Psalm 60-112

New Living Translation

¹ You have rejected us, O God, and broken our defenses.
    You have been angry with us; now restore us to your favor.
² You have shaken our land and split it open.
    Seal the cracks, for the land trembles.
³ You have been very hard on us,
    making us drink wine that sent us reeling.
⁴ But you have raised a banner for those who fear you—
    a rallying point in the face of attack. Interlude

⁵ Now rescue your beloved people.
    Answer and save us by your power.
⁶ God has promised this by his holiness^[b]:
“I will divide up Shechem with joy.
    I will measure out the valley of Succoth.
⁷ Gilead is mine,
    and Manasseh, too.
Ephraim, my helmet, will produce my warriors,
    and Judah, my scepter, will produce my kings.
⁸ But Moab, my washbasin, will become my servant,
    and I will wipe my feet on Edom
    and shout in triumph over Philistia.”

⁹ Who will bring me into the fortified city?
    Who will bring me victory over Edom?
¹⁰ Have you rejected us, O God?
    Will you no longer march with our armies?
¹¹ Oh, please help us against our enemies,
    for all human help is useless.
¹² With God’s help we will do mighty things,
    for he will trample down our foes.

¹ O God, listen to my cry!
    Hear my prayer!
² From the ends of the earth,
    I cry to you for help
    when my heart is overwhelmed.
Lead me to the towering rock of safety,
³     for you are my safe refuge,
    a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me.
⁴ Let me live forever in your sanctuary,
    safe beneath the shelter of your wings! Interlude

⁵ For you have heard my vows, O God.
    You have given me an inheritance reserved for those who fear your name.
⁶ Add many years to the life of the king!
    May his years span the generations!
⁷ May he reign under God’s protection forever.
    May your unfailing love and faithfulness watch over him.
⁸ Then I will sing praises to your name forever
    as I fulfill my vows each day.

¹ I wait quietly before God,
    for my victory comes from him.
² He alone is my rock and my salvation,
    my fortress where I will never be shaken.

³ So many enemies against one man—
    all of them trying to kill me.
To them I’m just a broken-down wall
    or a tottering fence.
⁴ They plan to topple me from my high position.
    They delight in telling lies about me.
They praise me to my face
    but curse me in their hearts. Interlude

⁵ Let all that I am wait quietly before God,
    for my hope is in him.
⁶ He alone is my rock and my salvation,
    my fortress where I will not be shaken.
⁷ My victory and honor come from God alone.
    He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.
⁸ O my people, trust in him at all times.
    Pour out your heart to him,
    for God is our refuge. Interlude

⁹ Common people are as worthless as a puff of wind,
    and the powerful are not what they appear to be.
If you weigh them on the scales,
    together they are lighter than a breath of air.

¹⁰ Don’t make your living by extortion
    or put your hope in stealing.
And if your wealth increases,
    don’t make it the center of your life.

¹¹ God has spoken plainly,
    and I have heard it many times:
Power, O God, belongs to you;
¹²     unfailing love, O Lord, is yours.
Surely you repay all people
    according to what they have done.

¹ O God, you are my God;
    I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you;
    my whole body longs for you
in this parched and weary land
    where there is no water.
² I have seen you in your sanctuary
    and gazed upon your power and glory.
³ Your unfailing love is better than life itself;
    how I praise you!
⁴ I will praise you as long as I live,
    lifting up my hands to you in prayer.
⁵ You satisfy me more than the richest feast.
    I will praise you with songs of joy.

⁶ I lie awake thinking of you,
    meditating on you through the night.
⁷ Because you are my helper,
    I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.
⁸ I cling to you;
    your strong right hand holds me securely.

⁹ But those plotting to destroy me will come to ruin.
    They will go down into the depths of the earth.
¹⁰ They will die by the sword
    and become the food of jackals.
¹¹ But the king will rejoice in God.
    All who swear to tell the truth will praise him,
    while liars will be silenced.

¹ O God, listen to my complaint.
    Protect my life from my enemies’ threats.
² Hide me from the plots of this evil mob,
    from this gang of wrongdoers.
³ They sharpen their tongues like swords
    and aim their bitter words like arrows.
⁴ They shoot from ambush at the innocent,
    attacking suddenly and fearlessly.
⁵ They encourage each other to do evil
    and plan how to set their traps in secret.
    “Who will ever notice?” they ask.
⁶ As they plot their crimes, they say,
    “We have devised the perfect plan!”
    Yes, the human heart and mind are cunning.

⁷ But God himself will shoot them with his arrows,
    suddenly striking them down.
⁸ Their own tongues will ruin them,
    and all who see them will shake their heads in scorn.
⁹ Then everyone will be afraid;
    they will proclaim the mighty acts of God
    and realize all the amazing things he does.
¹⁰ The godly will rejoice in the Lord
    and find shelter in him.
And those who do what is right
    will praise him.

¹ What mighty praise, O God,
    belongs to you in Zion.
We will fulfill our vows to you,
²     for you answer our prayers.
    All of us must come to you.
³ Though we are overwhelmed by our sins,
    you forgive them all.
⁴ What joy for those you choose to bring near,
    those who live in your holy courts.
What festivities await us
    inside your holy Temple.

⁵ You faithfully answer our prayers with awesome deeds,
    O God our savior.
You are the hope of everyone on earth,
    even those who sail on distant seas.
⁶ You formed the mountains by your power
    and armed yourself with mighty strength.
⁷ You quieted the raging oceans
    with their pounding waves
    and silenced the shouting of the nations.
⁸ Those who live at the ends of the earth
    stand in awe of your wonders.
From where the sun rises to where it sets,
    you inspire shouts of joy.

⁹ You take care of the earth and water it,
    making it rich and fertile.
The river of God has plenty of water;
    it provides a bountiful harvest of grain,
    for you have ordered it so.
¹⁰ You drench the plowed ground with rain,
    melting the clods and leveling the ridges.
You soften the earth with showers
    and bless its abundant crops.
¹¹ You crown the year with a bountiful harvest;
    even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.
¹² The grasslands of the wilderness become a lush pasture,
    and the hillsides blossom with joy.
¹³ The meadows are clothed with flocks of sheep,
    and the valleys are carpeted with grain.
    They all shout and sing for joy!

¹ Shout joyful praises to God, all the earth!
²     Sing about the glory of his name!
    Tell the world how glorious he is.
³ Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
    Your enemies cringe before your mighty power.
⁴ Everything on earth will worship you;
    they will sing your praises,
    shouting your name in glorious songs.” Interlude

⁵ Come and see what our God has done,
    what awesome miracles he performs for people!
⁶ He made a dry path through the Red Sea,^[c]
    and his people went across on foot.
    There we rejoiced in him.
⁷ For by his great power he rules forever.
    He watches every movement of the nations;
    let no rebel rise in defiance. Interlude

⁸ Let the whole world bless our God
    and loudly sing his praises.
⁹ Our lives are in his hands,
    and he keeps our feet from stumbling.
¹⁰ You have tested us, O God;
    you have purified us like silver.
¹¹ You captured us in your net
    and laid the burden of slavery on our backs.
¹² Then you put a leader over us.^[d]
    We went through fire and flood,
    but you brought us to a place of great abundance.

¹³ Now I come to your Temple with burnt offerings
    to fulfill the vows I made to you—
¹⁴ yes, the sacred vows that I made
    when I was in deep trouble.
¹⁵ That is why I am sacrificing burnt offerings to you—
    the best of my rams as a pleasing aroma,
    and a sacrifice of bulls and male goats. Interlude

¹⁶ Come and listen, all you who fear God,
    and I will tell you what he did for me.
¹⁷ For I cried out to him for help,
    praising him as I spoke.
¹⁸ If I had not confessed the sin in my heart,
    the Lord would not have listened.
¹⁹ But God did listen!
    He paid attention to my prayer.
²⁰ Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer
    or withdraw his unfailing love from me.

¹ May God be merciful and bless us.
    May his face smile with favor on us. Interlude

² May your ways be known throughout the earth,
    your saving power among people everywhere.
³ May the nations praise you, O God.
    Yes, may all the nations praise you.
⁴ Let the whole world sing for joy,
    because you govern the nations with justice
    and guide the people of the whole world. Interlude

⁵ May the nations praise you, O God.
    Yes, may all the nations praise you.
⁶ Then the earth will yield its harvests,
    and God, our God, will richly bless us.
⁷ Yes, God will bless us,
    and people all over the world will fear him.

