Sermon Central
Psalm 73-150
BOOK III Psalm 73 1A psalm of Asaph. Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.
4They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong.
9Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth.
11They say, “How would God know? Does the Most High know anything?”
12This is what the wicked are like— always free of care, they go on amassing wealth.
15If I had spoken out like that, I would have betrayed your children.
16When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply
21When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered,
23Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.
24You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.
25Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
27Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
12But God is my King from long ago; he brings salvation on the earth.
13It was you who split open the sea by your power; you broke the heads of the monster in the waters.
18Remember how the enemy has mocked you, LORD, how foolish people have reviled your name.
21Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace; may the poor and needy praise your name.
22Rise up, O God, and defend your cause; remember how fools mock you all day long. 23Do not ignore the clamor of your adversaries, the uproar of your enemies, which rises continually.
3When the earth and all its people quake, it is I who hold its pillars firm.
7It is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another. 10who says, “I will cut off the horns of all the wicked, but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.”
7It is you alone who are to be feared. Who can stand before you when you are angry?
8From heaven you pronounced judgment, and the land feared and was quiet—
9when you, God, rose up to judge, to save all the afflicted of the land.
10Surely your wrath against mankind brings you praise, and the survivors of your wrath are restrained.
3I remembered you, God, and I groaned; I meditated, and my spirit grew faint.
5I thought about the former days, the years of long ago;
6I remembered my songs in the night. My heart meditated and my spirit asked:
7“Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again?
8Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time?
16The waters saw you, God, the waters saw you and writhed; the very depths were convulsed.
19Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen. 20You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Psalm 78
1A maskil
5He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children,
8They would not be like their ancestors— a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him.
10they did not keep God’s covenant and refused to live by his law.
11They forgot what he had done, the wonders he had shown them.
13He divided the sea and led them through; he made the water stand up like a wall.
19They spoke against God; they said, “Can God really spread a table in the wilderness?
20True, he struck the rock, and water gushed out, streams flowed abundantly, but can he also give us bread? Can he supply meat for his people?”
21When the LORD heard them, he was furious; his fire broke out against Jacob, and his wrath rose against Israel,
23Yet he gave a command to the skies above and opened the doors of the heavens;
24he rained down manna for the people to eat, he gave them the grain of heaven.
25Human beings ate the bread of angels; he sent them all the food they could eat.
26He let loose the east wind from the heavens and by his power made the south wind blow.
27He rained meat down on them like dust, birds like sand on the seashore.
28He made them come down inside their camp, all around their tents.
31God’s anger rose against them; he put to death the sturdiest among them, cutting down the young men of Israel.
32In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; in spite of his wonders, they did not believe.
33So he ended their days in futility and their years in terror.
34Whenever God slew them, they would seek him; they eagerly turned to him again.
37their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant.
38Yet he was merciful; he forgave their iniquities and did not destroy them. Time after time he restrained his anger and did not stir up his full wrath.
40How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the wasteland!
44He turned their river into blood; they could not drink from their streams.
46He gave their crops to the grasshopper, their produce to the locust.
55He drove out nations before them and allotted their lands to them as an inheritance; he settled the tribes of Israel in their homes.
59When God heard them, he was furious; he rejected Israel completely.
66He beat back his enemies; he put them to everlasting shame.
69He built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth that he established forever.
71from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance. 72And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.
Psalm 79 1A psalm of Asaph. O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple, they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble.
4We are objects of contempt to our neighbors, of scorn and derision to those around us.
5How long, LORD ? Will you be angry forever? How long will your jealousy burn like fire?
7for they have devoured Jacob and devastated his homeland.
8Do not hold against us the sins of past generations; may your mercy come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need.
11May the groans of the prisoners come before you; with your strong arm preserve those condemned to die.
2before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh. Awaken your might; come and save us.
4How long, LORD God Almighty, will your anger smolder against the prayers of your people?
5You have fed them with the bread of tears; you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.
6You have made us an object of derision
9You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land.
13Boars from the forest ravage it, and insects from the fields feed on it.
15the root your right hand has planted, the son
2Begin the music, strike the timbrel, play the melodious harp and lyre.
6“I removed the burden from their shoulders; their hands were set free from the basket.
10I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.
15Those who hate the LORD would cringe before him, and their punishment would last forever.
5“The ‘gods’ know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
7But you will die like mere mortals; you will fall like every other ruler.”
9Do to them as you did to Midian, as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon,
11Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12who said, “Let us take possession of the pasturelands of God.”
15so pursue them with your tempest and terrify them with your storm.
