For the music director; by the Lord’s servant David, who sang 2 to the Lord the words of this song when 3 the Lord rescued him from the power 4 of all his enemies, including Saul. 5
18:1 He said: 6
“I love 7 you, Lord, my source of strength! 8
18:2 The Lord is my high ridge, 9 my stronghold, 10 my deliverer.
My God is my rocky summit where 11 I take shelter, 12
my shield, the horn that saves me, 13 and my refuge. 14
18:3 I called 15 to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, 16
and I was delivered from my enemies.
18:4 The waves 17 of death engulfed me,
the currents 18 of chaos 19 overwhelmed me. 20
18:5 The ropes of Sheol tightened around me, 21
the snares of death trapped me. 22
18:6 In my distress I called to the Lord;
I cried out to my God. 23
From his heavenly temple 24 he heard my voice;
he listened to my cry for help. 25
18:7 The earth heaved and shook; 26
the roots of the mountains 27 trembled; 28
they heaved because he was angry.
18:8 Smoke ascended from 29 his nose; 30
fire devoured as it came from his mouth; 31
he hurled down fiery coals. 32
18:9 He made the sky sink 33 as he descended;
a thick cloud was under his feet.
18:10 He mounted 34 a winged angel 35 and flew;
he glided 36 on the wings of the wind. 37
18:11 He shrouded himself in darkness, 38
in thick rain clouds. 39
18:12 From the brightness in front of him came
hail and fiery coals. 40
18:13 The Lord thundered 41 in 42 the sky;
the sovereign One 43 shouted. 44
18:14 He shot his 45 arrows and scattered them, 46
many lightning bolts 47 and routed them. 48
18:15 The depths 49 of the sea 50 were exposed;
the inner regions 51 of the world were uncovered
by 52 your battle cry, 53 Lord,
by the powerful breath from your nose. 54
18:16 He reached down 55 from above and took hold of me;
he pulled me from the surging water. 56
18:17 He rescued me from my strong enemy, 57
from those who hate me,
for they were too strong for me.
18:18 They confronted 58 me in my day of calamity,
but the Lord helped me. 59
18:19 He brought me out into a wide open place;
he delivered me because he was pleased with me. 60
18:20 The Lord repaid 61 me for my godly deeds; 62
he rewarded 63 my blameless behavior. 64
18:21 For I have obeyed the Lord’s commands; 65
I have not rebelled against my God. 66
18:22 For I am aware of all his regulations, 67
and I do not reject his rules. 68
18:23 I was innocent before him,
and kept myself from sinning. 69
18:24 The Lord rewarded me for my godly deeds; 70
he took notice of my blameless behavior. 71
18:25 You prove to be loyal 72 to one who is faithful; 73
you prove to be trustworthy 74 to one who is innocent. 75
18:26 You prove to be reliable 76 to one who is blameless,
but you prove to be deceptive 77 to one who is perverse. 78
18:27 For you deliver oppressed 79 people,
but you bring down those who have a proud look. 80
18:28 Indeed, 81 you are my lamp, Lord. 82
My God 83 illuminates the darkness around me. 84
18:29 Indeed, 85 with your help 86 I can charge against 87 an army; 88
by my God’s power 89 I can jump over a wall. 90
18:30 The one true God acts in a faithful manner; 91
the Lord’s promise 92 is reliable; 93
he is a shield to all who take shelter 94 in him.
18:31 Indeed, 95 who is God besides the Lord?
Who is a protector 96 besides our God? 97
18:32 The one true God 98 gives 99 me strength; 100
he removes 101 the obstacles in my way. 102
18:33 He gives me the agility of a deer; 103
he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain. 104
18:34 He trains my hands for battle; 105
my arms can bend even the strongest bow. 106
18:35 You give me your protective shield; 107
your right hand supports me; 108
your willingness to help 109 enables me to prevail. 110
18:36 You widen my path; 111
my feet 112 do not slip.
18:37 I chase my enemies and catch 113 them;
I do not turn back until I wipe them out.
18:38 I beat them 114 to death; 115
they fall at my feet. 116
18:39 You give me strength 117 for battle;
you make my foes kneel before me. 118
18:40 You make my enemies retreat; 119
I destroy those who hate me. 120
18:41 They cry out, but there is no one to help them; 121
they cry out to the Lord, 122 but he does not answer them.
18:42 I grind them as fine windblown dust; 123
I beat them underfoot 124 like clay 125 in the streets.
