My Soul Thirsts for You

143 A Psalm of David.

1  Hear my prayer, O Lord;

cgive ear to my pleas for mercy!

In your dfaithfulness answer me, in your drighteousness!

2  eEnter not into judgment with your servant,

for no one living is righteous fbefore you.

3  For the enemy has pursued my soul;

ghe has crushed my life to the ground;

hhe has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.

4  Therefore my spirit ifaints within me;

my heart within me is appalled.

5  jI remember the days of old;

kI meditate on all that you have done;

I ponder the work of your hands.

6  lI stretch out my hands to you;

mmy soul thirsts for you like na parched land. Selah

7  oAnswer me quickly, O Lord!

pMy spirit fails!

qHide not your face from me,

rlest I be like those who go down to the pit.

8  sLet me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,

for in you I ttrust.

uMake me know the way I should go,

vfor to you I lift up my soul.

9  wDeliver me from my enemies, O Lord!

I have fled to you for refuge.1

10  xTeach me to do your will,

for you are my God!

yLet your good Spirit zlead me

on alevel ground!

11  bFor your name’s sake, O Lord, cpreserve my life!

In your righteousness dbring my soul out of trouble!

12  And in your steadfast love you will ecut off my enemies,

and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,

for I am your fservant.

My Rock and My Fortress

144 Of David.

1  Blessed be the Lord, my grock,

hwho trains my hands for war,

and my fingers for battle;

2  he is my isteadfast love and my jfortress,

my kstronghold and my deliverer,

my lshield and he in whom I take refuge,

who msubdues peoples1 under me.

3  O Lord, nwhat is man that you oregard him,

or the son of man that you think of him?

4  pMan is like a breath;

his days are like qa passing rshadow.

5  sBow your heavens, O Lord, and come down!

tTouch the mountains so that they smoke!

6  uFlash forth the lightning and scatter them;

usend out your arrows and rout them!

7  vStretch out your hand from on high;

wrescue me and deliver me from the many waters,

from the hand xof foreigners,

8  whose mouths speak ylies

and whose right hand is za right hand of falsehood.

9  I will sing aa new song to you, O God;

upon aa ten-stringed harp I will play to you,

10  who gives victory to kings,

who brescues David his servant from the cruel sword.

11  Rescue me and deliver me

from the hand xof foreigners,

whose mouths speak ylies

and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

12  May our sons in their youth

be like cplants full grown,

our daughters like dcorner pillars

cut for the structure of a palace;

13  emay our granaries be full,

fproviding all kinds of produce;

may our sheep bring forth thousands

and ten thousands in our fields;

14  may our cattle be heavy with young,

suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;2

may there be no gcry of distress in our streets!

15  hBlessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!

iBlessed are the people whose God is the Lord!

Great Is the Lord

145 1 A Song of Praise. Of David.

1  jI will extol you, my God and kKing,

and bless your name forever and ever.

2  Every day I will bless you

land praise your name forever and ever.

3  mGreat is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,

and his ngreatness is unsearchable.

4  oOne generation shall commend your works to another,

and shall declare your mighty acts.

5  On pthe glorious splendor of your majesty,

and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.

6  They shall speak of qthe might of your awesome deeds,

and I will declare your greatness.

7  They shall pour forth the fame of your rabundant goodness

and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

8  The Lord is sgracious and merciful,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

9  The Lord is tgood to all,

and his mercy is over all that he has made.

10  uAll your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,

and all your vsaints shall bless you!

11  They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom

and tell of your power,

12  to wmake known to the children of man your2 xmighty deeds,

and ythe glorious splendor of your kingdom.

13  zYour kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

[The Lord is faithful in all his words

and kind in all his works.]3

14  The Lord aupholds all who are falling

and braises up all who are bowed down.

15  The eyes of all clook to you,

and you give them their food in due season.

16  You dopen your hand;

you esatisfy the desire of every living thing.

17  The Lord is frighteous in all his ways

and gkind in all his works.

18  The Lord is hnear to all who call on him,

to all who call on him iin truth.

19  He jfulfills the desire of those who fear him;

he also khears their cry and saves them.

20  The Lord lpreserves all who love him,

but all the wicked he will destroy.

21  My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,

and mlet all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

Put Not Your Trust in Princes

146 nPraise the Lord!

Praise the Lord, O my soul!

2  I will praise the Lord oas long as I live;

pI will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

3  qPut not your trust in princes,

rin a son of man, in whom there is sno salvation.

4  When this breath departs, he returns to the earth;

on that very day his plans perish.

5  uBlessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,

whose vhope is in the Lord his God,

6  wwho made heaven and earth,

the sea, and all that is in them,

xwho keeps faith forever;

7  ywho executes justice for the oppressed,

zwho gives food to the hungry.

aThe Lord sets the prisoners free;

8  bthe Lord opens the eyes of the blind.

cThe Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;

dthe Lord loves the righteous.

9  eThe Lord watches over the sojourners;

fhe upholds the widow and the fatherless,

but gthe way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

10  hThe Lord will reign forever,

your God, O Zion, to all generations.

nPraise the Lord!

He Heals the Brokenhearted

147 iPraise the Lord!

For jit is good to sing praises to our God;

for kit is pleasant,1 and la song of praise is fitting.

2  The Lord mbuilds up Jerusalem;

he ngathers the outcasts of Israel.

3  He heals othe brokenhearted

and pbinds up their wounds.

4  He qdetermines the number of the stars;

he rgives to all of them their names.

5  sGreat is our Lord, and tabundant in power;

uhis understanding is beyond measure.

6  The Lord vlifts up the humble;2

he casts the wicked to the ground.

7  wSing to the Lord with thanksgiving;

make melody to our God on xthe lyre!

8  He covers the heavens with clouds;

he prepares yrain for the earth;

he makes zgrass grow on the hills.

9  He agives to the beasts their food,

and to bthe young ravens that cry.

10  His delight is not in cthe strength of the horse,

nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,

11  but the Lord dtakes pleasure in those who fear him,

in those who ehope in his steadfast love.

12  Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!

Praise your God, O Zion!

13  For he strengthens fthe bars of your gates;

he blesses your children within you.

14  He gmakes peace in your borders;

he hfills you with the ifinest of the wheat.

15  He jsends out his command to the earth;

his word runs swiftly.

16  He gives ksnow like wool;

he scatters lfrost like ashes.

17  He hurls down his crystals of mice like crumbs;

who can stand before his ncold?

18  He osends out his word, and melts them;

he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.

19  He declares his word to Jacob,

his pstatutes and rules3 to Israel.

20  He qhas not dealt thus with any other nation;

they do not know his rules.4

rPraise the Lord!