Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me.
9
I will not accept a bull from your house, or goats from your folds.
10
For every wild animal of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.
11
I know all the birds of the air, and all that moves in the field is mine.
12
"If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and all that is in it is mine.
13
Do I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?
14
Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High.
15
Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me."
16
But to the wicked God says: "What right have you to recite my statutes, or take my covenant on your lips?
17
For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you.
18
You make friends with a thief when you see one, and you keep company with adulterers.
19
"You give your mouth free rein for evil, and your tongue frames deceit.
20
You sit and speak against your kin; you slander your own mother's child.
21
These things you have done and I have been silent; you thought that I was one just like yourself. But now I rebuke you, and lay the charge before you.
22
"Mark this, then, you who forget God, or I will tear you apart, and there will be no one to deliver.
23
Those who bring thanksgiving as their sacrifice honor me; to those who go the right way I will show the salvation of God."
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 51
1
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
2
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
3
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
4
Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment.
5
Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.
6
You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
7
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8
Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
9
Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
10
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.
11
Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me.
12
Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.
13
Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.
14
Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.
15
O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
16
For you have no delight in sacrifice; if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.
17
The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
18
Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem,
19
then you will delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 52
1
Why do you boast, O mighty one, of mischief done against the godly? All day long
2
you are plotting destruction. Your tongue is like a sharp razor, you worker of treachery.
3
You love evil more than good, and lying more than speaking the truth. (Selah)
4
You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue.
5
But God will break you down forever; he will snatch and tear you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living. (Selah)
6
The righteous will see, and fear, and will laugh at the evildoer, saying,
7
"See the one who would not take refuge in God, but trusted in abundant riches, and sought refuge in wealth!"
8
But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever.
9
I will thank you forever, because of what you have done. In the presence of the faithful I will proclaim your name, for it is good.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 53
1
Fools say in their hearts, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they commit abominable acts; there is no one who does good.
2
God looks down from heaven on humankind to see if there are any who are wise, who seek after God.
3
They have all fallen away, they are all alike perverse; there is no one who does good, no, not one.
4
Have they no knowledge, those evildoers, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon God?
5
There they shall be in great terror, in terror such as has not been. For God will scatter the bones of the ungodly; they will be put to shame, for God has rejected them.
6
O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion! When God restores the fortunes of his people, Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 54
1
Save me, O God, by your name, and vindicate me by your might.
2
Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth.
3
For the insolent have risen against me, the ruthless seek my life; they do not set God before them. (Selah)
4
But surely, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life.
5
He will repay my enemies for their evil. In your faithfulness, put an end to them.
6
With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you; I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, for it is good.
7
For he has delivered me from every trouble, and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 55
1
Give ear to my prayer, O God; do not hide yourself from my supplication.
2
Attend to me, and answer me; I am troubled in my complaint. I am distraught
3
by the noise of the enemy, because of the clamor of the wicked. For they bring trouble upon me, and in anger they cherish enmity against me.
4
My heart is in anguish within me, the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
5
Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me.
6
And I say, "O that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest;
7
truly, I would flee far away; I would lodge in the wilderness; (Selah)
8
I would hurry to find a shelter for myself from the raging wind and tempest."
9
Confuse, O Lord, confound their speech; for I see violence and strife in the city.
10
Day and night they go around it on its walls, and iniquity and trouble are within it;
11
ruin is in its midst; oppression and fraud do not depart from its marketplace.
12
It is not enemies who taunt me— I could bear that; it is not adversaries who deal insolently with me— I could hide from them.
13
But it is you, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend,
14
with whom I kept pleasant company; we walked in the house of God with the throng.
15
Let death come upon them; let them go down alive to Sheol; for evil is in their homes and in their hearts.
16
But I call upon God, and the Lord will save me.
17
Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he will hear my voice.
18
He will redeem me unharmed from the battle that I wage, for many are arrayed against me.
19
God, who is enthroned from of old, (Selah) will hear, and will humble them— because they do not change, and do not fear God.
20
My companion laid hands on a friend and violated a covenant with me
21
with speech smoother than butter, but with a heart set on war; with words that were softer than oil, but in fact were drawn swords.
22
Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.
23
But you, O God, will cast them down into the lowest pit; the bloodthirsty and treacherous shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in you.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 56
1
Be gracious to me, O God, for people trample on me; all day long foes oppress me;
2
my enemies trample on me all day long, for many fight against me. O Most High,
3
when I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
4
In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I am not afraid; what can flesh do to me?
5
All day long they seek to injure my cause; all their thoughts are against me for evil.
6
They stir up strife, they lurk, they watch my steps. As they hoped to have my life,
7
so repay them for their crime; in wrath cast down the peoples, O God!
8
You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your record?
9
Then my enemies will retreat in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me.
10
In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise,
11
in God I trust; I am not afraid. What can a mere mortal do to me?
12
My vows to you I must perform, O God; I will render thank offerings to you.
13
For you have delivered my soul from death, and my feet from falling, so that I may walk before God in the light of life.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 57
1
Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, until the destroying storms pass by.
2
I cry to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
3
He will send from heaven and save me, he will put to shame those who trample on me. (Selah) God will send forth his steadfast love and his faithfulness.
4
I lie down among lions that greedily devour human prey; their teeth are spears and arrows, their tongues sharp swords.
5
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens. Let your glory be over all the earth.
6
They set a net for my steps; my soul was bowed down. They dug a pit in my path, but they have fallen into it themselves. (Selah)
7
My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast. I will sing and make melody.
8
Awake, my soul! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn.
9
I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.
10
For your steadfast love is as high as the heavens; your faithfulness extends to the clouds.
11
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens. Let your glory be over all the earth.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 58
1
Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods? Do you judge people fairly?
2
No, in your hearts you devise wrongs; your hands deal out violence on earth.
3
The wicked go astray from the womb; they err from their birth, speaking lies.
4
They have venom like the venom of a serpent, like the deaf adder that stops its ear,
5
so that it does not hear the voice of charmers or of the cunning enchanter.
6
O God, break the teeth in their mouths; tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!
7
Let them vanish like water that runs away; like grass let them be trodden down and wither.
8
Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime; like the untimely birth that never sees the sun.
9
Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns, whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!
10
The righteous will rejoice when they see vengeance done; they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.
11
People will say, "Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth."
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 59
1
Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; protect me from those who rise up against me.
2
Deliver me from those who work evil; from the bloodthirsty save me.
3
Even now they lie in wait for my life; the mighty stir up strife against me. For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,
4
for no fault of mine, they run and make ready. Rouse yourself, come to my help and see!
5
You, Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel. Awake to punish all the nations; spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. (Selah)
6
Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city.
7
There they are, bellowing with their mouths, with sharp words on their lips— for "Who," they think, "will hear us?"
8
But you laugh at them, O Lord; you hold all the nations in derision.
9
O my strength, I will watch for you; for you, O God, are my fortress.
10
My God in his steadfast love will meet me; my God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.
11
Do not kill them, or my people may forget; make them totter by your power, and bring them down, O Lord, our shield.
12
For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips, let them be trapped in their pride. For the cursing and lies that they utter,
13
consume them in wrath; consume them until they are no more. Then it will be known to the ends of the earth that God rules over Jacob. (Selah)
14
Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city.
15
They roam about for food, and growl if they do not get their fill.
16
But I will sing of your might; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been a fortress for me and a refuge in the day of my distress.
17
O my strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 60
1
O God, you have rejected us, broken our defenses; you have been angry; now restore us!