¹ Rise up, O God, and scatter your enemies.
    Let those who hate God run for their lives.
² Blow them away like smoke.
    Melt them like wax in a fire.
    Let the wicked perish in the presence of God.
³ But let the godly rejoice.
    Let them be glad in God’s presence.
    Let them be filled with joy.
⁴ Sing praises to God and to his name!
    Sing loud praises to him who rides the clouds.^[e]
His name is the Lord—
    rejoice in his presence!

⁵ Father to the fatherless, defender of widows—
    this is God, whose dwelling is holy.
⁶ God places the lonely in families;
    he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.
But he makes the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

⁷ O God, when you led your people out from Egypt,
    when you marched through the dry wasteland, Interlude
⁸ the earth trembled, and the heavens poured down rain
    before you, the God of Sinai,
    before God, the God of Israel.
⁹ You sent abundant rain, O God,
    to refresh the weary land.
¹⁰ There your people finally settled,
    and with a bountiful harvest, O God,
    you provided for your needy people.

¹¹ The Lord gives the word,
    and a great army^[f] brings the good news.
¹² Enemy kings and their armies flee,
    while the women of Israel divide the plunder.
¹³ Even those who lived among the sheepfolds found treasures—
    doves with wings of silver
    and feathers of gold.
¹⁴ The Almighty scattered the enemy kings
    like a blowing snowstorm on Mount Zalmon.

¹⁵ The mountains of Bashan are majestic,
    with many peaks stretching high into the sky.
¹⁶ Why do you look with envy, O rugged mountains,
    at Mount Zion, where God has chosen to live,
    where the Lord himself will live forever?

¹⁷ Surrounded by unnumbered thousands of chariots,
    the Lord came from Mount Sinai into his sanctuary.
¹⁸ When you ascended to the heights,
    you led a crowd of captives.
You received gifts from the people,
    even from those who rebelled against you.
    Now the Lord God will live among us there.

¹⁹ Praise the Lord; praise God our savior!
    For each day he carries us in his arms. Interlude
²⁰ Our God is a God who saves!
    The Sovereign Lord rescues us from death.

²¹ But God will smash the heads of his enemies,
    crushing the skulls of those who love their guilty ways.
²² The Lord says, “I will bring my enemies down from Bashan;
    I will bring them up from the depths of the sea.
²³ You, my people, will wash^[g] your feet in their blood,
    and even your dogs will get their share!”

²⁴ Your procession has come into view, O God—
    the procession of my God and King as he goes into the sanctuary.
²⁵ Singers are in front, musicians behind;
    between them are young women playing tambourines.
²⁶ Praise God, all you people of Israel;
    praise the Lord, the source of Israel’s life.
²⁷ Look, the little tribe of Benjamin leads the way.
    Then comes a great throng of rulers from Judah
    and all the rulers of Zebulun and Naphtali.

²⁸ Summon your might, O God.^[h]
    Display your power, O God, as you have in the past.
²⁹ The kings of the earth are bringing tribute
    to your Temple in Jerusalem.
³⁰ Rebuke these enemy nations—
    these wild animals lurking in the reeds,
    this herd of bulls among the weaker calves.
Make them bring bars of silver in humble tribute.
    Scatter the nations that delight in war.
³¹ Let Egypt come with gifts of precious metals^[i];
    let Ethiopia^[j] bring tribute to God.
³² Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth.
    Sing praises to the Lord. Interlude
³³ Sing to the one who rides across the ancient heavens,
    his mighty voice thundering from the sky.
³⁴ Tell everyone about God’s power.
    His majesty shines down on Israel;
    his strength is mighty in the heavens.
³⁵ God is awesome in his sanctuary.
    The God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.

Praise be to God!

¹ Save me, O God,
    for the floodwaters are up to my neck.
² Deeper and deeper I sink into the mire;
    I can’t find a foothold.
I am in deep water,
    and the floods overwhelm me.
³ I am exhausted from crying for help;
    my throat is parched.
My eyes are swollen with weeping,
    waiting for my God to help me.
⁴ Those who hate me without cause
    outnumber the hairs on my head.
Many enemies try to destroy me with lies,
    demanding that I give back what I didn’t steal.

⁵ O God, you know how foolish I am;
    my sins cannot be hidden from you.
⁶ Don’t let those who trust in you be ashamed because of me,
    O Sovereign Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
Don’t let me cause them to be humiliated,
    O God of Israel.
⁷ For I endure insults for your sake;
    humiliation is written all over my face.
⁸ Even my own brothers pretend they don’t know me;
    they treat me like a stranger.

⁹ Passion for your house has consumed me,
    and the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.
¹⁰ When I weep and fast,
    they scoff at me.
¹¹ When I dress in burlap to show sorrow,
    they make fun of me.
¹² I am the favorite topic of town gossip,
    and all the drunks sing about me.

¹³ But I keep praying to you, Lord,
    hoping this time you will show me favor.
In your unfailing love, O God,
    answer my prayer with your sure salvation.
¹⁴ Rescue me from the mud;
    don’t let me sink any deeper!
Save me from those who hate me,
    and pull me from these deep waters.
¹⁵ Don’t let the floods overwhelm me,
    or the deep waters swallow me,
    or the pit of death devour me.

¹⁶ Answer my prayers, O Lord,
    for your unfailing love is wonderful.
Take care of me,
    for your mercy is so plentiful.
¹⁷ Don’t hide from your servant;
    answer me quickly, for I am in deep trouble!
¹⁸ Come and redeem me;
    free me from my enemies.

¹⁹ You know of my shame, scorn, and disgrace.
    You see all that my enemies are doing.
²⁰ Their insults have broken my heart,
    and I am in despair.
If only one person would show some pity;
    if only one would turn and comfort me.
²¹ But instead, they give me poison^[k] for food;
    they offer me sour wine for my thirst.

²² Let the bountiful table set before them become a snare
    and their prosperity become a trap.^[l]
23 Let their eyes go blind so they cannot see,
    and make their bodies shake continually.^[m]
24 Pour out your fury on them;
    consume them with your burning anger.
²⁵ Let their homes become desolate
    and their tents be deserted.
²⁶ To the one you have punished, they add insult to injury;
    they add to the pain of those you have hurt.
²⁷ Pile their sins up high,
    and don’t let them go free.
²⁸ Erase their names from the Book of Life;
    don’t let them be counted among the righteous.

²⁹ I am suffering and in pain.
    Rescue me, O God, by your saving power.

³⁰ Then I will praise God’s name with singing,
    and I will honor him with thanksgiving.
³¹ For this will please the Lord more than sacrificing cattle,
    more than presenting a bull with its horns and hooves.
³² The humble will see their God at work and be glad.
    Let all who seek God’s help be encouraged.
³³ For the Lord hears the cries of the needy;
    he does not despise his imprisoned people.

³⁴ Praise him, O heaven and earth,
    the seas and all that move in them.
³⁵ For God will save Jerusalem^[n]
    and rebuild the towns of Judah.
His people will live there
    and settle in their own land.
³⁶ The descendants of those who obey him will inherit the land,
    and those who love him will live there in safety.

¹ Please, God, rescue me!
    Come quickly, Lord, and help me.
² May those who try to kill me
    be humiliated and put to shame.
May those who take delight in my trouble
    be turned back in disgrace.
³ Let them be horrified by their shame,
    for they said, “Aha! We’ve got him now!”
⁴ But may all who search for you
    be filled with joy and gladness in you.
May those who love your salvation
    repeatedly shout, “God is great!”
⁵ But as for me, I am poor and needy;
    please hurry to my aid, O God.
You are my helper and my savior;
    O Lord, do not delay.

⁷ My life is an example to many,
    because you have been my strength and protection.
⁸ That is why I can never stop praising you;
    I declare your glory all day long.
⁹ And now, in my old age, don’t set me aside.
    Don’t abandon me when my strength is failing.
¹⁰ For my enemies are whispering against me.
    They are plotting together to kill me.
¹¹ They say, “God has abandoned him.
    Let’s go and get him,
    for no one will help him now.”

