Category: Psalms

A Psalm for giving thanks.

[101:1] I will sing of steadfast love and justice; to you, O Lord, I will make music.

[101:2] I will ponder the way that is blameless. Oh when will you come to me? I will walk with integrity of heart within my house;

[101:3] I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.

[101:4] A perverse heart shall be far from me; I will know nothing of evil.

[101:5] Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly I will destroy. Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart I will not endure.

[101:6] I will look with favor on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me; he who walks in the way that is blameless shall minister to me.

[101:7] No one who practices deceit shall dwell in my house; no one who utters lies shall continue before my eyes.

[101:8] Morning by morning I will destroy all the wicked in the land, cutting off all the evildoers from the city of the Lord.

A Psalm of David.

[102:1] Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry come to you!

[102:2] Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress! Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call!

[102:3] For my days pass away like smoke, and my bones burn like a furnace.

[102:4] My heart is struck down like grass and has withered; I forget to eat my bread.

[102:5] Because of my loud groaning my bones cling to my flesh.

[102:6] I am like a desert owl of the wilderness, like an owl of the waste places;

[102:7] I lie awake; I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop.

[102:8] All the day my enemies taunt me; those who deride me use my name for a curse.

[102:9] For I eat ashes like bread and mingle tears with my drink,

[102:10] because of your indignation and anger; for you have taken me up and thrown me down.

[102:11] My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass.

[102:12] But you, O Lord, are enthroned forever; you are remembered throughout all generations.

[102:13] You will arise and have pity on Zion; it is the time to favor her; the appointed time has come.

[102:14] For your servants hold her stones dear and have pity on her dust.

[102:15] Nations will fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth will fear your glory.

[102:16] For the Lord builds up Zion; he appears in his glory;

[102:17] he regards the prayer of the destitute and does not despise their prayer.

[102:18] Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord:

[102:19] that he looked down from his holy height; from heaven the Lord looked at the earth,

[102:20] to hear the groans of the prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die,

[102:21] that they may declare in Zion the name of the Lord, and in Jerusalem his praise,

[102:22] when peoples gather together, and kingdoms, to worship the Lord.

[102:23] He has broken my strength in midcourse; he has shortened my days.

[102:24] “O my God,” I say, “take me not away in the midst of my days— you whose years endure throughout all generations!”

[102:25] Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.

[102:26] They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,

[102:27] but you are the same, and your years have no end.

[102:28] The children of your servants shall dwell secure; their offspring shall be established before you.

A Prayer of one afflicted, when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the Lord.

[103:1] Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!

[103:2] Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,

[103:3] who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases,

[103:4] who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,

[103:5] who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

[103:6] The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.

[103:7] He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel.

[103:8] The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

[103:9] He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever.

[103:10] He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.

[103:11] For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;

[103:12] as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

[103:13] As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.

[103:14] For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.

[103:15] As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field;

[103:16] for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.

[103:17] But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children,

[103:18] to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments.

[103:19] The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.

[103:20] Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word!

[103:21] Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers, who do his will!

[103:22] Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul!

Of David.

[104:1] Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, you are very great! You are clothed with splendor and majesty,

[104:2] covering yourself with light as with a garment, stretching out the heavens like a tent.

[104:3] He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters; he makes the clouds his chariot; he rides on the wings of the wind;

[104:4] he makes his messengers winds, his ministers a flaming fire.

[104:5] He set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be moved.

[104:6] You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.

[104:7] At your rebuke they fled; at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.

[104:8] The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place that you appointed for them.

[104:9] You set a boundary that they may not pass, so that they might not again cover the earth.

[104:10] You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills;

[104:11] they give drink to every beast of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

[104:12] Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell; they sing among the branches.

[104:13] From your lofty abode you water the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

[104:14] You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth

[104:15] and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man’s heart.

[104:16] The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.

[104:17] In them the birds build their nests; the stork has her home in the fir trees.

[104:18] The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.

[104:19] He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting.

[104:20] You make darkness, and it is night, when all the beasts of the forest creep about.

[104:21] The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God.

[104:22] When the sun rises, they steal away and lie down in their dens.

[104:23] Man goes out to his work and to his labor until the evening.

[104:24] O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.

[104:25] Here is the sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, living things both small and great.

[104:26] There go the ships, and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.

[104:27] These all look to you, to give them their food in due season.

[104:28] When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.

[104:29] When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.

[104:30] When you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground.

[104:31] May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works,

[104:32] who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke!

[104:33] I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.

[104:34] May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord.

[104:35] Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more! Bless the Lord, O my soul! Praise the Lord!

[105:1] Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!

[105:2] Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!

[105:3] Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!

[105:4] Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!

[105:5] Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,

[105:6] O offspring of Abraham, his servant, children of Jacob, his chosen ones!

[105:7] He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth.

