Do Not Hide Your Face from Me
A Prayer of one afflicted, wwhen he is faint and xpours out his complaint before the Lord.
102 yHear my prayer, O Lord;
let my cry come to you!
2 Do not zhide your face from me
in the day of my distress!
Incline your ear to me;
aanswer me speedily in the day when I call!
3 For my days pass away like bsmoke,
and my cbones burn like a furnace.
4 My heart is struck down like grass and has withered;
I forget to eat my bread.
5 Because of my loud groaning
dmy bones cling to my flesh.
6 I am like a desert owl of the wilderness,
like an owl1 of the waste places;
7 I lie awake;
I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop.
8 All the day my enemies taunt me;
those who deride me use my name for a curse.
9 For eI eat ashes like bread
and mingle tears with my drink,
10 because of your indignation and anger;
for you have taken me up and thrown me down.
11 My days are like an evening fshadow;
I wither away like grass.
12 But you, O Lord, are genthroned forever;
you are remembered throughout all generations.
13 You will arise and have pity on Zion;
it is the time to favor her;
the appointed time has come.
14 For your servants hold her stones dear
and have pity on her dust.
15 Nations will hfear the name of the Lord,
and iall the kings of the earth will fear your glory.
16 For jthe Lord builds up Zion;
khe appears in his glory;
17 he regards the prayer of the destitute
and does not despise their prayer.
18 Let this be recorded for a generation to come,
so that a people lyet to be created may praise the Lord:
19 that he looked down from his holy height;
from heaven the Lord looked at the earth,
20 to mhear the groans of the prisoners,
to set free those who were doomed to die,
21 that they may declare in Zion the name of the Lord,
and in Jerusalem his praise,
22 when peoples gather together,
and nkingdoms, to worship the Lord.
23 He has broken my strength in midcourse;
he has oshortened my days.
24 “O my God,” I say, “take me not away
in the midst of my days—
you pwhose years endure
throughout all generations!”
25 qOf old you laid the foundation of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26 rThey 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,
27 but syou are the same, and your years have no end.
28 The children of your servants shall dwell secure;
their offspring shall be established before you.
Bless the Lord, O My Soul
Of David.
103 tBless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
3 who uforgives all your iniquity,
who vheals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit,
who wcrowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5 who xsatisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed ylike the eagle’s.
6 The Lord works righteousness
and zjustice for all who are oppressed.
7 He amade known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is bmerciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 cHe will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
10 He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For das high eas the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
13 fAs a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
14 For he knows our frame;1
15 As for man, his days are like grass;
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
and its place knows it no more.
17 But the isteadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,
and his righteousness to children’s children,
18 to those who keep his covenant
and remember to do his commandments.
19 The Lord has established his jthrone in the heavens,
and his kingdom rules over all.
20 Bless the Lord, O you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his word,
obeying the voice of his word!
21 Bless the Lord, all his hosts,
his kministers, who do his will!
22 Bless the Lord, lall his works,
in all places of his dominion.
mBless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord My God, You Are Very Great
104 nBless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, oyou are very great!
You are pclothed with splendor and majesty,
2 qcovering yourself with light as with a garment,
rstretching out the heavens like a tent.
3 He lays the beams of his schambers on the waters;
he makes the clouds his chariot;
he rides on the wings of the wind;
4 the makes his messengers winds,
his ministers a flaming fire.
5 He set the earth on its foundations,
so that it should never be moved.
6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood uabove the mountains.
7 At your rebuke they fled;
at the vsound of your thunder they took to flight.
8 wThe mountains rose, the valleys sank down
to the place that you appointed for them.
9 You xset a boundary that they may not pass,
yso that they might not again cover the earth.
10 You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
they flow between the hills;
11 they zgive drink to every beast of the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
they sing among the branches.
13 From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.
14 You cause the grass to grow for the livestock
and aplants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth food from the earth
15 and wine to gladden the heart of man,
oil to make his face shine
and bread to strengthen man’s heart.
16 The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
17 In them the birds build their nests;
the stork has her home in the fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats;
the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.
19 He made the moon bto mark the seasons;1
the sun knows its time for setting.
20 You make darkness, and it is night,
when all the beasts of the forest creep about.
21 The young lions roar for their prey,
cseeking their food from God.
22 When the sun rises, they steal away
and lie down in their dens.
23 Man goes out to his work
and to his dlabor until the evening.
24 O Lord, how manifold are your works!
eIn wisdom have you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
25 Here is the sea, great and wide,
which teems with creatures innumerable,
living things both small and fgreat.
26 There go the ships,
27 hThese all look to you,
to give them their food in due season.
28 When you give it to them, they gather it up;
when you iopen your hand, they are jfilled with good things.
29 When you khide your face, they are dismayed;
when you ltake away their breath, they die
and mreturn to their dust.
30 When you send forth your Spirit,3 they are created,
and you renew the face of the ground.
31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord nrejoice in his works,
32 who looks on the earth and it trembles,
who otouches the mountains and they smoke!
33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
pI will sing praise to my God while I have being.
34 qMay my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the Lord.
35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
and let the wicked be no more!
rBless the Lord, O my soul!
Praise the Lord!
Tell of All His Wondrous Works
105 sOh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;
make known his deeds among the peoples!
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wondrous works!
3 tGlory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord urejoice!
4 Seek the Lord and his strength;
vseek his presence continually!
5 wRemember the wondrous works that he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,
6 O offspring of Abraham, his servant,
children of Jacob, xhis chosen ones!
7 He is the Lord our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.
8 He yremembers his covenant zforever,
the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
9 athe covenant that he made with Abraham,
bhis sworn promise to Isaac,
10 which he cconfirmed to Jacob as a statute,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11 saying, “To you I will give the dland of Canaan
as your portion for an inheritance.”