2
You have caused the land to quake; you have torn it open; repair the cracks in it, for it is tottering.
3
You have made your people suffer hard things; you have given us wine to drink that made us reel.
4
You have set up a banner for those who fear you, to rally to it out of bowshot. (Selah)
5
Give victory with your right hand, and answer us, so that those whom you love may be rescued.
6
God has promised in his sanctuary: "With exultation I will divide up Shechem, and portion out the Vale of Succoth.
7
Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet; Judah is my scepter.
8
Moab is my washbasin; on Edom I hurl my shoe; over Philistia I shout in triumph."
9
Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?
10
Have you not rejected us, O God? You do not go out, O God, with our armies.
11
O grant us help against the foe, for human help is worthless.
12
With God we shall do valiantly; it is he who will tread down our foes.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 61
1
Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer.
2
From the end of the earth I call to you, when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I;
3
for you are my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.
4
Let me abide in your tent forever, find refuge under the shelter of your wings. (Selah)
5
For you, O God, have heard my vows; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
6
Prolong the life of the king; may his years endure to all generations!
7
May he be enthroned forever before God; appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!
8
So I will always sing praises to your name, as I pay my vows day after day.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 62
1
For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.
2
He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall never be shaken.
3
How long will you assail a person, will you batter your victim, all of you, as you would a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
4
Their only plan is to bring down a person of prominence. They take pleasure in falsehood; they bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse. (Selah)
5
For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him.
6
He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7
On God rests my deliverance and my honor; my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.
8
Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. (Selah)
9
Those of low estate are but a breath, those of high estate are a delusion; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath.
10
Put no confidence in extortion, and set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, do not set your heart on them.
11
Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God,
12
and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord. For you repay to all according to their work.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 63
1
O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.
3
Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.
4
So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name.
5
My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast, and my mouth praises you with joyful lips
6
when I think of you on my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
7
for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
8
My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.
9
But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth;
10
they shall be given over to the power of the sword, they shall be prey for jackals.
11
But the king shall rejoice in God; all who swear by him shall exult, for the mouths of liars will be stopped.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 64
1
Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint; preserve my life from the dread enemy.
2
Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the scheming of evildoers,
3
who whet their tongues like swords, who aim bitter words like arrows,
4
shooting from ambush at the blameless; they shoot suddenly and without fear.
5
They hold fast to their evil purpose; they talk of laying snares secretly, thinking, "Who can see us?
6
Who can search out our crimes? We have thought out a cunningly conceived plot." For the human heart and mind are deep.
7
But God will shoot his arrow at them; they will be wounded suddenly.
8
Because of their tongue he will bring them to ruin; all who see them will shake with horror.
9
Then everyone will fear; they will tell what God has brought about, and ponder what he has done.
10
Let the righteous rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in him. Let all the upright in heart glory.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 65
1
Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion; and to you shall vows be performed,
2
O you who answer prayer! To you all flesh shall come.
3
When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us, you forgive our transgressions.
4
Happy are those whom you choose and bring near to live in your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, your holy temple.
5
By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance, O God of our salvation; you are the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas.
6
By your strength you established the mountains; you are girded with might.
7
You silence the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples.
8
Those who live at earth's farthest bounds are awed by your signs; you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.
9
You visit the earth and water it, you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide the people with grain, for so you have prepared it.
10
You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth.
11
You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with richness.
12
The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy,
13
the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 66
1
Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth;
2
sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise.
3
Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds! Because of your great power, your enemies cringe before you.
4
All the earth worships you; they sing praises to you, sing praises to your name." (Selah)
5
Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds among mortals.
6
He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the river on foot. There we rejoiced in him,
7
who rules by his might forever, whose eyes keep watch on the nations— let the rebellious not exalt themselves. (Selah)
8
Bless our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard,
9
who has kept us among the living, and has not let our feet slip.
10
For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried.
11
You brought us into the net; you laid burdens on our backs;
12
you let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a spacious place.
13
I will come into your house with burnt offerings; I will pay you my vows,
14
those that my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.
15
I will offer to you burnt offerings of fatlings, with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams; I will make an offering of bulls and goats. (Selah)
16
Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for me.
17
I cried aloud to him, and he was extolled with my tongue.
18
If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
19
But truly God has listened; he has given heed to the words of my prayer.
20
Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 67
1
May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, (Selah)
2
that your way may be known upon earth, your saving power among all nations.
3
Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.
4
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. (Selah)
5
Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.
6
The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, has blessed us.
7
May God continue to bless us; let all the ends of the earth revere him.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 68
1
Let God rise up, let his enemies be scattered; let those who hate him flee before him.
2
As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; as wax melts before the fire, let the wicked perish before God.
3
But let the righteous be joyful; let them exult before God; let them be jubilant with joy.
4
Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds — his name is the Lord— be exultant before him.
5
Father of orphans and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.
6
God gives the desolate a home to live in; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious live in a parched land.
7
O God, when you went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness, (Selah)
8
the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain at the presence of God, the God of Sinai, at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9
Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad; you restored your heritage when it languished;
10
your flock found a dwelling in it; in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.
11
The Lord gives the command; great is the company of those who bore the tidings:
12
"The kings of the armies, they flee, they flee!" The women at home divide the spoil,
13
though they stay among the sheepfolds— the wings of a dove covered with silver, its pinions with green gold.
14
When the Almighty scattered kings there, snow fell on Zalmon.
15
O mighty mountain, mountain of Bashan; O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan!
16
Why do you look with envy, O many-peaked mountain, at the mount that God desired for his abode, where the Lord will reside forever?
17
With mighty chariotry, twice ten thousand, thousands upon thousands, the Lord came from Sinai into the holy place.
18
You ascended the high mount, leading captives in your train and receiving gifts from people, even from those who rebel against the Lord God's abiding there.
19
Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. (Selah)
20
Our God is a God of salvation, and to God, the Lord, belongs escape from death.
21
But God will shatter the heads of his enemies, the hairy crown of those who walk in their guilty ways.
22
The Lord said, "I will bring them back from Bashan, I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
23
so that you may bathe your feet in blood, so that the tongues of your dogs may have their share from the foe."
24
Your solemn processions are seen, O God, the processions of my God, my King, into the sanctuary—
25
the singers in front, the musicians last, between them girls playing tambourines:
26
"Bless God in the great congregation, the Lord, O you who are of Israel's fountain!"
27
There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead, the princes of Judah in a body, the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.
28
Summon your might, O God; show your strength, O God, as you have done for us before.
29
Because of your temple at Jerusalem kings bear gifts to you.
30
Rebuke the wild animals that live among the reeds, the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples. Trample under foot those who lust after tribute; scatter the peoples who delight in war.
31
Let bronze be brought from Egypt; let Ethiopia hasten to stretch out its hands to God.
32
Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth; sing praises to the Lord, (Selah)
33
O rider in the heavens, the ancient heavens; listen, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
34
Ascribe power to God, whose majesty is over Israel; and whose power is in the skies.
35
Awesome is God in his sanctuary, the God of Israel; he gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God!
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 69
1
Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.
2
I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me.
3
I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God.
4
More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause; many are those who would destroy me, my enemies who accuse me falsely. What I did not steal must I now restore?
5
O God, you know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.
6
Do not let those who hope in you be put to shame because of me, O Lord God of hosts; do not let those who seek you be dishonored because of me, O God of Israel.
7
It is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that shame has covered my face.
8
I have become a stranger to my kindred, an alien to my mother's children.
9
It is zeal for your house that has consumed me; the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.