[105:8] He remembers his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,

[105:9] the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac,

[105:10] which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant,

[105:11] saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan as your portion for an inheritance.”

[105:12] When they were few in number, of little account, and sojourners in it,

[105:13] wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people,

[105:14] he allowed no one to oppress them; he rebuked kings on their account,

[105:15] saying, “Touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm!”

[105:16] When he summoned a famine on the land and broke all supply of bread,

[105:17] he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave.

[105:18] His feet were hurt with fetters; his neck was put in a collar of iron;

[105:19] until what he had said came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him.

[105:20] The king sent and released him; the ruler of the peoples set him free;

[105:21] he made him lord of his house and ruler of all his possessions,

[105:22] to bind his princes at his pleasure and to teach his elders wisdom.

[105:23] Then Israel came to Egypt; Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.

[105:24] And the Lord made his people very fruitful and made them stronger than their foes.

[105:25] He turned their hearts to hate his people, to deal craftily with his servants.

[105:26] He sent Moses, his servant, and Aaron, whom he had chosen.

[105:27] They performed his signs among them and miracles in the land of Ham.

[105:28] He sent darkness, and made the land dark; they did not rebel against his words.

[105:29] He turned their waters into blood and caused their fish to die.

[105:30] Their land swarmed with frogs, even in the chambers of their kings.

[105:31] He spoke, and there came swarms of flies, and gnats throughout their country.

[105:32] He gave them hail for rain, and fiery lightning bolts through their land.

[105:33] He struck down their vines and fig trees, and shattered the trees of their country.

[105:34] He spoke, and the locusts came, young locusts without number,

[105:35] which devoured all the vegetation in their land and ate up the fruit of their ground.

[105:36] He struck down all the firstborn in their land, the firstfruits of all their strength.

[105:37] Then he brought out Israel with silver and gold, and there was none among his tribes who stumbled.

[105:38] Egypt was glad when they departed, for dread of them had fallen upon it.

[105:39] He spread a cloud for a covering, and fire to give light by night.

[105:40] They asked, and he brought quail, and gave them bread from heaven in abundance.

[105:41] He opened the rock, and water gushed out; it flowed through the desert like a river.

[105:42] For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham, his servant.

[105:43] So he brought his people out with joy, his chosen ones with singing.

[105:44] And he gave them the lands of the nations, and they took possession of the fruit of the peoples’ toil,

[105:45] that they might keep his statutes and observe his laws. Praise the Lord!

[106:1] Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

[106:2] Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord, or declare all his praise?

[106:3] Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times!

[106:4] Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people; help me when you save them,

[106:5] that I may look upon the prosperity of your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation, that I may glory with your inheritance.

[106:6] Both we and our fathers have sinned; we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness.

[106:7] Our fathers, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wondrous works; they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.

[106:8] Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make known his mighty power.

[106:9] He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry, and he led them through the deep as through a desert.

[106:10] So he saved them from the hand of the foe and redeemed them from the power of the enemy.

[106:11] And the waters covered their adversaries; not one of them was left.

[106:12] Then they believed his words; they sang his praise.

[106:13] But they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel.

[106:14] But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness, and put God to the test in the desert;

[106:15] he gave them what they asked, but sent a wasting disease among them.

[106:16] When men in the camp were jealous of Moses and Aaron, the holy one of the Lord,

[106:17] the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram.

[106:18] Fire also broke out in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.

[106:19] They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped a metal image.

[106:20] They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass.

[106:21] They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt,

[106:22] wondrous works in the land of Ham, and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.

[106:23] Therefore he said he would destroy them— had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him, to turn away his wrath from destroying them.

[106:24] Then they despised the pleasant land, having no faith in his promise.

[106:25] They murmured in their tents, and did not obey the voice of the Lord.

[106:26] Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them that he would make them fall in the wilderness,

[106:27] and would make their offspring fall among the nations, scattering them among the lands.

[106:28] Then they yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor, and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;

[106:29] they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds, and a plague broke out among them.

[106:30] Then Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was stayed.

[106:31] And that was counted to him as righteousness from generation to generation forever.

[106:32] They angered him at the waters of Meribah, and it went ill with Moses on their account,

[106:33] for they made his spirit bitter, and he spoke rashly with his lips.

[106:34] They did not destroy the peoples, as the Lord commanded them,

[106:35] but they mixed with the nations and learned to do as they did.

[106:36] They served their idols, which became a snare to them.

[106:37] They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons;

[106:38] they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood.

[106:39] Thus they became unclean by their acts, and played the whore in their deeds.

[106:40] Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people, and he abhorred his heritage;

[106:41] he gave them into the hand of the nations, so that those who hated them ruled over them.

[106:42] Their enemies oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their power.