17May they ever be ashamed and dismayed; may they perish in disgrace. 18Let them know that you, whose name is the LORD — that you alone are the Most High over all the earth.
3Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young— a place near your altar, LORD Almighty, my King and my God.
7They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.
9Look on our shield,
11For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. 12LORD Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you.
Psalm 85
3You set aside all your wrath and turned from your fierce anger.
5Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger through all generations?
8I will listen to what God the LORD says; he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants— but let them not turn to folly.
10Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other.
12The LORD will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest.
6Hear my prayer, LORD ; listen to my cry for mercy.
12I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. 17Give me a sign of your goodness, that my enemies may see it and be put to shame, for you, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.
6The LORD will write in the register of the peoples: “This one was born in Zion.”
2May my prayer come before you; turn your ear to my cry.
5I am set apart with the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more, who are cut off from your care.
10Do you show your wonders to the dead? Do their spirits rise up and praise you?
17All day long they surround me like a flood; they have completely engulfed me. 18You have taken from me friend and neighbor— darkness is my closest friend.
Psalm 89
2I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself.
3You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant,
11The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth; you founded the world and all that is in it.
20I have found David my servant; with my sacred oil I have anointed him.
23I will crush his foes before him and strike down his adversaries.
24My faithful love will be with him, and through my name his horn
26He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, the Rock my Savior.’
30“If his sons forsake my law and do not follow my statutes,
37it will be established forever like the moon, the faithful witness in the sky.”
46How long, LORD ? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire?
48Who can live and not see death, or who can escape the power of the grave?
51the taunts with which your enemies, LORD, have mocked, with which they have mocked every step of your anointed one. 52Praise be to the LORD forever! Amen and Amen.
3You turn people back to dust, saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”
5Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death— they are like the new grass of the morning:
7We are consumed by your anger and terrified by your indignation.
9All our days pass away under your wrath; we finish our years with a moan.
12Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
15Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen trouble.
Psalm 91
1Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
5You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
8You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
10no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.
11For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;
14“Because he
15He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. 16With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”
2proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night,
3to the music of the ten-stringed lyre and the melody of the harp.
7that though the wicked spring up like grass and all evildoers flourish, they will be destroyed forever.
10You have exalted my horn
12The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
2Your throne was established long ago; you are from all eternity. 5Your statutes, LORD, stand firm; holiness adorns your house for endless days.
Psalm 94 1The LORD is a God who avenges. O God who avenges, shine forth.
8Take notice, you senseless ones among the people; you fools, when will you become wise?
10Does he who disciplines nations not punish? Does he who teaches mankind lack knowledge?
11The LORD knows all human plans; he knows that they are futile.
18When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your unfailing love, LORD, supported me.
22But the LORD has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge.
Psalm 95 1Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD ; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
3For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods.
2Sing to the LORD, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day.
5For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.
7Ascribe to the LORD, all you families of nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
8Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts.
10Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns.” The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.
11Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it. 13Let all creation rejoice before the LORD, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness.
Psalm 97 1The LORD reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice.
2Clouds and thick darkness surround him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3Fire goes before him and consumes his foes on every side.
5The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth.
7All who worship images are put to shame, those who boast in idols— worship him, all you gods!
9For you, LORD, are the Most High over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.
2The LORD has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations.
4Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music;
7Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.
2Great is the LORD in Zion; he is exalted over all the nations.
5Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his footstool; he is holy.
8LORD our God, you answered them; you were to Israel a forgiving God, though you punished their misdeeds.
Psalm 102
3For my days vanish like smoke; my bones burn like glowing embers.
5In my distress I groan aloud and am reduced to skin and bones.
8All day long my enemies taunt me; those who rail against me use my name as a curse.
10because of your great wrath, for you have taken me up and thrown me aside.
13You will arise and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show favor to her; the appointed time has come.
15The nations will fear the name of the LORD, all the kings of the earth will revere your glory.
20to hear the groans of the prisoners and release those condemned to death.”
23In the course of my life
24So I said: “Do not take me away, my God, in the midst of my days; your years go on through all generations.
2Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—
9He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever;
11For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
13As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
17But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD ’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children—
18with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.
19The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.
8they flowed over the mountains, they went down into the valleys, to the place you assigned for them.
14He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for people to cultivate— bringing forth food from the earth:
18The high mountains belong to the wild goats; the crags are a refuge for the hyrax.
22The sun rises, and they steal away; they return and lie down in their dens.
24How many are your works, LORD ! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
27All creatures look to you to give them their food at the proper time.
30When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground.
2Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.
3Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
5Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,
8He remembers his covenant forever, the promise he made, for a thousand generations,
13they wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another.