¹² O God, don’t stay away.
    My God, please hurry to help me.
¹³ Bring disgrace and destruction on my accusers.
    Humiliate and shame those who want to harm me.
¹⁴ But I will keep on hoping for your help;
    I will praise you more and more.
¹⁵ I will tell everyone about your righteousness.
    All day long I will proclaim your saving power,
    though I am not skilled with words.^[o]
16 I will praise your mighty deeds, O Sovereign Lord.
    I will tell everyone that you alone are just.

¹⁷ O God, you have taught me from my earliest childhood,
    and I constantly tell others about the wonderful things you do.
¹⁸ Now that I am old and gray,
    do not abandon me, O God.
Let me proclaim your power to this new generation,
    your mighty miracles to all who come after me.

¹⁹ Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the highest heavens.
    You have done such wonderful things.
    Who can compare with you, O God?
²⁰ You have allowed me to suffer much hardship,
    but you will restore me to life again
    and lift me up from the depths of the earth.
²¹ You will restore me to even greater honor
    and comfort me once again.

²² Then I will praise you with music on the harp,
    because you are faithful to your promises, O my God.
I will sing praises to you with a lyre,
    O Holy One of Israel.
²³ I will shout for joy and sing your praises,
    for you have ransomed me.
²⁴ I will tell about your righteous deeds
    all day long,
for everyone who tried to hurt me
    has been shamed and humiliated.

¹ Give your love of justice to the king, O God,
    and righteousness to the king’s son.
² Help him judge your people in the right way;
    let the poor always be treated fairly.
³ May the mountains yield prosperity for all,
    and may the hills be fruitful.
⁴ Help him to defend the poor,
    to rescue the children of the needy,
    and to crush their oppressors.
⁵ May they fear you^[p] as long as the sun shines,
    as long as the moon remains in the sky.
    Yes, forever!

⁶ May the king’s rule be refreshing like spring rain on freshly cut grass,
    like the showers that water the earth.
⁷ May all the godly flourish during his reign.
    May there be abundant prosperity until the moon is no more.
⁸ May he reign from sea to sea,
    and from the Euphrates River^[q] to the ends of the earth.
⁹ Desert nomads will bow before him;
    his enemies will fall before him in the dust.
¹⁰ The western kings of Tarshish and other distant lands
    will bring him tribute.
The eastern kings of Sheba and Seba
    will bring him gifts.
¹¹ All kings will bow before him,
    and all nations will serve him.

¹² He will rescue the poor when they cry to him;
    he will help the oppressed, who have no one to defend them.
¹³ He feels pity for the weak and the needy,
    and he will rescue them.
¹⁴ He will redeem them from oppression and violence,
    for their lives are precious to him.

¹⁵ Long live the king!
    May the gold of Sheba be given to him.
May the people always pray for him
    and bless him all day long.
¹⁶ May there be abundant grain throughout the land,
    flourishing even on the hilltops.
May the fruit trees flourish like the trees of Lebanon,
    and may the people thrive like grass in a field.
¹⁷ May the king’s name endure forever;
    may it continue as long as the sun shines.
May all nations be blessed through him
    and bring him praise.

¹⁸ Praise the Lord God, the God of Israel,
    who alone does such wonderful things.
¹⁹ Praise his glorious name forever!
    Let the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and amen!

²⁰ (This ends the prayers of David son of Jesse.)

¹ Truly God is good to Israel,
    to those whose hearts are pure.
² But as for me, I almost lost my footing.
    My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone.
³ For I envied the proud
    when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness.
⁴ They seem to live such painless lives;
    their bodies are so healthy and strong.
⁵ They don’t have troubles like other people;
    they’re not plagued with problems like everyone else.
⁶ They wear pride like a jeweled necklace
    and clothe themselves with cruelty.
⁷ These fat cats have everything
    their hearts could ever wish for!
⁸ They scoff and speak only evil;
    in their pride they seek to crush others.
⁹ They boast against the very heavens,
    and their words strut throughout the earth.
¹⁰ And so the people are dismayed and confused,
    drinking in all their words.
¹¹ “What does God know?” they ask.
    “Does the Most High even know what’s happening?”
¹² Look at these wicked people—
    enjoying a life of ease while their riches multiply.

¹³ Did I keep my heart pure for nothing?
    Did I keep myself innocent for no reason?
¹⁴ I get nothing but trouble all day long;
    every morning brings me pain.

¹⁵ If I had really spoken this way to others,
    I would have been a traitor to your people.
¹⁶ So I tried to understand why the wicked prosper.
    But what a difficult task it is!
¹⁷ Then I went into your sanctuary, O God,
    and I finally understood the destiny of the wicked.
¹⁸ Truly, you put them on a slippery path
    and send them sliding over the cliff to destruction.
¹⁹ In an instant they are destroyed,
    completely swept away by terrors.
²⁰ When you arise, O Lord,
    you will laugh at their silly ideas
    as a person laughs at dreams in the morning.

²¹ Then I realized that my heart was bitter,
    and I was all torn up inside.
²² I was so foolish and ignorant—
    I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you.
²³ Yet I still belong to you;
    you hold my right hand.
²⁴ You guide me with your counsel,
    leading me to a glorious destiny.
²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but you?
    I desire you more than anything on earth.
²⁶ My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak,
    but God remains the strength of my heart;
    he is mine forever.

²⁷ Those who desert him will perish,
    for you destroy those who abandon you.
²⁸ But as for me, how good it is to be near God!
    I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter,
    and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.

¹ O God, why have you rejected us so long?
    Why is your anger so intense against the sheep of your own pasture?
² Remember that we are the people you chose long ago,
    the tribe you redeemed as your own special possession!
    And remember Jerusalem,^[s] your home here on earth.
³ Walk through the awful ruins of the city;
    see how the enemy has destroyed your sanctuary.

⁴ There your enemies shouted their victorious battle cries;
    there they set up their battle standards.
⁵ They swung their axes
    like woodcutters in a forest.
⁶ With axes and picks,
    they smashed the carved paneling.
⁷ They burned your sanctuary to the ground.
    They defiled the place that bears your name.
⁸ Then they thought, “Let’s destroy everything!”
    So they burned down all the places where God was worshiped.

⁹ We no longer see your miraculous signs.
    All the prophets are gone,
    and no one can tell us when it will end.
¹⁰ How long, O God, will you allow our enemies to insult you?
    Will you let them dishonor your name forever?
¹¹ Why do you hold back your strong right hand?
    Unleash your powerful fist and destroy them.

¹² You, O God, are my king from ages past,
    bringing salvation to the earth.
¹³ You split the sea by your strength
    and smashed the heads of the sea monsters.
¹⁴ You crushed the heads of Leviathan^[t]
    and let the desert animals eat him.
¹⁵ You caused the springs and streams to gush forth,
    and you dried up rivers that never run dry.
¹⁶ Both day and night belong to you;
    you made the starlight^[u] and the sun.
¹⁷ You set the boundaries of the earth,
    and you made both summer and winter.

¹⁸ See how these enemies insult you, Lord.
    A foolish nation has dishonored your name.
¹⁹ Don’t let these wild beasts destroy your turtledoves.
    Don’t forget your suffering people forever.

²⁰ Remember your covenant promises,
    for the land is full of darkness and violence!
²¹ Don’t let the downtrodden be humiliated again.
    Instead, let the poor and needy praise your name.

²² Arise, O God, and defend your cause.
    Remember how these fools insult you all day long.
²³ Don’t overlook what your enemies have said
    or their growing uproar.

¹ We thank you, O God!
    We give thanks because you are near.
    People everywhere tell of your wonderful deeds.

² God says, “At the time I have planned,
    I will bring justice against the wicked.
³ When the earth quakes and its people live in turmoil,
    I am the one who keeps its foundations firm. Interlude

⁴ “I warned the proud, ‘Stop your boasting!’
    I told the wicked, ‘Don’t raise your fists!
⁵ Don’t raise your fists in defiance at the heavens
    or speak with such arrogance.’”
⁶ For no one on earth—from east or west,
    or even from the wilderness—
    should raise a defiant fist.^[v]
7 It is God alone who judges;
    he decides who will rise and who will fall.
⁸ For the Lord holds a cup in his hand
    that is full of foaming wine mixed with spices.
He pours out the wine in judgment,
    and all the wicked must drink it,
    draining it to the dregs.

⁹ But as for me, I will always proclaim what God has done;
    I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
¹⁰ For God says, “I will break the strength of the wicked,
    but I will increase the power of the godly.”