12 When they were few in number,
of little account, and sojourners in it,
13 wandering from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another people,
14 ehe allowed no one to oppress them;
fhe rebuked kings on their account,
15 saying, g“Touch not my anointed ones,
do my prophets no harm!”
16 When he hsummoned a famine on the land
and broke all supply1 of bread,
17 ihe had sent a man ahead of them,
Joseph, who was jsold as a slave.
18 kHis feet were hurt with fetters;
his neck was put in a collar of iron;
19 luntil what he had said came to pass,
the word of the Lord tested him.
20 mThe king sent and released him;
the ruler of the peoples set him free;
21 nhe made him lord of his house
and ruler of all his possessions,
22 oto bind2 his princes at his pleasure
and to teach his elders wisdom.
23 Then pIsrael came to Egypt;
Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
24 And qthe Lord made his people very fruitful
and made them stronger than their foes.
25 rHe turned their hearts to hate his people,
to deal craftily with his servants.
26 He ssent Moses, his servant,
and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
27 tThey performed his usigns among them
and miracles in the land of Ham.
28 vHe sent darkness, and made the land dark;
they did not rebel3 against his words.
29 wHe turned their waters into blood
and caused their fish to die.
30 xTheir land swarmed with frogs,
even in the chambers of their kings.
31 He spoke, and ythere came swarms of flies,
and zgnats throughout their country.
32 aHe gave them hail for rain,
and bfiery lightning bolts through their land.
33 He struck down their vines and fig trees,
and shattered the trees of their country.
34 He spoke, and cthe locusts came,
young locusts without number,
35 which devoured all the vegetation in their land
and ate up the fruit of their ground.
36 dHe struck down all the firstborn in their land,
ethe firstfruits of all their strength.
37 fThen he brought out Israel with silver and gold,
and there was none among his tribes who stumbled.
38 gEgypt was glad when they departed,
for dread of them had fallen upon it.
39 He spread a hcloud for a covering,
and fire to give light by night.
40 They asked, and ihe brought quail,
and gave them bread from heaven in abundance.
41 jHe opened the rock, and water gushed out;
it flowed through the desert like a river.
42 For he remembered his holy promise,
and Abraham, his servant.
43 So he brought his people out with joy,
his chosen ones kwith singing.
44 And he gave them the lands of the nations,
and lthey took possession of the fruit of the peoples’ toil,
45 that they might keep his statutes
and observe his laws.
Praise the Lord!
Give Thanks to the Lord, for He Is Good
106 Praise the Lord!
Oh mgive thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord,
or declare all his praise?
3 nBlessed are they who observe justice,
who do righteousness at all times!
4 Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people;
help me when you save them,1
5 that I may look upon the prosperity of oyour chosen ones,
that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,
that I may glory with your inheritance.
6 Both pwe and our fathers have sinned;
we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness.
7 Our fathers, when they were in Egypt,
did not consider your wondrous works;
they did not remember the qabundance of your steadfast love,
but rrebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.
8 Yet she saved them tfor his name’s sake,
that he might umake known his mighty power.
9 vHe rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry,
and he wled them through the deep as through a desert.
10 So he saved them from the hand of the foe
and redeemed them from the power of the enemy.
11 And the waters covered their adversaries;
not one of them was left.
12 Then they believed his words;
xthey sang his praise.
13 But they soon forgot his works;
they did not wait for his ycounsel.
14 zBut they had a wanton craving in the wilderness,
and put God to the test in the desert;
15 he gave them what they asked,
but sent a wasting disease among them.
16 aWhen men in the camp were jealous of Moses
and Aaron, the holy one of the Lord,
17 the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
and covered the company of Abiram.
18 Fire also broke out in their company;
the flame burned up the wicked.
19 bThey cmade a calf in Horeb
and worshiped a dmetal image.
20 They eexchanged the glory of God2
for the fimage of an ox that eats grass.
21 They gforgot God, their Savior,
who had done great things in Egypt,
22 wondrous works in the land of Ham,
and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.
23 hTherefore he said he would destroy them—
had not Moses, his chosen one,
istood in the breach before him,
to turn away his wrath from destroying them.
24 Then they despised the pleasant land,
jhaving no faith in his promise.
25 They kmurmured in their tents,
and did not obey the voice of the Lord.
26 Therefore he raised his hand and lswore to them
mthat he would make them fall in the wilderness,
27 and would make their offspring fall among the nations,
nscattering them among the lands.
28 oThen they yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor,
and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;
29 they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds,
and a plague broke out among them.
30 Then Phinehas stood up and intervened,
and the plague was stayed.
31 And pthat was qcounted to him as righteousness
from generation to generation forever.
32 rThey angered him at the waters of Meribah,
and it went ill with Moses on their account,
33 for they made his spirit bitter,3
and he spoke rashly with his lips.
34 sThey did not destroy the peoples,
tas the Lord commanded them,
35 ubut they mixed with the nations
and learned to do as they did.
36 They served their idols,
which became a vsnare to them.
37 wThey sacrificed their sons
and their daughters xto the demons;
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 ypolluted with blood.
39 Thus they became unclean by their acts,
and played the zwhore in their deeds.
40 Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,
and he abhorred his heritage;
41 he gave them into the hand of the nations,
so that athose who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies boppressed them,
and they were brought into subjection under their power.
43 Many times he cdelivered them,
but they were rebellious in their purposes
and were brought low through their iniquity.
44 Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress,
when he heard their dcry.
45 For their sake he eremembered his covenant,
and frelented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
46 He caused them to be gpitied
by all those who held them captive.
47 hSave us, O Lord our God,
and igather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
and glory in your praise.
48 jBlessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting!
And let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise the Lord!