[106:43] Many times he delivered them, but they were rebellious in their purposes and were brought low through their iniquity.

[106:44] Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress, when he heard their cry.

[106:45] For their sake he remembered his covenant, and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.

[106:46] He caused them to be pitied by all those who held them captive.

[106:47] Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise.

[106:48] Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! And let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the Lord!

[107:1] Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

[107:2] Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble

[107:3] and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.

[107:4] Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in;

[107:5] hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them.

[107:6] Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.

[107:7] He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in.

[107:8] Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!

[107:9] For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

[107:10] Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons,

[107:11] for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High.

[107:12] So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor; they fell down, with none to help.

[107:13] Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.

[107:14] He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart.

[107:15] Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!

[107:16] For he shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the bars of iron.

[107:17] Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;

[107:18] they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death.

[107:19] Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.

[107:20] He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.

[107:21] Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!

[107:22] And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!

[107:23] Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters;

[107:24] they saw the deeds of the Lord, his wondrous works in the deep.

[107:25] For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea.

[107:26] They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight;

[107:27] they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits’ end.

[107:28] Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.

[107:29] He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.

[107:30] Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven.

[107:31] Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!

[107:32] Let them extol him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

[107:33] He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground,

[107:34] a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the evil of its inhabitants.

[107:35] He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water.

[107:36] And there he lets the hungry dwell, and they establish a city to live in;

[107:37] they sow fields and plant vineyards and get a fruitful yield.

[107:38] By his blessing they multiply greatly, and he does not let their livestock diminish.

[107:39] When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, evil, and sorrow,

[107:40] he pours contempt on princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes;

[107:41] but he raises up the needy out of affliction and makes their families like flocks.

[107:42] The upright see it and are glad, and all wickedness shuts its mouth.

[107:43] Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

[108:1] My heart is steadfast, O God! I will sing and make melody with all my being!

[108:2] Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn!

[108:3] I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.

[108:4] For your steadfast love is great above the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

[108:5] Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!

[108:6] That your beloved ones may be delivered, give salvation by your right hand and answer me!

[108:7] God has promised in his holiness: “With exultation I will divide up Shechem and portion out the Valley of Succoth.

[108:8] Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet, Judah my scepter.

[108:9] Moab is my washbasin; upon Edom I cast my shoe; over Philistia I shout in triumph.”

[108:10] Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?

[108:11] Have you not rejected us, O God? You do not go out, O God, with our armies.

[108:12] Oh grant us help against the foe, for vain is the salvation of man!

[108:13] With God we shall do valiantly; it is he who will tread down our foes.

A Song. A Psalm of David.

[109:1] Be not silent, O God of my praise!

[109:2] For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues.

[109:3] They encircle me with words of hate, and attack me without cause.

[109:4] In return for my love they accuse me, but I give myself to prayer.

[109:5] So they reward me evil for good, and hatred for my love.

[109:6] Appoint a wicked man against him; let an accuser stand at his right hand.

[109:7] When he is tried, let him come forth guilty; let his prayer be counted as sin!

[109:8] May his days be few; may another take his office!

[109:9] May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow!

[109:10] May his children wander about and beg, seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit!

[109:11] May the creditor seize all that he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil!

[109:12] Let there be none to extend kindness to him, nor any to pity his fatherless children!

[109:13] May his posterity be cut off; may his name be blotted out in the second generation!

[109:14] May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord, and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out!

[109:15] Let them be before the Lord continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth!

[109:16] For he did not remember to show kindness, but pursued the poor and needy and the brokenhearted, to put them to death.

[109:17] He loved to curse; let curses come upon him! He did not delight in blessing; may it be far from him!

[109:18] He clothed himself with cursing as his coat; may it soak into his body like water, like oil into his bones!

[109:19] May it be like a garment that he wraps around him, like a belt that he puts on every day!

[109:20] May this be the reward of my accusers from the Lord, of those who speak evil against my life!

[109:21] But you, O God my Lord, deal on my behalf for your name’s sake; because your steadfast love is good, deliver me!

[109:22] For I am poor and needy, and my heart is stricken within me.

[109:23] I am gone like a shadow at evening; I am shaken off like a locust.

[109:24] My knees are weak through fasting; my body has become gaunt, with no fat.

[109:25] I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they wag their heads.

[109:26] Help me, O Lord my God! Save me according to your steadfast love!

[109:27] Let them know that this is your hand; you, O Lord, have done it!

[109:28] Let them curse, but you will bless! They arise and are put to shame, but your servant will be glad!

[109:29] May my accusers be clothed with dishonor; may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak!

[109:30] With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord; I will praise him in the midst of the throng.

[109:31] For he stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

[110:1] The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”

[110:2] The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies!

[110:3] Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours.

[110:4] The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”

[110:5] The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.

[110:6] He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth.

[110:7] He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore he will lift up his head.