¹ God is honored in Judah;
    his name is great in Israel.
² Jerusalem^[w] is where he lives;
    Mount Zion is his home.
³ There he has broken the fiery arrows of the enemy,
    the shields and swords and weapons of war. Interlude

⁴ You are glorious and more majestic
    than the everlasting mountains.^[x]
5 Our boldest enemies have been plundered.
    They lie before us in the sleep of death.
    No warrior could lift a hand against us.
⁶ At the blast of your breath, O God of Jacob,
    their horses and chariots lay still.

⁷ No wonder you are greatly feared!
    Who can stand before you when your anger explodes?
⁸ From heaven you sentenced your enemies;
    the earth trembled and stood silent before you.
⁹ You stand up to judge those who do evil, O God,
    and to rescue the oppressed of the earth. Interlude
¹⁰ Human defiance only enhances your glory,
    for you use it as a weapon.^[y]

¹¹ Make vows to the Lord your God, and keep them.
    Let everyone bring tribute to the Awesome One.
¹² For he breaks the pride of princes,
    and the kings of the earth fear him.

¹ I cry out to God; yes, I shout.
    Oh, that God would listen to me!
² When I was in deep trouble,
    I searched for the Lord.
All night long I prayed, with hands lifted toward heaven,
    but my soul was not comforted.
³ I think of God, and I moan,
    overwhelmed with longing for his help. Interlude

⁴ You don’t let me sleep.
    I am too distressed even to pray!
⁵ I think of the good old days,
    long since ended,
⁶ when my nights were filled with joyful songs.
    I search my soul and ponder the difference now.
⁷ Has the Lord rejected me forever?
    Will he never again be kind to me?
⁸ Is his unfailing love gone forever?
    Have his promises permanently failed?
⁹ Has God forgotten to be gracious?
    Has he slammed the door on his compassion? Interlude

¹⁰ And I said, “This is my fate;
    the Most High has turned his hand against me.”
¹¹ But then I recall all you have done, O Lord;
    I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago.
¹² They are constantly in my thoughts.
    I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works.

¹³ O God, your ways are holy.
    Is there any god as mighty as you?
¹⁴ You are the God of great wonders!
    You demonstrate your awesome power among the nations.
¹⁵ By your strong arm, you redeemed your people,
    the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. Interlude

¹⁶ When the Red Sea^[z] saw you, O God,
    its waters looked and trembled!
    The sea quaked to its very depths.
¹⁷ The clouds poured down rain;
    the thunder rumbled in the sky.
    Your arrows of lightning flashed.
¹⁸ Your thunder roared from the whirlwind;
    the lightning lit up the world!
    The earth trembled and shook.
¹⁹ Your road led through the sea,
    your pathway through the mighty waters—
    a pathway no one knew was there!
²⁰ You led your people along that road like a flock of sheep,
    with Moses and Aaron as their shepherds.

¹ O my people, listen to my instructions.
    Open your ears to what I am saying,
²     for I will speak to you in a parable.
I will teach you hidden lessons from our past—
³     stories we have heard and known,
    stories our ancestors handed down to us.
⁴ We will not hide these truths from our children;
    we will tell the next generation
about the glorious deeds of the Lord,
    about his power and his mighty wonders.
⁵ For he issued his laws to Jacob;
    he gave his instructions to Israel.
He commanded our ancestors
    to teach them to their children,
⁶ so the next generation might know them—
    even the children not yet born—
    and they in turn will teach their own children.
⁷ So each generation should set its hope anew on God,
    not forgetting his glorious miracles
    and obeying his commands.
⁸ Then they will not be like their ancestors—
    stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful,
    refusing to give their hearts to God.

⁹ The warriors of Ephraim, though armed with bows,
    turned their backs and fled on the day of battle.
¹⁰ They did not keep God’s covenant
    and refused to live by his instructions.
¹¹ They forgot what he had done—
    the great wonders he had shown them,
¹² the miracles he did for their ancestors
    on the plain of Zoan in the land of Egypt.
¹³ For he divided the sea and led them through,
    making the water stand up like walls!
¹⁴ In the daytime he led them by a cloud,
    and all night by a pillar of fire.
¹⁵ He split open the rocks in the wilderness
    to give them water, as from a gushing spring.
¹⁶ He made streams pour from the rock,
    making the waters flow down like a river!

¹⁷ Yet they kept on sinning against him,
    rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
¹⁸ They stubbornly tested God in their hearts,
    demanding the foods they craved.
¹⁹ They even spoke against God himself, saying,
    “God can’t give us food in the wilderness.
²⁰ Yes, he can strike a rock so water gushes out,
    but he can’t give his people bread and meat.”
²¹ When the Lord heard them, he was furious.
    The fire of his wrath burned against Jacob.
    Yes, his anger rose against Israel,
²² for they did not believe God
    or trust him to care for them.
²³ But he commanded the skies to open;
    he opened the doors of heaven.
²⁴ He rained down manna for them to eat;
    he gave them bread from heaven.
²⁵ They ate the food of angels!
    God gave them all they could hold.
²⁶ He released the east wind in the heavens
    and guided the south wind by his mighty power.
²⁷ He rained down meat as thick as dust—
    birds as plentiful as the sand on the seashore!
²⁸ He caused the birds to fall within their camp
    and all around their tents.
²⁹ The people ate their fill.
    He gave them what they craved.
³⁰ But before they satisfied their craving,
    while the meat was yet in their mouths,
³¹ the anger of God rose against them,
    and he killed their strongest men.
    He struck down the finest of Israel’s young men.

³² But in spite of this, the people kept sinning.
    Despite his wonders, they refused to trust him.
³³ So he ended their lives in failure,
    their years in terror.
³⁴ When God began killing them,
    they finally sought him.
    They repented and took God seriously.
³⁵ Then they remembered that God was their rock,
    that God Most High^[ab] was their redeemer.
³⁶ But all they gave him was lip service;
    they lied to him with their tongues.
³⁷ Their hearts were not loyal to him.
    They did not keep his covenant.
³⁸ Yet he was merciful and forgave their sins
    and did not destroy them all.
Many times he held back his anger
    and did not unleash his fury!
³⁹ For he remembered that they were merely mortal,
    gone like a breath of wind that never returns.

⁴⁰ Oh, how often they rebelled against him in the wilderness
    and grieved his heart in that dry wasteland.
⁴¹ Again and again they tested God’s patience
    and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
⁴² They did not remember his power
    and how he rescued them from their enemies.
⁴³ They did not remember his miraculous signs in Egypt,
    his wonders on the plain of Zoan.
⁴⁴ For he turned their rivers into blood,
    so no one could drink from the streams.
⁴⁵ He sent vast swarms of flies to consume them
    and hordes of frogs to ruin them.
⁴⁶ He gave their crops to caterpillars;
    their harvest was consumed by locusts.
⁴⁷ He destroyed their grapevines with hail
    and shattered their sycamore-figs with sleet.
⁴⁸ He abandoned their cattle to the hail,
    their livestock to bolts of lightning.
⁴⁹ He loosed on them his fierce anger—
    all his fury, rage, and hostility.
He dispatched against them
    a band of destroying angels.
⁵⁰ He turned his anger against them;
    he did not spare the Egyptians’ lives
    but ravaged them with the plague.
⁵¹ He killed the oldest son in each Egyptian family,
    the flower of youth throughout the land of Egypt.^[ac]
52 But he led his own people like a flock of sheep,
    guiding them safely through the wilderness.
⁵³ He kept them safe so they were not afraid;
    but the sea covered their enemies.
⁵⁴ He brought them to the border of his holy land,
    to this land of hills he had won for them.
⁵⁵ He drove out the nations before them;
    he gave them their inheritance by lot.
    He settled the tribes of Israel into their homes.

⁵⁶ But they kept testing and rebelling against God Most High.
    They did not obey his laws.
⁵⁷ They turned back and were as faithless as their parents.
    They were as undependable as a crooked bow.
⁵⁸ They angered God by building shrines to other gods;
    they made him jealous with their idols.
⁵⁹ When God heard them, he was very angry,
    and he completely rejected Israel.
⁶⁰ Then he abandoned his dwelling at Shiloh,
    the Tabernacle where he had lived among the people.
⁶¹ He allowed the Ark of his might to be captured;
    he surrendered his glory into enemy hands.
⁶² He gave his people over to be butchered by the sword,
    because he was so angry with his own people—his special possession.
⁶³ Their young men were killed by fire;
    their young women died before singing their wedding songs.
⁶⁴ Their priests were slaughtered,
    and their widows could not mourn their deaths.