18:43 You rescue me from a hostile army; 126
you make me 127 a leader of nations;
people over whom I had no authority are now my subjects. 128
18:44 When they hear of my exploits, they submit to me. 129
Foreigners are powerless 130 before me;
18:45 foreigners lose their courage; 131
they shake with fear 132 as they leave 133 their strongholds. 134
18:46 The Lord is alive! 135
My protector 136 is praiseworthy! 137
The God who delivers me 138 is exalted as king! 139
18:47 The one true God 140 completely vindicates me; 141
he makes nations submit to me. 142
18:48 He delivers me 143 from my enemies;
you snatch me away 144 from those who attack me; 145
you rescue me from violent men.
18:49 So I will give you thanks before the nations, 146 O Lord!
I will sing praises to you! 147
18:50 He 148 gives his chosen king magnificent victories; 149
he is faithful 150 to his chosen ruler, 151
to David and his descendants 152 forever.” 153
For the music director; By David, a psalm.
40:1 I relied completely 155 on the Lord,
and he turned toward me
and heard my cry for help.
40:2 He lifted me out of the watery pit, 156
out of the slimy mud. 157
He placed my feet on a rock
and gave me secure footing. 158
40:3 He gave me reason to sing a new song, 159
praising our God. 160
May many see what God has done,
so that they might swear allegiance to him and trust in the Lord! 161
40:4 How blessed 162 is the one 163 who trusts in the Lord 164
and does not seek help from 165 the proud or from liars! 166
40:5 O Lord, my God, you have accomplished many things;
you have done amazing things and carried out your purposes for us. 167
No one can thwart you! 168
I want to declare them and talk about them,
but they are too numerous to recount! 169
40:6 Receiving sacrifices and offerings are not your primary concern. 170
You make that quite clear to me! 171
You do not ask for burnt sacrifices and sin offerings.
40:7 Then I say,
“Look! I come!
What is written in the scroll pertains to me. 172
40:8 I want to do what pleases you, 173 my God.
Your law dominates my thoughts.” 174
40:9 I have told the great assembly 175 about your justice. 176
Look! I spare no words! 177
O Lord, you know this is true.
40:10 I have not failed to tell about your justice; 178
I spoke about your reliability and deliverance;
I have not neglected to tell the great assembly about your loyal love and faithfulness. 179
40:11 O Lord, you do not withhold 180 your compassion from me.
May your loyal love and faithfulness continually protect me! 181
40:12 For innumerable dangers 182 surround me.
My sins overtake me
so I am unable to see;
they outnumber the hairs of my head
so my strength fails me. 183
40:13 Please be willing, O Lord, to rescue me!
O Lord, hurry and help me! 184
40:14 May those who are trying to snatch away my life
be totally embarrassed and ashamed! 185
May those who want to harm me
be turned back and ashamed! 186
40:15 May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
be humiliated 187 and disgraced! 188
40:16 May all those who seek you be happy and rejoice in you!
May those who love to experience 189 your deliverance say continually, 190
“May the Lord be praised!” 191
40:17 I am oppressed and needy! 192
May the Lord pay attention to me! 193
You are my helper and my deliverer!
O my God, do not delay!
By David.
103:1 Praise the Lord, O my soul!
With all that is within me, praise 195 his holy name!
103:2 Praise the Lord, O my soul!
Do not forget all his kind deeds! 196
103:3 He is the one who forgives all your sins,
who heals all your diseases, 197
103:4 who delivers 198 your life from the Pit, 199
who crowns you with his loyal love and compassion,
103:5 who satisfies your life with good things, 200
so your youth is renewed like an eagle’s. 201
103:6 The Lord does what is fair,
and executes justice for all the oppressed. 202
103:7 The Lord revealed his faithful acts 203 to Moses,
his deeds to the Israelites.
103:8 The Lord is compassionate and merciful;
he is patient 204 and demonstrates great loyal love. 205
103:9 He does not always accuse,
and does not stay angry. 206
103:10 He does not deal with us as our sins deserve; 207
he does not repay us as our misdeeds deserve. 208
103:11 For as the skies are high above the earth,
so his loyal love towers 209 over his faithful followers. 210
103:12 As far as the eastern horizon 211 is from the west, 212
so he removes the guilt of our rebellious actions 213 from us.
103:13 As a father has compassion on his children, 214
so the Lord has compassion on his faithful followers. 215
103:14 For he knows what we are made of; 216
he realizes 217 we are made of clay. 218
103:15 A person’s life is like grass. 219
Like a flower in the field it flourishes,
103:16 but when the hot wind 220 blows by, it disappears,
and one can no longer even spot the place where it once grew.
103:17 But the Lord continually shows loyal love to his faithful followers, 221
and is faithful to their descendants, 222
103:18 to those who keep his covenant,
who are careful to obey his commands. 223
103:19 The Lord has established his throne in heaven;
his kingdom extends over everything. 224
103:20 Praise the Lord, you angels of his,
you powerful warriors who carry out his decrees
and obey his orders! 225
103:21 Praise the Lord, all you warriors of his, 226
you servants of his who carry out his desires! 227
103:22 Praise the Lord, all that he has made, 228
in all the regions 229 of his kingdom!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
106:1 Praise the Lord!
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
and his loyal love endures! 231
106:2 Who can adequately recount the Lord’s mighty acts,
or relate all his praiseworthy deeds? 232
106:3 How blessed are those who promote justice,
and do what is right all the time!
106:4 Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people!
Pay attention to me, when you deliver,
106:5 so I may see the prosperity 233 of your chosen ones,
rejoice along with your nation, 234
and boast along with the people who belong to you. 235
106:6 We have sinned like 236 our ancestors; 237
we have done wrong, we have done evil.
106:7 Our ancestors in Egypt failed to appreciate your miraculous deeds,
they failed to remember your many acts of loyal love,
and they rebelled at the sea, by the Red Sea. 238
106:8 Yet he delivered them for the sake of his reputation, 239
that he might reveal his power.
106:9 He shouted at 240 the Red Sea and it dried up;
he led them through the deep water as if it were a desert.
106:10 He delivered them from the power 241 of the one who hated them,
and rescued 242 them from the power 243 of the enemy.
106:11 The water covered their enemies;
not even one of them survived. 244
106:12 They believed his promises; 245
they sang praises to him.
106:13 They quickly forgot what he had done; 246
they did not wait for his instructions. 247
106:14 In the wilderness they had an insatiable craving 248 for meat; 249
they challenged God 250 in the desert.
106:15 He granted their request,
then struck them with a disease. 251
106:16 In the camp they resented 252 Moses,
and Aaron, the Lord’s holy priest. 253
106:17 The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan;
it engulfed 254 the group led by Abiram. 255
106:18 Fire burned their group;
the flames scorched the wicked. 256
106:19 They made an image of a calf at Horeb,
and worshiped a metal idol.
106:20 They traded their majestic God 257
for the image of an ox that eats grass.
106:21 They rejected 258 the God who delivered them,
the one who performed great deeds in Egypt,
106:22 amazing feats in the land of Ham,
mighty 259 acts by the Red Sea.
106:23 He threatened 260 to destroy them,
but 261 Moses, his chosen one, interceded with him 262
and turned back his destructive anger. 263
106:24 They rejected the fruitful land; 264
they did not believe his promise. 265
106:25 They grumbled in their tents; 266
they did not obey 267 the Lord.
106:26 So he made a solemn vow 268
that he would make them die 269 in the desert,
106:27 make their descendants 270 die 271 among the nations,
and scatter them among foreign lands. 272
106:28 They worshiped 273 Baal of Peor,
and ate sacrifices offered to the dead. 274
106:29 They made the Lord angry 275 by their actions,
and a plague broke out among them.
106:30 Phinehas took a stand and intervened, 276
and the plague subsided.
106:31 This brought him a reward,
an eternal gift. 277
106:32 They made him angry by the waters of Meribah,
and Moses suffered 278 because of them,
106:33 for they aroused 279 his temper, 280
and he spoke rashly. 281
106:34 They did not destroy the nations, 282
as the Lord had commanded them to do.
106:35 They mixed in with the nations
and learned their ways. 283
106:36 They worshiped 284 their idols,
which became a snare to them. 285
106:37 They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons. 286
106:38 They shed innocent blood –
the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan.
The land was polluted by bloodshed. 287
106:39 They were defiled by their deeds,
and unfaithful in their actions. 288
106:40 So the Lord was angry with his people 289
and despised the people who belong to him. 290
106:41 He handed them over to 291 the nations,
and those who hated them ruled over them.
106:42 Their enemies oppressed them;
they were subject to their authority. 292
106:43 Many times he delivered 293 them,
but they had a rebellious attitude, 294
and degraded themselves 295 by their sin.
106:44 Yet he took notice of their distress,
when he heard their cry for help.
106:45 He remembered his covenant with them,
and relented 296 because of his great loyal love.
106:46 He caused all their conquerors 297
to have pity on them.
106:47 Deliver us, O Lord, our God!
Gather us from among the nations!
Then we will give thanks 298 to your holy name,
and boast about your praiseworthy deeds. 299
106:48 The Lord God of Israel deserves praise, 300
in the future and forevermore. 301
Let all the people say, “We agree! 302 Praise the Lord!” 303
Book 5
(Psalms 107-150)
107:1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
and his loyal love endures! 305
107:2 Let those delivered by the Lord speak out, 306
those whom he delivered 307 from the power 308 of the enemy,
107:3 and gathered from foreign lands, 309
from east and west,
from north and south.
107:4 They wandered through the wilderness on a desert road;
they found no city in which to live.
107:5 They were hungry and thirsty;
they fainted from exhaustion. 310
107:6 They cried out to the Lord in their distress;
he delivered them from their troubles.
107:7 He led them on a level road, 311
that they might find a city in which to live.
107:8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love,
and for the amazing things he has done for people! 312
107:9 For he has satisfied those who thirst, 313
and those who hunger he has filled with food. 314
107:10 They sat in utter darkness, 315
bound in painful iron chains, 316
107:11 because they had rebelled against God’s commands, 317
and rejected the instructions of the sovereign king. 318
107:12 So he used suffering to humble them; 319
they stumbled and no one helped them up.
107:13 They cried out to the Lord in their distress;
he delivered them from their troubles.
107:14 He brought them out of the utter darkness, 320
and tore off their shackles.
107:15 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love,
and for the amazing things he has done for people! 321
107:16 For he shattered the bronze gates,
and hacked through the iron bars. 322
107:17 They acted like fools in their rebellious ways, 323
and suffered because of their sins.
107:18 They lost their appetite for all food, 324
and they drew near the gates of death.
107:19 They cried out to the Lord in their distress;
he delivered them from their troubles.
107:20 He sent them an assuring word 325 and healed them;
he rescued them from the pits where they were trapped. 326
107:21 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love,
and for the amazing things he has done for people! 327
107:22 Let them present thank offerings,
and loudly proclaim what he has done! 328
107:23 329 Some traveled on 330 the sea in ships,
and carried cargo over the vast waters. 331
107:24 They witnessed the acts of the Lord,
his amazing feats on the deep water.
107:25 He gave the order for a windstorm, 332
and it stirred up the waves of the sea. 333
107:26 They 334 reached up to the sky,
then dropped into the depths.
The sailors’ strength 335 left them 336 because the danger was so great. 337
107:27 They swayed 338 and staggered like a drunk,
and all their skill proved ineffective. 339
107:28 They cried out to the Lord in their distress;
he delivered them from their troubles.
107:29 He calmed the storm, 340
and the waves 341 grew silent.
107:30 The sailors 342 rejoiced because the waves 343 grew quiet,
and he led them to the harbor 344 they desired.
107:31 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love,
and for the amazing things he has done for people! 345
107:32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people!
Let them praise him in the place where the leaders preside! 346
107:33 He turned 347 streams into a desert,
springs of water into arid land,
107:34 and a fruitful land into a barren place, 348
because of the sin of its inhabitants.
107:35 As for his people, 349 he turned 350 a desert into a pool of water,
and a dry land into springs of water.
107:36 He allowed the hungry to settle there,
and they established a city in which to live.
107:37 They cultivated 351 fields,
and planted vineyards,
which yielded a harvest of fruit. 352
107:38 He blessed 353 them so that they became very numerous.
He would not allow their cattle to decrease in number. 354
107:39 As for their enemies, 355 they decreased in number and were beaten down,
because of painful distress 356 and suffering.
107:40 He would pour 357 contempt upon princes,
and he made them wander in a wasteland with no road.
107:41 Yet he protected 358 the needy from oppression,
and cared for his families like a flock of sheep.
107:42 When the godly see this, they rejoice,
and every sinner 359 shuts his mouth.
107:43 Whoever is wise, let him take note of these things!
Let them consider the Lord’s acts of loyal love!
116:1 I love the Lord
because he heard my plea for mercy, 361
116:2 and listened to me. 362
As long as I live, I will call to him when I need help. 363
116:3 The ropes of death tightened around me, 364
the snares 365 of Sheol confronted me.
I was confronted 366 with trouble and sorrow.
116:4 I called on the name of the Lord,
“Please Lord, rescue my life!”
116:5 The Lord is merciful and fair;
our God is compassionate.
116:6 The Lord protects 367 the untrained; 368
I was in serious trouble 369 and he delivered me.
116:7 Rest once more, my soul, 370
for the Lord has vindicated you. 371
116:8 Yes, 372 Lord, 373 you rescued my life from death,
and kept my feet from stumbling.
116:9 I will serve 374 the Lord
in the land 375 of the living.
116:10 I had faith when I said,
“I am severely oppressed.”
116:11 I rashly declared, 376
“All men are liars.”
116:12 How can I repay the Lord
for all his acts of kindness to me?
116:13 I will celebrate my deliverance, 377
and call on the name of the Lord.
116:14 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
before all his people.
116:15 The Lord values
the lives of his faithful followers. 378
116:16 Yes, Lord! I am indeed your servant;
I am your lowest slave. 379
You saved me from death. 380
116:17 I will present a thank offering to you,
and call on the name of the Lord.
116:18 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
before all his people,
116:19 in the courts of the Lord’s temple,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!
116:1 I love the Lord
because he heard my plea for mercy, 382