10
When I humbled my soul with fasting, they insulted me for doing so.
11
When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them.
12
I am the subject of gossip for those who sit in the gate, and the drunkards make songs about me.
13
But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love, answer me. With your faithful help
14
rescue me from sinking in the mire; let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters.
15
Do not let the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up, or the Pit close its mouth over me.
16
Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good; according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.
17
Do not hide your face from your servant, for I am in distress—make haste to answer me.
18
Draw near to me, redeem me, set me free because of my enemies.
19
You know the insults I receive, and my shame and dishonor; my foes are all known to you.
20
Insults have broken my heart, so that I am in despair. I looked for pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.
21
They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
22
Let their table be a trap for them, a snare for their allies.
23
Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and make their loins tremble continually.
24
Pour out your indignation upon them, and let your burning anger overtake them.
25
May their camp be a desolation; let no one live in their tents.
26
For they persecute those whom you have struck down, and those whom you have wounded, they attack still more.
27
Add guilt to their guilt; may they have no acquittal from you.
28
Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; let them not be enrolled among the righteous.
29
But I am lowly and in pain; let your salvation, O God, protect me.
30
I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.
31
This will please the Lord more than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs.
32
Let the oppressed see it and be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive.
33
For the Lord hears the needy, and does not despise his own that are in bonds.
34
Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and everything that moves in them.
35
For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah; and his servants shall live there and possess it;
36
the children of his servants shall inherit it, and those who love his name shall live in it.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 70
1
Be pleased, O God, to deliver me. O Lord, make haste to help me!
2
Let those be put to shame and confusion who seek my life. Let those be turned back and brought to dishonor who desire to hurt me.
3
Let those who say, "Aha, Aha!" turn back because of their shame.
4
Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. Let those who love your salvation say evermore, "God is great!"
5
But I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, do not delay!
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 71
1
In you, O Lord, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame.
2
In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline your ear to me and save me.
3
Be to me a rock of refuge, a strong fortress, to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.
4
Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and cruel.
5
For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth.
6
Upon you I have leaned from my birth; it was you who took me from my mother's womb. My praise is continually of you.
7
I have been like a portent to many, but you are my strong refuge.
8
My mouth is filled with your praise, and with your glory all day long.
9
Do not cast me off in the time of old age; do not forsake me when my strength is spent.
10
For my enemies speak concerning me, and those who watch for my life consult together.
11
They say, "Pursue and seize that person whom God has forsaken, for there is no one to deliver."
12
O God, do not be far from me; O my God, make haste to help me!
13
Let my accusers be put to shame and consumed; let those who seek to hurt me be covered with scorn and disgrace.
14
But I will hope continually, and will praise you yet more and more.
15
My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all day long, though their number is past my knowledge.
16
I will come praising the mighty deeds of the Lord God, I will praise your righteousness, yours alone.
17
O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.
18
So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to all the generations to come. Your power
19
and your righteousness, O God, reach the high heavens. You who have done great things, O God, who is like you?
20
You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again.
21
You will increase my honor, and comfort me once again.
22
I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praises to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.
23
My lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to you; my soul also, which you have rescued.
24
All day long my tongue will talk of your righteous help, for those who tried to do me harm have been put to shame, and disgraced.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 72
1
Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king's son.
2
May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice.
3
May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness.
4
May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor.
5
May he live while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
6
May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth.
7
In his days may righteousness flourish and peace abound, until the moon is no more.
8
May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.
9
May his foes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust.
10
May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles render him tribute, may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts.
11
May all kings fall down before him, all nations give him service.
12
For he delivers the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper.
13
He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy.
14
From oppression and violence he redeems their life; and precious is their blood in his sight.
15
Long may he live! May gold of Sheba be given to him. May prayer be made for him continually, and blessings invoked for him all day long.
16
May there be abundance of grain in the land; may it wave on the tops of the mountains; may its fruit be like Lebanon; and may people blossom in the cities like the grass of the field.
17
May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun. May all nations be blessed in him; may they pronounce him happy.
18
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.
19
Blessed be his glorious name forever; may his glory fill the whole earth. Amen and Amen.
20
The prayers of David son of Jesse are ended.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 73
1
Truly God is good to the upright, to those who are pure in heart.
2
But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped.
3
For I was envious of the arrogant; I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4
For they have no pain; their bodies are sound and sleek.
5
They are not in trouble as others are; they are not plagued like other people.
6
Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them like a garment.
7
Their eyes swell out with fatness; their hearts overflow with follies.
8
They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression.
9
They set their mouths against heaven, and their tongues range over the earth.
10
Therefore the people turn and praise them, and find no fault in them.
11
And they say, "How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?"
12
Such are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches.
13
All in vain I have kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence.
14
For all day long I have been plagued, and am punished every morning.
15
If I had said, "I will talk on in this way," I would have been untrue to the circle of your children.
16
But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17
until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end.
18
Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin.
19
How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors!
20
They are like a dream when one awakes; on awaking you despise their phantoms.
21
When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart,
22
I was stupid and ignorant; I was like a brute beast toward you.
23
Nevertheless I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.
24
You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me with honor.
25
Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you.
26
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
27
Indeed, those who are far from you will perish; you put an end to those who are false to you.
28
But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, to tell of all your works.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 74
1
O God, why do you cast us off forever? Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?
2
Remember your congregation, which you acquired long ago, which you redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage. Remember Mount Zion, where you came to dwell.
3
Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins; the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary.
4
Your foes have roared within your holy place; they set up their emblems there.
5
At the upper entrance they hacked the wooden trellis with axes.
6
And then, with hatchets and hammers, they smashed all its carved work.
7
They set your sanctuary on fire; they desecrated the dwelling place of your name, bringing it to the ground.
8
They said to themselves, "We will utterly subdue them"; they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.
9
We do not see our emblems; there is no longer any prophet, and there is no one among us who knows how long.
10
How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile your name forever?
11
Why do you hold back your hand; why do you keep your hand in your bosom?
12
Yet God my King is from of old, working salvation in the earth.
13
You divided the sea by your might; you broke the heads of the dragons in the waters.
14
You crushed the heads of Leviathan; you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
15
You cut openings for springs and torrents; you dried up ever-flowing streams.
16
Yours is the day, yours also the night; you established the luminaries and the sun.
17
You have fixed all the bounds of the earth; you made summer and winter.
18
Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs, and an impious people reviles your name.
19
Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild animals; do not forget the life of your poor forever.
20
Have regard for your covenant, for the dark places of the land are full of the haunts of violence.
21
Do not let the downtrodden be put to shame; let the poor and needy praise your name.
22
Rise up, O God, plead your cause; remember how the impious scoff at you all day long.
23
Do not forget the clamor of your foes, the uproar of your adversaries that goes up continually.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 75
1
We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks; your name is near. People tell of your wondrous deeds.
2
At the set time that I appoint I will judge with equity.
3
When the earth totters, with all its inhabitants, it is I who keep its pillars steady. (Selah)
4
I say to the boastful, "Do not boast," and to the wicked, "Do not lift up your horn;
5
do not lift up your horn on high, or speak with insolent neck."
6
For not from the east or from the west and not from the wilderness comes lifting up;
7
but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another.
8
For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed; he will pour a draught from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs.
9
But I will rejoice forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10
All the horns of the wicked I will cut off, but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 76
1
In Judah God is known, his name is great in Israel.
2
His abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion.
3
There he broke the flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. (Selah)
4
Glorious are you, more majestic than the everlasting mountains.