⁶⁵ Then the Lord rose up as though waking from sleep,
    like a warrior aroused from a drunken stupor.
⁶⁶ He routed his enemies
    and sent them to eternal shame.
⁶⁷ But he rejected Joseph’s descendants;
    he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.
⁶⁸ He chose instead the tribe of Judah,
    and Mount Zion, which he loved.
⁶⁹ There he built his sanctuary as high as the heavens,
    as solid and enduring as the earth.
⁷⁰ He chose his servant David,
    calling him from the sheep pens.
⁷¹ He took David from tending the ewes and lambs
    and made him the shepherd of Jacob’s descendants—
    God’s own people, Israel.
⁷² He cared for them with a true heart
    and led them with skillful hands.

¹ O God, pagan nations have conquered your land,
    your special possession.
They have defiled your holy Temple
    and made Jerusalem a heap of ruins.
² They have left the bodies of your servants
    as food for the birds of heaven.
The flesh of your godly ones
    has become food for the wild animals.
³ Blood has flowed like water all around Jerusalem;
    no one is left to bury the dead.
⁴ We are mocked by our neighbors,
    an object of scorn and derision to those around us.

⁵ O Lord, how long will you be angry with us? Forever?
    How long will your jealousy burn like fire?
⁶ Pour out your wrath on the nations that refuse to acknowledge you—
    on kingdoms that do not call upon your name.
⁷ For they have devoured your people Israel,^[ad]
    making the land a desolate wilderness.
⁸ Do not hold us guilty for the sins of our ancestors!
    Let your compassion quickly meet our needs,
    for we are on the brink of despair.

⁹ Help us, O God of our salvation!
    Help us for the glory of your name.
Save us and forgive our sins
    for the honor of your name.
¹⁰ Why should pagan nations be allowed to scoff,
    asking, “Where is their God?”
Show us your vengeance against the nations,
    for they have spilled the blood of your servants.
¹¹ Listen to the moaning of the prisoners.
    Demonstrate your great power by saving those condemned to die.

¹² O Lord, pay back our neighbors seven times
    for the scorn they have hurled at you.
¹³ Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture,
    will thank you forever and ever,
    praising your greatness from generation to generation.

¹ Please listen, O Shepherd of Israel,
    you who lead Joseph’s descendants like a flock.
O God, enthroned above the cherubim,
    display your radiant glory
²     to Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh.
Show us your mighty power.
    Come to rescue us!

³ Turn us again to yourself, O God.
    Make your face shine down upon us.
    Only then will we be saved.
⁴ O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,
    how long will you be angry with our prayers?
⁵ You have fed us with sorrow
    and made us drink tears by the bucketful.
⁶ You have made us the scorn^[ae] of neighboring nations.
    Our enemies treat us as a joke.

⁷ Turn us again to yourself, O God of Heaven’s Armies.
    Make your face shine down upon us.
    Only then will we be saved.
⁸ You brought us from Egypt like a grapevine;
    you drove away the pagan nations and transplanted us into your land.
⁹ You cleared the ground for us,
    and we took root and filled the land.
¹⁰ Our shade covered the mountains;
    our branches covered the mighty cedars.
¹¹ We spread our branches west to the Mediterranean Sea;
    our shoots spread east to the Euphrates River.^[af]
12 But now, why have you broken down our walls
    so that all who pass by may steal our fruit?
¹³ The wild boar from the forest devours it,
    and the wild animals feed on it.

¹⁴ Come back, we beg you, O God of Heaven’s Armies.
    Look down from heaven and see our plight.
Take care of this grapevine
¹⁵     that you yourself have planted,
    this son you have raised for yourself.
¹⁶ For we are chopped up and burned by our enemies.
    May they perish at the sight of your frown.
¹⁷ Strengthen the man you love,
    the son of your choice.
¹⁸ Then we will never abandon you again.
    Revive us so we can call on your name once more.

¹⁹ Turn us again to yourself, O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.
    Make your face shine down upon us.
    Only then will we be saved.

¹ Sing praises to God, our strength.
    Sing to the God of Jacob.
² Sing! Beat the tambourine.
    Play the sweet lyre and the harp.
³ Blow the ram’s horn at new moon,
    and again at full moon to call a festival!
⁴ For this is required by the decrees of Israel;
    it is a regulation of the God of Jacob.
⁵ He made it a law for Israel^[ah]
    when he attacked Egypt to set us free.

I heard an unknown voice say,
⁶ “Now I will take the load from your shoulders;
    I will free your hands from their heavy tasks.
⁷ You cried to me in trouble, and I saved you;
    I answered out of the thundercloud
    and tested your faith when there was no water at Meribah. Interlude

⁸ “Listen to me, O my people, while I give you stern warnings.
    O Israel, if you would only listen to me!
⁹ You must never have a foreign god;
    you must not bow down before a false god.
¹⁰ For it was I, the Lord your God,
    who rescued you from the land of Egypt.
    Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things.

¹¹ “But no, my people wouldn’t listen.
    Israel did not want me around.
¹² So I let them follow their own stubborn desires,
    living according to their own ideas.
¹³ Oh, that my people would listen to me!
    Oh, that Israel would follow me, walking in my paths!
¹⁴ How quickly I would then subdue their enemies!
    How soon my hands would be upon their foes!
¹⁵ Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him;
    they would be doomed forever.
¹⁶ But I would feed you with the finest wheat.
    I would satisfy you with wild honey from the rock.”

¹ God presides over heaven’s court;
    he pronounces judgment on the heavenly beings:
² “How long will you hand down unjust decisions
    by favoring the wicked? Interlude

³ “Give justice to the poor and the orphan;
    uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.
⁴ Rescue the poor and helpless;
    deliver them from the grasp of evil people.
⁵ But these oppressors know nothing;
    they are so ignorant!
They wander about in darkness,
    while the whole world is shaken to the core.
⁶ I say, ‘You are gods;
    you are all children of the Most High.
⁷ But you will die like mere mortals
    and fall like every other ruler.’”

⁸ Rise up, O God, and judge the earth,
    for all the nations belong to you.

¹ O God, do not be silent!
    Do not be deaf.
    Do not be quiet, O God.
² Don’t you hear the uproar of your enemies?
    Don’t you see that your arrogant enemies are rising up?
³ They devise crafty schemes against your people;
    they conspire against your precious ones.
⁴ “Come,” they say, “let us wipe out Israel as a nation.
    We will destroy the very memory of its existence.”
⁵ Yes, this was their unanimous decision.
    They signed a treaty as allies against you—
⁶ these Edomites and Ishmaelites;
    Moabites and Hagrites;
⁷ Gebalites, Ammonites, and Amalekites;
    and people from Philistia and Tyre.
⁸ Assyria has joined them, too,
    and is allied with the descendants of Lot. Interlude

⁹ Do to them as you did to the Midianites
    and as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River.
¹⁰ They were destroyed at Endor,
    and their decaying corpses fertilized the soil.
¹¹ Let their mighty nobles die as Oreb and Zeeb did.
    Let all their princes die like Zebah and Zalmunna,
¹² for they said, “Let us seize for our own use
    these pasturelands of God!”
¹³ O my God, scatter them like tumbleweed,
    like chaff before the wind!
¹⁴ As a fire burns a forest
    and as a flame sets mountains ablaze,
¹⁵ chase them with your fierce storm;
    terrify them with your tempest.
¹⁶ Utterly disgrace them
    until they submit to your name, O Lord.
¹⁷ Let them be ashamed and terrified forever.
    Let them die in disgrace.
¹⁸ Then they will learn that you alone are called the Lord,
    that you alone are the Most High,
    supreme over all the earth.

¹ How lovely is your dwelling place,
    O Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
² I long, yes, I faint with longing
    to enter the courts of the Lord.
With my whole being, body and soul,
    I will shout joyfully to the living God.
³ Even the sparrow finds a home,
    and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young
at a place near your altar,
    O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, my King and my God!
⁴ What joy for those who can live in your house,
    always singing your praises. Interlude

⁵ What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord,
    who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
⁶ When they walk through the Valley of Weeping,^[aj]
    it will become a place of refreshing springs.
    The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.
⁷ They will continue to grow stronger,
    and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem.^[ak]

⁸ O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, hear my prayer.
    Listen, O God of Jacob. Interlude

⁹ O God, look with favor upon the king, our shield!
    Show favor to the one you have anointed.

