Psalm 108

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Give Thanks to the Lord, for He Is Good

106  iPraise the Lord!

jOh give thanks to the Lord, kfor he is good,

lfor his steadfast love endures forever!

Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord,

or declare all his praise?

Blessed are they who observe justice,

who mdo righteousness at all times!

nRemember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people;

help me when you save them,1

that I may look upon the prosperity of your ochosen ones,

that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,

that I may glory with your inheritance.

pBoth we and qour fathers have sinned;

we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness.

Our fathers, when they were in Egypt,

did not consider your wondrous works;

they rdid not remember the abundance of your steadfast love,

but srebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.

Yet he saved them tfor his name’s sake,

uthat he might make known his mighty power.

He vrebuked the Red Sea, and it wbecame dry,

and he xled them through the deep as through a desert.

10  So he ysaved them from the hand of the foe

and zredeemed them from the power of the enemy.

11  And athe waters covered their adversaries;

not one of them was left.

12  Then bthey believed his words;

they csang his praise.

13  But they soon dforgot his works;

they did not wait for ehis counsel.

14  But they had fa wanton craving in the wilderness,

and gput God to the test in the desert;

15  he hgave them what they asked,

but sent ia wasting disease among them.

16  When men in the camp jwere jealous of Moses

and Aaron, kthe holy one of the Lord,

17  lthe earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,

and covered the company of Abiram.

18  mFire also broke out in their company;

the flame burned up the wicked.

19  They nmade a calf in Horeb

and worshiped a metal image.

20  They oexchanged the glory of God2

for the image of an ox that eats grass.

21  They pforgot God, their Savior,

who had done great things in Egypt,

22  wondrous works in qthe land of Ham,

and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.

23  Therefore rhe said he would destroy them

had not Moses, his schosen one,

tstood in the breach before him,

to turn away his wrath from destroying them.

24  Then they udespised vthe pleasant land,

having wno faith in his promise.

25  They xmurmured in their tents,

and did not obey the voice of the Lord.

26  Therefore he yraised his hand and swore to them

that he would make them fall in the wilderness,

27  and would make their offspring fall among the nations,

zscattering them among the lands.

28  Then they ayoked themselves to the aBaal of Peor,

and ate sacrifices offered to bthe dead;

29  they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds,

and a plague broke out among them.

30  Then cPhinehas stood up and intervened,

and the plague was stayed.

31  And that was dcounted to him as righteousness

from generation to generation forever.

32  They eangered him at the waters of Meribah,

and it went ill with Moses on their account,

33  for they fmade his spirit bitter,3

and he gspoke rashly with his lips.

34  They did not hdestroy the peoples,

ias the Lord commanded them,

35  but they jmixed with the nations

and learned to do as they did.

36  They served their idols,

which became ka snare to them.

37  They lsacrificed their sons

and their daughters to mthe 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 npolluted with blood.

39  Thus they obecame unclean by their acts,

and pplayed the whore in their deeds.

40  Then qthe anger of the Lord was kindled against rhis people,

and he abhorred his rheritage;

41  he sgave them into the hand of the nations,

so that those who hated them ruled over them.

42  Their enemies toppressed them,

and they were brought into subjection under their power.

43  uMany times he delivered them,

but they were rebellious in their vpurposes

and were wbrought low through their iniquity.

44  Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress,

when he xheard their cry.

45  For their sake he yremembered his covenant,

and zrelented according to athe abundance of his steadfast love.

46  He caused them to be bpitied

by all those who held them captive.

47  cSave us, O Lord our God,

and dgather us from among the nations,

that we may give thanks to your holy name

and glory in your praise.

48  eBlessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting!

eAnd let all the people say, Amen!

fPraise the Lord!

Book Five

Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So

107  gOh give thanks to the Lord, hfor he is good,

for his steadfast love endures forever!

Let ithe redeemed of the Lord say so,

whom he has jredeemed from trouble1

and kgathered in from the lands,

from the east and from the west,

from the north and from the south.

Some lwandered in desert wastes,

finding no way mto a city to dwell in;

hungry and thirsty,

their soul nfainted within them.

Then they ocried to the Lord in their trouble,

and he delivered them from their distress.

He led them by pa straight way

till they reached ma city to dwell in.

qLet them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

for his wondrous works to the children of man!

For he rsatisfies the longing soul,

sand the hungry soul he fills with good things.

10  tSome sat in darkness and in uthe shadow of death,

prisoners in vaffliction and in irons,

11  for they whad rebelled against the words of God,

and xspurned the counsel of the Most High.

12  So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;

they fell down, ywith none to help.

13  zThen they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

and he delivered them from their distress.

14  He brought them out of adarkness and the shadow of death,

and bburst their bonds apart.

15  cLet them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

for his wondrous works to the children of man!

16  For he dshatters the doors of bronze

and cuts in two the bars of iron.

17  Some were efools through their sinful ways,

and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;

18  fthey loathed any kind of food,

and they gdrew near to hthe gates of death.

19  iThen they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

and he delivered them from their distress.

20  He jsent out his word and khealed them,

and ldelivered them from their destruction.

21  mLet them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

for his wondrous works to the children of man!

22  And let them noffer sacrifices of thanksgiving,

and otell of his deeds in psongs of joy!

23  Some qwent down to the sea in ships,

doing business on the great waters;

24  they saw the deeds of the Lord,

his wondrous works in the deep.

25  For he rcommanded and sraised the stormy wind,

which lifted up the waves of the sea.