5
The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil; they sank into sleep; none of the troops was able to lift a hand.
6
At your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both rider and horse lay stunned.
7
But you indeed are awesome! Who can stand before you when once your anger is roused?
8
From the heavens you uttered judgment; the earth feared and was still
9
when God rose up to establish judgment, to save all the oppressed of the earth. (Selah)
10
Human wrath serves only to praise you, when you bind the last bit of your wrath around you.
11
Make vows to the Lord your God, and perform them; let all who are around him bring gifts to the one who is awesome,
12
who cuts off the spirit of princes, who inspires fear in the kings of the earth.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 77
1
I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, that he may hear me.
2
In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted.
3
I think of God, and I moan; I meditate, and my spirit faints. (Selah)
4
You keep my eyelids from closing; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
5
I consider the days of old, and remember the years of long ago.
6
I commune with my heart in the night; I meditate and search my spirit:
7
"Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable?
8
Has his steadfast love ceased forever? Are his promises at an end for all time?
9
Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?" (Selah)
10
And I say, "It is my grief that the right hand of the Most High has changed."
11
I will call to mind the deeds of the Lord; I will remember your wonders of old.
12
I will meditate on all your work, and muse on your mighty deeds.
13
Your way, O God, is holy. What god is so great as our God?
14
You are the God who works wonders; you have displayed your might among the peoples.
15
With your strong arm you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. (Selah)
16
When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; the very deep trembled.
17
The clouds poured out water; the skies thundered; your arrows flashed on every side.
18
The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook.
19
Your way was through the sea, your path, through the mighty waters; yet your footprints were unseen.
20
You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 78
1
Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2
I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old,
3
things that we have heard and known, that our ancestors have told us.
4
We will not hide them from their children; we will tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.
5
He established a decree in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach to their children;
6
that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and rise up and tell them to their children,
7
so that they should set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments;
8
and that they should not be like their ancestors, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.
9
The Ephraimites, armed with the bow, turned back on the day of battle.
10
They did not keep God's covenant, but refused to walk according to his law.
11
They forgot what he had done, and the miracles that he had shown them.
12
In the sight of their ancestors he worked marvels in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan.
13
He divided the sea and let them pass through it, and made the waters stand like a heap.
14
In the daytime he led them with a cloud, and all night long with a fiery light.
15
He split rocks open in the wilderness, and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.
16
He made streams come out of the rock, and caused waters to flow down like rivers.
17
Yet they sinned still more against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
18
They tested God in their heart by demanding the food they craved.
19
They spoke against God, saying, "Can God spread a table in the wilderness?
20
Even though he struck the rock so that water gushed out and torrents overflowed, can he also give bread, or provide meat for his people?"
21
Therefore, when the Lord heard, he was full of rage; a fire was kindled against Jacob, his anger mounted against Israel,
22
because they had no faith in God, and did not trust his saving power.
23
Yet he commanded the skies above, and opened the doors of heaven;
24
he rained down on them manna to eat, and gave them the grain of heaven.
25
Mortals ate of the bread of angels; he sent them food in abundance.
26
He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens, and by his power he led out the south wind;
27
he rained flesh upon them like dust, winged birds like the sand of the seas;
28
he let them fall within their camp, all around their dwellings.
29
And they ate and were well filled, for he gave them what they craved.
30
But before they had satisfied their craving, while the food was still in their mouths,
31
the anger of God rose against them and he killed the strongest of them, and laid low the flower of Israel.
32
In spite of all this they still sinned; they did not believe in his wonders.
33
So he made their days vanish like a breath, and their years in terror.
34
When he killed them, they sought for him; they repented and sought God earnestly.
35
They remembered that God was their rock, the Most High God their redeemer.
36
But they flattered him with their mouths; they lied to him with their tongues.
37
Their heart was not steadfast toward him; they were not true to his covenant.
38
Yet he, being compassionate, forgave their iniquity, and did not destroy them; often he restrained his anger, and did not stir up all his wrath.
39
He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passes and does not come again.
40
How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the desert!
41
They tested God again and again, and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
42
They did not keep in mind his power, or the day when he redeemed them from the foe;
43
when he displayed his signs in Egypt, and his miracles in the fields of Zoan.
44
He turned their rivers to blood, so that they could not drink of their streams.
45
He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them, and frogs, which destroyed them.
46
He gave their crops to the caterpillar, and the fruit of their labor to the locust.
47
He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycamores with frost.
48
He gave over their cattle to the hail, and their flocks to thunderbolts.
49
He let loose on them his fierce anger, wrath, indignation, and distress, a company of destroying angels.
50
He made a path for his anger; he did not spare them from death, but gave their lives over to the plague.
51
He struck all the firstborn in Egypt, the first issue of their strength in the tents of Ham.
52
Then he led out his people like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
53
He led them in safety, so that they were not afraid; but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54
And he brought them to his holy hill, to the mountain that his right hand had won.
55
He drove out nations before them; he apportioned them for a possession and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
56
Yet they tested the Most High God, and rebelled against him. They did not observe his decrees,
57
but turned away and were faithless like their ancestors; they twisted like a treacherous bow.
58
For they provoked him to anger with their high places; they moved him to jealousy with their idols.
59
When God heard, he was full of wrath, and he utterly rejected Israel.
60
He abandoned his dwelling at Shiloh, the tent where he dwelt among mortals,
61
and delivered his power to captivity, his glory to the hand of the foe.
62
He gave his people to the sword, and vented his wrath on his heritage.
63
Fire devoured their young men, and their girls had no marriage song.
64
Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows made no lamentation.
65
Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, like a warrior shouting because of wine.
66
He put his adversaries to rout; he put them to everlasting disgrace.
67
He rejected the tent of Joseph, he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim;
68
but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loves.
69
He built his sanctuary like the high heavens, like the earth, which he has founded forever.
70
He chose his servant David, and took him from the sheepfolds;
71
from tending the nursing ewes he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel, his inheritance.
72
With upright heart he tended them, and guided them with skillful hand.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 79
1
O God, the nations have come into your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple; they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
2
They have given the bodies of your servants to the birds of the air for food, the flesh of your faithful to the wild animals of the earth.
3
They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them.
4
We have become a taunt to our neighbors, mocked and derided by those around us.
5
How long, O Lord? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealous wrath burn like fire?
6
Pour out your anger on the nations that do not know you, and on the kingdoms that do not call on your name.
7
For they have devoured Jacob and laid waste his habitation.
8
Do not remember against us the iniquities of our ancestors; let your compassion come speedily to meet us, for we are brought very low.
9
Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and forgive our sins, for your name's sake.
10
Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?" Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants be known among the nations before our eyes.
11
Let the groans of the prisoners come before you; according to your great power preserve those doomed to die.
12
Return sevenfold into the bosom of our neighbors the taunts with which they taunted you, O Lord!
13
Then we your people, the flock of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 80
1
Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth
2
before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh. Stir up your might, and come to save us!
3
Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
4
O Lord God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people's prayers?
5
You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in full measure.
6
You make us the scorn of our neighbors; our enemies laugh among themselves.
7
Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
8
You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it.
9
You cleared the ground for it; it took deep root and filled the land.
10
The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches;
11
it sent out its branches to the sea, and its shoots to the River.
12
Why then have you broken down its walls, so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?
13
The boar from the forest ravages it, and all that move in the field feed on it.
14
Turn again, O God of hosts; look down from heaven, and see; have regard for this vine,
15
the stock that your right hand planted.
16
They have burned it with fire, they have cut it down; may they perish at the rebuke of your countenance.