15“Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm.”
16He called down famine on the land and destroyed all their supplies of food;
17and he sent a man before them— Joseph, sold as a slave.
19till what he foretold came to pass, till the word of the LORD proved him true.
20The king sent and released him, the ruler of peoples set him free.
23Then Israel entered Egypt; Jacob resided as a foreigner in the land of Ham.
25whose hearts he turned to hate his people, to conspire against his servants.
26He sent Moses his servant, and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
28He sent darkness and made the land dark— for had they not rebelled against his words?
31He spoke, and there came swarms of flies, and gnats throughout their country.
32He turned their rain into hail, with lightning throughout their land;
33he struck down their vines and fig trees and shattered the trees of their country.
34He spoke, and the locusts came, grasshoppers without number;
39He spread out a cloud as a covering, and a fire to give light at night.
41He opened the rock, and water gushed out; it flowed like a river in the desert.
44he gave them the lands of the nations, and they fell heir to what others had toiled for—
Psalm 106
1Praise the LORD .
4Remember me, LORD, when you show favor to your people, come to my aid when you save them,
6We have sinned, even as our ancestors did; we have done wrong and acted wickedly.
9He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up; he led them through the depths as through a desert.
12Then they believed his promises and sang his praise.
13But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his plan to unfold.
17The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan; it buried the company of Abiram.
21They forgot the God who saved them, who had done great things in Egypt,
22miracles in the land of Ham and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.
23So he said he would destroy them— had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him to keep his wrath from destroying them.
26So he swore to them with uplifted hand that he would make them fall in the wilderness,
29they aroused the LORD ’s anger by their wicked deeds, and a plague broke out among them.
32By the waters of Meribah they angered the LORD, and trouble came to Moses because of them;
36They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them.
38They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was desecrated by their blood.
43Many times he delivered them, but they were bent on rebellion and they wasted away in their sin.
44Yet he took note of their distress when he heard their cry;
46He caused all who held them captive to show them mercy.
47Save us, LORD our God, and gather us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise.
3those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.
4Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle.
7He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle.
10Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness, prisoners suffering in iron chains,
12So he subjected them to bitter labor; they stumbled, and there was no one to help.
21Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind.
23Some went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants on the mighty waters.
28Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress.
29He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea
30They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven.
32Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people and praise him in the council of the elders.
33He turned rivers into a desert, flowing springs into thirsty ground,
34and fruitful land into a salt waste, because of the wickedness of those who lived there.
37They sowed fields and planted vineyards that yielded a fruitful harvest;
39Then their numbers decreased, and they were humbled by oppression, calamity and sorrow;
41But he lifted the needy out of their affliction and increased their families like flocks.
42The upright see and rejoice, but all the wicked shut their mouths.
7God has spoken from his sanctuary: “In triumph I will parcel out Shechem and measure off the Valley of Sukkoth.
9Moab is my washbasin, on Edom I toss my sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
12Give us aid against the enemy, for human help is worthless. 13With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies.
7When he is tried, let him be found guilty, and may his prayers condemn him.
9May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow.
10May his children be wandering beggars; may they be driven
18He wore cursing as his garment; it entered into his body like water, into his bones like oil.
19May it be like a cloak wrapped about him, like a belt tied forever around him.
20May this be the LORD ’s payment to my accusers, to those who speak evil of me.
21But you, Sovereign LORD, help me for your name’s sake; out of the goodness of your love, deliver me.
26Help me, LORD my God; save me according to your unfailing love.
28While they curse, may you bless; may those who attack me be put to shame, but may your servant rejoice.
29May my accusers be clothed with disgrace and wrapped in shame as in a cloak. 31For he stands at the right hand of the needy, to save their lives from those who would condemn them.
Psalm 110
1Of David. A psalm. The LORD says to my lord:
2The LORD will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of your enemies!”
3Your troops will be willing on your day of battle. Arrayed in holy splendor, your young men will come to you like dew from the morning’s womb.
5He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever.
6He has shown his people the power of his works, giving them the lands of other nations.
8They are established for ever and ever, enacted in faithfulness and uprightness. 10The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.
5Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice.
6Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever.
8Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes. 10The wicked will see and be vexed, they will gnash their teeth and waste away; the longings of the wicked will come to nothing.
7He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; 9He settles the childless woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the LORD .
2Judah became God’s sanctuary, Israel his dominion.
3The sea looked and fled, the Jordan turned back;
4the mountains leaped like rams, the hills like lambs.
7Tremble, earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob,
3Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.
5They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see.