¹⁰ A single day in your courts
    is better than a thousand anywhere else!
I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God
    than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.
¹¹ For the Lord God is our sun and our shield.
    He gives us grace and glory.
The Lord will withhold no good thing
    from those who do what is right.
¹² O Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
    what joy for those who trust in you.

¹ Lord, you poured out blessings on your land!
    You restored the fortunes of Israel.^[al]
2 You forgave the guilt of your people—
    yes, you covered all their sins. Interlude
³ You held back your fury.
    You kept back your blazing anger.

⁴ Now restore us again, O God of our salvation.
    Put aside your anger against us once more.
⁵ Will you be angry with us always?
    Will you prolong your wrath to all generations?
⁶ Won’t you revive us again,
    so your people can rejoice in you?
⁷ Show us your unfailing love, O Lord,
    and grant us your salvation.

⁸ I listen carefully to what God the Lord is saying,
    for he speaks peace to his faithful people.
    But let them not return to their foolish ways.
⁹ Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,
    so our land will be filled with his glory.

¹⁰ Unfailing love and truth have met together.
    Righteousness and peace have kissed!
¹¹ Truth springs up from the earth,
    and righteousness smiles down from heaven.
¹² Yes, the Lord pours down his blessings.
    Our land will yield its bountiful harvest.
¹³ Righteousness goes as a herald before him,
    preparing the way for his steps.

¹ Bend down, O Lord, and hear my prayer;
    answer me, for I need your help.
² Protect me, for I am devoted to you.
    Save me, for I serve you and trust you.
    You are my God.
³ Be merciful to me, O Lord,
    for I am calling on you constantly.
⁴ Give me happiness, O Lord,
    for I give myself to you.
⁵ O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive,
    so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help.
⁶ Listen closely to my prayer, O Lord;
    hear my urgent cry.
⁷ I will call to you whenever I’m in trouble,
    and you will answer me.

⁸ No pagan god is like you, O Lord.
    None can do what you do!
⁹ All the nations you made
    will come and bow before you, Lord;
    they will praise your holy name.
¹⁰ For you are great and perform wonderful deeds.
    You alone are God.

¹¹ Teach me your ways, O Lord,
    that I may live according to your truth!
Grant me purity of heart,
    so that I may honor you.
¹² With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God.
    I will give glory to your name forever,
¹³ for your love for me is very great.
    You have rescued me from the depths of death.^[am]

¹⁴ O God, insolent people rise up against me;
    a violent gang is trying to kill me.
    You mean nothing to them.
¹⁵ But you, O Lord,
    are a God of compassion and mercy,
slow to get angry
    and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.
¹⁶ Look down and have mercy on me.
    Give your strength to your servant;
    save me, the son of your servant.
¹⁷ Send me a sign of your favor.
    Then those who hate me will be put to shame,
    for you, O Lord, help and comfort me.

¹ On the holy mountain
    stands the city founded by the Lord.
² He loves the city of Jerusalem
    more than any other city in Israel.^[an]
3 O city of God,
    what glorious things are said of you! Interlude

⁴ I will count Egypt^[ao] and Babylon among those who know me—
    also Philistia and Tyre, and even distant Ethiopia.^[ap]
    They have all become citizens of Jerusalem!
⁵ Regarding Jerusalem^[aq] it will be said,
    “Everyone enjoys the rights of citizenship there.”
    And the Most High will personally bless this city.
⁶ When the Lord registers the nations, he will say,
    “They have all become citizens of Jerusalem.” Interlude

⁷ The people will play flutes^[ar] and sing,
    “The source of my life springs from Jerusalem!”

¹ O Lord, God of my salvation,
    I cry out to you by day.
    I come to you at night.
² Now hear my prayer;
    listen to my cry.
³ For my life is full of troubles,
    and death^[at] draws near.
⁴ I am as good as dead,
    like a strong man with no strength left.
⁵ They have left me among the dead,
    and I lie like a corpse in a grave.
I am forgotten,
    cut off from your care.
⁶ You have thrown me into the lowest pit,
    into the darkest depths.
⁷ Your anger weighs me down;
    with wave after wave you have engulfed me. Interlude

⁸ You have driven my friends away
    by making me repulsive to them.
I am in a trap with no way of escape.
⁹     My eyes are blinded by my tears.
Each day I beg for your help, O Lord;
    I lift my hands to you for mercy.
¹⁰ Are your wonderful deeds of any use to the dead?
    Do the dead rise up and praise you? Interlude

¹¹ Can those in the grave declare your unfailing love?
    Can they proclaim your faithfulness in the place of destruction?^[au]
12 Can the darkness speak of your wonderful deeds?
    Can anyone in the land of forgetfulness talk about your righteousness?
¹³ O Lord, I cry out to you.
    I will keep on pleading day by day.
¹⁴ O Lord, why do you reject me?
    Why do you turn your face from me?

¹⁵ I have been sick and close to death since my youth.
    I stand helpless and desperate before your terrors.
¹⁶ Your fierce anger has overwhelmed me.
    Your terrors have paralyzed me.
¹⁷ They swirl around me like floodwaters all day long.
    They have engulfed me completely.
¹⁸ You have taken away my companions and loved ones.
    Darkness is my closest friend.

¹ I will sing of the Lord’s unfailing love forever!
    Young and old will hear of your faithfulness.
² Your unfailing love will last forever.
    Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens.

³ The Lord said, “I have made a covenant with David, my chosen servant.
    I have sworn this oath to him:
⁴ ‘I will establish your descendants as kings forever;
    they will sit on your throne from now until eternity.’” Interlude
⁵ All heaven will praise your great wonders, Lord;
    myriads of angels will praise you for your faithfulness.
⁶ For who in all of heaven can compare with the Lord?
    What mightiest angel is anything like the Lord?
⁷ The highest angelic powers stand in awe of God.
    He is far more awesome than all who surround his throne.
⁸ O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies!
    Where is there anyone as mighty as you, O Lord?
    You are entirely faithful.

⁹ You rule the oceans.
    You subdue their storm-tossed waves.
¹⁰ You crushed the great sea monster.^[aw]
    You scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
¹¹ The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours;
    everything in the world is yours—you created it all.
¹² You created north and south.
    Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon praise your name.
¹³ Powerful is your arm!
    Strong is your hand!
    Your right hand is lifted high in glorious strength.
¹⁴ Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne.
    Unfailing love and truth walk before you as attendants.
¹⁵ Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship,
    for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord.
¹⁶ They rejoice all day long in your wonderful reputation.
    They exult in your righteousness.
¹⁷ You are their glorious strength.
    It pleases you to make us strong.
¹⁸ Yes, our protection comes from the Lord,
    and he, the Holy One of Israel, has given us our king.

¹⁹ Long ago you spoke in a vision to your faithful people.
You said, “I have raised up a warrior.
    I have selected him from the common people to be king.
²⁰ I have found my servant David.
    I have anointed him with my holy oil.
²¹ I will steady him with my hand;
    with my powerful arm I will make him strong.
²² His enemies will not defeat him,
    nor will the wicked overpower him.
²³ I will beat down his adversaries before him
    and destroy those who hate him.
²⁴ My faithfulness and unfailing love will be with him,
    and by my authority he will grow in power.
²⁵ I will extend his rule over the sea,
    his dominion over the rivers.
²⁶ And he will call out to me, ‘You are my Father,
    my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’
²⁷ I will make him my firstborn son,
    the mightiest king on earth.
²⁸ I will love him and be kind to him forever;
    my covenant with him will never end.
²⁹ I will preserve an heir for him;
    his throne will be as endless as the days of heaven.
³⁰ But if his descendants forsake my instructions
    and fail to obey my regulations,
³¹ if they do not obey my decrees
    and fail to keep my commands,
³² then I will punish their sin with the rod,
    and their disobedience with beating.
³³ But I will never stop loving him
    nor fail to keep my promise to him.
³⁴ No, I will not break my covenant;
    I will not take back a single word I said.
³⁵ I have sworn an oath to David,
    and in my holiness I cannot lie:
³⁶ His dynasty will go on forever;
    his kingdom will endure as the sun.
³⁷ It will be as eternal as the moon,
    my faithful witness in the sky!” Interlude

³⁸ But now you have rejected him and cast him off.
    You are angry with your anointed king.
³⁹ You have renounced your covenant with him;
    you have thrown his crown in the dust.
⁴⁰ You have broken down the walls protecting him
    and ruined every fort defending him.
⁴¹ Everyone who comes along has robbed him,
    and he has become a joke to his neighbors.
⁴² You have strengthened his enemies
    and made them all rejoice.
⁴³ You have made his sword useless
    and refused to help him in battle.
⁴⁴ You have ended his splendor
    and overturned his throne.
⁴⁵ You have made him old before his time
    and publicly disgraced him. Interlude

⁴⁶ O Lord, how long will this go on?
    Will you hide yourself forever?
    How long will your anger burn like fire?
⁴⁷ Remember how short my life is,
    how empty and futile this human existence!
⁴⁸ No one can live forever; all will die.
    No one can escape the power of the grave.^[ax] Interlude

⁴⁹ Lord, where is your unfailing love?
    You promised it to David with a faithful pledge.
⁵⁰ Consider, Lord, how your servants are disgraced!
    I carry in my heart the insults of so many people.
⁵¹ Your enemies have mocked me, O Lord;
    they mock your anointed king wherever he goes.