26  They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;

their courage tmelted away in their evil plight;

27  they reeled and ustaggered like drunken men

and vwere at their wits’ end.2

28  wThen they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

and he delivered them from their distress.

29  He xmade the storm be still,

and the waves of the sea were hushed.

30  Then they were glad that the waters3 were quiet,

and he brought them to their desired haven.

31  yLet them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

for his wondrous works to the children of man!

32  Let them zextol him in athe congregation of the people,

and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

33  He bturns rivers into a desert,

springs of water into thirsty ground,

34  ca fruitful land into a salty waste,

because of the evil of its inhabitants.

35  He dturns a desert into pools of water,

ea parched land into springs of water.

36  And there he lets the hungry dwell,

and they establish fa city to live in;

37  they sow fields and plant vineyards

and get a fruitful yield.

38  gBy his blessing they multiply greatly,

and he does not let their livestock diminish.

39  When they are diminished and brought low

through oppression, evil, and sorrow,

40  hhe pours contempt on princes

and imakes them wander jin trackless wastes;

41  but khe raises up the needy out of affliction

and lmakes their families like flocks.

42  mThe upright see it and are glad,

and nall wickedness shuts its mouth.

43  oWhoever is wise, let him attend to these things;

let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

With God We Shall Do Valiantly

A Song. A Psalm of David.

108  pMy heart is steadfast, O God!

I will sing and make melody with all my being!1

Awake, O harp and lyre!

I will awake the dawn!

I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;

I will sing praises to you among the nations.

For your steadfast love is great qabove the heavens;

your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!

Let your glory be over all the earth!

rThat your beloved ones may be delivered,

give salvation by your right hand and answer me!

God has promised in his holiness:2

With exultation I will divide up Shechem

and portion out the Valley of Succoth.

Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;

Ephraim is my helmet,

Judah my scepter.

Moab is my washbasin;

upon Edom I cast my shoe;

sover Philistia I shout in triumph.

10  Who will bring me to the fortified city?

Who will lead me to Edom?

11  Have you not rejected us, O God?

You do not go out, O God, with our armies.

12  Oh grant us help against the foe,

for vain is the salvation of man!

13  With God we shall do valiantly;

it is he who will tread down our foes.

Help Me, O Lord My God

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

109  tBe not silent, O uGod of my praise!

For wicked and vdeceitful mouths are opened against me,

speaking against me with lying tongues.

They encircle me with words of hate,

and attack me wwithout cause.

In return for my love they xaccuse me,

but I ygive myself to prayer.1

So they zreward me evil for good,

and hatred for my love.

aAppoint a wicked man bagainst him;

let an accuser stand cat his right hand.

When he is tried, let him come forth guilty;

let his dprayer be counted as sin!

May his edays be few;

may fanother take his goffice!

May his hchildren be fatherless

and his wife a widow!

10  May his children iwander about and beg,

jseeking food far from the ruins they inhabit!

11  May kthe creditor seize all that he has;

may kstrangers plunder the fruits of his toil!

12  Let there be none to lextend kindness to him,

nor any to mpity his fatherless children!

13  May his nposterity be cut off;

may his oname be blotted out in the second generation!

14  May pthe iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord,

and let not the sin of his mother be qblotted out!

15  rLet them be before the Lord continually,

that he may scut off the memory of them from the earth!

16  For he did not remember to show kindness,

but pursued tthe poor and needy

and uthe brokenhearted, to put them to death.

17  vHe loved to curse; let curses come2 upon him!

He did not delight in blessing; may it be far3 from him!

18  He wclothed himself with cursing as his coat;

may it xsoak4 into his body like water,

like oil into his bones!

19  May it be like a garment that he wraps around him,

like a belt that he puts on every day!

20  May this be the reward of my yaccusers from the Lord,

of those who speak evil against my life!

21  But you, O God my Lord,

deal on my behalf zfor your name’s sake;

because your asteadfast love is good, deliver me!

22  For I am bpoor and needy,

and my heart is stricken within me.

23  I am gone like ca shadow at evening;

I am dshaken off like a locust.

24  My knees are weak ethrough fasting;

my fbody has become gaunt, with no fat.

25  I am gan object of scorn to my accusers;

when they see me, they hwag their heads.

26  iHelp me, O Lord my God!

Save me according to your steadfast love!

27  Let them jknow that this is your hand;

you, O Lord, have done it!

28  kLet them curse, but you will bless!

They arise and are put to shame, but lyour servant will be glad!

29  May my accusers be mclothed with dishonor;

may they nbe wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak!

30  With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord;

I will opraise him in the midst of the throng.

31  For he stands pat the right hand of the needy one,

to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.

Sit at My Right Hand

A Psalm of David.

110  qThe Lord says to my Lord:

rSit at my right hand,

suntil I make your enemies your tfootstool.

The Lord sends forth ufrom Zion

vyour mighty scepter.

wRule in the midst of your enemies!

xYour people will yoffer themselves freely

on the day of your zpower,1

in aholy garments;2

from the womb of the morning,

the dew of your youth will be yours.3

bThe Lord has csworn

and will dnot change his mind,

eYou are fa priest gforever

after the order of hMelchizedek.

The Lord is at your iright hand;

he will jshatter kings on kthe day of his wrath.

He will lexecute judgment among the nations,

mfilling them with corpses;

he will nshatter chiefs4

over the wide earth.

He will odrink from the brook by the way;

therefore he will lift up his head.