17
But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand, the one whom you made strong for yourself.
18
Then we will never turn back from you; give us life, and we will call on your name.
19
Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 81
1
Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob.
2
Raise a song, sound the tambourine, the sweet lyre with the harp.
3
Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our festal day.
4
For it is a statute for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob.
5
He made it a decree in Joseph, when he went out over the land of Egypt. I hear a voice I had not known:
6
"I relieved your shoulder of the burden; your hands were freed from the basket.
7
In distress you called, and I rescued you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. (Selah)
8
Hear, O my people, while I admonish you; O Israel, if you would but listen to me!
9
There shall be no strange god among you; you shall not bow down to a foreign god.
10
I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.
11
"But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me.
12
So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels.
13
O that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways!
14
Then I would quickly subdue their enemies, and turn my hand against their foes.
15
Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him, and their doom would last forever.
16
I would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you."
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 82
1
God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:
2
"How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? (Selah)
3
Give justice to the weak and the orphan; maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute.
4
Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked."
5
They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk around in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6
I say, "You are gods, children of the Most High, all of you;
7
nevertheless, you shall die like mortals, and fall like any prince."
8
Rise up, O God, judge the earth; for all the nations belong to you!
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 83
1
O God, do not keep silence; do not hold your peace or be still, O God!
2
Even now your enemies are in tumult; those who hate you have raised their heads.
3
They lay crafty plans against your people; they consult together against those you protect.
4
They say, "Come, let us wipe them out as a nation; let the name of Israel be remembered no more."
5
They conspire with one accord; against you they make a covenant—
6
the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites,
7
Gebal and Ammon and Amalek, Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
8
Assyria also has joined them; they are the strong arm of the children of Lot. (Selah)
9
Do to them as you did to Midian, as to Sisera and Jabin at the Wadi Kishon,
10
who were destroyed at En-dor, who became dung for the ground.
11
Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12
who said, "Let us take the pastures of God for our own possession."
13
O my God, make them like whirling dust, like chaff before the wind.
14
As fire consumes the forest, as the flame sets the mountains ablaze,
15
so pursue them with your tempest and terrify them with your hurricane.
16
Fill their faces with shame, so that they may seek your name, O Lord.
17
Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever; let them perish in disgrace.
18
Let them know that you alone, whose name is the Lord, are the Most High over all the earth.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 84
1
How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!
2
My soul longs, indeed it faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.
3
Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.
4
Happy are those who live in your house, ever singing your praise. (Selah)
5
Happy are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
6
As they go through the valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools.
7
They go from strength to strength; the God of gods will be seen in Zion.
8
O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! (Selah)
9
Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed.
10
For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than live in the tents of wickedness.
11
For the Lord God is a sun and shield; he bestows favor and honor. No good thing does the Lord withhold from those who walk uprightly.
12
O Lord of hosts, happy is everyone who trusts in you.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 85
1
Lord, you were favorable to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
2
You forgave the iniquity of your people; you pardoned all their sin. (Selah)
3
You withdrew all your wrath; you turned from your hot anger.
4
Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put away your indignation toward us.
5
Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
6
Will you not revive us again, so that your people may rejoice in you?
7
Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation.
8
Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.
9
Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land.
10
Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
11
Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky.
12
The Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.
13
Righteousness will go before him, and will make a path for his steps.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 86
1
Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.
2
Preserve my life, for I am devoted to you; save your servant who trusts in you. You are my God;
3
be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all day long.
4
Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
5
For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you.
6
Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; listen to my cry of supplication.
7
In the day of my trouble I call on you, for you will answer me.
8
There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours.
9
All the nations you have made shall come and bow down before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name.
10
For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God.
11
Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart to revere your name.
12
I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.
13
For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.
14
O God, the insolent rise up against me; a band of ruffians seeks my life, and they do not set you before them.
15
But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
16
Turn to me and be gracious to me; give your strength to your servant; save the child of your serving girl.
17
Show me a sign of your favor, so that those who hate me may see it and be put to shame, because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 87
1
On the holy mount stands the city he founded;
2
the Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
3
Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God. (Selah)
4
Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon; Philistia too, and Tyre, with Ethiopia — "This one was born there," they say.
5
And of Zion it shall be said, "This one and that one were born in it"; for the Most High himself will establish it.
6
The Lord records, as he registers the peoples, "This one was born there." (Selah)
7
Singers and dancers alike say, "All my springs are in you."
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 88
1
O Lord, God of my salvation, when, at night, I cry out in your presence,
2
let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry.
3
For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol.
4
I am counted among those who go down to the Pit; I am like those who have no help,
5
like those forsaken among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, like those whom you remember no more, for they are cut off from your hand.
6
You have put me in the depths of the Pit, in the regions dark and deep.
7
Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and you overwhelm me with all your waves. (Selah)
8
You have caused my companions to shun me; you have made me a thing of horror to them. I am shut in so that I cannot escape;
9
my eye grows dim through sorrow. Every day I call on you, O Lord; I spread out my hands to you.
10
Do you work wonders for the dead? Do the shades rise up to praise you? (Selah)
11
Is your steadfast love declared in the grave, or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
12
Are your wonders known in the darkness, or your saving help in the land of forgetfulness?
13
But I, O Lord, cry out to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14
O Lord, why do you cast me off? Why do you hide your face from me?
15
Wretched and close to death from my youth up, I suffer your terrors; I am desperate.
16
Your wrath has swept over me; your dread assaults destroy me.
17
They surround me like a flood all day long; from all sides they close in on me.
18
You have caused friend and neighbor to shun me; my companions are in darkness.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 89
1
I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord, forever; with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.
2
I declare that your steadfast love is established forever; your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.
3
You said, "I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to my servant David:
4
"I will establish your descendants forever, and build your throne for all generations.' " (Selah)
5
Let the heavens praise your wonders, O Lord, your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones.
6
For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord? Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord,
7
a God feared in the council of the holy ones, great and awesome above all that are around him?
8
O Lord God of hosts, who is as mighty as you, O Lord? Your faithfulness surrounds you.
9
You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them.
10
You crushed Rahab like a carcass; you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
11
The heavens are yours, the earth also is yours; the world and all that is in it—you have founded them.
12
The north and the south —you created them; Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.
13
You have a mighty arm; strong is your hand, high your right hand.
14
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.
15
Happy are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O Lord, in the light of your countenance;
16
they exult in your name all day long, and extol your righteousness.
17
For you are the glory of their strength; by your favor our horn is exalted.
18
For our shield belongs to the Lord, our king to the Holy One of Israel.
19
Then you spoke in a vision to your faithful one, and said: "I have set the crown on one who is mighty, I have exalted one chosen from the people.
20
I have found my servant David; with my holy oil I have anointed him;
21
my hand shall always remain with him; my arm also shall strengthen him.
22
The enemy shall not outwit him, the wicked shall not humble him.
23
I will crush his foes before him and strike down those who hate him.
24
My faithfulness and steadfast love shall be with him; and in my name his horn shall be exalted.
25
I will set his hand on the sea and his right hand on the rivers.
26
He shall cry to me, "You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation!'
27
I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.
28
Forever I will keep my steadfast love for him, and my covenant with him will stand firm.
29
I will establish his line forever, and his throne as long as the heavens endure.
30
If his children forsake my law and do not walk according to my ordinances,
31
if they violate my statutes and do not keep my commandments,
32
then I will punish their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with scourges;
33
but I will not remove from him my steadfast love, or be false to my faithfulness.
34
I will not violate my covenant, or alter the word that went forth from my lips.
35
Once and for all I have sworn by my holiness; I will not lie to David.
36
His line shall continue forever, and his throne endure before me like the sun.
37
It shall be established forever like the moon, an enduring witness in the skies." (Selah)
38
But now you have spurned and rejected him; you are full of wrath against your anointed.
39
You have renounced the covenant with your servant; you have defiled his crown in the dust.
40
You have broken through all his walls; you have laid his strongholds in ruins.
41
All who pass by plunder him; he has become the scorn of his neighbors.
42
You have exalted the right hand of his foes; you have made all his enemies rejoice.
43
Moreover, you have turned back the edge of his sword, and you have not supported him in battle.
44
You have removed the scepter from his hand, and hurled his throne to the ground.
45
You have cut short the days of his youth; you have covered him with shame. (Selah)
46
How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire?
47
Remember how short my time is— for what vanity you have created all mortals!
48
Who can live and never see death? Who can escape the power of Sheol? (Selah)
49
Lord, where is your steadfast love of old, which by your faithfulness you swore to David?
50
Remember, O Lord, how your servant is taunted; how I bear in my bosom the insults of the peoples,
51
with which your enemies taunt, O Lord, with which they taunted the footsteps of your anointed.
52
Blessed be the Lord forever. Amen and Amen.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 90
1
Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.
2
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
3
You turn us back to dust, and say, "Turn back, you mortals."
4
For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past, or like a watch in the night.
5
You sweep them away; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning;
6
in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers.
7
For we are consumed by your anger; by your wrath we are overwhelmed.
8
You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your countenance.
9
For all our days pass away under your wrath; our years come to an end like a sigh.
10
The days of our life are seventy years, or perhaps eighty, if we are strong; even then their span is only toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.
11
Who considers the power of your anger? Your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you.
12
So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart.
13
Turn, O Lord! How long? Have compassion on your servants!
14
Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
15
Make us glad as many days as you have afflicted us, and as many years as we have seen evil.
16
Let your work be manifest to your servants, and your glorious power to their children.
17
Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the work of our hands— O prosper the work of our hands!
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 91
1
You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
2
will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust."
3
For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence;
4
he will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
5
You will not fear the terror of the night, or the arrow that flies by day,
6
or the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or the destruction that wastes at noonday.
7
A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
8
You will only look with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
9
Because you have made the Lord your refuge, the Most High your dwelling place,
10
no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent.
11
For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.
12
On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.
13
You will tread on the lion and the adder, the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.
14
Those who love me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know my name.
15
When they call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them.
16
With long life I will satisfy them, and show them my salvation.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 92
1
It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
2
to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night,
3
to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre.
4
For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy.
5
How great are your works, O Lord! Your thoughts are very deep!
6
The dullard cannot know, the stupid cannot understand this:
7
though the wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish, they are doomed to destruction forever,
8
but you, O Lord, are on high forever.
9
For your enemies, O Lord, for your enemies shall perish; all evildoers shall be scattered.
10
But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox; you have poured over me fresh oil.
11
My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies; my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants.
12
The righteous flourish like the palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13
They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God.
14
In old age they still produce fruit; they are always green and full of sap,
15
showing that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 93
1
The Lord is king, he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed, he is girded with strength. He has established the world; it shall never be moved;
2
your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting.
3
The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their roaring.
4
More majestic than the thunders of mighty waters, more majestic than the waves of the sea, majestic on high is the Lord!
5
Your decrees are very sure; holiness befits your house, O Lord, forevermore.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 94
1
O Lord, you God of vengeance, you God of vengeance, shine forth!
2
Rise up, O judge of the earth; give to the proud what they deserve!
3
O Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?
4
They pour out their arrogant words; all the evildoers boast.
5
They crush your people, O Lord, and afflict your heritage.
6
They kill the widow and the stranger, they murder the orphan,
7
and they say, "The Lord does not see; the God of Jacob does not perceive."
8
Understand, O dullest of the people; fools, when will you be wise?
9
He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see?
10
He who disciplines the nations, he who teaches knowledge to humankind, does he not chastise?
11
The Lord knows our thoughts, that they are but an empty breath.
12
Happy are those whom you discipline, O Lord, and whom you teach out of your law,
13
giving them respite from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked.
14
For the Lord will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage;
15
for justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.
16
Who rises up for me against the wicked? Who stands up for me against evildoers?
17
If the Lord had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.
18
When I thought, "My foot is slipping," your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.
19
When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.
20
Can wicked rulers be allied with you, those who contrive mischief by statute?
21
They band together against the life of the righteous, and condemn the innocent to death.
22
But the Lord has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge.
23
He will repay them for their iniquity and wipe them out for their wickedness; the Lord our God will wipe them out.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 95
1
O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
2
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
3
For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
4
In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also.
5
The sea is his, for he made it, and the dry land, which his hands have formed.
6
O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
7
For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. O that today you would listen to his voice!
8
Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
9
when your ancestors tested me, and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
10
For forty years I loathed that generation and said, "They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they do not regard my ways."
11
Therefore in my anger I swore, "They shall not enter my rest."
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 96
1
O sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2
Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day.
3
Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples.
4
For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be revered above all gods.
5
For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.
6
Honor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7
Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
8
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts.
9
Worship the Lord in holy splendor; tremble before him, all the earth.
10
Say among the nations, "The Lord is king! The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved. He will judge the peoples with equity."
11
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12
let the field exult, and everything in it. Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
13
before the Lord; for he is coming, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with his truth.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 97
1
The Lord is king! Let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad!
2
Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3
Fire goes before him, and consumes his adversaries on every side.
4
His lightnings light up the world; the earth sees and trembles.
5
The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth.
6
The heavens proclaim his righteousness; and all the peoples behold his glory.
7
All worshipers of images are put to shame, those who make their boast in worthless idols; all gods bow down before him.
8
Zion hears and is glad, and the towns of Judah rejoice, because of your judgments, O God.
9
For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.
10
The Lord loves those who hate evil; he guards the lives of his faithful; he rescues them from the hand of the wicked.
11
Light dawns for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart.
12
Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name!
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 98
1
O sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things. His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory.
2
The Lord has made known his victory; he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.
3
He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.
4
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises.
5
Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody.
6
With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord.
7
Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who live in it.
8
Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills sing together for joy
9
at the presence of the Lord, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 99
1
The Lord is king; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
2
The Lord is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the peoples.
3
Let them praise your great and awesome name. Holy is he!
4
Mighty King, lover of justice, you have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.
5
Extol the Lord our God; worship at his footstool. Holy is he!
6
Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel also was among those who called on his name. They cried to the Lord, and he answered them.
7
He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud; they kept his decrees, and the statutes that he gave them.
8
O Lord our God, you answered them; you were a forgiving God to them, but an avenger of their wrongdoings.
9
Extol the Lord our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the Lord our God is holy.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 100
1
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.
2
Worship the Lord with gladness; come into his presence with singing.
3
Know that the Lord is God. It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4
Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name.
5
For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 101
1
I will sing of loyalty and of justice; to you, O Lord, I will sing.
2
I will study the way that is blameless. When shall I attain it? I will walk with integrity of heart within my house;
3
I will not set before my eyes anything that is base. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.
4
Perverseness of heart shall be far from me; I will know nothing of evil.
5
One who secretly slanders a neighbor I will destroy. A haughty look and an arrogant heart I will not tolerate.
6
I will look with favor on the faithful in the land, so that they may live with me; whoever walks in the way that is blameless shall minister to me.
7
No one who practices deceit shall remain in my house; no one who utters lies shall continue in my presence.
8
Morning by morning I will destroy all the wicked in the land, cutting off all evildoers from the city of the Lord.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 102
1
Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry come to you.
2
Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress. Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call.
3
For my days pass away like smoke, and my bones burn like a furnace.
4
My heart is stricken and withered like grass; I am too wasted to eat my bread.
5
Because of my loud groaning my bones cling to my skin.
6
I am like an owl of the wilderness, like a little owl of the waste places.
7
I lie awake; I am like a lonely bird on the housetop.
8
All day long my enemies taunt me; those who deride me use my name for a curse.
9
For I eat ashes like bread, and mingle tears with my drink,
10
because of your indignation and anger; for you have lifted me up and thrown me aside.
11
My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass.
12
But you, O Lord, are enthroned forever; your name endures to all generations.
13
You will rise up and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to favor it; the appointed time has come.
14
For your servants hold its stones dear, and have pity on its dust.
15
The nations will fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth your glory.
16
For the Lord will build up Zion; he will appear in his glory.
17
He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and will not despise their prayer.
18
Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord:
19
that he looked down from his holy height, from heaven the Lord looked at the earth,
20
to hear the groans of the prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die;
21
so that the name of the Lord may be declared in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem,
22
when peoples gather together, and kingdoms, to worship the Lord.
23
He has broken my strength in midcourse; he has shortened my days.
24
"O my God," I say, "do not take me away at the midpoint of my life, you whose years endure throughout all generations."
25
Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26
They will perish, but you endure; they will all wear out like a garment. You change them like clothing, and they pass away;
27
but you are the same, and your years have no end.
28
The children of your servants shall live secure; their offspring shall be established in your presence.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 103
1
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
2
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits—
3
who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases,
4
who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5
who satisfies you with good as long as you live so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
6
The Lord works vindication and justice for all who are oppressed.
7
He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel.
8
The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9
He will not always accuse, nor will he keep his anger forever.
10
He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11
For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12
as far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us.
13
As a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.
14
For he knows how we were made; he remembers that we are dust.
15
As for mortals, their days are like grass; they flourish like a flower of the field;
16
for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.
17
But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children,
18
to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments.
19
The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.
20
Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, obedient to his spoken word.
21
Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers that do his will.
22
Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 104
1
Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, you are very great. You are clothed with honor and majesty,
2
wrapped in light as with a garment. You stretch out the heavens like a tent,
3
you set the beams of your chambers on the waters, you make the clouds your chariot, you ride on the wings of the wind,
4
you make the winds your messengers, fire and flame your ministers.
5
You set the earth on its foundations, so that it shall never be shaken.
6
You cover it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.
7
At your rebuke they flee; at the sound of your thunder they take to flight.
8
They rose up to the mountains, ran down to the valleys to the place that you appointed for them.
9
You set a boundary that they may not pass, so that they might not again cover the earth.
10
You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills,
11
giving drink to every wild animal; the wild asses quench their thirst.
12
By the streams the birds of the air have their habitation; they sing among the branches.
13
From your lofty abode you water the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.
14
You cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for people to use, to bring forth food from the earth,
15
and wine to gladden the human heart, oil to make the face shine, and bread to strengthen the human heart.
16
The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
17
In them the birds build their nests; the stork has its home in the fir trees.
18
The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the coneys.
19
You have made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting.
20
You make darkness, and it is night, when all the animals of the forest come creeping out.
21
The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God.
22
When the sun rises, they withdraw and lie down in their dens.
23
People go out to their work and to their labor until the evening.
24
O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
25
Yonder is the sea, great and wide, creeping things innumerable are there, living things both small and great.
26
There go the ships, and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.
27
These all look to you to give them their food in due season;
28
when you give to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
29
When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.
30
When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground.
31
May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works—
32
who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke.
33
I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
34
May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord.
35
Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord!
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 105
1
O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples.
2
Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wonderful works.
3
Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
4
Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually.
5
Remember the wonderful works he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he has uttered,
6
O offspring of his servant Abraham, children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
7
He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth.
8
He is mindful of his covenant forever, of the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
9
the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac,
10
which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11
saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan as your portion for an inheritance."
12
When they were few in number, of little account, and strangers in it,
13
wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people,
14
he allowed no one to oppress them; he rebuked kings on their account,
15
saying, "Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm."
16
When he summoned famine against the land, and broke every staff of bread,
17
he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
18
His feet were hurt with fetters, his neck was put in a collar of iron;
19
until what he had said came to pass, the word of the Lord kept testing him.
20
The king sent and released him; the ruler of the peoples set him free.
21
He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his possessions,
22
to instruct his officials at his pleasure, and to teach his elders wisdom.
23
Then Israel came to Egypt; Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham.
24
And the Lord made his people very fruitful, and made them stronger than their foes,
25
whose hearts he then turned to hate his people, to deal craftily with his servants.
26
He sent his servant Moses, and Aaron whom he had chosen.
27
They performed his signs among them, and miracles in the land of Ham.
28
He sent darkness, and made the land dark; they rebelled against his words.
29
He turned their waters into blood, and caused their fish to die.
30
Their land swarmed with frogs, even in the chambers of their kings.
31
He spoke, and there came swarms of flies, and gnats throughout their country.
32
He gave them hail for rain, and lightning that flashed through their land.
33
He struck their vines and fig trees, and shattered the trees of their country.
34
He spoke, and the locusts came, and young locusts without number;
35
they devoured all the vegetation in their land, and ate up the fruit of their ground.
36
He struck down all the firstborn in their land, the first issue of all their strength.
37
Then he brought Israel out with silver and gold, and there was no one among their tribes who stumbled.
38
Egypt was glad when they departed, for dread of them had fallen upon it.
39
He spread a cloud for a covering, and fire to give light by night.
40
They asked, and he brought quails, and gave them food from heaven in abundance.
41
He opened the rock, and water gushed out; it flowed through the desert like a river.
42
For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham, his servant.
43
So he brought his people out with joy, his chosen ones with singing.
44
He gave them the lands of the nations, and they took possession of the wealth of the peoples,
45
that they might keep his statutes and observe his laws. Praise the Lord!
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 106
1
Praise the Lord! O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever.
2
Who can utter the mighty doings of the Lord, or declare all his praise?
3
Happy are those who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times.
4
Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people; help me when you deliver them;
5
that I may see the prosperity of your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation, that I may glory in your heritage.
6
Both we and our ancestors have sinned; we have committed iniquity, have done wickedly.
7
Our ancestors, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wonderful works; they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled against the Most High at the Red Sea.
8
Yet he saved them for his name's sake, so that he might make known his mighty power.
9
He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry; he led them through the deep as through a desert.
10
So he saved them from the hand of the foe, and delivered them from the hand of the enemy.
11
The waters covered their adversaries; not one of them was left.
12
Then they believed his words; they sang his praise.
13
But they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel.
14
But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness, and put God to the test in the desert;
15
he gave them what they asked, but sent a wasting disease among them.
16
They were jealous of Moses in the camp, and of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.
17
The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the faction of Abiram.
18
Fire also broke out in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.
19
They made a calf at Horeb and worshiped a cast image.
20
They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass.
21
They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt,
22
wondrous works in the land of Ham, and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.
23
Therefore he said he would destroy them— had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him, to turn away his wrath from destroying them.
24
Then they despised the pleasant land, having no faith in his promise.
25
They grumbled in their tents, and did not obey the voice of the Lord.
26
Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them that he would make them fall in the wilderness,
27
and would disperse their descendants among the nations, scattering them over the lands.
28
Then they attached themselves to the Baal of Peor, and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;
29
they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds, and a plague broke out among them.
30
Then Phinehas stood up and interceded, and the plague was stopped.
31
And that has been reckoned to him as righteousness from generation to generation forever.
32
They angered the Lord at the waters of Meribah, and it went ill with Moses on their account;
33
for they made his spirit bitter, and he spoke words that were rash.
34
They did not destroy the peoples, as the Lord commanded them,
35
but they mingled with the nations and learned to do as they did.
36
They served their idols, which became a snare to them.
37
They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons;
38
they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with blood.
39
Thus they became unclean by their acts, and prostituted themselves in their doings.
40
Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people, and he abhorred his heritage;
41
he gave them into the hand of the nations, so that those who hated them ruled over them.
42
Their enemies oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their power.
43
Many times he delivered them, but they were rebellious in their purposes, and were brought low through their iniquity.
44
Nevertheless he regarded their distress when he heard their cry.
45
For their sake he remembered his covenant, and showed compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
46
He caused them to be pitied by all who held them captive.
47
Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise.
48
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. And let all the people say, "Amen." Praise the Lord!
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 107
1
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever.
2
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, those he redeemed from trouble
3
and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.
4
Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to an inhabited town;
5
hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them.
6
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress;
7
he led them by a straight way, until they reached an inhabited town.
8
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to humankind.
9
For he satisfies the thirsty, and the hungry he fills with good things.
10
Some sat in darkness and in gloom, prisoners in misery and in irons,
11
for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
12
Their hearts were bowed down with hard labor; they fell down, with no one to help.
13
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress;
14
he brought them out of darkness and gloom, and broke their bonds asunder.
15
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to humankind.
16
For he shatters the doors of bronze, and cuts in two the bars of iron.
17
Some were sick through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities endured affliction;
18
they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death.
19
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress;
20
he sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from destruction.
21
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to humankind.
22
And let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices, and tell of his deeds with songs of joy.
23
Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the mighty waters;
24
they saw the deeds of the Lord, his wondrous works in the deep.
25
For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea.
26
They mounted up to heaven, they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their calamity;
27
they reeled and staggered like drunkards, and were at their wits' end.
28
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out from their distress;
29
he made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.
30
Then they were glad because they had quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven.
31
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to humankind.
32
Let them extol him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
33
He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground,
34
a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.
35
He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water.
36
And there he lets the hungry live, and they establish a town to live in;
37
they sow fields, and plant vineyards, and get a fruitful yield.
38
By his blessing they multiply greatly, and he does not let their cattle decrease.
39
When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, trouble, and sorrow,
40
he pours contempt on princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes;
41
but he raises up the needy out of distress, and makes their families like flocks.
42
The upright see it and are glad; and all wickedness stops its mouth.
43
Let those who are wise give heed to these things, and consider the steadfast love of the Lord.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 108
1
My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make melody. Awake, my soul!
2
Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn.
3
I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples, and I will sing praises to you among the nations.
4
For your steadfast love is higher than the heavens, and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
5
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and let your glory be over all the earth.
6
Give victory with your right hand, and answer me, so that those whom you love may be rescued.
7
God has promised in his sanctuary: "With exultation I will divide up Shechem, and portion out the Vale of Succoth.
8
Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet; Judah is my scepter.
9
Moab is my washbasin; on Edom I hurl my shoe; over Philistia I shout in triumph."
10
Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?
11
Have you not rejected us, O God? You do not go out, O God, with our armies.
12
O grant us help against the foe, for human help is worthless.
13
With God we shall do valiantly; it is he who will tread down our foes.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 109
1
Do not be silent, O God of my praise.
2
For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues.
3
They beset me with words of hate, and attack me without cause.
4
In return for my love they accuse me, even while I make prayer for them.
5
So they reward me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
6
They say, "Appoint a wicked man against him; let an accuser stand on his right.
7
When he is tried, let him be found guilty; let his prayer be counted as sin.
8
May his days be few; may another seize his position.
9
May his children be orphans, and his wife a widow.
10
May his children wander about and beg; may they be driven out of the ruins they inhabit.
11
May the creditor seize all that he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil.
12
May there be no one to do him a kindness, nor anyone to pity his orphaned children.
13
May his posterity be cut off; may his name be blotted out in the second generation.
14
May the iniquity of his father be remembered before the Lord, and do not let the sin of his mother be blotted out.
15
Let them be before the Lord continually, and may his memory be cut off from the earth.
16
For he did not remember to show kindness, but pursued the poor and needy and the brokenhearted to their death.
17
He loved to curse; let curses come on him. He did not like blessing; may it be far from him.
18
He clothed himself with cursing as his coat, may it soak into his body like water, like oil into his bones.
19
May it be like a garment that he wraps around himself, like a belt that he wears every day."
20
May that be the reward of my accusers from the Lord, of those who speak evil against my life.
21
But you, O Lord my Lord, act on my behalf for your name's sake; because your steadfast love is good, deliver me.
22
For I am poor and needy, and my heart is pierced within me.
23
I am gone like a shadow at evening; I am shaken off like a locust.
24
My knees are weak through fasting; my body has become gaunt.
25
I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they shake their heads.
26
Help me, O Lord my God! Save me according to your steadfast love.
27
Let them know that this is your hand; you, O Lord, have done it.
28
Let them curse, but you will bless. Let my assailants be put to shame; may your servant be glad.
29
May my accusers be clothed with dishonor; may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a mantle.
30
With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord; I will praise him in the midst of the throng.
31
For he stands at the right hand of the needy, to save them from those who would condemn them to death.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 110
1
The Lord says to my lord, "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool."
2
The Lord sends out from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your foes.
3
Your people will offer themselves willingly on the day you lead your forces on the holy mountains. From the womb of the morning, like dew, your youth will come to you.
4
The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek."
5
The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.
6
He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; he will shatter heads over the wide earth.
7
He will drink from the stream by the path; therefore he will lift up his head.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 111
1
Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
2
Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them.
3
Full of honor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures forever.
4
He has gained renown by his wonderful deeds; the Lord is gracious and merciful.
5
He provides food for those who fear him; he is ever mindful of his covenant.
6
He has shown his people the power of his works, in giving them the heritage of the nations.
7
The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy.
8
They are established forever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
9
He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant forever. Holy and awesome is his name.
10
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 112
1
Praise the Lord! Happy are those who fear the Lord, who greatly delight in his commandments.
2
Their descendants will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3
Wealth and riches are in their houses, and their righteousness endures forever.
4
They rise in the darkness as a light for the upright; they are gracious, merciful, and righteous.
5
It is well with those who deal generously and lend, who conduct their affairs with justice.
6
For the righteous will never be moved; they will be remembered forever.
7
They are not afraid of evil tidings; their hearts are firm, secure in the Lord.
8
Their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.
9
They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor; their righteousness endures forever; their horn is exalted in honor.
10
The wicked see it and are angry; they gnash their teeth and melt away; the desire of the wicked comes to nothing.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Psalms 113
1
Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord; praise the name of the Lord.
2
Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time on and forevermore.
3
From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the Lord is to be praised.
4
The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens.
5
Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high,
6
who looks far down on the heavens and the earth?
7
He raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8
to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people.
9
He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the Lord!
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.