⁵² Praise the Lord forever!
    Amen and amen!

¹ Lord, through all the generations
    you have been our home!
² Before the mountains were born,
    before you gave birth to the earth and the world,
    from beginning to end, you are God.

³ You turn people back to dust, saying,
    “Return to dust, you mortals!”
⁴ For you, a thousand years are as a passing day,
    as brief as a few night hours.
⁵ You sweep people away like dreams that disappear.
    They are like grass that springs up in the morning.
⁶ In the morning it blooms and flourishes,
    but by evening it is dry and withered.
⁷ We wither beneath your anger;
    we are overwhelmed by your fury.
⁸ You spread out our sins before you—
    our secret sins—and you see them all.
⁹ We live our lives beneath your wrath,
    ending our years with a groan.

¹⁰ Seventy years are given to us!
    Some even live to eighty.
But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble;
    soon they disappear, and we fly away.
¹¹ Who can comprehend the power of your anger?
    Your wrath is as awesome as the fear you deserve.
¹² Teach us to realize the brevity of life,
    so that we may grow in wisdom.

¹³ O Lord, come back to us!
    How long will you delay?
    Take pity on your servants!
¹⁴ Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love,
    so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives.
¹⁵ Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery!
    Replace the evil years with good.
¹⁶ Let us, your servants, see you work again;
    let our children see your glory.
¹⁷ And may the Lord our God show us his approval
    and make our efforts successful.
    Yes, make our efforts successful!

⁹ If you make the Lord your refuge,
    if you make the Most High your shelter,
¹⁰ no evil will conquer you;
    no plague will come near your home.
¹¹ For he will order his angels
    to protect you wherever you go.
¹² They will hold you up with their hands
    so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.
¹³ You will trample upon lions and cobras;
    you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!

¹⁴ The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me.
    I will protect those who trust in my name.
¹⁵ When they call on me, I will answer;
    I will be with them in trouble.
    I will rescue and honor them.
¹⁶ I will reward them with a long life
    and give them my salvation.”

¹ It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
    to sing praises to the Most High.
² It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning,
    your faithfulness in the evening,
³ accompanied by a ten-stringed instrument, a harp,
    and the melody of a lyre.

⁴ You thrill me, Lord, with all you have done for me!
    I sing for joy because of what you have done.
⁵ O Lord, what great works you do!
    And how deep are your thoughts.
⁶ Only a simpleton would not know,
    and only a fool would not understand this:
⁷ Though the wicked sprout like weeds
    and evildoers flourish,
    they will be destroyed forever.

⁸ But you, O Lord, will be exalted forever.
⁹ Your enemies, Lord, will surely perish;
    all evildoers will be scattered.
¹⁰ But you have made me as strong as a wild ox.
    You have anointed me with the finest oil.
¹¹ My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;
    my ears have heard the defeat of my wicked opponents.
¹² But the godly will flourish like palm trees
    and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon.
¹³ For they are transplanted to the Lord’s own house.
    They flourish in the courts of our God.
¹⁴ Even in old age they will still produce fruit;
    they will remain vital and green.
¹⁵ They will declare, “The Lord is just!
    He is my rock!
    There is no evil in him!”

² Your throne, O Lord, has stood from time immemorial.
    You yourself are from the everlasting past.
³ The floods have risen up, O Lord.
    The floods have roared like thunder;
    the floods have lifted their pounding waves.
⁴ But mightier than the violent raging of the seas,
    mightier than the breakers on the shore—
    the Lord above is mightier than these!
⁵ Your royal laws cannot be changed.
    Your reign, O Lord, is holy forever and ever.

⁸ Think again, you fools!
    When will you finally catch on?
⁹ Is he deaf—the one who made your ears?
    Is he blind—the one who formed your eyes?
¹⁰ He punishes the nations—won’t he also punish you?
    He knows everything—doesn’t he also know what you are doing?
¹¹ The Lord knows people’s thoughts;
    he knows they are worthless!

¹² Joyful are those you discipline, Lord,
    those you teach with your instructions.
¹³ You give them relief from troubled times
    until a pit is dug to capture the wicked.
¹⁴ The Lord will not reject his people;
    he will not abandon his special possession.
¹⁵ Judgment will again be founded on justice,
    and those with virtuous hearts will pursue it.

¹⁶ Who will protect me from the wicked?
    Who will stand up for me against evildoers?
¹⁷ Unless the Lord had helped me,
    I would soon have settled in the silence of the grave.
¹⁸ I cried out, “I am slipping!”
    but your unfailing love, O Lord, supported me.
¹⁹ When doubts filled my mind,
    your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.

²⁰ Can unjust leaders claim that God is on their side—
    leaders whose decrees permit injustice?
²¹ They gang up against the righteous
    and condemn the innocent to death.
²² But the Lord is my fortress;
    my God is the mighty rock where I hide.
²³ God will turn the sins of evil people back on them.
    He will destroy them for their sins.
    The Lord our God will destroy them.

⁶ Come, let us worship and bow down.
    Let us kneel before the Lord our maker,
⁷     for he is our God.
We are the people he watches over,
    the flock under his care.

If only you would listen to his voice today!
⁸ The Lord says, “Don’t harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah,
    as they did at Massah in the wilderness.
⁹ For there your ancestors tested and tried my patience,
    even though they saw everything I did.
¹⁰ For forty years I was angry with them, and I said,
‘They are a people whose hearts turn away from me.
    They refuse to do what I tell them.’
¹¹ So in my anger I took an oath:
    ‘They will never enter my place of rest.’”

⁷ O nations of the world, recognize the Lord;
    recognize that the Lord is glorious and strong.
⁸ Give to the Lord the glory he deserves!
    Bring your offering and come into his courts.
⁹ Worship the Lord in all his holy splendor.
    Let all the earth tremble before him.
¹⁰ Tell all the nations, “The Lord reigns!”
    The world stands firm and cannot be shaken.
    He will judge all peoples fairly.

¹¹ Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice!
    Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise!
¹² Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy!
    Let the trees of the forest sing for joy
¹³ before the Lord, for he is coming!
    He is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with justice,
    and the nations with his truth.

¹⁰ You who love the Lord, hate evil!
    He protects the lives of his godly people
    and rescues them from the power of the wicked.
¹¹ Light shines on the godly,
    and joy on those whose hearts are right.
¹² May all who are godly rejoice in the Lord
    and praise his holy name!

¹ Sing a new song to the Lord,
    for he has done wonderful deeds.
His right hand has won a mighty victory;
    his holy arm has shown his saving power!
² The Lord has announced his victory
    and has revealed his righteousness to every nation!
³ He has remembered his promise to love and be faithful to Israel.
    The ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.

⁴ Shout to the Lord, all the earth;
    break out in praise and sing for joy!
⁵ Sing your praise to the Lord with the harp,
    with the harp and melodious song,
⁶ with trumpets and the sound of the ram’s horn.
    Make a joyful symphony before the Lord, the King!

⁷ Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise!
    Let the earth and all living things join in.
⁸ Let the rivers clap their hands in glee!
    Let the hills sing out their songs of joy
⁹ before the Lord,
    for he is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with justice,
    and the nations with fairness.