9All you Israelites, trust in the LORD — he is their help and shield.
11You who fear him, trust in the LORD — he is their help and shield.
13he will bless those who fear the LORD — small and great alike.
Psalm 116 1I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy.
2Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.
4Then I called on the name of the LORD : “ LORD, save me!”
6The LORD protects the unwary; when I was brought low, he saved me.
9that I may walk before the LORD in the land of the living.
13I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD .
15Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful servants.
16Truly I am your servant, LORD ; I serve you just as my mother did; you have freed me from my chains.
Psalm 117
1Praise the LORD, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples.
2For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD .
Psalm 118 1Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
2Let Israel say: “His love endures forever.”
3Let the house of Aaron say: “His love endures forever.”
6The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?
7The LORD is with me; he is my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies.
10All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of the LORD I cut them down.
11They surrounded me on every side, but in the name of the LORD I cut them down.
14The LORD is my strength and my defense
15Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: “The LORD ’s right hand has done mighty things!
16The LORD ’s right hand is lifted high; the LORD ’s right hand has done mighty things!”
20This is the gate of the LORD through which the righteous may enter.
22The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;
2Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart—
5Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees!
7I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws.
9How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word.
11I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
12Praise be to you, LORD ; teach me your decrees.
13With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth.
14I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches.
15I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.
17Be good to your servant while I live, that I may obey your word.
19I am a stranger on earth; do not hide your commands from me.
20My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times.
21You rebuke the arrogant, who are accursed, those who stray from your commands.
26I gave an account of my ways and you answered me; teach me your decrees.
31I hold fast to your statutes, LORD ; do not let me be put to shame.
32I run in the path of your commands, for you have broadened my understanding. ה He
37Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.
38Fulfill your promise to your servant, so that you may be feared.
40How I long for your precepts! In your righteousness preserve my life. ו Waw
41May your unfailing love come to me, LORD, your salvation, according to your promise;
43Never take your word of truth from my mouth, for I have put my hope in your laws.
47for I delight in your commands because I love them.
48I reach out for your commands, which I love, that I may meditate on your decrees. ז Zayin
50My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.
55In the night, LORD, I remember your name, that I may keep your law.
56This has been my practice: I obey your precepts. ח Heth
61Though the wicked bind me with ropes, I will not forget your law.
62At midnight I rise to give you thanks for your righteous laws.
73Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn your commands.
76May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant.
80May I wholeheartedly follow your decrees, that I may not be put to shame. כ Kaph
81My soul faints with longing for your salvation, but I have put my hope in your word.
82My eyes fail, looking for your promise; I say, “When will you comfort me?”
86All your commands are trustworthy; help me, for I am being persecuted without cause.
87They almost wiped me from the earth, but I have not forsaken your precepts.
89Your word, LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.
91Your laws endure to this day, for all things serve you.
95The wicked are waiting to destroy me, but I will ponder your statutes.
100I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts.
103How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. נ Nun
105Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
106I have taken an oath and confirmed it, that I will follow your righteous laws.
112My heart is set on keeping your decrees to the very end.
113I hate double-minded people, but I love your law.
114You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word.
118You reject all who stray from your decrees, for their delusions come to nothing.
120My flesh trembles in fear of you; I stand in awe of your laws. ע Ayin
121I have done what is righteous and just; do not leave me to my oppressors.
127Because I love your commands more than gold, more than pure gold,
129Your statutes are wonderful; therefore I obey them.
134Redeem me from human oppression, that I may obey your precepts.
140Your promises have been thoroughly tested, and your servant loves them.
142Your righteousness is everlasting and your law is true.
146I call out to you; save me and I will keep your statutes.
148My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises.
152Long ago I learned from your statutes that you established them to last forever. ר Resh
153Look on my suffering and deliver me, for I have not forgotten your law.
154Defend my cause and redeem me; preserve my life according to your promise.
157Many are the foes who persecute me, but I have not turned from your statutes.
159See how I love your precepts; preserve my life, LORD, in accordance with your love.
162I rejoice in your promise like one who finds great spoil.
163I hate and detest falsehood but I love your law.
165Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.
170May my supplication come before you; deliver me according to your promise.
174I long for your salvation, LORD, and your law gives me delight.
Psalm 120 1A song of ascents. I call on the LORD in my distress, and he answers me.
3What will he do to you, and what more besides, you deceitful tongue? 7I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war.
5The LORD watches over you— the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
7The LORD will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; 8the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
2Our feet are standing in your gates, Jerusalem.
4That is where the tribes go up— the tribes of the LORD — to praise the name of the LORD according to the statute given to Israel.
5There stand the thrones for judgment, the thrones of the house of David. 9For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your prosperity.
3Have mercy on us, LORD, have mercy on us, for we have endured no end of contempt. 6Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.
2In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat— for he grants sleep to
Psalm 128 1A song of ascents. Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in obedience to him.
3Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table.
4Yes, this will be the blessing for the man who fears the LORD .
3Plowmen have plowed my back and made their furrows long.
4But the LORD is righteous; he has cut me free from the cords of the wicked.”
6May they be like grass on the roof, which withers before it can grow;
7a reaper cannot fill his hands with it, nor one who gathers fill his arms. 8May those who pass by not say to them, “The blessing of the LORD be on you; we bless you in the name of the LORD .”
2Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy.
7Israel, put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.
Psalm 131 1A song of ascents. Of David. My heart is not proud, LORD, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me.
2But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content.
2He swore an oath to the LORD, he made a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:
3“I will not enter my house or go to my bed,
4I will allow no sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids,
12If your sons keep my covenant and the statutes I teach them, then their sons will sit on your throne for ever and ever.”
14“This is my resting place for ever and ever; here I will sit enthroned, for I have desired it.
17“Here I will make a horn
Psalm 133 1A song of ascents. Of David. How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!
2It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe.
2you who minister in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our God.
4For the LORD has chosen Jacob to be his own, Israel to be his treasured possession.
9He sent his signs and wonders into your midst, Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants.
10He struck down many nations and killed mighty kings—
12and he gave their land as an inheritance, an inheritance to his people Israel.
13Your name, LORD, endures forever, your renown, LORD, through all generations.
15The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by human hands.
18Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.
20house of Levi, praise the LORD ; you who fear him, praise the LORD .
Psalm 136 1Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever.
4to him who alone does great wonders, His love endures forever.
5who by his understanding made the heavens, His love endures forever.
12with a mighty hand and outstretched arm; His love endures forever.
17to him who struck down great kings, His love endures forever.
18and killed mighty kings— His love endures forever.
19Sihon king of the Amorites His love endures forever.
21and gave their land as an inheritance, His love endures forever.
22an inheritance to his servant Israel. His love endures forever.
23He remembered us in our low estate His love endures forever.
2There on the poplars we hung our harps,
5If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill.
6May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy.
8Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is the one who repays you according to what you have done to us. 9Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.
3When I called, you answered me; you greatly emboldened me.
6Though the LORD is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly; though lofty, he sees them from afar.
10even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
11If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,”
13For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
16Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
17How precious to me are your thoughts,
19If only you, God, would slay the wicked! Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
21Do I not hate those who hate you, LORD, and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?
22I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies.
23Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Psalm 140
2who devise evil plans in their hearts and stir up war every day.
9Those who surround me proudly rear their heads; may the mischief of their lips engulf them.
11May slanderers not be established in the land; may disaster hunt down the violent.
12I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy.
Psalm 141 1A psalm of David. I call to you, LORD, come quickly to me; hear me when I call to you.
2May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.
6Their rulers will be thrown down from the cliffs, and the wicked will learn that my words were well spoken.
8But my eyes are fixed on you, Sovereign LORD ; in you I take refuge—do not give me over to death.
9Keep me safe from the traps set by evildoers, from the snares they have laid for me.
Psalm 142
Psalm 143 1A psalm of David. LORD, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief.
4So my spirit grows faint within me; my heart within me is dismayed.
6I spread out my hands to you; I thirst for you like a parched land.
8Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.
10Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
2He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples
4They are like a breath; their days are like a fleeting shadow.
6Send forth lightning and scatter the enemy; shoot your arrows and rout them.
7Reach down your hand from on high; deliver me and rescue me from the mighty waters, from the hands of foreigners
8whose mouths are full of lies, whose right hands are deceitful.
6They tell of the power of your awesome works— and I will proclaim your great deeds.
8The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.
10All your works praise you, LORD ; your faithful people extol you.
13Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.
15The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time.
16You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
18The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
19He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.
2I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
3Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save.
5Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD their God.
6He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them— he remains faithful forever.
7He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free,
8the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous.
2The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel.
3He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
5Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.
14He grants peace to your borders and satisfies you with the finest of wheat.
20He has done this for no other nation; they do not know his laws.
Psalm 148
1Praise the LORD .
6and he established them for ever and ever— he issued a decree that will never pass away.
7Praise the LORD from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,
9you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars,
11kings of the earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers on earth,
14And he has raised up for his people a horn,
Psalm 150
1Praise the LORD .
2Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.
5praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.