⁶ Moses and Aaron were among his priests;
    Samuel also called on his name.
They cried to the Lord for help,
    and he answered them.
⁷ He spoke to Israel from the pillar of cloud,
    and they followed the laws and decrees he gave them.
⁸ O Lord our God, you answered them.
    You were a forgiving God to them,
    but you punished them when they went wrong.

⁹ Exalt the Lord our God,
    and worship at his holy mountain in Jerusalem,
    for the Lord our God is holy!

¹ Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
²     Worship the Lord with gladness.
    Come before him, singing with joy.
³ Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
    He made us, and we are his.^[bc]
    We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
    go into his courts with praise.
    Give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵ For the Lord is good.
    His unfailing love continues forever,
    and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

¹ I will sing of your love and justice, Lord.
    I will praise you with songs.
² I will be careful to live a blameless life—
    when will you come to help me?
I will lead a life of integrity
    in my own home.
³ I will refuse to look at
    anything vile and vulgar.
I hate all who deal crookedly;
    I will have nothing to do with them.
⁴ I will reject perverse ideas
    and stay away from every evil.
⁵ I will not tolerate people who slander their neighbors.
    I will not endure conceit and pride.

⁶ I will search for faithful people
    to be my companions.
Only those who are above reproach
    will be allowed to serve me.
⁷ I will not allow deceivers to serve in my house,
    and liars will not stay in my presence.
⁸ My daily task will be to ferret out the wicked
    and free the city of the Lord from their grip.

¹ Lord, hear my prayer!
    Listen to my plea!
² Don’t turn away from me
    in my time of distress.
Bend down to listen,
    and answer me quickly when I call to you.
³ For my days disappear like smoke,
    and my bones burn like red-hot coals.
⁴ My heart is sick, withered like grass,
    and I have lost my appetite.
⁵ Because of my groaning,
    I am reduced to skin and bones.
⁶ I am like an owl in the desert,
    like a little owl in a far-off wilderness.
⁷ I lie awake,
    lonely as a solitary bird on the roof.
⁸ My enemies taunt me day after day.
    They mock and curse me.
⁹ I eat ashes for food.
    My tears run down into my drink
¹⁰ because of your anger and wrath.
    For you have picked me up and thrown me out.
¹¹ My life passes as swiftly as the evening shadows.
    I am withering away like grass.

¹² But you, O Lord, will sit on your throne forever.
    Your fame will endure to every generation.
¹³ You will arise and have mercy on Jerusalem^[bd]—
    and now is the time to pity her,
    now is the time you promised to help.
¹⁴ For your people love every stone in her walls
    and cherish even the dust in her streets.
¹⁵ Then the nations will tremble before the Lord.
    The kings of the earth will tremble before his glory.
¹⁶ For the Lord will rebuild Jerusalem.
    He will appear in his glory.
¹⁷ He will listen to the prayers of the destitute.
    He will not reject their pleas.

¹⁸ Let this be recorded for future generations,
    so that a people not yet born will praise the Lord.
¹⁹ Tell them the Lord looked down
    from his heavenly sanctuary.
He looked down to earth from heaven
²⁰     to hear the groans of the prisoners,
    to release those condemned to die.
²¹ And so the Lord’s fame will be celebrated in Zion,
    his praises in Jerusalem,
²² when multitudes gather together
    and kingdoms come to worship the Lord.

²³ He broke my strength in midlife,
    cutting short my days.
²⁴ But I cried to him, “O my God, who lives forever,
    don’t take my life while I am so young!
²⁵ Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth
    and made the heavens with your hands.
²⁶ They will perish, but you remain forever;
    they will wear out like old clothing.
You will change them like a garment
    and discard them.
²⁷ But you are always the same;
    you will live forever.
²⁸ The children of your people
    will live in security.
Their children’s children
    will thrive in your presence.”

¹ Let all that I am praise the Lord;
    with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
² Let all that I am praise the Lord;
    may I never forget the good things he does for me.
³ He forgives all my sins
    and heals all my diseases.
⁴ He redeems me from death
    and crowns me with love and tender mercies.
⁵ He fills my life with good things.
    My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!

⁶ The Lord gives righteousness
    and justice to all who are treated unfairly.

⁷ He revealed his character to Moses
    and his deeds to the people of Israel.
⁸ The Lord is compassionate and merciful,
    slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
⁹ He will not constantly accuse us,
    nor remain angry forever.
¹⁰ He does not punish us for all our sins;
    he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.
¹¹ For his unfailing love toward those who fear him
    is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.
¹² He has removed our sins as far from us
    as the east is from the west.
¹³ The Lord is like a father to his children,
    tender and compassionate to those who fear him.
¹⁴ For he knows how weak we are;
    he remembers we are only dust.
¹⁵ Our days on earth are like grass;
    like wildflowers, we bloom and die.
¹⁶ The wind blows, and we are gone—
    as though we had never been here.
¹⁷ But the love of the Lord remains forever
    with those who fear him.
His salvation extends to the children’s children
¹⁸     of those who are faithful to his covenant,
    of those who obey his commandments!

¹⁹ The Lord has made the heavens his throne;
    from there he rules over everything.

²⁰ Praise the Lord, you angels,
    you mighty ones who carry out his plans,
    listening for each of his commands.
²¹ Yes, praise the Lord, you armies of angels
    who serve him and do his will!
²² Praise the Lord, everything he has created,
    everything in all his kingdom.

Let all that I am praise the Lord.

O Lord my God, how great you are!
    You are robed with honor and majesty.
²     You are dressed in a robe of light.
You stretch out the starry curtain of the heavens;
³     you lay out the rafters of your home in the rain clouds.
You make the clouds your chariot;
    you ride upon the wings of the wind.
⁴ The winds are your messengers;
    flames of fire are your servants.^[be]

⁵ You placed the world on its foundation
    so it would never be moved.
⁶ You clothed the earth with floods of water,
    water that covered even the mountains.
⁷ At your command, the water fled;
    at the sound of your thunder, it hurried away.
⁸ Mountains rose and valleys sank
    to the levels you decreed.
⁹ Then you set a firm boundary for the seas,
    so they would never again cover the earth.

¹⁰ You make springs pour water into the ravines,
    so streams gush down from the mountains.
¹¹ They provide water for all the animals,
    and the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
¹² The birds nest beside the streams
    and sing among the branches of the trees.
¹³ You send rain on the mountains from your heavenly home,
    and you fill the earth with the fruit of your labor.
¹⁴ You cause grass to grow for the livestock
    and plants for people to use.
You allow them to produce food from the earth—
¹⁵     wine to make them glad,
olive oil to soothe their skin,
    and bread to give them strength.
¹⁶ The trees of the Lord are well cared for—
    the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
¹⁷ There the birds make their nests,
    and the storks make their homes in the cypresses.
¹⁸ High in the mountains live the wild goats,
    and the rocks form a refuge for the hyraxes.^[bf]

¹⁹ You made the moon to mark the seasons,
    and the sun knows when to set.
²⁰ You send the darkness, and it becomes night,
    when all the forest animals prowl about.
²¹ Then the young lions roar for their prey,
    stalking the food provided by God.
²² At dawn they slink back
    into their dens to rest.
²³ Then people go off to their work,
    where they labor until evening.

²⁴ O Lord, what a variety of things you have made!
    In wisdom you have made them all.
    The earth is full of your creatures.
²⁵ Here is the ocean, vast and wide,
    teeming with life of every kind,
    both large and small.
²⁶ See the ships sailing along,
    and Leviathan,^[bg] which you made to play in the sea.

²⁷ They all depend on you
    to give them food as they need it.
²⁸ When you supply it, they gather it.
    You open your hand to feed them,
    and they are richly satisfied.
²⁹ But if you turn away from them, they panic.
    When you take away their breath,
    they die and turn again to dust.
³⁰ When you give them your breath,^[bh] life is created,
    and you renew the face of the earth.

³¹ May the glory of the Lord continue forever!
    The Lord takes pleasure in all he has made!
³² The earth trembles at his glance;
    the mountains smoke at his touch.

³³ I will sing to the Lord as long as I live.
    I will praise my God to my last breath!
³⁴ May all my thoughts be pleasing to him,
    for I rejoice in the Lord.
³⁵ Let all sinners vanish from the face of the earth;
    let the wicked disappear forever.

Let all that I am praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord!